What does αἰτέω (aitéō) mean in the Bible?
Aiteo means to ask, request, petition, or seek something from another. James calls those lacking wisdom to ask the generous God, then exposes desires that fight rather than ask rightly.
Greek · G154
αἰτέω
To ask (in genitive case)
Reading a lexicon entry
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αἰτέω G154
Pronunciation aitéō
What does αἰτέω (aitéō) mean in the Bible?
Aiteo means to ask, request, petition, or seek something from another. James calls those lacking wisdom to ask the generous God, then exposes desires that fight rather than ask rightly.
Reader summary
Full entry for αἰτέω (G154) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G154?
The BSB source-word alignment has 70 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include ask (8), you ask (6), we ask (5), who asks (3), ask for (2).
Where does αἰτέω (aitéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:42. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (14), John (11), Luke (11), Acts (10).
What This Word Actually Means
Aiteo means to ask, request, petition, or seek something from another. James calls those lacking wisdom to ask the generous God, then exposes desires that fight rather than ask rightly. First John grounds confidence in asking according to God's will. The verb can also describe a person requesting an account of Christian hope and Jesus inviting the Samaritan woman to ask Him for living water.
Asking is relational dependence, not a technique for controlling God or other people. Biblical petition joins honest desire to God's character, wisdom, will, and kingdom purposes. Churches should welcome questions, teach lament and intercession, refuse prosperity formulas, and protect people from leaders who turn requests for explanation into disloyalty or use divine authority to demand compliance.
How the Bible Uses It
Aiteo names asking or requesting. Its uses range from prayer for wisdom and will-shaped petition to questions about hope and Jesus' offer of living water.
- Jas.1.5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
James 1:5 tells anyone lacking wisdom to ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach. The promise concerns needed wisdom within trials.
- Jas.4.2
You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.
James 4:2 says people desire, fight, and lack because they do not ask; the next verse exposes asking governed by self-consuming passions.
- 1John.5.14
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
First John 5:14 says believers have confidence that God hears requests made according to His will. Hearing rests in relationship and divine purpose, not technique.
- 1Pet.3.15
But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,
First Peter 3:15 speaks of anyone asking a reason for the believer's hope. The requested account should be answered with gentleness and respect.
- John.4.10
Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
John 4:10 says that if the woman knew God's gift and Jesus' identity, she would ask Him and He would give living water.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It ask 8× Matthew 6:8, Matthew 7:7, Mark 6:22, Luke 11:9
you ask 6× Mark 6:23, John 14:13, John 14:14, John 15:16
we ask 5× Mark 10:35, Ephesians 3:20, 1 John 3:22, 1 John 5:14
who asks 3× Matthew 5:42, Matthew 7:8, Luke 11:10
ask for 2× Matthew 27:20, John 4:9
asks 2× Luke 6:30, 1 Peter 3:15
asks for 2× Matthew 7:9, Luke 11:11
to ask for 2× Matthew 27:58, Mark 15:43
you are asking 2× Matthew 20:22, Mark 10:38
you ask for 2× Matthew 21:22, Mark 11:24
[And when] you do ask 1× James 4:3
[and] requested 1× Acts 25:15
[if] he asks for 1× Luke 11:12
[the people] asked for 1× Acts 13:21
[you] ask for 1× Matthew 18:19
[Zechariah] asked for 1× Luke 1:63
and requested 1× Acts 9:2
asked 1× Acts 7:46
asked that 1× Acts 3:14
asking 1× Colossians 1:9
asking [Pilate] 1× Mark 15:8
Calling for 1× Acts 16:29
demand 1× 1 Corinthians 1:22
demanding 1× Luke 23:23
he asks for 1× Matthew 7:10
he must ask 1× James 1:6
he should ask 1× James 1:5
he should ask [God] 1× 1 John 5:16
I ask [you] 1× Ephesians 3:13
she asked 1× Matthew 14:7
should I request 1× Mark 6:24
they asked 1× Acts 13:28
they asked for 1× Acts 12:20
they had requested 1× Luke 23:25
to ask [for] 1× Luke 23:52
to beg 1× Acts 3:2
to grant them 1× Acts 25:3
to make a request 1× Matthew 20:20
we have asked 1× 1 John 5:15
who ask 1× Matthew 7:11
will be demanded 1× Luke 12:48
with her request 1× Mark 6:25
would have asked 1× John 4:10
You ask of 1× John 11:22
you have not asked 1× John 16:24
you will ask 1× John 16:26
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:42 αἰτοῦντί to who asks Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Singular Matthew 6:8 αἰτῆσαι to ask Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Matthew 7:7 Αἰτεῖτε to Ask Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 7:8 αἰτῶν to who asks Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 7:9 αἰτήσει to asks for Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 7:10 αἰτήσει to he asks for Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 7:11 αἰτοῦσιν to who ask Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Plural Matthew 14:7 αἰτήσηται to she asked Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 18:19 αἰτήσωνται to [you] ask for Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 20:20 αἰτοῦσά to to make a request Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:42
Aligned rows 70
Books represented 11
Matthew 14 Mark 9 Luke 11 John 11 Acts 10 1 Corinthians 1 Ephesians 2 Colossians 1 James 5 1 Peter 1 1 John 5
Source forms
ᾐτήσατο 6x ētēsato Matthew 27:58, Mark 6:25, Mark 15:43, Luke 23:52
αἰτήσει 5x aitēsei Matthew 7:9, Matthew 7:10, Luke 11:11, Luke 11:12
αἰτεῖσθε 4x aiteisthe Matthew 20:22, Mark 10:38, Mark 11:24, James 4:3
αἰτήσητε 4x aitēsēte Matthew 21:22, John 14:13, John 15:16, John 16:23
αἰτούμενοι 4x aitoumenoi Luke 23:23, Acts 25:3, Acts 25:15, Colossians 1:9
αἰτεῖτε 3x aiteite Luke 11:9, John 16:24, James 4:3
αἰτοῦσιν 3x aitousin Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13, 1 Corinthians 1:22
αἰτεῖσθαι 2x aiteisthai Mark 15:8, James 4:2
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 6x Matthew 27:58, Mark 6:25, Mark 15:43, Luke 23:52
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural 5x Matthew 21:22, John 14:13, John 14:14, John 15:16
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 5x Matthew 7:9, Matthew 7:10, Luke 11:11, Luke 11:12
Verb - Present Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Plural 4x Matthew 20:22, Mark 10:38, Mark 11:24, James 4:3
Verb - Present Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Plural 4x Luke 23:23, Acts 25:3, Acts 25:15, Colossians 1:9
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural 3x Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9, John 16:24
Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Singular 3x Matthew 5:42, Luke 6:30, 1 Peter 3:15
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural 2x Acts 13:21, Acts 13:28
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not promise that a method, amount of faith, donation, wording, or leader guarantees the requested outcome.
- Do not treat questions, appeals, requests for evidence, or lament as rebellion when they are offered honestly and safely.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not promise that a method, amount of faith, donation, wording, or leader guarantees the requested outcome.
- Do not treat questions, appeals, requests for evidence, or lament as rebellion when they are offered honestly and safely.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to ask (in genitive case)
Strong's G154
Lexical occurrences 70 verses Greek text appearances 71 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 70 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to ask (in genitive case)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 71 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 5:42 Verb Present Active Participle Dative Singular Masculine
αἰτοῦντί aitounti
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 6:8 Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
αἰτῆσαι aithsai
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 7:7 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
Αἰτεῖτε, aiteite
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 7:8 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
αἰτῶν aitwn
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 7:9 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
αἰτήσῃ aithsh
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 7:10 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
αἰτήσῃ, aithsh
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 7:11 Verb Present Active Participle Dative Plural Masculine
αἰτοῦσιν aitousin
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 14:7 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Subjunctive
αἰτήσηται. aithshtai
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 18:19 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Subjunctive
αἰτήσωνται, aithswntai
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 20:20 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
αἰτοῦσά aitousa
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 20:22 Verb Second Person Plural Present Middle Indicative
αἰτεῖσθε. aiteisqe
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 21:22 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Subjunctive
αἰτήσητε aithshte
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 27:20 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Subjunctive
αἰτήσωνται aithswntai
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Matthew 27:58 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ᾐτήσατο hthsato
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Mark 6:22 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Imperative
Αἴτησόν aithson
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verse Mark 6:23 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
αἰτήσῃς, aithshv
I ask, request, beg, petition
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 5 Aligned forms 70 Tenses Aorist, Future, Present, Imperfect, Perfect Voices Middle, Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 30×
Aorist Middle Matt 27:58 · Mark 6:25 · Mark 15:43 · Luke 23:52 · Acts 7:46 · Acts 9:2 · Acts 13:21 · Acts 13:28 · Acts 3:14 9×
Future Active Matt 7:9 · Matt 7:10 · Luke 11:11 · Luke 11:12 · 1 John 5:16 · Luke 12:48 6×
Present Middle Matt 20:22 · Mark 10:38 · Mark 11:24 · Jas 4:3 · Eph 3:13 · Eph 3:20 6×
Present Active John 4:9 · 1 Cor 1:22 · Jas 4:3 3×
Imperfect Middle Luke 23:25 · Acts 12:20 2×
Aorist Active John 4:10 · John 16:24 2×
Future Middle John 16:26 1×
Perfect Active 1 John 5:15 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 15×
Aorist Active Matt 21:22 · John 14:13 · John 14:14 · John 15:16 · John 16:23 · Mark 6:23 · Mark 10:35 7×
Aorist Middle Matt 18:19 · Matt 27:20 · Matt 14:7 · Mark 6:24 · John 11:22 5×
Present Middle 1 John 5:14 · 1 John 5:15 2×
Present Active 1 John 3:22 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 14×
Present Active Matt 5:42 · Luke 6:30 · 1 Pet 3:15 · Matt 7:8 · Luke 11:10 · Matt 7:11 · Luke 11:13 · Matt 20:20 8×
Present Middle Luke 23:23 · Acts 25:3 · Acts 25:15 · Col 1:9 4×
Aorist Active Luke 1:63 · Acts 16:29 2×
Imperative command or strong request 7×
Present Active Matt 7:7 · Luke 11:9 · John 16:24 · Jas 1:5 · Jas 1:6 5×
Aorist Active Mark 6:22 1×
Aorist Middle John 15:7 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 4×
Present Middle Mark 15:8 · Jas 4:2 2×
Aorist Active Matt 6:8 1×
Present Active Acts 3:2 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 67 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 29 aorist 28 future 7 imperfect 2 perfect 1
Voice
active 38 middle 29
Mood
indicative 28 subjunctive 15 participle 13 imperative 7 infinitive 4
NT Occurrences
Matthew 5:42 αἰτοῦντί present active participle participle Matthew 6:8 αἰτῆσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Matthew 7:10 αἰτήσει future active indicative prospective Matthew 7:11 αἰτοῦσιν present active participle participle Matthew 7:7 Αἰτεῖτε present active imperative imperative Matthew 7:8 αἰτῶν present active participle participle Matthew 7:9 αἰτήσει future active indicative prospective Matthew 14:7 αἰτήσηται aorist middle subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 18:19 αἰτήσωνται aorist middle subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 20:20 αἰτοῦσά present active participle participle Matthew 20:22 αἰτεῖσθε present middle indicative ongoing Matthew 21:22 αἰτήσητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 27:20 αἰτήσωνται aorist middle subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 27:58 ᾐτήσατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 6:22 Αἴτησόν aorist active imperative imperative Mark 6:23 αἰτήσῃς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 6:24 αἰτήσωμαι aorist middle subjunctive subjunctive Mark 6:25 ᾐτήσατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 10:35 αἰτήσωμέν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 10:38 αἰτεῖσθε present middle indicative ongoing Mark 15:43 ᾐτήσατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 15:8 αἰτεῖσθαι present middle infinitive infinitive Luke 1:63 αἰτήσας aorist active participle participle Luke 6:30 αἰτοῦντί present active participle participle Luke 11:10 αἰτῶν present active participle participle Luke 11:11 αἰτήσει future active indicative prospective Luke 11:12 αἰτήσει future active indicative prospective Luke 11:13 αἰτοῦσιν present active participle participle Luke 11:9 αἰτεῖτε present active imperative imperative Luke 12:48 αἰτήσουσιν future active indicative prospective Luke 23:23 αἰτούμενοι present middle participle participle Luke 23:25 ᾐτοῦντο imperfect middle indicative background Luke 23:52 ᾐτήσατο aorist middle indicative completed John 4:10 ᾔτησας aorist active indicative completed John 4:9 αἰτεῖς present active indicative ongoing John 11:22 αἰτήσῃ aorist middle subjunctive subjunctive John 14:13 αἰτήσητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive John 14:14 αἰτήσητέ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive John 15:16 αἰτήσητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive John 15:7 αἰτήσασθε aorist middle imperative imperative
+27 more occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 11:5–13 αἰτεῖτε aitéō
Keep asking
Showing 1 selected witness from 70 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
αἰτέω is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Aiteo gives asking theological shape without making it mechanical. James directs limited people toward the God who gives wisdom generously, yet later warns that requests can be bent by desires seeking self-indulgence. First John places confidence within God's will, preserving both boldness and divine freedom. Peter treats a question about hope as an opportunity for gentle, respectful witness, and John presents Jesus as the giver whom the Samaritan woman may ask.
Churches should teach specific prayer, patient discernment, and honest disappointment. They should answer sincere questions rather than punishing them and never claim that donations, special words, or a leader's mediation can force God's hand. Asking is dependent communion shaped by the generous Father's purposes.
Anchor passage
Jas.1.5
Doctrinal connections
- Divine generosity: God gives needed wisdom without humiliating the asker.
- Providence and will: confident prayer remains ordered by God's wise purposes.
- Human desire: requests can be distorted by envy, conflict, and self-indulgence.
- Christology: Jesus offers living water as God's gift to those who ask.
- Witness: questions about hope deserve truthful answers with gentleness and respect.
- Pastoral freedom: believers may ask God and church leaders honestly without coercion or shame.
Aiteo commonly means ask or request, often from one perceived as able to grant the request. Context distinguishes prayer, interpersonal request, inquiry, and demand.
From Old to New Testament
Psalms model petition and lament, Solomon asks for wisdom, and prophets condemn demands governed by idolatrous desire while inviting people to seek the Lord.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain