Keraia
Lexicon

ἐπί

epiupon/to/againstHow to read Greek
greekNew TestamentPreposition890 occurrences26 books781 verses

Definition

ἐπί (before a smooth breathing ἐπ᾽, before a rough breathing ἐφ᾽),

prep. with genitive, dative, accusative (accusative most frequently in NT),

with primary sense of superposition, on, upon.

I. C. genitive,

1. of place, answering the question, where?

(a) of the place on which, on, upon: ἐπὶ (τ.) γῆς, Matthew 6:10, 19, al.; τ. κεφαλῆς, 1 Corinthians 11:10; τ. νεφελῶν, Matthew 24:3o, al.; like ἐν, in constr. praegn. after verbs of motion: βάλλειν, Mark 4:26; σπείρειν, ib. 31; ἔρχεσθαι, Hebrews 6:7, al.; figuratively, ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας (MM, see word ἀ.); of the subject of thought or speech, Galatians 3:16; of power or authority, over, πάντων, Rom.9.5: τ. γάζης, Acts 8:27; ἐξουσία, Revelation 2:26; 20:6;

(b) of vicinity, at, by: τ. θαλάσσης, John 6:9; τ. ὁδοῦ, Matthew 21:19; τοῦ βάτου, Mark 12:26 (see Swete, in l.); with genitive of person(s), in the presence of, before, Matthew 28:14, Acts 23:30, 1 Corinthians 6:1, al.

2. Of time,

(a) with genitive of person(s), in the time of: ἐπὶ Ἐλισαίου, Luke 4:27; ἐπὶ Κλαυδίου, Acts 11:28; ἐπὶ Ἀβιάθαρ ἀρχιερέως, when A. was high priest, Mark 2:26;

(b) with genitive of thing(s), at, at the time of: Matthew 1:11, Hebrews 1:2, 2 Peter 3:3; ἐπὶ τ. προσευχῶν, Romans 1:10, Ephesians 1:16, 1 Thessalonians 1:2, Phm 4.

II. C. dative, of place, answering the question, where?

(a) lit., on, upon: Matthew 9:16; 14:8, al.; after verbs of motion (see supr., I, 1, (a)), Matthew 9:16, Acts 8:16; above, Luke 23:38; at, by, Mark 13:29, John 5:2, Acts 5:9, al.;

(b) metaphorically, upon, on the ground of, Luke 4:4 (LXX); in the matter of, Mark 6:52 (see Swete, in l.); upon, of, concerning, Acts 5:35, 40; of the ground, reason or motive (Bl., §38, 2; 43, 3), Matthew 18:3; 19:9, Romans 12:12, al.; ἐφ᾽ ᾧ, for the reason that, because, Romans 5:12, 2 Corinthians 5:4; after verbs of motion, over, Matthew 18:13, Romans 16:19, al.; of a condition (cl.), Romans 8:20, 1 Corinthians 9:10; ἐπὶ δυσὶ μάρτυσιν (see Westc. on Hebrews 9:10), Hebrews 10:28; of purpose or aim, Ephesians 2:10, Philippians 4:10; of authority, over, Matthew 24:47, Luke 12:44; of hostility, with dative of person(s) (cl.), against, Luke 12:52; in addition to (cl.), 2 Corinthians 7:13; of an adjunct, in, at, on, Philippians 1:3; 2:17.

III. C. accusative,

1. of place of motion upon or over, answering the question, whither?

(a) lit., upon, over: Matthew 14:28, 29, Luke 5:19, al. mult.; in NT also, answering the question, where? (as with genitive, dative), Mark 4:38; 11:2, Luke 2:25, John 1:32; ἐπὶ τ. αὐτό, Acts 1:15; 2:1, al.; of motion to a vicinity, to, Mark 16:2, Acts 8:36, al.;

(b) metaphorically (in wh. "the accusative is more widely prevalent than it strictly should be," Bl., §43, 1); of blessings, evils, etc., coming upon one, with accusative of person(s), Matthew 10:13; 12:28, Acts 2:17, John 18:4, Ephesians 5:6, al.; of addition (dative in cl.), λύπη ἐπὶ λύπην, Philippians 2:27; ἐπικαλεῖν ὄνομα ἐπί (see: ἐπικαλέω), Acts 15:17, James 2:7; καλεῖν ἐπί, to call after, Luke 1:59; of number or degree: ἐπὶ τρίς (cl. εἰς τ.), thrice, Acts 10:16; 11:10; ἐπὶ πλεῖον, the more, further, Acts 4:17, 2 Timothy 2:16; 3:9 (see also infr., 2, (a)); ἐφ᾽ ὅσον (see infr., ib.), forasmuch as, Matthew 25:40, 45, Romans 11:13; of power, authority, control, Luke 1:33, Acts 7:10, Romans 5:14, Hebrews 3:6, al.; of the direction of thoughts and feelings, unto, towards, Luke 1:17; 23:28, Acts 9:35, 42, Romans 11:22, Galatians 4:9, Ephesians 2:7, 1 Timothy 5:5, al.; of purpose, for, Matthew 3:7, Luke 23:48; ἐφ᾽ ὅ πάρει (Rec. ἐφ᾽ ᾧ, Matthew 26:50; of hostility, against, Matthew 24:7, Mark 3:24-26; 10:11; 13:8, Luke 9:5, John 13:18, Acts 7:54, 1 Corinthians 7:36, 2 Corinthians 1:23; Of reference, concerning, for (cl. usually dative), Mark 9:12; 15:24, John 19:24, Romans 4:9.

2. Of time,

(a) during, for: Luke 4:25 (WH, txt., omits ἐπί), Acts 13:31; 16:18, Hebrews 11:30, al.; ἐφ᾽ ὅσον (χρόνον), as long as, for so long time as, Mark 9:15, Romans 7:1, al. (for ἐφ᾽ ὅ in another sense, see supr., 1, (b)); ἐφ᾽ ἱκανόν (see: ἱ), Acts 20:11; ἐπὶ πλεῖον (see supr., 1, (b)), yet longer, further, Acts 20:9; 24:4;

(b) on, about, towards (cl. εἰς): Luke 10:35, Acts 3:1; 4:5.

IV. In composition, ἐπί signifies: up, ἐπαίρω; upon, ἐπίγειος, ἐπιδημέω, ὠπικαθίζω; towards, επιβλέπω, ὠπεκτείνω; over (of superintendence), ἐπιστάτης; again, in addition, ἐπαιτέω; against, ἐπιορκέω, ἐπιβουλή.

Hebrew words it translates

The Hebrew words that the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament renders as ἐπί:

Usage patterns

Old TestamentNew Testament

Occurrences

890 total
  1. Luke 24:22ἐπὶ · at
    Furthermore, some of our women astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,
  2. Luke 24:24ἐπὶ · to
    Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had described. But Him they did not see.”
  3. Luke 24:25ἐπὶ
    Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
  4. Luke 24:47ἐπὶ · in
    …and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.
  5. Luke 24:49ἐφ’ · upon
    And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But remain in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
  6. John 1:32ἐπ’ · on
    Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him.
  7. John 1:33Ἐφ’ · [The man] on; ἐπ’
    I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
  8. John 1:51ἐπὶ · on
    Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
  9. John 3:36ἐπ’ · on
    Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
  10. John 4:6ἐπὶ · by
    Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
  11. John 4:27ἐπὶ
    Just then His disciples returned and were surprised that He was speaking with a woman. But no one asked Him, “What do You want from her?” or “Why are You talking with her?”
  12. John 5:2ἐπὶ · near
    Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda.
  13. John 6:2ἐπὶ · on
    A large crowd followed Him because they saw the signs He was performing on the sick.
  14. John 6:16ἐπὶ · to
    When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,
  15. John 6:19ἐπὶ · on
    When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the sea—and they were terrified.
  16. John 6:21ἐπὶ
    Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and at once the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
  17. John 7:30ἐπ’ · on
    So they tried to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
  18. John 7:44ἐπ’ · on
    Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him.
  19. John 8:3ἐπὶ · in
    The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them
  20. John 8:4ἐπ’ · in
    …and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
  21. John 8:7ἐπ’ · at
    When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.”
  22. John 8:59ἐπ’ · at
    At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.
  23. John 9:6ἐπὶ · to
    When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.
  24. John 9:15ἐπὶ · on
    So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
  25. John 11:38ἐπ’ · across
    Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
  26. John 12:14ἐπ’ · on
    Finding a young donkey, Jesus sat on it, as it is written:
  27. John 12:15ἐπὶ · on
    “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion. See, your King is coming, seated on the colt of a donkey.”
  28. John 12:16ἐπ’ · about
    At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about Him.
  29. John 13:18ἐπ’ · against
    I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’
  30. John 13:25ἐπὶ
    Leaning back against Jesus, he asked, “Lord, who is it?”
  31. John 17:4ἐπὶ · on
    I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
  32. John 18:4ἐπ’ · upon
    Jesus, knowing all that was coming upon Him, stepped forward and asked them, “Whom are you seeking?”
  33. John 19:13ἐπὶ · on
    When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha.
  34. John 19:19ἐπὶ · on
    Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
  35. John 19:24ἐπὶ · for
    So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it. Instead, let us cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing.” So that is what the soldiers did.
  36. John 19:31ἐπὶ · on
    It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed.
  37. John 19:33ἐπὶ · to
    But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
  38. John 20:7ἐπὶ · around
    The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths.
  39. John 21:1ἐπὶ · by
    Later, by the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus again revealed Himself to the disciples. He made Himself known in this way:
  40. John 21:20ἐπὶ
    Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. He was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper to ask, “Lord, who is going to betray You?”
  41. Acts 1:8ἐφ’ · upon
    But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
  42. Acts 1:15ἐπὶ · ( a gathering of
    In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty) and said,
  43. Acts 1:21ἐφ’ · among
    Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
  44. Acts 1:26ἐπὶ · to
    Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was added to the eleven apostles.
  45. Acts 2:1ἐπὶ · in
    When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
  46. Acts 2:3ἐφ’ · on
    They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
  47. Acts 2:17ἐπὶ · on
    ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
  48. Acts 2:18ἐπὶ · on; ἐπὶ
    Even on My menservants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.