ζητεῖτε; (zeteite) in John 1:38: Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ζητεῖτε; (zeteite) in John 1:38
Textual Witness
The witness reads ζητεῖτε in John 1:38, within Jesus' question to followers who are already moving after him.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar makes the line feel immediate and personal: Jesus asks the group to identify their present search, so the focus falls on their response and intent.
How To Communicate It
In translation and teaching, the form supports a clear, conversational rendering that emphasizes inquiry rather than command.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Present indicative here shows the shape of the question, but it does not by itself settle the disciples' motives or spiritual state.
- Verbal gender is not present in this form, so no theological gender claim should be built from the morphology.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the form names an action, here the act of seeking in Jesus' direct question.
Present: often views the action as in progress, customary, or presently in view. Context decides the exact force.
Active: presents the subject as doing or carrying the action.
Indicative: presents the verbal idea as an assertion or statement in the clause.
Second person: the hearer or hearers are grammatically addressed by the verbal form.
Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.
Plural: the second-person form addresses more than one hearer, so the question is aimed at the group.
Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Τί ζητεῖτε;
The surrounding clause and any complement complete the verbal idea. This form carries the main predicate force of the question and frames the disciples' purpose or desire for discussion in the scene.
It carries the main predicate force of the question and frames the disciples' purpose or desire for discussion in the scene.
It does not by itself tell us the full motive, sincerity, or outcome of their seeking, and it does not change into a different lemma.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The verb carries Jesus' direct question that draws out what the disciples are seeking.
Second-person plural present active indicative question. asks about the aim or desire of the addressed group. Attached to the question what are you seeking. Governed by Jesus' direct speech to the two disciples. The present form frames the question; motive and response are learned from the conversation that follows.
What does Jesus ask the disciples? He asks what they are seeking.
Direct: The second-person plural present directly supports English wording such as "what are you seeking?"
The verb asks about seeking but does not by itself reveal motive, sincerity, or final outcome.
Present tense proves an ongoing spiritual quest by itself: The present form frames the question; the dialogue and narrative reveal what is being sought.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads ζητεῖτε in John 1:38, within Jesus' question to followers who are already moving after him.
The lemma ζητέω means to seek, search for, desire, or ask for, and that basic sense fits the question here.
The present form fits an ongoing or immediate search, but the context controls the force: Jesus is asking about their present aim, not making a general rule.
In this verse the question probes the disciples' intent and opens the conversation that leads them to address Jesus as Rabbi and ask where he stays.
Within John, seeking language often signals more than physical searching, yet this verse itself only establishes the question and leaves the deeper response to the context.
For readers and teachers, the form can be rendered as 'What are you seeking?' or similar, preserving the personal, direct question.
Do not infer from the tense alone a complete theology of desire, discipleship, or revelation, and do not treat the plural form as evidence beyond the group being addressed.