Copyright © 2018 Michael Todd Graham Jr
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Copyright © 2018 Michael Todd Graham Jr. All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. THE DISCOURSE FUNCTION OF KOINE GREEK VERB FORMS IN NARRATIVE: TESTING CURRENT PROPOSALS IN THE BOOK OF JUDITH __________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________ by Michael Todd Graham Jr. May 2018 APPROVAL SHEET THE DISCOURSE FUNCTION OF KOINE GREEK VERB FORMS IN NARRATIVE: TESTING CURRENT PROPOSALS IN THE BOOK OF JUDITH Michael Todd Graham Jr. Read and Approved by: ______________________________________ Robert L. Plummer (Chair) ______________________________________ Peter J. Gentry ______________________________________ Duane A. Garrett Date____________________________ To Lisa, my wife and gift from God, and Lydia, Michael Todd, Ethan, Peter Jeremiah, and Miriam, our precious children. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. vi PREFACE ............................................................................................................. vii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Thesis ..................................................................................................... 1 History of Research ................................................................................. 2 Greek Grammar beginning with G. B. Winer .................................... 2 Greek Grammar in the First Half of the Twentieth Century............... 5 Greek Grammar and the Influence of Linguistics .............................. 6 Greek Grammar and the Impact of Verbal Aspect ........................... 11 Approaches to The Study of Greek Grammar in the Fourth Shift ............ 15 Traditional Approach ............................................................................. 16 Aspect Primary Approach....................................................................... 22 2. THE DISCOURSE PRIMARY APPROACH AND THE INDICATIVE VERB IN JUDITH ........................................................................................... 29 Discourse Primary Approach .................................................................. 29 Methodology ......................................................................................... 43 Scope of Study ............................................................................... 43 Approach of Study ......................................................................... 45 Corpus of Study ............................................................................. 46 iv Chapter Page 3. THE DISCOURSE FUNCTION OF THE IMPERFECT AND AORIST INDICATIVE WITHIN THE BOOK OF JUDITH ........................................... 52 The Imperfect Indicative in Judith .......................................................... 59 The Aorist Indicative in Judith ............................................................... 70 Concluding Analysis .............................................................................. 83 4. THE DISCOURSE FUNCTION OF THE PRESENT INDICATIVE WITHIN THE BOOK OF JUDITH .................................................................. 85 The Present Indicative in Judith ............................................................. 89 Concluding Analysis ............................................................................ 100 5. THE DISCOURSE FUNCTION OF THE PERFECT INDICATIVE WITHIN THE BOOK OF JUDITH ................................................................ 102 The Perfect Indicative in Judith ............................................................ 109 Concluding Analysis ............................................................................ 123 6. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 125 Appendix 1. SYNTHESIS OF POSITIONS ........................................................................ 131 2. USE OF AORIST AND IMPERFECT INDICATIVE IN THE SEPTUAGINT ............................................................................................... 134 3. USE OF PRESENT INDICATIVE IN THE SEPTUAGINT ........................... 137 4. USE OF PERFECT INDICATIVE IN THE SEPTUAGINT ............................ 140 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................ 143 v LIST OF TABLES Table Page A1. Function of indicative verb-forms in narrative ........................................ 131 A2. Use of aorist and imperfect indivative in the Septuagint ......................... 134 A3. Use of present indicative in the Septuagint ............................................ 137 A4. Use of perfect indicative in the Septuagint ............................................. 140 vi PREFACE The completion of this dissertation is a testimony to the grace of God manifested in a host of people in my life. While there is not enough space to mention each person by name, my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude as I reflect upon the kindness that God has displayed to me through so many people. Nonetheless, while I cannot thank everyone by name, some individuals and groups must be acknowledged. First, I want to express my appreciation to my committee— Professors Robert L. Plummer, Peter J. Gentry, and Duane A. Garrett—for the careful reading and keen insights they have provided. Thank you, Professor Gentry, for the many years of instruction in Greek and Hebrew. The discipline and tools that I acquired in your seminars have been fundamental in this project, particularly the instruction you provided in your Septuagint seminar. Further, I want to thank you for the careful reading, comments, and direction you provided on each chapter throughout the entirety of this process. The production of this dissertation is in large part a result of your expert guidance. Thanks is also due to Professor Garrett for his insistence on clarity and precision in the execution of my thesis. This has greatly enhanced the style and argumentation of this project. I am especially grateful for Professor Plummer, my doctoral supervisor. Thank you for suggesting this project and for guiding me throughout this long process. Your helpful and keen insights have protected me from many costly errors. I would not be writing this preface to my dissertation if it were not for your kindness, wisdom, and support. For this, I am forever grateful. I also thank Dr. Steven Runge for the foundational comments and direction he provided at the beginning of this project. A note of thanks is also due to Marcus Leman and Joseph Habib for vii generously helping me with the formatting of this dissertation. Thanks and gratitude are due to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for its commitment to excellence in academics and insistence that all faculty model the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been shaped in innumerable ways throughout my time at Southern Seminary. It is also necessary to give thanks to Clifton Baptist Church for the congregation’s care and support during our time in Louisville. The friendships formed, the ethos of the congregation, and the leadership of Clifton will continue to impact me for years to come. I would also like to thank my wife and our children. Lisa, you are a gift, a treasure, and a demonstration of the abundance of God’s grace in my life. You have walked with me through this long journey, providing me with encouragement and support all along the way. Words cannot express my love for you. Lydia, Michael, Ethan, Peter, and Miriam, you have been a continuous source of joy in my life. I love you all. This dissertation is a result of the immeasurable grace God has shown in my life, most notably through bringing me to faith in his promised messiah, Jesus. May the grace of God and power of his spirit radiate from my life and work, for his glory and for the furtherance of his gospel. Michael T. Graham Jr. Louisville, Kentucky May 2018 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The objective of this dissertation is to test major theories on the discourse function of the Greek indicative verb-forms in narrative. Since the publication of Stanley Porter and Buist Fanning’s doctoral dissertations, verbal aspect has been a major area of research among scholars. Although there is still significant debate concerning the aspect of the perfect verb-forms, the function of the historical present, and whether or not the indicative Greek verb-forms semantically encode time, there is a growing consensus among scholars that discourse grammar can provide answers to questions such as these, questions that have been debated for the last 25 years.1 Nonetheless, a major question still begs to be answered: whether their answers can satisfactorily account for the variety of verb-forms throughout historical narrative outside of the New Testament.2 Therefore, this dissertation will seek to address this question, testing current proposals on the discourse function of Greek indicative verb-forms within the narrative of Judith. Thesis The thesis of this dissertation is that the recent proposals on the discourse function of the Greek indicative verb-forms within