What does κατανοέω (katanoéō) mean in the Bible?
κατανοέω (katanoéō): Mental perception requiring deliberate, sustained attention; more thorough than simple noticing or understanding.
Greek · G2657
κατανοέω
To observe fully
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κατανοέω G2657
Pronunciation katanoéō
What does κατανοέω (katanoéō) mean in the Bible?
κατανοέω (katanoéō): Mental perception requiring deliberate, sustained attention; more thorough than simple noticing or understanding.
Full entry for κατανοέω (G2657) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2657?
The BSB source-word alignment has 14 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Consider (2), to notice (2), [and] saw (1), [Jesus] saw through (1), after observing (1).
Where does κατανοέω (katanoéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 7:3. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (4), Luke (4), Hebrews (2), James (2).
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 Consider 2× Luke 12:24, Luke 12:27
to notice 2× Matthew 7:3, Luke 6:41
[and] saw 1× Acts 11:6
[Jesus] saw through 1× Luke 20:23
after observing 1× James 1:24
he acknowledged 1× Romans 4:19
let us consider 1× Hebrews 10:24
looks 1× James 1:23
set your focus on 1× Hebrews 3:1
they sighted 1× Acts 27:39
to look 1× Acts 7:32
to look [more closely] 1× Acts 7:31
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 7:3 κατανοεῖς to to notice Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular Luke 6:41 κατανοεῖς to to notice Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular Luke 12:24 κατανοήσατε to Consider Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural Luke 12:27 Κατανοήσατε to Consider Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural Luke 20:23 Κατανοήσας to [Jesus] saw through Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Acts 7:31 κατανοῆσαι to to look [more closely] Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Acts 7:32 κατανοῆσαι to to look Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Acts 11:6 κατενόουν to [and] saw Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Acts 27:39 κατενόουν to they sighted Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Romans 4:19 κατενόησεν to he acknowledged Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 7:3
Aligned rows 14
Books represented 6
Matthew 1 Luke 4 Acts 4 Romans 1 Hebrews 2 James 2
Source forms
κατανοεῖς 2x katanoeis Matthew 7:3, Luke 6:41
κατανοῆσαι 2x katanoēsai Acts 7:31, Acts 7:32
κατανοήσατε 2x katanoēsate Luke 12:24, Hebrews 3:1
κατενόησεν 2x katenoēsen Romans 4:19, James 1:24
κατενόουν 2x katenooun Acts 11:6, Acts 27:39
Κατανοήσας 1x Katanoēsas Luke 20:23
Κατανοήσατε 1x Katanoēsate Luke 12:27
κατανοοῦντι 1x katanoounti James 1:23
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural 3x Luke 12:24, Luke 12:27, Hebrews 3:1
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Romans 4:19, James 1:24
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 2x Acts 7:31, Acts 7:32
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular 2x Matthew 7:3, Luke 6:41
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Luke 20:23
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 1x Acts 11:6
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Acts 27:39
Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Singular 1x James 1:23
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Mental perception requiring deliberate, sustained attention; more thorough than simple noticing or understanding.
Strong's G2657
Lexical occurrences 14 verses Greek text appearances 14 times Word forms 5 forms 14 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 12:24 Source Gloss
to observe fully
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Mental perception requiring deliberate, sustained attention; more thorough than simple noticing or understanding.
to take note of, perceive, consider carefully: Act.7:31-32; with accusative of thing(s), Mat.7:3, Luk.6:41 12:24, 27 20:23, Act.11:6 27:39, Rom.4:19; with accusative of person(s), Heb.3:1 10:24, Jas.1:23-24 (on the distinction bet. κ. and νοέω simplex, see M, Pr., 117).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
14 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 7:3 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Indicative
κατανοεῖς; katanoeiv
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Luke 6:41 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Indicative
κατανοεῖς; katanoeiv
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Luke 12:24 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Imperative
κατανοήσατε katanohsate
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Luke 12:27 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Imperative
κατανοήσατε katanohsate
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Luke 20:23 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
κατανοήσας katanohsav
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Acts 7:31 Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
κατανοῆσαι, katanohsai
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Acts 7:32 Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
κατανοῆσαι. katanohsai
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Acts 11:6 Verb First Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
κατενόουν, katenooun
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Acts 27:39 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
κατενόουν katenooun
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Romans 4:19 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
κατενόησε katenohsen
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Hebrews 3:1 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Imperative
κατανοήσατε katanohsate
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse Hebrews 10:24 Verb First Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive
κατανοῶμεν katanowmen
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse James 1:23 Verb Present Active Participle Dative Singular Masculine
κατανοοῦντι katanoounti
I understand, perceive, consider
Read verse James 1:24 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
κατενόησε katenohsen
I understand, perceive, consider
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 5 Aligned forms 14 Tenses Aorist, Present, Imperfect Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Imperative command or strong request 3×
Aorist Active Luke 12:24 · Luke 12:27 · Heb 3:1 3×
Indicative states a fact or reality 6×
Present Active Matt 7:3 · Luke 6:41 2×
Aorist Active Rom 4:19 · Jas 1:24 2×
Imperfect Active Acts 11:6 · Acts 27:39 2×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Aorist Active Acts 7:31 · Acts 7:32 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Aorist Active Luke 20:23 1×
Present Active Jas 1:23 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 1×
Present Active Heb 10:24 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 14 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 8 present 4 imperfect 2
Voice
active 14
Mood
indicative 6 imperative 3 infinitive 2 participle 2 subjunctive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 7:3 κατανοεῖς present active indicative ongoing Luke 6:41 κατανοεῖς present active indicative ongoing Luke 12:24 κατανοήσατε aorist active imperative imperative Luke 12:27 κατανοήσατε aorist active imperative imperative Luke 20:23 κατανοήσας aorist active participle participle Acts 7:31 κατανοῆσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Acts 7:32 κατανοῆσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Acts 11:6 κατενόουν imperfect active indicative background Acts 27:39 κατενόουν imperfect active indicative background Romans 4:19 κατενόησεν aorist active indicative completed Hebrews 3:1 κατανοήσατε aorist active imperative imperative Hebrews 10:24 κατανοῶμεν present active subjunctive subjunctive James 1:23 κατανοοῦντι present active participle participle James 1:24 κατενόησεν aorist active indicative completed
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 Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Carefully observe ravens to perceive God's providential care
Perceive or take note of a speck in another's eye
Contemplate Jesus carefully as apostle and high priest
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 14 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
κατανοέω is built from these roots:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
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