What does ἐπιστηρίζω (epistērízō) mean in the Bible?
ἐπιστηρίζω (epistērízō): To strengthen through confirmed support or reassurance, often in faith or resolve during hardship
Greek · G1991
ἐπιστηρίζω
To strengthen
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ἐπιστηρίζω G1991
Pronunciation epistērízō
What does ἐπιστηρίζω (epistērízō) mean in the Bible?
ἐπιστηρίζω (epistērízō): To strengthen through confirmed support or reassurance, often in faith or resolve during hardship
Full entry for ἐπιστηρίζω (G1991) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1991?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include strengthening (3), strengthen (1).
Where does ἐπιστηρίζω (epistērízō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 14:22. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (4).
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 strengthening 3× Acts 14:22, Acts 15:41, Acts 18:23
strengthen 1× Acts 15:32
Show sample aligned rows
Acts 14:22 ἐπιστηρίζοντες to strengthening Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Acts 15:32 ἐπεστήριξαν to strengthen Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Acts 15:41 ἐπιστηρίζων to strengthening Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Acts 18:23 στηρίζων to strengthening Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Acts 14:22
Aligned rows 4
Books represented 1
Acts 4
Source forms
ἐπεστήριξαν 1x epestērixan Acts 15:32
ἐπιστηρίζοντες 1x epistērizontes Acts 14:22
ἐπιστηρίζων 1x epistērizōn Acts 15:41
στηρίζων 1x stērizōn Acts 18:23
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Acts 15:41, Acts 18:23
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Acts 15:32
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Acts 14:22
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To strengthen through confirmed support or reassurance, often in faith or resolve during hardship
Strong's G1991
Lexical occurrences 3 verses Greek text appearances 4 times Word forms 2 forms 3 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 14:21-28 Source Gloss
to strengthen
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 14:22 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἐπιστηρίζοντες episthrizontev
I prop up, uphold, confirm
Read verse Acts 15:32 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπεστήριξαν. epesthrixan
I prop up, uphold, confirm
Read verse Acts 15:41 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐπιστηρίζων episthrizwn
I prop up, uphold, confirm
Read verse Acts 18:23 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐπιστηρίζων episthrizwn
I prop up, uphold, confirm
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 2 Aligned forms 3 Tenses Present, Aorist Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Present Active Acts 14:22 · Acts 15:41 2×
Indicative states a fact or reality 1×
Aorist Active Acts 15:32 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 3 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 2 aorist 1
Voice
active 3
Mood
participle 2 indicative 1
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)
Where It Appears in Scripture
Where this word appears in Scripture: passage, original form, and sense in context.
New Testament Witnesses
To confirm or support firmly.
To establish firmly.
To make firm or confirm.
Word Origins
ἐπιστηρίζω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Highlights pastoral investment in doctrinal and spiritual stability. Acts 14:21-28
Reinforces the pastoral aim of ongoing discipleship. Acts 15:36-41
Highlights pastoral care in ongoing discipleship. Acts 18:18-23
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