Hellenistic Greek

Grammatical Discussion

Introduction

You studied the future active indicative in lesson 18.You may find it helpful to take a few minutes now to review that lesson before reading this one. You have already completed four lessons on the middle and passive voices. Lessons 20 and 21 presented the aorist middle and passive. Lesson 22 dealt with the present middle and passive, and in lesson 23 you studied the imperfect middle and passive. What you learned about the middle and passive voices in those lessons also applies to the future middle and passive.

The Future Middle/Passive

Voice. Voice functions in the same way for the future as it does for the present, aorist, and imperfect. The middle voice implies that the subject is directly affected by the action or state expressed by the verb. The passive voice implies that the subject did not initiate that action or state, but is the recipient of it.

Many traditional introductions to ancient Greek, especially biblical Greek, incorrectly treat MP1 forms as middle and MP2 forms as passive. This correlation simply does not match the Hellenistic Greek data.

Forms. As you saw with the aorist middle and passive, some verbs use MP1 forms and others use MP2 forms. The same is true for the future middle and passive.

These two sets of forms do not directly correlate with the distinction between middle and passive voice. Most verbs use the same from for both voices. It is the context, not the form, that determines the difference.

ὅπου ἐὰν ᾖ τὸ πτῶμα, ἐκεῖ συναχθήσονται οἱ ἀετοί. (Matthew 24:28)

Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. [middle voice meaning]
συναχθήσονται ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη (Matthew 25:32)

All the nations will be gathered before him. [passive voice meaning]

Here the same author uses the exact same form once as middle voice and again as passive voice.

Formation of the Future Middle and Passive

All verbs use the same endings for the future middle and passive, but not all verbs form their future middle and passive stem in the same way

Person	Singular	Plural
First	-ομαι	-ομεθα
Second	-ει → ῃ	-εσθε
Third	-εται	-ονται

Notice that these are the same endings that you learned in lesson 22 for the present middle and passive. Take a moment now to review them.

The future middle/passive is distinguisted from the present by the stem used. The future middle/passive is formed by adding these same endings to the future stem.

There are two different ways to form the future stem. Some verbs simply add σ to the present stem. I will call these MP1 (Middle Passive 1) verbs. Others also add σ, but first make other changes to the stem. I will call these MP2 (Middle Passive 2) verbs.

MP1 Forms

For many verbs, the future stem is formed simply by adding σ to the present stem. This method is seen in both ω conjugation and μι conjugation verbs.

Ω Conjugation

Observe the future forms of ζάω (I live), an ω conjugation verb.

Person	Singular	Plural
First	ζήσομαι	ζησομεθα
Second	ζήσῃ	ζήσεσθε
Third	ζήσεται	ζήσονται

Μι Conjugation

Now compare the future forms of ἵστημι, a μι conjugation verb.

Person	Singular	Plural
First	στήσομαι	στήσομεθα
Second	στήσῃ	στήσεσθε
Third	στήσεται	στήσονται

In the future tense, μι conjugation verbs use the same endings as ω conjugation verbs as well as the σ future marker. The difference between the two types of verb is the formation of the stem before adding the σ. As you saw in lesson 18, μι conjugation verbs form their future stem without reduplication, so the future stem of ἵστημι becames στη- rather than ἵστη-, and the future stem of δίδωμι becomes δο- rather than διδο-.

MP2 Forms

What I call MP2 forms are traditionally called the future passive forms, but as we have seen, these same forms are used with both middle and passive meanings.

Some verbs form their future middle and passive stem (as well as their aorist middle/passive) by adding (θ)η before the σ future marker. For example, the future middle and passive stem form καλέω, before adding the σ future marker, is κληθη-. The σ future marker is added to produce κληθησ- Observe its forms below.

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	κληθήσομαι	κληθησόμεθα
2nd	κληθήσῃ	κληθήσεσθε
3rd	κληθήσεται	κληθήσονται

We can see the same process at work in some μι conjugation verbs. Observe the forms of δίδωμι (future MP2 δοθήσομαι).

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	δοθήσομαι	δοθησόμεθα
2nd	δοθήσῃ	δοθήσεσθε
3rd	δοθήσεται	δοθήσονται

So, the distinction between MP1 and MP2 in the future tense is found in the way each verb forms its future tense stem. Most verbs simply at σ to the present tense stem (MP1), others, though, add (θ)η before the σ (MP2).

The θ is in parentheses because it is omitted after ν. The future MP of φαίνω, for example, is φανήσομαι, without θ.

The future middle infinitive ending is -σεσθαι. The future middle infinitive of εἰμί, for example, is ἔσεσθαι (to be at some future point), and the future middle infinitive of ἐισέρχομαι is εἰσελεύσεσθαι. In fact, these are the only two verbs that ever have a future middle infinitive in the New Testament!

Irregular Furture Forms

You should also remember that some verbs have irregular future tense stems. This was discussed in lesson 18. For this reason, it is important to learn the future tense stem when you learn any new verb. The future active indicative of λέγω is ἐρῶ (ἐρέω), for example, so its future middle (which does not appear in the Greek New Testament) was formed with the stem ἐρέ- and without the σ future indicator, producing ἐρῶμαι (ἐρέομαι). Similarly, the future of εὑρίσκω is formed with the stem εὐρέ-, not εὑρίσκ-, producing εὑρήσω (MP εὑρεθήσομαι).

Notice that while these verbs have irregular future tense stems, their endings are the same as for all other future middle forms.

The future middle infinitive

English does not have a future infinitive, but Ancient Greek did, though it was rarely used and only appears in the New Testament in the books of Acts and Hebrews and only with the verbs εἰμί (ἔσεσθαι) and εἰσέρχομαι (εἰσελεύσεσθαι). It was used to express a sense of expectation.

Guided Practice with MP1 Future Forms

[τίκτω = I bear (a child), give birth]

τέξεται δὲ υἱόν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν· (Matthew 1:21)

And she will bear a son, and call his name "Jesus".

We can tell that the sense here is middle voice because an explicit object of the verb τίκτω (τέξεται) is stated: υἱόν. She will not be born (passive). She will bear a son (middle). She will be directly affected by what she does. This is a middle voice meaning.
[ἀποβαίνειν = to turn, to depart, go away]
[μαρτύριον = witness, testimony; act of bearing witness, giving testimony]

Having just told his discuples they will be arrested and brought before authorities, Jesus adds:

ἀποβήσεται ὑμῖν εἰς μαρτύριον (Luke 21:13).

It will be turned for you into an opportunity to bear testimony.
For you it will be changed into an opportunity to give witness.

Notice that here the sense is pasive. The situation will not turn, it will be turned.
[καθαρός = clean, clear, pure]

μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ,(Matthew 5:8)

Blessed [are] the pure in heart.
Blessed are those whose heart is pure.

Do you remember the predicate adjective construction? The verb εἰμί is not needed here. μακάριοι οἱ καθαροί is sufficient to communicate what in English would be "Blessed are the pure" or "The pure are blessed."
[ὅτι = because, for]
[ὄψομαι is a form of ὁράω, a verb you saw first in lesson 12. The future stem of ὁράω is ὄπ-. When the σ future sign is added, it becomes ὄψ-.]

μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ,
ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται.

Blessed are the pure in heart
because they will see God.
The pure in heart are blessed,
for they will see God.

τί τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται; Who will see God?

οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ.

τί μακαριῶμαι ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται. Who will be blessed because they see God?

οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ.

This is typical of the use of middle voice forms (ὄψονται). The one who does the seeing is also the one who benefits from it.
[νέος, -η, -ον = new]

ὁ οἶνος ὁ νέος

the new wine
[ῥήσσω = I burst something]
[ὁ ἀσκός = leather bag, wine skin]

ῥήξει ὁ οἶνος ὁ νέος τοὺς ἀσκοὺς (Luke 5:37)

The new wine will burst the wineskins.

What form of ῥήσσω is ῥήξει? Hint: It is not a middle or passive form.
Do you remember the meaning of ἀπόλλυμι? If not, take a moment to review its meaning and forms.

καὶ οἱ ἀσκοὶ ἀπολοῦνται (Luke 5:37)

and the skins will be destroyed

Notice that the future middle form of ἀπόλλυμι, ἀπολοῦνται does not have the typical σ future marker. The reason for this is quite logical. The future stem of this verb is ἀπόλυ-. If we add the σ then the third person plural ending ονται we would get *ἀπόλυσονται, but remember that when σ would be intervocalic (located between two vowels) because of the placement of an ending, it is often omitted. That results in *ἀπόλυονται, and υ + ο contracts to οῦ, producing ἀπολοῦνται

Notice also that this MP1 form (ἀπολοῦνται) must be read as passive here. The wineskins do not destroy themselves. They are destroyed by the new wine. This is clear from the context of what is being said, not from the form itself.
ῥήξει ὁ οἶνος ὁ νέος τοὺς ἀσκοὺς ... καὶ οἱ ἀσκοὶ ἀπολοῦνται (Luke 5:37)

The new wine will burst the wineskins, ... and the wineskins will be destroyed.

Guided Practice with MP2 Future Forms

[In the following clause, tralslate αὐτός as "it".]
[ἐκχυννω = I pour out, spill]

καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκχυθήσεται (Luke 5:37)

and it will spill (middle voice)
and it will be spilled (passive voice)
ῥήξει ὁ οἶνος ὁ νέος τοὺς ἀσκοὺς καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκχυθήσεται (Luke 5:37)

The new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will spill.
The new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be spilled.

Notice that the difference between a middle and passive reading is purely a matter of interpretation here. There is nothing in the immediate context to make the choice for us. Does the wine spill (middle) or is the wine spilled (passive)?
ῥήξει ὁ οἶνος ὁ νέος τοὺς ἀσκοὺς καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκχυθήσεται καὶ οἱ ἀσκοὶ ἀπολοῦνται (Luke 5:37)

The new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will spill, and the wineskins will be destroyed.
The new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be spilled, and the wineskins will be destroyed.
[ἤ = or]

πᾶσα πόλις ἢ οἰκία

Every city or household
Any city or household

While these two phrases clearly do not mean the same in English, they are both acceptable translations of πᾶσα πόλις ἢ οἰκία in Greek. If you want to understand why, you can read the (rather long and tedious) entry on πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν in the Liddel and Scott lexicon at Perseus.com.
😂

Distinguishing ἡ from ἥ:
Notice the the article ἡ never has an accent mark. The conjunction ἥ (or) always has one.
[μερισθεῖσα is a participle of the verb μερίζω (I divide, separate). Translate it in the following phrase as "divided".]

πᾶσα πόλις ἢ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα

Every city or household divided
Every divided city or household
[καθ᾿ is a form of κατά (against)]
[ἑαυτοῦ, -ῆς = of itself, herself, himself, etc.]

πᾶσα πόλις ἢ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθ᾿ ἑαυτῆς

Every city or household divided against itself
Any city or household divided against itself
Do you remember the meaning of the verb ἵστημι? If not, take a moment now to review its meaning and forms.

πᾶσα πόλις ἢ οἰκία μερισθεῖσα καθ᾿ ἑαυτῆς οὐ σταθήσεται. (Matthew 12:25)

Every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
Any city or household divided against itself will not stand.

How do we know to translate σταθήσεται as middle (stand) rather than passive (be placed, be positioned, be stood upright)?

When ἵστημι has an object, it can be translated at "place something" or "stand something up," but here there is no object. When ἵστημι does not have an object, it's meaning is intransitive, and it cannot be interpreted as passive.
[τὸ σημεῖον = sign]

τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (Matthew 24:30)

The sign of the son of man
Do you remember the meaning of φαίνω? If not, take a moment to refresh your memory!

τότε φανήσεται τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν οὐρανῳ (Matthew 24:30)

Then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven.
Then the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky.

Notice that the stem of φαίνω ends with ν (a nasal consonant). This is why it's future MP form is spelled with the η but without the θ of the typical MP2 form.
καὶ σύ, Καφαρναούμ;

And you, Caperaum?
[ἕως = up to]
[ὑψόω = I lift someone or something up, I exalt someone or something]

ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ;

Will you be lifted up to heaven?
Will you be exalted to heaven?

How do we know to translate ὑψωθήσῃ as "you will be exalted" (passive) rather than "you will exalt" (middle)?

The verb ὑψόω implies an object. If we translate it as middle, "you will exalt someone" (and be directly affected by it), it will need an object: "You will exalt someone." But no object is provided here, so our most logical option is to treat it as passive, where the impled object becomes the subject: "you will be exalted." And in question form, that would be, "Will you be exalted?"
Do you remember the meaning of καταβαίνω? If not, take a moment to review it now.

ἕως ᾅδου καταβήσῃ.

You will go down to Hades.

Here the translation of καταβήσῃ is middle voice: "you will go down." The verb καταβαίνω never has an object, so its MP form is always interpreted as middle. There is never a logical object to become subject (passive).
Don't let the placement of μή (no, not) confuse you in the statement below. It indicates a negative answer to the question that follows it.

καὶ σύ, Καφαρναούμ, μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ; ἕως ᾅδου καταβήσῃ. (Matthew 11:23)

And you, Capernaum? Will you be exalted to Heaven? No. You will go down to Hades.
You won't be exalted to Heaven, will you Capernaum? You will go down to Hades.

Guided Practice with Lexical Middles

Remember that a lexical middle is a verb whose dictionary entry is an MP form because the verb never appears in the active voice.

[συμφωνήσωσιν is a subjunctive form. You will learn about these later. It is third person plural: "they potentially agree", "they might agree."]
[ἐάν is a clue that a subjunctive verb is coming! It is sometimes translated as "if", and sometimes left untranslated, depending on what the context requires.]

ἐὰν δύο συμφωνήσωσιν ἐξ ὑμῶν...

If two of you agree...

The use of the subjunctive form here indicates that it is not certain that the two will agree. It is only potential that they might. If they do, then...
ἐὰν δύο συμφωνήσωσιν ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

If two of you on earth agree...
[οὗ is a genitive singular relative pronoun: "of what", "of which", "concerning what", "concerning which".]
[Like συμφωνήσωσιν in the previous clause, αἰτήσωνται is a subjunctive form (from αἰτῶ/αἰτέω). It is third person plural: "they might ask".]

περὶ ... οὗ ἐὰν αἰτήσωνται

concerning ... what they might ask

Distinguishing οὗ from οὐ:
The negative indicator οὐ (no, not) never has an accent mark, but the relative pronoun οὗ (concerning which) always has one.
[Πάλιν = again]

Πάλιν λέγω ὑμῖν...

Again I say to you...
I tell you again...
Πάλιν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐὰν δύο συμφωνήσωσιν ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς περὶ ... οὗ ἐὰν αἰτήσωνται...

Again I say to you that if two of you on earth agree concerning ... what they might ask...
I tell you again that if two of you on earth agree ... on whatever they should ask...
[πᾶν πράγμα = every matter, topic, undertaking; any matter, topic, undertaking]

Πάλιν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐὰν δύο συμφωνήσωσιν ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς περὶ παντὸς πράγματος οὗ ἐὰν αἰτήσωνται,

Again I say to you that if two of you on earth agree concerning whatever matter which they might ask, ...
I tell you again that if two of you on earth agree on whatever thing they should ask, ...
Do you remember the meaning of γίνομαι? If not, take a moment now to review its meaning and forms.

[αὐτοῖς = to them, for them, on their behalf]

γενήσεται αὐτοῖς

It will happen to them (middle voice)
It will be done for them (passive voice)
γενήσεται αὐτοῖς παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου

It will be done for them by my father

Here the sense is made passive by the addition of the phrase παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου (by my father).
Πάλιν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐὰν δύο συμφωνήσωσιν ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς περὶ παντὸς πράγματος οὗ ἐὰν αἰτήσωνται, γενήσεται αὐτοῖς παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς. (Matthew 18:19)

Again I tell you that if two of you on earth agree concerning whatever matter which they might ask, it will be done for them by my father in heaven.

Vocabulary

Remember that if you know the present active, future active, aorist active, perfect active, perfect MP, and the aorist MP2 (if the verb has one) indicative first singular form of any verb, you can correctly identify all of its other forms. In traditional grammars, these six basic forms are called the principal parts of the verb.

Four of these six forms are given in the list below for each verb: the present active, future active, aorist active, and aorist MP2 form (if the verb has one). Where the perfect active and middle/passive forms traditionally go in the list, brackets [] are shown here if those forms exist. If they do not exist, an underscore (______) is shown in their place. You will learn the perfect active and perfect middle/passive in a future lesson. Forms that appear in gray are found in the wider Hellenistic literature, but not in the New Testament.

If no active voice form is found for a particular tense/aspect, a middle voice form is listed in its place if appropriate.

Τὰ ῥήματα τὰ νέα — New Verbs (Used in this lesson)

NT	Lexical Forms	English
59	συνάγω, συνάξω, συνήγαγον. _____, _____, συνήχθησαμαι	I gather something, bring some things together, compile a group of things
140	ζῶ (ζάω), ζήσω, ἔζησα, _____, _____, _____	I live
18	τίκτω, τέξομαι, ἔτεκον (ἔτεξα), _____, _____, ἐτέχθην	I bring someone into the world, I give birth to someone
4	ἀποβαίνω, ἀποβήσω, ἀπέβησα, _____, _____, _____	I turn (away from), go away, depart
6	ῥήσσω	I burst something, rip something apart, maul something or someone, treat something or someone violently
27	ἐκχυννω (ἐκχέω), ἐκχυῶ, _____, _____, ἐκκέχυμαι, ἐξεχύθην	I pour something out, spill, shed (blood) The variant form ἐκχέω contracts only when an ending with ει is added.
14	μερίζω, _____, ἐμέρισα, _____, μεμέρισμαι, ἐμερίσθην	I divide something, distribute something, assign someone or something (to a group or role)
20	ὑψῶ (ὑψόω), ὑψώσω, ὕψωσα, _____, _____, ὑψωθην	I lift someone or something up, I exalt someone or something Notice that the aorist form, ὕψωσα has no augment. Verbs beginning with υ or ι do not add an augment to form their aorist stem.
6	συμφωνῶ (συμφωνέω), συμφωνήσω, συνεφώνησα, _____, _____, συνεφωνήθην	I agree with someone

Practice with New Verbs

Τὰ ὀνόματα καὶ ἐπίθετa τὰ νέα — New Nouns and Adjectives (Used in this lesson)

NT	Lexical Forms	English
27	καθαρός, -ά, -όν	clean, pure (When used substantivally, purity)
24	νέος, -η, -ον	new, young
12	ἀσκός, -οῦ, ὁ	leather bag, wine skin
77	σημεῖον, -ου, τό	sign, mark, token, indication In John's Gospel, the miracles are called σημεῖα.
11	πράγμα, πράγματος, τό	deed, action, thing

Ἄλλα λέξεις νέα — Other New Words (Used in this lesson)

NT	Lexical Forms	English
1296	ὅτι	that, because The conjunction ὅτι often marks the beginning of a quote. When it is used this way it is left untranslated.
343	ἤ	or, either; ἤ. . . ἤ = either . . . or; In comparisons, ἤ = than.
146	ἕως	up to, as far as, when The preposition ἕως is never added as a prefix to a verb, so it is classified as an improper preposition in traditional grammars.
1042	μή	no, not, εἰ μή = except μή is equivalent to οὐ, but used with moods other than the indicative or in questions.
350	ἐάν	if (when translated) ἐάν is equivalent to εἰ, but used primarily with moods other than the indicative. It is a combination of εἰ + ἀν ὅς ἐάν = whoever, whatever ὅπου ἐάν = wherever
141	πάλιν	again, once more, etc.

Οἱ λόγοι ἀνασκοπεῖν - Review Vocabulary

NT	Lexical Forms	English
154	ἵστημι	I put something somewhere, place something, stand something up
31	φαίνω	I appear, shine
454	ὁράω	I see something, look at something
90	ἀπόλλυμι	I destroy something, kill someone, lose something; middle voice: I die.
81	καταβαίνω	I go down, step down, dismount a horse
669	γίνομαι, γενήσομαι, ἐγενόμην, γέγονα, γεγένημαι, ἐγενήθην	I become something, I am born; 3rd person: something happens

Practice with Review Vocabulary

Look at the pictures below. Drag the words to the picture that seems most appropriate. After you have placed all six words, click "Check".

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Lesson 24: Future Middle and Passive

The Lesson at a Glance