Those with strong arguments have no need to resort to goading.
Well you are wrong again, so deal with it!
In actual fact it is you who is doing this.
Also, in post #193 you claimed the source I linked to was "very wrong", yet the site you linked to in your subsequent response says exactly the same thing. It seems you are simply making stuff up.
No for my site does not claim that the construct gave any hint of permanent celibacy!
I've already explained why that doesn't work. A young betrothed woman who intends to have children would not need to question the Archangel as to how she would conceive. Mary demonstrates that she understands perfectly how women usually conceive, by "knowing a man", so her question only makes sense in a context of her continuing to "not know a man". Your grammatical arguments are based on a preconception that Mary has other children by Joseph.
Really? Did anyone ever have the "talk" with you? Mary was simply asking a perfectly normal question; "How can I have a baby when I have not had sex with a man !" She simply said she hasn't had sex so how can she get pregnant without having sex! YOur understanding of simple phrases is really apalling. This is the present indicative. Mary is stating a simple fact. There is not even th eslightest whiff of perpetual virginity in her simple query. YOu should know this.
I've already explained why that doesn't work.
And your explanation doesn't pass teh grammatical sniff test! Verbs are action words and verbs also can and do connote time. the perfect in Greek speaks of a work done in the past and continues on into the future! It is that simple. Don't believe , google any basic greek grammar book and learn!
When Mary told the angel how could it be- The Greek is the present active indicative. What that means is she is th eone who has not had sex and was simply stating that fact!
It is fine.
Lesson 2
The Present Active Indicative forms of λύω might also be translated, "I am loosing," "you are loosing," "he is loosing," "we are loosing," "you (plural) are loosing," "they are loosing." In English, we may mean one thing if we say "He pitches" and something a bit different if we say "He is pitching." In the former case, we may mean he regularly plays the position of pitcher. In the latter case, we may mean, he is pitching at this very moment. In Greek, the present active indicative is used for both of these ideas. In both cases, the Aktionsart is linear, but in one case the action is habitual or iterative. When translating from Greek, you will need to let the nature of the verb and especially the context of its use determine the whether or not to use "-ing" in English.
Let us see if it is fine, shall we?
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
LESSON V: Verbs—Introductory.
Objectives
In this chapter, you will learn the essential concepts related to the Ancient Greek verb: voice, mood, aspect, tense, person, number and the verb stem. You will also learn how to conjugate verbs in one tense: the present active indicative. You should become familiar with these essential concepts and learn the conjugation of the present active indicative before moving on to the next section.
Voice
48. The Greek verb has three VOICES, the active, middle, and passive.
The active voice is used when the subject of the sentence is the agent of the action described in the verb.
The middle voice denotes that the subject is both an agent of an action and somehow concerned with the action.
The passive voice is used to show that the subject of the verb is acted on.
Mood
49. There are four MOODS, the indicative, subjunctive, optative, and imperative. These are the finite moods. To them are added, in the conjugation of the verb, the infinitive and participles.
The indicative is the most common verb form you will encounter. It is used for simple statements and questions.
The subjunctive and optative are used in contexts to denote prohibitions, conditions, purpose, and suppositions. These will be covered in more detail beginning in lesson thirty-three.
The imperative is used to give orders and commands
The infinitive has voice and tense but not person and number. It is translated with the English word "to ...".
i.e. ἔχειν is the infinitive form of the verb ἔχω and it is translated "to have."
The participle is a verbal noun that is translated with the English ending -ing.
i.e. ἔχων is the participle of the verb and it is translated "having".
Tense
50. There are seven TENSES, the present, imperfect, future, aorist, perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect.
The present tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the present time.
The imperfect tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the past.
The future is used to describe a simple or ongoing action in the future.
The aorist tense is used to describe a simple action in the past.
The perfect tense is used to describe a completed action in the present time.
The pluperfect is used to describe a completed action in the past.
The future perfect is used to describe a completed action in the future.
The present, future, perfect, and future perfect indicative are called
primary tenses; the imperfect, aorist, and pluperfect indicative are called
secondary tenses.
Seems a Greek Grammar book shows you are wrong again ! Present Active Paticiple would be averb that has the "ing" ending!
Once again for your instruction: The present active indiciative means this:
The present tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the present time.
The active voice is used when the subject of the sentence is the agent of the action described in the verb.
The indicative is the most common verb form you will encounter. It is used for simple statements and questions.
So Mary simply told Gabriel, How can I get pregnant, seeing as I am presently not engaging in sex with any man?
Thus endeth the lesson! No charge!
