OliveGrove
Pressing the Word of God for Deeper Understanding.
Greek · G2007 · unreviewed

ἐπιτίθημι

To impose (in a friendly or hostile sense)

These lexicon entries are being actively developed. If you notice missing content, incorrect definitions, or have suggestions, we'd love to hear from you. Share a note on our Connect page and include a screenshot if helpful.

ἐπιτίθημι G2007
Pronunciation epitíthēmi

What does ἐπιτίθημι (epitíthēmi) mean in the Bible?

ἐπιτίθημι (epitíthēmi) is a Greek word meaning "to impose (in a friendly or hostile sense)". ἐπι-τίθημι [in LXX for נָתַן, שָׁוָה, etc.

Full entry for ἐπιτίθημι (G2007) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

to impose (in a friendly or hostile sense)
Extended definition

To place upon or impose, often physically; can shift from beneficial (laying on hands) to hostile (inflicting blows).

1to lay, set or place upon: with accusative of thing(s), before ἐπί, with accusative of thing(s), Mat.23:4, Luk.15:5, Jhn.9:6 (WH, txt. Jhn.9:15), Act.15:10 28:3; ἐπί, with genitive of thing(s), Mat.27:29; ἐν, ib.; with dative of person(s), σταυρόν, Luk.23:26; στέφανον, Jhn.19:2; ὄνομα, Mrk.3:16-17; πληγάς, Luk.10:30, Act.16:23; ἐπί with accusative of person(s), Rev.22:18; of the laying on of hands, τ. χεῖρα (-ας), before ἐπί with accusative of person(s), Mat.9:18, Mrk.16:13, Act.8:17 9:17; with dative of person(s), Mat.19:13, 15, Mrk.5:23 6:5 7:32 8:23, Luk.4:40 13:13, Act.6:6 8:19 9:12 13:3 19:6 28:8, 1Ti.5:22. Mid.,
ato provide: Act.28:10 (RV, put on board; cf. Field, Notes, 149);
bto throw oneself upon, attack: with dative of person(s), Act.18:10.
2to add to: Rev.22:18 (see supr., and cf. Swete, in l).
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Grammatical Forms

How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.

Tenses
Aorist Present Future Imperfect
Voices
Active Passive Middle
Indicative states a fact or reality 18×
Aorist Active Matt 21:7 · Matt 27:29 · Matt 27:37 · Luke 23:26 · John 19:2 · Acts 6:6 · Mark 3:16 · Mark 3:17 · Mark 8:25 · Luke 13:13 · John 9:15 11×
Present Active Matt 23:4 · Luke 15:5 2×
Future Active Mark 16:18 · Rev 22:18 2×
Imperfect Active Acts 8:17 1×
Future Middle Acts 18:10 1×
Aorist Middle Acts 28:10 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 12×
Aorist Active Matt 19:15 · Mark 6:5 · Mark 8:23 · Acts 9:17 · Acts 28:8 · Luke 10:30 · Acts 13:3 · Acts 16:23 · Acts 19:6 · Acts 28:3 · Acts 9:12 11×
Present Active Luke 4:40 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 5×
Aorist Active Matt 19:13 · Mark 7:32 · Rev 22:18 · Mark 5:23 · Acts 8:19 5×
Imperative command or strong request 2×
Aorist Active Matt 9:18 1×
Present Active 1 Tim 5:22 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Aorist Active Acts 15:10 1×
Present Passive Acts 15:28 1×
39 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Discourse Aspect

How this verb appears across 39 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).

Aspect
completed 12 ongoing 2 prospective 3 imperative 2 background 1 subjunctive 5 infinitive 2 participle 12
Tense
aorist 30 present 5 future 3 imperfect 1
Voice
active 36 middle 2 passive 1
Mood
indicative 18 participle 12 subjunctive 5 imperative 2 infinitive 2
NT Occurrences
Matthew 9:18 ἐπίθες aorist active imperative imperative Matthew 19:13 ἐπιθῇ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 19:15 ἐπιθεὶς aorist active participle participle Matthew 21:7 ἐπέθηκαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 23:4 ἐπιτιθέασιν present active indicative ongoing Matthew 27:29 ἐπέθηκαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 27:37 ἐπέθηκαν aorist active indicative completed Mark 3:16 ἐπέθηκεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 3:17 ἐπέθηκεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 5:23 ἐπιθῇς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 6:5 ἐπιθεὶς aorist active participle participle Mark 7:32 ἐπιθῇ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 8:23 ἐπιθεὶς aorist active participle participle Mark 8:25 ἐπέθηκεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 16:18 ἐπιθήσουσιν future active indicative prospective Luke 4:40 ἐπιτιθεὶς present active participle participle Luke 10:30 ἐπιθέντες aorist active participle participle Luke 13:13 ἐπέθηκεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 15:5 ἐπιτίθησιν present active indicative ongoing Luke 23:26 ἐπέθηκαν aorist active indicative completed John 9:15 ἐπέθηκέν aorist active indicative completed John 19:2 ἐπέθηκαν aorist active indicative completed Acts 6:6 ἐπέθηκαν aorist active indicative completed Acts 8:17 ἐπετίθεσαν imperfect active indicative background Acts 8:19 ἐπιθῶ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Acts 9:12 ἐπιθέντα aorist active participle participle Acts 9:17 ἐπιθεὶς aorist active participle participle Acts 13:3 ἐπιθέντες aorist active participle participle Acts 15:10 ἐπιθεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive Acts 15:28 ἐπιτίθεσθαι present passive infinitive infinitive Acts 16:23 ἐπιθέντες aorist active participle participle Acts 18:10 ἐπιθήσεταί future middle indicative prospective Acts 19:6 ἐπιθέντος aorist active participle participle Acts 28:10 ἐπέθεντο aorist middle indicative completed Acts 28:3 ἐπιθέντος aorist active participle participle Acts 28:8 ἐπιθεὶς aorist active participle participle 1 Timothy 5:22 ἐπιτίθει present active imperative imperative Revelation 22:18 ἐπιθῇ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Revelation 22:18 ἐπιθήσει future active indicative prospective

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)

Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

Biblical Witnesses
Luke 15:1-10 laid epitíthēmi Indicative · Present Active
Physical action of placing or setting something upon, gentle sense
Luke 13:10-17 laid epitíthēmi Indicative · Aorist Active
Laying on of hands for healing, therapeutic and compassionate sense
Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

ἐπιτίθημι · χείρ G2007, G5495
Lay hands upon
ἐπιτίθημι · ὦμος G2007, G5606
places it upon his shoulders
χείρ · ἐπιτίθημι G5495, G2007
laying hands on someone, recognition or appointment
Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Acts 6 — Word Ministry, Servant Leadership, and Stephen’s Faithful Witness

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

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

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

Full license details