verb
poimanamō
Strong’sG4165
I shepherd, tend
stem poiman-11 times in the New Testamentin 8 of 27 books7 forms occur
What it means
What the word means, in the words of the lexicons out of copyright — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones, wherever each has an entry for it.
ποιμαίνω
(< ποιμήν), [in LXX chiefly for רעה;]
SYN.: βόσκω, q.v.
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4165 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidpoy-mah'-ee-no
to tend as a shepherd of (figuratively, superviser)
Fromfrom G4166;
King Jamesfeed (cattle), rule.
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
Epic dialect imperfect ποιμαίνεσκεν Refs 8th c.BC+: (ποιμήν):—herd, tend, μῆλα Refs 8th c.BC+; πρόβατα variant in Refs 5th c.BC+; ποιμαίνειν ἐπ᾽ ὄεσσι to be shepherd over sheep, Refs 8th c.BC+: absolutely, act as shepherd, tend flocks, Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, to be herded, roam the pastures, of flocks, Refs 8th c.BC+middle, with ὕπνος (l. Refs
2 πᾶς πεποίμανται τόπος every country has been traversed (as by a shepherd or flocks of sheep), Refs 4th c.BC+
II metaphorically, tend, cherish, ζωᾶς ἄωτον Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 guide, govern, στρατόν Refs 5th c.BC+
II.3 soothe, beguile, ἔρωτα π. Refs 3rd c.BC+: hence, generally, deceive, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.4 εἴδωλα ἃ ποιμαίνουσιν images which they send flocking, i.e. represent as flocking, Refs 1st 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| poimanatōποιμαίνει | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | tends | 1× |
| poimanatiποιμανεῖ | will happen · he/she/itfuture active indicative 3rd person singular | rule | 4× |
| poimanasōrΠοίμαινε | happening now · youpresent active imperative 2nd person singular | tend | 1× |
| poimanavarποιμάνατε | happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural | shepherd | 1× |
| poimanarōποιμαίνειν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | rule | 2× |
| poimanarōntonποιμαίνοντα | happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative singular masculine | tending sheep | 1× |
| poimanarōntoisποιμαίνοντες | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine | shepherds | 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 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 5 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | poimanamō | poimaname | poimanami | poimanama | poimanamē | poimanamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | poimanasō | poimanase | poimanasi | poimanasa | poimanasē | poimanaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | poimanatō1×ποιμαίνει | poimanate | poimanati4×ποιμανεῖ | poimanata | poimanatē | poimanatelē |
| we 1st person plural | poimananō | poimanane | poimanani | poimanana | poimananē | poimananelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | poimanavō | poimanave | poimanavi | poimanava | poimanavē | poimanavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | poimanalō | poimanale | poimanali | poimanala | poimanalē | poimanalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | poimanameiō | poimanameia | poimanameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | poimanaseiō | poimanaseia | poimanaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | poimanateiō | poimanateia | poimanateiē |
| we 1st person plural | poimananeiō | poimananeia | poimananeiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | poimanaveiō | poimanaveia | poimanaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | poimanaleiō | poimanaleia | poimanaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 2 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | poimanasōr1×Ποίμαινε | poimanasar | poimanasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | poimanatōr | poimanatar | poimanatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | poimanavōr | poimanavar1×ποιμάνατε | poimanavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | poimanalōr | poimanalar | poimanalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | poimanamoiō | poimanamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | poimanasoiō | poimanasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | poimanatoiō | poimanatoia |
| we 1st person plural | poimananoiō | poimananoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | poimanavoiō | poimanavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | poimanaloiō | poimanaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | poimanarō2×ποιμαίνειν | poimanari | poimanara | poimanarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | poimanarōntos2× | poimanarintos | poimanarantos | poimanarēntos |
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
poiman 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.
11 occurrences, every one of them listed
poimanatō“tends”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular1×
1 Corinthians 9:7… ton karpon autou ouk esthiatō? tinos poimanatō poimnan kai ek teu galakteu tau …… not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink …
poimanati“rule”will happen · he/she/itfuture active indicative 3rd person singular4×
Matthew 2:6… ek su gar exercheti hēgorōntos, hotinos poimanati ton laon mu ton Israēl.… a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”
Revelation 2:27kai poimanati autoin en rabda sidēroua hōs teim …He will rule them with an iron scepter and …
Revelation 7:17… arniem tem ana mesem tou thronou poimanati autoin, kai hodēgati autoin epi zōau …… of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs …
Revelation 19:15… auta pataxateia teim ethneim, kai autos poimanati autoin en rabda sidēroua; kai autos …… down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He …
poimanasōr“tend”happening now · youpresent active imperative 2nd person singular1×
John 21:16“tend”… oidasē hoti filamō sin. legatō auto; Poimanasōr teim probateim mu.… answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
poimanavar“shepherd”happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural1×
1 Peter 5:2“shepherd”poimanavar tem en vi poimniem tou theou, …… of God’s flock that is among you, watching over …
poimanarō“rule”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive2×
Acts 20:28“shepherd”… tem pneumem tem hagiem titheta episkopoin, poimanarō tan ekklēsan tou theou, han peripoieta …… of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased …
Revelation 12:5kai tiktata huion, arsenem, hos mellatō poimanarō panteim teim ethneim en rabda sidēroua; …… son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron …
poimanarōnton“tending sheep”happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative singular masculine1×
Luke 17:7“tending sheep”… ek vu doulon echarōntos arotriarōnton ē poimanarōnton, hos eisercharanto ek tou agrou legati …Which of you whose servant comes in from plowing or shepherding in the field will say to him …
poimanarōntois“shepherds”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Jude 1:12“shepherds”… agapai vu spiladais suneuōchorōntois, afobōs heautoin poimanarōntois, nefelais anudrais hupo anemoiu paraferorōntais, dendreim …… reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn …