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Bible Lexicons
Old & New Testament Greek Lexical Dictionary
Strong's #1934 - ἐπιζητέω
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ἐπιζητ-έω,
1. seek after, wish for, miss, τινά Hdt. 3.36, Plu. Sull. 19; οὐδὲν ἄλλο χρῆμα οὕτω ἐν βραχέϊ ἐπεζήτησα ὡς.. Hdt. 5.24; μηδὲν ἐπιζητείτω let her lack nothing, PTeb. 416.20 (iii A.D.); ἐ. τὸν ἄν θρωπον make further search for.., D. 18.133; τῆς αἰτίας αἰτίαν ἐπι ζητούσης requiring, Plb. 1.5.3, cf. Ph. 1.18: abs., οἱ ἐπιζητοῦντες the beaters (for game), X. Cyr. 2.4.25: — Pass., τὰ ἐπιζητούμενα περὶ τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν Arist. EN 1098b22, cf. 1172b35, Diog.Oen. 23; οἱ -ούμενοι criminals ` wanted', POxy. 80.15 (iii A.D.).. request, πρός τινας ὁμολογίαν Anatolian Studies 38, cf. PMasp. 156.16 (vi A.D.).
2.. seek for besides, μηδ' ἕτερ' ἐπιζήτει καλά Antiph. 44.5; inquire further, περὶ.. Sor. 1.2, cf. Gal. 16.490.
3.. Pass., ἐπιζητεῖται is matter of question, ἐ. πότερον.. Arist. EN 1169b13, cf. Phld. D. 1.22, Rh. 1.194S., al.
4.. demand, require, PLille 7.6 (iii B.C.): — Pass., POxy. 1194.2 (iii A.D.).
ἐπι -ζητέω , -ῶ ,
[in LXX chiefly for H1875, 2 Kings 8:8, Isaiah 62:12, al.; also for H1245, 1 Kings 20:1, Ecclesiastes 7:28), Hosea 3:5; H6485, 2 Kings 3:8;]
"directive" of ζητέω (MM, Exp., xiv),
to inquire for, seek after, wish for: c. acc rei, Matthew 6:32; Matthew 12:39; Matthew 16:4, Luke 12:30, Acts 19:39, Romans 11:7, Philippians 4:17, Hebrews 11:14; Hebrews 13:14; c. acc pers., Luke 4:42, Acts 12:19; c. inf., Acts 13:7.†
Copyright © 1922 by G. Abbott-Smith, D.D., D.C.L.. T & T Clarke, London.
A few exx. may be quoted to illustrate the varying shades of meaning of this verb in the NT. Thus for the sense ";seek for,"; as in Luke 4:42, cf. P Hamb I. 27.4 (B.C. 250) τῆι δὲ ἐφαύριον αὐτὸν ἐπεζήτουν καὶ οὐχ ηὕρισ [κον ἐμ Φιλαδε ]λφείαι, and for ";inquire,"; cf. P Fay 39.14 (A.D. 183) ἐπιζητου ̣ͅν ̣τ ̣ί σοι, ";in answer to your inquiry,"; and so P Oxy I. 77.6 (A.D. 223) : the directive rather than the intensive force of the compound is well seen in P Tebt II. 411.7 (ii/A.D.) ὁ γὰρ κράτιστος ἐπιστράτηγος ἱκανῶς σε ἐπεζήτησε, ";has made several inquiries about you."; Similarly for ";desire,"; cf. P Tebt II. 314.6 (ii/A.D.) ἐπιζητοῦντος τοῦ [ἀ ]ρχιερέως τὸν παι ̣ͅδ ̣α ε [ἰ ]δῖν, and for the stronger ";demand,"; P Lille I. 7.6 (iii/B.C.) καὶ ἐπιζητήσαντος αὐτοῦ βυβλάριά τινα, ἃ ἐδεδώκειν ἐν φυ (λακῆι), P Tebt II. 416.20 (iii/A.D.) μηδὲν ἐπιζητείτω, ";let her want for nothing"; (Edd.). The passive appears in P Oxy I. 80.15 (A.D. 238–44) τοὺς ἐπιζητουμένους, of criminals who are ";wanted,"; P Oxy IX. 1194.2 (c. A.D. 265) πρὸς τὰ ἐπιζητηθέντα ὥστε μεταδοθῆναι τὰ λοιπαζόμενα, ";in answer to the requisition for a report of the arrears"; (Ed.), ib. 1196.15 (A.D. 211–12) ἐ ̣μφανὴς ὢν ὁπόταν ἐπιζητηθῶ, ";appearing whenever I may be required"; (Ed.), and in the interesting P Oxy I. 36ii. 8 (ii/iii A.D.) from which we learn that if a tax-gatherer had any suspicion that a merchant had more goods on his ship than he had declared (ἀπεγράψατο) he had the right of requiring the cargo to be unloaded—ἐ ̣[ὰν ] δ ̣ε ̣, τελώνης ἐκφορ [τισ ]φῆναι τὸ πλοῖον ἐπιζητήσῃ, ὁ ἔμπορος ἐκφορτιζέ [τ ]ω.
Copyright © 1914, 1929, 1930 by James Hope Moulton and George Milligan. Hodder and Stoughton, London.
Derivative Copyright © 2015 by Allan Loder.
the Third Week after Epiphany