What is the difference between ἐδύνατο and ἠδύνατο?

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Jacob Rhoden
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What is the difference between ἐδύνατο and ἠδύνατο?

Post by Jacob Rhoden »

It is used both ways in Mark 6, BDAG seems to imply the correct form for the imperfect uses the η, however accordance tags both as 3rd person singular imperfect.
Mark 6:5 καὶ οὐκ ἐδύνατο ⸂ἐκεῖ ποιῆσαι οὐδεμίαν δύναμιν⸃, εἰ μὴ ὀλίγοις ἀρρώστοις ἐπιθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας ἐθεράπευσεν.

Mark 6:19 ἡ δὲ Ἡρῳδιὰς ἐνεῖχεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἤθελεν αὐτὸν ἀποκτεῖναι, καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο·

δύναμαι (Hom.+) dep.; pres. 2 sg. δύνῃ and δύνασαι; impf. ἠδυνάμην
Barry Hofstetter
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Re: What is the difference between ἐδύνατο and ἠδύνατο?

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Both augments are attested for both the imperfect and the aorist. This is simply a formal difference, nothing else. Variations like this are not uncommon in Hellenistic Greek.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
MAubrey
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Re: What is the difference between ἐδύνατο and ἠδύνατο?

Post by MAubrey »

As an English analogy:

Some people spell 'gray' and other people spell 'grey'. Both are correct. The difference used to be dialectal, but with the growth of cross-dialectal interaction, but get used by the same people from time to time.
Mike Aubrey, Linguist
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Stephen Carlson
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Re: What is the difference between ἐδύνατο and ἠδύνατο?

Post by Stephen Carlson »

In my view, δύναμαι ~ ἠδύνατο is an analogical remodeling based on θέλω ~ ἤθελον, except that the quantitative augment is actually etymologically correct for the latter.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
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