To catch
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
Ἐπιλαμβάνομαι means to take hold of, grasp, seize, help, or take someone along. Jesus takes hold of sinking Peter, leads a blind man by the hand, and places a child beside Him to correct the disciples' argument about greatness.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐπιλαμβάνομαι (G1949) · Open the biblical lexicon
Ἐπιλαμβάνομαι means to take hold of, grasp, seize, help, or take someone along. Jesus takes hold of sinking Peter, leads a blind man by the hand, and places a child beside Him to correct the disciples' argument about greatness.
The BSB source-word alignment has 19 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include they seized (3), took (2), vvv (2), - (1), [and] arrested (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 14:31. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (7), Luke (5), Hebrews (3), 1 Timothy (2).
Ἐπιλαμβάνομαι means to take hold of, grasp, seize, help, or take someone along. Jesus takes hold of sinking Peter, leads a blind man by the hand, and places a child beside Him to correct the disciples' argument about greatness. Barnabas takes hold of Saul's cause by bringing him to the apostles when others fear him. Paul commands Timothy to take hold of eternal life in persevering confession.
Physical grasp, protective rescue, personal guidance, advocacy, and resolute appropriation all appear within the range. The word does not imply force or possession in every context. Who takes hold, of whom or what, for what purpose, and with what result determines whether the action rescues, guides, represents, or perseveres.
Ἐπιλαμβάνομαι portrays purposeful taking hold. Jesus rescues and guides, Barnabas advocates for a feared convert, and Timothy is summoned to grasp the life confessed in faith.
Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”
Jesus immediately takes hold of Peter before addressing his little faith, so correction occurs inside decisive rescue rather than after abandonment.
So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything?” He asked.
Jesus takes the blind man's hand and leads him outside the village, giving personal guidance within a healing whose stages the narrative itself controls.
But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, had a little child stand beside Him.
Jesus takes a child and places the child beside Him, using embodied presence to overturn the disciples' status argument and redefine greatness through welcome.
Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus.
Barnabas takes responsibility for introducing Saul to fearful apostles and truthfully recounts the evidence of his encounter and bold witness.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.
Taking hold of eternal life calls Timothy to live resolutely within the divine call and public confession, not to seize a reward by personal strength.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. To seize or take hold of firmly, often with intent to restrain, arrest, or grasp for oneself.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 19 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
Read verseI seize, take hold of
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.
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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 19 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
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 passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 19 lexical occurrence verses.
ἐπιλαμβάνομαι is built from these roots:
Taking hold can turn peril into rescue and isolation into welcome. Jesus catches Peter at the moment of sinking and then names the failure of faith, showing mercy and correction together. He leads a blind man by the hand and brings a child into the disciples' competitive conversation, treating vulnerable people as persons rather than illustrations at a distance.
Barnabas risks his credibility to bring Saul before the apostles, but his advocacy includes truthful evidence rather than naive trust. Timothy must take hold of eternal life by fighting faithfully within the call already received. Christian care therefore acts. It reaches, guides, introduces, protects, and perseveres, while refusing coercion and remembering that salvation begins with Christ taking hold of His people.
Matt.14.31
Ἐπιλαμβάνομαι is a middle-form verb built from upon and take. It commonly governs a genitive object and ranges from physical grasp to helping, apprehending, or taking up a concern.
The Lord takes His people by the hand, rescues them from waters, and appoints advocates for the vulnerable. Jesus embodies that saving nearness and forms active faith.
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