Verbal Aspect Theory and the Prohibitions in the Greek New Testament

Douglas S. Huffman (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) serves as Professor and Associate Dean of Biblical and Theological Studies at the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he teaches courses in New Testament and Greek. His research interests include Luke-Acts, worldview and apologetics, and New Testament Greek. Huffman is author of several scholarly articles in books and journals, co-editor of God Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents God (2002), contributing editor of How Then Should We Choose? Three Views on God’s Will and Decision Making (2009), and contributing editor of Christian Contours: How a Biblical Worldview Shapes the Mind and Heart (2011).

• Contents: The Aktionsart View of Greek Prohibitions: «Stop doing that.» vs. «Do not start that.» – The Failures of the Aktionsart View: Verb Tense-Forms ≠ Kind of Action – Verbal Aspect Theory & Greek Prohibitions: «Do not be doing that.» vs. «Do not do that.» – The Successes of a Verbal Aspect View: Verb Tense-Forms ≈ Author’s Perspective – The Negated Present Tense Prohibitions – The Negated Aorist Tense Prohibitions – Prohibitions Using Other Negated Verb Constructions – Prohibitions Using Negated Dependent Clause Constructions – Lexical Prohibitions: «Refrain from that.» – Prohibitory Emulation Statements: «We do not do that.» – Prohibitory Questions: «Why are you doing that?» – Warnings & Promises as Prohibitions: «Those who do that will be punished.» – Other Negative Expressions as Prohibitions: «No, don’t!» – Conclusion: Summary & Prospects.