Mood optative¶
Glossary [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]¶
The Optative mood indicates that the speaker is referring to a verbal action as a contingent possibility (even less assured than the subjunctive mood) (e.g., he might eat).
Example – V-MO-1
μηκέτι |
εἰς |
τὸν |
αἰῶνα |
ἐκ |
σοῦ |
μηδεὶς |
καρπὸν |
φάγοι |
mēketi |
eis |
ton |
aiōna |
ek |
sou |
mēdeis |
karpon |
phagoi |
no longer |
into |
the |
ages |
from |
you |
no one |
fruit |
may eat |
May no one any longer eat fruit from you to eternity!
Article [Under Construction]¶
The Optative mood is the mood of wishing, remote possibility, or expressing a contingent possibility.
The Indicative Mood portrays an action as a reality.
The Subjunctive Mood portrays action as possible or probable.
In contrast, the Optative Mood portrays action a step further from reality–in this case, as a wish, or to express a remote, or contingent possibility.
The optative mood can also be used to express a prayer or make a request. [See also #3 in the Imperative Overview ]
This article will explore the following uses of the Optative Mood:
Voluntative Optative – is used to express an obtainable wish or a polite request
Including an expression of abhorrence at a particular action(or negative wish)
To express a prayer
Deliberative Optative – is used when there is an expression of doubt in the mind of the speaker (if it were possible).
Potential Optative – usually with an expression of condition.
The Optative mood is infrequently used. In fact, it only occurs 68 times in the Greek New Testament. 15 out of 17 times (or 22%) γένοιτο is used in the phrase μὴ γένοιτο [“May it never be!]. As such, it could be restricted to an expression of abhorrence.
The most frequently used Optative is the Voluntative.
It is often used to express the desire of one’s heart (a wish) that he or she views as obtainable. [See Voluntative Optative Example V-MO- 13]
It is frequently used negatively to express abhorrence or repulsiveness of the thought. It is an expression of a negative wish that this would not be the case. The modern-day equivalent would probably be something like “Perish the thought!,” or “No! Never!”, or “It can’t be!” “μὴ γένοιτο” is often translated with expressions such as “May it never be!”, or “Heaven forbid!,” or “Far be the thought!” [See Example V-MO-14]
The Voluntative Optatave can also be used to politely make a request from someone, including a superior (even God Himself - in prayer) . Although the Voluntative Optative is the mood of possibility, it does not indicate any reduction of the speaker’s expectation that the request will be granted. [See Example V-MO-15]
The Deliberative Optative occurs when there is a degree of uncertainty (or doubt) in the speaker’s mind about the outcome. The presence of the particle “ἄν” would further increase the level of uncertainty. There are 11 occurrences of the Deliberative Optative, all of which are in the book of Luke or Acts. See Example [Luke 18:36] Blind man confused by the noise of a crowd going by.. [See Example V-MO-16 Deliberative Optative]
The Potential Optative involves a degree of uncertainty and is conditioned on some other factor. Often, the uncertainty is contained within an implied question. [See Example V-MO-17 Potential Optative]
Form¶
The Paradigms for forms in the Optative Mood are shown in:
A verb in the Optative mood will never have an augment because the time is always future.
A verb in the Optative mood will use the mood formative “οι”, except in the first aorist tense. The presence of the “οι” is a key indicator that the verb is in the optative mood.
The Optative mood expresses a wish for something to occur. Therefore, when the optative is used with either the present or the aorist tense, the focus is on the type of action (continuous or simple), not on the time of the action. [See Present tense-aspect]
Table V-MO-2 Formation of the Present Optative Verb¶
The Present Active Optative verb is formed with the:
present tense stem + theme vowel (ο) + mood formative (ι) + μι (1st person singular) or secondary personal ending.
- It is easier to think of the Mood formative as “οι”.
However, for athematic verbs, the mood formative is ιη. [εἴη-12 times and δύναιντο-2 times [in this case the connecting vowel (ο) is omitted because the tense stem ends with an “α”.
| Table V-MO-2 Formation of the Present Active Optative Verb |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present Tense Stem |
+ | Mood Formative |
+ | Secondary Personal Ending |
-> | Paradigm |
| λυ | + | οι | + | μι * ς |
-> | λύομι λύοις |
| I may loose | ||||||
Note: * μι for the 1st person singular, or the normal secondary personal endings (ς,-,μεν,τε, ν)
Table V-MO-3 Formation of the Present Middle/Passive Optative Verb¶
The Present Middle/Passive Optative verb is formed with the:
Present Tense Stem + Mood formative + Secondary Personal Ending
| Table V-MO-3 Formation of the Present Middle/Passive Optative Verb |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present Tense Stem |
+ | Mood Formative |
+ | Secondary Personal Ending |
-> | Paradigm |
| λυ | + | οι | + | μην | -> | λύοιμην |
| I may be loosed | ||||||
- Note:
The optative uses μι for the first person singular personal ending, and
secondary personal endings for the 1st person plural personal ending and all 2nd and 3rd person personal endings.
Table V-MO-4 Optative Mood Present & Middle/Passive Tense¶
| Table V-MO-4 Optative Mood Present Active and Middle/Passive Voice |
||
|---|---|---|
| Active | Middle/Passive | |
| Single | ||
| 1st Person | λύοιμι | λυοίμην λυαίμην |
| 2nd Person | λύοις | λύοιο |
| 3rd Person | λύοι | λύοιτο |
| Plural | ||
| 1st Person | λύοιμεν | λύοιμεθα |
| 2nd Person | λύοιτε | λύοισθε |
| 3rd Person | λύοιεν | λύοιντο |
Formation of the First Aorist Optative¶
Optative verbs will not have an augment because they do not refer to time in the past.
The tense formative for the 1st aorist active and middle is “σα” and with the addition of the mood formative “ι” will become “σαι.”
The tense formative for the aorist passive is “θε” and with the addition of the mood formative will become “θειη”.
The Optative verbs use secondary personal endings, however, the first person singular ending is “μι” instead of the normal personal ending for the first person singular.
Table V-MO-5 Formation of the 1st Aorist Active Optative Verb¶
The 1st Aorist Active Optative verb is formed with the:
unaugmented 1st Aorist Tense Stem + Tense formative (σα) + Mood formative (ι) + Secondary Active Personal Ending.
| Table V-MO-5 Formation of the 1st Aorist Active Optative Verb |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| un-augmented 1st Aorist Tense stem |
+ | Tense Formative |
+ | Mood Formative |
+ | Secondary Active Personal ending |
-> | Paradigm |
| λυ | + | σα | + | ι | + | μι ς |
-> | λύσαιμι λύσαις |
| I may be loosed | ||||||||
Table V-MO-6 Formation of the 1st Aorist Middle Optative Verb¶
See the note on the Formation of the first Aorist Optative verb Formation of the 1st Aorist Optative
The First Aorist Middle Optative is formed with:
unaugmented 1st Aorist Tense Stem + Tense formative (σα) + Mood formative (ι) + Secondary Middle Personal Ending.
| Table V-MO-6 Formation of the 1st Aorist Middle Optative Verb |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| un-augmented 1st Aorist Tense stem |
+ | Tense Formative |
+ | Mood Formative |
+ | Secondary Middle Personal ending |
-> | Paradigm |
| λυ | + | σα | + | ι | + | μην | -> | λύσαιμην |
| I may loose myself | ||||||||
Table V-MO-7 Formation of the 1st Aorist Passive Optative Verb¶
See the note on the Formation of the first Aorist Optative verb Formation of the 1st Aorist Optative
The First Aorist Middle Optative is formed with:
unaugmented 1st Aorist Tense Stem + Tense formative (θε) + Mood formative (ιη) + Secondary Αctive Personal Ending.
| Table V-MO-7 Formation of the 1st Aorist Passive Optative Verb |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| un-augmented 1st Aorist Tense stem |
+ | Tense Formative |
+ | Mood Formative |
+ | Secondary Active Personal ending |
-> | Paradigm |
| λυ | + | θε | + | ιη | + | ν | -> | λυθείην |
| I may be loosed | ||||||||
Note: There are only five occurrences of Aorist Passive Optative case in the New Testament and they are all 3rd person singular ending in θειη
τηρηθείη – may be kept;
λογισθείη- may be counted,
πληθυνθείη- may be multiplied- 3 times)
Table V-MO-8 Optative Mood First Aorist Tense¶
| Table V-MO-8 1st Aorist Tense Optative Mood |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Middle | Passive | |
| Single | |||
| 1st Person | λύσαιμι | λυσαίμην | λυθείην |
| 2nd Person | λύσαις | λύσαιο | λυθείης |
| 3rd Person | λύσαι | λύσαιτο | λυθείη |
| Plural | |||
| 1st Person | λύσαιμεν | λυσαίμεθα | λυθείημεν |
| 2nd Person | λύσαιτε | λύσαισθε | λυθείητε |
| 3rd Person | λύσαιεν | λύσαιντο | λυθείσαν |
Formation of the 2nd Aorist Optative Verb¶
Optative verbs do not have an augment because they do not refer to time in the past.
There is no tense formative for second aorist verbs because the change in tense stem indicates that this is a second aorist verb.
There is a connecting vowel (because the tense stem ends in a consonant) with the addition of a mood formative creating the characteristic “οι.”
There is no 2nd aorist passive verbs in the New Testament.
There are no Perfect Optative verbs in the New Testament.
Table V-MO-9 Formation of the 2nd Aorist Active Optative Verb¶
| Table V-MO-9 Formation of the 2nd Aorist Active Optative Verb |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| un-augmented 2nd Aorist Tense stem |
+ | Connecting Vowel |
+ | Mood Formative |
+ | Secondary Active Personal ending |
-> | Paradigm |
| λαβ | + | ο | + | ι | + | μι | -> | λυθείην |
| I may cast | ||||||||
Table V-MO-10 Formation of the 2nd Aorist Middle Optative Verb¶
| Table V-MO-10 Formation of the 2nd Aorist Middle Optative Verb |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| un-augmented 2nd Aorist Tense stem |
+ | Connecting Vowel |
+ | Mood Formative |
+ | Secondary Middle Personal ending |
-> | Paradigm |
| λαβ | + | ο | + | ι | + | μην | -> | λάβοιμην |
| I may cast myself | ||||||||
Table V-MO-11 Optative Mood Second Aorist Tense¶
| Table V-MO-11 2nd Aorist Tense Optative Mood |
||
|---|---|---|
| Active | Middle | |
| Single | ||
| 1st Person | λάβοιμι | λαβοίμην |
| 2nd Person | λάβοις | λάβοιο |
| 3rd Person | λάβοι | λάβοιτο |
| Plural | ||
| 1st Person | λάβοιμεν | λαβοίμεθα |
| 2nd Person | λάβοιτε | λάβοισθε |
| 3rd Person | λάβοιεν | λάβοιντο |
Table V-MO-12 Optative of εἰμί¶
There are only 12 occurrences of εἰμί in the optative case in the New Testament. They are all in the 3rd person singular present active tense, εἴη which has a gloss of “may be” or “might be”
| Table V-MO-12 Optative Mood Present Tense εἰμί |
|
|---|---|
| Active | |
| Single | |
| 1st Person | εἴην |
| 2nd Person | εἴης |
| 3rd Person | εἴη |
| Plural | |
| 1st Person | εἶημεν |
| 2nd Person | εἶτε / εἶητε |
| 3rd Person | εἶεν / εἶησαν |
Examples¶
V-MO-13 Voluntative Optative Example¶
The Voluntative Optative can be used to express what is viewed by the speaker as a wish even if it is only a mere possibility.
εἶπεν |
δὲ |
Μαριάμ |
ἰδοὺ |
ἡ |
δούλη |
Κυρίου |
γένοιτό |
μοι |
κατὰ |
τὸ |
ῥῆμά |
σου |
eipen |
de |
Mariam |
idou |
hē |
doulē |
Kyriou |
genoito |
moi |
kata |
to |
rhēma |
sou |
said |
and |
Mary |
Behold |
the |
slave |
of the Lord |
May it happen |
to me |
according(to) |
the |
word |
of you |
Then Mary said, “Behold, the female slave of the Lord. May it happen to me according to your word.
V-MO-14 Optative used as expression of abhorrence¶
Fifteen of the seventeen occurrences of the Voluntative optative verb γίνομαι are contained in the expression “μὴ γένοιτο!” [ May it never be!] In this context it is an expression of repulsion or horror at the very thought of this occurring. It is akin to our modern day expressions of “Perish the Thought” or “No! Never!” or “It can’t happen!”
τί |
οὖν |
ἐροῦμεν? |
ὁ |
νόμος |
ἁμαρτία? |
μὴ |
γένοιτο! |
ti |
oun |
eroumen? |
ho |
nomos |
hamartia? |
mē |
genoito! |
What |
then |
shall we say? |
(is)the |
law |
sin? |
Never |
May it be |
What then will we say? Is the law sin? May it never be!
V-MO-15 Voluntative Optative in Prayer¶
χάρις |
ὑμῖν |
καὶ |
εἰρήνη |
πληθυνθείη |
charis |
hymin |
kai |
eirēnē |
plēthyntheiē |
grace |
to you |
and |
peace |
may be multiplied |
May Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
V-MO-16 Deliberative Optative¶
καὶ |
διελογίζετο |
ποταπὸς |
εἴη |
ὁ |
ἀσπασμὸς |
οὗτος |
kai |
dielogizeto |
potapos |
eiē |
ho |
aspasmos |
houtos |
and |
she was pondering |
what sort of |
may be |
the |
greeting |
this |
and she was considering what kind of greeting this might be
V-MO-17 Potential Optative¶
The Potential Optative involves the particle ἂν which denotes a contingency. This contingency implies some unstated condition. The statement therefore concerns a consequence of this unstated condition.
In the following example, Peter is left wondering within himself what the meaning of the vision might be. What will happen?
Potentially, there are a couple of other passages that could be classified as a Potential Optative that use εἴ instead of ἂν
such as Acts 20:16, Acts 24.19, Acts 20.17,, and Acts 27:19 but these could be considered as deliberative optatives.
There are 11 occurrences of the Potential Optative in the New Testament.
ἐν |
ἑαυτῷ |
διηπόρει |
ὁ |
Πέτρος |
τί |
ἂν |
εἴη |
τὸ |
ὅραμα |
ὃ |
εἶδεν |
en |
heautō |
diēporei |
ho |
Petros |
ti |
an |
eiē |
to |
horama |
ho |
eiden |
in |
himself |
being greatly perplexed |
the |
Peter |
what |
might be |
the |
vision |
which |
he had seen |
Peter was doubting within himself what the vision that he had seen might mean
[Note] the particle “ἂν” is an untranslated particle.