βαστάσαι· (bastasai) in Matthew 3:11: Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
βαστάσαι· (bastasai) in Matthew 3:11
Textual Witness
The witness reads βαστάσαι· in Matthew 3:11.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The infinitive gives concrete shape to John's humility.
How To Communicate It
Use this form to show that John's comparison becomes a servant-level confession.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Do not detach the sandal image from John's larger testimony about the one coming after him.
- Do not build a full doctrine from this form alone.
- Do not use morphology to detach the word from Matthew's immediate argument.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the form names an action or state in the clause.
Aorist: commonly views the action as a whole event. It should not be treated as automatically punctiliar or automatically past in every context.
Active: presents the subject as carrying out the action.
Infinitive: names the verbal action without marking a finite subject.
Not applicable: this non-finite verbal form does not mark grammatical person.
Not applicable: this finite verb form is not using noun case to mark its clause role.
Number: the verb's number should be read with its subject in this clause.
Not applicable: this finite verb form does not use grammatical gender.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Worthy
John's statement of unworthiness
It names the action John says he is not worthy to perform.
It does not turn John's humility into a complete doctrine of servanthood by itself.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The infinitive gives concrete expression to John's unworthiness.
Infinitive completing a worthiness statement. names the action John says he is not worthy to do. Attached to worthy. Governed by John's statement of unworthiness. The infinitive should be read with the adjective worthy.
What does John say he is not worthy to do? He is not worthy to carry the Coming One's sandals.
Direct: The form directly supports the rendering to carry.
The action is concrete, while the statement's significance comes from John's comparison.
Infinitive alone becomes a full humility doctrine: The form names an action in John's confession; broader humility teaching must use broader context.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads βαστάσαι· in Matthew 3:11.
The lemma bastazo means to carry or bear; here the infinitive names carrying the Coming One's sandals.
The infinitive completes John's statement that he is not sufficient or worthy to carry the sandals.
John expresses his unworthiness before the one coming after him.
The form fits the forerunner's posture of humility before Jesus.
In teaching, connect the infinitive to John's statement of unworthiness and the greater identity of the Coming One.
Do not make the infinitive alone define all humility or discipleship.