verb
punthanomō
Strong’sG4441
I ask, inquire
stem punthan-12 times in the New Testamentin 4 of 27 books7 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
πυνθάνομαι means to ask or inquire, seeking information about something — whether by naming the thing asked about, framing an indirect or direct question, or specifying the person questioned 1. It also carries the sense of learning by inquiry, that is, finding something out as the result of asking 12.
Strong's notes that this word describes ascertaining something purely as a matter of information, distinguishing it from other Greek words that mean requesting a favor, demanding what is owed, searching for something hidden, or asking out of urgent need 2.
More broadly in Greek literature, the word covers learning something whether by hearsay or by active inquiry, and can be used of finding out about people, events, or facts through asking around 3.
Dodson's brief gloss agrees: "I ask, inquire" 4.
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
πυνθάνομαι,
[in LXX for דּרשׁ;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4441 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidpoon-than'-om-ahee
to question, i.e. ascertain by inquiry (as a matter of information merely; and thus differing from G2065, which properly means a request as a favor; and from G154, which is strictly a demand for something due; as well as from G2212, which implies a search for something hidden; and from G1189, which involves the idea of urgent need); by implication, to learn (by casual intelligence)
Frommiddle voice prolonged from a primary πύθω (which occurs only as an alternate in certain tenses);
King Jamesask, demand, enquire, understand.
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
Refs 8th c.BC+; poetry also πεύθομαι (which see): Epic dialect imperfect πυνθανόμην Refs: future πεύσομαι Refs 8th c.BC+, Doric dialect πευσοῦμαι Refs 3rd c.BC+ (so codex middle in Refs 4th c.BC+: aorist ἐπῠθόμην Refs 8th c.BC+, etc., Epic dialect and Lyric poetry πυθόμην Refs 8th c.BC+; imperative πυθοῦ, Ionic dialect πυθεῦ Refs 5th c.BC+; Epic dialect optative πεπύθοιτο Refs 8th c.BC+; 3rd.pers. plural πυθοίατο Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect πέπυσμαι Refs 8th c.BC+; 2nd pers. singular πέπῠσαι Refs 5th c.BC+, Epic dialect πέπυσσαι Refs 8th c.BC+; infinitive πεπύσθαι Refs 5th c.BC+; participle πεπυσμένος Refs 5th c.BC+: pluperfect ἐπεπύσμην Refs 5th c.BC+; 3rd.pers. singular ἐπέπυστο Refs 8th c.BC+; 3rd.pers. dual πεπύσθην Refs:—learn, whether by hearsay or by inquiry (ἐξιστορήσαντες τὰ ἐβούλοντο πυθέσθαι Refs 5th c.BC+
1 π. τί τινος learn something from a person, Refs 8th c.BC+; frequently παρά τινος, Refs 5th c.BC+; παρ᾽ ἄλλων (variant{ἄλλων}) Refs 5th c.BC+
2 with accusative of things only, hear or learn a thing, Refs 8th c.BC+
3 with genitive objecti, hear or inquire concerning, πυθέσθαι πατρός, ἀγγελιάων, μάχης, Refs 8th c.BC+
4 π. τινά τινος inquire about one person of or from another, τὸν ἄνδρα τῶν ὁδοιπόρων Refs 5th c.BC+: with accusative person only, inquire about a person, Refs 5th c.BC+
5 with participle, πυθόμην ὁδὸν ὁρμαίνοντα that he was starting, Refs 8th c.BC+; οὔ πω.. πεπύσθην Πατρόκλοιο θανόντος they had not yet heard of his being dead, Refs 8th c.BC+
6 with accusative et infinitive, hear or learn that.. , Refs 5th c.BC+
7 followed by an interrogative clause, ὡς πυθώμεθα ὅπου ποτ᾽ ἐσμέν Refs 5th c.BC+; αὐτοῦ π. τί ποτε νοεῖ inquire or learn from him what.., Refs 5th c.BC+; π. εἰ.. inquire whether.., Refs 5th c.BC+; τοῦ ξένου ἡδέως ἂν π., τί ταῦθ᾽ ἡγοῦντο Refs 5th c.BC+; π. τινῶν, ὅτι.. Refs 5th c.BC+; π., ὅπως ἂν κάλλιστα πορευθείηRefs
II active, aorist 1 participle feminine πεύσασα having learned, Refs 6th c.AD+
II.2 see at {πεύθω}.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| punthanomōπυνθάνομαι | happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | ask | 1× |
| punthanoteἐπυνθάνετο | was happening · he/she/itimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | asked | 5× |
| punthanoleἐπυνθάνοντο | was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural | asking | 2× |
| punthanetaἐπύθετο | happened · he/she/itaorist middle indicative 3rd person singular | inquired | 1× |
| punthanorōπυνθάνεσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive | inquire | 1× |
| punthaneraπυθέσθαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist middle infinitive | ask | 1× |
| punthanerantosπυθόμενος | happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative singular masculine | learned | 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, 9 occurrences
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 | punthanomō1×πυνθάνομαι | punthanome | punthanomē | punthanomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | punthanosō | punthanose | punthanosē | punthanoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | punthanotō | punthanote5×ἐπυνθάνετο | punthanotē | punthanotelē |
| we 1st person plural | punthanonō | punthanone | punthanonē | punthanonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | punthanovō | punthanove | punthanovē | punthanovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | punthanolō | punthanole2×ἐπυνθάνοντο | punthanolē | punthanolelē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | punthanemi | punthanema |
| you 2nd person singular | punthanesi | punthanesa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | punthaneti | punthaneta1×ἐπύθετο |
| we 1st person plural | punthaneni | punthanena |
| ye 2nd person plural | punthanevi | punthaneva |
| they 3rd person plural | punthaneli | punthanela |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | punthanomeiō | punthanomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | punthanoseiō | punthanoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | punthanoteiō | punthanoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | punthanoneiō | punthanoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | punthanoveiō | punthanoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | punthanoleiō | punthanoleiē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | punthanemeia |
| you 2nd person singular | punthaneseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | punthaneteia |
| we 1st person plural | punthaneneia |
| ye 2nd person plural | punthaneveia |
| they 3rd person plural | punthaneleia |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | punthanosōr | punthanosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | punthanotōr | punthanotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | punthanovōr | punthanovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | punthanolōr | punthanolēr |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | punthanesar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | punthanetar |
| ye 2nd person plural | punthanevar |
| they 3rd person plural | punthanelar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | punthanomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | punthanosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | punthanotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | punthanonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | punthanovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | punthanoloiō |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | punthanemoia |
| you 2nd person singular | punthanesoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | punthanetoia |
| we 1st person plural | punthanenoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | punthanevoia |
| they 3rd person plural | punthaneloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 2 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 | punthanorō1×πυνθάνεσθαι | punthanorē | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | punthaneri | punthanera1×πυθέσθαι |
Used as an adjective — participle, 1 occurrence
| 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 | punthanorōntos | punthanorēntos | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | punthanerintos | punthanerantos1×πυθόμενος |
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
punthan 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.
12 occurrences, every one of them listed
punthanomō“ask”happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular1×
Acts 10:29dio kai anantirrētōs erchama metapempirantos punthanomō oun tino logo metapempeva min.… invited, I came without objection. I ask, then, why have you sent for …
punthanote“asked”was happening · he/she/itimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular5×
Matthew 2:4“inquired”… toin archierevoin kai grammatevoin tou laou punthanote para autoiu pou tos christos gennotō.… assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
Luke 15:26kai proskalerantos henon toiu paidoiu punthanote tinem an atoiō houteim;… called one of the servants and asked what was going on.
Luke 18:36akouarantos de ochlou diaporeuorōntou punthanote tinem atoiō houtem;… heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
Acts 21:33… kai keleuata dira halusiai duo, kai punthanote tinos atoiō kai tinem atō poiarēntos.… bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he …
Acts 23:19… tos chiliarchos kai anachōrarantos kata idian punthanote; Tinem atō hem echasō apangelara mi?… the hand, drew him aside, and asked, “What do you need to tell …
punthanole“asking”was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural2×
Acts 4:7“inquired”kai stēarantois autoin en te mese punthanole; En poia dunamia ē en poie …… John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did …
Acts 10:18“asking”kai fōnarantois punthanole ei Simōnos tos epikalorōntos Petros enthade …They called out to ask if Simon called Peter was staying there.
punthaneta“inquired”happened · he/she/itaorist middle indicative 3rd person singular1×
John 4:52punthaneta oun tan hōran para autoiu en …So he inquired as to the hour when his …
punthanorō“inquire”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive1×
Acts 23:20“inquire”… tem sunedriem hōs mellarōntem tinem akribesteron punthanorō peri autou;… Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of acquiring more information about him.
punthanera“ask”happened · the “to …” formaorist middle infinitive1×
John 13:24neuatō oun houto Simōnos Petros punthanera tinos an atoiō peri hou legatō.… Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus which one He was talking …
punthanerantos“learned”happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative singular masculine1×
Acts 23:34“learned”… eperōtarantos ek poiau eparcheiau atō kai punthanerantos hoti apo Kilikiau,… letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,