The Greek Perfect Tense in the Gospel of Mark and the Epistle to the Romans

This book challenges Porter's interpretation of the Greek perfect in the New Testament, arguing that the perfect is used in the NT to indicate a present state that results from anterior activity and functions as background for main events or themes.

The Greek Perfect Tense in the Gospel of Mark and the Epistle to the Romans is designed to resolve the confusion that has resulted from Stanley Porter's understanding of the use of Greek perfect tense. For Porter, the perfect tense functions as a third level of "frontground" which denotes the highest prominence on a discourse. Porter has argued that the perfect tense is chosen to deliver a present state, disregarding anterior activity. This book supports the validity of a traditional understanding of the Greek perfect tense, which is rooted in a dual feature. The author argues that the perfect tense is chosen to indicate a present state that results from anterior activity and functions as background for main events or themes. The author formulates three rules to discuss the function of the Greek perfect tense in Mark and Romans. Through the discussion of the perfect tense using these rules, the author finds it appropriate to interpret all the Greek perfects in Mark and Romans in light of the perfect's inherent dual feature. This book should prove useful for seminary students, pastors, or scholars who are struggling with how to interpret the Greek perfect tense in the New Testament.

Autorentext

Soon Ki Hong earned her PhD in New Testament studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. She was a former Greek teacher at Torch Trinity Graduate University in Seoul, and is now a professor of New Testament at the Southern Reformed Theological College and Seminary in Houston.

Inhalt

List of Tables and Diagrams Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Brief Understanding of the Greek Verb from Traditional to Modern Views An Evaluation of Porter's Markedness and Grounding with Prominence for the Perfect Tense Form The Traditional Understanding of the Perfect, Compared with Porter's Approach The Perfect Tense in Mark The Perfect Tense in Romans Conclusion Index of biblical references Index of Greek terms Index