Lesson 1

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Lesson 2

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Lesson 3

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Lesson 4

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Lesson 5

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Lesson 6

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Lesson 7

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Lesson 8

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Lesson 9

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Contrary to what we might have guessed, it is thought that the Passive voice developed after the Middle Voice. (Robertson, p. 798; Zerwick, p. 72) However, because the Passive Voice can be described more simply, we will discuss it first.

Remember that Voice has to do with the relationship of a verb and its subject. In the active voice, the subject performs the action. In the passive voice, the subject is the recipient of the action.

In Level I, Lesson 2, we considered the following two sentences:

The bull tramples the ground.

The ground is trampled by the bull

In the first sentence, the subject is "bull" and the bull is actively trampling. The verb "tramples" is in the Active voice.

In the second sentence, the subject is "ground" and the ground is passively being trampled. The verb "is trampled" is in the Passive voice.

In the indicative mood, the passive endings for the primary tenses are the following:

	singular			plural
1st person	μαι			μεθα
2nd person	σαι			σθε
3rd person	ται			νται

In the Present tense, a variable vowel precedes the ending, connecting it to the stem. In the 2nd person singular, this variable vowel, or connecting vowel, combines with the ending in a contracted form.

The Present Passive Indicative is formed using the first principle part as follows:

 

stem + variable vowel + primary passive ending

 

add the primary passive ending...

	λυ μαι		λυ μεθα
	λυ σαι		λυ σθε
	λυ ται		λυ νται

...insert the variable vowel, ο before μ or ν, otherwise ε

	λυ ο μαι		λυ ο μεθα
	λυ ε σαι		λυ ε σθε
	λυ ε ται		λυ ο νται

...In the 2nd person singular, the σ drops out, the ε and α combine to form η and the ι drops to a subscript...

	λυ ομαι		λυ ομεθα
	λυ ῃ		λυ εσθε
	λυ εται		λυ ονται

 

This is the conjugation of the present passive indicative of λύω

	singular			plural
1st person	λύομαι	I am loosed		λυόμεθα	we are loosed
2nd person	λύῃ	you are loosed		λύεσθε	you (pl.) are loosed
3rd person	λύεται	he, she, it is loosed		λύονται	they are loosed

 

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The Perfect Passive Indicative is formed using the fifth principle part.

This is the conjugation of the perfect passive indicative of λύω

	singular			plural
1st person	λέλυμαι	I have been loosed		λελύμεθα	we have been loosed
2nd person	λέλυσαι	you have been loosed		λέλυσθε	you (pl.) have been loosed
3rd person	λέλυται	he, she, it has been loosed		λέλυνται	they have been loosed

Notice that that the Perfect Passive does not use the variable vowel, and also notice that the 2nd person singular form is not contracted.

 

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The Future Passive Indicative is formed using the sixth principle part.

You have learned several characteristic stem terminations which you should now learn to associate with the various principle parts. In the chart below, notice that θη is characteristic of the 6th principle part. The characteristic stem terminations are not always present for a given principle part. For example, 2nd Aorist active verbs do not have the σ of the 3rd principle part (though they may have the α), 2nd perfect actives do not have the κ of the 4th principle part, and 2nd Aorist Passive Verbs do not have the θ of the 6th principle part. Instead of having these stem terminations, the stems of 2nd Aorists, 2nd Perfects and 2nd Pluperfects have internal changes. Still, it will be very helpful to think of the principle parts as being characterized by the highlighted letters.

principle part	λύω	λύσω	ἔλυσα	λέλυκα	λέλυμαι	ἐλύθην
Tense Voice	Present Act Mid Pass Imperfect Act Mid Pass	Future Act Mid σ	Aorist Act Mid σα	Perfect Act κα Pluperfect Act κει	Perfect Mid Pass no variable vowel Pluperfect Mid Pass no variable vowel	Aorist Pass θη Future Pass θησ

This is the conjugation of the future passive indicative of λύω

	singular			plural
1st person	λυθήσομαι	I shall be loosed		λυθησόμεθα	we shall be loosed
2nd person	λυθήσῃ	you will be loosed		λυθήσεσθε	you (pl.) will be loosed
3rd person	λυθήσεται	he, she, it will be loosed		λυθήσονται	they will be loosed

Notice that that the Future Passive, like the Future Active, appends the σ to the stem. Notice also that as in the Present Passive, the 2nd person singular form is contracted.

When the middle voice is used the subject is performing the action, but is also involved in some further way in that action. The subject may both perform and receive the action, or may perform the action on his own behalf, or in some other way be more intimately involved in the action.

Perhaps the easiest way to think of the middle voice is as a reflexive: Judas
"hanged himself" (ἀπήγξατο, aor. middle ind. of ἀπάγχω; Mt. 27:5).

Consider the idea of guarding, i.e., protecting, someone from something. In 1 Jn. 5:21, "guard yourselves" represents an active verb and a reflexive pronoun.

φυλάξατε ἑαυτὰ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων.

guard yourselves from the idols.

Compare this with Luke 12:15 where the same idea is expressed using the middle voice:

φυλάσσεσθε ἀπὸ πάσης πλεονεξίας

guard yourselves from all covetousness.

These examples may seem to suggest that the middle voice can be explained as merely reflexive. But its significance is generally a bit more subtle than that, and in fact, varies from verb to verb and even from context to context. Robertson said,

"The only difference between the active and middle voices is that the middle calls especial attention to the subject. In the active voice the subject is merely acting; in the middle the subject is acting in relation to himself somehow. What this precise relation is the middle voice does not say. That must come out of the context or from the significance of the verb itself." (Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, p. 804)

In some verbs, the middle voice seems to mean get something done to/for oneself or get oneself in some condition. For example, in Luke 2:3 (also vs. 1 and vs. 5), "and everyone was going to get himself enrolled (ἀπογράφεσθαι, pres. middle inf. of ἀπογράφω) each one unto his own city." The idea is not merely active - they were not simply enrolling someone (else). Nor is the idea merely passive. They were not being enrolled without some effort on their part. But it seems to me that "enroll themselves" also fails to convey exactly the right idea. Just as one doesn't vaccinate himself, but instead, gets vaccinated, they didn't enroll themselves. They were getting enrolled, or we could say, getting themselves enrolled.

In 1 Cor. 6:11, it is interesting to note that in the triad washed, sanctified, justified, the first term is middle while the last two are passive. The sanctification and justification are accomplished by God. But in the washing, there is both the activity of the one who is baptized and the spiritual cleansing that is accomplished by the Lord. Therefore, Paul writes, "you got yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified." He doesn't say, you washed (active), nor you were washed (passive), nor you washed yourselves (active verb with a reflexive pronoun), but you got yourselves washed (ἀπελούσασθε, aor. middle ind. 2nd pers. pl. of ἀπολούω).

In the primary tenses, the middle endings are identical to the passive endings:

	singular			plural
1st person	μαι			μεθα
2nd person	σαι			σθε
3rd person	ται			νται

This is the conjugation of the present middle indicative of λύω

	singular			plural
1st person	λύομαι	I loose [for/to/etc.] myself		λυόμεθα	we loose [for/to/etc.] ourselves
2nd person	λύῃ	you loose [for/to/etc.] yourself		λύεσθε	you (pl.) loose [for/to/etc.] yourselves
3rd person	λύεται	he, she, it looses [for/to/etc.] --self		λύονται	they loose [for/to/etc.] themselves

The Present Middle is identical in form to the Present Passive.

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This is the conjugation of the perfect middle indicative of λύω

	singular			plural
1st person	λέλυμαι	I have loosed [for/to/etc.] myself		λελύμεθα	we have loosed [for/to/etc.] ourselves
2nd person	λέλυσαι	you have loosed [for/to/etc.] yourself		λέλυσθε	you (pl.) have loosed [for/to/etc.] yourselves
3rd person	λέλυται	he, she, it has loosed [for/to/etc.] --self		λέλυνται	they have loosed [for/to/etc.] themselves

The Perfect Middle is identical in form to the Perfect Passive. There is no the variable vowel and the 2nd person singular form is not contracted.

 

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Unlike the Future Passive, the Future Middle Indicative is formed using the 2nd principle part. Accordingly, it lacks the θη that characterizes the Future Passive. Its formation is predictable, using the σ that characterizes the 2nd principle part and the primary middle/passive endings that we have learned.

This is the conjugation of the future middle indicative of λύω

	singular			plural
1st person	λύσομαι	I shall loose [for/to/etc.] myself		λυσόμεθα	we shall loose [for/to/etc.] ourselves
2nd person	λύσῃ	you will loose [for/to/etc.] yourself		λύσεσθε	you (pl.) will loose [for/to/etc.] yourselves
3rd person	λύσεται	he, she, it will loose [for/to/etc.] --self		λύσονται	they will loose [for/to/etc.] themselves

Notice that the 2nd person singular form is contracted.

Many verbs have middle or passive forms that will often be translated into English using active voice verbs. An example is ἔρχομαι, I come, I go.

Traditionally, these have been called deponent verbs. The word deponent is from the Latin deponere = to lay aside. This term suggests that the middle or passive meaning was laid aside for these particular verbs even though the middle or passive form was used. However, for many of these so-called deponent verbs, it may well be that the Greek speaker really had a perspective on the action that made a middle voice appropriate, even though in modern English we would tend to describe the action using an active voice.

In any event, these are usually verbs for which no active form is found in the Greek New Testament. For now, we will refer to these verbs in the traditional way. That is, we will call them deponent verbs for the sake of convenience and consistency with the terminology found in most beginning grammars.

Some verbs are said to be deponent in one tense, but not in another. The verb γινώσκω is Present Active Indicative. But the future indicative is γνώσομαι. We will translate this I shall know even though it is middle in form. Another example is the verb to be. We have already learned the Present Active Indicative, εἰμί. The future is conjugated as follows:

	singular			plural
1st person	ἔσομαι	I will be		ἐσόμεθα	we shall be
2nd person	ἔσῃ	you will be		ἔσεσθε	you (pl.) will be
3rd person	ἔσται	he, she, it will be		ἔσονται	they will be

οἶδα (I know) is 2nd perfect in form but is used with a present meaning. ᾔδειν (I was knowing) is 2nd pluperfect in form but is used with an imperfect meaning. The conjugations are as follows:

 

	singular			plural
1st person	οἶδα	I know		οἴδαμεν	we know
2nd person	οἶδας	you know		οἴδατε	you (pl.) know
3rd person	οἶδε(ν)	he, she, it knows		οἴδασι	they know

 

	singular			plural
1st person	ᾔδειν	I was knowing		ᾔδειμεν	we were knowing
2nd person	ᾔδεις	you were knowing		ᾔδειτε	you (pl.) were knowing
3rd person	ᾔδει	he, she, it was knowing		ᾔδεισαν	they were knowing

Review the discussion of cases in Lesson 3, Level I. Study the table relating 8 functions to 5 forms, giving particular attention to the different functions of the dative case.

Some text books will refer to the Instrumental function as the Dative of Means. Those who refer to 8 cases, using the term case to refer to different functions, call it the Instrumental case. In form, it is no different than what you have already learned as the dative case. But its function is to indicate the means by which something is done, especially an impersonal means by which something is done.

Observe the dative nouns in the following examples. In each example, the dative noun indicates the means by which something is done. No preposition is required in Greek to express an idea that will be represented in English using the words by or with.

τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι Eph 2:8
for by grace you have been saved*

τῷ δακτύλῳ κατέγραφεν εἰς τὴν γῆν Jn. 8:6
with the finger he drew in the dirt

ἔγραψα τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί Gal 6:11
I wrote with my hand

εἶπεν μεγάλῃ φωνῇ Ac 14:10
he said with a loud voice

Notice that impersonal does not preclude the activity of a person. Rather it means the specific means is attributed to a thing, whether some tool or some abstract idea, or even some part of the body such as a finger, hand, or voice.

Contrast the Instrumental dative with the use of ὑπό and the genitive case, whereby the agency indicated is usually personal. Consider the following examples:

ἐβαπτίσθη εἰς τὸν Ἰορδάνην ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου Mk. 1:9
he was baptized in the Jordan by John

οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἐξουσία εἰ μὴ ὑπὸ θεοῦ Ro. 13:1
for there is no power if not by God

When positioned immediately preceding a word with an initial vowel, several prepositions with final vowels experience elision. That is, the final vowel of the preposition is dropped as the preposition is pronounced closely with the following word. Consider the following examples, and also notice that again in these passages, personal agency is indicated:

ἐβαπτίζοντο ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ ποταμῷ Mk. 1:5
they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River

οὗτος ἔγνωσται ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ 1 Co. 8:3
this one has been known by him

Note that ὑπό is not used exclusively for personal agency, as is illustrated in Mt. 11:7 (ὑπὸ ἀνέμου = by wind) and James 1:14 (ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας = by his own desire).

 

* This is an example of a periphrastic construction, a circumlocution whereby a verbal idea is expressed using a combination of verbs, often a form of εἰμί combined with a participle. In this example, ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι, you are having been saved, can be translated more idiomatically in English, "you have been saved."