What does ἐπιλανθάνομαι (epilanthánomai) mean in the Bible?
ἐπιλανθάνομαι (epilanthánomai): Forgetting that involves culpable neglect, not mere mental lapse; implies responsible oversight.
Greek · G1950
ἐπιλανθάνομαι
To lose out of mind; by implication, to neglect
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ἐπιλανθάνομαι G1950
Pronunciation epilanthánomai
What does ἐπιλανθάνομαι (epilanthánomai) mean in the Bible?
ἐπιλανθάνομαι (epilanthánomai): Forgetting that involves culpable neglect, not mere mental lapse; implies responsible oversight.
Full entry for ἐπιλανθάνομαι (G1950) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1950?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include neglect (2), [the disciples] had forgotten (1), forgets (1), Forgetting (1), forgot (1).
Where does ἐπιλανθάνομαι (epilanthánomai) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 16:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (3), James (1), Luke (1), Mark (1).
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 neglect 2× Hebrews 13:2, Hebrews 13:16
[the disciples] had forgotten 1× Mark 8:14
forgets 1× James 1:24
Forgetting 1× Philippians 3:13
forgot 1× Matthew 16:5
forgotten 1× Luke 12:6
He will not forget 1× Hebrews 6:10
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 16:5 ἐπελάθοντο to forgot Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural Mark 8:14 ἐπελάθοντο to [the disciples] had forgotten Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural Luke 12:6 ἐπιλελησμένον to forgotten Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Neuter Singular Philippians 3:13 ἐπιλανθανόμενος to Forgetting Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Hebrews 6:10 ἐπιλαθέσθαι to He will not forget Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle Hebrews 13:2 ἐπιλανθάνεσθε to neglect Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural Hebrews 13:16 ἐπιλανθάνεσθε to neglect Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural James 1:24 ἐπελάθετο to forgets Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 16:5
Aligned rows 8
Books represented 6
Matthew 1 Mark 1 Luke 1 Philippians 1 Hebrews 3 James 1
Source forms
ἐπελάθοντο 2x epelathonto Matthew 16:5, Mark 8:14
ἐπιλανθάνεσθε 2x epilanthanesthe Hebrews 13:2, Hebrews 13:16
ἐπελάθετο 1x epelatheto James 1:24
ἐπιλαθέσθαι 1x epilathesthai Hebrews 6:10
ἐπιλανθανόμενος 1x epilanthanomenos Philippians 3:13
ἐπιλελησμένον 1x epilelēsmenon Luke 12:6
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural 2x Matthew 16:5, Mark 8:14
Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural 2x Hebrews 13:2, Hebrews 13:16
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 1x James 1:24
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle 1x Hebrews 6:10
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Neuter Singular 1x Luke 12:6
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Philippians 3:13
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Forgetting that involves culpable neglect, not mere mental lapse; implies responsible oversight.
Strong's G1950
Lexical occurrences 8 verses Greek text appearances 8 times Word forms 4 forms 8 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Matthew 16:5 Source Gloss
to lose out of mind; by implication, to neglect
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Forgetting that involves culpable neglect, not mere mental lapse; implies responsible oversight.
(alternative mid, form of ἐπιλήθω, to cause to forget) [in LXX chiefly for שָׁכַח ;] to forget, neglect: with inf., Mat.16:5, Mrk.8:14; with genitive, Heb.6:10 13:2, 16; with accusative (as occasionally in cl.; MM, Exp., xiv), Php.3:13; ὁποῖος ἦν, Jas.1:24; pass. ptcp. (cf. Isa.23:16, Sir.3:14 23:14, Wis.2:4), Luk.12:6.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 16:5 Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Middle Deponent Indicative
ἐπελάθοντο epelaqonto
I forget, neglect
Read verse Mark 8:14 Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Middle Deponent Indicative
ἐπελάθοντο epelaqonto
I forget, neglect
Read verse Luke 12:6 Verb Perfect Passive Participle Nominative Singular Neuter
ἐπιλελησμένον epilelhsmenon
I forget, neglect
Read verse Philippians 3:13 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐπιλανθανόμενος, epilanqanomenov
I forget, neglect
Read verse Hebrews 6:10 Verb Second Aorist Middle Deponent Infinitive
ἐπιλαθέσθαι epilaqesqai
I forget, neglect
Read verse Hebrews 13:2 Verb Second Person Plural Present Middle or Passive Deponent Imperative
ἐπιλανθάνεσθε· epilanqanesqe
I forget, neglect
Read verse Hebrews 13:16 Verb Second Person Plural Present Middle or Passive Deponent Imperative
ἐπιλανθάνεσθε· epilanqanesqe
I forget, neglect
Read verse James 1:24 Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Middle Deponent Indicative
ἐπελάθετο epelaqeto
I forget, neglect
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 4 Aligned forms 8 Tenses Aorist, Present, Perfect Voices Middle, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Aorist Middle Matt 16:5 · Mark 8:14 · Jas 1:24 3×
Imperative command or strong request 2×
Present Middle Heb 13:2 · Heb 13:16 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Perfect Passive Luke 12:6 1×
Present Middle Phil 3:13 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Aorist Middle Heb 6:10 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 7 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 4 present 3
Voice
middle 7
Mood
indicative 3 imperative 2 infinitive 1 participle 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 16:5 ἐπελάθοντο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 8:14 ἐπελάθοντο aorist middle indicative completed Philippians 3:13 ἐπιλανθανόμενος present middle participle participle Hebrews 6:10 ἐπιλαθέσθαι aorist middle infinitive infinitive Hebrews 13:16 ἐπιλανθάνεσθε present middle imperative imperative Hebrews 13:2 ἐπιλανθάνεσθε present middle imperative imperative James 1:24 ἐπελάθετο aorist middle indicative completed
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.
Biblical Witnesses
disciples neglected to bring bread, overlooking practical provision
God does not neglect or overlook the works and love of believers
hospitality toward strangers must not be neglected or left undone
person forgets his own appearance after briefly seeing himself in mirror
sparrows are not forgotten or neglected by God despite their insignificance
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 8 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἐπιλανθάνομαι is built from these roots:
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.
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