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1 Corinthians 12:20 — Word Study

Depth

N1904νῦν δὲ πολλὰ μὲν μέλη, ἓν δὲ σῶμα.

BSANownun [now, in the present time] howeverde [on the other hand, yet] manypolus [different, various] indeedmen [are the] members,melos [members, limbs] [there is] oneehis [unified, single] howeverde body.sōma [the whole, physical and spiritual]

Word
Listen & take away1 Corinthians 12
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 20 is in this chapter.
Greek ↓ Download MP3 Nestle 1904 — the very text on this page — read by Andy Martin in Erasmian pronunciation.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (sōma) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
1 Corinthians 12:20quick helps
In a sentencePaul explains that while there are many different members, they all contribute to one unified body.
Who is speakingThe Apostle Paul, addressing the church in Corinth.
Where we areIn the context of discussing the unity and diversity of the church as the body of Christ.
The hard wordσῶμα
Take awayDiversity exists within unity.
6 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectπολύς The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the New Testament.

Bars are logarithmic — , the commonest word in the Greek New Testament, stands 19,867 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — 1 Corinthians 12:20

Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.

Context — The Body of Christgenerated

19If they were all one part, where would the body be?
20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.”
22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

1 Corinthians 12:20 is part of Paul's teaching on the body of Christ, where he emphasizes that the church is made up of many different members, each with a unique role. This metaphor illustrates how each believer contributes to the overall function and health of the church, similar to how various parts of a physical body work together. Paul uses this imagery to encourage unity and interdependence among believers, highlighting that every member is important and has a purpose.


Cross References


The Key Word σῶμα, sōmagenerated

The Greek word σῶμα (sōma) means 'body' and can refer to both the physical body and the spiritual body of believers. It emphasizes the unity of the church as one entity, despite its many parts.

In this context, σῶμα signifies the collective body of Christ, illustrating how diverse members work together to fulfill God's purpose. This concept is foundational in understanding the church's function and the importance of each member's contribution.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The translations of this verse are consistent in conveying the idea of many parts forming one body. The Berean Standard Bible states, there are many parts, but one body, which is echoed in the KJV and ASV.

However, the BBE adds the nuance of different parts, suggesting a variety among the members, while the others emphasize the unity of the body.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The structure of the verse revolves around two main clauses connected by the conjunction δὲ, however. The first clause presents the idea of many parts, while the second asserts the unity of one body.

The finite verb is implied in the second clause, with the subject μέλη (members) and the predicate ἓν (one) clearly defining the relationship between the parts and the body.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

The word σῶμα does not appear in the Septuagint as a direct translation for a specific Hebrew term in this context. However, it parallels the Hebrew concept of the body found in various passages, emphasizing the idea of wholeness and unity.

In the Septuagint, related terms often refer to physical and communal aspects of life, which can enrich our understanding of how Paul uses σῶμα to describe the church.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

1 Corinthians 12:20 explains that while there are many different members of the body, they all come together to form one unified body. This teaches us about the importance of each person's role within the church.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does Paul mean by 'many parts'?

Paul refers to the various members of the church, each with different gifts and roles, emphasizing their importance in the overall function of the body of Christ.

Why is it significant that there is 'one body'?

The concept of one body highlights the unity of believers in Christ, showing that despite diversity, they are all interconnected and work together for a common purpose.

How can this verse apply to the church today?

This verse encourages modern believers to recognize and appreciate the diversity of gifts and roles within the church, fostering unity and cooperation among members.

What does it mean to be a member of the body of Christ?

Being a member of the body of Christ means that each believer has a unique role and responsibility, contributing to the health and growth of the church as a whole.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways do I see the diversity of gifts within my church community?
  2. How can I better appreciate the role of others in the body of Christ?
  3. What unique gifts has God given me to contribute to the church?
  4. How can we work together as a unified body despite our differences?

The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it

Ambrosiaster comments on this verse to illustrate the unity and purpose of the diverse members within the body of Christ.

AmbrosiasterCOMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES fl. c. 366–384
The diversity in the members of the body unites for the purpose of ensuring that the body fulfills its potential.

He emphasizes that the diversity among members serves to enhance the body's overall potential.

Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 12 →

Commentators on this verse — 6 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 1 Corinthians 12:20 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But now are they many members,.... Of different make and shape, in different parts and places, and of different use and service: yet but one body; all are united together, and make up one complete

Read John Gill on 1 Corinthians 12 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

But now are they many members, yet but one body. Now - as the case really is; in contrast to the supposition (1 Corinthians 12:19 : cf. 1 Corinthians 12:18). Many members - mutually dependent.

Read Robert Jamieson on 1 Corinthians 12 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The multiplicity of members, having several uses and offices for the service of the whole body, do not make a multiplicity of bodies, the body still is but one.

Read Matthew Poole on 1 Corinthians 12 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

20 But now are they many members, yet but one body. Ver. 20. But now are they many members, &c.] 1. Use; 2. Necessity; 3. Honour; 4. Comeliness, 5. Mutual consent, -commend these things. Let every man try his membership (1. If sociable with Christ and his people; 2. If useful and serviceable to the body; 3. If sensible and compassionate, &c., being himself also in the body), as was before advised.

Read John Trapp on 1 Corinthians 12 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(20) But now are they.—From the reductio ad absurdum of the previous verses the Apostle turns to the fact as it is, and proceeds (in 1 Corinthians 12:21) to state that there is a mutual interdependence in the members of the body. The eye is dependent on the hand, the head upon the feet. Here, no doubt, the illustration is drawn out in this particular direction to rebuke those who being themselves possessed of what were considered important spiritual gifts despised the gifts which the Spirit had bestowed on others.

Read Charles John Ellicott on 1 Corinthians 12 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

b. The various gifts should harmonize the Church into one body, 1 Corinthians 12:12-26.The semblance between the human body and the body politic or social is so striking, and pregnant with so many

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on 1 Corinthians 12 →

The verse in English, compared — 16 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

But now they are many members, but one body.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

NETBNew English Translation2006

So now there are many members, but one body.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

But now are they many members, yet but one body.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

But now they are many members, but one body.

RVARevised Version, American1894

But now they are many members, but one body.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

But now are they many members, yet but one body.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

But now are there many members, yet but one body.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

But now the members [are] many, and the body one.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and now, indeed, [are] many members, and one body;

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

And now, indeed, [are] many members, but one body;

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

So now they are many members, but only one body.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

But now there are many members indeed, yet one body.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

However, since there are many parts, they make up the body.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

But now they are all different parts, but one body.

Word by word, the decisions they made

πολλὰpolus many G4183 2 different renderings
manyASV BSB DBY DRA FBV GNV KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
differentBBE

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the Nestle 1904 treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

clauseδὲhoweverclauseμὲνevenclauseadverbialνῦνNowpredicateπολλὰmanysubjectμέλη[are the] membersδὲhoweverclausepredicateἓνonesubjectσῶμαbody

Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.


The earliest translations — Latin and Syriac

Every translation is an argument about meaning made by someone who had to commit to one. These two were made while the Greek was still a living language, and they are the oldest opinions we have about what this verse says.

Latin VulgateAD 382–405

Nunc autem multa quidem membra, unum autem corpus.

Jerome revised the Old Latin against the Greek from AD 382; the Latin west read this text for a thousand years.

Syriac Peshittaby AD 400

ܗܫܐ ܕܝܢ ܗܕܡܐ ܐܝܬܝܗܘܢ ܣܓܝܐܐ ܚܕ ܗܘ ܕܝܢ ܦܓܪܐ

The Bible of the Syriac-speaking church, in the language nearest to the Aramaic Jesus spoke.

Shown verse by verse rather than word by word: aligning a Greek word to its Latin or Syriac counterpart automatically would be guesswork, and a wrong alignment is worse than none.


The Greek editions compared — what the manuscripts actually say

Eight printed editions of the Greek New Testament, side by side. Where they agree the wording is settled; where a word is missing from an edition it is marked, so you can see the difference rather than take it on trust.

Nestle-Aland 28th edition2012 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

νῦν δὲ πολλὰ μὲν μέλη, ἓν δὲ σῶμα.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

νῦν δὲ πολλὰ μὲν μέλη, ἓν δὲ σῶμα.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

νῦν δὲ πολλὰ μὲν μέλη, ἓν δὲ σῶμα.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

νῦν δὲ πολλὰ μέλη, ἓν δὲ σῶμα.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

νῦν δὲ πολλὰ μὲν μέλη, ἓν δὲ σῶμα.

An independent critical text built from the oldest witnesses then known.

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

νῦν δὲ πολλὰ μὲν μέλη, ἓν δὲ σῶμα.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

νῦν δὲ πολλὰ μὲν μέλη, ἓν δὲ σῶμα.

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

νῦν δὲ πολλὰ μὲν μέλη, ἓν δὲ σῶμα.

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

Every witness on this verse they differ
Critical editions
Nestle-Aland 28th edition2012Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993SBL Greek New Testament2010Westcott–Hort1881Tregelles1857–1879Tyndale House Greek NT2017
Byzantine / Majority
Byzantine majority text2018
Received Text
Textus Receptus1550/1894

A witness that read differently would show its variant word here, marked.

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
μὲν indeedNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, Treg, TR, ByzWH

The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Greek New Testament — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

1 Corinthians 12:20νῦνNowNowνῦνδέhoweverhoweverδέπολύςmanymanyπολύςμένindeedindeedμένμέλος[are the] m[are the] membeμέλοςεἷς[there is] [there is] oneεἷςδέhoweverhoweverδέσῶμαbody.body.σῶμασῴζωv. I save,v. I save, healσῴζωνυνίAdv now, aAdv now, alreadνυνίδέCj. but, oCj. but, on theδέμηδείςAdj no oneAdj no one, notμηδείςμέλοςn.n. a limn.n. a limb, meμέλοςἐλεέωv. I pity,v. I pity, haveἐλεέωποτέDisj.prt. Disj.prt. at onποτέπλῆθοςn.n. a muln.n. a multitudπλῆθοςπάσχωv. I am acv. I am acted uπάσχωπρῶτοςSup.adv. fSup.adv. first,πρῶτοςοὖνCj. therefCj. therefore, οὖνπαρίστημιv. I bringv. I bring, preπαρίστημισῶμαn.n. body,n.n. body, flesσῶμαἕκαστοςAdj each, Adj each, everyἕκαστοςεἴτεCj. and ifCj. and if, wheεἴτε
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in 1 Corinthians 12:20

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Greek lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. Imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, the full Liddell-Scott-Jones, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate LSJ, Robinson and Packard on the Greek, Webster and Cawdrey on the English the translators were using. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

Now however many indeed [are the] members, [there is] one however body.
νῦνnun Now G3568 Adverb
148× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Now refers to the present time, as in John 4:18 and Romans 13:11. It's used to emphasize a current situation or action.
Amplified meaning
now, in the present time
Tyndale gloss
now
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

νῦν is an adverb meaning 'now,' indicating the present time as opposed to the past or future. It can also refer to the immediate past or future. The New Testament uses it frequently, including in John 11:8 and Romans 13:11. Abbott-Smith notes its use in logical sequences, while Liddell-Scott-Jones highlights its dialectal variations and broader applications.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

νῦν, adv.,

[in LXX chiefly for עַתָּה;]

prop., of time, now, i.e. at the present time: as opp. to past, Jo 4:18, Ac 7:52, Ro 13:11, II Co 7:9, Col 1:24, al.; opp. to fut., Jo 12:27, Ro 11:31, al.; c. art., ὁ (ἡ, τὸ) et subst., the present: Ro 3:26, Ga 4:25, I Ti 6:17, Tit 2:12, al.; ἀπὸ τοῦ ν. (LXX for מֵעַתָּה), Lk 1:48, Read the full entry →

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

νῦν (nun) — now.

νῦν

(for νυν, νυ, see infr. II), adverb now, both of the present moment, and of the present time generally, οἳ ν. βροτοί εἰσιν mortals of our day, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; so in Ionic dialect and Attic dialect, οἱ ν. [ἄνθρωποι] men of the present day, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὁ ν. τρόπος, τὸ ν. βαρβαρικόν, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Βοιωτοὶ οἱ ν.[Refs 5th c.BC+]the present, [LXX+5th c.BC+]; μέχρι ν. (variant{μ. τοῦ ν}.) [Refs 1st c.BC+]; τὰ ν. simply, ={ν}., [NT+5th c.BC+]

2. of the immediate past, just now, but now, ν. Μενέλαος ἐνίκησεν [Refs 8th c.BC+]

3. of the future, presently, ν. αὖτ᾽ ἐγχείῃ πειρήσομαι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; compare νῦν δή, νυνί.

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

νῦν

nun

a primary particle of present time; "now" (as adverb of date, a

transition or emphasis); also as noun or adjective present or

immediate:--henceforth, + hereafter, of late, soon, present, this

(time). See also 3569, 3570.

see GREEK for 3569

see GREEK for 3570

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

νῦν

Adv

now, already, at present

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

νῦν nyn 147x

now, at the present time, Mk. 10:30; Lk. 6:21, et al. freq.; just now, Jn. 11:8; forthwith, Jn. 12:31; καὶ νῦν, even now, as matters stand, Jn. 11:22; now, expressive of a marked tone of address, Acts 7:34; 13:11; Jas. 4:13; 5:1; τὸ νῦν, the present time, Lk. 1:48; τανῦν, or τὰ νῦν, now, Acts 4:29

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adv — Adverb
adverb — it qualifies the verb, and never changes form.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

ADV ADVerb or adverb and particle combined

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
87%now
now87% · 129×present7% · 11×now on2% · 3×other renderings4% · 6×

149 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 9 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial93%predicate4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 148 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
ἀπόἐνκαίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
ὥραan hour, seasonαὐτόςἔρχομαιI come, go
δέbut, on the other ha
φανερόωI make clear, viπῶςὅς
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
μάρτυςa witnessαὐτόςσύ
ὅς
δίκαιοςjust, righteous,διάἐπί
νῦνNow148×
what comes after →
δέbut, on the other ha
καίand, even, also,Article theἐλεέωI pity, have mer
Article the
ἔχωI have, hold, poψυχήthe soul, life, ἄρχωνa ruler, prince,
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰςοὐNegφέρωI carry, bear, b
καιρόςfitting season, oppo
εἰςπρόςλεῖμμαa remnant, remai
ἐν
Article theπαρρησίαfreedom, confide

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceνῦν · 148× in the New Testament
John Acts Luke Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Hebrews 1 Peter Philippians 1 John Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament24 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 257 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 134c. AD 40

ἐναργέστατα καὶ διὰ τούτου παρίστησιν ὅτι διαφορὰ παμμεγέθης ἐστὶ τοῦ τε νῦν πλασθέντος ἀνθρώπου καὶ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν εἰκόνα θεοῦ γεγονότος πρότερον·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.argc. AD 75–95

ὅπως Ἅβραμος ὁ πρόγονος ἡμῶν ἐξελθὼν ἐκ τῆς Χαλδαίων γῆς κατέσχε τὴν τότε μὲν Χαναναίαν νῦν δὲ Ἰουδαίαν λεγομένην.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.1c. AD 100

φύγωμεν οὑν τελείως ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἔργων τῆς ἀνομίας, μήποτε καταλάβῃ ἡμᾶς τὰ ἔργα τῆς ἀνομίας: καὶ μισήσωμεν τὴν πλάνην τοῦ νῦν καιροῦ, ἵνα εἰς τὸν μέλλοντα ἀγαπηθῶμεν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. AD 2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC

τάξασθαι … ὠνητὴν τῶν ὑπογεγραμμένων μοι ἐγγαίων Ἐσθλάδαν Δρύτωνος διαγράφειν τοῖς ἀνδράσι· τὰ δὲ νῦν ἐποικονομ … διὸ ἀξιῶ, ἐὰν φαίνηται, συντάξαι ἐγδοθῆναι αὐτῶι τὴν καθήκουσαν διαγραφήν. οὗ καὶ

γράφω περὶ τοῦ διανδραγαθήσαντα σαυτοῦ ἐπιμέλεσθαι μέχρι τοῦ τὰ πράγματα ἀποκαταστῆναι , ἔτι καὶ νῦν καλῶς ποιήσεις παρακαλῶν σαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς παρʼ ἡμῶν· προσπέπτωκεν γὰρ Παῶν ἀναπλεῖν ἐν τῶι

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

γε… ς δεομένων δὲ τῶν … ντων ὑμῶν διαλήψεως … καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν οὐδενός … ς ἀξιοῦμεν … ἀνθρώπου ἀλόγως … ὀφείλει ἡμῖν διάφορα … θαι ἀλλʼ

Now however many indeed [are the] members, [there is] one however body.
δὲde however G1161 Conjunction
2,787× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a conjunction that means and, but, or then, used to connect ideas like in Matthew 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 6:15.
Amplified meaning
on the other hand, yet
Tyndale gloss
then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δέ (de) is a post-positive particle in Greek, primarily used as a conjunction to connect clauses. It can express contrast (but, on the other hand) or continuation (and, also), and is often used to transition between ideas or to add emphasis. In the New Testament, it appears frequently in various contexts, such as contrasting statements or resuming interrupted discourse, with notable examples in Matthew and 2 Corinthians.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δέ (before vowels δ’; on the general neglect of the elision in NT, v. WH, App., 146; Tdf., Pr., 96),

post-positive conjunctive particle;

copulative, but, in the next place, and, now (Abbott, JG, 104): Mt 1:2ff., II Co 6:15, 16, II Pe 1:5-7; in repetition for emphasis, Ro 3:21, 22, 9:30, I Co 2:6, Ga 2:2, Phl 2:8; in transition to something new, Mt 1:18 2:19, Lk 13:1, Jo 7:14, Ac 6:1, Read the full entry →

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

δέ (related to δή, as μέν to μήν, ef. Klotz ad Devar. ii. 2 p. 355), a particle adversative, distinctive, disjunctive, but, moreover, (W.§ 53, 7 and 10, 2); it is much more freq. in the historical parts of the N. T. than in the other books, very rare in the Epp. of John and the Apocalypse. {On its general neglect of elision (when the next word begins with a vowel) cf. Tdf. Proleg. p. 96; WH. App. Ῥ 146; W.§5,1a.; B. p.10sq.] It is used ἘΠ ΟἹ δὲ univ. by way of opposition and distinction; it is added to statements opp. to a preceding statement: ἐὰν yap ἀφῆτε... ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῆτε, Mt. vi. 14 sq.; ἐὰν de ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς κτλ. Mt. vi. 23; ἐλεύσονται δὲ ἡμέραι, Mk. ii. 20; it opposes persons to persons or things previously mentioned or thought of, —either with strong emphasis: ἐγὼ δέ, Mt. v. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39,44; ἡμεῖς de, 1 Co. i. 23; 2 Co. x. 13; σὺ δέ, Mt. vi. 6; ὑμεῖς δέ, Mk. viii. 29; of δὲ…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

δεῖ. For the conjunctive, as in Mt 26%, cf. P Fay 109° (early i/A.D.) ἐάν σε δῇ (for δέῃ) τὸ εἱμάτιόν σου θεῖναι ἐνέχυρον. “even if you have to pawn your cloak” (Edd.). In P Tebt I. 585° (B.c. 111) we have ἐάν followed by the indicative— ἐὰν δεῖ σε συνπεσεῖν τῶι ᾿Ανικήτωι, σύνπεσαι, ‘if you must meet Anicetus, meet him” (Edd.): cf. Mayser G7. p. 325. Other examples of the verb are l’ Par 461® (B.C. 153) διὸ Kal ἡγούμενος δεῖν ἐπ᾿ ἄλλου μὲν μηθενὸς αὐτῶι διακριθῆναι» P Lille I. 267 (iii.B.c.) περὶ (corr. from πεερὶ) δὲ τούτου τοῦ μέρους δεήσει ἐπισχεῖν, P Tebt 11. 3414 (A.p. 140-1) δεήσι ἐπισταλῆναι εἰς δάνε[ι]α σπέρματα κατασπίο]ρᾶς KTA., “ΕἼ will be necessary to send on account of loans of seedcorn for the sowing,” etc., AécheZ 1001" © (Theran Doric —c. B.C. 200) no one may bring forward a proposal ὡς δεείσῃ διαλῦσαι τὸ κοινὸν εἰ τὰς θυσίας, P Flor II. 133" (A.D. 257) ἔδι μὲν ὑμᾶς μηδὲ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δέ (de) — then.

δέ,

but: adversative and copulative Particle,

I. answering to μέν (which see), τὴν νῦν μὲν Βοιωτίαν, πρότερον δὲ Καδμηίδα γῆν καλουμένην [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. without preceding μέν,

II.1. adversative, expressing distinct opposition, αἰεί τοι τὰ κάκ᾽ ἐστὶ φίλα.. μαντεύεσθαι, ἐσθλὸν δ᾽ οὔτε τί πω εἶπας[Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in Prose, οὐκ ἐπὶ κακῷ, ἐλευθερώσει δέ.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. copulative,

II.2. a in explanatory clauses, ξυνέβησαν.. τὰ μακρὰ τείχη ἑλεῖν (ἦν δὲ σταδίων μάλιστα ὀκτώ) [Refs 8th c.BC+]: when a substantive is followed by words in apposition, Ἀρισταγόρῃ τῷ Μιλησίῳ, δούλῳ δὲ ἡμετέρῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in answers, διπλᾶ λέγειν. —Answ. διπλᾶδ᾽ ὁρᾶν…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δέ

de

a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and,

etc.:--also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δέ

Cj.

but, on the other hand, and

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δέ de 2x

a conjunctive particle, marking the superaddition of a clause, whether in opposition or in continuation, to what has preceded, and it may be variously rendered but, on the other hand, and, also, now, etc.; καὶ δέ, when there is a special superaddition in continuation, too, yea, etc. It sometimes is found at the commencement of the apodosis of a sentence, Acts 11:17. It serves also to mark the resumption of an interrupted discourse, 2 Cor. 2:10; Gal. 2:6

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δέ but: conjunctive Particle, with adversative force: it commonly answers to μέν, and may often be rendered by while, whereas, on the other hand, v. μέν:— but μέν is often omitted, δέ being used merely to pass on from one thing to another; ὣς Ἀχιλεὺς θάμβησεν, θάμβησαν δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι Il.; etc.; κινεῖ κραδίην κινεῖ δὲ χόλον Eur.

δέ is often redundant,

to introduce the apodosis, where it may be rendered by then, yet, εἰ δέ κε μὴ δώωσιν, ἐγὼ δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕλωμαι if they will not give it, then I will take it, Il.; so at in Lat., si tu oblitus es, at Dii meminerint Catull.

to resume after interruption caused by a parenthesis, where it may be rendered by I say, now, so then, Hdt.

POSITION of δέ: properly second, being often put between the Art. and Subst., the prep. and case.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Conj — Conjunction
conjunction — it joins clauses, and never changes form.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
33%now
now33% · 974×however27% · 780×then21% · 620×and12% · 360×but5% · 154×other renderings2% · 49×

2,937 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 15 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,787 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existσύ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπεντακισχίλιοιfive thousand
εἰCond
παλαιόςold, ancient, woσύεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ἀναπίπτωI lie down, reclμνημεῖονa tomb, sepulche
οὗτος
δίδωμιI offer, giveθεόςGod, a godπίστιςfaith, belief, t
δέhowever2787×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusθεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐπί
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theσύ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὗτοςἸωάννηςJohn
τὶς
Article theαὐτόςὄνομαname, character,

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceδέ · 2,787× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians John Mark Romans 2 Corinthians Hebrews Galatians James 1 Timothy

2 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Now however many indeed [are the] members, [there is] one however body.
πολλὰpolus many G4183 Adjective · nominative · plural · neuter
413× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means much or many, and is used to describe things like large crowds, as in Mark 5:24, or a great amount of time, as in Matthew 25:19. It emphasizes the magnitude of something.
Amplified meaning
different, various
Tyndale gloss
much
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πολύς (polus) means much or many, covering a range of contexts from quantity to degree and value. It appears as an adjective and can also function as a noun or adverb. In the New Testament, it is used to describe large numbers of people or things, as seen in verses like Matthew 9:37 and John 6:10. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πολύς, πολλή, πολύ,

[in LXX chiefly for רַב and cognate forms;]

as adj., much, many, great, of number, space, degree, value, time, etc.: ἀριθμός, Ac 11:21; ὄχλος, Mk 5:24; θερισμός, Mt 9:37; χόρτος, Jo 6:10; χρόνος, Mt 25:19; γογγυσμός, Jo 7:12; πόνος, Col 4:13; δόξα, Mt 24:30; σιγή, Ac 21:40; pl., προφῆται, Mt 13:17; ὄχλοι, Mt 4:25; δαιμόνια, Read the full entry →

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

πολύς, πολλή (fr. an older form πολλός, found in Hom., Hes., Pind.), πολύ; [(cf. Curtius § 375)]; Sept. chiefly for 39; much; used a. of multitude, number, etc., many, numerous, great: ἀριθμός, Acts xi. 21; λαός, Acts xviii. 10; ὄχλος, Mk. v. 24; vi. 34; [viii.1 LT Tr WH]; Lk. vii. 11; viii. 4; Jn. vi. 2,5; Rev. vii. 9; xix. 6, etc.; πλῆθος, Mk. iii. 7sq.; Lk. v. 6; Acts xiv. 1, ete.; 1. q. abundant, plenteous [A. V. often much], καρπός, Jn. xii. 24; xv. 5,8; θερισμός, (the harvest to be gathered), Mt. ix. 37; Lk. x. 2; γῆ, Mt. xiii. 5; Mk. iv. 5; χόρτος, Jn. vi. 10; οἶνος, 1 Tim. iii. 8; plur. πολλοὶ τελῶναι, Mt. ix. 10; Mk. ii. 15; πολλοὶ προφῆται, Mt. xiii. 17; Lk. x. 24; σοφοί, 1 Co. i. 26; πατέρες, 1 Co. iv. 15; δυνάμεις, Mt. vii. 22; xiii. 58, ete.; ὄχλοι, Mt. iv. 25; viii. 1; xii. 15 [but here L TWH om. Trbr. ὄχ.7; Lk. v. 15, ete.; δαιμόνια, Mk.i. 34; and in many otherexx.; with…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

πολύς, “much,” plur. ‘‘many’’: P Petr I. 2905 (iii/B.c.) χάρις τοῖς θεοῖς πολλὴ εἰ ὑγιαίνεις, ‘‘much thanks to the gods if you are well,” P Ryl II. 2435 (ii/A.D.) τοῦτο οὐ μόνον ἡμεῖν yevapevov ἀλλὰ Kal πολλοῖς, ‘this has happened not to us only but to many ” (Edd.), and 16. 238* (A.p. 262) διὰ πολλὰς χρείας, “for various needs’ (Edd.). The word is very conimon in epistolary greetings (πολλὰ χαίρειν : exx. from B.C. 118 to ili/iv A.D. in Exler Eprstolography p. 27 f.) and in rhetorical prefaces (Sirach proem.), and consequently, as Cadbury suggests (in Jackson and Lake Beginnings of Christianity Part I. Vol. ii. p. 492 f.), πολλοί must not be pressed to mean “ἡ Ac 243, 10, For the adverbial πολλά, which ‘‘ lies between πολύ and πολλάκις : it is ‘much’ with the idea of plurality and repetition introduced’’ (Hort ad Jas 32), cf. P Heid 622 (iv/a.p.) (= Selections, p. 127) πολλὰ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πολύς (polus) — much.

πολύς,

Attic dialect πολλή, πολ; genitive πολλοῦ, ῆς, ou=; dative πολλῷ, ῇ, ; accusative πολύν, πολλήν, πολύ:—Ionic dialect πολλός [Refs 6th c.BC+], πολλή, πολλόν [Refs 6th c.BC+]; also in Trag., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; accusative πολλόν, πολλήν, πολλόν: [Refs 5th c.BC+] uses the Ionic dialect forms, but codices have πολύν [Refs 1st c.AD+]:—both sets of forms are found in Epic dialect, also genitive singular πολέος [Refs 8th c.BC+], once contraction πολεῖς [Refs]; dative πολέσι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; accusative πολέας (trisyllable) [Refs 8th c.BC+] (frequently with variant{πολεῖς} [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in later Epic dialect πολέες is used as feminine, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]:—Epic dialect also have πουλύς (once in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; these forms are found in codices of [Refs 5th c.BC+] — Lyric poetry and Trag. (Lyric poetry) sometimes use Epic dialect forms, dative singular…

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Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πολύς, πολλή, πολύ

Adj

much, many, often

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πολύς polys 416x

great in magnitude or quantity, much, large, Mt. 13:5; Jn. 3:23; 15:8; pl. many, Mt. 3:7; in time, long, Mt. 25:19; Mk. 6:35; Jn. 5:6; οἱ πολλοί, the many, the mass, Rom. 5:15; 12:5; 1 Cor. 10:33; τὸ πολύ, much, 2 Cor. 8:15; πολύ, as an adv., much, greatly, Mk. 12:27; Lk. 7:47; of…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πολύς the ionic declension πολλός, ή, όν is retained by the attic in all cases, except the nom. and acc. masc. and neut. Hom. uses both ionic and attic forms. of Number, many, opp. to ὀλίγος, Hom., etc.;— with nouns of multitude, πουλὺς ὅμιλος Od.; πολλὸν πλῆθος Hdt., etc.:—also of anything often repeated, πολλὸν ἦν τοῦτο τὸ ἔπος id. Hdt.; πολλὸς αἰνεόμενος id. Hdt.; τούτῳ πολλῷ χρήσεται τῷ λόγῳ often, Dem.

of Size, Degree, Force, much, mighty, great, Il., etc.; π. ὕπνος deep sleep, Od.; π. ὑμέναιος a loud song, Il., etc.:—rarely of a single person, μέγας καὶ πολλὸς ἐγένεο Hdt.; ἢν πολλῇ ῥυῇ if she flow with full stream, metaph. from a river, Eur.; πολλῷ ῥέοντι Dem.; from the wind, πολὺς ἔπνει was blowing strong, id. Dem.; often with a Partic., πολλὸς ἦν λισσόμενος…

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-NPN — Adjective · nominative · plural · neuter
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-NPN Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Neuter

English usagewhat the translators’ English meant
Webster's Dictionary (1828), Webster's Unabridged (1913), Webster's Dictionary (1806)

MANY, adjective men'ny.

1. Numerous; comprising a great number of individuals.

Thou shalt be a father of many nations. Genesis 17:4.

Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 1 Corinthians 1:26.

MANY are the afflictions of the righteous. Psalms 34:12.

It is often preceded by as or so, and followed by so, indicating an equal number.

As many books as you take, so many shall be charged to your account.

So many laws argue so many sins.

It is followed by as.

As many as were willing-hearted brought bracelets. Exodus 34:1.

It precedes an or a, before a noun in the singular number.

Full many a gem of purest ray serene.

2. In low language, preceded by too, it denotes powerful or much; as, they are too many for us.

MANY, noun men'ny. A multitude; a great number of individuals; the people.

O thou fond many

The vulgar and the many are fit only to be led or driven.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
52%many
many52% · 196×great17% · 66×much17% · 65×many things6% · 21×other renderings6% · 23×other renderings2% · 7×

378 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 20 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject36%adverbial29%object22%predicate10%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 354 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,ὅςεἰς
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἀπώλειαdestruction, ruiἀπέρχομαιI come or go awa
ὄχλοςa crowd
αὐτόςὁράωI see, look uponκαίand, even, also,
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theὁράωI see, look uponμετά
αὐτός
παρακαλέωI summon, entreaἀκολουθέωI accompany, attλαλέωI speak, say
πολύςmany413×
what comes after →
Article the
δέbut, on the otheπρῶτοςfirst, beforeσυναναβαίνωI go up with
καίand, even, also, nam
ὡςas, like as, howθεραπεύωI care for, atteεὐθέωςimmediately, soo
δέbut, on the other ha
εἰμίI am, existἐκτέραςa wonder, porten
γάρfor
ἔρχομαιI come, goεἰμίI am, existπάσχωI am acted upon,
μᾶλλονmore, rather
Article theκράζωI cry aloud, shrσύ

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceπολύς · 413× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Mark Matthew John 2 Corinthians 1 Corinthians Romans Revelation Hebrews 1 Timothy 1 Thessalonians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament25 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 335 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

Τῶν ἄλλων νομοθετῶν οἱ μὲν ἀκαλλώπιστα καὶ γυμνὰ τὰ νομισθέντα παρ’ αὐτοῖς εἶναι δίκαια διετάξαντο, οἱ δὲ πολὺν ὄγκον τοῖς νοήμασι προσπεριβαλόντες ἐξετύφωσαν τὰ πλήθη μυθικοῖς πλάσμασι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπικρύψαντες.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.1c. AD 75–95

Τοῖς τὰς ἱστορίας συγγράφειν βουλομένοις οὐ μίαν οὐδὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ὁρῶ τῆς σπουδῆς γινομένην αἰτίαν, ἀλλὰ πολλὰς καὶ πλεῖστον ἀλλήλων διαφερούσας.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.4c. AD 100

πεπεισμένος οὖν τοῦτο καὶ συνειδὼς ἐμαυτῷ, ὅτι ἐν ὑμῖν λαλήσας πολλὰ ἐπίσταμαι, ὅτι ἐμοὶ συνώδευσεν ἐν ὁδῷ δικαιοσύνης κύριος, καὶ πάντως ἀναγκάζομαι κἀγὼ εἰς τοῦτο, ἀγαπᾶν ὑμᾶς ὑπὲρ τὴν ψυχήν μου, ὅτι μεγάλη πίστις καὶ ἀγάπη ἐγκατοικεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐπ’…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 38Pathyrites171 BC

τῶι προγεγραμμένωι ἱερῶι, ὁ ἐνκεκλημένος προσπηδήσας μοι ἐνώπιόν τινων ἔτυπτεν ἧι εἶχεν ῥάβδωι πληγαῖς πλειόσιν εἰς τὸ τυχὸν μέρος τοῦ σώματός μου. ὅ τε περιεβλήμην, ὀθόνιον κατέρηξεν, περὶ ὦν

P.Grenf. 1 42Diospolis Parva170 BC–169 BC

νυνὶ παρεφεδρευόντων ἐν Διὸς πόλει τῆι μικρᾶι ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τῶι ἐν Πτολεμαίδι ὑπαίθρωι. πολλὰς χρείας μισθοφόρων ἱππέων παρεσχημένων ἡμῶν ἤδη πολλάκις κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον καὶ κινδύνους μεγάλους

μέρους ἡμίσους ἀπὸ ἐδάφους ἀμπελῶνος ἀρουρῶν β ἡμίσους ἢ ὅσαν ἂν ἦι ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖον καὶ τοῦ ἀπὸ ἀπηλιώτου αὐτοῦ παραδείσου καὶ φρεάτων καὶ ἐποικίων καὶ ληνῶνος καὶ γῆς

Now however many indeed [are the] members, [there is] one however body.
μὲνmen indeed G3303 Particle
180× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'on the other hand' and is often used to contrast ideas. It appears in the New Testament, like in John and Romans, to show a difference between two things. It's usually translated as 'even' or 'indeed'.
Tyndale gloss
on the other hand
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word μέν is a particle that typically indicates a contrast with a following clause, often paired with δέ. It can express certainty or affirmation, but is frequently left untranslated. In the New Testament, it appears in various constructions, such as ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ (the one ... the other) and τοῦτο μὲν ... τοῦτο δέ (partly ... partly). Its usage is less common than in classical Greek.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μέν,

conjunctive particle (originally a form of μήν), usually related to a following δέ or other adversative conjunction, and distinguishing the word or clause with which it stands from that which follows.

It is generally untranslatable and is not nearly so frequent in NT as in cl. Like δέ, it never stands first in a clause.

Answered by δέ or some other particle: μὲν . . . δέ, indeed . . . but, Mt 3:11, Lk 3:16, al.; with pronouns, ὃς μὲν . . . ὃς δέ, one . . . another, Mt 21:35, al.; pl., Phl 1:16, 17; ὃ μὲν . . . ὃ δὲ . . . ὃ δέ, some . . . some . . . some, Mt 13:8; τοῦτο μὲν . . . τοῦτο δέ, partly . . . partly, He…

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

μέν, a weakened form of μήν, and hence properly a particle of affirmation: truly, certainly, surely, indeed, —its affirmative force being weakened, yet retained most in Ionic, Epic, and Herodotus, and not wholly lost in Attic and Hellenistic writers (μέν ‘confirmative’; ef. 4 Mace. xviii. 18). Owing to this its original meaning it adds a certain force to the terms and phrases with which it is connected, and thus contrasts them with or distinguishes ther. from others. Accordingly it takes on the character of a concessive and very often of a merely distinctive particle, which stands related to a following δέ or other adversative conjunction, either expressed or understood, and in a sentence composed of several members is so placed as to point out the first member, to which a second, marked by an adversative particle, is added or opposed. It corresponds to the Lat. quidem, indeed, Germ.…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

μέν, an untranslatable particle, was originally a form of μήν (g.v.). The correlation μὲν... δέ, so common in classical Greek, is largely reduced in the NT (cf. Blass Gr. p. 266 f.). For μέν solitartum, i.e. μέν followed by no contrasting particle, as in Rom 1® πρῶτον μέν, a/., cf. BGU 11. 423? (ii/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 90) πρὸ μὲν πάντων εὔχομαί oe ὑγιαίνειν καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἐρωμένον (1. ἐρρωμένον) εὐτυχεῖν," 5 γράψον μοι ἐπιστόλιον πρῶτον μὲν περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας σου, δεύτερον περὶ τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν pov. The combination μὲν οὖν in narrative, summing up what precedes, or introducing what follows (Ac 18, 9%, αἰ. : cf. Blass Gr. p. 273), is seen in such passages as P Petr II. 13 (19) (mid. iii/B.c.) (= Witkowski?, p. 19) μάλιστα μὲν οὖν τῆν πᾶσαν σπουδὴν πόησαι [το]ῦ ἀφεθῆναί σε διὰ τέλους, P Lille I. 26? (111,8...) (= Witkowski, p. 49) ἔγραψάς μοι περὶ τῆς εἰς τὴν σησαμείαν γῆς, μάλιστα δὲ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μέν (men) — on the other hand.

μέν,

Particle, used partly to express certainty on the part of the speaker or writer; partly, and more commonly, to point out that the word or clause with which it stands is correlative to another word or clause that is to follow, the latter word or clause being introduced by δέ.

__A

__A.I μέν used absolutely to express certainty, not followed by correlative δέ, indeed, of a truth, synonymous with μήν, as appears from the Epic dialect and Ionic dialect form ἦ μέν in protestations and oaths (where Attic dialect used ἦ μήν), καί μοι ὄμοσσον, ἦ μ. μοι πρόφρων ἔπεσιν καὶ χερσὶν ἀρήξειν [Refs 8th c.BC+]: also in Trag., ἀκτὴ μὲν ἥδε τῆς περιρρύτου χθονός [Refs 8th c.BC+]; γε μέν, compare γε [Refs]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μέν

men

a primary particle; properly, indicative of affirmation or concession

(in fact); usually followed by a contrasted clause with 1161 (this

one, the former, etc.):--even, indeed, so, some, truly, verily. Often

compounded with other particles in an intensive or asseverative sense.

see GREEK for 1161

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μέν

Disj.prt.

truly, indeed

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μέν men 179x

a particle serving to indicate that the term or clause with which it is used stands distinguished from another, usually in the sequel, and then mostly with δέ correspondent, Mt. 3:11; 9:39; Acts 1:1; ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, this ... that, the one ... the other, Phil. 1:16, 17; one ... another, οἱ μὲν ... οἱ δέ, some ... others, Matt 22:5; ὅλλος μὲν ... ὅλλος δέ, one ... another, pl. some ... others, Matt 13:8; 21:35; ὅλλος μὲν ... ὅλλος δέ, one ... another, 1 Cor. 15:39; ὡδε μὲν ... ἐκεῖ δέ, here ... there, Heb.…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μέν Particle, used to shew that the word or clause with which it stands answers to a following word or clause, which is introduced by δέ. Generally, μέν and δέ may be rendered on the one hand, on the other hand, or as well . . , as, while or whereas, but it is often necessary to leave μέν untranslated.

μέν is not always answered by δέ, but by other equiv. Particles, as ἀλλά, ἀτάρ or αὐτάρ, αὖ, αὖθις, αὖτε; also πρῶτον μέν, εἶτα Soph.; πρῶτον μέν, ἔπειτα id. Soph.; πρῶτον μέν, μετὰ τοῦτο Xen.

the answering clause with δέ is sometimes left to be supplied, ὡς μὲν λέγουσι as indeed they say, (but as I believe not), Eur.; this isolated μέν is often a Pron., ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ οἶδα I for my part, (whatever others may say), Xen.; οὗτος μέν Plat.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Particle — Particle
particle — a small word colouring the clause; it does not decline.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

PRT PaRTicle, disjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
95%indeed
indeed95% · 185×other renderings5% · 9×

194 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 6 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial8%predicate3%object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 180 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςπειρασμόςtrial, testing,
ὅς
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςποιέωI do, make
ἐγώ
σύἸωάννηςJohnκαίand, even, also,
εἰCond
ἸουδαῖοςJewishκαίand, even, also,
πρῶτοςSup
τρόποςway, manner, chaἈβραάμPropσοφίαwisdom
μένindeed180×
what comes after →
οὖνtherefore, then
καίand, even, also,στρατιώτηςa soldierδιασπείρωI scatter like s
γάρfor
Article theγνωστόςknown, an acquaiἴδιοςone’s own, priva
Article the
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of thφωνήa sound, noise, ἁμαρτίαa sin
εἰμίI am, exist
ΠαῦλοςPaulArticle theπᾶςall, the whole,
ἐκ
Article theδεξιόςon the right hanἀγάπηlove

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceμέν · 180× in the New Testament
Acts 1 Corinthians Hebrews Matthew Romans Luke 2 Corinthians John Mark Philippians 1 Peter 2 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament18 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

Τῶν ἄλλων νομοθετῶν οἱ μὲν ἀκαλλώπιστα καὶ γυμνὰ τὰ νομισθέντα παρ’ αὐτοῖς εἶναι δίκαια διετάξαντο, οἱ δὲ πολὺν ὄγκον τοῖς νοήμασι προσπεριβαλόντες ἐξετύφωσαν τὰ πλήθη μυθικοῖς πλάσμασι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπικρύψαντες.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.argc. AD 75–95

ὅπως Ἅβραμος ὁ πρόγονος ἡμῶν ἐξελθὼν ἐκ τῆς Χαλδαίων γῆς κατέσχε τὴν τότε μὲν Χαναναίαν νῦν δὲ Ἰουδαίαν λεγομένην.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.2c. AD 100

Μεγάλων μὲν ὄντων καὶ πλουσίων τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιωμάτων εἰς ὑμᾶς, ὑπέρ τι καὶ καθ̓ ὑπερβολὴν ὑπερευφραίνομαι ἐπὶ τοῖς μακαρίοις καὶ ἐνδόξοις ὑμῶν πνεύμασιν: οὕτως ἔμφυτον τῆς δωρεᾶς πνευματικῆς χάριν εἰλήφατε.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. BC 4th c. AD
P.Adl. 14Pathyris101 BC

ἐν ἀρούραις ἑπτὰ καὶ τοῦ προσόντος χαλάσματος ἐν σφραγῖσι δυσίν , ὧν γείτονες μιᾶς μὲν νότου γῆ Πατήφιος, βορρᾶ γῆ Πακοίβιος διὰ τῶν Φίβιος υἱῶν, ἀπηλιώτου ὁδὸς βασιλική, λιβὸς

P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

παρὰ Πανοβχούνιος τοῦ Τοτόηους ἐν τῷ ιε ἔτει Παῦνι γ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀρχείου, μιᾶς μὲν ἐν τῷ ἀπὸ λιβὸς πεδίωι, γείτονες· νότου γῆ Πατοῦτος τοῦ Φίβιος, βορρᾶ γῆ Πελαίου

P.Adl. 16Pathyris100 BC

πεδίωι Παθύρεως σφραγίδων τριῶν , ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐωνήσατο παρὰ Πα-νᾶτος τοῦ Πατῆτος, μιᾶς μὲν γείτονες νότου γῆ Πατήφιος τοῦ Πεμσάϊος βορρᾶ γῆ Πακοίβιος ἧς κρατοῦσιν οἱ Φίβιος τοῦ

Now however many indeed [are the] members, [there is] one however body.
μέλη,melos [are the] members, G3196 Noun · nominative · plural · neuter
34× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A member refers to a part of the body, like a limb, and is also used to describe Christians as parts of the body of Christ, as seen in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12.
Amplified meaning
members, limbs
Tyndale gloss
member
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word μέλος (melos) means 'member' or 'limb' of the body, appearing in various New Testament contexts, such as 1 Corinthians and Romans. It can also metaphorically refer to members of the Christian community, emphasizing their unity in Christ. The word has roots in classical literature, where it can denote parts of the body or even musical elements, though the New Testament primarily uses it in the context of physical and spiritual membership.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μέλος, -ους, τό,

[in LXX chiefly for נֵתַח;]

a member, limb of the body: I Co 12:14, 19, 26, Eph 4:16 (WH, mg.), Ja 3:5; pl. (as always in cl.), τὰ μ.: Mt 5:29, 30, Ro 6:13, 19 7:5, 23 12:4, I Co 12:12 ff. Col 3:5, Ja 3:6 4:1. Metaph., πόρνης, I Co 6:15; of Christians, μ. ἀλλήλων, Ro 12:5, Eph 4:25; Χριστοῦ, I Co 6:15; σώματος Χριστοῦ, Read the full entry →

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

μέλος, -ous, τό, [fr. Hom. down], a member, limb: prop. a member of the human body, Ro. xii. 4; 1 Co. xii. 12, 14, 18-20, 25 sq.; Jas. iii. 5; τὰ μ. τοῦ σώματος, 1 Co. xii. 12, 22; μοῦ, σοῦ, ἡμῶν, ὑμῶν, Mt. v. 29 sq.; Ro. vi. 13, 19; vii. 5, 23; Col. 111. 5; Jas. iii. 6; iv. 1; πόρνης μέλη is said of bodies given up to criminal intercourse, because they are as it were members belonging to the harlot’s body, 1 Co. vi. 15. Since Christians are closely united by the bond of one and the same spirit both among themselves and with Christ as the head, their fellowship is likened to the body, and individual Christians are metaph. styled pé€Ay—now one of another, ἀλλήλων: Ro. xii. 5; Eph. iv. 25; Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 46, 7, (ef. Fritzsche, Com. on Rom. iii. p. 45), — now of the mystical body, i.e. the church: 1 Co. xii. 27; Eph. v. 30, [cf. iv. 16 WH mrg.}]; τὰ σώματα of Christians are called μέλη…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

μέλος τυχεῖν (see Rouffiac Recherches, p. 27). For the NT usage see Moulton Gy. ii. p. 188. His τὸ μέλλον in the sense of **next year’’ is seen in P Lond 12314 (a.p. 144) (=III. p- 108) τὴν els τὸ μ[έϊλλον yewpyelav—a good parallel to the meaning in Lk 13° as against AV ‘‘then after that,” RV “‘thenceforth” : cf. Field WVo/es, p. 65. In Mt 24° μελλήσετε δὲ ἀκούειν πολέμους the meaning may be ‘‘ you must ¢hez be prepared to hear of wars,” but this use of the fut. tense is out of the question in 2 Pet 11? μελλήσω ἀεὶ ὑμᾶς ὑπομιμνήσκειν, as Mayor ad 1. points out, and accordingly he prefers with Field (JVofes, p. 240) to read μελήσω instead of μελλήσω with the meaning, ‘‘I shall take | care to remind you. future.’’ For compounds, like μελλοπρόεδρος, ‘‘a future president,” cf. P Giss I. p. 87…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μέλος (melos) — member.

μέλος, εος, τό,

limb, in early writers always in plural, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; μελέων ἔντοσθε within my bodily frame, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; κατὰ μέλη (-εα) limb by limb, like{μελεϊστί}, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μέλη ποιεῖν dismember, [LXX]: later in singular, [Refs 1st c.BC+]

2. metaphorically, ἐσμὲν.. ἀλλήλων μέλη [NT]

3. features, form, οὐκέτ᾽ ἐγὼ.. γονέων μ. ὄψομαι [Refs]

__B especially musical member, phrase: hence, song, strain, first in [Refs], of the nightingale (the [Refs 8th c.BC+]; especially of lyric poetry, τὸ Ἀρχιλόχου μ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν μέλεϊ ποιέειν to write in lyric strain, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μέλη, τά, lyric poetry, choral songs, opposed to Epic or Dramatic verse, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μέλος

melos

of uncertain affinity; a limb or part of the body:--member.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μέλος, ους, τό

n.n.

a limb, member

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μέλος melos 34x

a member, limb, any part of the body, Mt. 5:29, 30; Rom. 12:4; 1 Cor. 6:15; 12:12

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μέλος μέλος, εος, a limb, Hom., etc.; μελέων ἔντοσθε within my bodily frame, Aesch.; κατὰ μέλεα limb by limb, like μελεϊστί, Hdt.

a song, strain, Hhymn., etc.:—esp. of lyric poetry, ἐν μέλεϊ ποιέειν to write in lyric strain, Hdt.; μέλη, τά, lyric poetry, the choral songs, opp. to the dialogue, Plat.

the music to which a song is set, the tune, id. Plat.; ἐν μέλει in tune, id. Plat.; παρὰ μέλος, out of tune, id. Plat.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-NPN — Noun · nominative · plural · neuter
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-NPN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
82%members
members82% · 28×member15% · 5×members?3% · 1×

34 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 3 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject32%object29%predicate27%adverbial12%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 34 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
ἐνπαρίστημιI bring, presentεἷςone
εἷςone
εἰμίI am, existπᾶςall, the whole, πάσχωI am acted upon,
ἀλλήλων
εἷςoneεἰμίI am, exist
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existΧριστόςanointed, the Me
πολύςmuch, many, often
σῶμαbody, flesh
μέλος[are the] members,34×
what comes after →
σύ
καίand, even, also,ὅπλονan instrument, aδοῦλος (II)
ἐγώ
εἰςἀντιστρατεύωI campaign againArticle the
Article the
σῶμαbody, fleshΧριστόςanointed, the Meἐπί
εἷςone
ἕκαστοςeach, every oneδέbut, on the othe
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceμέλος · 34× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians Romans James Ephesians Matthew Colossians
Across the New Testament6 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 9 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 67c. AD 40

ἡ δ’ οἷα τεχνίτης ἢ κυριώτερον εἰπεῖν ἀνεπίληπτος τέχνη ζῳοπλαστεῖ τὴν μὲν ὑγρὰν οὐσίαν εἰς τὰ τοῦ σώματος μέλη καὶ μέρη διανέμουσα, τὴν δὲ πνευματικὴν εἰς τὰς τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεις τήν τε θρεπτικὴν καὶ τὴν αἰσθητικήν·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 5.149c. AD 75–95

ὡς δὲ τελευτήσασαν ἔμαθε, σωφρόνως πρὸς τὸ μέγεθος τῶν κακῶν ἐπιθέμενος τῷ κτήνει νεκρὰν τὴν γυναῖκα κομίζει πρὸς αὑτόν, καὶ διελὼν αὐτὴν κατὰ μέλος εἰς μέρη δώδεκα διέπεμψεν εἰς ἑκάστην φυλὴν ἐντειλάμενος τοῖς κομίζουσι λέγειν τοὺς αἰτίους τῆς…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 37.5c. AD 96

λάβωμεν τὸ σῶμα ἡμῶν: ἡ κεφαλὴ δίχα τῶν ποδῶν οὐδέν ἐστιν, οὕτως οὐδὲ οἱ πόδες δίχα τῆς κεφαλῆς: τὰ δὲ ἐλάχιστα μέλη τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν ἀναγκαῖα καὶ εὔχρηστά εἰσιν ὅλῳ τῷ σώμᾳτι: ἀλλὰ πάντα συνπνεῖ καὶ ὑποταγῇ μιᾷ χρῆται εἰς τὸ σώζεσθαι ὅλον τὸ σῶμα.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. BC 2nd c. BC 3rd c. BC
BGU 4 1207Busiris (Herakleopolites)29 BC

χειριστοῦ ἀργυρίου δραχμὰς Βω καὶ κομίζει σοὶ Πτολλίων ἀπολογη … ἐὰν οὖν πέμπῃς ἀργύριον μελη … τέλος εἰκοστόν.

O.Krok. 2 300KrokodiloAD 98–AD 117

Παραβόλῳ χαίρειν. καλῶς ποιήσεις … μελος σεαυτὸν καρπισα … μεγάλην μοι ἐντροπὴν εμε … καὶ ἄλλων χειρόνων οὕτως … τι

P.Tebt. 2 331Tebtynis (ArsinoitesAD 126–AD 132

φασαριων ἐν τῷ πυλῶνι, καὶ λογοποιουμένῳ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐπήνεγκάν μοι πληγὰς εἰς πᾶν μέλος τοῦ σώματος καὶ ἐβάσταξαν ὅσα κιθῶνα καὶ ἱμάτιον λευκὰ καὶ πάλλιον … μετυγ λευκὸν

Now however many indeed [are the] members, [there is] one however body.
ἓνehis [there is] one G1520 Adjective · nominative · singular · neuter
336× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for one, used to describe unity or agreement, as seen in John 10:30 and Romans 12:4-5. It emphasizes oneness and togetherness. This concept is key in Christian teachings.
Amplified meaning
unified, single
Tyndale gloss
one
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

εἷς is a cardinal numeral meaning 'one.' It contrasts with many and can function as a noun or adjective. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, such as emphasizing unity (e.g., John 10:30) or indicating exclusivity (e.g., Matthew 27:14). The entries note its use in phrases like 'one by one' and as an ordinal meaning 'first.'

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἷς, μιά, ἕν, gen. ἑνός, μιᾶς, ἑνός,

cardinal numeral, one;

one, as opp. to many: Mt 25:15, Ro 5:12, I Co 10:8, al.; as subst., Ro 5:15, Eph 2:14; id. c. gen. partit., Mt 5:19, al.; seq. ἐκ (ἐξ), Mk 14:18, Jo 6:8, al.; metaph., of union and concord, Jo 10:30 17:11, Ro 12:4, 5, Phl 1:27; ἀπὸ μιᾶς (B1., § 44, 1), Lk 14:18; c. neg., εἷς. . . οὐ (μή), more emphatic than οὐδείς, no one…

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

εἰς, a Prep. governing the Accusative, and denoting entrance into, or direction and limit: into, to, towards, for, among. It is used A. Property I. of Place, after verbs of going, coming, sailing, flying, falling, living, leading, carrying, throwing, sending, etc. ; 1. of a place entered, or of entrance into a place, into; and 8. it stands before nouns designating an open place, a hollow thing, or one in which an object can be hidden: as εἰς (τὴν) πόλιν, Mt. xxvi. 18; xxviii. 11; Mk. i. 45, and often; εἰς r. οἶκον, Mt. ix. 7; συναγωγήν, Acts xvii. 10; πλοῖον, Mt. viii. 23; Jn. vi. 17; Acts xxi. 6; θάλασσαν, Mt. xvii. 27; ἄβυσσον, Lk. viii. 31; οὐρανόν, Lk. ii. 15; κόσμον, In. 1. 9; iii. 19, ete.; τὰ ἴδια, Jn. i. 11; xvi. 32; Acts xxi. 6; ἀποθήκην, Mt. iii. 12; εἰς ra ὦτα, Lk. i. 44; εἰς τὰς ζώνας or ζώνην, Mt. x. 9; Mk. vi. 8, etc.; εἰς ἀέρα, 1 Co. xiv. 9; eis πῦρ, Mk. ix. 22, ete.…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

εἰς ἁλιέων εἰς ᾿Αλεξάνδριί[αν (P Oxy II. 2943 = Selections, Ρ- 34): see further Pro/eg. pp. 234 f., 245. For εἰς in the wide sense in which we use ‘‘for” we may cite such passages as P Lille I. 261 (iii/B.c.) ἔγραψάς μοι περὶ τῆς εἰς THY σησαμείαν γῆς, 20." ἕως ἂν] μάθωμεν περὶ τῶν κ[εχρ]ηματισμένων εἰς τὸν νομόν, P Petr II. 11 (1)" (mid. iii/B.c.) (= Witkowski*, p. 8) ἀπὸ τούτου τὸ μὲν ἥμυσυ εἰς τὰ δέοντα ὑπελιπόμην, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν εἰς τὸ δάνειον κατέβαλον, P Lond 43? (ii/B.c.) (=I. p. 48, Witkowski’, p- 110) ἕξεις ἐφόδιον εἰς τὸ γῆρας, P Tebt I. 577 (8.6. 118) προστε]τάχασι δὲ καὶ τὰ els τὴν ταφὴν τοῦ “Amos, P Oxy I. 379 (A.D. 149) (= Selections, p. 49) ἐγένετο ἐνθάδε ἡ τροφεῖτις εἰς υἱὸν tod ΤΠεσούριος, ‘‘there was concluded here the nursing-contract for the son of Pesouris”; and the recurring formulae in a private account of ς. A.D. 15 τό. 1V. 736° θρύων εἰς τοὺς ἄρτους (ὀβολοὶ δύο)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἷς (ehis) — one.

εἷς, μίᾰ, ἕν

(μίη only in late Ionic dialect Prose): genitive ἑνός, μιᾶς, ἑνός:—Epic dialect ἕεις [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—Doric dialect ἧς [Refs 3rd c.BC+]:—Epic dialect, Aeolic dialect, and Ionic dialect feminine ἴᾰ [Refs 8th c.BC+]: neuter dative (ἰῷ κίον ἤματι) [Refs 5th c.BC+] (Orig. ἕνς, assim. ἔν (δ) probably in [Refs] Indo-European sem-(compare ὁμός); μία from sm-ί; ἴα is not related to μία, but probably to pronominal stem i-(Latin is), compareἰός.)

1. as a Numeral, εἷς κοίρανος ἔστω [Refs 8th c.BC+]; strengthened, εἷς οἶος, μία οἴη, a single

__A one, one alone,[Refs 8th c.BC+]

__b emphatically with a superlative, εἷς οἰωνὸς ἄριστος [Refs 8th c.BC+]; also in Prose, ἐπὶ πλεῖστον δὴ χλιδῆς εἷς ἀνὴρ ἀπίκετο [Refs 5th c.BC+]: without a…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἷς

heis

(including the neuter (etc.) hen); a primary numeral; one:--a(-n, -ny,

certain), + abundantly, man, one (another), only, other, some. See

also 1527, 3367, 3391, 3762.

see GREEK for 1527

see GREEK for 3367

see GREEK for 3391

see GREEK for 3762

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἷς, μία, ἕν

Adj

one

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἱς heis 345x

numeral one, Mt. 10:29, freq.; only, Mk. 12:6; one virtually by union, Mt. 19:5, 6; Jn. 10:30; one and the same, Lk. 12:52; Rom. 3:30; one in respect of office and standing, 1 Cor. 3:8; equivalent to τις, a certain one, Mt. 8:19; 16:14; a, an, Mt. 21:19; Jas. 4:13; εἱς ἕκαστος, each one, every one, Read the full entry →

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-NSN — Adjective · nominative · singular · neuter
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-NSN Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

wun.

See NUMBER.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
93%one
one93% · 334×other renderings5% · 19×other renderings2% · 6×

359 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 16 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject32%adverbial24%object20%predicate20%indirect object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 336 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
Article theγάρforδέbut, on the othe
καίand, even, also, nam
δεξιόςon the right hanπαραλαμβάνωI take, receiveπωλέωI sell
ἐν
γίνομαιI come into beinδέbut, on the otheγάρfor
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakπροσέρχομαιI come near, conἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύδέbut, on the otheλέγωI say, speak
εἷς[there is] one336×
what comes after →
Article the
δώδεκαIndecμικρόςlittle, smallθεόςGod, a god
ἐκ
Article theαὐτόςδεξιόςon the right han
ἕκαστοςeach, every one
αὐτόςArticle theκατά
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐκ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theΜωϋσῆςMosesἨλίαςElijah

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceεἷς · 336× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke John Mark 1 Corinthians Revelation Acts Romans Ephesians Galatians 1 Timothy Hebrews

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament21 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 444 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 9c. AD 40

τὸ δὲ παθητὸν ἄψυχον καὶ ἀκίνητον ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ, κινηθὲν δὲ καὶ σχηματισθὲν καὶ ψυχωθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ νοῦ μετέβαλεν εἰς τὸ τελειότατον ἔργον, τόνδε τὸν κόσμον·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.argc. AD 75–95

ὅτι λιμοῦ τὴν Χαναναίαν καταλαβόντος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀπῆρε καὶ διατρίψας ἐν αὐτῇ τινα χρόνον ὑπέστρεψεν ὀπίσω.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.2c. AD 100

Μεγάλων μὲν ὄντων καὶ πλουσίων τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιωμάτων εἰς ὑμᾶς, ὑπέρ τι καὶ καθ̓ ὑπερβολὴν ὑπερευφραίνομαι ἐπὶ τοῖς μακαρίοις καὶ ἐνδόξοις ὑμῶν πνεύμασιν: οὕτως ἔμφυτον τῆς δωρεᾶς πνευματικῆς χάριν εἰλήφατε.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

ἐωνήσατο παρὰ Πανοβχούνιος τοῦ Τοτόηους ἐν τῷ ιε ἔτει Παῦνι γ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀρχείου, μιᾶς μὲν ἐν τῷ ἀπὸ λιβὸς πεδίωι, γείτονες· νότου γῆ Πατοῦτος τοῦ Φίβιος, βορρᾶ γῆ

P.Lond. 3 p. 18 no. 678Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)100 BC–99 BC

τῶν αὐτῶν ἱερέων ὡς ἐτῶν μζ μέσος μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὦτα ἀφεστηκότα χαλκοῦ ταλάντου ἑνός . προπωλητὴς καὶ βεβαιωτὴς τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην Πετεσοῦχος ὁ ἀποδόμενος ὃν ἐδέξατο

BGU 3 999Pathyris100 BC

καὶ ἀπηλιώτου τὸ λοιπὸν τῆς Εὐνόου οἰκίας λιβὸς ῥύμη ἐφ ᾧ ἀνοίξει τὴν θύραν εἰς τὴν Ὀρσηοῦς οἰκίαν ἢ οἳ ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν. ἐπρίατο Πετεσοῦχος Νεχθανούπιος ὡς ἐτῶν

Now however many indeed [are the] members, [there is] one however body.
δὲde however G1161 Conjunction
2,787× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a conjunction that means and, but, or then, used to connect ideas like in Matthew 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 6:15.
Tyndale gloss
then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δέ (de) is a post-positive particle in Greek, primarily used as a conjunction to connect clauses. It can express contrast (but, on the other hand) or continuation (and, also), and is often used to transition between ideas or to add emphasis. In the New Testament, it appears frequently in various contexts, such as contrasting statements or resuming interrupted discourse, with notable examples in Matthew and 2 Corinthians.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δέ (before vowels δ’; on the general neglect of the elision in NT, v. WH, App., 146; Tdf., Pr., 96),

post-positive conjunctive particle;

copulative, but, in the next place, and, now (Abbott, JG, 104): Mt 1:2ff., II Co 6:15, 16, II Pe 1:5-7; in repetition for emphasis, Ro 3:21, 22, 9:30, I Co 2:6, Ga 2:2, Phl 2:8; in transition to something new, Mt 1:18 2:19, Lk 13:1, Jo 7:14, Ac 6:1, Read the full entry →

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

δέ (related to δή, as μέν to μήν, ef. Klotz ad Devar. ii. 2 p. 355), a particle adversative, distinctive, disjunctive, but, moreover, (W.§ 53, 7 and 10, 2); it is much more freq. in the historical parts of the N. T. than in the other books, very rare in the Epp. of John and the Apocalypse. {On its general neglect of elision (when the next word begins with a vowel) cf. Tdf. Proleg. p. 96; WH. App. Ῥ 146; W.§5,1a.; B. p.10sq.] It is used ἘΠ ΟἹ δὲ univ. by way of opposition and distinction; it is added to statements opp. to a preceding statement: ἐὰν yap ἀφῆτε... ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῆτε, Mt. vi. 14 sq.; ἐὰν de ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς κτλ. Mt. vi. 23; ἐλεύσονται δὲ ἡμέραι, Mk. ii. 20; it opposes persons to persons or things previously mentioned or thought of, —either with strong emphasis: ἐγὼ δέ, Mt. v. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39,44; ἡμεῖς de, 1 Co. i. 23; 2 Co. x. 13; σὺ δέ, Mt. vi. 6; ὑμεῖς δέ, Mk. viii. 29; of δὲ…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

δεῖ. For the conjunctive, as in Mt 26%, cf. P Fay 109° (early i/A.D.) ἐάν σε δῇ (for δέῃ) τὸ εἱμάτιόν σου θεῖναι ἐνέχυρον. “even if you have to pawn your cloak” (Edd.). In P Tebt I. 585° (B.c. 111) we have ἐάν followed by the indicative— ἐὰν δεῖ σε συνπεσεῖν τῶι ᾿Ανικήτωι, σύνπεσαι, ‘if you must meet Anicetus, meet him” (Edd.): cf. Mayser G7. p. 325. Other examples of the verb are l’ Par 461® (B.C. 153) διὸ Kal ἡγούμενος δεῖν ἐπ᾿ ἄλλου μὲν μηθενὸς αὐτῶι διακριθῆναι» P Lille I. 267 (iii.B.c.) περὶ (corr. from πεερὶ) δὲ τούτου τοῦ μέρους δεήσει ἐπισχεῖν, P Tebt 11. 3414 (A.p. 140-1) δεήσι ἐπισταλῆναι εἰς δάνε[ι]α σπέρματα κατασπίο]ρᾶς KTA., “ΕἼ will be necessary to send on account of loans of seedcorn for the sowing,” etc., AécheZ 1001" © (Theran Doric —c. B.C. 200) no one may bring forward a proposal ὡς δεείσῃ διαλῦσαι τὸ κοινὸν εἰ τὰς θυσίας, P Flor II. 133" (A.D. 257) ἔδι μὲν ὑμᾶς μηδὲ…

Read the full entry →
Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δέ (de) — then.

δέ,

but: adversative and copulative Particle,

I. answering to μέν (which see), τὴν νῦν μὲν Βοιωτίαν, πρότερον δὲ Καδμηίδα γῆν καλουμένην [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. without preceding μέν,

II.1. adversative, expressing distinct opposition, αἰεί τοι τὰ κάκ᾽ ἐστὶ φίλα.. μαντεύεσθαι, ἐσθλὸν δ᾽ οὔτε τί πω εἶπας[Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in Prose, οὐκ ἐπὶ κακῷ, ἐλευθερώσει δέ.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. copulative,

II.2. a in explanatory clauses, ξυνέβησαν.. τὰ μακρὰ τείχη ἑλεῖν (ἦν δὲ σταδίων μάλιστα ὀκτώ) [Refs 8th c.BC+]: when a substantive is followed by words in apposition, Ἀρισταγόρῃ τῷ Μιλησίῳ, δούλῳ δὲ ἡμετέρῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in answers, διπλᾶ λέγειν. —Answ. διπλᾶδ᾽ ὁρᾶν…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

δέ

de

a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and,

etc.:--also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δέ

Cj.

but, on the other hand, and

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δέ de 2x

a conjunctive particle, marking the superaddition of a clause, whether in opposition or in continuation, to what has preceded, and it may be variously rendered but, on the other hand, and, also, now, etc.; καὶ δέ, when there is a special superaddition in continuation, too, yea, etc. It sometimes is found at the commencement of the apodosis of a sentence, Acts 11:17. It serves also to mark the resumption of an interrupted discourse, 2 Cor. 2:10; Gal. 2:6

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δέ but: conjunctive Particle, with adversative force: it commonly answers to μέν, and may often be rendered by while, whereas, on the other hand, v. μέν:— but μέν is often omitted, δέ being used merely to pass on from one thing to another; ὣς Ἀχιλεὺς θάμβησεν, θάμβησαν δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι Il.; etc.; κινεῖ κραδίην κινεῖ δὲ χόλον Eur.

δέ is often redundant,

to introduce the apodosis, where it may be rendered by then, yet, εἰ δέ κε μὴ δώωσιν, ἐγὼ δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕλωμαι if they will not give it, then I will take it, Il.; so at in Lat., si tu oblitus es, at Dii meminerint Catull.

to resume after interruption caused by a parenthesis, where it may be rendered by I say, now, so then, Hdt.

POSITION of δέ: properly second, being often put between the Art. and Subst., the prep. and case.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Conj — Conjunction
conjunction — it joins clauses, and never changes form.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
33%now
now33% · 974×however27% · 780×then21% · 620×and12% · 360×but5% · 154×other renderings2% · 49×

2,937 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 15 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,787 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existσύ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπεντακισχίλιοιfive thousand
εἰCond
παλαιόςold, ancient, woσύεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ἀναπίπτωI lie down, reclμνημεῖονa tomb, sepulche
οὗτος
δίδωμιI offer, giveθεόςGod, a godπίστιςfaith, belief, t
δέhowever2787×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusθεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐπί
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theσύ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὗτοςἸωάννηςJohn
τὶς
Article theαὐτόςὄνομαname, character,

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceδέ · 2,787× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians John Mark Romans 2 Corinthians Hebrews Galatians James 1 Timothy

2 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Now however many indeed [are the] members, [there is] one however body.
σῶμα.sōma body. G4983 Noun · nominative · singular · neuter
142× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The word for body refers to the whole physical person, used literally or figuratively in the Bible, as seen in Matthew 27:58 and 1 Corinthians 6:13.
Amplified meaning
the whole, physical and spiritual
Tyndale gloss
body
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word σῶμα (lemma: sōma) means 'body' and can refer to both living and dead bodies, as well as the concept of a person or material substance. In the New Testament, it is used to describe the human body, the Church as the body of Christ, and even inanimate objects. The term contrasts with πνεῦμα (spirit) and ψυχή (soul), highlighting its physical nature.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σῶμα, -τος, τό,

[in LXX for גְּוִיָּה ,בָּשָׂר, etc., and for Aram. נְבֵלָה ;]

a body.

Prop., of the human body,

as always in Hom. (opp. to δέμας), of the dead body: Mt 27:58, 59 Mk 15:43, al.;

of the living body: Lk 11:34, I Co 6:13, al.; ἐν σ. εἶναι, He 13:3; as the instrument of the soul, τὰ διὰ τοῦ σ., II Co 5:10; opp. to πνεῦμα, Ro 8:10, I Co 5:3 7:4, Ja 2:26; to ψυχή, Mt…

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

σῶμα, -τος, τό, (appar. fr. σῶς ‘entire’, [but cf. Curtius § 570; al. fr. r. ska, sko, ‘to cover’, ef. Vaniéek p. 1055; Curtius p. 696]), Sept. for “3, "3, etc.; nba3 (a corpse), also for Chald. BW2; α body; and 1. the body both of men and of animals (on the distinction between it and σάρξ see σάρξ, esp. 2 init.; (cf. Dickson, St. Paul's use of ‘ Flesh’ and ‘Spirit’, p. 247 sqq.]); a. as everywh. in Hom. (who calls the living body δέμας) and not infreq. in subseq. Grk. writ., a dead body or corpse: univ. Lk. xvii. 37; of a man, Mt. xiv. 12 RG; (Mk. xv. 45 R G];, Acts ix. 40; plur. Jn. xix. 31; τὸ σ. τινος, Mt. xxvii. 58 sq.; Mk. xv. 43; Lk. xxiii. 52,55; Jn. xix. 38, 40; xx. 12; Jude 9; οὗ the body of an animal offered in sacrifice, plur. Heb. xiii. 11 (Ex. xxix. 14; Num. xix. 3). b. as in Grk. writ. fr. Hesiod down, the living body : —of animals, Jas. iii. 3;—of man: τὸ σῶμα, absol.…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

σῶμα, “ἐᾷ body” (1) properly of the human body (a) cf. P Cairo Zen I. 5903429 (B.c. 257) peta τῆς τοῦ σώματος ὑγιείας, and the common salutation, as in 24. 590369 (B.c. 257), εἰ τῶι τε σώματι Eppwoat καὶ τἄλλα σοι κατὰ γνώμη[ν] ἐστίν, εἴη ἂν ὡς ἡμεῖς θέλομεν. See also BGU IV. 120848 (B.c. 27-26) τὰ δὲ] ἄλλα χαριεῖ τοῦ σώμαί( τος) [ἐπι μείλόμενος) ty’ ὑγιένῃς, ὃ δὴ μέγιστον ἡγοῦμίαι, PSI VII. 8ογ33 (a.p. 280) where a prisoner petitions ἔχειν τὸ σῶμα ἐλεύθερον καὶ ἀνύβριστον, and the magic P Lond 121°89 (jji/A.D.) (=I. p. 103) διαφύλασσέ pov τὸ σῶμα τὴν ψυχὴν ὁλόκληρον. Cf. Aristeas 139 ἁγνοὶ καθεστῶτες κατὰ σῶμα καὶ κατὰ ψυχήν. The tripartite division of I Thess 559 is found in P Oxy VIII. 1161° (iv/a.p.), where the writer (a Christian) prays to our God and the gracious Saviour and His beloved Son, ὅπως οὗτοι πάντες β[ο]ηθήσωσιν ἡμῶν τῷ σώματι, τῇ ψυχῇ, τῴ... πν(εύματι). For the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σῶμα (sōma) — body.

σῶμα, ατος, τό

[Refs 4th c.AD+] dative plural σωμάτεσι [Refs 3rd c.BC+], body of man or beast, but in [Refs 8th c.BC+], always dead body, corpse (whereas the living body is δέμας), ὥς τε λέων ἐχάρη μεγάλῳ ἐπὶ σώματι κύρσας [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ς. δὲ οἴκαδ᾽ ἐμὸν δόμεναι πάλιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; so also in [NT+8th c.BC+]; νεκρὸν σ. [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; μέγιστον σ... σποδου, ={σ. μέγιστον ὃ νῦν σποδός ἐστι}, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. the living body, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; γενναῖος τῷ σ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; εὔρωστος τὸ σ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὸ σ. σῴζειν or -εσθαι save one's life, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; διασῴζειν or -εσθαι[Refs 5th c.BC+]; περὶ τοῦ σ. ἀγωνίζεσθαι for one's life, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἔχειν τὸ σ. κακῶς, ὡς βέλτιστα, etc., to be…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σῶμα

soma

from 4982; the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide

application, literally or figuratively:--bodily, body, slave.

see GREEK for 4982

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σῶμα, ατος, τό

n.n.

body, flesh

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σῶμα sōma 142x

the body of an animal; a living body, Mt. 5:29, 30; 6:22, 23, 25; Jas. 3:3; a person, individual, 1 Cor. 6:16; a dead body; corpse, carcass, Mt. 14:12; 27:52, 58; Heb. 13:11; the human body considered as the seat and occasion of moral imperfection, as inducing to sin through its appetites and passions, Rom. 7:24; 8:13; genr. a body, a material substance, 1 Cor. 15:37, 38, 40; the substance, reality, as opposed to ἡ σκιά, Col. 2:17; in NT…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

σῶμα σῶμα, ατος, τό, deriv. uncertain the body of a man: in Hom. always the dead body, corpse, carcase, whereas the living body is δέμας.

the living body, Hes., Hdt., attic; τὸ ς. σώζειν or -εσθαι to save one's life, Dem., Thuc.; ἔχειν τὸ ς. κακῶς, ὡς βέλτιστα, to be in a bad, a good state of body, Xen.

body, as opp. to the soul (ψυχή), Plat., etc.; τὰ τοῦ ς. ἔργα bodily labours, Xen.; τὰ εἰς τὸ ς. τιμήματα bodily punishments, Aeschin.

periphr., ἀνθρώπου σῶμα ῀ ἄνθρωπος, Hdt.; esp. in Trag., σῶμα θηρός ῀ ὁ θήρ, Soph., etc.:—often of slaves, ς. αἰχμάλωτα Dem., etc

generally, a body, i. e. any material substance, Plat., etc.

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-NSN — Noun · nominative · singular · neuter
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-NSN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

bod'-i:

I. PHILOLOGICAL:

Generally speaking, the Old Testament language employs no fixed term for the human body as an entire organism in exact opposition to "soul" or "spirit." Various terms were employed, each of which denotes only one part or element of the physical nature, such as "trunk," "bones," "belly," "bowels," "reins," "flesh," these parts being used, by synecdoche, for the whole: etsem = "bone," or "skeleton," hence, "body," is found in Ex 24:10 the King James Version; La 4:7; nephesh = "living organism" (Le 21:11; Nu 6:6,7,11; 19:11,13,16; Hag 2:13); nebhelah = "a flabby thing," "carcass" (

→ Called HOUSE 2Co 5:1

→ HOUSE OF CLAY Job 4:19

→ THE TEMPLE OF GOD 1Co 3:16; 6:3,15,19

→ Corruptible Job 17:14; 1Co 15:53,54

→ Resurrection of 1Co 15:19-54

→ See RESURRECTION

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
90%body
body90% · 130×bodies7% · 10×body?2% · 3×other renderings1% · 1×

144 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 4 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject29%adverbial29%object25%predicate17%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 142 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
ἐνὅλοςall, the whole, εἰμίI am, exist
εἷςone
ἐνπολύςmuch, many, ofteπόρνηa prostitute
καίand, even, also, nam
ψυχήthe soul, life, ἐπουράνιοςheavenly, celestῥέδηa chariot
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theεἷςoneποῖοςIrg
ἴδιοςone’s own, private,
Article theσπέρμαseed, offspring
σῶμαbody.142×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusΧριστόςanointed, the Meἔνδυμαa garment, raime
σύ
φωτεινόςbright, luminousσκοτεινόςfull of darknessβάλλωI cast, throw, r
οὐNeg
οἶδαI know, rememberἐξουσιάζωI exercise authoπαρά
ἐγώ
πρόςεἰςArticle the
αὐτός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐνArticle the

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceσῶμα · 142× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians Matthew Luke Romans 2 Corinthians Ephesians Colossians John Hebrews James Mark Philippians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament18 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 50 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 30c. AD 40

τοσούτῳ γὰρ τὸ νοητὸν τοῦ ὁρατοῦ λαμπρότερόν τε καὶ αὐγοειδέστερον ὅσῳπερ ἥλιος, οἶμαι, σκότους καὶ ἡμέρα νυκτὸς καὶ [τὰ κριτήρια] νοῦς, ὁ τῆς ὅλης ψυχῆς ἡγεμών, ὀφθαλμῶν σώματος.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.60c. AD 75–95

οὐκ ἐπὶ νουθεσίᾳ δὲ τὴν κόλασιν ἔλαβεν, ἀλλʼ ἐπʼ αὐξήσει τῆς κακίας, ἡδονὴν μὲν πᾶσαν ἐκπορίζων αὐτοῦ τῷ σώματι, κἂν μεθʼ ὕβρεως τῶν συνόντων δέῃ ταύτην ἔχειν·

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 6.2c. AD 96

διὰ ζῆλος διωχθεῖσαι γυναῖκες Δαναΐδες καὶ Δίρκαι, αἰκίσματα δεινὰ καὶ ἀνόσια παθοῦσαι, ἐπὶ τὸν τῆς πίστεως βέβαιον δρόμον κατήντησαν καὶ ἔλαβον γέρας γενναῖον αἱ ἀσθενεῖς τῷ σώματι.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. BC 3rd c. AD 2nd c. BC 4th c. AD
P. Grenf. 1 21Pathyris127 BC

τε ἄλλα καὶ ἐπίτροπον Ἑρμ … φιλον ὄντα συγγενῆ κατέστησεν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων δ ὧν ὀνόματα Μυρσίνην καὶ ταύτης … τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ θηλυκὰ β αἷς ὄνομα

P.Grenf. 1 44Pathyris127 BC

τε ἄλλα καὶ ἐπίτροπον Ἑρμ … φιλον ὄντα συγγενῆ κατέστησεν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων δ ὧν ὀνόματα Μυρσίνην καὶ ταύτης … · τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ θηλυκὰ β αἷς

ἐγγαίων ὄντων δ ἔν τε τῶι Περιθήβας καὶ Παθυρίτηι, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων, ἐν οἷς καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Κόχλακος τῆς Ἀραβίας τοῦ δηλουμένου Παθυρίτου νομοῦ μέρους ἡμίσους

Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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