What does ἐντυγχάνω (entynchánō) mean in the Bible?
Entynchano describes making a petition or appeal. Its direction is not always favorable to the person mentioned.
Greek · G1793
ἐντυγχάνω
Entynchano describes making a petition or appeal. Its direction is not always favorable to the person mentioned.
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ἐντυγχάνωG1793
Pronunciationentynchánō
What does ἐντυγχάνω (entynchánō) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐντυγχάνω (G1793) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1793?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [the Spirit] intercedes (1), has petitioned (1), he appealed (1), He is interceding (1), to intercede (1).
Where does ἐντυγχάνω (entynchánō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 25:24. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (3), Acts (1), Hebrews (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Entynchano describes making a petition or appeal. Its direction is not always favorable to the person mentioned. Festus reports a petition against Paul in Acts 25:24, and Romans 11:2 recalls Elijah appealing to God against Israel. Romans 8:27 instead speaks of the Spirit interceding for the saints according to God's will, while verse 34 presents the risen Christ interceding for His people.
Hebrews 7:25 grounds confidence in Jesus' enduring priesthood: He lives to intercede for those drawing near to God through Him. The word names the appeal, while the subject, recipient, and surrounding clauses tell us whose cause is being presented. Christian assurance rests on the identified Spirit and living Savior in these passages, rather than on a technique for obtaining any desired outcome.
How the Bible Uses It
The five direct witnesses range from hostile human petition and Elijah's appeal against Israel to the Spirit's intercession and Christ's continuing advocacy. The positive assurance belongs to the named divine actors and their stated relationship to God's people.
- Acts.25.24
Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him, both here and in Jerusalem, crying out that he ought not to live any longer.
Festus describes a hostile petition seeking Paul's death, demonstrating that the verb itself does not always describe benevolent prayer.
- Rom.11.2
God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel:
Elijah appeals against Israel, but Paul's argument answers that accusation with God's preserved remnant and rejection of total abandonment.
- Rom.8.27
And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
The Spirit's intercession is explicitly for the saints and according to God's will, within the help given in their weakness.
- Rom.8.34
Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.
Christ's intercession follows His death, resurrection, and place at God's right hand, answering the question about condemnation.
- Heb.7.25
Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
Jesus' permanent priesthood and continuing life explain His ability to save those who approach God through Him.
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[the Spirit] intercedes1×Romans 8:27
has petitioned1×Acts 25:24
he appealed1×Romans 11:2
He is interceding1×Romans 8:34
to intercede1×Hebrews 7:25
Show sample aligned rows
Acts 25:24ἐνέτυχόνtohas petitionedVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralRomans 8:27ἐντυγχάνειto[the Spirit] intercedesVerb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularRomans 8:34ἐντυγχάνειtoHe is intercedingVerb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularRomans 11:2ἐντυγχάνειtohe appealedVerb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularHebrews 7:25ἐντυγχάνεινtoto intercedeVerb - Present Infinitive Active
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowActs 25:24
Aligned rows5
Books represented3
Acts1Romans3Hebrews1
Source forms
ἐντυγχάνει3xentynchaneiRomans 8:27, Romans 8:34, Romans 11:2
ἐνέτυχόν1xenetychonActs 25:24
ἐντυγχάνειν1xentynchaneinHebrews 7:25
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular3xRomans 8:27, Romans 8:34, Romans 11:2
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural1xActs 25:24
Verb - Present Infinitive Active1xHebrews 7:25
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Weakness or difficulty finding prayer words does not cancel the help described in Romans 8.
- Human advocates and congregational prayers should not be assigned Christ's unique saving priestly role.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim every use means prayer on someone's behalf, because Acts and Romans 11 describe adverse appeals.
- Do not claim intercession promises every requested outcome, because Romans specifies God's will and Hebrews identifies approach through Jesus.
Evidence Summary
MessiahSpirit
Greek word. To petition by approaching someone directly, often interceding on behalf of another person
Strong'sG1793
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms2 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkRomans 8:18-27Source Gloss
to call on
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To petition by approaching someone directly, often interceding on behalf of another person
1to fall in with.
2to meet with in order to converse.
3to petition, make petition: with dative of person(s), before ὑπέρ with genitive of person(s), Act.25:24 (cf. Field, Notes, 140), Heb.7:25, Rom.8:27, 34 (θεῷ, not expressed); before κατά, against: Rom.11:2 (cf. ἔντευξις, ὑπερ-εντυγχάνω).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 25:24Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἐνέτυχόνenetucon
I meet, encounter, call upon, make a petition
Read verseRomans 8:27Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐντυγχάνειentugcanei
I meet, encounter, call upon, make a petition
Read verseRomans 8:34Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐντυγχάνειentugcanei
I meet, encounter, call upon, make a petition
Read verseRomans 11:2Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐντυγχάνειentugcanei
I meet, encounter, call upon, make a petition
Read verseHebrews 7:25Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἐντυγχάνεινentugcanein
I meet, encounter, call upon, make a 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 groups2Aligned forms5TensesPresent, AoristVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality4×
Present ActiveRom 8:27 · Rom 8:34 · Rom 11:23×
Aorist ActiveActs 25:241×
Infinitiveverbal noun — the action in abstract1×
Present ActiveHeb 7:251×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present4aorist1
Voice
active5
Mood
indicative4infinitive1
NT 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 Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
To intercede, plead on behalf.
To intercede, plead.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἐντυγχάνω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
The Spirit’s intercession assures believers that their weakness does not hinder God’s purposes.Romans 8:18-27
Shows Christ’s ongoing advocacy as the foundation of assurance.Romans 8:31-39
Canonical Themes
MessiahSpirit
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
Intercession is not a free-standing guarantee that any appeal will succeed. The hostile petition in Acts and Elijah's appeal against Israel prevent that conclusion at the lexical level. The pastoral force of Romans 8 comes from a much fuller account: the Spirit helps in weakness according to God's will, God justifies, and the Christ who died and rose intercedes at God's right hand.
Hebrews then links His continuing intercession with a priesthood death cannot interrupt and a sacrifice He does not need to repeat. Teaching can give weary believers confidence to approach God through this living Savior without demanding eloquent prayers or predicting a chosen earthly result. The assurance is personal and christological, not a formula contained in the verb.
Anchor passage
Heb.7.25
Doctrinal connections
- Romans 8:26-27 places the Spirit's intercession within believers' acknowledged weakness in prayer.
- Romans 8:33-34 joins God's justification with Christ's death, resurrection and continuing intercession.
- Hebrews 7:23-25 contrasts mortal priests with Jesus' permanent priesthood and continuing life.
- Hebrews 7:26-27 connects His advocacy with holiness and His once-for-all self-offering.
- Romans 11:1-6 answers Elijah's accusation by emphasizing a remnant preserved by grace.
- Exodus 32:11-14 provides supporting narrative of Moses pleading for God's covenant people.
Entynchano is a Greek verb used for petition or appeal in these witnesses. The accompanying relationships distinguish an appeal against someone from intercession on someone's behalf; a favorable theological meaning cannot be assigned without those clauses.
From Old to New Testament
Moses' plea in Exodus 32:11-14 offers a supporting example of intercession for the covenant people, while Romans 11 recalls Elijah's complaint and God's reply. These narratives clarify different directions of appeal; neither makes Moses or Elijah interchangeable with Christ's permanent priesthood.