Greek verb · G4441
πυνθάνομαι
pynthanomaipoon-than'-om-ahee
to inquire; to learn by inquiry
12 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: pynthánomai
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G4441is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 4 of 27New Testament books
- 7spellings
- 2meanings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · G4441
to question, i.e. ascertain by inquiry (as a matter of information merely; and thus differing from , which properly means a request as a favor; and from , which is strictly a demand for something due; as well as from , which implies a search for something hidden; and from , which involves the idea of urgent need); by implication, to learn (by casual intelligence)
The King James renders it: ask, demand, enquire, understand.
James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.
Summary
pynthanomai is rendered "to inquire; to learn by inquiry". It stands 12 times in the Greek text, across four books.
- Seven of the uses stand in Acts, more than in any other book.
- The lexicon lists two meanings for it, beginning with "to inquire".
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Matthew 2:4And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
- The Greek text spells it seven different ways.
The first use
And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
Matthew 2:4ἐπυνθάνετο
The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.
Where the word stands
What the word means
The word carries two meanings: to inquire, and to learn by inquiry.
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
| Meaning | Tagged as | Where |
|---|---|---|
| to inquirewith accusative of thing(s), Jhn.4:42, Act.23:20; before quæst. indir., Mat.2:4, Luk.15:25 18:36, Act.10:18 21:33; quæst. dir., Act.4:7... | Tagged as
| WhereMatthew 2:4And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people… |
| to learn by inquirybefore ὅτι, Act.23:34.† (AS) | Tagged as
| WhereActs 23:34The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from… |
The words built on the same word-part
Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.
All 12, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
7 spellings and their grammar
STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.
How it is spelled
- ἐπυνθάνετο5
- ἐπυνθάνοντο2
- ἐπύθετο1
- πυθέσθαι1
- πυθόμενος1
- πυνθάνεσθαι1
- πυνθάνομαι1
The grammar of each form
- verb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singular5V-INI-3S
- verb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person plural2V-INI-3P
- verb · aorist middle form, indicative · 3rd person singular1V-2ADI-3S
- verb · aorist middle form, infinitive (“to…”)1V-2ADN
- verb · aorist middle form, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singular1V-2ADP-NSM
- verb · present middle or passive form, indicative · 1st person singular1V-PNI-1S
- verb · present middle or passive form, infinitive (“to…”)1V-PNN
Matthew
one use
And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
- ἐπυνθάνετοepunthanetoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he was inquiring
Luke
two uses
So he called one of the servants and asked what was going on.
- ἐπυνθάνετοepunthanetoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he was inquiring
When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
- ἐπυνθάνετοepunthanetoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he was asking
John
two uses
So he inquired as to the hour when his son had recovered, and they told him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”
- ἐπύθετοeputhetoverb · aorist middle form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: He inquired
So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus which one He was talking about.
- πυθέσθαιputhesthaiverb · aorist middle form, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to ask
Acts
seven uses
They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
- ἐπυνθάνοντοepunthanontoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: they were inquiring
They called out to ask if Simon called Peter was staying there.
- ἐπυνθάνοντοepunthanontoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: they were asking
So when I was invited, I came without objection. I ask, then, why have you sent for me?”
- πυνθάνομαιpunthanomaiverb · present middle or passive form, indicative · 1st person singulartagged: I inquire
The commander came up and arrested Paul, ordering that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.
- ἐπυνθάνετοepunthanetoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he was inquiring
The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside, and asked, “What do you need to tell me?”
- ἐπυνθάνετοepunthanetoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he was inquiring
He answered, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of acquiring more information about him.
- πυνθάνεσθαιpunthanesthaiverb · present middle or passive form, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to inquire
The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,
- πυθόμενοςputhomenosverb · aorist middle form, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: having learned
Where it leads
How the numbers are counted
Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.
Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.