ἐπιτίθημι

ἐπιτίθημι 3 pl. ἐπιτιθέασιν Mt 23:4, impv. ἐπιτίθει 1 Ti 5:22; impf. 3 pl. ἐπετίθεσαν Ac 8:17 (ἐπετίθουν v.l.); fut. ἐπιθήσω; 1 aor. ἐπέθηκα; 2 aor. ἐπέθην, impv. ἐπίθες, ptc. ἐπιθείς. Mid. fut. ἐπιθήσομαι; 2 aor. ἐπεθέμην (s. τίθημι; Hom.+).

① to place someth. on or transfer to (a place or object)

ⓐ lay/put upon

α. lit.: act., of placing of a physical thing τὶ (which somet. is to be supplied fr. the context; cp. Esth 5:2) ἐπί τι or τινα (X., Cyr. 7, 3, 14; SIG 1173, 9; cp. 1169, 4; PSI 442, 13 [III B.C.]; Gen 22:9; 42:26 al.; JosAs 29:5 αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸν ἵππον; ParJer 2:1 χοῦν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλήν) someth. upon someth. or someone Mt 23:4; Lk 15:5; J 9:6 v.l. (most mss. read ἐπέχρισεν), 15; Ac 15:10; 28:3; B 7:8. χεῖρα (χεῖρας) ἐπί τινα or τι lay hand(s) on someone or someth. (SIG 1173, 4; Ex 29:10; Lev 1:4; 4:4 al.—KSudhoff, Handanlegg. des Heilgottes: Archiv f. Gesch. d. Med. 18, 1926, 235–50) Mt 9:18; Mk 8:25 (v.l. ἔθηκεν); 16:18; Ac 8:17; 9:17 (cp. 1QapGen and s. SKotlek, ANRW II Principat 37/3, 2859). Also τινὶ τὰς χεῖρας (Jos., Ant. 9, 268; 16, 365) Mt 19:13, 15; Mk 5:23; 6:5; 8:23; Lk 4:40; 13:13 (v.l. ἐπʼ αὐτῇ); Ac 6:6; 8:19; 9:12; 13:3; 19:6; 28:8 (s. χείρ end [Coppens]); of authorization as an elder 1 Ti 5:22 (Goodsp., Probs. 181f; cp. 1QapGen 20, 29); cp. τὴν χεῖρα Mk 7:32; AcPl Ha 3, 31; 4, 34. ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλήν B 13:5 (Gen 48:18). S. on ἐπίθεσις.—In other combinations ἐ. τί τινι (X., Oec. 17, 9; Esth 2:17; 1 Esdr 4:30; TestJob 7:1; JosAs 10:5; Jos., Ant. 9, 149 ἐπέθεσαν αὐτῷ τ. στέφανον) αὐτῷ τὸν σταυρόν Lk 23:26; στέφανον … αὐτοῦ τῇ κεφαλῇ J 19:2. ἐπειθήσι (=ἐπιθήσει) σοι ἐλευθέριον στέφανον AcPl Ha 2, 31. τοὺς λίθους ἐπετίθουν ἀλλήλαις they placed the stones on one another’s shoulders Hs 9, 3, 5.—τὶ ἐπί τινος (Hdt. 1, 121, 4 al.; 1 Km 6:18; Sus 34; ParJer 5:7; Just., D. 132, 2) Mt 21:7; Lk 8:16 v.l. ἐπέθηκαν ἐπὶ τ. κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ they placed (the crown of thorns) on his head Mt 27:29. ἐπάνω τ. κεφαλῆς put above (his) head vs. 37.—τῷ μνημείῳ λίθον a stone at the grave Lk 23:53 v.l. (λίθοι) ἐπιτιθέμενοι εἰς τ. οἰκοδομήν stones put into the building Hv 3, 5, 2.

β. fig.: act. (except Ac 15:28, below) ἐ. πληγάς τινι inflict blows upon someone (BGU 759, 13 [II A.D.] πληγὰς πλείστας ἐπέθηκάν μοι) Ac 16:23; cp. Lk 10:30. Differently ἐπιθήσει ὁ θεὸς ἐπʼ αὐτὸν τ. πληγάς God will bring upon him the plagues Rv 22:18b (cp. δίκην τινί Hdt., Pla. et al., also UPZ 1, 13 [IV B.C.] ὁ θεὸ αὐτῷ τὴν δίκην ἐ. Dt 26:6; τειμωρίαν τινί IAndrosIsis, Kyme 20; 35); s. BOlsson, D. Epilog der Offb. Joh.: ZNW 31, ’32, 84–86.—Pass. Ac 15:28.—ἐ. τινὶ ὄνομα give a surname to someone (cp. Hdt. 5, 68 al.; BGU 1139, 7 [I B.C.]; 2 Esdr 19:7) Mk 3:16f (on the giving of new names to disciples cp. Diog. L. 5, 38: Theophrastus’ name was Τύρταμος; his teacher, Aristotle, μετωνόμασεν and gave him the name Theophrastus because of his god-like eloquence). B 12:8f ἐ. τὸ ἔλεος ἐπί τινα bestow mercy upon someone 15:2.

ⓑ give τινί τι someth. to someone, mid. (BGU 1208 1, 4 [27 B.C.]; PRyl 81, 9 τὴν ὅλου τ. πράγματος ἐξουσίαν τοῖς κατασπορεῦσι ἐπεθέμην) ἀναγομένοις τὰ πρὸς τὰς χρείας when we sailed they gave us what we needed Ac 28:10; unless the verb is to rendered here put on board the needed supplies (so NRSV, REB).

ⓒ add ἐπί τι, act. ( Hom., et al.) ἐπʼ αὐτά Rv 22:18a.

② to set upon, attack, lay a hand on, mid. (Jos., Ant. 1, 328) τινί (Hdt., Aristoph. et al.; Appian, Liby. 102 §482; PTebt 15, 11 [114 B.C.]; PFlor 332, 7; LXX; Philo, Leg. ad Gai. 371; Jos., Ant. 4, 96) foll. by subst. inf. of purpose in gen. (Gen 43:18) οὐδεὶς ἐπιθήσεταί σοι τοῦ κακῶσαί σε in order to harm you Ac 18:10.—M-M. TW.