μαντεύομαι
manteúomai
G3132 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To practice divination or to engage in soothsaying, specifically to deliver oracles by means of divinatory techniques. The core meaning is to prophesy through methods understood as inspired, or to foretell events by using ritual or magical means. In some contexts, it carries a negative nuance, indicating unauthorized or forbidden forms of prophecy distinct from recognized prophetic activity.
Semantic Range
to practice divination, to foretell by soothsaying, to deliver oracles, to engage in supernatural fortune-telling, to utter inspired predictions (not necessarily recognized as legitimate prophecy)
Root / Etymology
From a derivative of μαίνομαι (to be mad, to rave), possibly through μάντις (seer, prophet); relates to the practices that were understood as ecstatic or frenzied in manner. Ultimately related to μαντεύς (soothsayer, diviner).
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, μαντεύομαι applies broadly to anyone practicing divination, often associated with oracular shrines or professional seers, employing methods such as interpreting signs, omens, or inspired utterance. In Hellenistic and Koine settings, it could refer both to formal oracular activity and to private or popular magical-divinatory practices. In the Septuagint, μαντεύομαι often translates Hebrew terms related to forbidden divination, distinguishing it from sanctioned prophecy (as by προφητεύω). In the New Testament (Acts 16:16), the usage depicts a slave girl performing fortune-telling for profit by means of a πνεῦμα πύθωνα (spirit of divination). Most standard English translations render it as 'soothsaying' or 'fortune-telling,' which captures the negative association in Jewish and early Christian perspectives but may understate the broader, sometimes neutral or positive, use in wider Greco-Roman settings. μαντεύομαι is to be distinguished from προφητεύω (to prophesy), which pertains to recognized and often divinely sanctioned prophetic utterance.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from a derivative of μαίνομαι (meaning a prophet, as supposed to rave through inspiration); to divine, i.e. utter spells (under pretense of foretelling:--by soothsaying.
Root Family
μαντευ- (manteúomai) — to divine, to foretell, to prophesy through divinatory means
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3132-01 |
μαντευομένη | manteuomene | V PRS MID PTCP NOM F SG |
by fortune-telling | divining for herself | by fortune-telling | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3132-01 |
Acts 16:16 | μαντευομένη | manteuomene | V PRS MID PTCP NOM F SG |
by fortune-telling | divining for herself | by fortune-telling |