What does ἐπιτάσσω (epitássō) mean in the Bible?
ἐπιτάσσω (epitássō): Command with authority, often in exorcism contexts; emphasizes the speaker's right to demand obedience.
Greek · G2004
ἐπιτάσσω
To command
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ἐπιτάσσω G2004
Pronunciation epitássō
What does ἐπιτάσσω (epitássō) mean in the Bible?
ἐπιτάσσω (epitássō): Command with authority, often in exorcism contexts; emphasizes the speaker's right to demand obedience.
Full entry for ἐπιτάσσω (G2004) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2004?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include He commands (3), to order (2), [Jesus] directed (1), command (1), commanded that (1).
Where does ἐπιτάσσω (epitássō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 1:27. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (4), Mark (4), Acts (1), Philemon (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 He commands 3× Mark 1:27, Luke 4:36, Luke 8:25
to order 2× Luke 8:31, Philemon 1:8
[Jesus] directed 1× Mark 6:39
command 1× Mark 9:25
commanded that 1× Mark 6:27
ordered 1× Acts 23:2
you ordered 1× Luke 14:22
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 1:27 ἐπιτάσσει to He commands Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 6:27 ἐπέταξεν to commanded that Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 6:39 ἐπέταξεν to [Jesus] directed Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 9:25 ἐπιτάσσω to command Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Luke 4:36 ἐπιτάσσει to He commands Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 8:25 ἐπιτάσσει to He commands Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 8:31 ἐπιτάξῃ to to order Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 14:22 ἐπέταξας to you ordered Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular Acts 23:2 ἐπέταξεν to ordered Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Philemon 1:8 ἐπιτάσσειν to to order Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 1:27
Aligned rows 10
Books represented 4
Mark 4 Luke 4 Acts 1 Philemon 1
Source forms
ἐπέταξεν 3x epetaxen Mark 6:27, Mark 6:39, Acts 23:2
ἐπιτάσσει 3x epitassei Mark 1:27, Luke 4:36, Luke 8:25
ἐπέταξας 1x epetaxas Luke 14:22
ἐπιτάξῃ 1x epitaxē Luke 8:31
ἐπιτάσσειν 1x epitassein Philemon 1:8
ἐπιτάσσω 1x epitassō Mark 9:25
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 3x Mark 6:27, Mark 6:39, Acts 23:2
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 3x Mark 1:27, Luke 4:36, Luke 8:25
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x Luke 14:22
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Luke 8:31
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 1x Mark 9:25
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 1x Philemon 1:8
Evidence Summary
Messiah
Greek word. Command with authority, often in exorcism contexts; emphasizes the speaker's right to demand obedience.
Strong's G2004
Lexical occurrences 10 verses Greek text appearances 10 times Word forms 3 forms 10 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 8:26–39 Source Gloss
to command
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Command with authority, often in exorcism contexts; emphasizes the speaker's right to demand obedience.
to command, charge: with accusative of thing(s), Luk.14:22; with dative of person(s), Mrk.1:27 9:25, Luk.4:36 8:25; id. with accusative of thing(s), Phm 8; id. with inf., Mrk.6:39, Luk.8:31, Act.23:2; id. with imperat., Mrk.9:25; with accusative and inf., Mrk.6:27.
Synonymsκελεύω
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 1:27 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐπιτάσσει, epitassei
I give order, command
Read verse Mark 6:27 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπέταξεν epetaxen
I give order, command
Read verse Mark 6:39 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπέταξεν epetaxen
I give order, command
Read verse Mark 9:25 Verb First Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐπιτάσσω, epitassw
I give order, command
Read verse Luke 4:36 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐπιτάσσει epitassei
I give order, command
Read verse Luke 8:25 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐπιτάσσει epitassei
I give order, command
Read verse Luke 8:31 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
ἐπιτάξῃ epitaxh
I give order, command
Read verse Luke 14:22 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπέταξας, epetaxav
I give order, command
Read verse Acts 23:2 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπέταξε epetaxen
I give order, command
Read verse Philemon 1:8 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἐπιτάσσειν epitassein
I give order, command
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 3 Aligned forms 10 Tenses Present, Aorist Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 8×
Present Active Mark 1:27 · Luke 4:36 · Luke 8:25 · Mark 9:25 4×
Aorist Active Mark 6:27 · Mark 6:39 · Acts 23:2 · Luke 14:22 4×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 1×
Aorist Active Luke 8:31 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Present Active Phlm 1:8 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 10 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 5 present 5
Voice
active 10
Mood
indicative 8 subjunctive 1 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Mark 1:27 ἐπιτάσσει present active indicative ongoing Mark 6:27 ἐπέταξεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 6:39 ἐπέταξεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 9:25 ἐπιτάσσω present active indicative ongoing Luke 4:36 ἐπιτάσσει present active indicative ongoing Luke 8:25 ἐπιτάσσει present active indicative ongoing Luke 8:31 ἐπιτάξῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 14:22 ἐπέταξας aorist active indicative completed Acts 23:2 ἐπέταξεν aorist active indicative completed Philemon 1:8 ἐπιτάσσειν present active infinitive infinitive
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 Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
commands
Showing 1 selected witness from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἐπιτάσσω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Expresses Christ’s authoritative dominion over evil spirits. Luke 8:26–39
Canonical Themes
Messiah
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