Three Tenses of the Participle

Lesson 21 gave you the present participle — ongoing action. This lesson adds two more aspects:

• Aorist participle — undefined/perfective aspect. Often action prior to the main verb. Morpheme: -σαντ- (act), -σαμεν- (mid), -θεντ- (pass).
• Perfect participle — completed action with abiding result. Morpheme: reduplication + -κοτ- (act) or -μεν- (mid/pass).

Mastering all three tenses unlocks the vast majority of NT participial forms.

Common Deponent θη-Forms

Ask: does the context make passive sense (someone else acting on the subject)? Or is it a self-initiated action?

Context is always your guide.

Aorist Ptcp = Antecedent Action

An adverbial aorist participle typically describes action completed before the main verb.

"Having X-ed, [subject] main-verbed."

Aorist participle = prior action; present participle = simultaneous action. Tendency, not iron law — aspect is constant; absolute time varies with context.

Two Perfect Participles in One Verse

"The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with strips of cloth."

• τεθνηκως = perfect active ptcp of θνησκω. "The one who has died" / "the dead man." State of having died abides.
• δεδεμενος = perfect mid/pass ptcp of δεω. "Having been bound."
• Lazarus walks out still wearing his burial wrappings — completed death and completed binding both visually and grammatically present.

How to Parse Any Participle

1. Is there reduplication? → Perfect.
2. No reduplication — is there an aorist σ formative (-σαντ-, -σαμεν-) or θ passive morpheme (-θεντ-)? → Aorist.
3. Neither → Present.

Then check voice:

• -οντ-/-ουσ- → pres active
• -ομεν- → pres mid/pass
• -αντ-/-ασ- → aor active
• -σαμεν- → aor middle
• -θεντ-/-εντ- → aor passive
• -κοτ-/-κυι- → perf active
• -μεν- + reduplication → perf mid/pass

2nd Aorist + Present Participles

"And coming near, Jesus spoke to them, saying..."

• προσελθων = 2nd aor act ptcp of προσερχομαι. Adverbial, temporal, prior to ελαλησεν.
• λεγων = present act ptcp. Simultaneous with the speaking.
• Sequence: approach (prior) → spoke (main) — with continuous saying. Crisp grammatical layering.

Periphrastic Perfect

The construction ειμι + perfect participle expresses the perfect's double force more emphatically than the perfect indicative alone.

Lesson 22 Vocabulary

Why Paul's Greek Is Dense

Paul's letters contain some of the densest participial chains in ancient Greek literature. Understanding this is key to reading Pauline theology.

• Eph 1:3–14 — a single Greek sentence of nearly 200 words, theological content carried almost entirely by participial phrases stacked around the main verb ευλογητος.
• Phil 2:5–11 — Incarnation, death, exaltation through a sequence of participles surrounding two aorist indicative main verbs.
• Col 1:21–22 — perfect participle (απηλλοτριωμενοι) holds the old condition; aorist indicative announces the new.

By packing theological content into participial subordination, Paul keeps the main assertion clear while loading the surrounding clauses with doctrinal content. Reading Paul without participles means reading him at a severe discount.