τίθημι

títhēmi

G5087 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To place, set, or put (something or someone) at a particular location or in a specific condition; extends to a wide range of contexts including arranging objects, establishing conditions, appointing persons to roles, and instituting actions or intentions. The core meaning is to cause something or someone to occupy a position or state, whether literal (to lay or set down) or figurative (to establish, appoint, determine, commit). In Koine, it can also signify setting forth a plan, making a determination, or depositing (as in trust).

Semantic Range

to put or place (physically), to lay (down, aside, up), to set in position, to set forth (as a plan or law), to establish (circumstances, offices, persons), to appoint or assign, to determine or decide, to deposit (entrust), to dedicate, to commit, to ordain, to purpose as an intention

Root / Etymology

From the root τίθημι (τίθη-), with PIE root *dheh₁- 'to put, to place, to do.' No certain relationship to non-Greek roots. Closely related to other Greek verbs of placing or setting, such as ἵστημι (to stand, set upright) and κεῖμαι (to lie, be lain). τίθημι, by contrast, focuses on the action of causing something to be placed, most commonly in a prone or resting position.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Used extensively in classical, Hellenistic, and Koine Greek with very broad application. Distinguished from ἵστημι (to cause to stand, often signifying a vertical or upright status) and κεῖμαι (to lie, emphasizing the resultant state of being placed or set down). τίθημι emphasizes the action of placing or appointing rather than the final state itself. In legal and social contexts, it can denote the setting forth of laws, decrees, or purposes (e.g., setting a value, establishing a covenant). In the NT and LXX, it is used for laying objects down, appointing positions or roles (e.g., apostles, elders), depositing trust (as in entrustment), or determining plans. The range extends into metaphorical senses, such as laying down one's life or setting one's mind/heart. English translations may obscure its full flexibility, sometimes rendering it as 'make,' 'appoint,' 'establish,' 'lay,' or 'set,' depending on context.

Translation Consistency

primary "place" 84 occurrences

“Place” best captures the wide, typical semantic range of τίθημι — physical putting/setting, laying down, and the common figurative senses (establish, appoint, set forth, deposit/entrust, dedicate). It is natural English, versatile for literal and idiomatic contexts, and matches the most frequent P2 renderings (placed/place) while remaining easy to inflect consistently across forms.

Alternatives (16 occurrences):
"set" (3x) "put" (3x) "appointed" (3x) "set for yourselves" (2x) "laid" (2x) "us set" (1x) "set for yourself" (1x) "having knelt down" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a prolonged form of a primary (which is used only as alternate in certain tenses); to place (in the widest application, literally and figuratively; properly, in a passive or horizontal posture, and thus different from ἵστημι, which properly denotes an upright and active position, while κεῖμαι is properly reflexive and utterly prostrate):--+ advise, appoint, bow, commit, conceive, give, X kneel down, lay (aside, down, up), make, ordain, purpose, put, set (forth), settle, sink down.

Root Family

τίθημι (tithēmi) — to put, to place, to set, to establish

Root τιθη- to put, to place, to set, to establish

Word Forms

42 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G5087-07 ἔθηκεν etheken V AOR ACT IND 3P SG laid he placed he placed 11
G5087-05 ἔθηκαν ethekan V AOR ACT IND 3P PL they laid they placed they placed 7
G5087-10 ἔθετο etheto V AOR MID IND 3P SG has set he set for himself he placed for himself 7
G5087-41 τίθησιν tithesin V PRS ACT IND 3P SG puts places places 6
G5087-34 θῶ tho V AOR ACT SUBJ 1P SG make I may place I may place 5
G5087-38 τίθημι tithemi V PRS ACT IND 1P SG lay down I place I place 5
G5087-24 θεῖναι theinai V AOR ACT INF lay to place to place 4
G5087-25 θεὶς theis V AOR ACT PTCP NOM M SG having placed having placed having placed 4
G5087-08 ἔθεντο ethento V AOR MID IND 3P PL advised they set for themselves they placed for themselves 4
G5087-31 θήσω theso V FUT ACT IND 1P SG I may make I will set I will place 3

Occurrences in Scripture

100 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G5087-36 Matthew 5:15 τιθέασιν titheasin V PRS ACT IND 3P PL put they place they place
G5087-31 Matthew 12:18 θήσω theso V FUT ACT IND 1P SG I will put I will set I will place
G5087-34 Matthew 22:44 θῶ tho V AOR ACT SUBJ 1P SG put I may place I may place
G5087-29 Matthew 24:51 θήσει thesei V FUT ACT IND 3P SG he will appoint he/she/it will set he/she/it will place
G5087-07 Matthew 27:60 ἔθηκεν etheken V AOR ACT IND 3P SG laid he placed he placed
G5087-15 Mark 4:21 τεθῇ tethe V AOR PASS SUBJ 3P SG it be placed may be placed may be placed
G5087-15 Mark 4:21 τεθῇ tethe-2 V AOR PASS SUBJ 3P SG it be placed may be placed may be placed
G5087-35 Mark 4:30 θῶμεν thomen V AOR ACT SUBJ 1P PL shall we set let us set let us set
G5087-05 Mark 6:29 ἔθηκαν ethekan V AOR ACT IND 3P PL laid they placed they placed
G5087-13 Mark 6:56 ἐτίθεσαν etithesan V IMPF ACT IND 3P PL they laid they were placing they were placing