ζητέω
to seek
‘to seek’ is one of 4 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Thayer's Greek Lexicon
From Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Where this word appears
See every Present-tense verb in the Greek New Testament →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Tense
- Imperfect
- Continuous or repeated action in past time (“was writing”).
- Present
- Ongoing or general action in present time (imperfective aspect).
- Future
- Action expected in future time.
- Aorist
- Action viewed as a simple whole, without regard to duration — often past (perfective aspect).
Voice
- Active
- The subject performs the action.
- Passive
- The subject receives the action.
Mood
- Indicative
- States a fact or asks a factual question (the mood of reality).
- Participle
- A verbal adjective (“writing,” “having written”).
- Imperative
- Expresses a command or request.
- Infinitive
- A verbal noun (“to write”), unmarked for person or number.
- Subjunctive
- Expresses probability, purpose, or possibility (the mood of contingency).
Case
- Nominative
- The case of the subject (and the predicate nominative).
- Dative
- The case of the indirect object, means, or location — “to / for / with / in.”
- Genitive
- The case of source, possession, or “of” — answers “whose / from what.”
Person
- 3rd person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 2nd person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 1st person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Neuter
- Grammatically neuter.
Number
- Plural
- More than one.
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms 31 distinct
- Verb, Imperfect, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Plural 18 times (15%)
- Verb, Present, Active, Indicative, 2nd person, Plural 15 times (13%)
- Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Nominative, Plural, Masculine 10 times (9%)
- Verb, Present, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular 9 times (8%)
- Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Nominative, Singular, Masculine 9 times (8%)
- Verb, Imperfect, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular 7 times (6%)
- Verb, Present, Active, Imperative, 2nd person, Plural 7 times (6%)
- Verb, Present, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Plural 6 times (5%)
+23 more forms (36 occurrences)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (Robinson–Tischendorf, public domain), counted across 117 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where G2212 appears — 114 distinct verses across 16 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Greek form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Greek New Testament; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences of this word are not indexed here.
Matthew 14 verses
- Matthew 2:13 ζητεῖν pres act inf Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him."
- Matthew 2:20 ζητοῦντες pres act ptcp nom pl masc "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child's life are dead."
- Matthew 6:33 ζητεῖτε pres act impv 2pl But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
- Matthew 7:7 ζητεῖτε pres act impv 2pl "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.
- Matthew 7:8 ζητῶν pres act ptcp nom sg masc For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
- Matthew 12:43 ζητοῦν pres act ptcp nom sg neut But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn't find it.
- Matthew 12:46 ζητοῦντες pres act ptcp nom pl masc While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him.
- Matthew 12:47 ζητοῦντές pres act ptcp nom pl masc One said to him, "Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you."
- Matthew 13:45 ζητοῦντι pres act ptcp dat sg masc "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls,
- Matthew 18:12 ζητεῖ pres act ind 3sg "What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn't he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?
- Matthew 21:46 ζητοῦντες pres act ptcp nom pl masc When they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes, because they considered him to be a prophet.
- Matthew 26:16 ἐζήτει impf act ind 3sg From that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
- Matthew 26:59 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death;
- Matthew 28:5 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl The angel answered the women, "Don't be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified.
Mark 10 verses
- Mark 1:37 ζητοῦσίν pres act ind 3pl and they found him, and told him, "Everyone is looking for you."
- Mark 3:32 ζητοῦσίν pres act ind 3pl A multitude was sitting around him, and they told him, "Behold, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside looking for you."
- Mark 8:11 ζητοῦντες pres act ptcp nom pl masc The Pharisees came out and began to question him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, and testing him.
- Mark 8:12 ζητεῖ pres act ind 3sg He sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Most assuredly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation."
- Mark 11:18 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl The chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.
- Mark 12:12 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.
- Mark 14:1 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl It was now two days before the feast of the Passover and the unleavened bread, and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might sieze him by deception, and kill him.
- Mark 14:11 ἐζήτει impf act ind 3sg They, when they heard it, were glad, and promised to give him money. He sought how he might conveniently deliver him.
- Mark 14:55 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl Now the chief priests and the whole council sought witnesses against Jesus to put him to death, and found none.
- Mark 16:6 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl He said to them, "Don't be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him!
Luke 25 verses
- Luke 2:48 ἐζητοῦμέν impf act ind 1pl When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for you."
- Luke 2:49 ἐζητεῖτέ impf act ind 2pl He said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?"
- Luke 5:18 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl Behold, men brought a paralyzed man on a cot, and they sought to bring him in to lay before Jesus.
- Luke 6:19 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl All the multitude sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
- Luke 9:9 ἐζήτει impf act ind 3sg Herod said, "John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things?" He sought to see him.
- Luke 11:9 ζητεῖτε pres act impv 2pl "I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.
- Luke 11:10 ζητῶν pres act ptcp nom sg masc For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
- Luke 11:16 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven.
- Luke 11:24 ζητοῦν pres act ptcp nom sg neut The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of the man, passes through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none, he says, 'I will turn back to my house from which I came out.'
- Luke 11:29 ζητεῖ pres act ind 3sg When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah, the prophet.
- Luke 12:29 ζητεῖτε pres act impv 2pl Don't seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious.
- Luke 12:31 ζητεῖτε pres act impv 2pl But seek God's Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.
- Luke 12:48 ζητηθήσεται fut pass ind 3sg but he who didn't know, and did things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few stripes. To whoever much is given, of him will much be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked.
- Luke 13:6 ζητῶν pres act ptcp nom sg masc He spoke this parable. "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.
- Luke 13:7 ζητῶν pres act ptcp nom sg masc He said to the vine dresser, 'Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why does it waste the soil?'
- Luke 13:24 ζητήσουσιν fut act ind 3pl "Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able.
- Luke 15:8 ζητεῖ pres act ind 3sg Or what woman, if she had ten drachma coins, if she lost one drachma coin, wouldn't light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it?
- Luke 17:33 ζητήσῃ aor act subj 3sg Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it.
- Luke 19:3 ἐζήτει impf act ind 3sg He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn't because of the crowd, because he was short.
- Luke 19:10 ζητῆσαι aor act inf For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost."
- Luke 19:47 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him.
- Luke 20:19 ἐζήτησαν aor act ind 3pl The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on Him that very hour, but they feared the people--for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.
- Luke 22:2 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death, for they feared the people.
- Luke 22:6 ἐζήτει impf act ind 3sg He consented, and sought an opportunity to deliver him to them in the absence of the multitude.
- Luke 24:5 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. They said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?
John 32 verses
- John 1:39 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl He said to them, "Come, and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.
- John 4:23 ζητεῖ pres act ind 3sg But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers.
- John 4:27 ζητεῖς pres act ind 2sg At this, his disciples came. They marveled that he was speaking with a woman; yet no one said, "What are you looking for?" or, "Why do you speak with her?"
- John 5:18 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
- John 5:30 ζητῶ pres act ind 1sg I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I don't seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.
- John 5:44 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don't seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- John 6:24 ζητοῦντες pres act ptcp nom pl masc When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn't there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
- John 6:26 ζητεῖτέ pres act ind 2pl Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.
- John 7:1 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl After these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee, for he wouldn't walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
- John 7:4 ζητεῖ pres act ind 3sg For no one does anything in secret, and himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, reveal yourself to the world."
- John 7:11 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, "Where is he?"
- John 7:18 ζητεῖ ζητῶν pres act ind 3sg pres act ptcp nom sg masc He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
- John 7:19 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl Didn't Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?"
- John 7:20 ζητεῖ pres act ind 3sg The multitude answered, "You have a demon! Who seeks to kill you?"
- John 7:25 ζητοῦσιν pres act ind 3pl Therefore some of them of Jerusalem said, "Isn't this he whom they seek to kill?
- John 7:30 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl They sought therefore to take him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
- John 7:34 ζητήσετέ fut act ind 2pl You will seek me, and won't find me; and where I am, you can't come."
- John 7:36 ζητήσετέ fut act ind 2pl What is this word that he said, 'You will seek me, and won't find me; and where I am, you can't come?'"
- John 8:21 ζητήσετέ fut act ind 2pl Jesus said therefore again to them, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can't come."
- John 8:37 ζητεῖτέ pres act ind 2pl I know that you are Abraham's seed, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.
- John 8:40 ζητεῖτέ pres act ind 2pl But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham didn't do this.
- John 8:50 ζητῶ ζητῶν pres act ind 1sg pres act ptcp nom sg masc But I don't seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges.
- John 10:39 Ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.
- John 11:8 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl The disciples told him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and are you going there again?"
- John 11:56 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl Then they sought for Jesus and spoke one with another, as they stood in the temple, "What do you think--that he isn't coming to the feast at all?"
- John 13:33 ζητήσετέ fut act ind 2pl Little children, I will be with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you can't come,' so now I tell you.
- John 16:19 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl Therefore Jesus perceived that they wanted to ask him, and he said to them, "Do you inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, 'A little while, and you won't see me, and again a little while, and you will see me?'
- John 18:4 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were happening to him, went forth, and said to them, "Who are you looking for?"
- John 18:7 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl Again therefore he asked them, "Who are you looking for?" They said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
- John 18:8 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl Jesus answered, "I told you that I AM. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way,"
- John 19:12 ἐζήτει impf act ind 3sg At this, Pilate was seeking to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, "If you release this man, you aren't Caesar's friend! Everyone who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar!"
- John 20:15 ζητεῖς pres act ind 2sg Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?" She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."
Acts 10 verses
- Acts 9:11 ζήτησον aor act impv 2sg The Lord said to him, "Arise, and go to the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying,
- Acts 10:19 ζητοῦντές pres act ptcp nom pl masc While Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men seek you.
- Acts 10:21 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl Peter went down to the men, and said, "Behold, I am he whom you seek. Why have you come?"
- Acts 13:8 ζητῶν pres act ptcp nom sg masc But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith.
- Acts 13:11 ἐζήτει impf act ind 3sg Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!" Immediately there fell on him a mist and darkness. He went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
- Acts 16:10 ἐζητήσαμεν aor act ind 1pl When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Gospel to them.
- Acts 17:5 ἐζήτουν impf act ind 3pl But the unpersuaded Jews took along some wicked men from the marketplace, and gathering a crowd, set the city in an uproar. Assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them out to the people.
- Acts 17:27 ζητεῖν pres act inf that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
- Acts 21:31 ζητούντων pres act ptcp gen pl masc As they were trying to kill him, news came up to the commanding officer of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
- Acts 27:30 ζητούντων pres act ptcp gen pl masc As the sailors were trying to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they would lay out anchors from the bow,
Romans 4 verses
- Romans 2:7 ζητοῦσιν pres act ptcp dat pl masc to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruptibility, eternal life;
- Romans 10:3 ζητοῦντες pres act ptcp nom pl masc For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they didn't subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
- Romans 10:20 ζητοῦσιν pres act ptcp dat pl masc Isaiah is very bold, and says, "I was found by those who didn't seek me. I was revealed to those who didn't ask for me."
- Romans 11:3 ζητοῦσιν pres act ind 3pl "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have broken down your altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life."
1 Corinthians 7 verses
- 1 Corinthians 1:22 ζητοῦσιν pres act ind 3pl For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom,
- 1 Corinthians 4:2 ζητεῖται pres pass ind 3sg Here, moreover, it is required of stewards, that they be found faithful.
- 1 Corinthians 7:27 ζήτει ζήτει pres act impv 2sg pres act impv 2sg Are you bound to a wife? Don't seek to be freed. Are you free from a wife? Don't seek a wife.
- 1 Corinthians 10:24 ζητείτω pres act impv 3sg Let no one seek his own, but each one his neighbor's good.
- 1 Corinthians 10:33 ζητῶν pres act ptcp nom sg masc even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved.
- 1 Corinthians 13:5 ζητεῖ pres act ind 3sg doesn't behave itself inappropriately, doesn't seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;
- 1 Corinthians 14:12 ζητεῖτε pres act impv 2pl So also you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek that you may abound to the building up of the assembly.
2 Corinthians 2 verses
- 2 Corinthians 12:14 ζητῶ pres act ind 1sg Behold, this is the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I seek not your possessions, but you. For the children ought not to save up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
- 2 Corinthians 13:3 ζητεῖτε pres act ind 2pl seeing that you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me; who toward you is not weak, but is powerful in you.
Galatians 2 verses
- Galatians 1:10 ζητῶ pres act ind 1sg For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn't be a servant of Christ.
- Galatians 2:17 ζητοῦντες pres act ptcp nom pl masc But if, while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? Certainly not!
Philippians 1 verse
Colossians 1 verse
1 Thessalonians 1 verse
2 Timothy 1 verse
Hebrews 1 verse
1 Peter 2 verses
Revelation 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
ζητεω — transliterated zētéō — is a Greek verb carrying the sense “to seek.” Where the King James Version says “sought,” newer translations reach for “seeking” (unfoldingWord Literal Text); the renderings breakdown has the detail. It appears 114 verses across 16 books of the Greek New Testament, among its common vocabulary. More than a quarter of its appearances fall in John. Its lexical range runs to 4 senses. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's G2212 catalogs a Greek word from the Greek New Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Greek New Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 114
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 114 distinct verses.
- 16 / 27
- NT books
- The word appears in 16 of 27 New Testament books.
- #140
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Greek words (rank 140 of 5,347 Greek words by occurrence).
View all 114 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the New Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Some books belong to more than one corpus (Luke is in both the Gospels and the Lukan corpus, and so on), so these shares overlap and need not total 100%. Each figure is a share of the word’s 114 distinct verses.
- Gospels 81 verses · 71%
- Lukan (Luke–Acts) 35 verses · 31%
- Johannine 33 verses · 29%
- Pauline corpus 19 verses · 17%
- General (Catholic) Epistles 2 verses · 2%
- Hebrews 1 verse · 1%
- Revelation 1 verse · 1%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Sought 22×, Seek 17×, Seeking 11×
- American Standard Version: Seek 20×, Sought 17×, Seeking 16×
- Berean Standard Bible: Seek 8×, Seeking 5×, Seeks 5×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Seeking 25×, Seek 24×, Were seeking 7×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders G2212 across 121 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 28 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders G2212 across 120 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 22 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders G2212 across 117 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 52 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders G2212 across 130 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 18 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in Thayer's
The 4 senses Thayer's distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency or importance). The full entry — with sub-senses — is in the Lexicon Entry tab.
- to seek a thing
- to seek [in order to find out] by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to enquire into
- to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after
- to seek i.e. require, demand
Word origin
Origin: of uncertain affinity
Of uncertain affinity; to seek (literally or figuratively); specifically (by hebraism) to worship (God) or (in a bad sense) to plot (against life): - be (go) about desire endeavour enquire (for) require (X will) seek (after for means). Compare G4441 .
— Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (1890), public domain.
Forms in the corpus
The 33 distinct written forms G2212 takes in the Greek New Testament, most frequent first — each parse links to that tense’s occurrences in the concordance.
Same root — word family
Other Thayer's entries built from the same root as G2212, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint usage
The same Greek word ζητεω appears 245 times in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), across 229 verses in 32 books.
- 245
- LXX occurrences
- Tagged occurrences of this Greek word in the Septuagint.
- 229
- verses
- Distinct Septuagint verses containing this word.
- 32 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 32 of the 39 Old Testament books.
Sample Septuagint occurrences
- Genesis 19:11 ζητέω
- Exodus 2:15 ζητέω
- Leviticus 10:16 ζητέω
- Numbers 16:10 ζητέω
- Deuteronomy 4:29 ζητέω
- Judges 4:22 ζητέω
- Ruth 3:1 ζητέω
- 1 Samuel 9:3 ζητέω
- 2 Samuel 3:17 ζητέω
- 1 Kings 1:2 ζητέω
- 2 Kings 1:6 ζητέω
- 1 Chronicles 4:39 ζητέω
Septuagint occurrences (same lexeme)
Every verse where the same Strong’s number (G2212) appears in the Greek Septuagint — showing the first 50 of 229. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context; the Greek form is the matched word — the English is not keyword-highlighted.
- Genesis 19:11 ζητέω They struck the men who were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
- Genesis 37:15 ζητέω A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, "What are you looking for?"
- Genesis 37:16 ζητέω He said, "I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock."
- Genesis 43:9 ζητέω I will be collateral for him. From my hand will you require him. If I don't bring him to you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever,
- Genesis 43:30 ζητέω Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he sought a place to weep; and he entered into his room, and wept there.
- Exodus 2:15 ζητέω Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and lived in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
- Exodus 4:19 ζητέω Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return into Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead."
- Exodus 4:24 ζητέω It happened on the way at a lodging place, that Yahweh met him and wanted to kill him.
- Exodus 10:11 ζητέω Not so! Go now you who are men, and serve Yahweh; for that is what you desire!" They were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
- Exodus 33:7 ζητέω Now Moses used to take the tent and to pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it "The tent of meeting." It happened that everyone who sought Yahweh went out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.
- Leviticus 10:16 ζητέω Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burned: and he was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying,
- Numbers 16:10 ζητέω and that he has brought you near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? and seek you the priesthood also?
- Numbers 35:23 ζητέω or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm;
- Deuteronomy 4:29 ζητέω But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him, when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Deuteronomy 13:11 ζητέω All Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall not do any more such wickedness as this is in the midst of you.
- Deuteronomy 22:2 ζητέω If your brother isn't near to you, or if you don't know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother seek after it, and you shall restore it to him.
- Judges 4:22 ζητέω Behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek. He came to her; and, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent-pin was in his temples.
- Judges 14:4 ζητέω But his father and his mother didn't know that it was of Yahweh; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Israel.
- Judges 18:1 ζητέω In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day [their] inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.
- Ruth 3:1 ζητέω Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
- 1 Samuel 9:3 ζητέω The donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with you, and arise, go seek the donkeys.
- 1 Samuel 10:2 ζητέω When you are departed from me today, then you shall find two men by Rachel's tomb, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will tell you, The donkeys which you went to seek are found; and, behold, your father has left off caring for the donkeys, and is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?
- 1 Samuel 10:14 ζητέω Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, Where went you? He said, To seek the donkeys; and when we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.
- 1 Samuel 10:21 ζητέω He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families; and the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken: but when they sought him, he could not be found.
- 1 Samuel 13:14 ζητέω But now your kingdom shall not continue: Yahweh has sought him a man after his own heart, and Yahweh has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept that which Yahweh commanded you.
- 1 Samuel 14:4 ζητέω Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines' garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
- 1 Samuel 16:16 ζητέω Let our lord now command your servants who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp: and it shall happen, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play with his hand, and you shall be well.
- 1 Samuel 19:2 ζητέω Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeks to kill you: now therefore, please take care of yourself in the morning, and live in a secret place, and hide yourself:
- 1 Samuel 19:10 ζητέω Saul sought to strike David even to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he struck the spear into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
- 1 Samuel 22:23 ζητέω Abide you with me, don't be afraid; for he who seeks my life seeks your life: for with me you shall be in safeguard.
- 1 Samuel 23:10 ζητέω Then said David, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.
- 1 Samuel 23:14 ζητέω David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn't deliver him into his hand.
- 1 Samuel 23:15 ζητέω David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the wood.
- 1 Samuel 23:25 ζητέω Saul and his men went to seek him. They told David: why he came down to the rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard [that], he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
- 1 Samuel 24:3 ζητέω He came to the sheep pens by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were abiding in the innermost parts of the cave.
- 1 Samuel 24:10 ζητέω Behold, this day your eyes have seen how that Yahweh had delivered you today into my hand in the cave: and some bade me kill you; but [my eye] spared you; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is Yahweh's anointed.
- 1 Samuel 25:26 ζητέω Now therefore, my lord, as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, seeing Yahweh has withheld you from blood guiltiness, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies, and those who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
- 1 Samuel 25:29 ζητέω Though men be risen up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God; and the souls of your enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.
- 1 Samuel 26:2 ζητέω Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
- 1 Samuel 26:20 ζητέω Now therefore, don't let my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of Yahweh: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one does hunt a partridge in the mountains.
- 1 Samuel 27:1 ζητέω David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.
- 1 Samuel 27:4 ζητέω It was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.
- 1 Samuel 28:7 ζητέω Then said Saul to his servants, Seek me a woman who has a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. His servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman who has a familiar spirit at En-dor.
- 2 Samuel 3:17 ζητέω Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, In times past you sought for David to be king over you:
- 2 Samuel 4:8 ζητέω They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; and Yahweh has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.
- 2 Samuel 5:17 ζητέω When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the stronghold.
- 2 Samuel 11:3 ζητέω David send and inquired after the woman. One said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
- 2 Samuel 12:16 ζητέω David therefore begged God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.
- 2 Samuel 14:16 ζητέω For the king will hear, to deliver his servant out of the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.
- 2 Samuel 16:11 ζητέω David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who came forth from my bowels, seeks my life: how much more [may] this Benjamite now [do it]? let him alone, and let him curse; for Yahweh has invited him.
These are occurrences of the same Greek lexeme (G2212) in the Septuagint — not a translation of any one Hebrew word. The store carries no word-level Hebrew↔Greek alignment, so no Hebrew original is asserted here. Counts come from the recovered LXX Strong's tagging — high-frequency vocabulary is well covered, while rare or late forms may be untagged — so they reflect tagged occurrences and may slightly undercount.
