δοκέω
dokéō · G1380 · Greek · 62 occurrences
Meanings
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to suppose, to presume, to assume, to imagine, to believe, to think
To regard something as presumably true, but without particular certainty
ExamplesMatthew 3:9 and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham.
Matthew 6:7 “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Matthew 22:17 “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it permissible to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?”
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to be disposed to, to want to
To be disposed to some desire or intent
Examples1 Corinthians 11:16 But if anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor have the churches of God.
2 Corinthians 10:9 for I do not want to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters.
Hebrews 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
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to choose, to decide to prefer, to choose as superior
To make a choice on the basis of something being better or superior
ExamplesLuke 1:3 it seemed fitting to me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in an orderly sequence, most excellent Theophilus;
Acts 15:22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,
Acts 15:25 it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
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important persons, influential persons, prominent persons
Those who have a reputation of being important or are generally recognized as being important
ExamplesGalatians 2:2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that somehow I might be running, or had run, in vain.
Galatians 2:6 But from those who were of considerable repute (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism)—well, those who were of repute contributed nothing to me.
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to seem, to appear, to assume, to think
To hold an opinion based upon appearances which may be significantly different from reality
ExamplesMatthew 17:25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?”
Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost?
Matthew 21:28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’
How it’s used In 9 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
61 occurrences in 20 groups
- Not stated (participle) 11
- τὶςsomeone 10
- Not stated: you (more than one) 10
- τίςwho? what?, why? for what reason? 8
- Not stated: he, she or it 4
- Other words · 15 groups that occur once or twice (18) 18
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
44 occurrences in 27 groups
- εἰμίto be 15
- λέγωto say 4
- ἔχωto have 3
- Other words · 24 groups that occur once or twice (26) 26
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- περίconcerning, about, for+ ΧριστόςChrist, Messiah 1
- πρόςto, toward, with+ πάρειμιto be present 1
- σύνwith, together with+ ἐκκλησίαcongregation, church 1
With adverbsAdverbs
9 occurrences in 4 groups
- μήnot 5
- οὐnot 2
- πάλαιlong ago 1
- τότεthen 1
Named alongside itApposition
3 occurrences in 5 groups
- ἸάκωβοςJames 1
- ἸωάννηςJohn 1
- Κηφᾶςthe Rock 1
- φιλονεικίαdesire to quarrel 1
- ὥραhour, time 1
What it doesIt is the subject
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- αἴρωto take up, to take away, to carry 1
- κατακυριεύωto rule 1
- προσανατίθημιto add 1
- βλέπωto see 1
What is done to itIt is the object
6 occurrences in 3 groups
- λέγωto say 4
- ἔπωto say 2
- ἀποκρίνομαιto answer 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- παιδείαdiscipline, training 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- διάthrough 3
- κατάaccording to, against, down 2
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 1 word
- νομίζω nomízō · G3543 · to suppose, to presume, to assume
- νομίζω (“to suppose, to deem, to hold by custom or law”) and the target term δοκέω (“to think, to seem”) both belong to the sphere of mental supposition or judgment. δοκέω emphasizes subjective impression or appearance, while νομίζω emphasizes a judgment grounded in convention or established assumption — a specific nuance within their shared cognitive-evaluation sense.
Semantic domains 5 entries
- To be disposed to, to want to25.7
- Used of an inward inclination or expectation, as of the warning that the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect in Matthew 24:44 and Luke 12:40.
- To choose, to decide to prefer, to choose as superior30.96
- Used of arriving at a considered decision or preference, as of it seeming good to Luke to write an orderly account for Theophilus in Luke 1:3, the apostles and elders deciding to choose men to send to Antioch in Acts 15:22, 15:25, and 15:28, and the readers' earthly fathers disciplining them as seemed best to them in Hebrews 12:10.
- To suppose, to presume, to assume, to imagine, to believe, to think31.29
- Used of holding a mental supposition, as of the warning not to presume one can rely on having Abraham as father in Matthew 3:9, and the Gentiles thinking they will be heard for their many words in Matthew 6:7.
- To seem, to appear, to assume, to think31.30
- Used of forming a judgment about how something appears, as of the question of what Simon the Pharisee thinks about the two debtors in Luke 7:43-style reasoning as illustrated by the parallel questions in Matthew 17:25, 18:12, and 21:28 asking directly what someone thinks.
- Important persons, influential persons, prominent persons87.42
- Used of persons regarded as having high standing or authority, as of those who were of reputation contributing nothing new to Paul's message in Galatians 2:2 and 2:6, and James, Cephas, and John, who were reputed to be pillars, extending the right hand of fellowship in Galatians 2:9.
Word family 19 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon δοκῶ; imperfect ἐδόκουν; 1 aorist ἔδοξα; (akin to δέχομαι or δέκομαι, whence δοκός an…
1. to be of opinion, think, suppose: followed by an accusative with an infinitive, Mk 6:49 (R G L Tr); 2 Cor 11:16; 1 Cor 12:23; with an infinitive relating to the same subject as that of δοκέω itself, Lk 8:18 (ὁ δοκεῖ ἔχειν); Lk 24:37 (ἐδόκουν πνεῦμα θεωρεῖν); Jn 5:39; Jn 16:2; Acts 12:9; Acts 27:13; 1 Cor 3:18; 1 Cor 7:40; 1 Cor 8:2; 1 Cor 10:12; 1 Cor 14:37; Gal 6:3; Phm 3:4; Jas 1:26; μή δόξητε λέγειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς do not suppose that ye may think, Mt 3:9; cf. Fritzsche at the passage followed by ὅτι, Mt 6:7; Mt 26:53; (Mk 6:49 T WH); Lk 12:51; Lk 13:2, Lk 13:4; Lk 19:11; Jn 5:45; Jn 11:13 ( T Tr WH); Jn 13:29; ; 1 Cor 4:9; 2 Cor 12:19; Jas 4:5, so used that the object is easily understood from the context: Mt 24:44 (ἡ ὥρα οὐ δοκεῖτε ὁ υἱός τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται); Lk 12:40; Lk 17:9 (R G L brackets Tr marginal reading brackets); forming a parenthesis in the midst of a question: πόσῳ, δοκεῖτε, χείρονος ἀξιωθήσεται τιμωρίας; Heb 10:29; (Aristophanes Aeharn. 12 πῶς τουτ' ἐσεισε μου, δοκεῖς, τήν καρδίαν; Anacreon () 40, 15 (i. e., 35 (33), 16) πόσον, δοκεῖς, πονουσιν, ἔρως, ὅσους σύ βαλλεις;). (Synonym: see ἡγέομαι, at the end)
2. intransitive, to seem, be accounted, reputed: Lk 10:36; Lk 22:24; Acts 17:18; Acts 25:27; 1 Cor 12:22; 2 Cor 10:9; Heb 12:11; ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ δεῖν πρᾶξαι, I seemed to myself, i. e. I thought, Acts 26:9 (cf. Buttmann, 111 (97)); οἱ δοκοῦντες ἄρχειν those that are accounted to rule, who are recognized as rulers, Mk 10:42; οἱ δοκοῦντες εἶναι τί those who are reputed to be somewhat (of importance), and therefore have influence, Gal 2:6 (9) (Plato, Euthyd., p. 303 c.); simply, οἱ δοκοῦντες those highly esteemed, of repute, looked up to, influential, Gal 2:2 (often in Greek writings as Euripides, Hec. 295, where cf. Schafer; (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 45, 7)). By way of courtesy, things certain are sometimes said δοκεῖν, as in Heb 4:1 (cf. Cicero, offic. 3, 2, 6ut tute tibi defuisse videare); 1 Cor 11:16 (but cf. Meyer at the passage); cf. Winer's Grammar, § 65, 7 c.
3. impersonally, δοκεῖ μοι, it seems to me; i. e.
a. I think, judge": thus in questions, τί σοι (ὑμῖν) δοκεῖ; Mt 17:25; Mt 18:12; Mt 21:28; Mt 22:17, Mt 22:42; Mt 26:66; Jn 11:56; κατά τό δοκοῦν αὐτοῖς as seemed good to them, Heb 12:10 (Lucian, Tim. § 25, and παρά τό δοκοῦν ἡμῖν, Thucydides 1, 84).
b. ἔδοξε μοι it seemed good to, pleased, me; I determined: followed by an infinitive, Lk 1:3; Acts 15:22, Acts 15:25, Acts 15:28, Acts 15:34 Rec.; also often in Greek writings. Compare: εὐδοκέω, συνδοκέω, εὐδοκέω.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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