There are two Greek words which are often translated “ask”: αἰτέω (ai-te-o) and ἐρωτάω (er-o-ta-w). Both of them are used in the passage where Jesus appears before Pilate in Mark 15. When Pilate is asking questions ἐρωτάω is used. Later when the ESV version states: “Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked.” The word used is a composite version of αἰτέω in the middle voice.
Middle voice is something we don’t really use in English. Greek uses it to indicate the person to whom the verb refers is the same one who benefits or suffers from the action. When you do something for yourself, like washing your own hands, that’s middle voice. In the King James the passage reads, “whomsoever they desired.” A few verses later the sentence, “And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them,” also uses αἰτέω. King James substitutes “desire” for “ask.”
In most cases, the difference between ἐρωτάω and αἰτέω is that the former is the simple asking of a a question and the latter is goes beyond asking into the realm of begging. We use “ask” for requesting both information and favors in English so I think it’s important to make the distinction between the two Greek words. The KJV does a better job here than ESV in my opinion but more literal versions which use the word “beg.”
When we pray, we inevitably ask for something either using the middle voice or for the benefit of someone else. Should we be asking when we pray or begging?
