What does περιτίθημι (peritíthēmi) mean in the Bible?
Περιτίθημι (peritíthēmi) means to place something around or put it upon something else. In John 19:29 the soldiers put a soaked sponge on a stalk of hyssop and lift it to Jesus' mouth.
Greek · G4060
περιτίθημι
To place around; by implication, to present
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
περιτίθημι G4060
Pronunciation peritíthēmi
What does περιτίθημι (peritíthēmi) mean in the Bible?
Περιτίθημι (peritíthēmi) means to place something around or put it upon something else. In John 19:29 the soldiers put a soaked sponge on a stalk of hyssop and lift it to Jesus' mouth.
Reader summary
Full entry for περιτίθημι (G4060) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4060?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include He put (2), put [it] on (2), [and] put (1), [and] set [it] on (1), He put [it] on (1).
Where does περιτίθημι (peritíthēmi) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 21:33. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (3), Matthew (3), 1 Corinthians (1), John (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Περιτίθημι (peritíthēmi) means to place something around or put it upon something else. In John 19:29 the soldiers put a soaked sponge on a stalk of hyssop and lift it to Jesus' mouth. The action answers Jesus' statement, “I am thirsty,” and stands immediately before His declaration that the work is finished. The verb identifies placement; the theological weight comes from John's fulfillment language and passion narrative.
The Synoptic Gospels use the word for placing a purple robe around Jesus, putting the thorn crown on Him, and putting a sour-wine sponge on a reed (Matt. 27:28, 48; Mark 15:17, 36). Jesus' vineyard parables use it for placing a fence around a vineyard. Paul uses it for surrounding less honorable body parts with greater honor (1 Cor. 12:23). The range moves from construction to clothing, instruments, and care.
Faithful teaching should not force symbolic meaning into every object or settle the debated botanical identification of John's hyssop detail through the verb. The passion accounts show deliberate human actions around the suffering Christ, while Paul turns placement into a picture of protective honor within the body. Churches should attend to concrete care and dignity, especially for members considered weak or less presentable.
Book contextCanonical parallelEditorial synthesis
How the Bible Uses It
The verb describes fences, garments placed on Jesus, the sour-wine sponge, and greater honor placed around vulnerable body parts.
- Matt.27.48
One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.
The placement of the sponge belongs to the final moments of Jesus' suffering in Matthew's passion account.
- Mark.15.36
And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”
Mark joins the physical action with continued misunderstanding and spectacle around the crucified Jesus.
- John.19.29
A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth.
John places the action between Jesus' thirst and His declaration that the work is finished, within explicit Scripture fulfillment.
- 1Cor.12.23
And the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty,
Paul uses placement language for protective honor within the interdependent body of Christ.
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 He put 2× Matthew 21:33, Mark 12:1
put [it] on 2× Matthew 27:48, John 19:29
[and] put 1× Matthew 27:28
[and] set [it] on 1× Mark 15:17
He put [it] on 1× Mark 15:36
we treat 1× 1 Corinthians 12:23
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 21:33 περιέθηκεν to He put Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 27:28 περιέθηκαν to [and] put Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 27:48 περιθεὶς to put [it] on Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Mark 12:1 περιέθηκεν to He put Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 15:17 περιτιθέασιν to [and] set [it] on Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Mark 15:36 περιθεὶς to He put [it] on Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular John 19:29 περιθέντες to put [it] on Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1 Corinthians 12:23 περιτίθεμεν to we treat Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 21:33
Aligned rows 8
Books represented 4
Matthew 3 Mark 3 John 1 1 Corinthians 1
Source forms
περιέθηκεν 2x periethēken Matthew 21:33, Mark 12:1
περιθεὶς 2x peritheis Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36
περιέθηκαν 1x periethēkan Matthew 27:28
περιθέντες 1x perithentes John 19:29
περιτιθέασιν 1x perititheasin Mark 15:17
περιτίθεμεν 1x peritithemen 1 Corinthians 12:23
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Matthew 21:33, Mark 12:1
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Matthew 27:28
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x John 19:29
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural 1x 1 Corinthians 12:23
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Mark 15:17
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let each Gospel explain the sour-wine action and treat proposed object symbolism with humility. Use Paul's body image to commend concrete, protective honor for vulnerable members.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that περιτίθημι itself identifies the plant or proves a Passover connection. It means to place around or upon.
- Do not claim that every use concerns mockery or suffering. First Corinthians 12 uses the word family for giving greater honor and modest care.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to place around; by implication, to present
Strong's G4060
Lexical occurrences 8 verses Greek text appearances 8 times Word forms 2 forms 8 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to place around; by implication, to present
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 21:33 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
περιέθηκε, perieqhken
I put around, bestow
Read verse Matthew 27:28 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
περιέθηκαν perieqhkan
I put around, bestow
Read verse Matthew 27:48 Verb Second Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
περιθεὶς periqeiv
I put around, bestow
Read verse Mark 12:1 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
περιέθηκε perieqhken
I put around, bestow
Read verse Mark 15:17 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
περιτιθέασιν peritiqeasin
I put around, bestow
Read verse Mark 15:36 Verb Second Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
περιθείς periqeiv
I put around, bestow
Read verse John 19:29 Verb Second Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
περιθέντες, periqentev
I put around, bestow
Read verse 1 Corinthians 12:23 Verb First Person Plural Present Active Indicative
περιτίθεμεν· peritiqemen
I put around, bestow
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 8 Tenses Aorist, Present Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 5×
Aorist Active Matt 21:33 · Mark 12:1 · Matt 27:28 3×
Present Active Mark 15:17 · 1 Cor 12:23 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 3×
Aorist Active Matt 27:48 · Mark 15:36 · John 19:29 3×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 8 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 6 present 2
Voice
active 8
Mood
indicative 5 participle 3
NT Occurrences
Matthew 21:33 περιέθηκεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 27:28 περιέθηκαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 27:48 περιθεὶς aorist active participle participle Mark 12:1 περιέθηκεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 15:17 περιτιθέασιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 15:36 περιθεὶς aorist active participle participle John 19:29 περιθέντες aorist active participle participle 1 Corinthians 12:23 περιτίθεμεν present active indicative ongoing
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
περιτίθημι is built from these roots:
For the Preacher and Teacher
Small physical actions matter in the passion accounts, but they must be interpreted by the evangelists rather than by speculative symbolism. A sponge is placed on a reed or hyssop and lifted to Jesus. John frames the moment with Scripture fulfillment, thirst, and completion. Paul later uses the same broad placement idea to describe special honor given to vulnerable or less presentable members of the body.
The church can learn to attend to concrete care: what is placed on a person, around a person, or within reach may express contempt or dignity. Faithful preaching centers Christ's finished work and then calls communities to surround weaker members with honor rather than display or neglect them.
Anchor passage
John.19.29
Doctrinal connections
- John 19:28-30 - thirst, sour wine, and completion
- Psalm 69:21 - sour wine in the suffering righteous
- Mark 15:33-39 - misunderstanding at the cross
- 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 - honor and interdependence in Christ's body
The compound describes placing around or upon. The object placed and the recipient determine whether the action protects, mocks, equips, or serves.
From Old to New Testament
John explicitly frames Jesus' thirst within Scripture fulfillment, with Psalm 69 as a major canonical witness. Proposed Passover-hyssop connections should be presented carefully rather than made certain by περιτίθημι.
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