Review of Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek

Constantine R. Campbell, Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 159 pps.

Thank Jesse Hillman for the review copy.

Constantine Campbell has written a short, interesting, and informative book on verbal aspect in biblical Greek. The strength of this work is its clarity (terms are defined, examples provided, etc.). The reader is also aided by the exercises (with answers), a glossary, and an index. To be quite honest, I am not sure that I am qualified to evaluate the strengths of some of some of the more technical linguistic arguments, but it appears that Campbell was fair and balanced in his discussions. Every now and then, one reads a book that stretches and informs the reader. For this reader, Basics of Verbal Aspects is such a book.

Table of Contents:

Preface

Introduction: Verbal Aspect and Exegesis

Verbal Aspect Theory

1. What is Verbal Aspect?

2. The History of Verbal Aspect

3. Perfective Aspect

4. Imperfective Aspect

5. The Problem of the Perfect

Verbal Aspect and New Testament Text

6. Verbal Lexeme Basics

7. Present and Imperfect Tense-forms

8. Aorist and Future Tense-Forms

9. Perfect and Pluperfect Tense-Forms

10. More Participles

A Concluding Postscript: Space and Time

Verbal Glossary

Answers to Exercises

Indexes