Verb: Luo optative

GrammarVerb – Luo optative

Our final verbal mood to learn is the optative (abbreviated opt). There are only 70 verbs in the optative mood in the NT, and only 23 occurrences are the Luo optative. The optative used to be more common in Classical Greek, but it is being replaced by the subjunctive in the NT era. Like the subjunctive, it is used to refer to eventualities that the speaker deems uncertain of occurring. The usual distinction drawn between it and the subjunctive is that the optative refers to eventualities that are less certain (see Semantics D for further discussion). The closest approximations in English would be our modal forms might, may, and can, though these glosses won’t always work.

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MorphologyVerb – Luo optative

• The sign of the opt is οι
• The 1st and 2nd person endings look like μι verbs
• med-psv Luo opts are only found 4 times in the NT (forms: βούλοιτο, δυναίμην, and δύναιντο [notice the ο → α in δύναμαι; see 25.4.2])
• Most common verb is εἰμί (only the 3s εἴη is found in the NT)

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SyntaxVerb – Optative (complement clauses)

Like the subjunctive mood (see 28.1.4.2), the optative can be found in complement clauses after verbs expressing doubt or uncertainty. For example, the verb διαλογίζομαι ‘wonder’ takes a complement that gives what is being pondered or wondered:

• (515) Optative in complement clauses
• διαλογιζομένων πάντων ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν περὶ τοῦ Ἰωάννου, μήποτε αὐτὸς εἴη ὁ χριστός (Luke 3:15) Everyone wondering in their hearts about John, whether he might be the Christ

Because the verb διαλογίζομαι ‘wonder’ refers to a cognitive state where something is considered to be only possible, the verb in the complement clause occurs in the optative mood. The people are only wondering whether John is the Christ. They are certainly not saying that he is. The other verbs in the NT used with the optative mood in complement clauses refer to similar kinds of cognitive states or activities where something is uncertain (see Semantics D for a comprehensive list).

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