Verb – α-contract (lengthening)

ObjectivesLearning objectives

• The morphology of α-contract verbs when the ending begins with a consonant
• The syntactic and semantic difference between an agent and a causer

VocabularyVocabulary

MorphologyMorphology: Verb - α contract (lengthening)

• If the suffix begins with a consonant, the α lengthens to η, e.g. ἐβόα-σα → ἐβόη-σα
• Some verbs are irregular where the α remains, e.g. κλῶ → ἔκλασα (cf. ε-contract verbs like ἐκάλεσα; 26.2.3.1)

SyntaxSyntax: Verb – Passive (4 – Agents; 5 – Causers)

Verb – Passive: all 4 parts on one page →Also in Lesson 17.1, Lesson 18.1, Lesson 35.2

Remember, passive verbs suppress the original subject in an active verb and turn the object into the new subject. So where does the original subject go when a passive verb is used? Under the standard analysis of the passive, it is not deleted – it just isn’t expressed, and it can be added back in. The preposition used to reintroduce the argument depends on the argument’s role in the eventuality and the nature of the eventuality the verb refers to. Some verbs, for example, might not allow an agent in the passive because there is no agent in the active. At other times, a verb allows for both agents and causers, and the difference between the two might be exegetically significant. Agents are expressed with ὑπό:

• (367) Agent of passive verb introduced with ὑπό πειραζόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ σατανᾶ (Mark 1:13)
• Being tempted by the Satan

In this context, Satan was speaking to Jesus and telling him to do certain things; in other words, he was actively engaged in tempting Jesus, i.e. he was an agent. In contrast, the preposition ἀπό introduces causers. A causer is not an active participant in the event, though it is necessary for the event to take place. The verb πειράζομαι may also have a causer argument reintroduced:

James says this is what we should not say. The difference in preposition is significant here. James is not speaking about God being a potential agent of temptation as Satan was to Jesus. That option is not on the table. We might think, though, that God is a cause of our temptation even though he is not an agent, but James’s argument is that he is not even a cause.