What does ἀγνοέω (agnoéō) mean in the Bible?
ἀγνοέω means not to know, to be unaware, or to fail to recognize. Its New Testament settings do not treat every kind of ignorance alike.
Greek · G50
ἀγνοέω
Be ignorant
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ἀγνοέω G50
Pronunciation agnoéō
What does ἀγνοέω (agnoéō) mean in the Bible?
ἀγνοέω means not to know, to be unaware, or to fail to recognize. Its New Testament settings do not treat every kind of ignorance alike.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀγνοέω (G50) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G50?
The BSB source-word alignment has 22 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include to be unaware (3), they did not understand (2), to be uninformed (2), unknown (2), are ignorant (1).
Where does ἀγνοέω (agnoéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 9:32. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (6), 1 Corinthians (4), 2 Corinthians (3), Acts (2).
What This Word Actually Means
ἀγνοέω means not to know, to be unaware, or to fail to recognize. Its New Testament settings do not treat every kind of ignorance alike. Paul can use it for Athens worshiping without knowing the true God, for Israel failing to recognize God's righteousness, for believers needing instruction about the dead in Christ, and for his own former conduct in ignorance and unbelief.
Acts 17:22-31 turns acknowledged ignorance into a summons to hear about the Creator, repent, and face the appointed Judge whom God raised from the dead. Romans 10:1-4 presents ignorance of God's righteousness alongside zeal and the attempt to establish one's own righteousness. First Thessalonians 4:13-18 answers lack of knowledge with resurrection hope so that Christian grief is real but not hopeless. First Timothy 1:12-16 places Paul's ignorance within a truthful confession of blasphemy, persecution, unbelief, mercy, and Christ's saving patience.
The verb therefore supports patient teaching, serious warning, gospel proclamation, and humble testimony according to context. It must not excuse sin merely because knowledge was limited, nor should it label every learner rebellious. Teachers should ask what revelation was available, how the person responded, what truth is now announced, and what response the passage requires.
Lexical sourceCanonical parallelBook contexttheological_synthesisPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
G50 ranges from ordinary lack of knowledge to serious spiritual failure. It appears in proclamation, correction, comfort, and testimony.
- Acts.17.23
For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN God. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.
Paul proclaims the God whom Athens worshiped as unknown, turning ignorance into an occasion for witness.
- Rom.10.3
Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
Israel is ignorant of God's righteousness and seeks to establish its own, making the ignorance morally serious.
- 1Thess.4.13
Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.
Paul corrects ignorance about those who sleep so grief can be shaped by resurrection hope.
- 1Tim.1.13
I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.
Paul acted in ignorance and unbelief and was shown mercy, magnifying grace without excusing the sin.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It to be unaware 3× Romans 1:13, 1 Corinthians 10:1, 2 Corinthians 1:8
they did not understand 2× Mark 9:32, Luke 9:45
to be uninformed 2× 1 Corinthians 12:1, 1 Thessalonians 4:13
unknown 2× 2 Corinthians 6:9, Galatians 1:22
are ignorant 1× Hebrews 5:2
aren’t you aware 1× Romans 6:3
as something unknown 1× Acts 17:23
did not recognize 1× Acts 13:27
Do you not know 1× Romans 7:1
he himself will be ignored 1× 1 Corinthians 14:38
ignorance 1× 1 Timothy 1:13
ignores this 1× 1 Corinthians 14:38
not realizing 1× Romans 2:4
they do not understand 1× 2 Peter 2:12
they were ignorant 1× Romans 10:3
to be ignorant 1× Romans 11:25
we are not unaware 1× 2 Corinthians 2:11
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 9:32 ἠγνόουν to they did not understand Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Luke 9:45 ἠγνόουν to they did not understand Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Acts 13:27 ἀγνοήσαντες to did not recognize Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Acts 17:23 ἀγνοοῦντες to as something unknown Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Romans 1:13 ἀγνοεῖν to to be unaware Verb - Present Infinitive Active Romans 2:4 ἀγνοῶν to not realizing Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Romans 6:3 ἀγνοεῖτε to aren’t you aware Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural Romans 7:1 ἀγνοεῖτε to Do you not know Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural Romans 10:3 ἀγνοοῦντες to they were ignorant Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Romans 11:25 ἀγνοεῖν to to be ignorant Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 9:32
Aligned rows 22
Books represented 11
Mark 1 Luke 1 Acts 2 Romans 6 1 Corinthians 4 2 Corinthians 3 Galatians 1 1 Thessalonians 1 1 Timothy 1 Hebrews 1 2 Peter 1
Source forms
ἀγνοεῖν 6x agnoein Romans 1:13, Romans 11:25, 1 Corinthians 10:1, 1 Corinthians 12:1
ἀγνοεῖτε 2x agnoeite Romans 6:3, Romans 7:1
ἀγνοοῦντες 2x agnoountes Acts 17:23, Romans 10:3
ἀγνοοῦσιν 2x agnoousin Hebrews 5:2, 2 Peter 2:12
ἀγνοῶν 2x agnoōn Romans 2:4, 1 Timothy 1:13
ἠγνόουν 2x ēgnooun Mark 9:32, Luke 9:45
ἀγνοεῖ 1x agnoei 1 Corinthians 14:38
ἀγνοεῖται 1x agnoeitai 1 Corinthians 14:38
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 6x Romans 1:13, Romans 11:25, 1 Corinthians 10:1, 1 Corinthians 12:1
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 2x Mark 9:32, Luke 9:45
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 2x Romans 6:3, Romans 7:1
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 2x Acts 17:23, Romans 10:3
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Romans 2:4, 1 Timothy 1:13
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Acts 13:27
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural 1x 2 Corinthians 2:11
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x 2 Peter 2:12
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Distinguish learners who need instruction from hearers resisting known truth.
- Do not weaponize the label ignorant against people asking honest questions. Supply the truth patiently and let the passage name the required response.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that ignorance saves.
- Do not claim that knowledge alone solves the human problem.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Ignorance through lack of knowledge or understanding; distinct from willful rejection or refusal to know.
Strong's G50
Lexical occurrences 22 verses Greek text appearances 22 times 16 shown below Word forms 3 forms 22 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 9:45 Source Gloss
be ignorant
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 22 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 9:32 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἠγνόουν hgnooun
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse Luke 9:45 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἠγνόουν hgnooun
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse Acts 13:27 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀγνοήσαντες, agnohsantev
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse Acts 17:23 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀγνοοῦντες agnoountev
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse Romans 1:13 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἀγνοεῖν, agnoein
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse Romans 2:4 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀγνοῶν agnown
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse Romans 6:3 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἀγνοεῖτε agnoeite
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse Romans 7:1 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἀγνοεῖτε, agnoeite
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse Romans 10:3 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀγνοοῦντες agnoountev
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse Romans 11:25 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἀγνοεῖν, agnoein
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse 1 Corinthians 10:1 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἀγνοεῖν, agnoein
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse 1 Corinthians 12:1 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἀγνοεῖν. agnoein
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse 1 Corinthians 14:38 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἀγνοεῖ, agnoei
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse 1 Corinthians 14:38 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Imperative
ἀγνοείτω. agnoeitw
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse 2 Corinthians 1:8 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἀγνοεῖν, agnoein
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verse 2 Corinthians 2:11 Verb First Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἀγνοοῦμεν. agnooumen
I do not know, am ignorant of
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 3 Aligned forms 22 Tenses Present, Imperfect, Aorist Voices Active, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 6×
Present Active Rom 1:13 · Rom 11:25 · 1 Cor 10:1 · 1 Cor 12:1 · 2 Cor 1:8 · 1 Thess 4:13 6×
Indicative states a fact or reality 8×
Present Active Rom 6:3 · Rom 7:1 · 1 Cor 14:38 · 2 Cor 2:11 · 2 Pet 2:12 5×
Imperfect Active Mark 9:32 · Luke 9:45 2×
Present Passive 1 Cor 14:38 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 8×
Present Active Acts 17:23 · Rom 10:3 · Rom 2:4 · 1 Tim 1:13 · Heb 5:2 5×
Present Passive 2 Cor 6:9 · Gal 1:22 2×
Aorist Active Acts 13:27 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 20 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 17 imperfect 2 aorist 1
Voice
active 18 passive 2
Mood
indicative 8 infinitive 6 participle 6
NT Occurrences
Mark 9:32 ἠγνόουν imperfect active indicative background Luke 9:45 ἠγνόουν imperfect active indicative background Acts 13:27 ἀγνοήσαντες aorist active participle participle Acts 17:23 ἀγνοοῦντες present active participle participle Romans 1:13 ἀγνοεῖν present active infinitive infinitive Romans 2:4 ἀγνοῶν present active participle participle Romans 6:3 ἀγνοεῖτε present active indicative ongoing Romans 7:1 ἀγνοεῖτε present active indicative ongoing Romans 10:3 ἀγνοοῦντες present active participle participle Romans 11:25 ἀγνοεῖν present active infinitive infinitive 1 Corinthians 10:1 ἀγνοεῖν present active infinitive infinitive 1 Corinthians 12:1 ἀγνοεῖν present active infinitive infinitive 1 Corinthians 14:38 ἀγνοεῖ present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 14:38 ἀγνοεῖται present passive indicative ongoing 2 Corinthians 1:8 ἀγνοεῖν present active infinitive infinitive 2 Corinthians 2:11 ἀγνοοῦμεν present active indicative ongoing 2 Corinthians 6:9 ἀγνοούμενοι present passive participle participle 1 Thessalonians 4:13 ἀγνοεῖν present active infinitive infinitive 1 Timothy 1:13 ἀγνοῶν present active participle participle 2 Peter 2:12 ἀγνοοῦσιν present active indicative ongoing
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)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
failure to comprehend or grasp the meaning of spoken words
Showing 1 selected witness from 22 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀγνοέω is built from these roots:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
ἀγνοέω helps teachers distinguish lack of knowledge from the moral and spiritual responses that surround it. In Acts 17, ignorance becomes the setting for proclamation and a call to repentance. In Romans 10, ignorance of God's righteousness accompanies zeal and self-established righteousness. In 1 Thessalonians 4, the church's incomplete understanding is met with instruction that reshapes grief through the resurrection and return of Christ.
In 1 Timothy 1, Paul names ignorance and unbelief without minimizing the violence of his former life, and he magnifies mercy rather than innocence. These contexts prevent two harmful shortcuts. Ignorance must not become a blanket excuse for sin, and a learner's need for instruction must not be treated as proof of hardened rebellion. Faithful care identifies the light given, tells the truth now needed, calls for the response Scripture names, and leaves judgment of hidden motives to God.
Anchor passage
Acts.17.23
Doctrinal connections
- Acts 17:22-31: unknown worship is answered by proclamation of the Creator, resurrection, judgment, and repentance.
- Romans 10:1-4: zeal without knowledge can resist God's righteousness and seek to establish its own.
- 1 Corinthians 10:1-12: Paul does not want the church ignorant of Israel's warning and calls for humble perseverance.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: instruction about resurrection gives hope without forbidding grief.
- 1 Timothy 1:12-16: ignorance and unbelief form part of Paul's guilty past, while mercy displays Christ's patience.
- Hebrews 5:1-3: the high priest deals gently with the ignorant and wayward because he shares human weakness.
The verb can describe not knowing, being unaware, failing to recognize, or ignoring.
From Old to New Testament
The Law distinguishes inadvertent wrongdoing from high-handed rebellion without treating inadvertent sin as harmless. The prophets also confront people who possess covenant light yet refuse knowledge of God. New Testament uses of ἀγνοέω retain that moral seriousness while showing proclamation, instruction, resurrection hope, priestly gentleness, and mercy in Christ as God's answers to different forms of ignorance.
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
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain