ἐπαιτεῖν
epaitéō
to beg
To ask or request, specifically to beg or solicit alms from someone. In Hellenistic Greek and the New Testament, the term commonly refers to explicitly seeking material help, primarily in the form of begging from people in a public setting. While the general root means 'to ask,' this compound emphasizes urgency or need, often with the nuance of poverty or dependency.
Luke 16:3 · Word #21
Lexicon G1871
| Lemma | ἐπαιτέω |
| Transliteration | epaitéō |
| Strong's | G1871 |
| Definition | To ask or request, specifically to beg or solicit alms from someone. In Hellenistic Greek and the New Testament, the term commonly refers to explicitly seeking material help, primarily in the form of begging from people in a public setting. While the general root means 'to ask,' this compound emphasizes urgency or need, often with the nuance of poverty or dependency. |
Morphology V PRS ACT INF
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state of being |
| Tense | PRS — Present — Ongoing or repeated action |
| Voice | ACT — Active — The subject performs the action |
| Mood | INF — Infinitive — The verbal idea without person/number |
Common Translation
| Phrase | to beg |
| Literal | to-beg |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | ἐπαιτέω |
| Strong's | G1871 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G1871-01
to be begging for alms
| Morphological Notes | Verb, present active infinitive (continuous action, active voice, verbal noun form). |
| Rendering Rationale | The present active infinitive denotes ongoing or continuous action, hence "to be begging." The compound intensifies αἰτέω with the sense of urgent, dependent solicitation, especially for material support. |
View full lexicon entry for G1871 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
to beg
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | Changed from 'to be begging for alms' to 'to beg' for directness and idiomatic clarity. The SILEX definition supports 'to beg' as the primary meaning in context. |