Last updated

Verb · Grammar concept

Verb: Efagon middle and passive imperative

Efagon middle and passive imperative is a verb topic in Koine (biblical) Greek. This page gathers its forms, paradigms, and function, drawn from the lessons of Reading Greek Deeply.

Verb1 lesson4 paradigms

MorphologyVerb – 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)
Morphology: Verb – Efagon middle and passive imperative
SingularPlural
Middleἐπιλαβ-οῦἐπιλάβ-εσθε
Passiveπορεύ-θητιπορεύ-θητε

fromLesson 39.3

SemanticsVerb – Imperative (4 – Wish)

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.

  • (387) As a wish
  • θερμαίνεσθε καὶ χορτάζεσθε (James 2:16)
  • Be warmed and filled

fromLesson 39.3

Become a fluent reader of the biblical languages

This Greek wiki is like a bike manual - it explains the mechanics of Greek. The Biblingo app trains you to ride the bike. Spend 15 minutes a day in the app, and you will build reading fluency in Koine Greek. Start a free 10-day trial in minutes and start building reading fluency today.

Start Free Trial

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).