Greek word · G2477
ἱστορέω
historeō
to get acquainted
The verb comes from histōr, 'one who knows, a witness', and is related to historia, 'inquiry, the account that results'. With a person as its object, as here, the main sense is to visit someone in order to get to know him personally.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἱστορέω, -ῶ
(ἵστωρ, one learned or skilled in) [in LXX: 1Es.1:33 Est.1:42 * ;]
1. with accusative of thing(s), to inquire into, learn by inquiry.
2. C. accusative of person(s), to inquire of or about.
3. to narrate, record.
4. In late writers, to visit, become acquainted with: Galatians 1:18 (see Ellic., in l, and cf. MM, Exp., xv).†
(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 Galatians 1:18
- Range of meaning
The verb comes from histōr, 'one who knows, a witness', and is related to historia, 'inquiry, the account that results'. In Greek of this period it covers: (1) to inquire into or ask about something; (2) to go and see something for yourself, especially to visit famous places or people as a sightseer or researcher; (3) to know someone or something from first-hand acquaintance; (4) later, to record or narrate. With a person as its object, as here, the main sense is to visit someone in order to get to know him personally. Whether that includes getting information from him is the open question.
- Against the English
KJV 'to see' is too flat: it sounds like a passing glance or a social call. WEB and ESV 'to visit' are better but still too light. NIV and NASB 'to get / become acquainted with' and NLT 'to get to know' are closest to the main sense. BSB 'to confer with' leans toward consulting or negotiating, which is close to what Paul says in 1:16 he did not do ('I did not consult with flesh and blood', a different verb, prosanatithēmi). YLT 'to enquire about Peter' keeps the inquiry sense but turns it into finding out about Peter rather than meeting him.
- How it drifted
Older English 'to see' a person could mean a proper visit with a purpose, but modern readers hear something casual. 'Confer' adds the idea of formal consultation, which the Greek verb does not specifically carry.
- Used elsewhere in the period
This is its only New Testament use. In the Septuagint it appears in 1 Esdras (1:31, 1:40 [33, 42 in some numbering]) in the sense of 'recorded/narrated'. Plutarch and others use it for travellers visiting and examining famous sites. Josephus uses it of knowing a person from first-hand observation (Jewish War 6.81, of the centurion Julian, a man Josephus says he 'had come to know'). Thayer glosses the verb in Gal 1:18 as 'to visit for the purpose of becoming acquainted with'. BDAG similarly gives 'visit (for the purpose of coming to know someone or something)'.
Where it appears
Galatians · 1
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Galatians 1:18 ἱστορῆσαι to make acquaintance with
Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days.
Here: This is the verb the verse turns on. It means more than 'to see'. It is a purposeful visit to get to know someone first-hand, the way travellers went to see famous sites or people, and it can include finding things out from him. Paul went to know Cephas, not to be appointed or taught his gospel by him.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.