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Greek · G2212, G4413 · unreviewed

ζητεῖτε πρῶτον

To seek · foremost (in time, place, order or importance)

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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant

ζητέω G2212 to seek
Pronunciation zētéō
To seek actively and intentionally, often implying desire, striving, or demanding rather than passive searching.
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πρῶτος G4413 foremost (in time, place, order or importance)
Pronunciation prōtos
Foremost in time, place, or rank; often implies priority or supremacy rather than mere sequence.
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What does ζητεῖτε πρῶτον (zēteite prōton) mean in the Bible?

ζητέω · πρῶτος is a Greek word meaning "seek first, pursue as priority".

Full entry for ζητεῖτε πρῶτον (G2212, G4413) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

seek first, pursue as priority
Grammatical Forms

How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.

Tenses
Imperfect Present Future Aorist
Voices
Active Passive
Indicative states a fact or reality 75×
Present Active Matt 28:5 · Mark 16:6 · Luke 24:5 · John 1:38 · John 5:44 · John 6:26 · John 7:19 · John 8:37 · John 8:40 · John 16:19 · John 18:4 · John 18:7 · John 18:8 · Acts 10:21 · 2 Cor 13:3 · Matt 18:12 36×
Imperfect Active Matt 26:59 · Mark 11:18 · Mark 12:12 · Mark 14:1 · Mark 14:55 · Luke 5:18 · Luke 6:19 · Luke 11:16 · Luke 19:47 · Luke 22:2 · John 5:18 · John 7:1 · John 7:11 · John 7:30 · John 10:39 · John 11:8 27×
Future Active John 7:34 · John 7:36 · John 8:21 · John 13:33 · Luke 13:24 · Rev 9:6 6×
Aorist Active Luke 20:19 · Acts 16:10 · 2 Tim 1:17 3×
Future Passive Luke 12:48 1×
Present Passive 1 Cor 4:2 1×
Imperfect Passive Heb 8:7 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 26×
Present Active Matt 2:20 · Matt 12:46 · Matt 12:47 · Matt 21:46 · Mark 8:11 · John 6:24 · Acts 10:19 · Rom 10:3 · Gal 2:17 · 1 Thess 2:6 · Matt 7:8 · Luke 11:10 · Luke 13:6 · Luke 13:7 · John 7:18 · John 8:50 26×
Imperative command or strong request 12×
Present Active Matt 6:33 · Matt 7:7 · Luke 11:9 · Luke 12:29 · Luke 12:31 · 1 Cor 14:12 · Col 3:1 · 1 Cor 7:27 · 1 Cor 10:24 10×
Aorist Active Acts 9:11 · 1 Pet 3:11 2×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 3×
Present Active Matt 2:13 · Acts 17:27 2×
Aorist Active Luke 19:10 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 1×
Aorist Active Luke 17:33 1×
117 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Discourse Aspect

How this verb appears across 116 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).

Aspect
completed 3 ongoing 37 prospective 7 imperative 12 background 28 subjunctive 1 infinitive 2 participle 26
Tense
present 75 imperfect 28 future 7 aorist 6
Voice
active 113 passive 3
Mood
indicative 75 participle 26 imperative 12 infinitive 2 subjunctive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 2:13 ζητεῖν present active infinitive infinitive Matthew 2:20 ζητοῦντες present active participle participle Matthew 6:33 ζητεῖτε present active imperative imperative Matthew 7:7 ζητεῖτε present active imperative imperative Matthew 7:8 ζητῶν present active participle participle Matthew 12:43 ζητοῦν present active participle participle Matthew 12:46 ζητοῦντες present active participle participle Matthew 12:47 ζητοῦντές present active participle participle Matthew 13:45 ζητοῦντι present active participle participle Matthew 18:12 ζητεῖ present active indicative ongoing Matthew 21:46 ζητοῦντες present active participle participle Matthew 26:16 ἐζήτει imperfect active indicative background Matthew 26:59 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Matthew 28:5 ζητεῖτε present active indicative ongoing Mark 1:37 ζητοῦσίν present active indicative ongoing Mark 3:32 ζητοῦσίν present active indicative ongoing Mark 8:11 ζητοῦντες present active participle participle Mark 8:12 ζητεῖ present active indicative ongoing Mark 11:18 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Mark 12:12 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Mark 14:1 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Mark 14:11 ἐζήτει imperfect active indicative background Mark 14:55 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Mark 16:6 ζητεῖτε present active indicative ongoing Luke 2:48 ἐζητοῦμέν imperfect active indicative background Luke 2:49 ἐζητεῖτέ imperfect active indicative background Luke 5:18 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Luke 6:19 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Luke 9:9 ἐζήτει imperfect active indicative background Luke 11:10 ζητῶν present active participle participle Luke 11:16 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Luke 11:24 ζητοῦν present active participle participle Luke 11:29 ζητεῖ present active indicative ongoing Luke 11:9 ζητεῖτε present active imperative imperative Luke 12:29 ζητεῖτε present active imperative imperative Luke 12:31 ζητεῖτε present active imperative imperative Luke 12:48 ζητηθήσεται future passive indicative prospective Luke 13:24 ζητήσουσιν future active indicative prospective Luke 13:6 ζητῶν present active participle participle Luke 13:7 ζητῶν present active participle participle +76 more occurrences

Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.

Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)

Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

1 Corinthians 10 — Learn from Israel, Flee Idolatry, and Seek the Good of Others for God’s Glory 1 Corinthians 13 — The More Excellent Way of Love Acts 17 — The Gospel Reasoned from Scripture and Proclaimed to the Nations Acts 26 — Paul Before Agrippa: The Risen Christ Sends Light to Jews and Gentiles Acts 28 — Paul in Rome: The Kingdom Proclaimed Without Hindrance Colossians 3 — Raised with Christ: Putting Off the Old Life and Putting On the New John 18 — The Arrested King: Betrayal, Sovereign Surrender, Denial, Trial, and the Kingdom Not of This World John 20 — The Risen Lord: Empty Tomb, Eyewitness Faith, Peace, Mission, Spirit, Thomas, and the Purpose of the Gospel John 7 — The Feast, the Divided Crowd, and the Living Water of Jesus Luke 11 — Prayer, Kingdom Conflict, True Hearing, and the Exposure of Hypocrisy Luke 12 — Fear God, Confess Christ, Seek the Kingdom, and Be Ready Luke 13 — Repentance, Kingdom Reversal, and the Urgent Narrow Door Luke 19 — The Son of Man Seeks the Lost, Receives the Kingly Kingdom, and Weeps over Jerusalem Mark 12 — The Rejected Son, the Greatest Commandment, the Lord of David, and the Widow’s Offering Mark 9 — Glory, Unbelief, Suffering, Humility, and Radical Discipleship Matthew 10 — The Mission of the Twelve, Costly Witness, and Allegiance to Christ Matthew 18 — Kingdom Humility, Care for the Little Ones, Discipline, and Forgiveness in Christ’s Community Matthew 19 — Marriage from Creation, Children Received, Riches Renounced, and the Reward of Following Christ Matthew 20 — The First-Last Kingdom, the Ransom-Giving Son of Man, and Mercy for the Blind Matthew 6 — Hidden Righteousness, the Father’s Reward, and Seeking First the Kingdom Matthew 7 — Kingdom Discernment, the Narrow Way, and the Wise Builder

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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