verb
epistomō
Strong’sG1987
I know, understand
stem epist-14 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books5 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
ἐπίσταμαι means to know, understand, or be aware of something 124. It covers being acquainted with a fact, a subject, or a piece of information, and can be used of knowing something for certain 3, as well as of understanding a matter more generally 1. Strong's describes the underlying idea as "putting the mind upon" something, that is, comprehending it or being acquainted with it 2. The word takes a wide range of constructions — a person or thing as its object, a participle, or a clause telling what, how, or where something is 1 — and is close in meaning to γινώσκω and οἶδα 1.
Less commonly, the word is used of knowing a person, in the sense of being acquainted with who someone is, rather than knowing a fact 31.
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
ἐπίσταμαι
(prob. an old mid, of ἐφίστημι, q.v.), [in LXX chiefly for יָדַע;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1987 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
person -ασαιRefs 6th c.BC+, contraction ἐπίστω Refs 5th c.BC+; subjunctive Ionic dialect ἐπιστέωμαι Refs 5th c.BC+, Attic dialect ἐπίστωμαι Refs 5th c.BC+: imperfect ἠπιστάμην Refs 8th c.BC+; Ionic dialect 3rd.pers. plural ἠπιστέατο or ἐπιστέατο Refs: future ἐπιστήσομαι Refs 8th c.BC+: aorist 1 ἠπιστήθην Refs 5th c.BC+
I. know how to do, be able to do, capable of doing, c.infinitive, οὐδέ οἱ ὀστέ᾽ ἐπιστήσονται Ἀχαιοὶ ἀλλέξαι Refs 8th c.BC+; and of artistic skill, ὃς χερσὶν ἐπίστατο δαίδαλα πάντα τεύχειν Refs 8th c.BC+: frequently in Trag. and Attic dialect, οὔπω σωφρονεῖν ἐπίστασαι Refs 5th c.BC+; κιθαρίζειν οὐκ ἐ. Refs 5th c.BC+infinitive, σῷζ ὅπως ἐπίστασαι as best you can, Refs 4th c.BC+
I.2. to be assured, feel sure that.., τοῦτον ἐπίστανται πλεῖστα εἰδέναι Refs 5th c.BC+
II. with accusative, understand a matter, know, be versed in or acquainted with, πολλὰ δ᾽ ἐπίστατο ἔργα Refs 8th c.BC+; ἔγωγε γράμματ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐ. Refs 5th c.BC+; τὸ μὴ ἐ. γράμματα illiteracy, Refs 1st c.BC+; ἐ. ἱερατικὰ καὶ Αἰγύπτια γράμματα Refs 2nd c.AD+; ἐ. μύθους τοὺς Αἰσώπου know them by heart, Refs 5th c.BC+ adverb, Συριστὶ ἐ. know Syrian, Refs 5th c.BC+; with accusative and infinitive conjoined, Refs 4th c.BC+; with infinitive to explanation the accusative, ἔργον δὲ μοῦνον ἐσθίειν ἐ. Refs 7th c.BC+
II.2. after Refs 8th c.BC+, know as a fact, know for certain, ἐπισταμένοισι εὖ οὐκ ἄν τις λέγοι Refs 5th c.BC+; used convertibly with εἰδέναι, Refs 5th c.BC+; even χάριν ἐ., ={χάριν εἰδέναι}, Refs 4th c.AD+ being confined to scientific knowledge (ἐπιστήμη), διὰ τὸ εἰδέναι τὸ ἐπίστασθαι ἐδίωκον Refs 4th c.BC+. Hdt.[same place]; σαφῶς ἐ. Refs 6th c.BC+; ἐ. ὅτι.., or ἐ. τοῦτο, ὅτι.., Refs 5th c.BC+
II.3. rarely, know a person, Ἀρίγνωτον γὰρ οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐκ ἐ. Refs 5th c.BC+; τὸν Ἰησοῦν γινώσκω καὶ τὸν Παῦλον ἐ. NT; but ὁ παῖς τοὺς τεκόντας οὐκ ἐ. does not know who they are, Refs 5th c.BC+
III. with participle, in Prose and Trag., know that one is, has, etc., εὖ ἐ. αὐτὸς σχήσων Refs 5th c.BC+; also ὡς ὧδ᾽ ἐχόντων τῶνδ᾽ ἐ. σε χρή Refs 5th c.BC+; ὡς φανέν γε τοὔπος ὧδ᾽ ἐ. Refs 1st c.AD+: c.accusative et infinitive, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV. present participle ἐπιστάμενος, η, ον, frequently as adjective, knowing, understanding, skilful, ἀνδρὸς ἐ. Refs 8th c.BC+; καὶ μάλ᾽ ἐ. Refs 8th c.BC+; even of a dancer's feet, θρέξασκον ἐπισταμένοισι πόδεσσι Refs 8th c.BC+ skilled, versed in them, Refs 8th c.BC+
IV.2. adverb ἐπιστᾰμένως skilfully, expertly,Refs 8th c.BC+; εὖ καὶ ἐ. Refs 8th c.BC+; also in Prose, Refs 5th c.BC+: c.infinitive, with knowledge how to.., Refs 4th c.BC+, attend, observe, it is probably that ἐπίσταμαι is merely an old middle form of ἐφίστημι,Refs 4th c.BC+
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
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| epistomōἐπίσταμαι | happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | know | 2× |
| epistotōἐπίσταται | happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | knows | 1× |
| epistovōἐπίστασθε | happening now · yepresent middle or passive indicative 2nd person plural | know | 5× |
| epistolōἐπίστανται | happening now · theypresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural | know | 2× |
| epistorōntosἐπιστάμενος | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine | knew | 4× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 54, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 10 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | epistomō2×ἐπίσταμαι | epistome | epistomē | epistomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | epistosō | epistose | epistosē | epistoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | epistotō1×ἐπίσταται | epistote | epistotē | epistotelē |
| we 1st person plural | epistonō | epistone | epistonē | epistonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | epistovō5×ἐπίστασθε | epistove | epistovē | epistovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | epistolō2×ἐπίστανται | epistole | epistolē | epistolelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | epistomeiō | epistomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | epistoseiō | epistoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | epistoteiō | epistoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | epistoneiō | epistoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | epistoveiō | epistoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | epistoleiō | epistoleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | epistosōr | epistosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | epistotōr | epistotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | epistovōr | epistovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | epistolōr | epistolēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | epistomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | epistosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | epistotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | epistonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | epistovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | epistoloiō |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | epistorō | epistorē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 4 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | epistorōntos4×ἐπιστάμενος | epistorēntos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
epist 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.
14 occurrences, every one of them listed
epistomō“know”happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular2×
Mark 14:68… de arneta legarōntos; Oute oidamē oute epistomō sis tinem legasō, kai exerchata exō …… I do not know or even understand what you are talking about,” he …
Acts 19:15… Ton Iēsun gnōskamō kai ton Paulon epistomō, vis de tinois avō?… responded, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
epistotō“knows”happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Acts 26:26epistotō gar peri houteiu tos basilevos, pros …For the king knows about these matters, and I can …
epistovō“know”happening now · yepresent middle or passive indicative 2nd person plural5×
Acts 10:28fēate tē pros autoin; Vis epistovō hōs athemitem atō andro Ioudaio kollorō …He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a …
Acts 15:7… legata pros autoin; Androir adelfoir, vis epistovō hoti apo hēmeraiu archaiaiu en vi …… and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God …
Acts 19:25… peri teim toiouteim ergatoin legata; Androir, epistovō hoti ek houtau tau ergasiau tas …… related trades. “Men,” he said, “you know that this business is our source …
Acts 20:18… paragenela pros auton legata autoi; Vis epistovō apo prōtau hēmerau apo hau epibainama …… came to him, he said, “You know how I lived the whole time …
James 4:14hotinois ouk epistovō tem tau aurion poias tas zōas …You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is …
epistolō“know”happening now · theypresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural2×
Acts 22:19kamis legama; Kurior, autois epistolō hoti mis ome fulakizarōntos kai derarōntos …‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue …
Jude 1:10“understand”… de fusikōs hōs teim alogeim zōeim epistolō, en houtei ftherolō.… not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they …
epistorōntos“knew”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine4×
Acts 18:25… didaskate akribōs teim peri tou Iēsu, epistorōntos monem tem baptismem Iōannou.… taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.
Acts 24:10“know”… arōnton sin kriton te ethne houte epistorōntos euthumōs teim peri miautou apologomō,… Knowing that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I gladly make my defense.
1 Timothy 6:4tufotē, mēdenem epistorōntos, alla nosarōntos peri zētēsiain kai logomachiain, …he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy …
Hebrews 11:8… labarō eis klēronomian, kai exerchata mē epistorōntos pou erchotō.… his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.