Greek word · G4097

πιπράσκω

pipraskō

to sell

Both are imperfect indicatives. The imperfect presents past action as ongoing, repeated or habitual: 'they kept doing / used to do'. Pipraskō = sell. Diamerizō = divide up, distribute among several (Luke 22:17 the cup; Luke 23:34 the garments; Acts 2:3 the tongues 'distributed' over each person).

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πιπράσκω

[in LXX chiefly for מָכַר ni. ;]

to sell: with accusative of thing(s), Matthew 13:46 (on this pf., see Bl., § 59, 5), Acts 2:45 4:34 5:4; with genitive (of price), Matthew 26:9, Mark 14:5, John 12:5; with accusative of person(s) (of slavery), Matthew 18:25; hence metaphorically, Romans 7:14 (cf. 4Ki.17:17, 1Ma.1:15, al.).†

(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 Acts 2:45

Range of meaning

Both are imperfect indicatives. The imperfect presents past action as ongoing, repeated or habitual: 'they kept doing / used to do'. Pipraskō = sell. Diamerizō = divide up, distribute among several (Luke 22:17 the cup; Luke 23:34 the garments; Acts 2:3 the tongues 'distributed' over each person).

Against the English

KJV and WEB ('sold … distributed') and BSB's participle ('Selling … they shared') can be read as a single completed event. YLT ('were selling … were parting'), ESV ('were selling … distributing') and NASB ('began selling … were sharing') keep the ongoing sense. BSB's 'shared' is also softer than diamerizō, which describes an actual dividing-out of proceeds.

How it drifted

English simple past flattens the difference between one completed act and a habitual practice. Greek marks that difference.

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 4:34–35 says the same thing with present participles and the imperfect: 'those who owned lands or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds … and it was distributed to each as anyone had need'. Acts 6:1 speaks of the 'daily distribution' to widows, which shows a continuing system.

From the study of John 12:5

Range of meaning

To sell, to hand something over for a price. It is also used of selling people into slavery.

Against the English

English 'sold' is accurate. The aorist passive in a question expecting 'yes' adds the tone 'ought to have been sold', which flat English questions only partly carry.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matt 13:46 (the merchant sells all for the pearl); Matt 19:21 parallels ('sell... give to the poor'); Acts 4:34 and 5:4 (selling property for the community's needy).

From the study of Matthew 18:25

Range of meaning

To sell. It is used for goods, and very often for people sold into slavery, for example as war captives, for debt, or for theft. It is also used figuratively for being handed over into someone's power (Rom 7:14, 'sold under sin').

Against the English

Modern readers may picture property being auctioned. Here the first thing sold is the man himself, then his wife and children, and only then his goods. He becomes another owner's slave.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Lev 25:39 and Deut 15:12 use this verb for an Israelite 'sold' to a fellow Israelite because of poverty, under limits: release in the seventh year or Jubilee, and no harsh treatment. Isa 50:1 (LXX) asks, 'To which of my creditors did I sell you? Because of your sins you were sold.' This links debt, sale and sin. Josephus (Ant. 16.1–5) tells how Herod caused an outcry by ordering thieves to be sold to foreigners, against ancestral law.

Where it appears

Matthew · 3

  1. Matthew 13:46 πέπρακεν he has sold

    When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it.

    Here: 'He has sold.' This is a perfect tense, a Greek form for a completed act whose result still stands, placed among simple past tenses. It makes the sale vivid and final: everything is gone and cannot be bought back. Most English versions flatten it to a plain 'sold'.

  2. Matthew 18:25 πραθῆναι to be sold

    Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.

    Here: 'To be sold' meaning sold into slavery to a new owner. This is the standard verb for selling people for debt (LXX Lev 25:39; Deut 15:12). The aorist form presents it as one decisive act.

  3. Matthew 26:9 πραθῆναι to be sold

    This perfume could have been sold at a high price, and the money given to the poor.”

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 14:5 πραθῆναι to have been sold [for]

    It could have been sold for over three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her.

John · 1

  1. John 12:5 ἐπράθη was sold

    “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?”

    Here: Aorist passive: 'was it not sold?'. It looks back on a single sale that could have happened and now cannot. The oil is already spent.

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 2:45 ἐπίπρασκον they were selling

    Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need.

    Here: An imperfect verb, which in Greek usually shows ongoing or repeated past action: 'they kept selling' or 'they would sell.' It describes a continuing practice, not a single mass sell-off.

  2. Acts 4:34 πιπρασκομένων is sold

    There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales,

    Here: Present passive participle, 'of the things being sold'. Like the other verbs it pictures sales going on from time to time. The sentence carries on into v. 35, where the money is laid at the apostles' feet.

  3. Acts 5:4 πραθὲν having been sold

    Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

    Here: 'Once it had been sold.' This is a completed passive action, and the land is still the grammatical subject. In practice what is now in view is the money from the sale (the τιμή, 'price', of v. 3).

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 7:14 πεπραμένος sold

    We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.

    Here: Perfect passive participle: 'having been sold, and still in that state'. The verb was the ordinary word for selling goods and for selling people into slavery. The picture is a slave sale: 'I' was sold and am now another's property.

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