Bible Lexicons

αἰτέω, (ῶ; future αἰτήσω; 1 aorist ᾔτησα; perfect ή᾿τηκα; middle, present αἰτοῦμαι; imperfect ἠτούμην future αἰτήσομαι; 1 aorist ᾐτησάμην; (from Homer down); to ask; middle to ask for oneself, request for oneself; absolutely: James 1:6; Matthew 7:7; middle, James 4:3; John 16:26; Mark 15:8; αἰτεῖσθαι τί, John 15:7; Matthew 14:7; Mark 6:24; Mark 10:38; Mark 11:24; Mark 15:43; 1 John 5:14; Luke 23:52; Acts 25:3, 15, etc.; αἰτεῖν with the accusative of the person to whom the request is made: Matthew 5:42; Matthew 6:8; Luke 6:30; αἰτεῖσθαι with the accusative of the person asked for — whether to be released, Matthew 27:20; Mark 15:6 (here T WH Tr marginal reading παραιτέω, which see); Luke 23:25; or bestowed as a gift; Acts 13:21; αἰτεῖν τί ἀπό τίνος, Matthew 20:20 L Tr text WH text; (Luke 12:20 Tr WH); 1 John 5:15 L T Tr WH; (so αἰτεῖσθαι in Plutarch, Galb. 20) (cf. Buttmann, 149 (130)); τί παρά τίνος, Acts 3:2; Matthew 20:20 R G T Tr marginal reading WH marginal reading; James 1:5; 1 John 5:15 R G; followed by the infinitive, John 4:9; middle, Acts 9:2; (αἰτεῖν τί ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Χριστοῦ, John 14:13; John 16:24 (see ὄνομα, 2 e.); τί ἐν τῇ προσευχή, Matthew 21:22); αἰτεῖν τινα τί, Matthew 7:9; Luke 11:11; Mark 6:22; John (John 14:14 T but L WH Tr marginal reading brackets); John 16:23; ὑπέρ τίνος followed by ἵνα, Colossians 1:9 (cf. Buttmann, 237 (204)); αἰτεῖσθαι with the accusative and the infinitive, Luke 23:23; Acts 3:14; only with the infinitive, Acts 7:46 (ᾐτήσατο εὑρεῖν asked that he himself might find; others wrongly translate ᾐτήσατο desired); Ephesians 3:13. With the idea of demanding prominent: αἰτεῖν τί, Luke 1:63; 1 Corinthians 1:22; τινα τί, Luke 12:48; 1 Peter 3:15. (The constructions of this word in the Greek Bible, the Apostolic Fathers, etc., are exhibited in detail by Prof. Ezra Abbot in the North American Review for Jan. 1872, p. 182f. He there shows also (in opposition to Trench, § xl., and others) that it is not the constant word for the seeking of the inferior from the superior, and so differing from ἐρωτάω, which has been assumed to imply 'a certain equality or familiarity between the parties'; that the distinction between the words does not turn upon the relative dignity of the person asking and the person asked; but that αἰτέω signifies to ask for something to be given not done giving prominence to the thing asked for rather than the person and hence is rarely used in exhortation. ἐρωτάω, on the other hand, is to request a person to do (rarely to give) something; referring more directly to the person, it is naturally used in exhortation, etc. The views of Trench are also rejected by Cremer, 4te Aufl. under the word The latter distinguishes αἰτέω from similar words as follows: "αἰτέω denotes the request of the will, ἐπιθυμέω that of the sensibilities, δέομαι the asking of need, while ἐρωτάω marks the form of the request, as does εὔχεσθαι also, which in classic Greek is the proper expression for a request directed to the gods and embodying itself in prayer." ἐρωτάω, αἰτέω and δέομαι are also compared briefy by Green, Critical Notes, etc. (on John 14:13, 16), who concludes of ἐρωτάω "it cannot serve to indicate directly any peculiar position, absolute or relative, of the agent. The use of the word may, therefore, be viewed as having relation to the manner and cast of the request, namely, when carrying a certain freedom of aim and bearing; a thing inseparable from the act of direct interrogation"; cf. further Schmidt, chapter 7. Compare: ἀπαιτέω, ἐξαιτέω, ἐπαιτέω, παραιτέω (παραιτοῦμαι), προσαιτέω.)