Koine Greek: Periphrasis

Synopsis: Periphrasis is a grammatical term that, in Koine Greek is used to describe the use of the verb to be plus a participle, rather than use an inflected verb alone. For example ακουοντες ησαν in Galatians 1:23 is translated as they were hearing

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Related topics

• Koine Greek: Participles

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Periphrasis is a grammatical term that, in Koine Greek is used to describe the use of the verb to be plus a participle, rather than use an inflected verb alone. For example ακουοντες ησαν in Galatians 1:23 is translated as they were hearing; the word ησαν (they were) is an unnecessary additional word that does not change the meaning.

There are 4 uses of periphrasis in Koine Greek

1. Imperfect Periphrastic
2. Future Periphrastic
3. Perfect Periphrastic
4. Pluperfect Periphrastic

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