verb
theōramō
Strong’sG2334
I behold, look at, experience
stem theōr-58 times in the New Testamentin 8 of 27 books24 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
Behold, look at, gaze upon — the basic sense of the word is to watch or observe something as a spectator, whether a crowd, an event, or a person 123. It is used both absolutely and with a following object, describing people looking on at what is happening, sometimes with a participle describing the thing seen 1.
In everyday usage it can simply mean to see or perceive, without the sense of deliberate watching — used of noticing, realizing, or discerning something, sometimes followed by a clause explaining what is perceived 1. Strong's likewise notes the broader sense of discern 2.
By extension it can mean to experience or partake of something, as in "seeing" death or glory in the sense of undergoing or sharing in it 1. Strong's similarly gives a figurative sense of experience, as well as an intensive sense of acknowledge 2.
In wider Greek usage beyond the Bible, the word also had technical senses tied to its root meaning "spectator": to serve as an official spectator or delegate sent to games or to consult an oracle, to attend as a spectator at games, to review or inspect (as troops), and, of the mind, to contemplate, consider, compare, or reason about something, including a use meaning to theorize or speculate 3.
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
θεωρέω, -ῶ
(< θεωρός, a spectator, < θεάομαι), [in LXX chiefly for ראה, חזה;] (pres. and impf. only, exc. Jo 7:3 (fut.), Mt 28:1, Lk 23:48, Jo 8:51, Re 11:12 (aor.); Bl., §24);
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2334 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidtheh-o-reh'-o
to be a spectator of, i.e. discern, (literally, figuratively (experience) or intensively (acknowledge))
Fromfrom a derivative of G2300 (perhaps by addition of G3708);
King Jamesbehold, consider, look on, perceive, see.
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
passive, future -ηθήσομαιRefs 2nd c.AD+: future middle in passivesense,Refs 2nd c.AD+: (θεωρός):—to be a θεωρός Refs 5th c.BC+; of the states which sent θεωροί, οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐθεώρουν ἐς τὰ Ἴσθμια Refs 5th c.BC+
2 to be sent to consult an oracle, Refs 5th c.BC+
II of spectators at games, τὰ Ὀλύμπια Refs 5th c.BC+; θ. τινά to see him act, Refs 5th c.BC+; to go as a spectator, ἐς τὰ Ἐφέσια Refs 5th c.BC+; see entry ὀβολός Refs
III look at, behold, γῆν πολλήν Refs 5th c.BC+; inspect, review soldiers, Refs 5th c.BC+: absolutely, gaze, gape, ἑστηκὼς θ. Refs 4th c.BC+
III.2 of the mind, contemplate, consider, αὐτῇ τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτὴν τὴν ψυχὴν θ. Refs 5th c.BC+: followed by an interrogative, τοῦτο θ., εἰ τἀληθῆ λέγω Refs 4th c.BC+; θ. τι ἔκ τινος to judge of one thing by another, τὴν ἔννοιαν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων Refs 4th c.BC+; θ. τι πρός τι compare one thing with another, Refs 4th c.BC+; θ. [τι τεκμηρίοις] Refs 4th c.BC+
III.2.b observe, θ. μᾶλλον τοὺς πέλας δυνάμεθα ἢ ἑαυτούς Refs 4th c.BC+:—passive, τεθεώρηται τοῦτο μάλιστα ἐπὶ τῶν περιστερῶν Refs 4th c.BC+; λόγῳ θεωρεῖσθαι, of objects not accessible to sense, Refs 1st c.BC+
III.2.c perceive, with infinitive, ἀναγκαῖον ὑπάρχειν Refs 1st c.BC+
III.2.d absolutely, speculate, theorize, ἀκριβῶς, φορτικῶς, Refs 4th c.BC+; λογικῶς, φυσικῶς, Refs; θ. ἔκ τινος to conclude by observation from..,Refs —passive, ἡ παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησι τεθεωρημένη μάθησις Ael.Tact.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| theōramōθεωρῶ | happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular | see | 4× |
| theōrasōΘεωρεῖς | happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular | see | 1× |
| theōratōθεωρεῖ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | saw | 9× |
| theōravōθεωρεῖτε | happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural | see | 11× |
| theōralōθεωροῦσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | saw | 3× |
| theōrameἘθεώρουν | was happening · Iimperfect active indicative 1st person singular | saw | 1× |
| theōrateἐθεώρει | was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular | watched | 1× |
| theōraleἐθεώρουν | was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural | saw | 3× |
| theōraliθεωρήσουσιν | will happen · theyfuture active indicative 3rd person plural | see | 1× |
| theōralaἐθεώρησαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | watched | 1× |
| theōrateiōθεωρῇ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active subjunctive 3rd person singular | sees | 1× |
| theōraveiōθεωρῆτε | happening now · yepresent active subjunctive 2nd person plural | see | 1× |
| theōraleiōθεωρῶσιν | happening now · theypresent active subjunctive 3rd person plural | see | 1× |
| theōrateiaθεωρήσῃ | happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular | see | 1× |
| theōravōrΘεωρεῖτε | happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural | see | 1× |
| theōrarōθεωρεῖν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | see | 2× |
| theōraraθεωρῆσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | see | 1× |
| theōrarōntosθεωρῶν | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | sees | 4× |
| theōrarōntouθεωροῦντος | happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive singular masculine | saw | 1× |
| theōrarōntoisθεωροῦντες | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine | saw | 5× |
| theōrarōntaisθεωροῦσαι | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural feminine | looking on | 2× |
| theōrarōntoinθεωροῦντας | happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative plural masculine | saw | 1× |
| theōrarōntoiuθεωρούντων | happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine | saw | 1× |
| theōrarantoisθεωρήσαντες | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine | saw | 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, 35 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | theōramō4×θεωρῶ | theōrame1×Ἐθεώρουν | theōrami | theōrama | theōramē | theōramelē |
| you 2nd person singular | theōrasō1×Θεωρεῖς | theōrase | theōrasi | theōrasa | theōrasē | theōraselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | theōratō9×θεωρεῖ | theōrate1×ἐθεώρει | theōrati | theōrata | theōratē | theōratelē |
| we 1st person plural | theōranō | theōrane | theōrani | theōrana | theōranē | theōranelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | theōravō11×θεωρεῖτε | theōrave | theōravi | theōrava | theōravē | theōravelē |
| they 3rd person plural | theōralō3×θεωροῦσιν | theōrale3×ἐθεώρουν | theōrali1×θεωρήσουσιν | theōrala1×ἐθεώρησαν | theōralē | theōralelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 4 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | theōrameiō | theōrameia | theōrameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | theōraseiō | theōraseia | theōraseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | theōrateiō1×θεωρῇ | theōrateia1×θεωρήσῃ | theōrateiē |
| we 1st person plural | theōraneiō | theōraneia | theōraneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | theōraveiō1×θεωρῆτε | theōraveia | theōraveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | theōraleiō1×θεωρῶσιν | theōraleia | theōraleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | theōrasōr | theōrasar | theōrasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | theōratōr | theōratar | theōratēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | theōravōr1×Θεωρεῖτε | theōravar | theōravēr |
| they 3rd person plural | theōralōr | theōralar | theōralēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | theōramoiō | theōramoia |
| you 2nd person singular | theōrasoiō | theōrasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | theōratoiō | theōratoia |
| we 1st person plural | theōranoiō | theōranoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | theōravoiō | theōravoia |
| they 3rd person plural | theōraloiō | theōraloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | theōrarō2×θεωρεῖν | theōrari | theōrara1×θεωρῆσαι | theōrarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 15 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | theōrarōntos14×θεωρῶν | theōrarintos | theōrarantos1× | theōrarēntos |
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
theōr 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.
58 occurrences, every one of them listed
theōramō“see”happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular4×
John 4:19legatō auto tas gunaikas; Kurior, theōramō hoti profētos asō sis.“Sir,” the woman said, “I see that You are a prophet.
Acts 7:56kai legata; Idou theōramō toin ouranoin dianoigorēntoin kai ton huion …“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of …
Acts 17:22… Athēnaioir, kata panteim hōs deisidaimōnoteroin vin theōramō;… and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are …
Acts 27:10“perceive”legarōntos autoi; Androir, theōramō hoti meta hubriau kai pollau zēmiau …“Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss, not only …
theōrasō“see”happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular1×
Acts 21:20… doxazale ton theon, legala tē auto; Theōrasō, adelfor, posais muriadais alō en toi …… Then they said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews …
theōratō“saw”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular9×
Mark 5:38… eis ton oikon tou archisunagōgou, kai theōratō thorubon kai klaiarōntoin kai alalazarōntoin polleim,… house of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw the commotion and the people weeping …
John 10:12… hou ouk atō teim probateim idieim, theōratō ton lukon erchorōnton kai afiēkatō teim …… are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the …
John 12:45kai tos theōrarōntos min theōratō ton pemparanton min.And whoever sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
John 14:17… kosmos ouk dunotō labara, hoti ouk theōratō autem oude gnōskatō; vis gnōskavō autem, …… cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you …
John 14:19… mikrem kai tos kosmos min ouketi theōratō, vis de theōravō min, hoti mis …… a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will …
John 20:6… kai eiserchata eis tem mnēmeiem; kai theōratō teim othonieim keiorōnteim,… him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there.
John 20:12kai theōratō duo angeloin en leukei kathezorōntoin, henon …and she saw two angels in white sitting where …
John 20:14… legarantas strefita eis teim opisō, kai theōratō ton Iēsun stēarēnton, kai ouk oidatelē …… said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did …
Acts 10:11kai theōratō ton ouranon anoigorēnton kai katabainarōntem skevem …He saw heaven open and something like a …
theōravō“see”happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural11×
Luke 21:6Houteim heim theōravō, ercheli hēmerais en hai ouk afiēkiti …“As for what you see here, the time will come when …
Luke 24:39… kai osteim ouk echatō kathōs min theōravō echarōnton.… have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
John 12:19tois oun Farisaiois legala pros heautoin; Theōravō hoti ouk ōfelavō oudenem; ide tos …… said to one another, “You can see that this is doing you no …
John 14:19… kosmos min ouketi theōratō, vis de theōravō min, hoti mis zōamō kai vis …… Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also …
John 16:10… pros ton patron hupagamō kai ouketi theōravō min;… Father and you will no longer see Me;
John 16:16Mikrem kai ouketi theōravō min, kai palin mikrem kai horevi …In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after …
John 16:17… hem legatō ni; Mikrem kai ouk theōravō min, kai palin mikrem kai horevi …… a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little …
John 16:19… allēloiu hoti legama; Mikrem kai ouk theōravō min, kai palin mikrem kai horevi …… a little while you will not see Me, and then after a little …
Acts 3:16… pistia teu onomeu autou houton hon theōravō kai oidavē stereoata tem onomem autou, …… of Jesus, this man whom you see and know has been made strong …
Acts 19:26kai theōravō kai akouavō hoti ouk monem Efesau …And you can see and hear that not only in …
Acts 25:24… kai pantoir tois sumpareiarōntoir ni androir, theōravō houton peri hou hapantem tem plēthem …… who are present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community …
theōralō“saw”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural3×
Mark 5:15kai ercholō pros ton Iēsun, kai theōralō ton daimonizorōnton kathorōnton himatizorēnton kai sōfronarōnton, …When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed …
Mark 16:4kai anableparantais theōralō hoti apokuliotē tos lithos, ate gar …But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled …
John 6:19… hōs stadioin eikosi pente ē triakonta theōralō ton Iēsun peripatarōnton epi tau thalassau …… about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on …
theōrame“saw”was happening · Iimperfect active indicative 1st person singular1×
Luke 10:18legata de autoi; Theōrame ton Satanon hōs astrapan ek tou …So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
theōrate“watched”was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Mark 12:41Kai kathizarantos katenanti teu gazofulakieu theōrate pōs tos ochlos balatō chalkon eis …… was sitting opposite the treasury, He watched the crowd putting money into it …
theōrale“saw”was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural3×
Mark 3:11… teim pneumeim teim akatharteim, hotan auton theōrale, prospiptale auto kai krazale legarōnteim hoti …And when the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him …
Mark 15:47… tas Magdalēnas kai Marias tas Iōsētou theōrale pou tithotē.… and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where His body was placed.
John 6:2akolouthate de auto ochlos pollos, hoti theōrale teim sēmeim heim poiate epi toiu …… large crowd followed Him because they saw the signs He was performing on …
theōrali“see”will happen · theyfuture active indicative 3rd person plural1×
John 7:3… Ioudaian, hina kai tois mathētois su theōrali su teim ergeim heim poiasō;… so that Your disciples there may see the works You are doing.
theōrala“watched”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Revelation 11:12… ton ouranon en ta nefela, kai theōrala autoin tois echthrois autoiu.… in a cloud as their enemies watched them.
theōrateiō“sees”happening now · he/she/itpresent active subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
1 John 3:17… echateiō ton bion tou kosmou kai theōrateiō ton adelfon autou chreian echarōnton kai …If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds …
theōraveiō“see”happening now · yepresent active subjunctive 2nd person plural1×
John 6:62ean oun theōraveiō ton huion tou anthrōpou anabainarōnton hopou …Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to …
theōraleiō“see”happening now · theypresent active subjunctive 3rd person plural1×
John 17:24… mis kakeinois aleiō meta mu, hina theōraleiō tan doxan tan ēman han dōasē …… where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because …
theōrateia“see”happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
John 8:51… ēmon logon tērateia, thanaton ouk mē theōrateia eis ton aiōnon.… keeps My word, he will never see death.”
theōravōr“see”happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural1×
Hebrews 7:4“see”Theōravōr de pēlikos houtos ho dekatan Abraam …Consider how great Melchizedek was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the …
theōrarō“see”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive2×
Luke 24:37“seeing”… de kai emfobois generantois dokale pneumem theōrarō.But they were startled and frightened, thinking they …
Acts 20:38… hoti ouketi mellalō tem prosōpem autou theōrarō. propempale de auton eis tem ploiem.… his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied …
theōrara“see”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive1×
Matthew 28:1… tas Magdalēnas kai tas allosas Marias theōrara ton tafon.… and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
theōrarōntos“sees”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine4×
Luke 23:35kai stēatelē tos laos theōrarōntos. ekmuktērizale de kai tois archontois legarōntois; …The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him …
John 6:40“sees”… tou patrou mu hina pantos tos theōrarōntos ton huion kai pisteuarōntos eis auton …… it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 12:45kai tos theōrarōntos min theōratō ton pemparanton min.And whoever sees Me sees the One who sent …
Acts 8:13“saw”… kai baptizirantos ate proskarterarōntos to Filippo, theōrarōntos tē sēmeim kai dunamiain megain genorōntain …… himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.
theōrarōntou“saw”happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive singular masculine1×
Acts 17:16“saw”… paroxunote tem pneumem autou en auto theōrarōntou kateidōlan arōntan tan polan.… disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.
theōrarōntois“saw”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine5×
Luke 14:29“see”… kai mē ischuarōntou ektelara pantois tois theōrarōntois archeleia auto empaizarō… the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
John 2:23… pollois pisteuala eis tem onomem autou, theōrarōntois autou teim sēmeim heim poiate;… at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and …
John 9:8tois oun geitonois kai tois theōrarōntois auton tem proterem hoti prosaitos ate …… neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t …
Acts 4:13Theōrarōntois de tan tou Petrou parrēsian kai …When they saw the boldness of Peter and John …
Acts 9:7“seeing”… akouarōntois men tau fōnau mēdenon de theōrarōntois.… They heard the voice but did not …
theōrarōntais“looking on”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural feminine2×
Matthew 27:55“looking on”… de ekei gunaikais pollais apo makrothen theōrarōntais, hotinais akolouthala to Iēso apo tau …And many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to …
Mark 15:40“looking on”Ale de kai gunaikais apo makrothen theōrarōntais, en hai kai Marias tas Magdalēnas …And there were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the …
theōrarōntoin“saw”happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative plural masculine1×
Revelation 11:11… kai fobos megos epipiptata epi toin theōrarōntoin autoin;… great fear fell upon those who saw them.
theōrarōntoiu“saw”happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine1×
Acts 28:6“saw”… epi pollem de autoiu prosdokarōntoiu kai theōrarōntoiu mēdenem atopem eis auton genorōntem, metaballerantois …… drop dead. But after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said …
theōrarantois“saw”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Luke 23:48… sumparagenerantois ochlois epi tan theōrian houtan, theōrarantois teim generanteim, tuptarōntois teim stētheim hupostrefale.… who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home …