ἐπισκέπτομαι
episképtomai · G1980 · Greek · 11 occurrences
Meanings
-
to select carefully, to choose after careful investigation
To choose or select on the basis of having investigated carefully
ExamplesActs 6:3 “Instead, brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.
-
to visit, to go to see
To go to see a person on the basis of friendship and with helpful intent
ExamplesMatthew 25:36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
Matthew 25:43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’
Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
-
to look after, to take care of, to see to
To care for or look after, with the implication of continuous responsibility
ExamplesMatthew 25:36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
Matthew 25:43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’
Acts 15:14 “Simeon has described how God first concerned Himself about taking a people for His name from among the Gentiles.
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to be present to help, to be on hand to aid
To be present, with the implication of concern
ExamplesLuke 7:16 Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and, “God has visited His people!”
How it’s used In 7 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
11 occurrences in 7 groups
- Not stated: you (more than one) 3
- θεόςGod 2
- Not stated (infinitive) 2
- ἀνατολήeast, rising 1
- Not stated: we 1
- Not stated: you (one person) 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
9 occurrences in 8 groups
- ἐγώI, we 3
- ἀδελφόςbrother 2
- ἔχωto have 1
- λαόςpeople 1
- μαρτυρέωto testify, to witness 1
- ὀρφανόςorphan 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 4 groups
- ἐκfrom+ ὕψοςheight 1
- ἐνin+ θλῖψιςtribulation, affliction 1
- ἐνin+ ὅςwho, which, that 1
- κατάaccording to, against, down+ πόλιςcity 1
With adverbsAdverbs
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- οὐnot 1
Named alongside itApposition
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- οὗτοςthis 1
- σπλάγχνονaffection, compassion, heart 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἀναβαίνωto go up, to come up 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- λέγωto say 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 3 words
- פָּקַד pâqad · H6485 · to observe, to visit, to inspect
- Hebrew פָּקַד covers the semantic range of inspection/oversight with extended applications to appointment, visitation, and care/judgment, closely matching the Greek ἐπισκέπτομαι's core sense of 'inspect' with implications of selection and relief.
- בָּקַר bâqar · H1239 · to look for, to seek, to contemplate
- Hebrew בָּקַר emphasizes investigative inquiry and searching out, while Greek ἐπισκέπτομαι centers on visitation with inspection or care as purpose; the shared semantic core is deliberate examination/inspection of something or someone.
- בְּקַר bᵉqar · H1240 · inquire, make search
- Hebrew בְּקַר denotes investigative inquiry or searching examination, while Greek ἐπισκέπτομαι encompasses the broader semantic field of inspection, visitation, and oversight (including pastoral care), with the inquiry sense representing a subset of ἐπισκέπτομαι's range where careful examination is in view.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- To select carefully, to choose after careful investigation30.102
- In Acts 6:3, the apostles instruct the church, “select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom,” ἐπισκέπτομαι marking the careful, deliberate process of choosing suitable candidates.
- To visit, to go to see34.50
- Luke 7:16 reports that after Jesus raised the widow's son, the crowd glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!’ and, ‘God has visited His people!’” ἐπισκέπτομαι marking God's visitation of His people through this act.
- To look after, to take care of, to see to35.39
- In Acts 15:36, Paul proposes to Barnabas, “Let's return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city... and see how they are,” ἐπισκέπτομαι marking the pastoral checking-in and looking after the welfare of fellow believers.
- To be present to help, to be on hand to aid85.11
- Hebrews 2:6 quotes the psalmist's question, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU THINK OF HIM? OR A SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM?” ἐπισκέπτομαι here marking God's attentive, ready presence toward humanity to help and care for them.
Word family 8 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon future 3 person singular ἐπισκέψεται, Lk 1:78 Tr marginal reading WH; 1 aorist…
a. τινα, in order to see how he is, i. e. to visit, go to see one: Acts 7:23; Acts 15:36, (Judg 15:1); the poor and afflicted, Jas 1:27; the sick, Mt 25:36, Mt 25:43, (Sir. 7:35; Xenophon, mem. 3, 11, 10; Plutarch, mor., p. 129 c. (de sanirate praecept. 15 at the beginning); Lucian, philops. 6, and in medical writers).
b. Hebraistically, to look upon in order to help or to benefit, equivalent to to look after, have a care for, provide for, of God: τινα, Lk 7:16; Heb 2:6 (Gen 21:1; Ex 4:31; Ps 8:5; Psalm 79:15; Sir. 46:14; Judith 8:33, etc.); followed by a telic infinitive Acts 15:14; absolutely (Sir. 32:21 (Sir. 35:21)) yet with a statement of the effect and definite blessing added, Lk 1:68; ἐπεσκέψατο (WH Tr marginal reading ἐπισκέψεται) ἡμᾶς ἀνατολή ἐξ ὕψους a light from on high hath looked (others, shall look) upon us (cf. our the sun looks down on us, etc.), i. e. salvation from God has come to us, Lk 1:78. (In the O. T. used also in a bad sense of God as punishing, Psalm 88:33; Jer 9:25; Jer 11:22, etc.)
c. to look (about) for, look out (one to choose, employ, etc.): Acts 6:3.
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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