Prominence and Markedness in New Testament Discourse 19 As in the above sections, εὐαγγελίζωμαι is prominent here too in v. 16, found in the middle voice-form. This word is heavily marked in two other ways as I have noted: the present tense-form and the subjunctive mood-form. Now a third way of prominence is noted with the middle voice-form. No further comments seem necessary to note the prominence that εὐαγγελίζωμαι has in this discourse. Paul heavily emphasizes his purpose in preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, and perhaps we can tentatively conclude that this is his main emphasis in his post-conversion testimony to the Galatians. B. Gal 1,18–24 1) Verbal Aspect. Paul continues the narrative by using two aorist tense-forms (perfective aspect) to communicate his travels, after three years, to Jerusalem to visit Peter (ἀνῆλθον... ἱστορῆσαι); he remained (ἐπέμεινα) there fifteen days, he recounts. He then states that he saw (εἶδον)—using another aorist tense-form—none of the apostles while he was there except for James. At this point (v. 20), he pauses the narrative to communicate to his audience that he is indeed telling the truth in all of this (ἅ δὲ γράφω ὑμῖν, ἰδοὺ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι οὐ ψεύδομαι). Most English translations have this phrase in parentheses (e.g., ESV, NASB, NKJV), but Paul actually uses present tense-forms (imperfective aspect) to highlight this: γράφω and ψεύδομαι. This reiteration is obviously not his main point, but he does want to highlight it—in English, we might put this in italics72. After his brief emphatic insistence that he is telling the truth, Paul returns to the narrative in v. 21, using the aorist tense-form again (ἦλθον) to describe his travels to Syria and Cilicia. In this section (vv. 18–24), this is the last mention of Paul regards his travels. In the next verse (v. 22), he switches aspect to a present tense-form participle (ἀγνοούμενος) describing how he was unknown to the churches in Syria and Cilicia. More specifically, he uses an imperfective periphrastic construction with an augmented (imperfect tense-form) form of εἰμί, as he continues to inform his readers of his inconspicuousness in Syria and Cilicia. Though ἤμην is considered aspectually vague (it is periphrastic), ἤμην ἀγνοούμενος is prominent in this section because of the present 72 There is also a marker of attention (ἰδοὺ) that further conveys prominence in this sentence, but since that has not been included in the section on criteria for prominence, I have relegated it to a footnote. Often times, words like ἰδοὺ are used to call the reader/ listener to attention to what is about to be stated. Cf. Westfall, “Analysis of Prominence,” 86.