What does ἐπισκιάζω (episkiázō) mean in the Bible?
ἐπισκιάζω (episkiázō): Divine presence manifesting through protective shadowing, often accompanied by luminous cloud or Spirit.
Greek · G1982
ἐπισκιάζω
To overshadow
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ἐπισκιάζωG1982
Pronunciationepiskiázō
What does ἐπισκιάζω (episkiázō) mean in the Bible?
ἐπισκιάζω (episkiázō): Divine presence manifesting through protective shadowing, often accompanied by luminous cloud or Spirit.
Full entry for ἐπισκιάζω (G1982) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1982?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include enveloped (2), [and] enveloped (1), might fall on (1), will overshadow (1).
Where does ἐπισκιάζω (episkiázō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 17:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (2), Acts (1), Mark (1), Matthew (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 Itenveloped2×Matthew 17:5, Luke 9:34
[and] enveloped1×Mark 9:7
might fall on1×Acts 5:15
will overshadow1×Luke 1:35
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 17:5ἐπεσκίασενtoenvelopedVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularMark 9:7ἐπισκιάζουσαto[and] envelopedVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Feminine SingularLuke 1:35ἐπισκιάσειtowill overshadowVerb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularLuke 9:34ἐπεσκίαζενtoenvelopedVerb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularActs 5:15ἐπισκιάσῃtomight fall onVerb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 17:5
Aligned rows5
Books represented4
Matthew1Mark1Luke2Acts1
Source forms
ἐπεσκίαζεν1xepeskiazenLuke 9:34
ἐπεσκίασεν1xepeskiasenMatthew 17:5
ἐπισκιάζουσα1xepiskiazousaMark 9:7
ἐπισκιάσει1xepiskiaseiLuke 1:35
ἐπισκιάσῃ1xepiskiasēActs 5:15
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xMatthew 17:5
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular1xActs 5:15
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xLuke 1:35
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xLuke 9:34
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Singular1xMark 9:7
Evidence Summary
Presence
Greek word. Divine presence manifesting through protective shadowing, often accompanied by luminous cloud or Spirit.
Strong'sG1982
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms3 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkLuke 1:26–38Source Gloss
to overshadow
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Divine presence manifesting through protective shadowing, often accompanied by luminous cloud or Spirit.
to throw a shadow upon, overshadow: with dative, Act.5:15; of a shining (Mt, l.with, and cf. Exo.40:29, 35, 2Ma.2:8) cloud, with dative, Mrk.9:7; with accusative, Mat.17:5, Luk.9:34; metaphorically (cf. Pss, Pr, ll.with), of the Holy Spirit, Luk.1:35.
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.
Matthew 17:5Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπεσκίασενepeskiasen
I overshadow, envelop
Read verseMark 9:7Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
ἐπισκιάζουσαepiskiazousa
I overshadow, envelop
Read verseLuke 1:35Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ἐπισκιάσειepiskiasei
I overshadow, envelop
Read verseLuke 9:34Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπεσκίασενepeskiasen
I overshadow, envelop
Read verseActs 5:15Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
ἐπισκιάσῃepiskiash
I overshadow, envelop
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 groups3Aligned forms5TensesAorist, Present, Future, ImperfectVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality3×
Aorist ActiveMatt 17:51×
Future ActiveLuke 1:351×
Imperfect ActiveLuke 9:341×
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality1×
Present ActiveMark 9:71×
Subjunctivepossibility, probability, or purpose1×
Aorist ActiveActs 5:151×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist2future1imperfect1present1
Voice
active5
Mood
indicative3subjunctive1participle1
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
will overshadow
Additional Occurrences
Luke 1:26–38ἐπισκιάσειepiskiázō
Will overshadow
Luke 9:28–36ἐπισκιάζωepiskiázō
Overshadow
Mark 9:2–8ἐπισκιάζωepiskiázō
to overshadow
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἐπισκιάζω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Connects incarnation to divine glory presence imagery.Luke 1:26–38
Canonical Themes
Presence