epiginōskō · recognize, know

What it means

epiginōskō (ἐπιγινώσκω) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “recognize, know”.

Recognize, come to know well; perceive.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To realize who someone is.
2. To come to have something clear and sure in the mind, understand it fully.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

To know closely, to recognize: to identify someone, to realize something, to come to know it well. It is a compound of γινώσκω, ‘know’; from it comes ἐπίγνωσις, ‘knowledge’.

• Recognizing a person Luke 24:31Mark 6:54Acts 12:14
• “They did not recognize him” Luke 24:16Matthew 17:12
• “By their fruits you will recognize them” Matthew 7:16
• “No one knows the Son except the Father” Matthew 11:27
• “Then I will know fully” 1 Corinthians 13:12
• Coming to know, realizing Luke 1:4Acts 4:13

How we translate it

“Recognize” in its forms (“recognize” 8 times, “they recognized” 4, “recognized” 3) when someone is identified; “know” (7) or “find out” when it is learning something (“learning that he was from Herod’s jurisdiction”, Luke 23:7). In 1 Corinthians 13:12 it reads “I will know fully”, for complete knowing set against knowing in part. In 2 Corinthians 1:13-14, “understand”.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• recognize ×8
• know ×7
• they recognized ×4
• recognized ×3
• find out ×2
• perceiving ×2
• understand ×2
• have known ×1
• have understood ×1
• having known it ×1
• others ×13

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×6
• Mark×4
• Luke×7
• Acts×13
• Romans×1
• 1 Corinthians×4
• 2 Corinthians×5
• Colossians×1
• 1 Timothy×1
• 2 Peter×2

• Matthew 7:16

  By their fruits you will recognize them. People do not gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles, do they?

• Matthew 7:20

  So then, by their fruits you will recognize them.

• Matthew 11:27

  All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

• Matthew 14:35

  And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent word into all that surrounding region, and they brought to him all who were ill,

• Matthew 17:12

  But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer by them.”

• Mark 2:8

  And at once Jesus, knowing in his spirit that they were reasoning like this within themselves, says to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?

• Mark 5:30

  And at once Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and was saying, “Who touched my garments?”

• Mark 6:33

  And people saw them going, and many recognized them, and they ran there together on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.

• Mark 6:54

  And when they got out of the boat, at once people recognized him

• Luke 1:4

  so that you may know the certainty concerning the words in which you have been instructed.

• Luke 1:22

  And when he came out, he was not able to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary; and he was making signs to them, and remained mute.

• Luke 5:22

  But Jesus, perceiving their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?

• Luke 7:37

  And look, a woman who was a sinner in the town —and when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster flask of perfume,

• Luke 23:7

  And learning that he was from Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him up to Herod, who was himself also in Jerusalem in those days.

• Luke 24:16

  but their eyes were held so as not to recognize him.

• Luke 24:31

  And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from them.

• Acts 3:10

  and they recognized him, that he was the one who sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

• Acts 4:13

  Now seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and realizing that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed; and they recognized them, that they had been with Jesus.

• Acts 9:30

  And when the brothers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

• Acts 12:14

  And recognizing Peter’s voice, for joy she did not open the gateway, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing before the gateway.

• Acts 19:34

  But when they recognized that he was a Jew, one voice arose from them all, crying out for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

• Acts 22:24

  the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined with whips, so that he might find out for what reason they were shouting at him like this.

• Acts 22:29

  So at once those who were about to examine him stepped back from him; and the commander too was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman and that he had bound him.

• Acts 23:28

  And wanting to find out the reason for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council.

• Acts 24:8

  By examining him yourself you will be able to learn from him about all these things of which we accuse him.”

• Acts 24:11

  as you can verify that it is not more than twelve days for me since I went up to worship in Jerusalem;

• Acts 25:10

  And Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you also know very well.

• Acts 27:39

  And when day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay having a beach, onto which they were planning, if they could, to run the ship ashore.

• Acts 28:1

  And having been brought safely through, then we learned that the island was called Malta.

• Romans 1:32

  They, though they know the righteous decree of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.

• 1 Corinthians 13:12

  For now we see through a mirror, in a riddle, but then we will see face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also was fully known.

• 1 Corinthians 14:37

  If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things I am writing to you are from the Lord.

• 1 Corinthians 16:18

  for they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore recognize such people.

• 2 Corinthians 1:13

  For we are not writing to you anything else than what you read or even understand; and I hope that you will understand until the end,

• 2 Corinthians 1:14

  just as you also have understood us in part, that we are your boast, just as you also are ours on the day of our Lord Jesus.

• 2 Corinthians 6:9

  as unknown and yet well known; as dying, and look, we live; as disciplined and yet not put to death;

• 2 Corinthians 13:5

  Test yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize about yourselves that Jesus the Messiah is in you? —unless you are disqualified!

• Colossians 1:6

  that has come to you, just as also in all the world it is bearing fruit and growing, just as it is also among you, from the day you heard and came to know the grace of God in truth;

• 1 Timothy 4:3

  who forbid marriage and require abstaining from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

• 2 Peter 2:21

  For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment handed down to them.

And 4 more times.