Aorist Infinitive with Accusative of Duration (Greek)

Definition

A construction in which an aorist infinitive (usually of an activity or stative verb) takes an accusative substantive denoting a span of time. The accusative answers the question "how long?" (Wallace, Basics of NT Syntax pp. 75, 92–93; BDF §161), and the aorist infinitive packages the whole span as a single bounded event viewed externally. The most frequent lexical instance in the NT is ποιέω + acc. of time used idiomatically for "spend/stay/continue [for a duration]" (BDAG ποιέω §4.2).

1. Accusative of extent of time — the noun in the accusative specifies the duration over which the verbal action holds (Wallace 201–203; Machen §382; BDF §161).
2. ποιέω + acc. of time idiom — "to spend, stay, continue (for) [time]"; the verb loses its normal "do/make" sense and functions as a stay/duration verb (BDAG §4.2).
3. Aorist-aspect bounded span — the aorist (perfective) aspect + explicit temporal accusative presents the entire span as a closed whole seen from outside, not an unfolding process. Pairs naturally with finite aorists of granting, deciding, traveling, etc.

Form Recognition

• Infinitive morphology: 1st aor. act. inf. -σαι (ποιῆσαι, πιστεῦσαι); 2nd aor. act. inf. -εῖν (λιπεῖν); aor. mid. -σασθαι; aor. pass. -θῆναι.
• Accusative time-word: μῆνας, ἡμέρας, ἔτη, ἐνιαυτόν, χρόνον, νυχθήμερον, ὥραν — usually adjacent to the verb, often without preposition.
• Parser search: tense=aorist mood=infinitive for the infinitive; case=accusative on time-nouns (μήν, ἡμέρα, ἔτος, χρόνος, ἐνιαυτός).
• Morph code pattern: V-AAN (aor. act. inf.) + N-ASM/APM on a time-word.
• No preposition required. Greek expresses duration by the bare accusative; contrast ἐν + dative ("at/during a point"), genitive ("kind of time"), or ἐπί/διά + gen. (also duration, but marked).

Functions with Examples

1. ποιέω + acc. of time = "spend/stay/continue" (BDAG §4.2)

The dominant NT use of this idiom. The aorist/perfect forms of ποιέω with an accusative duration denote completed residence or continuance over the named span; the aorist participle with χρόνον is a near-formulaic travel marker in Luke-Acts.

Reference	Greek	Morph Code	KJV Translation
Acts 15:33	ποιήσαντες … χρόνον	V-AAP-NPM + N-ASM	"after they had tarried [there] a space"
Acts 18:23	ποιήσας χρόνον τινά	V-AAP-NSM + N-ASM	"after he had spent some time"
Acts 20:3	ποιήσας … μῆνας τρεῖς	V-AAP-NSM + N-APM	"[there] abode three months"
2 Cor 11:25	νυχθήμερον … πεποίηκα	N-ASN + V-RAI-1S	"a night and a day I have been [in the deep]"
Jas 4:13	ποιήσομεν ἐκεῖ ἐνιαυτόν	V-FAI-1P + N-ASM	"continue there a year"

Notes: - The aorist participle (ποιήσας / ποιήσαντες) in Luke-Acts travel summaries functions as a backgrounded bounded-span event: "having spent X time, [main verb]." - 2 Cor 11:25 uses the perfect (πεποίηκα) with an accusative of duration (νυχθήμερον, "a day-and-night"): stative-resultative force on the same idiom. - Jas 4:13 shows the future indicative of the same idiom (ποιήσομεν … ἐνιαυτόν), confirming that the construction is not tense-bound: the accusative-of-duration pattern rides on the verb regardless of tense.

2. Aorist infinitive of ποιέω + acc. of duration as a bounded-span complement

When the same idiom is embedded under a finite verb (esp. ἐδόθη, "was given"), the aorist infinitive + accusative of duration encodes a finite, pre-delimited grant of the action. The aorist aspect views the whole span externally — the span is set; no iterative, conative, or open-ended reading is suggested by the morphology itself.

Reference	Greek	Morph Code	KJV Translation
Rev 13:5	ἐδόθη … ἐξουσία ποιῆσαι μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα [καὶ] δύο	V-API-3S … V-AAN + N-APM	"power was given unto him to continue forty [and] two months"

Parsing of Rev 13:5: ἐδόθη (V-API-3S, aor. pass. ind.) αὐτῷ (dat.) ἐξουσία (nom. subject) ποιῆσαι (V-AAN, aor. act. inf., complement of ἐξουσία) μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο (N-APM + numerals, acc. of extent of time).

Semantic structure: - Finite verb (ἐδόθη, aorist passive): a single completed act of granting. - Infinitive (ποιῆσαι, aorist active): the content of the grant, perfective. - Accusative of duration (μῆνας … δύο): the bounded span over which the granted action holds.

The KJV renders ποιῆσαι as "to continue," taking the ποιέω + acc.-of-time idiom (§1 above). Under that reading the sense is "authority … to continue [acting / to hold sway] for forty-two months."

Alternative parsing. If πόλεμον ("war") is supplied from the neighboring v. 7 (καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ποιῆσαι πόλεμον, "to make war" — same verb + acc. object, no time-word), ποιῆσαι in v. 5 can be read as "to make (war) for forty-two months," making μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο an accusative of duration modifying the action of war-making rather than the idiom. This requires ellipsis of the object, but is grammatically possible. Either way the accusative μῆνας … δύο is an accusative of extent of time under Wallace's category, and the aorist infinitive presents the action as a bounded perfective whole.

3. Non-ποιέω examples of the broader pattern (acc. of duration)

The accusative-of-duration construction is not limited to ποιέω; the same case-function operates with any verb taking an explicit time-span, including aorist infinitives of other verbs (Wallace 201; BDF §161).

Reference	Greek	Morph Code	KJV Translation
Matt 20:6	τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε … ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν	A-ASF + N-ASF	"Why stand ye here all the day…?"
Mark 1:13	ἦν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τεσσεράκοντα ἡμέρας	A-APF + N-APF	"he was in the wilderness forty days"
John 11:6	ἔμεινεν … δύο ἡμέρας	A-APF + N-APF	"he abode two days"

These show the bare accusative time-span without preposition — the standard Greek marker for extent of time.

Contrast with Related Case-Uses of Time

Form	Temporal Question	Nuance	Example
Accusative of time	"How long?"	extent / duration	Rev 13:5 μῆνας … δύο
Dative of time	"When?" (point)	position in time	Matt 17:23 τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ
Genitive of time	"During what kind of time?"	kind / within	John 3:2 ἦλθεν … νυκτός
ἐν + dative	"at / in"	location in time	Matt 2:1 ἐν ἡμέραις Ἡρῴδου
ἐπί / διά + gen.	"for / throughout"	marked duration	Acts 19:10 ἐπὶ ἔτη δύο

See Wallace Basics of NT Syntax pp. 75, 92–93; BDF §§161, 201; Machen §382.

Contrast with Related Infinitive Uses

Form	Function	Example
Aorist infinitive + acc. of duration	bounded perfective span	Rev 13:5 ποιῆσαι μῆνας … δύο
Aorist infinitive of purpose	goal of main verb	Matt 5:17 ἦλθον … καταλῦσαι
Present infinitive + acc. of duration	ongoing/iterative span	(rarer; stresses process within span)
Articular infinitive (τοῦ + inf.)	purpose / epexegetical	Acts 20:3 γνώμης τοῦ ὑποστρέφειν
Infinitive as complement of ἐξουσία / δύναμις	content of granted capacity	Rev 13:5, 7; John 1:12 ἐξουσίαν … γενέσθαι

Aspect Note

The aorist infinitive + accusative of duration is not a contradiction. Greek aspect (perfective) describes how the speaker presents the action, not its real-world internal time. An accusative of duration states how long the action extends; the aorist presents that whole extended state or activity as a single closed whole viewed from outside. Compare Mark 1:13 (imperfect ἦν + τεσσεράκοντα ἡμέρας — internal view) vs. Rev 13:5 (aor. inf. ποιῆσαι + μῆνας … δύο — external, bounded view). Both are grammatical; the aspect choice is rhetorical.

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Generated from: greek_parser.py (--verse), semantic_grammar.py ("accusative of time extent of time", "infinitive of purpose aorist"), Wallace BNTS pp. 75, 92–93, 201–203; BDF §§161, 201; Machen §382; BDAG ποιέω §4.2. Last updated: 2026-04-17