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The Prophetic Perfect (Endnotes)

1. The fact that scholars do not agree on one name for the idiom should not confuse anyone. Idioms typically do not have names. An idiom will be assigned a designation only if it is grammatically important enough to receive attention and it needs name recognition to facilitate discussion. If a non-English speaker heard someone say, “stop on a dime,” and asked the name of the idiom, the answer would be that it really does not have a name. So it is with most idioms. They are not individually named. For two of the names assigned to the prophetic perfect, see Bruce Waltke and M. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, IN, 1990), p. 490. Close

2. Dean and Susan Wheelock, “Here Now, But Not Yet,” Hebrew Roots, Issue 00-1; Vol. 4, No. 4 (January, February, March, 1999), pp. 3–8. James D. G. Dunn, Jesus and the Spirit (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1975), p. 309. Close

3. I say “seldom” because English does have something akin to the prophetic perfect. If a mother asks her son to take out the garbage, he may respond, “Done.” Of course the job is not done yet, but the point is clear—he will do it in the future. The prophetic perfect works the same way; it speaks of the future as if it were already “done.” Close

4. Bullinger, op. cit., Figures of Speech, p. 518. Close

5. The fact that the Hebrew and English treat verbs differently accounts for some of the differences in the English translations. For example, the Hebrew “perfect” tense refers to an action already completed, while the imperfect is not yet completed. Thus an “imperfect” can sometimes be equivalent to the English present tense, sometimes to the future, and sometimes an exact equivalent cannot be determined because there is not enough information given. Close

6. E. Kautzsch, ed., Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1910), pp. 312,13. Close

7. Psalms and Proverbs are not the only Hebrew poetry in the Old Testament. Job and many of the prophetic books contain large amounts of poetry. “Unlike much Western poetry, Hebrew poetry is not based on rhyme or meter, but on rhythm and parallelism. The rhythm is not achieved by balanced numbers of accented and unaccented syllables, but by tonal stress or accent on important words. In parallelism, the poet states an idea in the first line, then reinforces it by various means in the succeeding line or lines. The most common type is synonymous parallelism, in which the second line essentially repeats the idea of the first (Ps. 3:1). In antithetic parallelism, the second line contains an idea opposite to that in the first (Ps. 1:6). In synthetic parallelism, the second or succeeding lines add to or develop the idea of the first (Ps. 1:1,2). In emblematic parallelism, the second line elevates the thought of the first, often by using a simile (Ps. 42:1).” Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition, New International Version (Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, 1994), Introduction to Psalms, p. 801. Close

8. Robert Young, Young’s Concordance, (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, reprinted 1964), Hint #60 in “Hints and Helps”. Close

9. C. L. Seow, A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew (Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, 1987), p. 93. Close

10. Robert Young, Young’s Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI), preface, “The Battle of the Hebrew Tenses.” Close

11. Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids. 1996), Vol. 1, p. 329. Close

12. The Septuagint also mixes the past with the present and future in this section, so even if the Ethiopian were reading the Greek Old Testament, he would still be confused about whether the person being referred to lived in Isaiah’s past or future. Close

13. C. F. Keil, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, Vol. X, Minor Prophets (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, reprinted 1975), pp. 204–5. Close

14. Bullinger, op. cit. Figures of Speech, pp. 819, 20. Close

15. Two examples of a phrase using the prophetic perfect in the New Testament are John 4:23 and John 5:25. In both these verses Christ said, “A time is coming [literal future] and now has come [prophetic perfect]….” The John 4 reference is to the coming of the spirit, which, although it had not yet come, was certainly going to come in the future just as God promised. The John 5 reference is to the dead coming to life at the Resurrection, a point made clear in John 5:28. So, Jesus also used the same idiom as the writers of the Old Testament. He coupled the future tense, which is literal future, “a time is coming,” with the non-literal, “and now has come.” By using both phrases together, he made sure that the listener would not be confused and by using the idiom he emphasized the certainty of the events. Close

16. F. F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Epistle to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984), p. 287. Close

17. Hazel Felleman, ed., The Best Loved Poems of the American People, “The Blind Men and the Elephant,” John Saxe, (Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, NY, 1936), pp. 521,22. Close