To stretch out or extend, particularly the hand. Used frequently in the Gospels of Jesus stretching out His hand to heal, and in Acts of judgment and deliverance accomplished through the 'outstretched arm' of God.
Ekteinō — to stretch out the hand — is one of the signature gestures of divine power in Scripture. The great Exodus narrative is structured around God's 'outstretched arm.' In the Gospels, Jesus stretches out his hand to heal the man with the withered hand (Matthew 12:13), to touch the leper (Matthew 8:3), and to rescue Peter sinking in water (Matthew 14:31). These healings echo the divine gesture: where Moses stretched out the staff at God's command, Jesus stretches out his own hand by his own authority.