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Chapter 51 · Lesson 51.4 · Particles
Particles – ἄρτι, οὔπω
ObjectivesLearning objectives
- The syntax and semantics of the temporal particles ἄρτι and οὔπω
VocabularyVocabulary
| Greek | Gloss | Part of speech | Paradigm |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἡ ἀπαρχή, -ῆς | the first fruits | noun | B.a.α.i |
| τὸ κήρυγμα, -ατος | the proclamation | noun | B.a.γ.i(a) |
| χάριν τινός | for the sake of something (gen) | preposition | |
| ἐπιπίπτω σοι | (I) press you (dat) | verb | C.a.α |
| ἐπαισχύνομαί τινα | (I) am ashamed of something/one (acc) | verb | C.a.ια |
| ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται | the sacred writings | phrase |
Noteἄρτι
The particle ἄρτι refers to a temporal interval in the present that makes reference to a transition. This latter feature is what distinguishes it from νῦν ‘now’ (which may or may not reference a transition). Although the two are not identical in meaning, just has some similar uses.
Ἄρτι γὰρ ἀνθρώπους πείθω ἢ τὸν θεόν; (Gal 1:10)
Even now, am I appealing to people or to God?
ἡ θυγάτηρ μου ἄρτι ἐτελεύτησεν (Matt 9:18)
My daughter has just died
ἓν οἶδα ὅτι τυφλὸς ὢν ἄρτι βλέπω (John 9:25)
One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see
οὐ μὴ πίω ἀπ’ ἄρτι ἐκ τούτου τοῦ γενήματος τῆς ἀμπέλου ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης (Matt 26:29)
From now on, I will certainly not drink from this fruit of the vine until that day
σὺ τετήρηκας τὸν καλὸν οἶνον ἕως ἄρτι (John 2:10)
You have kept the good wine until now
ὃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ σὺ οὐκ οἶδας ἄρτι, γνώσῃ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα (John 13:7)
What I am doing you do not know now, but you will understand after these things
The fact that there is a temporal transition is obvious when a telic predicate is used, such as in Matt 9:18 where death represents a new state. However, even when the verb does not itself reference a transition, ἄρτι carries with it the inference that one is referencing some transition. For example, ἄρτι βλέπω in John 9:25 does not mean ‘I now see’ in the general sense that I see in the present moment, but ‘now (that something has occurred) I see.’ This inference applies to all the examples given above and seems to hold for all 36 examples of ἄρτι found in the NT.
Noteοὔπω
Whereas ἄρτι references a temporal transition sometime in the present or close to it, οὔπω means that some eventuality has not yet occurred at the time under discussion.
οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου (John 2:4)
My hour has not yet come
δεῖ γὰρ γενέσθαι, ἀλλ’ οὔπω ἐστὶν τὸ τέλος (Matt 24:6)
For these things must happen, but the end has not yet come
The example from John 2:4 shows that the default way to interpret οὔπω is to understand that the relevant eventuality has not occurred in the preceding time up to the present moment. However, Matt 24:6 shows that the present moment need not be the time of evaluation when an eventuality has not occurred. What makes Matt 24:6 notable is that the present tense form ἐστίν is still used even though the things happening are in the future and the time of the end not yet having come is after those future things. In this case, the present tense form ἐστίν is used because the temporal anchor in the context has shifted to the future time when other eventualities have occurred (see Semantics C for a similar explanation of temporal anchor shifts).
Like ἄρτι, οὔπω may also carry with it an inference that something will change. When Jesus says that his time has not yet come, there is an inference that it will come, but it is just not now. However, this inference is cancellable with οὔπω:
γάλα ὑμᾶς ἐπότισα, οὐ βρῶμα· οὔπω γὰρ ἐδύνασθε. ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ἔτι νῦν δύνασθε (1 Cor 3:2)
I provided you with milk, not food, for you were not yet capable, but nor are you even now capable
With the use of οὔπω and a past tense verb, we would naturally infer that though the Corinthians were not capable of consuming food in the past, they are now able in the present. Paul anticipates this inference and cancels it with the next clause, showing both that the inference is real but that it is not entailed.
The last example also shows that there may be overlap between οὔπω and ἔτι, though the two are not identical. Besides being used to refer to an interval in which something is ‘still’ happening, 1 Cor 3:2 shows that ἔτι can also be used for an interval in which something is ‘not yet’ happening, just like οὔπω. The implication is that ἔτι is unmarked for being positive or negative. Unlike ἔτι, οὔπω is marked for being negative, so it must be interpreted as an interval in which an eventuality is not occurring.
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New Testament text shown on hover: Greek from the SBLGNT, © 2010 Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0; English from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain).