To stoop
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parakypto means to stoop and look in, bend down to inspect, or look intently into something. The New Testament uses it in resurrection scenes at the empty tomb and in 1 Peter for angels longing to look into the gospel realities now announced.
Reader summary
Full entry for παρακύπτω (G3879) · Open the biblical lexicon
parakypto means to stoop and look in, bend down to inspect, or look intently into something. The New Testament uses it in resurrection scenes at the empty tomb and in 1 Peter for angels longing to look into the gospel realities now announced.
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include bending down (1), He bent down (1), looks intently (1), she bent down (1), to look (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 24:12. Its strongest book concentrations include John (2), 1 Peter (1), James (1), Luke (1).
Parakypto means to stoop and look in, bend down to inspect, or look intently into something. The New Testament uses it in resurrection scenes at the empty tomb and in 1 Peter for angels longing to look into the gospel realities now announced. The word carries posture and attention. It can describe physical bending toward evidence or holy longing to understand the grace revealed in Christ.
It does not make curiosity a virtue by itself, because the look must be governed by the object. In these selected witnesses, the object is resurrection evidence and the announced gospel. The posture is humble, near, and attentive: the viewer bends toward what God has done, but still needs God's own word to interpret the sight faithfully.
The selected witnesses move from stooping at the empty tomb, to Mary looking into the tomb, to angelic longing over announced gospel grace.
Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. And after bending down and seeing only the linen cloths, he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Peter bends down and sees only the linen cloths after the resurrection report. The verb describes close inspection in a moment of wonder and partial understanding.
He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
The beloved disciple bends down and looks in at the linen cloths but does not enter. The posture highlights careful attention to resurrection evidence.
But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb,
Mary bends down to look into the tomb while weeping. Her grief and looking stand just before the risen Jesus calls her by name.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Peter says even angels long to look into the gospel realities announced by the Spirit. The verb expresses reverent desire to behold God's revealed grace.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Stooping to peer closely, suggesting intense scrutiny or reverent investigation rather than casual observation.
Stooping to peer closely, suggesting intense scrutiny or reverent investigation rather than casual observation.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I stoop, peer in, look down
Read verseI stoop, peer in, look down
Read verseI stoop, peer in, look down
Read verseI stoop, peer in, look down
Read verseI stoop, peer in, look down
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.
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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
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 passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
παρακύπτω is built from these roots:
Highlights sustained attentiveness required for transformative obedience. Mounce and Wuest help emphasize sustained, careful attention rather than casual reading.James 1:22-25
Parakypto is a small verb with a rich posture. In the Gospel resurrection scenes, disciples and Mary bend toward the tomb, seeing linen cloths and an empty place before full understanding arrives. The word respects careful attention to evidence without pretending that sight alone creates faith. Luke and John place the stooping look at the edge of resurrection discovery, where grief, running, wonder, and partial comprehension still need the risen Lord's word.
In 1 Peter, even angels long to look into the gospel realities announced by the Holy Spirit. The word therefore holds together inspection and wonder. Christian looking is not a quick glance. It bends low before resurrection witness and marvels at grace too large for casual treatment.
John.20.11
Parakypto pictures bending beside or toward something in order to look closely. The physical image can become metaphorical, but the metaphor still carries humble, focused attention rather than detached analysis.
The Old Testament often calls God's people to attend carefully to the Lord's works and words. The New Testament focuses that attention on the resurrection and the gospel announced by the Spirit.