To dip
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Bapto means to dip, moisten, or place part of something into a liquid. Its three direct New Testament witnesses retain that concrete action: a fingertip dipped in water, a morsel dipped at the supper table, and a robe described as dipped in blood.
Reader summary
Full entry for βάπτω (G911) · Open the biblical lexicon
Bapto means to dip, moisten, or place part of something into a liquid. Its three direct New Testament witnesses retain that concrete action: a fingertip dipped in water, a morsel dipped at the supper table, and a robe described as dipped in blood.
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include dipped (2), after I have dipped [it] (1), dip (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 16:24. Its strongest book concentrations include John (2), Luke (1), Revelation (1).
Bapto means to dip, moisten, or place part of something into a liquid. Its three direct New Testament witnesses retain that concrete action: a fingertip dipped in water, a morsel dipped at the supper table, and a robe described as dipped in blood. The surrounding scenes could hardly be more different. Luke 16 portrays anguish within Jesus' account of the rich man and Lazarus; John 13 uses a dipped morsel to identify Judas as the betrayer; Revelation 19 presents the returning Word of God as the righteous warrior Judge.
The verb itself does not teach baptism, sacramental efficacy, betrayal, final judgment, or the identity of the blood. It names the dipping action, while the passage supplies the theological meaning and any textual or interpretive questions.
Bapto consistently names dipping, but the dipped object and scene govern the claim: water is sought for relief, a morsel identifies betrayal, and a blood-dipped robe belongs to Revelation's portrait of the judging Word of God.
So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’
The rich man asks for the smallest act of cooling relief in Jesus' account, yet the fixed chasm and prior reversal govern the scene.
Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then He dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot.
Jesus interprets the ordinary table action before performing it, so the dipped morsel identifies Judas without causing or excusing his betrayal.
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God.
The dipped robe belongs to Revelation's vision of the faithful and true rider who judges righteously and bears the name Word of God.
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. to dip
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
3 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I dip, dye
Read verseI dip, dye
Read verseI dip, dye
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 4 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)
βάπτω is a primary verb - no further derivation.
Bapto is a useful lesson in lexical restraint. Luke 16 uses a dipped fingertip in a plea for relief, but Jesus' account is governed by reversal, remembered Scripture, and the fixed chasm. John 13 uses a dipped morsel at the supper table. Jesus states the sign, performs it, and identifies Judas, showing His knowledge without making the food the cause of betrayal.
Revelation 19 describes the Word of God in a robe dipped in blood within a vision of righteous judgment and victory. The verb contributes the physical image in each place, but it does not decide every disputed detail. It must not be confused with baptizo or made to establish baptismal practice. Faithful teaching lets each passage interpret the dipping action and keeps Christ's sovereignty, justice, and truth at the center.
John.13.26
Bapto names dipping or moistening and is distinct from the related verb baptizo. In these witnesses, the direct object or participial construction identifies what is dipped: a fingertip, a morsel, or a robe. Lexical relationship does not erase the separate usage patterns or authorize importing the full theology of baptism into bapto.
Scripture uses water, shared food, garments, and blood in many distinct settings, but shared imagery does not create a single doctrine. Luke's account warns of final reversal, John's supper scene reveals betrayal under Jesus' sovereign knowledge, and Revelation presents the victorious Word of God. Each canonical setting governs its own dipping image.