ψηλαφάωpsēlapháō
to manipulate, i.e. verify by contact; figuratively, to search for
Greek (New Testament) · G5584
Meanings
1. to feel or grope about; with acc, to feel about for, search after: metaphorically, of seeking God, Acts 17:27.
2. to feel, touch, handle: with accusative of person, Luke 24:39, 1 John 1:1; προσεληλύθατε ψηλαφωμένῳ (ὄρει?), Hebrews 12:18.
Same root
- ψάλλωpsállō · G5567compare G5597 (ψώχω)); to twitch or twang, i.e. to play on a stringed instrument (celebrate the divine worship with music and accompanying odes)
- ψῆφοςpsēphos · G5586a pebble (as worn smooth by handling), i.e. (by implication, of use as a counter or ballot) a verdict (of acquittal) or ticket (of admission); a vote
Where it appears
Appears 4 times in the Bible.
- Luke 24:39 Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.”
- Acts 17:27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.
- Hebrews 12:18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.
- 1 John 1:1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.
Source: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), public domain.