The αἰτέω / αἰτέομαι Distinction in the New Testament: A proposal 109 tion, there is no implication that the constraint ever is fulfilled; and the verb form is middle.11 This constraint remains contextually applicable in v. 15a, where the action remains potential and the constraint remains unfulfilled. Again the verb form is middle. In v. 15b the character as- sumes that having what is requested indicates that the successful request fulfilled the constraint of asking according to God’s will, and the verb form is active. ἐάν τι αἰτώμεθα κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ ἀκούει ἡμῶν. καὶ ἐὰν οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀκούει ἡμῶν ὃ ἐὰν αἰτώμεθα, οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἔχομεν τὰ αἰτήματα ἃ ᾐτήκαμεν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ. (1 John 5:14-15) If we [with affect] ask anything according to his will, he hears us; and, if we know that he hears us [in] what we [with affect] ask, we know that we have the things that we have asked of him. 4. αἰτέω with Usages AEC-Act / AEC-Mid Αἰτέω presents thirty occurrences with usage AEC-Act and twenty- six occurrences with usage AEC-Mid. The following discussion distin- guishes the occurrences of αἰτέω into three groups: those that rely on explicit contextual constraints and two groups of occurrences that rely on implicit constraints (groups A and B). 4.1. Explicit Constraints Twenty-eight occurrences with usage AEC-Act and five occurrences with usage AEC-Mid rely on the presence or absence of explicit con- straints. The active occurrences appear in contexts that present no explic- it constraints on the Agent’s action of asking or that present explicitly stated constraints that are fulfilled by the Agent. The middle occurrences appear in contexts that introduce unfulfilled constraints on the Agent’s action. This discussion considers first the twenty-six active occurrences in isolation from middle occurrences, then the two middle occurrences in isolation from active occurrences, and then the two active and three middle occurrences that are contextually related. Among the twenty-six isolated active occurrences, nineteen appear in contexts that introduce no constraints on the action for the Agent or character to recognize. The first example illustrates the two occurrences in statements by the Agent (Luke 1:63; Acts 16:29); the second example 11 For a discussion of the form and implications of the general condition, see Smyth, Grammar, 523.