Greek word · G1331
διερωτάω
dierōtaō
to ascertain
'Ask through', meaning to question persistently or inquire thoroughly until you find out. It is stronger than plain erōtaō, 'ask'.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
'Ask through', meaning to question persistently or inquire thoroughly until you find out. It is stronger than plain erōtaō, 'ask'.
- Against the English
KJV 'made enquiry for', WEB and YLT 'having made inquiry for', NIV 'found out where... was'. BSB just says 'found'. That keeps the result but loses the asking, which in this story means strangers in an unfamiliar town tracking down an obscure tanner's house.
- Used elsewhere in the period
It occurs only here in the New Testament (a 'hapax', a word used once). It is found in classical and later Greek prose with the sense 'question closely'.
Where it appears
Acts · 1
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Acts 10:17 διερωτήσαντες having inquired for
While Peter was puzzling over the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and approached the gate.
Here: Aorist participle: 'having asked their way to'. These strangers in Joppa found the house by asking around, as the angel had only said 'Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea' (10:6). It occurs only here in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.