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eperōtaō

ἐπερωτάω

GreekG1905ask, question, ...

Appears 56 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 12:10Mat 16:1Mat 17:10Mat 22:23Mat 22:35Mat 22:41Mat 22:46Mat 27:11Mrk 5:9Mrk 7:5Mrk 7:17Mrk 8:23Mrk 8:27Mrk 8:29Mrk 9:11Mrk 9:16Mrk 9:21Mrk 9:28Mrk 9:32Mrk 9:33Mrk 10:2Mrk 10:10Mrk 10:17Mrk 11:29Mrk 12:18Mrk 12:28Mrk 12:34Mrk 13:3Mrk 14:60Mrk 14:61Mrk 15:2Mrk 15:4Mrk 15:44Luk 2:46Luk 3:10Luk 3:14Luk 6:9Luk 8:9Luk 8:30Luk 9:18Luk 17:20Luk 18:18Luk 18:40Luk 20:21Luk 20:27Luk 20:40Luk 21:7Luk 22:64Luk 23:9Jhn 9:23
Compound of
Root family
Word studyep-er-oh-TAH-ohverb

What eperōtaō means

to put a question to someone: to ask, inquire, or question a person directly

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

This verb is the ordinary word for turning to a person and asking. Built from the common Greek word for asking plus a prefix that points the action squarely at the one being addressed, it almost always means to question someone face to face and expect a reply. In the Gospels it is the verb of the back and forth between Jesus and the people around him: his followers ask him what a parable means, opponents test him with trick questions, and Jesus in turn questions them.

The shades within this one idea sort by who is asking and why. Most often it is a plain request for information or an answer. Sometimes it is a formal interrogation, where a person in authority presses someone under examination, as when Pilate and the high priest question Jesus at his trial. The same word also reaches just beyond ordinary asking: in one place it means to ask for something demanded of another, and in a quotation from Isaiah it means to ask after, or seek out, God himself.

These are not separate words but neighboring uses of a single act. Whether the tone is curious, hostile, official, or pleading, the core is the same: someone directs a question to someone else and waits for the response.

Nuances

1ato ask a question, inquire of someone in order to learn or get an answer
Mat 17:10Mat 22:23Mat 22:41Mrk 5:9Mrk 7:5Mrk 8:27Mrk 8:29Mrk 9:11Mrk 9:16Mrk 9:21Mrk 9:28Mrk 9:33
1bto question formally or under examination: to interrogate
Mat 27:11Mrk 14:60Mrk 14:61Mrk 15:2Mrk 15:4Mrk 15:44Luk 22:64Luk 23:6Luk 23:9Act 5:27
1cto ask for something, to demand it of another
Mat 16:1
1dto ask after someone, to seek or inquire after
Rom 10:20

What scholars say about eperōtaō

Standard lexica (BDAG, LSJ) treat ἐπερωτάω as the directive compound of ἐρωτάω, glossed primarily as to put a question to, ask, question, with a secondary use to ask for or request something (Mt 16:1) where the thing requested becomes the object. The verb is heavily concentrated in the Synoptic Gospels, especially Mark, where it carries the dialogue between Jesus and his interlocutors and the trial interrogations. In Rom 10:20 Paul quotes Isa 65:1 LXX, where ἐπερωτάω renders Hebrew שׁאל and stands parallel to ζητέω, yielding the nuance of asking after or seeking God. EDNT and TDNT note the term's neutral register: it marks the speech act of questioning without implying the attitude of the questioner, which the narrative context supplies.

Sources

  • BDAG, s.v. ἐπερωτάωlexicon
  • LSJ, s.v. ἐπερωτάωlexicon
  • H. Balz, EDNT, s.v. ἐπερωτάωdictionary

All attested forms of ἐπερωτάω

aorist active indicative 3s

ἐπηρώτησεν, ἐπηρώτησέν

Mat 22:35, Mat 22:41, Mat 27:11, Mrk 9:16, Mrk 9:21, Mrk 12:28, Mrk 14:60, Mrk 15:2

imperfect active indicative 3p

ἐπηρώτων, Ἐπηρώτων

Mrk 7:17, Mrk 9:11, Mrk 9:28, Mrk 10:2, Mrk 10:10, Mrk 12:18, Luk 3:10, Luk 3:14

imperfect active indicative 3s

ἐπηρώτα

Mrk 5:9, Mrk 8:23, Mrk 8:27, Mrk 8:29, Mrk 9:33, Mrk 10:17, Mrk 13:3, Mrk 14:61

aorist active indicative 3p

ἐπηρώτησαν, Ἐπηρώτησαν

Mat 12:10, Mat 16:1, Mat 17:10, Mat 22:23, Luk 20:21, Luk 20:27, Luk 21:7

aorist active infinitive

ἐπερωτῆσαι

Mat 22:46, Mrk 9:32, Mrk 12:34

aorist active imperative 2p

ἐπερωτήσατε

Jhn 9:23

aorist active participle nominative m s

ἐπερωτήσας

Act 23:34

aorist passive participle nominative m s

Ἐπερωτηθεὶς

Luk 17:20

future active indicative 1s

ἐπερωτήσω

Mrk 11:29

present active imperative 3p

ἐπερωτάτωσαν

1Co 14:35

present active indicative 1s

ἐπερωτῶ

Luk 6:9

present active indicative 3p

ἐπερωτῶσιν

Mrk 7:5

present active infinitive

ἐπερωτᾶν

Luk 20:40

present active participle accusative m s

ἐπερωτῶντα

Luk 2:46

present active participle dative m p

ἐπερωτῶσιν

Rom 10:20