ἐπιγινώσκω
epiginṓskō · G1921 · Greek · 44 occurrences
Meanings
-
to know about, to know definitely about, knowledge about
To possess more or less definite information about, possibly with a degree of thoroughness or competence
ExamplesMatthew 11:27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.
Mark 5:30 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone out, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?”
Acts 19:34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
-
to come to understand, to perceive, to comprehend
To come to an understanding as the result of ability to experience and learn
ExamplesMark 2:8 Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were thinking that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you thinking about these things in your hearts?
Luke 1:4 so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
Luke 1:22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he repeatedly made signs to them, and remained speechless.
-
to learn about, to find out about
To acquire information, probably in a somewhat more exact or detailed form and perhaps with focus upon what is learned (compare γινώσκω (ginṓskō, G1097), sense 2)
ExamplesLuke 7:37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,
Luke 23:7 And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, since he also was in Jerusalem at this time.
Acts 9:30 Now when the brothers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.
-
to recognize
To identify newly acquired information with what had been previously learned or known
ExamplesMatthew 7:16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they?
Matthew 7:20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.
Matthew 14:35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding region and brought to Him all who were sick;
-
to acknowledge
To indicate that one does know
ExamplesMatthew 17:12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
1 Corinthians 16:18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.
How it’s used In 8 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
44 occurrences in 14 groups
- Not stated in the clause 16
- Not stated: you (more than one) 8
- Not stated: they 6
- Not stated (participle) 3
- Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
38 occurrences in 28 groups
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 10
- εἰμίto be 7
- Other words · 26 groups that occur once or twice (27) 27
Second objectAs in “call him Lord”
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- εἰμίto be 2
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
8 occurrences in 7 groups
- ἀπόfrom+ καρπόςfruit 2
- εἰςto+ ΚαισάρειαCaesarea 1
- ἐκfrom+ ἐντολήcommandment 1
- ἐνin+ ἑαυτοῦhimself, herself, itself 1
- ἐνin+ ἀλήθειαtruth 1
- ἕωςuntil, to, as far as+ τέλοςend 1
With adverbsAdverbs
11 occurrences in 4 groups
- μήnot 4
- καίand 3
- οὐnot 2
- τότεthen 2
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ὅςwho, which, that 1
What is done to itIt is the object
7 occurrences in 5 groups
- δύναμαιcan 2
- ἐπιγινώσκωto know, to recognize 2
- βούλομαιto want, to intend 1
- ἐλπίζωto hope 1
- λέγωto say 1
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- κρεῖσσονbetter 1
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.
In the other Testament 2 words
- יָדַע yâdaʻ · H3045 · to learn, to find out, to know
- ἐπιγινώσκω (epiginṓskō, G1921) is a standard Septuagint rendering of יָדַע (yâdaʻ, H3045) in contexts emphasizing recognition or full knowledge; its prefix intensifies the basic “know” sense that both roots share.
- נָכַר nâkar · H5234 · to recognize, to identify, to acknowledge
- נָכַר (nâkar, H5234) serves as the primary Hebrew equivalent for ἐπιγινώσκω (epiginṓskō, G1921), both denoting recognition and acknowledgment through cognitive discernment; the Greek term emphasizes full/complete knowledge ('upon some mark') while the Hebrew encompasses both recognition and the relational act of acknowledging what is known.
Semantic domains 5 entries
- To recognize27.61
- This verb describes identifying someone or something already encountered, used of the men of Gennesaret recognizing Jesus and spreading word throughout the region — "the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding region" (Matthew 14:35).
- To learn about, to find out about27.8
- It also describes gaining information not previously known, used of Jesus' teaching that a tree and its fruit will make known its true character to those who observe it — "You will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16).
- Knowing about, knowing definitely about, knowledge about28.2
- It also describes possessing definite, settled knowledge of a person, used of Jesus' teaching that no one fully knows the Son except the Father, nor the Father except the Son — "no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son" (Matthew 11:27).
- To acknowledge31.27
- It also describes formally acknowledging a truth already recognized, used of Jesus' teaching that the people did not acknowledge or recognize Elijah when he came, and instead did to him whatever they wished — "they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted" (Matthew 17:12).
- To come to understand, to perceive, to comprehend32.16
- It also describes arriving at a deeper comprehension of something, used elsewhere in the New Testament of coming to a fuller perception of a truth previously only partially grasped.
Word family 25 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (imperfect ἐπεγίνωσκον); future ἐπιγνώσομαι; 2 aorist ἐπέγνων; perfect ἐπέγνωκα;…
1. to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly; to know accurately, know well (see references under the word ἐπίγνωσις, at the beginning): 1 Cor 13:12 (where γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους and ἐπιγινώσκω, i. e. to know thoroughly, know well, divine things, are contrasted (Winer's Grammar, § 39, 3 N. 2)); with an accusative of the thing, Lk 1:4; 2 Cor 1:13; τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ, Col 1:6; τήν ἀλήθειαν, 1 Tim 4:3; τήν ὁδόν τῆς δικαιοσύνης, 2 Pet 2:21 (cf. Buttmann, 305 (262)); τό δικαίωμα τοῦ Θεοῦ, Rom 1:32; τί followed by ὅτι (by the familiar attraction (Winers Grammar, 626 (581); Buttmann, 376 (322); some bring this example under 2 a. in the sense of acknowledge)), 1 Cor 14:37; τινα, one's character, will, deeds, deserts, etc., 1 Cor 16:18; 2 Cor 1:14; (passive opposed to ἀγνωύμενοι, 2 Cor 6:9); τινα ἀπό τίνος (the genitive of a thing), Mt 7:16, Mt 7:20 (Lachmann ἐκ) ("a Gallicis armis atque insignibus cognoscere," for the more common ex, Caesar b. g. 1, 22, 2 (cf. Buttmann, 324 (278f); Winer's Grammar, 372 (348))); by attraction τινα, ὅτι etc. 2 Cor 13:5; ἐπιγινώσκει τόν υἱόν, τόν πατέρα, Mt 11:27.
2. universally, to know;
a. to recognize: τινα, i. e. by sight, hearing, or certain signs, to perceive who a person is, Mt 14:35; Mk 6:54; Lk 24:16, Lk 24:31; Mk 6:33 (R T, but G WH marginal reading without the accusative); by attraction, τινα, ὅτι, Acts 3:10; Acts 4:13; τινα, his rank and authority, Mt 17:12; with the accusative of the thing, to recognize a thing to be what it really is: τήν φωνήν τοῦ Πέτρου, Acts 12:14 τήν γῆν, Acts 27:39.
b. to know equivalent to to perceive: τί, Lk 5:22; ἐν ἑαυτῷ, followed by the accusative of the thing with a participle (Buttmann, 301 (258)), Mk 5:30; followed by ὅτι, Lk 1:22; τῷ πνεύματι followed by ὅτι, Mk 2:8.
c. to know i. e. to find out, ascertain: namely, αὐτό, Acts 9:30; followed by ὅτι, Lk 7:37; Lk 23:7; Acts 19:34; Acts 22:29; Acts 24:11 L T Tr WH; ; τί, followed by an indirect question, Acts 23:28 L T Tr WH; (δι' ἥν αἰτίαν, etc. Acts 22:24); παρά τίνος (the genitive of person) περί τίνος (the genitive of thing), Acts 24:8.
d. to know i. e. to understand: Acts 25:10. (From Homer down.)
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 5 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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