Hellenistic Greek © 2010, 2015
Lesson 21: More on the Aorist
Middle and Passive

Grammatical Discussion

Two Sets of Middle/Passive Forms

Compare the forms of ἀποκρίνομαι (a lexical middle verb) in the following two sentences.

Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτοῖς (John 5:17)
And Jesus answered them

Ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἱησοῦς (John 6:26)
Jesus answered them

The form in John 5:17 (ἀπεκρίνατο) is the form you learned in lesson 20. It is traditionally called the aorist middle. The one in John 6:26 (ἀπεκρίθη) is the one you learned in lesson 19, traditionally called the aorist passive. Can you detect any difference in the their meaning? It is clear that they can both be used with a middle voice meaning.

Now compare the two ways the form ἐκρύβη (aorist "passive" of κρύπτω, I hide) is used in the two texts below.

[γεννηθείς = when he was born; τρίμηνον = three months]
Μωϋσῦς γεννηθεὶς ἐκρύβη τρίμηνον
When Moses was born he was hidden for three months (Hebrews 11:23)

Ἰησοῦς. . . ἐκρύβη ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν
Jesus. . . hid from them (John 12:36)

In Hebrews 11:23, the sense of ἐκρύβη is clearly passive. Moses did not hide himself. He was a baby. Someone else hid him, so he was hidden (passive). Yet in John 12:36 this exact same verb form has a clear middle sense, not passive. Jesus hid himself. No one else hid him.

The same aorist form, traditianally called "passive," can have either a middle or passive sense. Only the context can tell you which is appropriate. In fact, the verb κρύπτω never appears with the forms you learned in lesson 20. Both its middle and passive senses are expressed exclusively with the forms you learned in lesson 19 (traditionally called the aorist "passive" forms).

Now observe the use of the aorist middle form of the -μι conjugation verb ἀπόλλυμι (I destroy, kill; mid. I perish, die).

ἀπώλοντο ὑπό τοῦ ὀλοθρευτοῦ
They were destroyed by the destroyer (1 Corinthians 10:10)

Here the sense is clearly passive even though the form is the one traditionally called middle. The presence of the phrase with ὑπό (by) forces a passive interpretation here. Once again, we see that the context determines whether the sense is middle or passive. The form does not clearly indicate this.

We saw above that κρύπτω only has the forms learned in lesson 19 (the traditional passive forms) and uses those forms for both its middle and passive meanings. The verb ἀπόλλυμι uses only the forms traditionally called middle (those studied in lesson 20) and uses them to express both its middle and passive meanings. This is the case with most Greek verbs. They have either the forms presented in lesson 19 or the ones presented in lesson 20. Few verbs have both.

Verbs with both Sets of Middle/Passive Forms

Some verbs do have both sets of forms, those presented in lessons 19 and 20. You have already seen one of these above. The lexical middle verb ἀποκρίνομαι has both sets of forms, yet the two sets of forms can be used with the same meaning. For this verb, the forms presented in lesson 19 can have either a middle or passive sense, and so can the ones presented in lesson 20. Only the context can tell you which meaning is appropriate.

The lexical middle verb γίνομαι introduced in lesson 20 shows a similar pattern. Its meaning often translated as "become" appears with both sets of non-active aorist forms (ἐγενήθην and ἐγένετο). The two sets of forms have the same sense and are translated into English the same way (with an active English form). The reason both forms are translated as active is that this sense of γίνομαι is intransitive. In the sentences below, "imitators" and "judges" serve as complements, not direct objects.

Καὶ ὑμεῖς μιμηταὶ ἡμῶν ἐγενήθητε καὶ τοῦ κυρίου (1 Thessalonians 1:6)
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord

καὶ ἐγένεσθε κριταί (James 2:4)
and you became judges

The -μι conjugation verb τίθημι introduced in lesson 8 and reviewed in more recent lessons is one of very few verbs that is not a lexical middle, yet appears with both sets of non-active endings

ἔθεντο εἰς τήρησιν (Acts 4:3)
They were placed in custody

ἐτέθησαν ἐν τῷ μνήματι (Acts 7:16)
They were placed in the tomb

While the verb has different forms, both texts have a passive meaning. Again, it is the context that determines the choice between middle and passive meaning, not the form of the verb. The form ἔθεντο can have a middle sense in some contexts and a passive sense in others. The same is true for ἐτέθησαν.

There are very few Hellenistic Greek verbs that have both sets of non-active aorist forms. Most verbs in the Hellenistic period had one set or the other. In fact, of the verbs you have studied so far, only ἀποκρίνομαι, γίνομαι, and τίθημι have both sets of forms.

In order to help you remember that both sets of forms can be used with either middle or passive meaning, I will from this point forward refer to the endings presented in lesson 19, the (θ)η forms, as Aorist MP2 Forms and those presented in lesson 20, the σα/ο/ε forms, as Aorist MP1 Forms. Read the section below to review those forms.

Review of Aorist Middle/Passive Forms

Aorist Middle and Passive Type One Forms (MP1, σα/ο/ε)

Review the forms of παύω and βάλλω as examples of σα/ο/ε forms (augment + aorist active stem + secondary middle endings). These are the same forms you learned in lesson 20.

First Aorist Middle and Passive Type One (MP1)

First aorist verbs have an aorist stem identical to their present tense stem. First aorist verbs in this group use σα to connect the secondary middle endings to that stem

*σα + σο = σω (σασο ⇒ σαο ⇒ σω)

Practice recognizing these forms (Exercise 1).

Second Aorist Middle and Passive Type One (MP1)

Second aorist verbs have a unique aorist stem (one different from their present tense stem). The second aorist verbs in this group useο/ε to connect the secondary middle endings to that stem.

**ο + σο = ου (οσο ⇒ οο ⇒ ου)

These middle/passive forms of βάλλω appear in several compound verbs in the New Testament. Three of them (ἀναβάλλω, περιβάλλω, and συμβάλλω) are included in the vocabulary list below. While the middle/passive form of βάλλω itself does not appear in the New Testament, these compound verbs do appear with middle/passive forms, so it is worth your time to study this chart well. Remember that compound verbs are formed by combining a preposition and a verb: περιβάλλω = περί + βάλλω. The augment goes between the preposition and the verb stem: περιεβαλόμην.

Practice recognizing the aorist middle and passive forms of βάλλω (Exercise 2).

Aorist Middle and Passive Forms (MP2, θη/η)

Review the forms of βαπτίζω and κρύπτω as examples of the (θ)η forms (augment + aorist passive stem + [θ]η + secondary active endings). These are the same forms you learned in lesson 19.

First Aorist Middel and Passive (MP2)

First aorist forms in this group use θη to connect the secondary active endings to their stem.

Practice recognizing the aorist middle and passive forms of βαπτίζω (Exercise 3).

Second Aorist Middle and Passive Type Two (MP2)

Second aorist verbs in this group us η rather than θη to connect the secondary active endings to their stem.

Practice recognizing aorist middle and passive forms of κρύπτω (Exercise 4).

Aorist Middle/Passive of μι Conjugation Verbs

Observe the aorist middle/passive forms of δίδωμι (I give) and τίθημι (I put, place). Remember that to form the aorist of a μι conjugation verb, you have to remove the first syllable (the reduplication) of the present tense form, so the aorist stem of δίδωμι is not δίδω-, but simply δο- (The stem vowel, ω is shortened to ο).

Aorist MP2 (θη/η) Group

Aorist μι conjugation in the (θ)η group follow the pattern of δίδωμι. They use the secondary active endings.

Τίθημι (I put, place) can follow the same pattern as δίδωμι (first aorist of the θη group). Its stem may seem surprizing to beginning students, though. It is τε- rather than θη-. Remember that the stem vowel is shortened for the aorist AND that θ is a variant of τ. The first aorist middle/passive first singular of τίθημι, when it follows the (θ)η pattern, is ἐτέθην.

Practice recognizing the aorist middle and passive forms of δίδωμι (Exercise 5).

Aorist MP1 (σα/ο/ε) Group

More frequently, τίθημι uses the endings associated with the σα/ο/ε group. When μι conjugation verbs use these endings, they do not use a connecting vowel.

***ε + σο = ου (εσο ⇒ εο ⇒ ου)

Practice recognizing the aorist middle and passive forms of τίθημι (Exercise 6).