ἐπεστήριξαν
epistērízō
strengthened
To establish firmly, to support so as to make secure, to strengthen or reinforce. In specific contexts, refers to imparting stability or renewed firmness—such as affirming a person, group, or conviction in their resolve or practice, or confirming prior teaching. The primary sense is of providing renewed or additional stability or firmness where a previous foundation already exists.
Acts 15:32 · Word #16
Lexicon G1991
| Lemma | ἐπιστηρίζω |
| Transliteration | epistērízō |
| Strong's | G1991 |
| Definition | To establish firmly, to support so as to make secure, to strengthen or reinforce. In specific contexts, refers to imparting stability or renewed firmness—such as affirming a person, group, or conviction in their resolve or practice, or confirming prior teaching. The primary sense is of providing renewed or additional stability or firmness where a previous foundation already exists. |
Morphology V AOR ACT IND 3P PL
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state of being |
| Tense | AOR — Aorist — Simple occurrence, often past |
| Voice | ACT — Active — The subject performs the action |
| Mood | IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality |
| Person | 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they") |
| Number | PL — Plural — More than one |
Common Translation
| Phrase | strengthened |
| Literal | strengthened |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | ἐπιστηρίζω |
| Strong's | G1991 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G1991-01
they reinforced
| Morphological Notes | Verb; aorist tense (simple past), active voice, indicative mood, third person plural. |
| Rendering Rationale | "They reinforced" preserves the intensified root sense of strengthening upon an existing foundation (ἐπί + στηρίζω). The aorist active indicative, third person plural, is reflected by the simple past active form "they reinforced." |
View full lexicon entry for G1991 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
they strengthened
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | ἐπεστήριξαν contextually means 'they strengthened' (establish/fortify/encourage), which better matches the expected idiom in English than 'they reinforced'. |