Chris Servanti wrote:Mounce teaches 6 common Preposition + Articulated Verb phrases:
διὰ τὸ βλέπειν αύτόν = Because he sees
πρὸς τὸ βλέπειν αὐτὸν = So that he sees
εἰς τὸ βλέπειν αὐτόν = So that he sees
πρὸ τοῦ βλέπειν αὐτόν = Before he sees
ἐν τῷ βλέπειν αὐτόν = When he sees
μετὰ τὸ βλέπειν αὐτόν = After he sees
I have a few questions about the real meaning of these phrases since Mounce didn't spend much time on them.
1. Can they have a psuedo direct object like they can have a psuedo subject? (e.g. διὰ τί ἐποίηκας αὐτὸν; δἰα τὸ βλέπείν με τὰ ᾡά)
2. Can the three temporal structure be used as temporal conditions? (e.g. ἐν τῷ βλέπείν με σὲ ἄρχομαι γελᾶν ἀεί)
3. What is the difference between [εἰς τὸ βάλλειν αὐτοὺς τὰ δαιμόνια] and [ἵνα βάλλῃ αὐτοὶ τὰ δαιμόνια]?
4. What is the difference between πρός and εἰς?
5. Is there any significance if you use the aorist or perfect infinitive?
First, here is BDAG on the semantic range of βλέπω:
βλέπω fut. βλέψω; 3 pl. fut. βλέψονται Is 29:18; 1 aor. ἔβλεψα (s. βλέμμα; Pind.+ ‘see’: on the use of βλέπω and ὁράω s. Reinhold 97ff. Esp. oft. in Hermas [70 times]).
① to perceive w. the eye, see
ⓐ w. acc. of what is seen: beam, splinter Mt 7:3; Lk 6:41f—Mt 11:4; 13:17; 24:2; Mk 8:23f; Lk 10:23f; Ac 2:33; 9:8f; Rv 1:11f; 5:3f; 22:8. Large buildings Mk 13:2 (cp. Choliamb. in Ps.-Callisth. 1, 46a, 8 lines 4, 8, 19: ὁρᾷς τὰ τείχη ταῦθʼ; … τὰ θεμέλια ταῦτα … ὁρᾷς ἐκείνους τοὺς οἴκους;); a woman Lk 7:44; light (Artem. 5, 20 τὸ φῶς ἔβλεπεν; 5, 77) 8:16, cp. 11:33; Jesus J 1:29; B 5:10; signs Ac 8:6; B 4:14; a vision Ac 12:9; nakedness Rv 16:15; the beast 17:8; smoke 18:9, 18.—Seeing contrasted w. hoping Ro 8:24f. Of angels βλέπουσι τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ πατρός (expr. fr. oriental court life = have access constantly, 2 Km 14:24; cp. 4 Km 25:19) Mt 18:10 (s. πρόσωπον 1bα). Pass. πάντων βλεπομένων since everything is seen 1 Cl 28:1. W. acc. and ptc. instead of a dependent clause (SIG1104, 42; UPZ 68, 6 [152 B.C.] βλέπω Μενέδημον κατατρέχοντά με=that M. runs after me; 1 Macc 12:29; Jos., Ant. 20, 219); τὸν ὄχλον συνθλίβοντά σε that the crowd is pressing around you Mk 5:31. τὸν λίθον ἠρμένον that the stone was taken away J 20:1; cp. Mt 15:31; Lk 24:12; J 20:5; 21:9. τὸν πατέρα ποιοῦντα 5:19; sim. 21:20; Ac 4:14; Hb 2:9. ὑπὲρ ὃ βλέπει με beyond what he sees in me 2 Cor 12:6.
ⓑ abs.: Mt 13:16; Ro 11:10 (Ps 68:24); Rv 9:20. τὰ βλεπόμενα (Ael. Aristid. 46 p. 406 D.; Wsd 13:7; 17:6) what can be seen 2 Cor 4:18. Look on, watch (Jos., Bell. 1, 596. Ant. 3, 95 βλεπόντων αὐτῶν while they looked on, before their eyes) Ac 1:9; 1 Cl 25:4.
ⓒ w. prep. phrase: ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ who sees in secret Mt 6:4, 6; cp. vs. 18 (s. 4 Macc 15:18). In imagery διʼ ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι 1 Cor 13:12.
ⓓ βλέπων βλέπω see w. open eyes Mt 13:14 (Is 6:9). βλέπων οὐ βλέπει though he looks he does not see 13:13; Lk 8:10 (the theme is transcultural, cp. Aeschyl., Prom. 447f; Soph. O.T. 413; Ps.-Demosth. 25, 89; Polyb. 12, 24, 6; Lucian, D. Mar. 4, 3; Lucretius 2:14 o pectora caeca! qualibus in tenebris vitae ‘O blind hearts! In what darkness of life …’; s. ἀκούω).
② to have the faculty of sight, be able to see, in contrast to being blind (Trag.; Antiphon 4, 4, 2; X., Mem. 1, 3, 4; Aelian, VH 6, 12; SIG 1168, 78 blind man βλέπων ἀμφοῖν ἐξῆλθε; POxy 39, 9 [52 A.D.] ὀλίγον βλέπων=of weak sight; Ex 4:11; 23:8; 1 Km 3:2; Ps. 113:14; al.) Mt 12:22; 15:31; Lk 7:21; J 9:7, 15, 25; Ac 9:9; Rv 3:18. ὀφθαλμοὶ τοῦ μὴ β. (Ps 68:24, cp. 9:32; Sus 9; B-D-F §400, 2) eyes unable to see Ro 11:8 (Dt 29:3); Hs 6, 2, 1. θεοὶ … δυνάμενοι μήτε βλέψαι μήτε ἀκοῦσαι AcPl Ha 1, 20 (cp. Ps 113:14).—Fig. of grasp of transcendent matters (cp. Diog. L. 6, 53 with reference to Pla.: β. with the eyes of the νοῦς) J 9:39.
③ to take in the sight of someth., look at, observe εἰς w. acc. (Anaxandrides Com. [IV B.C.] 34, 9 K. εἰς τοὺς καλούς; Ael. Aristid. 28, 126 K.=49 p. 531f D.; Aelian, VH 14, 42; Herodian 3, 11, 3; Jdth 9:9; Pr 16:25; Sir 40:29; 4 Macc l5:18) Lk 9:62; J 13:22 (εἰς ἀλλήλους as Proverb. Aesopi 49 P.) Ac 1:11 v.l. (Ps.-Apollod., Epit. 5, 22 and PGM 13, 833 εἰς τ. οὐρανὸν β.); 3:4. W. dat. [ὁ δὲ λέων … .ἔβλ]επεν τῷ Παύλῳ| καὶ ὁ Παῦλο[ς τῷ λέοντι] the lion looked at Paul and Paul [at the lion] AcPl Ha 4, 36. W. acc. look at a woman (cp. Synes., Calvitii encomium 23, 86b ὅστις ἀδίκοις ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρᾷ τὴν τοῦ γείτονος) Mt 5:28 (ὅστις ἄν ἐμβλέψῃ γυναικί Just., A I, 15, 1). See magic rites D 3:4. βιβλίον look into a book Rv 5:3f.
④ to pay esp. close attention to someth., notice, mark someth.: w. acc. 2 Cor 10:7 (impv.). W. εἴς τι (Polyb. 3, 64, 10 εἰς τ. παρουσίαν) εἰς πρόσωπον β. look at someone’s face = regard someone’s opinion in the sense of being afraid of what someone might think Mt 22:16; Mk 12:14.
⑤ be ready to learn about someth. that is needed or is hazardous, watch, look to, beware of, Mk 13:9; Phil 3:2 (GKilpatrick, PKahle memorial vol. ’68, 146–48: look at, consider); 2J 8. Followed by μή, μήποτε, μήπως and aor. subj. (Pythag., Ep. 4; Epict. 2, 11, 22; 3, 20, 16; PLond III, 964, 9 p. 212 [II/III A.D.] βλέπε μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ οὐδέν; PLips 106, 17 [I B.C.]) beware, look out Mt 24:4; Mk 13:5; Lk 21:8; Ac 13:40; 1 Cor 8:9; 10:12; Gal 5:15; Hb 12:25, or fut. indic. Col 2:8. W. ἀπό τινος (BGU 1079, 2426 [41 A.D.]=CPJ 152, 24ff βλέπε σατὸν [=σαυτὸν] ἀπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων; APF 4, 1908, 568) beware of the leaven of the Pharisees Mk 8:15; of the scribes 12:38.
⑥ to process information by giving thought, direct one’s attention to someth., consider, note (Jos., Bell. 7, 351, Ant. 20, 57).
ⓐ abs. βλέπετε keep your eyes open Mk 13:33.
ⓑ w. acc. (2 Ch 10:16) 1 Cor 1:26; 10:18; on Phil 3:2 s. 5; Col 2:5; 4:17. βλέπων τ. ἐντολήν w. regard to the commandment B 10:11a.
ⓒ w. indir. question foll. Mk 4:24; Lk 8:18; 1 Cor 3:10; Eph 5:15; 1 Cl 56:16; B 10:11b.—W. ἵνα foll. 1 Cor 16:10.
⑦ to develop awareness of someth., perceive, feel
ⓐ by the senses: a strong wind Mt 14:30.
ⓑ of inner awareness discover, find a law Ro 7:23 (cp. PFay 111, 16 ἐὰν βλέπῃς τὴν τιμὴν [price] παντὸς ἀγόρασον). W. acc. and ptc. 2 Cl 20:1; B 1:3. W. ὅτι foll. (BGU 815, 4; EpArist 113) 2 Cor 7:8; Hb 3:19; Js 2:22.
⑧ to be oriented in a particular direction, looking to, in the direction of, facing (rather freq. and w. var. preps.; w. κατά and acc. Ezk 11:1; 40:6 al.; JosAs 5:2 θυρίδα … βλέπουσαν κατὰ ἀνατολάς ‘a window looking out toward the east’) Ac 27:12 (s. λίψ and s. Field, Notes 144).—FHahn, Sehen u. Glauben im J: OCullmann Festschr., ’72, 125–41; FThordarson, SymbOsl 46, ’71, 108–30.—B. 1042. DELG. M-M. TW. Sv.
Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., pp. 178–179). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Secondly, does someone actually say "articulated" infinitive? I think that means it would have joints. The usual phrase is "articular infinitive."
Overall, remember that the infinitive is really a way of turning a verb into a noun. It may be used as a subject or object, including with various prepositions. In the objective use Greek often tries to make it an honest noun by supplying the article, and that would be the neuter article.
1. Sure. I don't know why you would insult the character of the poor nouns used in this way. They are simply the subject or object within the infinitive phrase, nothing pseudo- about it.
2. Of course.
3, 4. Greek, like English has different ways of saying essentially the same thing. It would sound different and maybe feel a little different to a native speaker, but he or she would recognize them as synonymous constructions, context, I think, determining which would be better to use (context including the time of the writing, the audience, the level of formality indicated by the text, and so forth).
5. The aorist infinitive (by far the more frequent) would indicate the action viewed simply, as a whole, the present infinitive would view the action as a process. This is usually communicated in English by context.