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ADULTERY |
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ADULTERY #2 THE PRESENT TENSE EXAMPLES FROM NON-BIBLICAL SOURCES In our first study of the word "adultery" we examined the root itself, avoiding tense altogether. And, we learned from the agent noun "adulterer" and from the abstract noun "adultery" that the word was understood by those who spoke the Greek language as something that could be committed either once or a number of times. This is obvious in the passages examined. In Matthew 19:9 and Mark 10:11, 12 the statement is made by the Lord that a man or woman who puts away his/her companion and marries another "commits adultery". The question before us has to do with the continuance or non-continuance of that adultery. Did the Lord mean that such persons commit adultery only once? or is the adultery mentioned a continuous thing? MOOD To examine this matter, we need to review the subject of mood. "Mood (or mode) indicates the manner in which the action is conceived." (Plain English Handbook, J. Marilyn & Anna Walsh, McCormick-Mathers Pub. Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, 1972) There are four modes in Greek (Robertson, Short Grammar, p. 306), the Indicative, the Subjunctive, the Optative, and the Imperative. 1. The Indicative is simply a statement of fact, a real thing. "The car was destroyed" is a simple statement of fact, an account of something that happened. 2. The Subjunctive on the other hand presents the sentence as an hypothesis. "If the car should be destroyed, I would have to pay for it", is a hypothetical situation. It has not actually occurred, but it might possibly happen. 3. The Optative is still further removed from reality. "I could wish his new car were destroyed" contemplates something which is neither real nor likely but only wished for. 4. The Imperative, as the name implies, is a commandment. "Destroy the car". The present tense may be used with any of these four moods, and when it is so used, it represents that action as being continuous. Apart from the moods, verbs may also take the form of participle or infinitive. Participles and Infinitives that are in the present tense stress the durative or continuous nature of the verb's action. This character of the present tense is a firmly established principle of Greek grammar. And, when the present tense was combined with the recognized meaning of the word used, the Greeks had no problem in making themselves understood, even in the Indicative mood. The present tense in the Indicative mood could, however, express "point" action. Instances of the "aoristic present" are very rare by comparison with ordinary presents, but they did exist, and this has provided the opportunity for the present controversy on whether adultery is a continuous or a single action. We shall study the aoristic present later. Let it be noted, however, that it is only in the Indicative mode where this ambiguity occurs. The Subjunctive, the Optative, the Imperative are untouched by this problem. The Participle and the Infinitive alike are very clear as to the matter of grammatical "progress". "No such ambiguity exists in the other modes". (Robertson, Short Grammar, pp. 297-298. Also, p. 374, sect. 456 and p. 380, sect. 460 c) And so, we are using examples that avoid the Indicative mood so that we can see what the moich- group implied. We have already learned from the nouns, that adultery was viewed as repeated action. We shall now see the confirmation of that fact through instances using the present tense. SOME EXAMPLES Please notice the following examples taken from non-Biblical sources: Josephus (Antiquities XVI, 296) tells of the Arabian King, Aretas, who brought accusation against Syllaeus who was "committing adultery with" (moicheuonta -- present Participle) the Arabian women. Aristotle (Nich. Eth. 1130a 25) speaks of the man who commits adultery to make a profit. The profiting is continuous (present infinitive), therefore the verb "commit adultery", here found in the Present Indicative, is also continuous. Aristophanes (Pax 980). "And do not act as the women who commit adultery (present participle) are doing." Basil, (Letter XLVI) writes to a nun who had forsaken her vow and moved in with her lover. He uses the present participle (moicheuomenen) to describe the continuous life of adultery that she was living. And several passages from Epictetus deserve our attention: Book IV, ch. VIII, 13: "When you know of a carpenter who is committing adultery (moicheuonta -- present participle) do you say, 'That's the way carpenters are'? No, it is only philosophers that you treat that way." Book II, ch. 10, 13. "What does the adulterer (present participle) destroy? His self-respect, his self control", etc. The adulterer degenerates because of his continued immorality. He becomes a changed man. Book IV, ch. IX, 12 & 14. The writer urges his friend to stop living an indecent life. He uses the present infinitive (moicheuein) to describe the continuous acts of adultery. In section 14, he exhorts, "And first of all condemn the things you are doing". And finally, this example from Xenophon (Hellenica, Book I, ch. VI, 15). Callicratidas was a Spartan admiral who claimed to be the absolute ruler of the seas. Colon, an Athenian, was his rival. Callicratidas sends word to Colon that he intends to put a stop to Colon's "unlawful mastery and enjoyment" (moichonta -- present participle) of Callicratidas' bride, the sea. We cite these examples to give additional support to the almost universally held belief that adultery can be, and usually is, a continuous thing. The contexts of these and many other passages clearly demonstrate this. The present tense corroborates it. And, the two combined place the matter beyond doubt. The present tense in Greek refers not to present time but to a continuation of the action expressed by the verb used. Only in the Indicative mood does the present tense also indicate present time. And, even there it also denotes continuous action except in rare instances. CONCLUSION We have seen first that the circumstances surrounding the use of the moich- group compel us to understand that adultery can be continuous. The context makes it clear. And, those disputed uses of the moich- group which are in the Present Indicative must be construed in a manner consistent with this universal usage of the term by the Greek writers. Furthermore, the present tense, especially in the infinitive and participle, and in moods other than the Indicative, gives indisputable testimony to the fact that "adultery" was used to describe continuous action. The Present Indicative strongly suggests this, but moich- in the other moods and in the participle or infinitive can be understood no other way. |