Greek word · G198

ἀκριβόω

akriboō

be exactly

To ascertain exactly, find out precisely, investigate carefully. Related to akribēs, 'exact'.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

ἀκριβόω, -ῶ

(ἀκριβής), [in Aq.: Isaiah 30:8 49:16 * ;]

to enquire with exactness, learn carefully: Matthew 2:7, 16 (for similar ex., see MM, VGT, sv.).†

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: To ascertain exactly, find out precisely, investigate carefully. Related to akribēs, 'exact'.
Against the English: KJV: 'diligently enquired'; BSB: 'learned'; WEB: 'learned… exact'; ESV: 'ascertained'; NASB: 'determined'. BSB's 'learned' loses the precision. KJV's 'diligently enquired' keeps it but describes the process rather than the result.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the New Testament only in Matt 2:7 and 2:16. Verse 8 adds the adverb akribōs ('search carefully'). Matthew uses the word family three times in this scene on purpose.

Range of meaning: 'To make exact; to ascertain precisely; to find out accurately by careful inquiry.' It belongs with ἀκριβής ('exact, strict') and ἀκριβῶς ('accurately, carefully'). The supplied gloss 'be exactly' is a mechanical label. The real sense is 'ascertain exactly'.
Against the English: KJV 'enquired … diligently' stresses the effort of asking but not the result, the exact answer Herod got. BSB, WEB, NIV and NASB give the result ('learned/found out … exact time'). ESV 'ascertained' is closest to the verb's sense of firm fact-finding.
How it drifted: KJV's 'diligently' follows the Latin Vulgate's diligenter didicit ('diligently learned'). That moves the emphasis from the precision of the information to the effort of the asking.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the New Testament the verb appears only here and in Matt 2:16 ('according to the time that he had ascertained from the magi'). The related adverb follows immediately in 2:8 ('search carefully', ἀκριβῶς). In classical and later Greek it is used for making something exact or getting precise knowledge (BDAG).

Range of meaning: To do or examine something with exactness, to find out precisely or ascertain accurately. In the passive it means to be examined closely, or to be shown accurate or exact.
Against the English: KJV and Brenton: 'was found a true prophet'. WEB and NRSV: 'was proved to be a prophet'. Both capture the outcome. 'Proved' keeps the idea of testing better. 'Found… true' adds 'true', which the Greek implies but does not state.
Used elsewhere in the period: New Testament: Matthew 2:7 and 2:16, where Herod 'ascertained exactly' from the magi when the star appeared. The related adjective akribēs (exact, precise) and adverb akribōs ('accurately', as in Luke 1:3) belong to the vocabulary of careful inquiry. In Sirach 18:29 and 32:3 the root is used for precise or skilled speech.

Matthew · 2

Matthew 2:7 ἠκρίβωσεν inquired exactly

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared.

Here: He 'got the exact facts' from them. This is careful, deliberate fact-finding, not casual curiosity. Matthew uses the same verb again in verse 16, where this precise information becomes the basis for the massacre.
Matthew 2:16 ἠκρίβωσεν he had ascertained

When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.

Here: 'He had pinned down precisely.' This repeats 2:7, where Herod secretly questioned the Magi to get exact information. The careful 'research' he did earlier now serves the massacre.

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