κατα-σείω G2678
To motion with the hand; to make a gesture signaling for silence or attention.
A vivid gesture word describing the act of waving or shaking the hand to gain an audience's attention or request silence. Luke uses this verb four times in Acts to depict speakers commanding a crowd's attention before an important address. Peter motions from the doorway of Mary's house after his miraculous escape from prison (Acts 12:17), Paul gestures before the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:16), Alexander tries to signal the Ephesian mob (Acts 19:33), and Paul motions from the Jerusalem barracks stairway (Acts 21:40). The French 'faire signe' and Spanish 'hacer señas' precisely mirror the physical gesture implied.
Senses
1. sense 1 — To wave or motion with the hand as a signal for silence or attention before speaking. All four NT occurrences appear in Acts, each depicting a speaker commanding a crowd: Peter after his prison release (Acts 12:17), Paul in the Pisidian synagogue (Acts 13:16), Alexander before the Ephesian mob (Acts 19:33), and Paul on the Jerusalem stairs (Acts 21:40). The consistent multilingual rendering -- Spanish 'hacer señas,' French 'faire signe,' German gesture terms -- confirms this is a single, concrete physical action rather than abstract communication. 4×
AR["أَشارَ", "أَشَارَ", "مُشِيرًا"]·ben["ইঙ্গিত-করে", "নেড়ে", "হাত-নাড়লেন", "হাত-নেড়ে"]·DE["κατέσεισεν", "κατασείσας"]·EN["having-motioned", "motioned"]·FR["faire-signe"]·heb["הֵנִיף"]·HI["हाथ-हिलाकर", "हिलाकर", "हिलाया"]·ID["memberi-isyarat", "mengayunkan"]·IT["fare-cenno"]·jav["Ngawataken", "ngawat-awat", "ngawataken", "ngawéni"]·KO["손을-흔들며", "손을-흔들었다", "손짓하며"]·PT["acenou", "tendo-acenado"]·RU["дав-знак", "махнув", "подав-знак", "подал-знак"]·ES["haciendo-señas", "haciendo-señas-con", "haciéndoles-señas", "hizo-señas-con"]·SW["akipunga", "akiwaashiria", "alipunga"]·TR["el-salladı", "işaret-eden", "sallayarak"]·urd["اشارہ-کر-کے", "اشارہ-کیا", "ہاتھ-ہلا-کر", "ہلا-کر"]
Related Senses
H0559 1. say, speak, tell (5297×)G3004 1. say, tell, speak (2226×)H1696 1. speak, say, tell (Piel) (1105×)H7121 1. call, summon, name (575×)H6680 1. command, order, charge (483×)H6030b 1. answer, respond, reply (289×)G2980 1. speak, talk (277×)H5046 1. Hifil: to tell, report (237×)G0611 1. answer or respond verbally (232×)H1288 1. Piel: bless, invoke blessing (227×)H7650 1. swear, take an oath (Niphal) (154×)H3789 1. Qal passive participle: written, recorded (112×)H1984b 1. praise, laud (Piel) (111×)H7592 1. ask, inquire, question (96×)H3034 1. give thanks, praise (Hifil) (94×)G1321 1. teach, instruct actively (92×)H3789 2. Qal active: write, compose (89×)G1125 1. to write, compose (a letter or document) (84×)H5046 2. Hifil: to declare, proclaim (79×)H7892a 1. song, musical composition (78×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
κατα-σείω, future -σείσω Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect -σέσεικα Refs 3rd c.BC+:—shake down, throw down, Refs 5th c.BC+; τεῖχος, τοῦ τείχους ἐπὶ μέγα, Refs 2nd c.AD+ —passive, fall down, Refs 1st c.AD+; of a lion's mane, Refs 2nd c.AD+: metaphorically, Refs 4th c.BC+ until he laid him on the floor (with drinking), Refs 4th c.BC+ __2 impel, drive headlong, Refs 4th c.BC+ —passive, πρὸς τὸ λέγειν κ. Refs…