ἐπιλαμβάνω

Matthew 14:31 ἐπελάβετο took hold

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

Here: "He grabbed hold of." It is a firm grip, not a light touch. The verb takes its object in the genitive ("of him"), and it is the word used for God taking Israel "by the hand" to lead them out of Egypt (Jer 31:32, LXX 38:32).

Mark 8:23 ἐπιλαβόμενος having taken hold of

So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything?” He asked.

Here: "Having taken hold of." A firm grip. The crowd asked Jesus to touch the man, and he does more than that: he takes his hand and guides him the way a blind person was usually led.

Luke 9:47 ἐπιλαβόμενος having taken hold of

But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, had a little child stand beside Him.

Luke 14:4 ἐπιλαβόμενος having taken hold [of him]

But they remained silent. Then Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.

Luke 20:20 ἐπιλάβωνται they may catch

So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

Here: A physical verb used for grabbing or arresting someone (Luke uses it of seizing Paul in Acts 21:30, 33). Since the crowd stops them from seizing Jesus bodily, they try to seize him by something he says.

Luke 20:26 ἐπιλαβέσθαι to catch Him in

And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

Luke 23:26 ἐπιλαβόμενοι having laid hold on

As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene on his way in from the country, and they put the cross on him to carry behind Jesus.

Acts 9:27 ἐπιλαβόμενος having taken

Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus.

Here: Having taken hold. A physical, decisive verb, firmer than a plain 'took': Barnabas takes charge of Saul and personally walks him in.

Acts 16:19 ἐπιλαβόμενοι having taken hold of

When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.

Here: To grab someone physically. Acts uses the same verb when people seize a person to haul them before officials (Acts 17:19, 18:17, 21:30, 21:33).

Acts 17:19 Ἐπιλαβόμενοί Having taken hold

So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus, where they asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?

Acts 18:17 Ἐπιλαβόμενοι Having seized

At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.

Here: A hostile grab: they laid hands on him. Luke uses the same verb when mobs or officials seize Paul (Acts 16:19; 21:30, 33). The tense shows the seizing came first and the beating followed.

Acts 21:30 ἐπιλαβόμενοι having laid hold

The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.

Acts 21:33 ἐπελάβετο laid hold

The commander came up and arrested Paul, ordering that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.

Here: He physically laid hold of Paul and took him into Roman control. The word describes the act of seizing; it says nothing about formal charges.

Acts 23:19 ἐπιλαβόμενος Having taken hold

The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside, and asked, “What do you need to tell me?”

1 Timothy 6:12 ἐπιλαβοῦ do lay hold

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.

Here: An aorist command (a single, decisive act), in contrast with the ongoing 'keep contending'. It means grab hold firmly and make it your own.

1 Timothy 6:19 ἐπιλάβωνται they may take hold

treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Here: 'They may grasp, lay hold of.' It is the same verb Timothy was told to obey in 6:12, 'take hold of eternal life'. The picture is reaching out and gripping a prize. The rich are to stop clutching wealth and grasp life instead.

Hebrews 2:16 ἐπιλαμβάνεται, ἐπιλαμβάνεται. He helps,, He helps.

For surely it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham.

Here: Present tense, middle voice, with the object in the genitive: 'he lays hold of'. The picture is of a hand gripping someone to pull them out or lead them away. The present tense presents this as what he characteristically and continually does, not just a one-time act.

Hebrews 8:9 ἐπιλαβομένου of having taken hold of

It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide by My covenant, and I disregarded them, declares the Lord.

Here: 'Having taken hold of'. A firm, personal grip. The Greek copies the Hebrew phrase closely and is a little awkward ('in the day of my taking hold'). The picture is a parent or guardian leading someone by the hand.