Greek word · G1120

γονυπετέω

gonypeteō

to kneel

To fall on the knees, to kneel before someone. A compound of gony ('knee') + piptō ('fall'). It is rare and fairly late Greek, used for the posture of someone begging or showing deep respect.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

γονυπετέω, -ῶ) (γόνυ, πίπτω);

1. to fall on the knees: before ἔμπροσθεν, Matthew 27:29.

2. to fall down before one: with accusative, Matthew 17:14, Mark 1:40, R, txt., 10:17.

† (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Mark 10:17

Range of meaning

To fall on the knees, to kneel before someone. A compound of gony ('knee') + piptō ('fall'). It is rare and fairly late Greek, used for the posture of someone begging or showing deep respect.

Against the English

'Knelt before him' is accurate. Modern readers may take kneeling as worship of Jesus as divine. In this setting it most naturally means humble, earnest respect toward an honoured teacher and healer, as with the leper in 1:40 and the father in Matt 17:14.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in Polybius and in the New Testament: Matt 17:14; 27:29 (the soldiers' mock kneeling); Mark 1:40; 10:17. It does not occur in the main Septuagint text.

From the study of Mark 1:40

Range of meaning

To fall on one's knees before someone, usually as a suppliant, someone pleading for help or mercy. It can be used ironically of mock homage (Matt 27:29).

Against the English

'Kneeling down' (KJV, WEB) and 'on his knees' (BSB) are accurate. Readers sometimes take kneeling as worship of Jesus as God. The word itself means supplication, and Mark uses it the same way for the rich man in 10:17.

Used elsewhere in the period

Found in Hellenistic historians such as Polybius for suppliants. New Testament: Matt 17:14; 27:29; Mark 1:40; 10:17. Supplication at someone's knees was a well-known gesture in the Greco-Roman world for pleading with a more powerful person.

From the study of Matthew 27:29

Range of meaning

To drop to one's knees. It is a gesture of begging (a petitioner before a patron or healer) or of homage (a subject before a ruler).

Against the English

'Knelt', 'bowed the knee': these are accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matt 17:14 (the father of the epileptic boy kneels before Jesus); Mark 1:40 (a leper); Mark 10:17 (the rich man). Polybius uses it of supplicants. Mark's parallel (15:19) says the soldiers knelt and 'were doing homage' (προσεκύνουν, prosekynoun).

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 17:14 γονυπετῶν kneeling down

    When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus and knelt before Him.

  2. Matthew 27:29 γονυπετήσαντες having bowed the knees

    And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand, knelt down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

    Here: Literally 'knee-falling.' Elsewhere in the Gospels people kneel this way before Jesus to beg him for help (17:14). Here the soldiers kneel to act out the bow a subject makes before a monarch.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 1:40 γονυπετῶν kneeling down

    Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

    Here: Literally 'knee-falling'. Throughout the ancient Mediterranean this was the posture of a suppliant, someone throwing himself on a more powerful person's mercy. It shows how urgent and humble the request is. It does not by itself mean worship.

  2. Mark 10:17 γονυπετήσας he having knelt down to

    As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up and knelt before Him. “Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

    Here: He drops to his knees in front of Jesus. In the Gospels this is the posture of someone pleading or showing deep respect (compare 1:40). It is honour shown to a respected teacher, not necessarily worship.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.