Verb – Efagon middle and passive imperative

ObjectivesLearning objectives

• The morphology of Efagon middle and passive imperatives
• The semantics of imperatives as wishes

VocabularyVocabulary

MorphologyMorphology: Verb – Efagon middle and passive imperative

• The Thematic Aorist mid impv endings are the same as the Luo mid impv endings (38.3.3.1): -ου in sg and -εσθε in pl
• The Aorist -ου ending tends to draw the stress, so the accent is often on the ultima rather than the penult, e.g. ἐπιλαβοῦ rather than ἐπιλάβου
• The Aorist psv endings have the characteristic θη, followed by the ending τι (sg) or τε (pl)

SemanticsSemantics: Verb – Imperative (4 – Wish)

Verb – Imperative: all 4 parts on one page →Also in Lesson 22.1, Lesson 38.3, Lesson 45.2

We have seen that the interpretation of an imperative is often dependent upon the relative social ranking of the speaker and addressee (38.3.3.2). Depending on whether the speaker is more authoritative or less, an imperative can be interpreted as a command, suggestion, or request. In addition to this, it may also be used to refer to a wish where the speaker is not expecting the addressee to do anything.

This is not a command, suggestion, or request for the brother and sister to do something. Rather, the imperative here reflects a wish of the speaker, which is, in this case, not what true faith looks like according to James.