Exploring the Meaning of Ginosko in Greek

γινώσκω (Ginosko) means “to know.” In the passages cited here, it ranges from knowing a person in an intimate, relational sense to recognizing facts, perceiving intent, and discerning what is hidden or revealed.

Occurrences

“and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.” (Matthew 1:25)

Here “to know” is explicitly qualified by the English wording “sexually,” using knowledge-language to describe marital relations. The clause frames Joseph’s restraint (“didn’t know her sexually”) up to a stated point in time (“until she had given birth”), making “know” a concrete description of conduct rather than mere awareness.

“But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does,” (Matthew 6:3)

“Know” is used in an intentionally paradoxical image: one hand is told not to “know” the other hand’s action. In context, the command uses knowledge as a way to speak about internal awareness and self-display; the merciful deed is to be done without fostering an inner audience that tracks, tallies, or advertises it.

“Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’” (Matthew 7:23)

In this saying, “know” is directed toward persons (“you”) and is denied absolutely (“never”). The statement makes “knowing” the opposite of recognition and acceptance within a relationship: the speaker’s verdict treats the workers of iniquity as strangers to him, and that non-knowledge accompanies the command to depart.

“Their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows about this.”” (Matthew 9:30)

After the healing (“Their eyes were opened”), “know” refers to public awareness of what has happened. Jesus’ strict command aims to restrict the spread of information; “knows” marks the boundary between a private act experienced by the healed individuals and a report that would circulate beyond them.

“Therefore don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed; and hidden that will not be known.” (Matthew 10:26)

“Known” is paired with “revealed,” placing knowledge in the sphere of disclosure. The sentence ties the eventual becoming-known of what is “hidden” to a reason for courage: concealed things are not permanent. Knowledge here is pictured as the end-state of what emerges from covering and hiding.

“But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless.” (Matthew 12:7)

In this conditional rebuke, “known” concerns grasping the meaning of a quotation (“what this means”). The consequence (“you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless”) shows that such knowing is not detached information; it is understanding that governs judgment and prevents wrongful condemnation.

“Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all,” (Matthew 12:15)

Although the verb rendered “perceiving” differs in English from “know,” the scene depicts a form of knowing directed to an immediate situation (“perceiving that”). The knowing is practical and prompt: it results in action (“withdrew from there”) even as the narrative continues with crowds following and Jesus healing.

“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:33)

Here “known” describes recognition by observable outcome. The proverb-like line makes fruit the evidence by which the tree’s character is identified. Knowing is thus connected with assessment: what something is becomes knowable through what it produces.

“He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.” (Matthew 13:11)

In this explanation, “to know” is presented as a granted privilege (“it is given to know”), not merely an earned conclusion. The object of knowing is “the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven,” and the contrast (“but it is not given to them”) draws a boundary between insiders who receive understanding and others who do not receive it.

“In the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can’t discern the signs of the times!” (Matthew 16:3)

“You know” highlights competence in a familiar domain: reading weather from the sky’s appearance. The rebuke turns that everyday knowledge into an indictment—if they can “discern the appearance of the sky,” their failure to “discern the signs of the times” is not due to lack of ability as such, but misdirected perception and judgment.

“Jesus, perceiving it, said, “Why do you reason among yourselves, you of little faith, ‘because you have brought no bread?’” (Matthew 16:8)

The narrative again places Jesus’ “perceiving” at the front of his response. What he knows concerns the disciples’ internal discussion (“reason among yourselves”) and the anxiety behind it (“because you have brought no bread?”). Knowing here penetrates beneath spoken words to the reasoning that motivates them.

“When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke about them.” (Matthew 21:45)

“Perceived” marks recognition of reference: they understand that the parables target them (“he spoke about them”). This is not merely hearing but grasping implication, and it provokes the realization that they themselves are implicated in the teaching they have just received.

Sense and Usage

Across these occurrences, “to know” functions as a flexible verb of relationship, awareness, recognition, and understanding. In Matthew 1:25 it is grounded in bodily intimacy, a way of describing personal union in concrete terms. In Matthew 7:23 it is equally personal but set in the opposite direction: the denial “I never knew you” treats “knowing” as relational acknowledgment, and its negation becomes a judicial separation (“Depart from me”).

Several texts connect knowing with the movement of information from private to public. Matthew 9:30 restricts who may know about an event, showing knowledge as a social reality that can spread and therefore can be commanded. Matthew 10:26 expands that dynamic into a general principle: what is “hidden” will come to be “known,” placing knowing alongside revelation as the fate of what is concealed.

Other passages tie knowing to moral and interpretive judgment. In Matthew 12:7, the failure is not that the words “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” are unavailable, but that the meaning has not been grasped in a way that changes action—right knowing would have prevented condemning “the guiltless.” In Matthew 12:33, knowing is the ability to identify what something is by its results: fruit makes the tree knowable. Knowledge is not pictured as guessing; it is recognition anchored in evidence.

Matthew 13:11 places knowing in the realm of granted access: “it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.” The construction treats knowledge as a gift tied to the Kingdom’s “mysteries,” and the contrast between “you” and “them” frames knowing as a dividing line between groups listening to the same teacher. Matthew 16:3 uses the same verb to highlight an inconsistency: competence in discerning the sky exists, yet discernment of “the signs of the times” is absent. Knowing here is practical skill, and the rebuke implies that the obstacle is not lack of mental capacity but a failure to apply discernment where it matters.

Finally, in Matthew 12:15; 16:8; and 21:45, “perceiving” presents knowing as immediate recognition of an underlying reality—whether a situation prompting withdrawal, the disciples’ inner reasoning, or the parables’ personal reference. In each case, this knowing is not abstract: it triggers movement, confrontation, or self-awareness. Taken together, these scenes show “to know” operating in the ordinary world (weather-reading), in the moral world (condemning or sparing the guiltless), and in the relational world (being known or not known), while also spanning secrecy and disclosure (keeping a healing quiet; hidden things becoming known).

Imagery

The cited passages often picture knowing through concrete images: two hands that must not “know” each other’s work (Matthew 6:3), a hidden thing becoming “known” when it is uncovered (Matthew 10:26), and a tree recognized by its fruit (Matthew 12:33). Alongside these, the language of knowing is also used to portray personal boundaries—intimacy withheld for a time (Matthew 1:25) and a final repudiation of relationship (“I never knew you,” Matthew 7:23)—showing how the same verb can speak both of closeness and of separation.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).