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Bible Lexicons
Old & New Testament Greek Lexical Dictionary Greek Lexicon
Strong's #1989 - ἐπιστέλλω
- Thayer
- Strong
- Mounce
- to send one a message, command
- to write a letter
- to enjoin by letter, to write instructions
- Book
- Word
- Parsing
did not use
this Strong's Number
ἐπιστέλλω,
1. send to, γράψας ἐς βυβλίον τάδε ἐπέστειλε ἐς Σάμον Hdt. 3.40; τοῖσι Ἕλλησι Id. 7.239; ἡδίω.. ἂν εἶχον ὑμῖν.. ἐπιστέλλειν Th. 7.14; ἐ. ἐπιστολάς τινι D. 4.37, cf. Pl. 363b; send a message, τάδε E. IT 770; esp. by letter, write word, τοιαῦτα Lys. 20.27; περί τινος ὡς ἀδικοῦντος Th. 8.38; ἐ. ὅτι.. ib. 50, 99; τὰ ἐπισταλέντα ἐκ τῆς Σάμου the news received from Samos, ib. 50; τὰ ὑπό τινος ἐπεσταλμένα Plu. Art. 21.
2.. enjoin, command, τισί τι Th. 5.37; τὸν ἄγγελον ἐπιστείλας ταῦτα ἔπεμψε X. Cyr. 2.4.32; τινὶ περί τινος ib. 4.5.34: c. inf., ἐ. τινὶ ἀπίστασθαι Hdt. 6.3; τινὶ ἐκμαθεῖν E. Ph. 863; ὁ Κῦρος αὐτῷ ἐπέστελλε πρὸς Πέρσας λέγειν X. Cyr. 4.5.26; also ἐ. τινὰ ποιεῖν τι S. OT 106, X. Cyr. 5.5.1: without any case, give orders to do, A. Eu. 205, Th. 8.72, etc.; give orders in writing, Thphr. Char. 24.13: — Pass., ἔφη οὐδέν οἱ ἐπεστάλθαι ἄλλο ἢ ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι he had received orders to.., Hdt. 4.131; καί μοι ἐκ βασιλέος ὧδε ἐπέσταλται Id. 6.97; αἷς ἐπέσταλται τέλος to whom the office has been committed, A. Ag. 908, cf. Eu. 743; τἀπεσταλμένα Id. Ch. 779; κατὰ τὰ ἐ. ὑπὸ Δημοσθένους Th. 4.8; ἀξιῶ ἐπισταλῆναί τισι c. inf., PRyl. 121.13 (ii A.D.): with personal construction, ταῦτα ἐπεσταλμένοι having received these instructions, Th. 5.37: in later writers, usu. of orders given in writing, Acts 15:20, Acts 21:25, SIG 837.14 (ii A.D.), etc.; of orders for payment, POxy. 1304 (ii A.D.), etc.
ἐπιστέλλω 1 aorist ἐπέστειλα; properly, to send to one a message, command (Herodotus and following); ἐπιστολάς, to send by letter, write a letter, Plato, epistles, p. 363 b., hence, simply to write a letter (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 3, 1 b.): τίνι, Hebrews 13:22 (Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 7, 1 [ET]; 47, 3 [ET]; 62, 1 [ET]; and often in Greek writings); to enjoin by letter, to write instructions: Acts 21:25 R G T Tr marginal reading WH marginal reading; followed by τοῦ with an infinitive expressing purpose (cf. Winers Grammar, 326 (306); Buttmann, 270 (232)): Acts 15:20.
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ἐπι -στέλλω ,
[in LXX: 1 Kings 5:8 Nehemiah 6:19 (H7971), Judith 15:4, 1 Maccabees 10:25; 1 Maccabees 12:7; 1 Maccabees 13:18 (in each case with v.l. ἀποσ -) *;]
1. to send to.
2. to send a message by letter, to write word (MM, Exp., xiv): c. dat. pers., Acts 21:25, Hebrews 13:22; seq. τοῦ , c. inf., Acts 15:20.†
Copyright © 1922 by G. Abbott-Smith, D.D., D.C.L.. T & T Clarke, London.
For the meaning ";send,"; ";send to,"; cf. P Amh II. 33.35 (c. B.C. 157) αὐτόν τε πρὸς ἡμᾶς μετὰ φυλακῆς ἐπιστείλατε, P Oxy II. 276.13 (A.D. 77) παριληφέναι πα [ρ ]᾽ αὐτῶν τὰς ἐπισ [τ ]αλείσας (sc. ἀρτάβας) α [ὐτ ]οῖς. The general use of the verb, however, is in connexion with sending a letter or other written communication, as in P Par 61.2 (B.C. 156) τῆς πρὸς Δωρίωνα ἐπιστολῆς τὸ ἀντίγραφον ὑπόκειται · νομίσαντες οὖν καὶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπεστάλθαι, σκοπεῖτε ἵνα μηδὲν παρὰ ταῦτα γίνηται, ib. 63.185 (B.C. 164) (= P Petr III. p. 34) ἐν τοῖς περὶ τούτων [ἐπ ]εσταλμένοις χρηματισμοῖς, ";in the communications we have sent to you dealing with these matters"; (Mahaffy), P Fay 26.4 (A.D. 150) πρὸς [τὸ ] ἐπισταλὲν ἡμεῖν ὑπὸ σοῦ ἐπίσταλμα, BGU IV. 1081.5 (ii/iii A.D.) εὖ ποιήσ [ει ]ς ἐπιστείλας ἡμεῖν περὶ τῆς σῆς ὑγίας, P Fay 133.13 (a letter—iv/A.D.) μοι ἐπίστειλον, ";send me word."; From the usage of the word in official documents the meaning readily passed over into ";instruct,"; ";enjoin,"; as in Acts 15:20 (RV marg.), Hebrews 13:22 : cf. e.g. P Ryl II. 121.18 (ii/A.D.) ἀξιῶ [ἐ ]πισταλῆ [ν ]αι τοῖς τῆς [π ]όλεως γραμματεῦσι [ἐ ]πίτροπον αὐτῷ καταστα [θῆ ]ναι, ";I request that an order be sent to the scribes of the city for the appointment of a guardian for him"; (Edd.), P Fay 31.20 (c. A.D. 129) διὸ προσαγγέλλωι ὅπως ἐπισταλῆι τῷ τὸ γραφεῖον Θεαδελφείας συνχρημα [τίζ ]ειν μοι ὡς καθήκει, ";I therefore give notice, in order that instructions may be sent to the director of the record office of Theadelphia, duly to join me in the transaction of the business"; (Edd.), P Strass I. 5.16 (a decision of the prefect—A.D. 262) ἐπ ]ισ [τ ]ελῶ τῷ στρατη ̣[γ ]ῷ, P Oxy IX 1194.8 (c. A.D. 265) δύναται ἐπισταλῆναι τῷ στρατηγ [ῷ τ ]ὰ ̣ δέοντα, ";the proper measures can be communicated to the strategus,"; and hence in BGU I. 144ii. 3 (iii/A.D.) ἐπεστάλ (η) ὑπὸ ἐμοῦ, virtually = ";he was confirmed by me"; in a certain office. See further Laqueur Quaestiones, p. 16 f. where it is shown that in letters written by Roman Emperors or Magistrates ἐπιστέλλω is always = ";write"; rather than ";send,"; e.g. CIG III. 3835.4 ἐπέστειλα αὐτῷ δηλῶν τὸ πρᾶγμα ὅλον. ἐπέστειλα δὲ Ἑσπέρῳ τῷ ἐπιτρόπῳ, and cf. P Hamb I. p. 77 for the ending of ἐπιστάλματα, official acts or decisions in letter form, with ἐπιστέλλω, or ἐπέστειλα, or ἐπιστέλλεταί σοι. With this the NT usage cited supra corresponds : cf. also Acts 21:25 א.
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