verb
peritemomō
Strong’sG4059
I circumcise
stem peritem-17 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books13 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
To circumcise — to perform the ritual cutting away of the foreskin 1234. This is the ordinary sense the word carries throughout the New Testament and Septuagint 13, and it can also be used in the passive or middle voice to mean "to be circumcised" or "to receive circumcision" 1.
The word is also used metaphorically, of an inward, non-literal circumcision rather than the physical rite 1.
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
περι-τέμνω,
[in LXX chiefly for מוּל;] (Ion., Epic. and late writers),
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4059 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Epic dialect and Ionic dialect περι-τάμνω, cut or clip round about, οἴνας περιταμνέμεν prune them, Refs 8th c.BC+; of a goldsmith, Refs 2nd c.AD+ —middle, βραχίονας περιτάμνονται make incisions all over their arms, Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, to be cut up, of fish, Refs 4th c.BC+
2 of circumcision, τῶν ἐπιγινομένων οὐ περιτάμνουσι τὰ αἰδοῖα Refs 5th c.BC+; π. τοὺς παῖδας LXX+3rd c.BC+, etc.:— middle, περιτάμνονται τὰ αἰδοῖα LXX+5th c.BC+: absolutely, practise circumcision, Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, LXX
3 cut off the extremities, τὰ ὦτα καὶ τὴν ῥῖνα Refs 5th c.BC+ —passive, περιτάμνεσθαι γῆν to be curtailed of certain land, Refs 5th c.BC+
II cut off and hem in all round:—middle, βοῦς περιταμνόμενον cutting off cattle for oneself, 'lifling' cattle, Refs 8th c.BC+:—passive, to be cut off, ἅρματα π. ὑπὸ τῶν ἱππέων Refs 5th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| peritemavōπεριτέμνετε | happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural | circumcise | 1× |
| peritemataπεριέτεμεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | circumcised | 2× |
| peritemivaπεριετμήθητε | happened · yeaorist passive indicative 2nd person plural | circumcised | 1× |
| peritemoveiōπεριτέμνησθε | happening now · yepresent middle or passive subjunctive 2nd person plural | circumcised | 1× |
| peritemiveiaπεριτμηθῆτε | happened · yeaorist passive subjunctive 2nd person plural | circumcised | 1× |
| peritemotōrπεριτεμνέσθω | happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive imperative 3rd person singular | circumcised | 1× |
| peritemarōπεριτέμνειν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | circumcise | 2× |
| peritemorōπεριτέμνεσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive | circumcised | 2× |
| peritemaraπεριτεμεῖν | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | circumcise | 2× |
| peritemiraπεριτμηθῆναι | happened · the “to …” formaorist passive infinitive | circumcised | 1× |
| peritemorōntoπεριτεμνομένῳ | happening now · to, forpresent middle or passive participle dative singular masculine | circumcised | 1× |
| peritemorōntoisπεριτεμνόμενοι | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine | circumcised | 1× |
| peritemorēntosπεριτετμημένος | has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine | circumcised | 1× |
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 172, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 4 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peritemamō | peritemame | peritemami | peritemama | peritemamē | peritemamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | peritemasō | peritemase | peritemasi | peritemasa | peritemasē | peritemaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritematō | peritemate | peritemati | peritemata2×περιέτεμεν | peritematē | peritematelē |
| we 1st person plural | peritemanō | peritemane | peritemani | peritemana | peritemanē | peritemanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemavō1×περιτέμνετε | peritemave | peritemavi | peritemava | peritemavē | peritemavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemalō | peritemale | peritemali | peritemala | peritemalē | peritemalelē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peritemomō | peritemome | peritemomē | peritemomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | peritemosō | peritemose | peritemosē | peritemoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritemotō | peritemote | peritemotē | peritemotelē |
| we 1st person plural | peritemonō | peritemone | peritemonē | peritemonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemovō | peritemove | peritemovē | peritemovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemolō | peritemole | peritemolē | peritemolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peritemimi | peritemima |
| you 2nd person singular | peritemisi | peritemisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritemiti | peritemita |
| we 1st person plural | peritemini | peritemina |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemivi | peritemiva1×περιετμήθητε |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemili | peritemila |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 2 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peritemameiō | peritemameia | peritemameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | peritemaseiō | peritemaseia | peritemaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritemateiō | peritemateia | peritemateiē |
| we 1st person plural | peritemaneiō | peritemaneia | peritemaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemaveiō | peritemaveia | peritemaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemaleiō | peritemaleia | peritemaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peritemomeiō | peritemomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | peritemoseiō | peritemoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritemoteiō | peritemoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | peritemoneiō | peritemoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemoveiō1×περιτέμνησθε | peritemoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemoleiō | peritemoleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peritemimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | peritemiseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritemiteia |
| we 1st person plural | peritemineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemiveia1×περιτμηθῆτε |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemileia |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | peritemasōr | peritemasar | peritemasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritematōr | peritematar | peritematēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemavōr | peritemavar | peritemavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemalōr | peritemalar | peritemalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | peritemosōr | peritemosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritemotōr1×περιτεμνέσθω | peritemotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemovōr | peritemovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemolōr | peritemolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | peritemisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritemitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemivar |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peritemamoiō | peritemamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | peritemasoiō | peritemasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritematoiō | peritematoia |
| we 1st person plural | peritemanoiō | peritemanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemavoiō | peritemavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemaloiō | peritemaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peritemomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | peritemosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritemotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | peritemonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemoloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peritemimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | peritemisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peritemitoia |
| we 1st person plural | periteminoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | peritemivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | peritemiloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 7 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | peritemarō2×περιτέμνειν | peritemari | peritemara2×περιτεμεῖν | peritemarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | peritemorō2×περιτέμνεσθαι | peritemorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | peritemiri | peritemira1×περιτμηθῆναι |
Used as an adjective — participle, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | peritemarōntos | peritemarintos | peritemarantos | peritemarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | peritemorōntos2× | peritemorēntos1×περιτετμημένος | ||
| acted on passive voice | peritemirintos | peritemirantos |
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
peritem 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.
17 occurrences, every one of them listed
peritemavō“circumcise”happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural1×
John 7:22… ek toiu patroiu kai en sabbate peritemavō anthrōpon.… because Moses gave you circumcision, you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath (not …
peritemata“circumcised”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular2×
Acts 7:8… kai houtōs gennata ton Isaak kai peritemata auton ta hēmera ta ogdoa, kai …… became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And …
Acts 16:3… Paulos sun auto exerchara, kai labarantos peritemata auton dia toin Ioudaioin toin arōntoin …… him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews …
peritemiva“circumcised”happened · yeaorist passive indicative 2nd person plural1×
Colossians 2:11en ho kai peritemiva peritoma acheiropoiēta en ta apekdusia teu …In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your …
peritemoveiō“circumcised”happening now · yepresent middle or passive subjunctive 2nd person plural1×
Galatians 5:2… mis Paulos legamō vi hoti ean peritemoveiō Christos vin oudenem ōfelati.… that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value …
peritemiveia“circumcised”happened · yeaorist passive subjunctive 2nd person plural1×
Acts 15:1… didaskale toin adelfoin hoti Ean mē peritemiveia te ethe te Mōusou, ouk dunovō …… teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses …
peritemotōr“circumcised”happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive imperative 3rd person singular1×
1 Corinthians 7:18… epispotōr; en akrobustia kalotē tinos? mē peritemotōr.… when called? He should not be circumcised.
peritemarō“circumcise”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive2×
Acts 15:5“circumcise”… toiu Farisaioiu pisteuarēntois, legarōntois hoti datō peritemarō autoin parangelarō tē tērarō ton nomon …But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
Acts 21:21… teim ethneim pantoin Ioudaioin, legarōntos mē peritemarō autoin teim tekneim mēde tei ethei …… forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.
peritemorō“circumcised”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive2×
Galatians 6:12… euprosōpara en sarka, houtois anankazalō vin peritemorō, monem hina to stauro tou Christou …… trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid …
Galatians 6:13… autois nomon fulassalō, alla thelalō vin peritemorō hina en ta humetera sarka kaucheleia.… yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your …
peritemara“circumcise”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive2×
Luke 1:59… en ta hēmera ta ogdoa erchala peritemara tem paidiem, kai kalale autem epi …… eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to …
Luke 2:21Kai hote pimplēila hēmerais oktō teu peritemara auton, kai kalita tem onomem autou …When the eight days before His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus …
peritemira“circumcised”happened · the “to …” formaorist passive infinitive1×
Galatians 2:3… tos sun mi, Hellēnos arōntos, anankazita peritemira;… with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
peritemorōnto“circumcised”happening now · to, forpresent middle or passive participle dative singular masculine1×
Galatians 5:3marturoomō de palin panto anthrōpo peritemorōnto hoti ofeiletos atō holon ton nomon …… to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey …
peritemorōntois“circumcised”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine1×
Galatians 6:13oude gar tois peritemorōntois autois nomon fulassalō, alla thelalō vin …For the circumcised do not even keep the law …
peritemorēntos“circumcised”has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine1×
1 Corinthians 7:18peritemorēntos tinos kalita? mē epispotōr; en akrobustia …Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should …