Verb – Leluka medio-passive infinitive

ObjectivesLearning objectives

The forms of the Leluka med-psv infinitive
A summary of the meaning of Leluka with stative predicates

VocabularyVocabulary

Greek	Gloss	Part of speech	Paradigm
ἡ ἀσέλγεια, -ας	the unrestrained lust	noun	B.a.α.ii
ὁ σύνδουλος, -ου	the fellow slave	noun	B.a.β.i
κἀκεῖθεν	and from there	adverb
μεταξύ τινος καί τινος	between something (gen) and something (gen)	preposition
σχίζω τι	(I) tear something (acc)	verb	C.a.θ
ποιεῖ καρπόν	(he) produces behaviour	phrase

MorphologyMorphology: Verb – Leluka medio-passive infinitive

Duplication follows the normal rules of Leluka (see 19.1.4.1), and the ending is -σθαι
The 10 med-psv Leluka infs found in the Bible are δεδέσθαι (Mark 5:4), διεσπάσθαι (Mark 5:4), συντετρῖφθαι (Mark 5:4), οἰκοδομῆσθαι (Luke 6:48), ἀπηλλάχθαι (Luke 12:58), ἀπολελύσθαι (Acts 26:32), γεγενῆσθαι (Rom 15:8), πεφανερῶσθαι (2 Cor 5:11; Heb 9:8), κατηρτίσθαι (Heb 11:3), and κατειργάσθαι (1 Pet 4:3)
ἀπολελύσθαι represents the normal form with no changes to the stem (απολελυ) + the ending (-σθαι)
Vowel-contract verbs may lengthen and may not: δεδέσθαι and διεσπάσθαι do not lengthen; οἰκοδομῆσθαι and πεφανερῶσθαι lengthen
Final consonants may assimilate (ἀπηλλάχ θαι from ἀπαλλάσσ ω and συντετρῖφ θαι from συντρίβ ω) or may drop out (κατηρτίσθαι from καταρτίζ ω)

SemanticsSemantics: Verb – Leluka (Summary with stative predicates)

The uses of the Leluka form discussed so far are as follows: result perfect (19.1.4.2), existential perfect (20.2.3.2), present stative (23.2.3.2), past-in-the-past (31.3.3.3; 36.1.3.2), the universal perfect (38.2.3.2), and completed past event (41.1.3.2). At the end of Semantics C, we showed how the interpretation of Leluka was influenced by the meaning of the predicate with which it combined, and we said that the meaning of the form is not that the ET precedes the RT, but that the RT is found within some eventive-stative pair. Those interested in a more in-depth discussion of the meaning of the Leluka form can review that section.

Here, I present all the different interpretations of Leluka when it combines with stative predicates. I have argued elsewhere that the Leluka form may have originally been a stativizer (Grasso 2025).4 This has led, I believe, to it being compatible with many different interpretations with stative predicates, since forms typically add more interpretations before they lose others. Indeed, stative predicates can receive an existential, pure state, universal, and possibly even a perfective interpretation:

Example 627Existential with state

ἐγὼ πεπίστευκα ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστὸς (John 11:27)

I have believed that you are the Christ

Example 628Pure/present state

οἶδα ὅτι Μεσσίας ἔρχεται ὁ λεγόμενος χριστός (John 4:25)

I know that the Messiah is coming, who is called the Christ

(629) Universal state τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί; (Matt 20:6)

Why have you stood here idle the whole day?

Example 630Perfective?

ἐν τούτῳ ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, οὐχ ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠγαπήκαμεν τὸν θεόν (1 John 4:10)

In this is love, not that we loved God

The first three examples were discussed in previous sections. The last example is compatible with an existential reading or a perfective reading. The state ἠγαπήκαμεν seems to refer in this context not to a state holding but to an event occurring that represents that state. This is sometimes called coercion when the meaning of one element affects the characteristics of another element with which it combines. In this case, the Leluka form is coercing the stative verb ἀγαπάω into an event of showing ἀγαπάω. It can then be interpreted as either an existential perfect or a perfective. This only works with the verb ἀγαπάω because it refers to a state that can be expressed or manifested in a certain kind of event. We would not expect this interpretation from a state that cannot be expressed in an event, such as οἶδα ‘know.’ Thus, even the kind of state affects the possible interpretations of Leluka.

(627) Existential with state

Use	Description	Section	Examples
Result perfect	An event occurs that causes a new state	19.1.4.2	(159)
Existential perfect	An eventuality occurred in the past that is relevant in some way to the time under discussion	20.2.3.2	(169)
Present stative	A state holds in the present	23.2.3.2	(1), (293)
Past-in-the-past	An eventuality occurred prior to a past time under discussion	31.3.3.3; 36.1.3.2	(291), (292)
Universal perfect	A state holds in the past and currently holds in the present	38.2.3.2	(381)
Completed event	Event occurs in the past	41.1.3.2	(402), (404)

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