Strong's Lexicon
tis: who, which, what, why, someone, anyone
Original Word:τίς
Part of Speech:Interrogative Pronoun
Transliteration:tis
Pronunciation:tis
Phonetic Spelling:(tis)
Definition:who, which, what, why, someone, anyone
Meaning:who, which, what, why.
Word Origin:Derived from the Greek root τίς (tis), which is an indefinite pronoun.
Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries:The Hebrew equivalent often used in similar contexts is מִי (mi), Strong's Hebrew #4310, which also means "who" or "whom."
Usage:The Greek word "τίς" is an interrogative pronoun used to ask questions about identity, nature, or reason. It can be translated as "who," "which," "what," or "why" depending on the context. It is often used in the New Testament to inquire about people, objects, or reasons behind actions.
Cultural and Historical Background:In the Greco-Roman world, questions were a fundamental part of philosophical discourse and teaching. The use of interrogative pronouns like "τίς" was essential in dialogues and debates, which were common methods of exploring truth and knowledge. In the Jewish context, questions were also a key part of rabbinic teaching, encouraging students to think deeply and engage with the Scriptures.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originan interrog. pronoun related to
tisDefinitionwho? which? what?
NASB Translationanything (1), how (7), how* (2), person (1), something (3), suppose one (2), what (266), what each (1), what* (5), which (24), which one (3), who (128), whom (16), whose (6), why (70), why* (33).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 5101: τίςτίς, neuter
τί, genitive
τίνος, interrogative pronoun (from
Homer down);
1.who, which, what? theSept.τίς forמִי,τί forמָה;
a. used adjectivally, in a direct question:τίςβασιλεύς,Luke 14:31;τίςγυνή,Luke 15:8;τίπερισσόν,Matthew 5:47;τίσημεῖον,John 2:18, and many other passages. in an indirect question,1 Thessalonians 4:2, etc.;τιναἤποῖονκαιρόν,1 Peter 1:11; used instead of a predicate in a direct question,τίς (namely,ἐστιν)ἡαἰτία,Acts 10:21;τίςκαίποταπήἡγυνή,Luke 7:39; add,Romans 3:1;1 Corinthians 9:18, etc.; neuter,Matthew 24:3;Mark 5:9; in an indirect question with the optative,Luke 8:9;τίς followed byἄν,John 13:24RG;Acts 21:33 (RG);τί with the optative,Luke 15:26 (TrWH addἄν, soL brackets);Luke 18:36 (L bracketsTr bracketsWH marginal reading addἄν); with the indicative,Ephesians 1:18;
b. used alone or Substantively: in a direct question,τίςὑπέδειξενὑμῖνφυγεῖν;Matthew 3:7;Luke 3:7;Revelation 18:18, etc.;τίνος,Matthew 22:20, 28;Mark 12:10;τίνι,Luke 13:18;τινα,John 18:4, 7;τίθέλετεμοιδοῦναι;Matthew 26:15;τί in an indirect question, followed by the indicative,Matthew 6:3;John 13:12;1 Corinthians 14:16;Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, and very often; followed by the aorist subjunctive,Matthew 6:25;Luke 12:11, etc.; followed by the optative withἄν,Luke 1:62;Luke 6:11, etc. Emphatic words get prominence by being placed before the pronoun (Buttmann, § 151, 16):ὑμεῖςδέτιναμελέγετεεἶναι,Matthew 16:15;Mark 8:29;Luke 9:20;καίἡμεῖςτίποιήσομεν (orποιήσωμεν),Luke 3:14;οὗτοςδέτί,John 21:21 (cf.
e.β.); add,John 1:19;John 8:5;John 9:17;Acts 19:15;Romans 9:19b (cf.Winer's Grammar, 274 (257)),;;Ephesians 4:9;James 4:12; examples from Greek writings are given inPassow, p. 1908b; (Liddell and Scott, under the word, B. I. 1 b.). A question is often asked byτίς as the leading word, when the answer expected isno one:Acts 8:33;Romans 7:24;Romans 8:33;Romans 9:19;Romans 10:16;Romans 11:34;1 Corinthians 9:7;2 Corinthians 11:29;Hebrews 1:5, 13.τίςεἰμή,who ... save (or but) (i. e.no one but),Mark 2:7;Luke 5:21;Romans 11:15;1 Corinthians 2:11;Hebrews 3:18;1 John 2:22;1 John 5:5.c. two questions are blended into one:τίςτίἄρῃ,what each should take,Mark 15:24;τίςτίδιεπραγματεύσατο,Luke 19:15 (notTrWH);ἐγώδέτίςἤμηνδυνατόςκωλῦσαιτόνΘεόν; who was I? was I able to withstand God?Acts 11:17; cf.Winers Grammar, § 66, 5, 3;Passow, p. 1909{a}; Ast, Platonic Lexicon, iii., p. 394; Franz V. Fritzsche, Index adLucian, dial. deor., p. 164; the same construction occurs in Latin writings; cf. Ramshorn, Latin Gram., p. 567.τίς is joined with conjunctions:καίτίς,Mark 10:26;Luke 10:29;Luke 18:26;Revelation 6:17 (seeκαί, I. 2 g.);τίςἄρα, seeἄρα, 1;τίςοὖν,Luke 10:36 (hereTWH omit;LTr bracketsοὖν);1 Corinthians 9:18.τίς with a partitive genitive:Matthew 22:28;Mark 12:23;Luke 10:36;Acts 7:52;Hebrews 1:5, 13; withἐκ and a genitive of the class,Matthew 6:27;Luke 14:28;John 8:46; in an indirect question with the optative,Luke 22:23 (cf.Winer's Grammar, § 41 b. 4 c.); withἄν added,Luke 9:46.
d. in indirect questions the neuter article is sometimes placed before the pronounsτίς andτί; seeὁ, II. 10 a. e. Respecting the neuterτί the following particulars may be noted:α.τίοὗτοισουκαταμαρτυροῦσιν; a condensed expression forτίτοῦτοἐστιν,ὁοὗτοισουκαταμαρτυροῦσιν;Matthew 26:62;Mark 14:60 (Buttmann, 251 (216) explains this expression differently); alsoτίτοῦτοἀκούωπερίσου; ((R. V.))what is this (that) I hear of thee? (unless preference be given to the rendering, 'why do I hear this of thee' (see underβ. below)),Luke 16:2; cf. Bornemann at the passage; (Winer's Grammar, § 66, 5, 3).β.τίπρόςἡμᾶς; namely,ἐστιν, what is that to us? (Winers Grammar, 586 (545);Buttmann, 138 (121)),Matthew 27:4;John 21:22;τίἐμοίκαίσοι; seeἐγώ, 4;τίμοι etc.what have I to do with etc.1 Corinthians 5:12;τίσοι orὑμῖνδοκεῖ; (what thinkest thou etc.),Matthew 17:25;Matthew 22:17, 42;Matthew 26:66;John 11:56 (here beforeὅτι supply in thoughtδοκεῖὑμῖν, to introduce a second question (R. V.What think ye? That he will not come etc.)).τίθέλεις; andτίθέλετε; followed by a subjunctive, ourwhat wilt thou (that) I should etc.:Matthew 20:32 (here Lachmann brackets insertsἵνα);Mark 10:51;Mark 15:12 (WH omits;Tr bracketsθέλετε);Luke 18:41;1 Corinthians 4:21;τί with the deliberative subjunctive:Matthew 6:31;Matthew 27:22;Mark 4:30 (hereL marginal readingTTr textWHπῶς);Luke 12:17;Luke 13:18;John 12:27;τί followed by a future:Acts 4:16 (where Lachmann's stereotyped edition;TTrWHποιήσωμεν);1 Corinthians 15:29;τί (namely,ἐστιν (Buttmann, 358 (307);Winer's Grammar, § 64, 2 a.))ὅτι etc.,how is it that, etc. i. e.why etc.,Mark 2:16RGL;Luke 2:49;Acts 5:4, 9;τίγέγονεν,ὅτι etc. (R. V.what is come to pass that etc.),John 14:22;οὗτοςδέτί (namely,ἔσται orγενήσεται (Winers Grammar, 586 (546);Buttmann, 394 (338))), what will be his lot?John 21:21 (cf.Acts 12:18τίἄραὁΠέτροςἐγένετο;Xenophon, Hell. 2, 3, 17τίἐσοιτοἡπολιτεία).τί equivalent toδιάτί,why? wherefore? (Matthiae, § 488,8;Krüger, § 46, 3 Anm. 4; (Winer's Grammar, § 21,3 N. 2)):Matthew 6:28;Matthew 7:3;Mark 2:7;Mark 11:3;Luke 2:48;Luke 6:41;Luke 12:57;Luke 24:38;John 7:19;John 18:23;Acts 14:15;Acts 26:8;Romans 3:7;Romans 9:19;1 Corinthians 4:7;1 Corinthians 10:30;1 Corinthians 15:29;Galatians 3:19;Galatians 5:11;Colossians 2:20, and often.ἵνατί orἱνατί, see under the word, p. 305a.διάτί (orδιατί (seeδιά, B. II. 2 a., p. 134b)),why? wherefore?Matthew 9:11, 14;Matthew 13:10;Mark 7:5;Mark 11:31;Luke 19:23, 31;John 7:45;John 13:37;Acts 5:3;1 Corinthians 6:7;2 Corinthians 11:11;Revelation 17:7, and often.εἰςτί,to what? to what end? to what purpose?Matthew 14:31;Matthew 26:8;Mark 14:4;Mark 15:34 (Wis. 4:17; Sir. 39:21).τίοὖν, etc.why then, etc.:Matthew 17:10;Matthew 19:7;Matthew 27:22;Mark 12:9;Luke 20:15;John 1:25; see also inοὖν, b.α.;τίοὖνἐροῦμεν, see ibid.τίγάρ; seeγάρ, II. 5.γ. Hebraistically forמָה,how, how greatly, how much, with adjectives and verbs in exclamations (Winers Grammar, § 21 N. 3; cf.Buttmann, 254 (218)):Matthew 7:14GLTr;Luke 12:49 (on this seeεἰ, I. 4 at the end), (Psalm 3:2;2 Samuel 6:20;Song of Solomon 1:10;τίπολύτόἀγαθόνσου;Symm.Psalm 30:19).
2. equivalent toπότερος,ποτερα,πότερον,whether of two, which of the two:Matthew 21:31;Matthew 23:17 (hereLτί; see below);;Luke 22:27; neuterτί,Matthew 9:5; ( Lachmann,);Mark 2:9;Luke 5:23;Philippians 1:22; cf. Ast, Platonic Lexicon, iii., p. 394Matthiae, § 488, 4;Winer's Grammar, 169 (159).3. equivalent toποῖος,ποίᾳ,ποῖον,of what sort,what (kind):Mark 1:27;Mark 6:2;Luke 4:36;Luke 8:9;Luke 24:17;John 7:36;Acts 17:19;1 Corinthians 15:2;Ephesians 1:18f. Cf. Hermann on Viger, p. 731.
4. By a somewhat inaccurate usage, yet one not unknown to Greek writings, it is put for the relativesὅς andὅστις: thus,τινα (LTTrWHτί)μεὑπονοεῖτεεἶναι,οὐκεἰμίἐγώ (where one would expectὅν).Acts 13:25;δοθήσεταιὑμῖν,τίλαλήσετε (λαλήσητεTTrWH;L brackets the clausel,Matthew 10:19;ἑτοίμασον,τίδειπνήσω,Luke 17:8; (οἶδατιναςἐξελεξάμην,John 13:18TTr textWH); especially afterἔχειν (as in the Greek writings):οὐκἔχουσι,τίφάγωσιν,Matthew 15:32;Mark 6:36;Mark 8:1f; cf.Winers Grammar, § 25, 1;Buttmann, 251 (216); on the distinction between the Latinhabeo quid and habeo quod cf. Ramshorn, Latin Gram., p. 565f.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
every man, how much, which, whomProbably emphatic oftis; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions) -- every man, how (much), + no(-ne, thing), what (manner, thing), where (-by, -fore, -of, -unto, - with, -withal), whether, which, who(-m, -se), why.
see GREEKtis
Forms and Transliterations
τι τί τινα τίνα τινας τίνας τινες τίνες τινι τίνι Τινος Τίνος τινων τίνων τις τίς τισιν τίσιν Τιτάνων ti tí tina tína tinas tínas tines tínes tini tíni tinon tinōn tínon tínōn Tinos Tínos tis tís tisin tísinLinks
Interlinear Greek •Interlinear Hebrew •Strong's Numbers •Englishman's Greek Concordance •Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •Parallel Texts
