Time Relationships
State **which event is earlier**. In 'after X, Y', X precedes Y; in 'before X, Y', Y precedes X; in 'while X, Y', they overlap. 'Until X' sets a boundary for the situation in the main clause. Whether anything changes after that boundary requires contextual evidence.
These relations are not identical to past/present/future relative to the speaker. A 'before' relation may connect two future events, and a past report can describe something anticipated at the reported time. Conjunction, aspect, tense-form, mood, lexical meaning, and context work together; mood alone does not establish the chronology or objective truth.
ὅτε ('when')
**ὅτε** means 'when' and commonly introduces an indicative temporal clause. Matthew 7:28 gives an actual occurrence of ὅτε with aorist indicative συνετέλεσεν. In 1 Corinthians 13:11, 'when I was a child' frames a period of habitual activity, not a single punctual event. Indicative morphology does not itself prove truth or restrict every construction to a particular kind of time.
Matthew 2:1 expresses a temporal circumstance through a genitive absolute, not through ὅτε. Translating both with English 'when' does not make them the same Greek construction; see §59.12.
**Matthew 7:28, excerpt** — **ὅτε συνετέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοὺς λόγους τούτους, ἐξεπλήσσοντο οἱ ὄχλοι ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ** ("when Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching"). συνετέλεσεν is aorist active indicative, third singular, in the temporal clause; ἐξεπλήσσοντο is imperfect middle/passive indicative, third plural, in the associated main predication.
ὅταν ('when, whenever')
**ὅταν**, historically ὅτε + ἄν, commonly introduces a subjunctive temporal clause. It may mean **'when'** for an anticipated event or **'whenever'** for general recurrence. The future coming in John 16:13 is not made recurrent or doubtful merely by ὅταν.
The subjunctive pattern is not exceptionless: Mark 3:11 has **ὅταν ... ἐθεώρουν**, with an imperfect indicative in an iterative past setting. Use the forms in the teaching text rather than silently correcting them to match a simplified paradigm.
**John 16:13, excerpt** — **ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ ἐκεῖνος, τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας, ὁδηγήσει ὑμᾶς εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν** ("but when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you into all truth"). ἔλθῃ is second-aorist active subjunctive, third singular; ὁδηγήσει is future active indicative. The temporal clause supplies the anticipated setting for the guiding.
**Mark 3:11, excerpt** — **καὶ τὰ πνεύματα τὰ ἀκάθαρτα, ὅταν αὐτὸν ἐθεώρουν, προσέπιπτον αὐτῷ** ("and the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall before him"). The saved HBS BYZ04 text has ἐθεώρουν, imperfect active indicative, third plural, following ὅταν. The narrative describes recurrence; subjunctive is not compulsory after every NT occurrence of ὅταν.
ὡς ('when, as')
**ὡς** can express a temporal relation ('when/as/while'), but it also serves comparison, manner, and other functions. In Luke 24:32, imperfect indicatives describe speech occurring during the hearers' experience. In Luke 2:15, aorist ἀπῆλθον places the angels' departure before the shepherds' ensuing response. Do not translate a bare combination ὡς + ἄν as an invented rule 'whenever as'. Analyze the particular construction and any modal particle in context.
**Luke 24:32, excerpt** — **ὡς ἐλάλει ἡμῖν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ καὶ ὡς διήνοιγεν ἡμῖν τὰς γραφάς** ("while he was speaking to us on the way and while he was opening the Scriptures to us"). Both ἐλάλει and διήνοιγεν are imperfect active indicatives, third singular. The clauses locate the reported experience during his speaking and explaining.
**Luke 2:15, excerpt** — **ὡς ἀπῆλθον ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν οἱ ἄγγελοι** ("when the angels had departed from them into heaven"). ἀπῆλθον is aorist active indicative, third plural. “Had departed” is an English temporal rendering, not a claim that the Greek form is pluperfect.
ἕως ('until')
**ἕως** can mark a temporal boundary ('until') or an interval ('while/as long as'). It can occur with a nominal expression or introduce a finite clause. Matthew 2:15 has a genitive noun phrase; John 9:4 has 'while it is day'; Matthew 2:13 has ἕως ἄν with subjunctive. Luke 24:49 has **ἕως οὗ + subjunctive without ἄν**. These are attested constructions, not freely interchangeable formulas.
The prospective boundary does not necessarily lie after the narrator's present: viewpoint may be inside an earlier instruction. Nor does 'until' by itself assert a reversal after the endpoint. Read any subsequent event or continuing state from the context.
**Matthew 2:15, excerpt** — **καὶ ἦν ἐκεῖ ἕως τῆς τελευτῆς Ἡρῴδου** ("and he was there until Herod’s death"). ἕως governs a genitive nominal expression; there is no finite verb inside that expression.
**John 9:4, excerpt** — **ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν** ("while it is day"). This interval reading differs from an endpoint-only gloss “until”. ἐστίν is present indicative.
**Matthew 2:13, excerpt** — **καὶ ἴσθι ἐκεῖ ἕως ἂν εἴπω σοι** ("and stay there until I tell you"). εἴπω is aorist active subjunctive, first singular; ἄν is explicitly present.
**Luke 24:49, excerpt** — **ἕως οὗ ἐνδύσησθε δύναμιν ἐξ ὕψους.** ("until you are clothed with power from on high"). ἐνδύσησθε is aorist middle subjunctive, second plural, though idiomatic English uses “are clothed”. No ἄν occurs in this excerpt.
ἄχρι ('until, up to')
**ἄχρι**, also **ἄχρις** in attested combinations, marks a limit ('until/up to'). It can govern a genitive noun phrase or occur in a clause-introducing expression. In 1 Corinthians 4:11 the limit is 'the present hour'; Galatians 4:19 has **ἄχρις οὗ** with a subjunctive. Do not silently insert ἄν or replace ἄχρι with μέχρι to illustrate a different heading. Similar meanings do not guarantee identical wording or distribution.
**1 Corinthians 4:11, excerpt** — **ἄχρι τῆς ἄρτι ὥρας** ("up to the present hour"). The genitive nominal expression names the temporal boundary.
**Galatians 4:19, excerpt** — **ἄχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν** ("until Christ is formed in you"). μορφωθῇ is aorist passive subjunctive, third singular. The saved text has ἄχρις οὗ and no ἄν.
μέχρι ('until, as far as')
**μέχρι**, with the variant **μέχρις** in Greek usage, can mark a limit ('until/up to/as far as'). Identify whether it governs a nominal expression or introduces a clause. Ephesians 4:13 supplies an actual **μέχρι + subjunctive without ἄν**; 1 Timothy 6:14 supplies a genitive nominal expression. Its senses overlap with ἄχρι and ἕως, but this does not license unrestricted substitution. An example containing ἄχρι is not an example of μέχρι.
**Ephesians 4:13, excerpt** — **μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως** ("until we all attain to the unity of the faith"). καταντήσωμεν is aorist active subjunctive, first plural. The construction has no overt ἄν.
**1 Timothy 6:14, excerpt** — **μέχρι τῆς ἐπιφανείας τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ** ("until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ"). μέχρι governs a genitive nominal expression here. A noun phrase has no indicative/subjunctive mood to classify.
πρίν ('before')
**πρίν**, also in **πρὶν ἤ**, expresses 'before'; after a negative expression, English may use 'not ... until'. Its construction is not limited to indicative versus subjunctive. **Infinitives** are important: Matthew 1:18 has πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν αὐτούς, with no article before the infinitive. Luke 2:26 has subjunctive ἴδῃ in an anticipated relation within a past report, without overt ἄν. Acts 25:16 has optatives **ἔχοι** and **λάβοι** in reported discourse.
Interpret polarity, viewpoint, and syntactic embedding together. These examples do not create a rule allowing any mood after πρίν at will. The conjunction establishes a temporal relation; the morphology participates in the particular construction.
**Matthew 1:18, excerpt** — **πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου.** ("before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit"). συνελθεῖν is aorist active infinitive with accusative subject αὐτούς; ἤ here belongs with πρίν, not an interrogative choice. This is not an articular infinitive.
**Luke 2:26, excerpt** — **μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατον πρὶν ἢ ἴδῃ τὸν Χριστὸν Κυρίου.** ("not to see death before he saw the Lord’s Christ"). ἴδῃ is aorist active subjunctive, third singular. The revelation is reported in a past setting, but the seeing was anticipated from that viewpoint.
**Acts 25:16, excerpt** — **πρὶν ἢ ὁ κατηγορούμενος κατὰ πρόσωπον ἔχοι τοὺς κατηγόρους τόπον τε ἀπολογίας λάβοι περὶ τοῦ ἐγκλήματος.** ("before the accused had the accusers face to face and received an opportunity for defense concerning the charge"). ἔχοι is present active optative, third singular; λάβοι is second-aorist active optative, third singular. The preceding ἀπεκρίθην and reported statement supply the indirect-discourse setting. These optatives are not wishes or independent assertions of low probability.
Temporal Clauses with Indicative
Indicative temporal constructions include narrated events, states, and repeated situations. **Indicative does not mean 'specific past/present only'.** In 1 Timothy 4:13, present indicative ἔρχομαι has future reference: 'until I come'. Mark 3:11 uses imperfect indicative in past recurrence. Identify the complete construction and the speaker's temporal viewpoint rather than treating mood as an independent assertion of factuality.
**1 Timothy 4:13, excerpt** — **ἕως ἔρχομαι πρόσεχε τῇ ἀναγνώσει, τῇ παρακλήσει, τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ.** ("Until I come, attend to reading, exhortation, and teaching"). ἔρχομαι is present middle/passive indicative, first singular, with future reference. πρόσεχε is present active imperative, second singular. A temporal indicative can supply the setting for a directive.
Temporal Clauses with Subjunctive
A **subjunctive temporal clause** often supplies an anticipated boundary or event, or a situation applying across instances. It does not independently encode uncertainty, repeated action, or a fixed probability. ἄν may be present separately, included historically in a conjunction such as ὅταν, or absent in an attested construction. In 1 Corinthians 16:5, the aorist subjunctive concerns a future visit, not a past journey. In Luke 2:26, the anticipated seeing is viewed from within a past report.
**1 Corinthians 16:5, excerpt** — **Ἐλεύσομαι δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὅταν Μακεδονίαν διέλθω** ("I will come to you when I have passed through Macedonia"). διέλθω is second-aorist active subjunctive, first singular. The future-oriented passing through precedes the projected coming to the hearers. Aorist aspect is distinct from absolute past time.
Temporal Infinitival Constructions
Temporal **articular infinitives** include **πρὸ τοῦ + infinitive** ('before'), **μετὰ τὸ + infinitive** ('after'), and **ἐν τῷ + infinitive** ('when/while'). The preposition governs the article's case; the infinitive itself is indeclinable. The infinitive retains verbal properties, including voice and arguments, and may have an accusative subject.
Matthew 6:8 places asking after the Father's knowing; Matthew 26:32 places being raised before the projected going ahead. Luke 2:6 supplies a temporal setting with ἐν τῷ εἶναι. These relationships are determined by the construction, not a universal 'aorist infinitive = past' rule. Distinguish the anarthrous πρίν construction in §59.8 from these preposition-plus-article constructions.
**Matthew 6:8, excerpt** — **πρὸ τοῦ ὑμᾶς αἰτῆσαι αὐτόν.** ("before you ask him"). τοῦ is the genitive article governed by πρό. ὑμᾶς is the accusative subject of aorist active infinitive αἰτῆσαι; αὐτόν is its accusative object.
**Matthew 26:32, excerpt** — **μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἐγερθῆναί με προάξω ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν.** ("but after I am raised, I will go ahead of you into Galilee"). ἐγερθῆναι is aorist passive infinitive; the extra accent in ἐγερθῆναί accompanies enclitic με. The infinitival event precedes the going ahead, but both are anticipated relative to this utterance.
**Luke 2:6, excerpt** — **ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ** ("and it happened while they were there"). ἐν governs dative article τῷ. εἶναι is present infinitive; αὐτούς is its accusative subject. The temporal setting depends on the full construction.
Temporal Participles
A **participle** may provide a temporal circumstance when syntax and context support it. Mark 1:10 has present active participle ἀναβαίνων with an overlapping temporal interpretation. Matthew 2:1 uses a **genitive absolute** with aorist passive participle γεννηθέντος, translated temporally in context. Neither sentence contains ὅτε in the cited construction.
A participle inflects for case, number, and gender; an infinitive does not. Thus ἐν τῷ εἶναι in Luke 2:6 is an infinitival temporal construction, not a participle. Do not assign a temporal meaning to bare τῷ + infinitive without examining its governing structure. See Chapters 36 and 38.
**Mark 1:10, excerpt** — **καὶ εὐθέως ἀναβαίνων ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος εἶδε σχιζομένους τοὺς οὐρανοὺς** ("and immediately, as he came up from the water, he saw the heavens being torn open"). ἀναβαίνων is present active participle, nominative masculine singular, referring to the subject of εἶδε. It supplies a circumstantial temporal relation.
**Matthew 2:1, excerpt** — **Τοῦ δὲ Ἰησοῦ γεννηθέντος ἐν Βηθλεὲμ τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἐν ἡμέραις Ἡρῴδου τοῦ βασιλέως** ("after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king"). γεννηθέντος is aorist passive participle, genitive masculine singular, with genitive subject Ἰησοῦ. This genitive absolute provides the temporal background for the arrival narrated next; English “after/when” does not supply a Greek conjunction absent from the text.
Relative Time and Aspect
Separate **aspect**, **relative ordering**, and **absolute time**. Present, aorist, and perfect participles have aspectual distinctions and common temporal tendencies, but they do not mechanically mean simultaneous, earlier, and later. Their temporal relation depends on syntax, lexical meaning, and context. Finite temporal clauses also establish relations to another event or a reported viewpoint; conjunction plus mood does not automatically determine absolute time.
Compare aorist subjunctive διέλθω in the future-oriented 1 Corinthians 16:5 with aorist infinitive ἐγερθῆναι before future προάξω in Matthew 26:32. These constructions encode or support relative ordering without locating both events in the speaker's past. Retain the actual form when choosing a natural English translation.
Paradigms
Temporal Constructions and Their Verb Forms
Representative patterns and qualifications. Interpret the whole construction: mood does not independently establish time, repetition, truth, or probability. Infinitival constructions are included under verb forms, not mislabeled as finite moods.
| Marker / construction | Temporal relation | Verb forms and qualifications |
| ὅτε | When; event or temporal setting | Commonly indicative; identify context rather than equating indicative with punctual fact. |
|---|---|---|
| ὅταν | When an event is anticipated; whenever in general/iterative contexts | Commonly subjunctive; imperfect indicative occurs in Mark 3:11. |
| ὡς | When/as/while in temporal use | Indicatives in Luke 2:15 and 24:32; distinguish comparison and other uses. |
| ἕως / ἄχρι / μέχρι | Temporal limit; ἕως can also mean while/as long as | Nominal expressions or finite clauses. Subjunctives may lack ἄν; ἕως ἔρχομαι has future reference with present indicative. |
| πρίν / πρὶν ἤ | Before; after negation, not ... until | Infinitive in Matthew 1:18; subjunctive in Luke 2:26; reported-discourse optatives in Acts 25:16. |
Chapter glossary
- ὅτε — when
hote
conjunction
Temporal 'when', commonly with indicative. It can frame an event or a period of activity. Interpret time and occurrence through the whole sentence, not indicative morphology alone.- ὅταν — when, whenever
hotan
conjunction
Historically ὅτε + ἄν; commonly with subjunctive for an anticipated or general temporal setting. It can mean 'when' rather than recurrent 'whenever'. NT iterative past use can take indicative, as in Mark 3:11.- ἕως — until; while, as long as
heōs
conjunction
Marks 'until' or, in context, 'while/as long as'. Used with nominal expressions and finite clauses; subjunctive can occur with or without overt ἄν. Mood and the word alone do not establish absolute time or what happens after the boundary.- πρίν — before
prin
conjunction
'Before', also in πρὶν ἤ; negative settings may be rendered 'not ... until'. NT examples include an infinitive (Matthew 1:18), a subjunctive (Luke 2:26), and optatives in reported discourse (Acts 25:16). Analyze the whole construction.- ἄχρι — until, up to
achri
conjunction
Marks a limit ('until/up to'), with genitive nominal expressions or clauses. Galatians 4:19 has ἄχρις οὗ + subjunctive without ἄν. Compare actual constructions rather than replacing it automatically with ἕως or μέχρι.- μέχρι — until, as far as
mechri
conjunction
Marks a limit ('until/up to/as far as') with nominal expressions or clauses. Ephesians 4:13 has μέχρι + subjunctive without ἄν; 1 Timothy 6:14 has a genitive noun phrase. Similarity to ἄχρι does not imply unrestricted interchangeability.- — temporal clause
syntax
A dependent clause locating an event or state relative to another: when, while, whenever, until, before, or after. Relative ordering and absolute time require construction and context; mood alone does not decide them.