ᾔδειν (edein) in John 1:31: Verb First Person Singular Second Pluperfect Active Indicative

Verb: the form names an action or state, here the knowing expressed by the lemma οἶδα.

Second Pluperfect: presents a completed action or state from a past viewpoint, with context setting the nuance.

Active: presents the subject as doing or carrying the action.

Indicative: presents the verbal idea as an assertion or statement in the clause.

First person: the speaker or speakers are grammatically involved in the verbal form.

Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.

Singular: the form is singular and refers to a single speaker acting in the clause.

Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.

κἀγὼ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν

The verb is governed by the negative statement 'I did not know him', which carries the main assertion in the first clause.

It supplies the speaker's personal claim of not knowing the one mentioned, and the surrounding context shows this serves the passage's contrast and purpose statement.

It does not by itself identify motive, doctrinal status, or a change in person, and it does not replace the surrounding clause about revelation to Israel.

High: The first-person pluperfect form states John's prior lack of recognition before the revelation purpose is explained.

Negated knowledge predicate. states John's prior condition of not knowing the one revealed. Attached to John's statement I did not know him. Governed by the negative clause in John's testimony. The verb matters because it sets up the purpose of John's baptismal witness in the same verse.

What does John say about his prior knowledge? He says he did not know him before the revealing purpose of the testimony.

Direct: The verb directly shapes the rendering "I did not know him."

The form states prior knowledge in John's testimony; it does not define all dimensions of John's awareness apart from the passage.

Tense form settles every chronology question: The form marks prior knowledge in the clause; the testimony context controls the chronology.

The witness reads ᾔδειν in John 1:31 in the clause 'κἀγὼ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν'.

The lemma οἶδα carries the sense of knowing or having perceived, so the form expresses knowledge rather than a different lexical idea.

The singular first person form matches the speaker's own confession, and the negation makes the statement a claim of not knowing the person referred to.

The verse says the speaker did not know him, but came baptizing so that he might be made known to Israel.

Within the verse's purpose statement, the form supports a testimony about disclosure and recognition rather than private insight.

For communication, the form reads naturally as a personal witness statement that explains why the speaker acted as he did.

Do not derive more than the context gives, and do not press the tense label to override the clear meaning of the clause.