noun · feminine
epignōsias
Strong’sG1922
knowledge, discernment, recognition
stem epignōsi-20 times in the New Testamentin 10 of 27 books4 of 10 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
ἐπίγνωσις means precise, full knowledge — a recognition and clear discernment of something, rather than a vague acquaintance with it 124. In the New Testament it is used especially of knowing God, knowing Christ, knowing the truth, and recognizing sin for what it is 1. Strong's likewise describes it as a recognition that carries the force of full discernment or acknowledgement 2.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
† ἐπί-γνωσις, -εως, ἡ
(< ἐπιγινώσκω, q.v.), [in LXX: III Ki 7:14 (B. γν-), Pr 2:5, Ho 4:1, 6 6:7(6) (דַּעַת), Jth 9:14, II Mac 9:11 *;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1922 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidep-ig'-no-sis
recognition, i.e. (by implication) full discernment, acknowledgement
Fromfrom G1921;
King James(ac-)knowledge(-ing, - ment).
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
recognition, c.genitive, Refs 1st c.BC+; [τινῶν] διὰ βοῆς, δι᾽ ὀμμάτων, Refs 1st c.AD+; recognition of a mistake, Refs 1st c.BC+; determination of a fact, Refs 2nd c.BC+
2. knowledge, Refs 2nd c.BC+ scientific theory, Refs
II. decision, πρὸς Refs 4th c.AD+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | epignōsias1×ἐπίγνωσις | epignōsiais |
| object accusative | epignōsian10×ἐπίγνωσιν | epignōsiain |
| direct address vocative | epignōsiar | epignōsiair |
| of, belonging to genitive | epignōsiau2×ἐπιγνώσεως | epignōsiaiu |
| to, for dative | epignōsia7×ἐπιγνώσει | epignōsiai |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
epignōsia is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
20 occurrences, every one of them listed
epignōsias“knowledge”subjectnominative singular1×
Romans 3:20“knowledge”… sarkas enōpion autou, dia gar nomou epignōsias hamartau.… be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.
epignōsian“knowledge”objectaccusative singular10×
Romans 10:2… zēlon theou echalō; alla ouk kata epignōsian,… but not on the basis of knowledge.
Colossians 1:9… proseuchorōntois kai aitorōntois hina plēriveia tan epignōsian teu thelēmeu autou en panta sofia …… God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual …
Colossians 2:2“knowledge”… ploutem tau plēroforiau tau sunesiau, eis epignōsian teu mustērieu tou theou, Christou,… the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,
Colossians 3:10… enduerantois ton neon ton anakainorōnton eis epignōsian kata eikonan tou ktizarantou auton,… self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
1 Timothy 2:4… pantoin anthrōpoin thelatō sōzira kai eis epignōsian alētheiau erchara.… saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 2:25… dōateia autoi tos theos metanoian eis epignōsian alētheiau,… grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 3:7pantote matharōnteim kai mēdepote eis epignōsian alētheiau erchara dunorōnteim.… never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Titus 1:1… Christou kata pistian eklektoiu theou kai epignōsian alētheiau tau kata eusebeian… faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to …
Hebrews 10:26… hamartarōntoiu nu meta tem labara tan epignōsian tau alētheiau, ouketi peri hamartaiu apolipotō …… sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice …
2 Peter 1:8… tan tou kuriou nu Iēsu Christou epignōsian;… being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
epignōsiau“knowledge”of, belonging togenitive singular2×
Ephesians 4:13… tan henotan tau pistiau kai tau epignōsiau tou huiou tou theou, eis andron …… in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as …
2 Peter 1:3… zōan kai eusebeian dōrorēntau dia tau epignōsiau tou kalarantou nin idia doxa kai …… for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by …
epignōsia“knowledge”to, fordative singular7×
Romans 1:28“knowledge”… ouk dokimazala ton theon echarō en epignōsia, paradōata autoin tos theos eis adokimon …… they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved …
Ephesians 1:17… vi pneumem sofiau kai apokalupsiau en epignōsia autou,… of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
Philippians 1:9… ēti mallon kai mallon perisseuateiō en epignōsia kai panta aisthēsia,… may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
Colossians 1:10… erge agathe karpoforarōntois kai auxanorōntois ta epignōsia tou theou,… every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
Philemon 1:6“knowledge”… tau pistiau su energas geneteia en epignōsia panteu agatheu teu en ni eis …… pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ.
2 Peter 1:2charitas vi kai eirēnas plēthunitoia en epignōsia tou theou kai Iēsu tou kuriou …… be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our …
2 Peter 2:20… apofugarantois teim miasmeim tou kosmou en epignōsia tou kuriou kai sōtērou Iēsu Christou …… corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus …