ἴσημι
ísēmi
G2467
SILEX Entry
Definition
(Verb, see note on rarity and uncertainty) To know, to be acquainted with, to perceive. The word itself hardly occurs in extant Greek texts and is conjectured to underlie certain irregular aorist forms, particularly in the Koine period, with the sense of acquiring knowledge, mental perception, or recognition of fact or information (primarily in perfect and irregular forms, such as 'oida').
Semantic Range
to know, to perceive, to be acquainted with, to be aware, to recognize
Root / Etymology
Etymology uncertain. Supposed to be an obsolete form, possibly related to or confused with the root εἴδω (to see), with a semantic development towards 'to know.' There is no clear evidence of a present tense ἴσημι in surviving Greek literature; it is reconstructed to account for the formation of perfects like οἶδα ('I know'), which derives from the aorist ἦσα (from an assumed ἴσημι).
Historical & Contextual Notes
The word ἴσημι is scarcely attested as a present-tense verb in extant Greek texts and is reconstructed by philologists to explain the irregular formation of the perfect οἶδα (I know) from the Homeric root *ἰδ- (to see). In practice, oida functions as a present-tense verb with the meaning 'to know,' though it is morphologically a perfect. Classical and Hellenistic Greek typically uses forms of εἴδω and its derivatives for both seeing and knowing, with the concept of knowledge emerging from perceptual awareness. The existence of ἴσημι as a present-tense verb is mainly conjectural, with no secure citations in either the New Testament or Septuagint. English translations sometimes obscure the distinction between 'to see' (visual perception) and 'to know' (cognitive awareness), but Greek maintains this etymological relationship in its verbal system. The form is primarily of interest in grammatical discussions and does not occur in the standard biblical corpora.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
assumed by some as the base of certain irregular forms of εἴδω; to know:--know.
Word Forms
0 distinct forms
No word forms found for this Strong's number.
Occurrences in Scripture
0 total occurrences
No occurrences found.