verb
psēlafamō
Strong’sG5584
I feel, touch, handle, grope for
stem psēlaf-4 times in the New Testamentin 4 of 27 books4 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.
ψηλαφάω, -ῶ
(< ψάω, to touch), [in LXX for מוּשׁ, משׁשׁ pi., etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G5584 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
mostly used in present: future -ήσωLXXaorist ἐψηλάφησαLXXpassive, future ψηλαφηθήσομαιLXX: aorist ἐψηλαφήθην Refs 1st c.AD+:—feel or grope about to find a thing, like a blind man or hoodman-blind, χερσὶ ψηλαφόων (Epic dialect for -άων), of the Cyclops when blinded, Refs 8th c.BC+; ψηλαφῶν οὐκ ἐδυνάμην εὑρεῖν [τὸ ἱμάτιον] Refs 5th c.BC+
2 with accusative of things, feel about for, grope or search after, ἐψηλαφῶμεν ἐν σκότῳ τὰ πράγματα Refs 5th c.BC+; εἰ.. ψηλαφήσειαν αὐτὸν (i.e. τὸν θεὸν) καὶ εὕροιεν NT
II feel, touch, handle, stroke, Refs 2nd c.AD+; μή ποτε ψηλαφήσῃ με ὁ πατήρ, of Isaac and Jacob, LXX+NT+4th c.BC+; especially in in Medicine texts, of uterine examination, Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, ὧν ψηλαφωμένων ὁ ἵππος.. ἥδεται Refs 5th c.BC+
III metaphorically, test, examine, τὸν ν Refs 2nd c.BC+ —passive, S.E.[same place], τὰ ψηλαφηθέντα ὑπ᾽ Ἀντιόχου the attempts made by.., 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| psēlafalaἐψηλάφησαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | touched | 1× |
| psēlafavarψηλαφήσατέ | happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural | touch | 1× |
| psēlafaloiaψηλαφήσειαν | happened · theyaorist active optative 3rd person plural | reach out | 1× |
| psēlaforōnteψηλαφωμένῳ | happening now · to, forpresent middle or passive participle dative singular neuter | touched | 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 140, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 1 occurrence
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 | psēlafamō | psēlafame | psēlafami | psēlafama | psēlafamē | psēlafamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | psēlafasō | psēlafase | psēlafasi | psēlafasa | psēlafasē | psēlafaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | psēlafatō | psēlafate | psēlafati | psēlafata | psēlafatē | psēlafatelē |
| we 1st person plural | psēlafanō | psēlafane | psēlafani | psēlafana | psēlafanē | psēlafanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | psēlafavō | psēlafave | psēlafavi | psēlafava | psēlafavē | psēlafavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | psēlafalō | psēlafale | psēlafali | psēlafala1×ἐψηλάφησαν | psēlafalē | psēlafalelē |
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 | psēlafomō | psēlafome | psēlafomē | psēlafomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | psēlafosō | psēlafose | psēlafosē | psēlafoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | psēlafotō | psēlafote | psēlafotē | psēlafotelē |
| we 1st person plural | psēlafonō | psēlafone | psēlafonē | psēlafonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | psēlafovō | psēlafove | psēlafovē | psēlafovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | psēlafolō | psēlafole | psēlafolē | psēlafolelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | psēlafameiō | psēlafameia | psēlafameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | psēlafaseiō | psēlafaseia | psēlafaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | psēlafateiō | psēlafateia | psēlafateiē |
| we 1st person plural | psēlafaneiō | psēlafaneia | psēlafaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | psēlafaveiō | psēlafaveia | psēlafaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | psēlafaleiō | psēlafaleia | psēlafaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | psēlafomeiō | psēlafomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | psēlafoseiō | psēlafoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | psēlafoteiō | psēlafoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | psēlafoneiō | psēlafoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | psēlafoveiō | psēlafoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | psēlafoleiō | psēlafoleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | psēlafasōr | psēlafasar | psēlafasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | psēlafatōr | psēlafatar | psēlafatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | psēlafavōr | psēlafavar1×ψηλαφήσατέ | psēlafavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | psēlafalōr | psēlafalar | psēlafalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | psēlafosōr | psēlafosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | psēlafotōr | psēlafotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | psēlafovōr | psēlafovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | psēlafolōr | psēlafolēr |
Wishes — optative mood, 1 occurrence
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | psēlafamoiō | psēlafamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | psēlafasoiō | psēlafasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | psēlafatoiō | psēlafatoia |
| we 1st person plural | psēlafanoiō | psēlafanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | psēlafavoiō | psēlafavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | psēlafaloiō | psēlafaloia1×ψηλαφήσειαν |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | psēlafomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | psēlafosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | psēlafotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | psēlafonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | psēlafovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | psēlafoloiō |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | psēlafarō | psēlafari | psēlafara | psēlafarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | psēlaforō | psēlaforē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | psēlafarōntos | psēlafarintos | psēlafarantos | psēlafarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | psēlaforōntos1× | psēlaforēntos |
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
psēlaf 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.
4 occurrences, every one of them listed
psēlafala“touched”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural1×
1 John 1:1… hem theasena kai tais cheirais nu psēlafala, peri tou logou tau zōau… which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands — this is …
psēlafavar“touch”happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural1×
Luke 24:39… podoin mu hoti mis amō autos; psēlafavar min kai horavar, hoti pneumem sarkan …… My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see — for a spirit …
psēlafaloia“reach out”happened · theyaorist active optative 3rd person plural1×
Acts 17:27zētarō ton theon ei ara ge psēlafaloia auton kai heuriskaloia, kai ge ouk …… they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though …
psēlaforōnte“touched”happening now · to, forpresent middle or passive participle dative singular neuter1×
Hebrews 12:18Ouk gar proserchavē psēlaforōnte kai kaiorēnte pure kai gnofo kai …… to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire …