What does ἐπιφώσκω (epiphṓskō) mean in the Bible?
ἐπιφώσκω (epiphṓskō) is a Greek word meaning "to begin to grow light".
Greek · G2020
ἐπιφώσκω
To begin to grow light
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ἐπιφώσκω G2020
Pronunciation epiphṓskō
What does ἐπιφώσκω (epiphṓskō) mean in the Bible?
ἐπιφώσκω (epiphṓskō) is a Greek word meaning "to begin to grow light".
Full entry for ἐπιφώσκω (G2020) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2020?
The BSB source-word alignment has 2 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include at dawn (1), was beginning (1).
Where does ἐπιφώσκω (epiphṓskō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 28:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (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 It at dawn 1× Matthew 28:1
was beginning 1× Luke 23:54
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 28:1
Aligned rows 2
Books represented 2
Matthew 1 Luke 1
Source forms
ἐπέφωσκεν 1x epephōsken Luke 23:54
ἐπιφωσκούσῃ 1x epiphōskousē Matthew 28:1
Parsing patterns
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Luke 23:54
Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Feminine Singular 1x Matthew 28:1
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to begin to grow light
Strong's G2020
Lexical occurrences 2 verses Greek text appearances 2 times Word forms 2 forms 2 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to begin to grow light
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
2 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 28:1 Verb Present Active Participle Dative Singular Feminine
ἐπιφωσκούσῃ epifwskoush
I dawn, am near commencing
Read verse Luke 23:54 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐπέφωσκε. epefwsken
I dawn, am near commencing
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 2 Tenses Present, Imperfect 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 1×
Present Active Matt 28:1 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 1×
Imperfect Active Luke 23:54 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 2 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
imperfect 1 present 1
Voice
active 2
Mood
indicative 1 participle 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)
Word Origins
ἐπιφώσκω is built from this root:
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