ποτίζω
potizō
to water
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word ποτίζω (potizō) is defined as "to water." This verb is used 15 times in the Bible, indicating its importance in various contexts. The primary meaning of ποτίζω is related to the act of providing or supplying water, which was essential for human survival, agriculture, and ritual practices in ancient times. The usage of ποτίζω varies across different biblical contexts. It can refer to watering animals (e.g., Genesis 30:41), irrigating crops (e.g., Isaiah 32:20), or even watering the earth (e.g., Isaiah 44:3). In some cases, ποτίζω is used metaphorically to describe spiritual nourishment or refreshment (e.g., John 4:14). This versatility in usage highlights the significance of water as a vital resource in ancient cultures. The frequency and range of usage for ποτίζω suggest its importance in biblical thought. Water is not only a physical necessity but also a symbol of spiritual rejuvenation and renewal. The verb's various applications underscore the interconnectedness of physical and spiritual well-being in the biblical worldview.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
15 total occurrences across the text
Whoever gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, most certainly I tell you he will in no way lose his reward.”
Matthew 25:35for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in.
Matthew 25:37“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink?
Matthew 25:42for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink;
Matthew 27:48Immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him a drink.
Mark 9:41For whoever will give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you are Christ’s, most certainly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward.
Mark 15:36One ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Let him be. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down.”
Luke 13:15Therefore the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water?
Romans 12:20Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
1 Corinthians 3:2I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, you aren’t ready even now,
1 Corinthians 3:6I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:7So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:8Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
1 Corinthians 12:13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one Spirit.
Revelation 14:8Another, a second angel, followed, saying, “Babylon the great has fallen, which has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.”