Bible Lexicons

τίς, neuter τί, genitive τίνος, interrogative pronoun (from Homer down);

1. who, which, what? the Sept. τίς for מִי, τί for מָה;

a. used adjectivally, in a direct question: τίς βασιλεύς, Luke 14:31; τίς γυνή, Luke 15:8; τί περισσόν, Matthew 5:47; τί σημεῖον, John 2:18, and many other passages. in an indirect question, 1 Thessalonians 4:2, etc.; τινα ἤ ποῖον καιρόν, 1 Peter 1:11; used instead of a predicate in a direct question, τίς (namely, ἐστιν) ἡ αἰτία, Acts 10:21; τίς καί ποταπή ἡ γυνή, Luke 7:39; add, Romans 3:1; 1 Corinthians 9:18, etc.; neuter, Matthew 24:3; Mark 5:9; in an indirect question with the optative, Luke 8:9; τίς followed by ἄν, John 13:24 R G; Acts 21:33 (R G); τί with the optative, Luke 15:26 (Tr WH add ἄν, so L brackets); Luke 18:36 (L brackets Tr brackets WH marginal reading add ἄν); with the indicative, Ephesians 1:18;

b. used alone or Substantively: in a direct question, τίς ὑπέδειξεν ὑμῖν φυγεῖν; Matthew 3:7; Luke 3:7; Revelation 18:18, etc.; τίνος, Matthew 22:20, 28; Mark 12:10; τίνι, Luke 13:18; τινα, John 18:4, 7; τί θέλετε μοι δοῦναι; Matthew 26:15; τί in an indirect question, followed by the indicative, Matthew 6:3; John 13:12; 1 Corinthians 14:16; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, and very often; followed by the aorist subjunctive, Matthew 6:25; Luke 12:11, etc.; followed by the optative with ἄν, Luke 1:62; Luke 6:11, etc. Emphatic words get prominence by being placed before the pronoun (Buttmann, § 151, 16): ὑμεῖς δέ τινα με λέγετε εἶναι, Matthew 16:15; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20; καί ἡμεῖς τί ποιήσομεν (or ποιήσωμεν), Luke 3:14; οὗτος δέ τί, John 21:21 (cf.

e. β.); add, John 1:19; John 8:5; John 9:17; Acts 19:15; Romans 9:19b (cf. Winer's Grammar, 274 (257)),; ; Ephesians 4:9; James 4:12; examples from Greek writings are given in Passow, p. 1908b; (Liddell and Scott, under the word, B. I. 1 b.). A question is often asked by τίς as the leading word, when the answer expected is no one: Acts 8:33; Romans 7:24; Romans 8:33; Romans 9:19; Romans 10:16; Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 9:7; 2 Corinthians 11:29; Hebrews 1:5, 13. τίς εἰ μή, who ... save (or but) (i. e. no one but), Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21; Romans 11:15; 1 Corinthians 2:11; Hebrews 3:18; 1 John 2:22; 1 John 5:5.

c. two questions are blended into one: τίς τί ἄρῃ, what each should take, Mark 15:24; τίς τί διεπραγματεύσατο, Luke 19:15 (not Tr WH); ἐγώ δέ τίς ἤμην δυνατός κωλῦσαι τόν Θεόν; who was I? was I able to withstand God? Acts 11:17; cf. Winers Grammar, § 66, 5, 3; Passow, p. 1909{a}; Ast, Platonic Lexicon, iii., p. 394; Franz V. Fritzsche, Index ad Lucian, dial. deor., p. 164; the same construction occurs in Latin writings; cf. Ramshorn, Latin Gram., p. 567. τίς is joined with conjunctions: καί τίς, Mark 10:26; Luke 10:29; Luke 18:26; Revelation 6:17 (see καί, I. 2 g.); τίς ἄρα, see ἄρα, 1; τίς οὖν, Luke 10:36 (here T WH omit; L Tr brackets οὖν); 1 Corinthians 9:18. τίς with a partitive genitive: Matthew 22:28; Mark 12:23; Luke 10:36; Acts 7:52; Hebrews 1:5, 13; with ἐκ and a genitive of the class, Matthew 6:27; Luke 14:28; John 8:46; in an indirect question with the optative, Luke 22:23 (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 41 b. 4 c.); with ἄν added, Luke 9:46.

d. in indirect questions the neuter article is sometimes placed before the pronouns τίς and τί; see ὁ, II. 10 a. e. Respecting the neuter τί the following particulars may be noted: α. τί οὗτοι σου καταμαρτυροῦσιν; a condensed expression for τί τοῦτο ἐστιν, ὁ οὗτοι σου καταμαρτυροῦσιν; Matthew 26:62; Mark 14:60 (Buttmann, 251 (216) explains this expression differently); also τί τοῦτο ἀκούω περί σου; ((R. V.)) what is this (that) I hear of thee? (unless preference be given to the rendering, 'why do I hear this of thee' (see under β. below)), Luke 16:2; cf. Bornemann at the passage; (Winer's Grammar, § 66, 5, 3). β. τί πρός ἡμᾶς; namely, ἐστιν, what is that to us? (Winers Grammar, 586 (545); Buttmann, 138 (121)), Matthew 27:4; John 21:22; τί ἐμοί καί σοι; see ἐγώ, 4; τί μοι etc. what have I to do with etc. 1 Corinthians 5:12; τί σοι or ὑμῖν δοκεῖ; (what thinkest thou etc.), Matthew 17:25; Matthew 22:17, 42; Matthew 26:66; John 11:56 (here before ὅτι supply in thought δοκεῖ ὑμῖν, to introduce a second question (R. V. What think ye? That he will not come etc.)). τί θέλεις; and τί θέλετε; followed by a subjunctive, our what wilt thou (that) I should etc.: Matthew 20:32 (here Lachmann brackets inserts ἵνα); Mark 10:51; Mark 15:12 (WH omits; Tr brackets θέλετε); Luke 18:41; 1 Corinthians 4:21; τί with the deliberative subjunctive: Matthew 6:31; Matthew 27:22; Mark 4:30 (here L marginal reading T Tr text WH πῶς); Luke 12:17; Luke 13:18; John 12:27; τί followed by a future: Acts 4:16 (where Lachmann's stereotyped edition; T Tr WH ποιήσωμεν); 1 Corinthians 15:29; τί (namely, ἐστιν (Buttmann, 358 (307); Winer's Grammar, § 64, 2 a.)) ὅτι etc., how is it that, etc. i. e. why etc., Mark 2:16 R G L; Luke 2:49; Acts 5:4, 9; τί γέγονεν, ὅτι etc. (R. V. what is come to pass that etc.), John 14:22; οὗτος δέ τί (namely, ἔσται or γενήσεται (Winers Grammar, 586 (546); Buttmann, 394 (338))), what will be his lot? John 21:21 (cf. Acts 12:18 τί ἄρα ὁ Πέτρος ἐγένετο; Xenophon, Hell. 2, 3, 17 τί ἐσοιτο ἡ πολιτεία). τί equivalent to διά τί, why? wherefore? (Matthiae, § 488,8; Krüger, § 46, 3 Anm. 4; (Winer's Grammar, § 21,3 N. 2)): Matthew 6:28; Matthew 7:3; Mark 2:7; Mark 11:3; Luke 2:48; Luke 6:41; Luke 12:57; Luke 24:38; John 7:19; John 18:23; Acts 14:15; Acts 26:8; Romans 3:7; Romans 9:19; 1 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Corinthians 10:30; 1 Corinthians 15:29; Galatians 3:19; Galatians 5:11; Colossians 2:20, and often. ἵνα τί or ἱνατί, see under the word, p. 305a. διά τί (or διατί (see διά, B. II. 2 a., p. 134b)), why? wherefore? Matthew 9:11, 14; Matthew 13:10; Mark 7:5; Mark 11:31; Luke 19:23, 31; John 7:45; John 13:37; Acts 5:3; 1 Corinthians 6:7; 2 Corinthians 11:11; Revelation 17:7, and often. εἰς τί, to what? to what end? to what purpose? Matthew 14:31; Matthew 26:8; Mark 14:4; Mark 15:34 (Wis. 4:17; Sir. 39:21). τί οὖν, etc. why then, etc.: Matthew 17:10; Matthew 19:7; Matthew 27:22; Mark 12:9; Luke 20:15; John 1:25; see also in οὖν, b. α.; τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν, see ibid. τί γάρ; see γάρ, II. 5. γ. Hebraistically for מָה, how, how greatly, how much, with adjectives and verbs in exclamations (Winers Grammar, § 21 N. 3; cf. Buttmann, 254 (218)): Matthew 7:14 G L Tr; Luke 12:49 (on this see εἰ, I. 4 at the end), (Psalm 3:2; 2 Samuel 6:20; Song of Solomon 1:10; τί πολύ τό ἀγαθόν σου; Symm. Psalm 30:19).

2. equivalent to πότερος, ποτερα, πότερον, whether of two, which of the two: Matthew 21:31; Matthew 23:17 (here L τί; see below); ; Luke 22:27; neuter τί, Matthew 9:5; ( Lachmann, ); Mark 2:9; Luke 5:23; Philippians 1:22; cf. Ast, Platonic Lexicon, iii., p. 394 Matthiae, § 488, 4; Winer's Grammar, 169 (159).

3. equivalent to ποῖος, ποίᾳ, ποῖον, of what sort, what (kind): Mark 1:27; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:36; Luke 8:9; Luke 24:17; John 7:36; Acts 17:19; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Ephesians 1:18f. Cf. Hermann on Viger, p. 731.

4. By a somewhat inaccurate usage, yet one not unknown to Greek writings, it is put for the relatives ὅς and ὅστις: thus, τινα (L T Tr WH τί) με ὑπονοεῖτε εἶναι, οὐκ εἰμί ἐγώ (where one would expect ὅν). Acts 13:25; δοθήσεται ὑμῖν, τί λαλήσετε (λαλήσητε T Tr WH; L brackets the clausel, Matthew 10:19; ἑτοίμασον, τί δειπνήσω, Luke 17:8; (οἶδα τινας ἐξελεξάμην, John 13:18 T Tr text WH); especially after ἔχειν (as in the Greek writings): οὐκ ἔχουσι, τί φάγωσιν, Matthew 15:32; Mark 6:36; Mark 8:1f; cf. Winers Grammar, § 25, 1; Buttmann, 251 (216); on the distinction between the Latinhabeo quid and habeo quod cf. Ramshorn, Latin Gram., p. 565f.