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Acts 9:4 — Word Study

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N1904καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

BSAAndkai having fallenpiptō [collapsing] onepi theho ground he heardakouō [perceived, listened to] a voicephōnē [sound, noise] sayinglegō to him;autos SaulSaoul [the Jewish name of the Apostle Paul] Saul,Saoul whytis [for what reason] Meegō do you persecute?diōkō [pursue, follow with hostile intent]

Word
Listen & take awayActs 9
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 4 is in this chapter.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (diōkō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Acts 9:4quick helps
In a sentenceSaul falls to the ground and hears a voice questioning his actions.
Who is speakingA voice from heaven, identified as Jesus.
Where we areThe dramatic moment of Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus.
The hard wordδιώκεις
Take awayThe confrontation reveals the seriousness of Saul's actions against Jesus' followers.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectπίπτω verbπίπτω 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 — Acts 9:4

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 Conversion of Saulgenerated

3As Saul drew near to Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
5“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied.
6“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Acts 9:4 describes a pivotal moment in Saul's life as he travels to Damascus to persecute Christians. Suddenly, a divine light surrounds him, causing him to fall to the ground. In this moment of vulnerability, he hears a voice that challenges his actions, leading to a profound transformation. This encounter marks the beginning of Saul's journey from persecutor to apostle, as seen in subsequent verses where he is called to serve the very community he sought to destroy.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Acts 5:10At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
2Numbers 16:45“Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown.
3John 18:6When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
4Romans 11:22Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
51 Corinthians 4:7For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

The Key Word διώκεις, diōkōgenerated

The verb διώκω means to pursue or chase, often with hostile intent. It is used in contexts of persecution, as well as the pursuit of righteousness. In this verse, it highlights the aggressive actions Saul took against the followers of Jesus.

The present active indicative form indicates that this is an ongoing action, emphasizing Saul's continuous pursuit of Christians, which Jesus directly addresses in this moment.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

In the Berean Standard Bible, the phrase is rendered as do you persecute?, which is consistent across several translations, including the KJV and ASV.

Where translations differ is in the rendering of διώκεις. The BSB, KJV, and ASV use persecute, while the WEB and BBE phrase it as attacking, reflecting a slightly different nuance.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main clause is governed by the finite verb ἤκουσεν, he heard, with several phrases attached: a participial phrase describing Saul's action, a prepositional phrase indicating where he fell, and a noun phrase detailing the voice he heard.

The structure emphasizes the sequence of actions: Saul falls, hears a voice, and is addressed directly, illustrating the dramatic shift in his life.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

διώκω has roots in the Septuagint, where it often translates Hebrew terms for pursuing or chasing, particularly in contexts of hostility or judgment. This connection adds depth to the understanding of Saul's actions as a persecutor.

The word φωνὴ appears in the Septuagint as well, often linked to divine communication, which enhances the significance of the voice Saul hears.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Acts 9:4 tells us about Saul's encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. As he travels, a bright light surrounds him, causing him to fall to the ground. He hears a voice asking why he is persecuting Him. This moment marks a turning point in Saul's life, leading to his transformation into Paul, an apostle of Christ.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to persecute in this context?

To persecute means to pursue someone with hostile intent, as Saul was doing to the early Christians.

Why does Jesus ask Saul why he is persecuting Him?

Jesus identifies so closely with His followers that attacking them is equivalent to attacking Him.

What happens to Saul after this encounter?

Saul is transformed and becomes Paul, a key figure in spreading the message of Jesus.

What can we learn from Saul's experience?

Saul's encounter teaches us about the power of divine intervention and the possibility of transformation, no matter one's past actions.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways have I pursued things that are contrary to my faith, like Saul did?
  2. How can I be more aware of how my actions affect others, particularly in my faith community?
  3. What steps can I take to seek forgiveness for past wrongs, as Saul did after his encounter with Jesus?
  4. How can I share my story of transformation with others to encourage them?

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

Early church fathers reflect on Saul's encounter with Jesus, emphasizing the significance of this moment in his transformation.

Ephrem the SyrianHOMILY ON OUR LORD 26.1 c. 306–373
The One who conquered persecutors [here] below and reigns over angels [in heaven] above spoke from above in a humble voice.
Early Church Fathers on Acts 9 →
Basil of CaesareaLETTER 8 c. 330–379
For it is written, “And when all things are made subject to him, then the Son himself will also be made subject to him who subjected all things to him.” Do you not fear, O man,
Early Church Fathers on Acts 9 →
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 88 c. 347–407
Thus also Paul persecuted Him, in persecuting them that are His; wherefore too He said. "Why persecutest thou me?" Thus therefore let us feel, as bestowing on Christ Himself when we bestow.
Early Church Fathers on Acts 9 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Acts 9:4 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

And he fell to the earth,.... Not being able to bear the light, and still less the divine glory and majesty which he perceived was present; and therefore, in great confusion, amazement, and fear, he

Read John Gill on Acts 9 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Read Robert Jamieson on Acts 9 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Saul fell to the earth, struck with the amazing light and terrible voice of Christ; as also with the sense of the presence of God, which he knew was thus reverenced by Daniel, 10:9. Saul, Saul; the name Saul is the rather mentioned, to mind him and us of his persecuting of Christ in his members, as his name sake had persecuted David, who was a type of Christ; and it is ingeminated, or doubled, not only to rouse and awaken Saul, but to testify his love to him, and commiseration of him. Why persecutest thou me? Christ was in heaven, beyond Saul’ s rage; but Christ and his church make but one body. Thus Christ says, I was hungry and thirsty, . And in all their afflictions he is afflicted, .…

Read Matthew Poole on Acts 9 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Ver. 4. Fell to the earth] Christ unhorsed him, but did not destroy him. He is not such a monarch as loves to get authority by sternness, as Rehoboam, but by gentleness. And though gone to heaven, yet hath he not changed his nature with change of honour; but together with beams of glory, there are still in him the same bowels of pity that he had here upon earth. Why persecutest thou me?] As unskilful hunters, shooting at wild beasts, may kill a man? so those that shoot at the saints, hit Christ. Their sufferings are held his, Colossians 1:24; their reproach his, Hebrews 13:13. God is more…

Read John Trapp on Acts 9 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?—It is remarkable that here only, in the original Greek, and in Acts 9:17, as in the reproduction of the words in Acts 22:27; Acts 26:14, do we find the Hebrew form of the Benjamite name. It is as though he, who gloried in being above all things a Hebrew of the Hebrews, heard himself claimed as such by Him who spoke from heaven, called as Samuel had been called of old (1 Samuel 3:4-8), and having to decide whether he would resist to the end, or yield, saying with Samuel, “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.” The narrative implies that the persecutor saw the form of the Son of Man as well as heard His voice, and to that visible presence the Apostle…

Read Charles John Ellicott on Acts 9 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 4. And he fell to the earth] Being struck down with the lightning: many persons suppose he was on horseback, and painters thus represent him; but this is utterly without foundation. Painters are, in almost every case, wretched commentators.

Read AdamClarke on Acts 9 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. And he fell to the earth] Dazzled by the intense brightness. From Acts 26:14 we find that not only Saul but his companions were struck down by the light, though there was more in the vision which he beheld than was made evident to them, and by reason of the greater glory which was manifested to him, his natural sight was blinded.and heard a voice] We cannot represent in English the different case of the noun in this verse, and in 7. The Greek puts here the accusative case and there the genitive, and thus indicates that there was a difference in the nature of the hearing of Saul and of his companions. And Paul in Acts 22:9 marks the distinction in his own narration, for he says “They…

Read Cambridge on Acts 9 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And he fell to the earth - He was astonished and overcome by the sudden flash of light.

Read Albert Barnes on Acts 9 →

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

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”

WEBWorld English Bible2000

He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”

NETBNew English Translation2006

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

RVARevised Version, American1894

and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

NWBWebster's Bible1833

And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

GNVGeneva Bible1599

And hee fell to the earth, and heard a voyce, saying to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

and falling on the earth he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and having fallen upon the earth, he heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?'

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

and having fallen on the earth, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

and he fell upon the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

And falling on the ground, he heard a voice saying to him: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

He fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

BBEBible in Basic English1949

And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly?

Word by word, the decisions they made

πεσὼνpiptō having fallen G4098 4 different renderings
he fellASV BSB FBV KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
fallingDBY DRA
having fallenLSV YLT
fellGNV
γῆν ground G1093 2 different renderings
earthASV BBE DBY GNV KJV LSV NWB RVA WEB YLT
groundBSB DRA FBV MSB NETB ULB
ἤκουσενakouō he heard G191 2 different renderings
heardASV BSB FBV GNV KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
he heardDBY DRA LSV YLT
λέγουσανlegō saying G3004 2 different renderings
sayingASV DBY DRA FBV GNV KJV LSV NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
sayBSB MSB

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.

clauseδὲnowclauseclauseprepositional phrase · adverbialἘνInnoun phraseτῷ-clauseverbπορεύεσθαιproceedingverbἐγένετοit came to passnoun phrase · subjectclausesubjectαὐτὸν[as] heverbἐγγίζεινdraws nearnoun phrase · adverbialτῇ-Δαμασκῷto Damascusτεalsoclauseclauseadverbialἐξαίφνηςsuddenlyobjectαὐτὸνhimverbπεριήστραψενflashed aroundsubjectφῶςa lightprepositional phrase · adverbialἐκfromnoun phraseτοῦ-οὐρανοῦheavenκαὶAndclauseclause · adverbialverbπεσὼνhaving fallenprepositional phrase · adverbialἐπὶonnoun phraseτὴνtheγῆνgroundverbἤκουσενhe heardclause · objectclausesubjectφωνὴνa voiceverbλέγουσανsayingindirect objectαὐτῷto himclauseΣαοὺλSaulclauseΣαούλSaulclauseadverbialτίwhyobjectμεMeverbδιώκειςdo you persecute

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

Et cadens in terram audivit vocem dicentem sibi : Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris ?

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

ܘܢܦܠ ܥܠ ܐܪܥܐ ܘܫܡܥ ܩܠܐ ܕܐܡܪ ܠܗ ܫܐܘܠ ܫܐܘܠ ܡܢܐ ܪܕܦ ܐܢܬ ܠܝ ܩܫܐ ܗܘ ܠܟ ܠܡܒܥܛܘ ܠܥܘܩܣܐ

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

καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

Every witness on this verse all agree
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

Every edition agrees. All 8 printed editions — Nestle-Aland 28, Nestle-Aland 27, SBLGNT, Westcott-Hort, Tregelles, Tyndale House 2017, Textus Receptus (KJV), Byzantine majority — carry every word of this verse, in the same order, with no difference that any translator would render differently.


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.

Acts 9:4καίAndAndκαίπίπτωhaving fallhaving fallenπίπτωἐπίononἐπίthetheγῆgroundgroundγῆἀκούωhe heardhe heardἀκούωφωνήa voicea voiceφωνήλέγωsayingsayingλέγωαὐτόςto him;to him;αὐτόςΣαούλSaulSaulΣαούλΣαούλSaul,Saul,ΣαούλτίςwhywhyτίςμεMeMeμεδιώκωdo you persdo you persecutδιώκωΣαῦλοςn.m. Saul,n.m. Saul, the Σαῦλοςπέτομαιv. I flyv. I flyπέτομαιφαίνωv. I shinev. I shine, appφαίνωφημίv. I sayv. I sayφημίἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦτὶςIndef.pr. Indef.pr. any oτὶςδειλόςAdj cowardAdj cowardly, tδειλόςδιάκονοςn.f. & n.mn.f. & n.m. a wδιάκονοςἙβραΐςn.f. the Hn.f. the HebrewἙβραΐςπροσκυνέωv. I worshv. I worshipπροσκυνέωπρόσωπονn.n. the fn.n. the face, πρόσωπονκάθημαιv. I sit, v. I sit, am seκάθημαιθρόνοςn.m. a thrn.m. a throne, θρόνοςκατοικέωv. I dwellv. I dwell in, κατοικέωμήτεNeg.cj. noNeg.cj. nor, neμήτεοὖςn.n. the en.n. the earοὖςφωνήn.f. a soun.f. a sound, nφωνή
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 Acts 9:4

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.

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
καὶkai And G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

καί (kai) is a conjunction meaning 'and,' used to connect words, phrases, and clauses. It serves various functions, including copulative and adjunctive uses, and can express cumulative ideas like 'also' or 'even.' The New Testament frequently employs it to link terms and sentences, as seen in verses like Matthew 2:18 and John 10:3. Abbott-Smith notes its use in both simple and complex structures, while Thayer emphasizes its role as the most common particle in the New Testament.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

in general: Mt 2:18 16:1, Mk 2:15, Lk 8:15, He 1:1, al. mult.; repeated before each of the terms in a series, Mt 23:23, Lk 14:21, Ro 7:12 9:4, al.;

connecting numerals (WM, § 37, 4): Jo 2:20, Ac 13:20;

joining terms which are not mutually exclusive, as the part with the whole: Mt 8:33 26:59, Mk 16:17,

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

καί, a conj., and; the most freq. by far of all the particles in the N. T. [On its uses see W. § 53, 3sqq.; B. 361 (310) sqq., and ef. Ellicott on Phil. iv. 12; on the difference between it and τέ see 8. v. τέ ad init. ] I. It serves as a copulative i.e. to connect (Lat. et, atque, Germ. und) ; 1. it connects single words or terms: a. univ., as of Φαρισαῖοι καὶ Σαδδουκαῖοι, Mt. xvi. 1; ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατήρ, he who is God and Father (see θεός, 3); ἐν καρδίᾳ καλῇ καὶ ἀγαθῇ, Lk. viii. 15; πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως, ΗΘ}. 1. 1; it is repeated before single terms, to each of which its own force and weight is thus given: ἡ υἱοθεσία καὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ ai διαθῆκαι καὶ ἡ νομοθεσία καὶ ἡ λατρεία καὶ αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι, Ro. ix. 4 ; ἁγία καὶ δικαία καὶ ἀγαθή, Ro. vii. 12; add, Mt. xxiii. 23; Lk. xiv. 21; Jn. xvi. 8; Acts xv. 20, 29; xxi. 25; Heb. ix. 10; Rey. v. 12; xviii. 12 sq.; ef. W. 519 sq. (484). b. it…

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

και. In LAE p. 129 ff. Deissmann discusses the thoroughly popular character of the Johannine style with its short paratactic sentences, introduced by kal. . . καί. To illustrate this, he cites amongst other exx. a Dream from the Serapeum, P Par 51 (B.C. 160) (= Selections, p. 18 ff. : see especially the amended readings in Archiv vi. p. 204), which runs—** ὦμ[ην] βατί -- δ)ίζειν pe [ἀπ]ὸ λειβὸς ἕως ἀ[ πηλι]ώτου, καὶ ἀναπίπτομαι ἐπ᾿ ἄχυρον" καὶ [ἄν]θρωπ[ος9] ἀπὸ λιβός μου, ἐχόμενός μου’ ἀναπίπτει καὶ αὐτός, καὶ ὥσπερ κεκλειμμ[évot] μου ἦσαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου, καὶ ἐξαί[φνης] ἀνύγω τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς pov, καὶ ὁρῶ kTA., “ I dreamed that I was going from West to East, and I lie down upon chaff. And there | αὐτὸ (deleted in the original) Σεμφθεῖ. | ἐκ καινῆς ἐν Σομολ(ῶ)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

__A and; also adverb, even, also, just, frequently expressing emphatic assertion or assent, corresponding as positive to the negative οὐ (μή) or οὐδέ (μηδέ). copulative, and,

__A.I joining words or sentences to those preceding, ἦ, καὶ κυανέῃσιν ἐπ᾽ ὀφρύσινεῦσε Κρονίων [Refs 8th c.BC+]: repeated with two or more Nouns, αἱ δὲ ἔλαφοι κ. δορκάδες κ. οἱ ἄγριοι οἶες κ. οἱ ὄνοι οἱ ἄγριοι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; joining only the last pair, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; ὁ ὄχλος πλείων κ. πλείων ἐπέρρει more and more, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; to add epithets after πολύς, πολλὰ κ. ἐσθλά [Refs 8th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also

a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in

connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and,

also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when,

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

(1) and, Mt. 2:2, 3, 11; 4:22; (2) καί ... καί, both ... and; (3) as a cumulative particle, also, too, Mt. 5:39; Jn. 8:19; 1 Cor. 11:6; (4) emphatic, even, also, Mt. 10:30; 1 Cor. 2:10; in NT adversative, but, Mt. 11:19; also introductory of the apodosis of a sentence, Gal. 3:28; Jas. 2:4

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
89%and
and89% · 8448×also8% · 714×other renderings2% · 191×other renderings1% · 124×

9,477 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 42 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
adverbial16%subject13%object10%predicate3%verb2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 8,978 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
αὐτός
ἐνἐπίπρός
σύ
χάριςgrace, favor, kiπρόςπατήρfather, Father,
ἐγώ
πατήρfather, Father, πρόςθεόςGod, a god
εἰμίI am, exist
αὐτόςArticle theἐγώ
θεόςGod, a god
Article theθέλημαwill, wish, desiδέbut, on the othe
καίAnd8978×
what comes after →
Article the
ἀδελφόςa brotherπατήρfather, Father, μήτηρa mother
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theπρός
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existμήNegδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
Article theαὐτόςἀνήρa male human bei
ἐν
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ὅλοςall, the whole,

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

Concordanceκαί · 8,978× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Revelation Acts Mark John 1 Corinthians Romans Hebrews 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 John

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

Across the New Testament27 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 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.argc. AD 75–95

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.1c. AD 100

Χαίρετε, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ἐν εἰρήνῃ.

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 4th c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

r βασιλεύοντος Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

1 ἔτους ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
πεσὼνpiptō having fallen G4098 Verb · second aorist · active · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
91× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To fall or collapse can be literal, like falling down, or figurative, as in failing or stumbling, as seen in Matthew 10:29 and Revelation 8:10.
Amplified meaning
collapsing
Tyndale gloss
to collapse
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πίπτω is a Greek verb meaning 'to fall' and can refer to both literal and metaphorical falling. It encompasses various usages, including falling down, descending, and prostrating oneself in worship or supplication. The New Testament uses it in contexts like falling under judgment (James 5:12) and physical prostration (John 18:6). The lexicons show some variation in the nuances of its meanings, particularly in metaphorical applications.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πίπτω,

[in LXX chiefly for נפל;]

to fall;

of descent, to fall, fall down or from: seq. ἐπί, c. acc. loc., Mt 10:29, al.; εἰς, Mt 15:14, al.; ἐς μέσῳ, c. gen., Lk 8:7; παρὰ τ. ὁδόν, Mt 13:4, Mk 4:4, Lk 8:5; seq. ἀπό, Mt 15:27, al.; ἐκ, Mk 13:25, Lk 10:18, Re 8:10 9:1. Metaph.: ὁ ἥλιος, seq. ἐπί, Re…

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

πίπτω ; [impf. ἔπιπτον (Mk. xiv. 35 Τ' Trmrg. WH)]; fut. πεσοῦμαι; 2 aor. ἔπεσον and ace. to the Alex. form (received everywhere by Lchm. [exe. Lk. xxiii. 30], Tdf. [exe. Rev. vi. 16], Tr [exe. ibid.], WH; and also used by R Gin Rev. i. 17; v.14; vi. 18; xi. 165; xvii. 10) ἔπεσα (cf. [ WH. App. p.164; Tdf. Proleg. p. 123]; Lob. ad Phryn. p. 724sq.; Béitm. Ausf. Spr. ii. p. 277 sq., and see ἀπέρχομαι init.) ; pf. πέπτωκα, 2 pers. sing. -xes (Rev. ii. 5 T WH); see κοπιάω), 3 pers. plur. τκαν (Rev. xviii. 3, Led. ster. Tr txt. WH txt.; see γίνομαι) ; (fr. ΠΕΤΩ, as τίκτω fr. TEKQ [ef. Curtius, Etymol. § 214; Verbum, ii. p. 398]); fr. Hom. down; Sept. chiefly for 55); to fall; used 1. of descent from a higher place to a lower; a. prop. to fall (either from or upon, i.q. Lat. incido, decido): ἐπί w. ace. of place, Mt. x. 29; xiii. 5, [7], 8; xxi. 44 [T om. L WH Tr mrg. br. the vs.]; Mk. iv.…

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

πίπτω, “fall down,” (1) of things—P Petr II. 13(3)? (B.c. 258-3) τὸ πρὸς νότον [τ]οῦ ὀχυρώματος τεῖχος μέρος μέν TL αὐτοῦ πεπτωκός ἐστιν, ‘the wall to the south of the prison, part of it has fallen” (Ed.) ; (2) of persons—P Oxy III. 475 (A.D. 182) ἔπεσεν kal ἐτελε[ύ]τησεν, “he fell and was killed,” the report of an accident. Tlérrwxev is common=“ paid” in documents of iii—1i B.C. : cf. P Lond 12002 (B.c. 192 or 168) (=III. p. 2) πέπτωκεν ἐπὶ τὴν ἐν Διοσπόλει τῆι μεγαλῆι τράπεζαν, ‘paid into the bank at Diospolis Magna,” and P Fay 17} (B.c. 121), P Tebt I. ror! (B.c. 120) with the editors’ notes. See also P Hib I. 662 (B.c. 228) (= Witkowski*, p. 38) πίπτει [σοι] (‘‘tibi solvitur”) ἐν τοῖς κατὰ σὲ τόποις εἰκοστή, and Wilcken Os/y. i. p. 64. For a somewhat similar use of πέπτωκεν in dockets attached to contracts etc. cf. Ρ Tebt 11. 279! (B.c. 231) πέπτωκεν εἰς κιβωτὸν τὸ συνάλλαγμα ἐν…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πίπτω (piptō) — to collapse.

πίπτω,

Aeolic dialect πίσσω, accusative to Grammars in Hilgard Exc. ex libris Herodiani p.28 (cf. Hdn.Gr.2.377 note); poetry subjunctive πίπτῃσι [Refs 5th c.BC+]: Epic dialect imperfect πῖπτον [Refs 8th c.BC+] (for the quantity of ι[Refs 2nd c.AD+]; Ionic dialect πίπτεσκον (συμ-) [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future πεσοῦμαι [Refs 4th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect3rd.pers. plural πεσέονται [Refs 8th c.BC+], 3rd.pers. singular πεσέεται [Refs 5th c.BC+]aorist ἔπεσον, infinitive πεσεῖν, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 2nd pers. singular optative πεσοίης [Refs 1st c.AD+]; Aeolic dialect and Doric dialect ἔπετον [Refs 7th c.BC+]; in later writers ἔπεσα, [LXX+5th c.BC+] (προς-): perfect πέπτωκα [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic dialect participle πεπτεώς, εῶτος (the εω forming one syllable by synizesis), [Refs 8th c.BC+]; also πεπτηώς, ηυῖα, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. participle πεπτώς [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πίπτω

pipto

peto pet'-o; (which occurs only as an alternate in certain

tenses);

probably akin to 4072 through the idea of alighting; to fall

(literally or figuratively):--fail, fall (down), light on.

see GREEK for 4072

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πίπτω

v.

I fall, fall under

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πίπτω to fall, fall down, Hom., etc.; πίπτειν ἐν κονίηισιν to fall in the dust, i. e. to fall and lie there, Il.; π. ἐν δεμνίοις Eur., etc.; or without ἐν, πεδίωι πίπτειν Il.; π. δεμνίοις Eur.; also, π. ἐπὶ χθονί Od.; ἐπὶ γᾶι Soph.; πρὸς πέδωι Eur.; with a Prep. of motion, π. ἐς πόντον Hes.; ἐπὶ γᾶν Aesch.; πρὸς οὖδας Eur.

Special usages:

πίπτειν ἔν τισι to fall violently upon, attack, ἐνὶ νήεσσι πέσωμεν Il.; πρὸς μῆλα καὶ ποίμνας Soph.

to throw oneself down, fall down, πρὸς βρέτη θεῶν Aesch.; ἀμφὶ γόνυ τινός Eur.

to fall in battle, πίπτε δὲ λαός Il., etc.; οἱ πεπτωκότες the fallen, Xen.; π. δορί by the spear, Eur.; —π. ὑπό τινος to fall by another's hand…

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-2AAP-NSM — Verb · second aorist · active · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-2AAP-NSM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
26%fell
fell26% · 23×having fallen14% · 13×having fallen down4% · 4×will fall4% · 4×falling4% · 4×he fell3% · 3×i fell3% · 3×falls3% · 3×other renderings37% · 33×

90 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 30 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
verb95%adverbial6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 91 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
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἐκεῖνοςὑπάρχωI am, exist, am
Article the
ψιχίονa crumbκαίand, even, also,ἀπό
δέbut, on the other ha
ἄλλοςother, another, παραχρῆμαinstantly, immed
αὐτός
ὁράωI see, look uponθρόνοςa throne, seat
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaven
Article the
πίπτωhaving fallen91×
what comes after →
ἐπί
Article theπρόσωπονthe face, counteἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
εἰς
Article the
Article the
πύργοςa tower, fortifiκλῆροςa lot, portionἀπείθειαwillful unbelief
παρά
Article 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

Concordanceπίπτω · 91× in the New Testament
Revelation Matthew Luke Acts Mark 1 Corinthians Hebrews John Romans James
Across the New Testament10 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 189 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 Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.94c. AD 40

„Δὰν κρινεῖ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαόν, ὡσεὶ καὶ μία φυλὴ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ γενέσθω Δὰν ὄφις ἐφ’ ὁδοῦ, ἐγκαθήμενος ἐπὶ τρίβου, δάκνων πτέρναν ἵππου, καὶ πεσεῖται ὁ ἱππεὺς εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, τὴν σωτηρίαν περιμένων κυρίου“ (Gen.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.219c. AD 75–95

ἔπειτα δὲ δείσας Ἀμαράμης, μὴ κατάφωρος γένηται καὶ πεσὼν ὑπὸ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ὀργὴν αὐτός τε ἀπόληται μετὰ τοῦ παιδίου καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν ἀφανίσειεν, ἔγνω μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τούτῳ ποιήσασθαι τὴν τοῦ παιδὸς σωτηρίαν καὶ πρόνοιαν ἢ τῷ λήσεσθαι…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 4.3c. AD 96

καὶ ἐλυπήθη Κάϊν λίαν καὶ συνέπεσεν τῷ προσώπῳ αὐτοῦ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 3rd c. AD undated 2nd c. BC 2nd c. AD
P. Tor. 11Theben113 BC–112 BC

ὄντων ἱκανῶν καὶ κτηνῶν, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς καθʼ αὑτούς πατρικῆς χρείας πιπτόντων

ων αὐτοῖς δι … … οντων … … … τοῖς ἀφήλιξι π … πεσεῖν … … ἕτερος αὐτῶν ἀδελφὸς … … … εν χαλκώματά τινα … … τὸν

P.Oxy. 3 475OxyrhynchosAD 182

ἐτῶν η βουληθεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ δώματος τῆς αὐτῆς οἰκίας παρακύψαι καὶ θεάσασθαι τὰς κροταλιστρίδας ἔπεσεν καὶ ἐτελεύτησεν. οὗ χάριν ἐπιδιδοὺς τὸ βιβλίδιον ἀξιῶ ἐὰν δόξῃ σοι ἀποτάξαι ἕνα τῶν

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
ἐπὶepi on G1909 Preposition
886× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A preposition meaning upon, to, or against, often used to show location or direction, like in Matthew 6:10 where Jesus teaches us to pray for God's will to be done on earth. It can also indicate a sense of time or order.
Tyndale gloss
upon/to/against
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐπί (epi) is a preposition that indicates a relationship of superposition, often translated as 'on,' 'upon,' or 'over.' It can govern the genitive, dative, or accusative cases, covering meanings related to place, time, authority, and various figurative uses. In the New Testament, it frequently appears with the accusative case, especially in contexts of motion or direction, such as in Matthew 14:28.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐπί (before a smooth breathing ἐπ’, before a rough breathing ἐφ’),

prep. c. gen., dat., acc. (acc. most freq. in NT),

with primary sense of superposition, on, upon.

C. gen.,

of place, answering the question, where?

of the place on which, on, upon: ἐπὶ (τ.) γῆς, Mt 6:10, 19, al.; τ. κεφαλῆς, I Co 11:10; τ. νεφελῶν, Mt 24:30, al.; like ἐν, in constr. praegn. after verbs of motion: βάλλειν, Mk 4:26; σπείρειν, ib. 31; ἔρχεσθαι, He 6:7, al.; fig., ἐπ’ ἀληθείας (MM, s.v. ἀ.); of the subject of thought or speech, Ga 3:16; of power or authority, over, πάντων,

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

ἐπί, [before a rough breathing ἐφ᾽ (occasionally in Mss. én’; see 6. g. Ps. exly. (exlvi.) 3), and also in some instances before a smooth breathing (as ἐφ᾽ ἐλπίδι, Acts ii. 26 L; Ro. viii. 20 (21) Tdf.); 566 ἀφεῖδον. It neglects elision before proper names beginning with a vowel (exe. Αἴγυπτον Acts vii. 10, 18) and (at least in Tdf.’s txt.) before some other words, see the Proleg. p. 94 sq.; cf. W. §5,1a.; B. p. 10], a preposition [fr. the Skr. local prefix dpi; Curtius $335], joined to the gen., the dat., and the ace. ; its primary signification is upon (Lat. super; [cf. W. 374 (350) note). A. with the Genitive [cf. W. § 47, g.; B. 336 (289)]; I. of Place; and 1. of the place on which; a. upon the surface of (Lat. in or super with the abl., Germ. auf with the dat.); after verbs of abiding, remaining, standing, going, coming, etc.; of doing anything: ἐπὶ κλίνης, Mt. ix. 2; Lk. xvii. 34…

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

ἐπὶ ξένης εἶναι, and P Giss I. 2115 μένε ἐπὶ ἑαυτοῦ, “stay at home.” The sense of ‘‘near,’’ “‘in the vicinity of”’ appears in P Ryl II. 127° (A.D. 29) κοιμωμένον μον ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας: cf. Ac 5°% and see Jn 6᾽", 211 ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης, where the rendering ‘“‘ near the sea,’ or, as we should say, “fon the shore,” is to be preferred (cf. Abbott /ok. Gr. p- 261). In P Lond 11688 (a.p. 18) (= III. p. 136) ἐν τοῖς ἀπὸ A(Bos μέρεσι ἐπὶ ταῖς οὔσαις γειτνίαις, ἐπί is almost = ἐν." The local force still underlies the meaning of such a phrase as ἐπ᾿ ἀληθείας (cf. Mk 1214) in the census paper P Oxy II. 255}5 (A.D. 48) (= Selections, p. 47), where it is stated that the return is ‘“‘sound”’ and rests “on a true basis "᾿-ἐ]ξ [ὑ]γιοῦς kal ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας. Cf. also P Lille I. 264 (iii/B.c.) τὴν δὲ λοιπὴν γ[ῆν ἑτο]ιμάζω, εἰ μὴ ἀκολουθεῖς ἅπαντα καθὼς ἐπὶ τῆς διαγραφῆς τ[ο]ῦ [εἰς τὸ] τε ἔτος σπόρου μεμισθῶσϑαι…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐπί (epi) — upon/to/against.

ἐπί,

Thess. (before τ) [Refs 3rd c.BC+], to denote the being upon or supported upon a surface or point.

__A WITH GEN.:

__A.I of Place,

__A.I.1 with Verbs of Rest, upon, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: without a Verb expressed, ἔγχεα ὄρθ᾽ ἐ. σαυρωτῆρος (i.e. σταθέντα) [Refs]; ἔκλαγξαν ὀϊστοὶ ἐπ᾽ ὤμων the arrows on his shoulders, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: also with Verbs of Motion, where the subject rests upon something, as on a chariot, a horse, a ship, φεύγωμεν ἐφ᾽ ἵππων on our chariot, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τὴν κλεῖδα περιφέρειν ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ to carry the key about on his person, [Refs 5th c.BC+] walk on tiptoe, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of places, upon, if the place is an actual support, [Refs]; ἐ. τοῦ εὐωνύμον on the left, ἐ. τῶν πλευρῶν on the flanks, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; but most frequently, in, rarely in [Refs 8th c.BC+] in the country. [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐπ᾽ οἰκήματος κατίσαι…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐπί

epi

a primary preposition; properly, meaning superimposition (of time,

place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution (with the genitive

case), i.e. over, upon, etc.; of rest (with the dative case) at, on,

etc.; of direction (with the accusative case) towards, upon,

etc.:--about (the times), above, after, against, among, as long as

(touching), at, beside, X have charge of, (be-, (where-))fore, in (a

place, as much as, the time of, -to), (because) of, (up-)on (behalf

of), over, (by, for) the space of, through(-out), (un-)to(-ward),

with. In compounds it retains essentially the same import, at, upon,

etc. (literally or figuratively).

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐπί

Prep.

on, to, against, on the basis of, at

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐπί epi 890x

(1) with the gen., upon, on, Mt. 4:6; 9:2; 27:19; in, of locality, Mk. 8:4; near upon, by, at, Mt. 21:19; Jn. 21:1; upon, over, of authority, Mt. 2:22; Acts 8:27; in the presence of, especially in a judicial sense, 2 Cor. 7:14; Acts 25:9; in the case of, in respect of, Jn. 6:2; Gal. 3:16; in the time of, at the time of, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐπί

on, upon with gen., dat., and acc.

prep. with gen., dat., and acc.: Radic. signf. upon.

WITH GEN.:

of Place,

with Verbs of Rest, upon or on, κεῖσθαι ἐπὶ χθονός Il.; ἐφ᾽ ἵππου on horse-back, etc.; ἐπὶ γῆς upon earth, Soph.; ἐπ᾽ ἀγροῦ in the country, Od.; also at or near, ἐπὶ Λήμνου off Lemnos, Hdt., etc.:—with Verbs of motion, the sense is pregnant, ἐπ᾽ ἠπείροιο ἔρυσσαν drew the ship upon the land and left it there, Il., etc.; ἀναβῆναι ἐπὶ τῶν πύργων Xen.

not strictly of Place, μένειν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς to remain in the command, id. Xen.; ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων engaged in business, Dem.: —of ships, ὁρμεῖν ἐπ᾽ ἀγκύρας to ride at (i. e. in dependence on an) anchor, Hdt.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Prep — Preposition
preposition — its sense depends on the case of the word it governs.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

PREP PREPosition

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

On

Light; the sun, (Gen. 41:45, 50), the great seat of sun-worship, called also Bethshemesh (Jer. 43:13) and Aven (Ezek. 30:17), stood on the east bank of the Nile, a few miles north of Memphis, and near Cairo, in the north-east. The Vulgate and the LXX. Versions have “Heliopolis” (“city of the sun”) instead of On in Genesis and of Aven in Ezekiel. The “city of destruction” Isaiah speaks of (19:18, marg. “of Heres;” Heb. ‘Ir-ha-heres, which some MSS. read Ir-ha-heres, i.e., “city of the sun”) may be the name given to On, the prophecy being that the time will come when that city which was known as the “city of the sun-god” shall become the “city of destruction” of the sun-god, i.e., when idolatry shall cease, and the worship…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(abode or city of the sun), a town of lower Egypt, called BETH-SHEMESH in (Jeremiah 43:13) On is better known under its Greek name Heliopolis. It was situated on the east side of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, just below the point of the Delta, and about twenty miles northeast of Memphis. The chief object of worship at Heliopolis was the sun, whose temple, described by Strabo, is now only represented by the single beautiful obelisk, of red granite so feet 2 inches high above the pedestal which has stood for more than 4000 years, having been erected by Usirtesen, the second king of the twelfth dynasty. Heliopolis was anciently famous for its learning, and Eudoxus and Plato studied under its priests. The first mention of this place in the Bible is in the history of Joseph, to whom we read Pharaoh gave "to wife Asenath the daughter…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

See HELIOPOLIS.

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

pain; force; iniquity

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
28%upon
upon28% · 258×on22% · 203×to8% · 77×in7% · 62×over7% · 59×at6% · 57×against4% · 38×for4% · 37×other renderings13% · 116×

907 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 46 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
adverbial91%predicate6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 886 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
καίand, even, also, nam
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaαὐτόςλευκόςwhite, bright
αὐτός
δέbut, on the otheφιάληa shallow and flκεφαλήthe head
κάθημαιI sit, am seated
Article theκαίand, even, also,γυνήa woman, wife, m
πίπτωI fall, fall under
δέbut, on the otheκαίand, even, also,Article the
ἔρχομαιI come, go
ὁδόςa way, road, jouγάρforκαίand, even, also,
ἐπίon886×
what comes after →
Article the
γῆthe earth, soil,κεφαλήthe headθρόνοςa throne, seat
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,Article theὅτιthat, since, bec
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
Article theὅςκαίand, even, also,
σύ
καίand, even, also,Article theπᾶςall, the whole,
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,Article theὅς

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

Concordanceἐπί · 886× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Revelation Matthew Mark John Romans Hebrews 2 Corinthians 1 Corinthians Ephesians 1 Peter

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 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 Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 29c. AD 40

εἶθ’ ὕδατος ἀσώματον οὐσίαν καὶ πνεύματος καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἑβδόμου φωτός, ὃ πάλιν ἀσώματον ἦν καὶ νοητὸν ἡλίου παράδειγμα καὶ πάντων ὅσα φωσφόρα ἄστρα κατὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἔμελλε συνίστασθαι.

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

ὡς Ἅβραμος ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἀσσυρίους ἐκστρατεύσας ἐνίκησε καὶ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους τῶν Σοδομιτῶν ἔσωσε καὶ τὴν λείαν ἣν ἔλαβον ἀφείλετο.

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 2nd c. BC 1st c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς 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

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

καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν μηνὸς Χοιὰκ … ἐν Κροκοδίλων πόλει ἐπὶ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου τῆς ἄνω τοπαρχίας τοῦ Παθυρίτου. ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Σχώτου ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ἐδέξατο Πακοῖβις ὁ πριάμενος. Ἑρμίας ὁ παρὰ Πανίσκου κεχρημάτικα. ἔτους ιϛ Τῦβι λ. τέτακται ἐπὶ τὴν ἐν Κροκοδίλων πόλει τράπεζαν ἐφʼ ἧς Παγκράτης δεκάτης ἐνκυκλίου διʼ Ἀπολλωνίου τελώνου Πακοῖβις

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
τὴνho the G3588 Article · accusative · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The definite article — the commonest word in the Greek New Testament at 19,867 occurrences. Greek uses it more freely than English does and can drop it deliberately, so its presence and its absence both carry weight for a translator; but no single occurrence carries a message of its own. Here it simply gathers “the things” into one definite bundle.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

the prepositive article (ἄρθρον προτακτικόν), originally a demonstr. pron. (so usually in Hom.), in general corresponding to the Eng. definite article.

As demonstr. pron.

As freq. in Hom., absol., he (she, it), his (etc.): Ac 17:28 (quoted from the poet Aratus).

Distributive, ὁ μὲν . . . ὁ δέ, the one . . . the other: I Co 7:7, Ga 4:22; pl., Ac 14:4, 17:32, Phl 1:16, al.; οἱ μὲν . . . ἄλλοι δέ, Mt 16:14, Jo 7:12; οἱ μεν̀ . . . ὁ δέ, He 7:21, 23.

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

ὁ 435 ὁ tives of quantity, ὅλος, πᾶς, πολύς, see each in its own place. d. What has been said concerning adjectives holds true also of all other limitations added to substantives, as ἡ κατ᾽ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις, Ro. ix. 11; ἡ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη, Ro. xi. 27; 6 λόγος 6 τοῦ σταυροῦ, 1 Co. i. 18; ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις, Col. ii. 5; on the other hand, ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, 1 Th. i. 8; τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους, 2 Co. viii. 4; see many other exx. of each usage in W. 131 (124) sqq.; [B. 91 (80) sqq.]. e. The noun has the article before it when a demonstrative pronoun (υὗτος, ἐκεῖνος) belonging to it either precedes or follows [W. § 18, 4; B. § 127, 29-31]; as, ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος, Jn. ix. 24 [οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρ. 1, Tr mrg. WH); Acts vi. 13; xxii. 26; ὁ λαὸς οὗτος, Mt. xv. 8; 6 vids σου οὗτος, Lk. xv. 30; plur. Lk. xxiv. 17, and numberless other exx.; οὗτος 6 ἄνθρωπος, Lk. xiv. 30; οὗτος ὁ…

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

ὃ, ἡ τό. (1) Apart from connexion with μέν or δέ (see below) the demonstrative use of the art. in the NT is confined to a poetical quotation Ac 1778, but it is not uncommon in the papyri, e.g. P Par 45® (B.C. 153) (= Witkowski®, p. 85) τὰ (for ἃ) πράσεις (Δ πράσσεις), P Oxy VIII. 1160! (iii/iv A.D.) Ta (for ἃ) σεσύλληχα (for συνείληχα) δὲ κέρμα {ταν τηρῶ αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν δίκην, “1 am keeping for the trial the money that I have collected” (Ed.). For the distributive Opéev.. - 6 8€, as in 1 Cor7’, cf. P Lond 535 (B.c. 161) (=I. p. 19, U.P.Z. i. p. 239) kal τὰ μὲν ἡμῶν ἐληφότων εἰς τὴν γινομένην ἡμῖν συντάξειν, τὰ δ᾽ ἔτι διὰ τὴν τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων {(.. ... > παρελκομένων. (2) The use of the art. as a relative, of which there is no trace in the NT, may again be illustrated by the following papyrus citations from ¢c. A.D. 346—P Lond 414® (= II. Ῥ. 292) γεινῴσκιν oe θέλω περὶ τοῦ βρεουίου…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

__C in Epic dialect, the so-called postpositive Article, = relative Pronoun, ὅς, ἥ, ὅ.—The nominative masculine and feminine singular and plural, ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ, have no accent in codices and most printed books, except when used as the relative; but ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ differ only in writing from ὃ, ἣ, οἳ, α; the nominative forms of the article are said by Hdn.Gr.1.474 to be oxytone, and by [Refs 2nd c.AD+] in Aeolic dialect accusative to [Refs 8th c.BC+] genitive and dative dual τοῖιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]— In Doric dialect and all other dialects except Attic dialect and Ionic dialect the feminine forms preserve the old ᾱ instead of changing it to η, hence Doric dialect etc. ἁ, τάν, τᾶ; the genitive plural τάων contracts in many dialects to τᾶ; the genitive…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be

supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one,

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

the prepositive article, answering, to a considerable extent, to the English definite article; but, for the principle and facts of its usage, consult a grammar; ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, the one ... the other, Phil. 1:16, 17; Heb. 7:5, 6, 20, 21, 23, 24; pl. some ... others, Mt. 13:23; 22:5, 6; ὁ δέ, but he, Mt. 4:4; 12:48; οἱ δέ, but others, Mt. 28:17; used, in a poetic quotation, for a personal pronoun, Acts 17:28

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

in epic, the relative Pronoun, when it is written with the accent ὅ, ἥ, τό ῀ ὅς, ἥ, ὅ. Besides the common forms, note epic gen. sg. τοῖο for τοῦ; pl. nom. τοί, ταί; gen. fem. τάων [α^], dat. τοῖσι, τῇς and τῇσι; dual gen, and dat. τοῖιν:— in Trag. we find τοὶ μέν . . , τοὶ δέ . . , for οἱ μέν . . , οἱ δέ . . ; dat. pl. also τοῖσι, ταῖσι: the dual has commonly but one gender, τώ for τά, τοῖν for ταῖν.

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

joined with a Subst., not as the Art., but like Lat. ille, ὁ Τυδείδης Tydeus's famous son, Il.; Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων Nestor— that aged man, id. Il.; τιμῆς τῆς Πριάμου for honour, namely that of Priam, id. Il.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Art-ASF — Article · accusative · singular · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-ASF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

1. This adjective is used as a definitive, that is, before nouns which are specific or understood; or it is used to limit their signification to a specific thing or things, or to describe them; as the laws of the twelve tables. the independent tribunals of justice in our country, are the security or private rights, and the best bulwark against arbitrary power. the sun is the source of light and heat.

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

2. the is also used rhetorically before a noun in the singular number, to denote a species by way of distinction; a single thing representing the whole. the fig tree putteth forth her green figs; the almond tree shall flourish; the grasshopper shall be a burden.

3. In poetry, the sometimes loses the final vowel before another vowel.

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
64%the
the64% · 13160×<the>28% · 5846×those3% · 597×other renderings4% · 788×other renderings1% · 294×

20,685 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 83 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
subject34%adverbial32%object24%predicate5%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 19,783 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
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
the19783×
what comes after →
θεόςGod, a god
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusArticle the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
ἐγώσύαὐτός

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

Concordance · 19,783× in the New Testament
Matthew Acts Luke John Revelation Mark Romans 1 Corinthians Hebrews 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 John

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

Across the New Testament27 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 Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.1c. AD 100

Χαίρετε, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ἐν εἰρήνῃ.

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 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

r βασιλεύοντος Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ Γ. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος Νεχούτου.

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
γῆν ground G1093 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
250× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for earth or ground, referring to soil, a region, or the entire globe, as seen in Luke 21:35 and Acts 1:8.
Tyndale gloss
earth: soil
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word γῆ () means 'earth' or 'land' and is used in various contexts, including the physical ground, cultivated land, and regions or countries. It appears frequently in the New Testament, often contrasting with 'heaven' or 'sea.' The lexicons indicate a consensus on its meanings, which encompass both the solid part of the globe and the concept of territory.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γῆ, γῆς, ἡ,

[in LXX for אֶרֶץ, אֲדָמָה, etc.;]

the earth, world: Lk 21:35, Ac 1:8, He 11:13, Re 3:10, al.; opp. to οὐρανός, Mt 5:18 11:25, Mk 13:27, al.

land;

opp. to sea or water: Mk 4:1, Lk 5:3, Jo 6:21, al.;

as subject to cultivation: Mt 13:5, Mk 4:8, Lk 13:7,

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

γῆ; gen. γῆς, 7, (contr. fr. yéa, poet. γαῖα), Sept. very often for γι and ΤΣ, earth; 1. arable land: Mt. xiii. 5, 8, 23; Mk. iv. 8, 20, 26, 28, 31; Lk. xiii. 7; xiv. 35 (34); Jn. xii. 24; Heb. vi. 7; Jas. v. 7; Rev. ix. 4; of the earthy material out of which a thing is formed, with the implied idea of frailty and weakness: ἐκ γῆς χοϊκός, 1 Co. xv. 47. 2. the ground, the earth as a standing-place, (Germ. Boden) : Mt. x. 29; xv. 35; xxiii. 85; xxvii. 51; Mk. viii. 6; ix. 20; xiv. 35; Lk. xxii. 44 [L br. WH reject the pass.]; xxiv. 5; Jn. viii. 6, 8, [i.e Rec.]; Acts ix. 4, 8. 3. the main /and, opp. to sea or water: Mk. iv. 1; vi. 47; Lk. ν. 8; viii. 27; Jn. vi. 21; xxi. 8 sq. 11; Rev. xii. 12. 4. the earth as a whole, the world (Lat. terrarum orbis); a. the earth as opp. to the heavens: Mt. v. 18, 35; vi.10; xvi.19; xviii. 18; xxiv. 35; Mk. xiii. 31; Lk. ii. 14; Jn. xii. 32; Acts ii. 19…

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

γῆ. The rare plural forms of this word which are found in the LXX may be illustrated from the Ptolemaic papyri of 1i/B.c., e.g. BGU III. 993329 (νος 128-7) γῶν τε καὶ οἰκιῶν, P Tor I. 12° (B.c. 116) ἕνεκεν τοῦ kal τῶν γῶν μὴ μετεσχηκέναι αὐτήν, P Tebt I. 6% (B.c. 140-39) yas τε καὶ ἕτερα : see Thackeray G7. i. p. 143. In MGr, beside ἢ γῆ, we have the indeclinable ἢ γῆς, τῆς γῆς, etc. : see Thumb Handbook, p. 57. The familiar Biblical ἔπὶ γῆς appears in P Ryl 11. $78 (early iii/A.b.) 6 αὐτὸς ὁριοδείκτης ἐπέδειξα ἐπὶ γῆς (restored from 1.*), “1 the said surveyor have verified it on the spot”: the editors suggest that ἐπὶ γῆς should be read in P Thead 54% and 55%. It may be observed that γῆ in papyri is regularly ‘‘land” in small or moderate quantities, a sense never found in NT, where γῆ is always antithetic to sky or sea, or denotes a district or country, The LXX and papyri, in their use…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γῆ (gē) — earth: planet.

γῆ, ἡ,

occasionally in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: dual γαῖν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; γῶν [Refs 2nd c.BC+]:—earth (including land and sea, [Refs 7th c.BC+] opposed to heaven, or land opposed to sea, Γῆ τε καὶ Ἠέλιος καὶ Ἐρινύες [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τίς γ; [Refs 8th c.BC+]; κατὰ γῆν on land, by land, opposed to ναυσί, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; opposed to ἐκ θαλάσσης, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐπὶ γῆς on earth, opposed to νέρθε, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κατὰ γῆς below the earth, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: genitive with local Adverbs, ἵνα γῆς [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ποῦ, ποῖ, ὅποι γ., [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. earth, as an element, [Refs 6th c.BC+]

2. b γῆν καὶ ὕδωρ αἰτεῖν, as tokens of submission, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γῆ

ge

contracted from a primary word; soil; by extension a region, or the

solid part or the whole of the terrene globe (including the occupants

in each application):--country, earth(-ly), ground, land, world.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γῆ, γῆς, ἡ

n.f.

the earth, soil, land

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γῆ gē 250x

earth, soil, Mt. 13:5; Mk. 4:8, et al.; the ground, surface of the earth, Mt. 10:29; Lk. 6:49, et al.; the land, as opposed to the sea or a lake, Lk. 5:11; Jn. 21:8, 9, 11; the earth, world, Mt. 5:18, 35, et al.; by synec. the inhabitants of the earth, Mt. 5:13; 6:10; 10:34; a land, region, tract, country, territory, Mt. 2:20; 14:34;by way of eminence, the chosen land, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γῆ earth opp. to heaven, or land opp. to sea, Hom., etc.; κατὰ γῆν on land, by land, Thuc.; κατὰ γῆς Xen.:— ἐπὶ γῆς on earth, Soph.; κατὰ γῆς below the earth, Trag.:—the gen. with local adverbs, ἵνα γῆς, ποῦ γῆς, ubi terrarum, where in (in what quarter of) the world, where on earth, Soph., etc.

earth, as an element, opp. to air, water, fire, Plat.

a land, country, Aesch., etc.; γῆν πρὸ γῆς from land to land, id. Aesch.

the earth or ground as tilled, Soph., Plat.

a lump of earth, in the phrase γῆν καὶ ὕδωρ αἰτεῖν, γῆν καὶ ὕδωρ διδόναι, in token of submission, Hdt.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-ASF — Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-ASF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Nave's Topical Bible

→ Man made from Ge 2:7; 3:19,23; Job 4:19; 33:6

→ Animals made from Ge 2:19

→ Vegetables come from Ge 2:9

→ Cursed Ge 3:17; 5:29

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
67%earth
earth67% · 170×land19% · 48×ground7% · 18×soil4% · 11×other renderings3% · 8×

255 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 8 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
adverbial59%subject18%object15%predicate6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 250 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
ἐπίεἰςκαίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaΖαβουλώνPropἔκπαλαιfrom of old, lon
ἐπί
καίand, even, also,εἴτεand if, whetherεἰμίI am, exist
ἐκ
ἐξέρχομαιI go out, come oἐγώἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
ἐν
πάροικοςa stranger, foreσημεῖονa sign, miracle,παροικίαa sojourning
γῆground250×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἐπίγίνομαιI come into bein
Article the
καλόςbeautiful, good,ἀγαθόςgoodἔργονwork, labor, act
εἰμίI am, exist
δέωI bindλύωI loose, untie, καίand, even, also,
ὅτιthat, since, because
ὑποπόδιονa footstoolκρύπτωI hide, conceal,ἀποκρύπτωI hide away, con
ἐκ
Article theὕδωρwater

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

Concordanceγῆ · 250× in the New Testament
Revelation Matthew Acts Luke Mark John Hebrews James 2 Peter Colossians Ephesians 1 Corinthians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament14 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 1,727 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 Epistle of Barnabas The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 26c. AD 40

Φησὶ δ’ ὡς „ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν", τὴν ἀρχὴν παραλαμβάνων | οὐχ ὡς οἴονταί τινες τὴν κατὰ χρόνον·

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 2.7c. AD 100

λέγει δὲ πάλιν πρὸς αὐτούς: Μὴ ἐγὼ ἐνετειλάμην τοῖς πατράσιν ὑμῶν ἐκπορευομένοις ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, προσενέγκαι μοι ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ θυσίας;

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 2nd c. BC 3rd c. BC 1st c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν μ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ μερίδα γῆς σιτοφόρου ἐν τῷ περὶ Παθῦρειν πεδίωι σφραγίδων τεσσάρων , ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐωνήσατο παρὰ

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

μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ἀδύνατος ὄμμασι τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῶι ἐν τῶι ἄνω πεδίωι περὶ Πάθυριν γῆν ἤπειρον σιτοφόρον ἀρουρῶν … ἧς γείτονες νότουπλατεῖαὁδός, βορρᾶ … περίχωμα … προπεπρα

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

ξ μέσος μελίχρως τετανὸς ἀναφάλακρος μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπαρχούσης αὐτῷ καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς γῆς ἠπείρου σιτοφόρου ἀδιαιρέτου ἐν τῷ ἀπὸ βορρᾶ πεδίωι Παθύρεως τὸ ἐπιβάλλον αὐτῷ μέρος ἕβδομον·

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
ἤκουσενakouō he heard G191 Verb · aorist · active · indicative · third person · singular
428× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To hear or listen, not just with our ears but also to understand and obey, as Jesus says in Mark 4:3 and Matthew 11:15. It involves paying attention to what is being said and responding accordingly.
Amplified meaning
perceived, listened to
Tyndale gloss
to hear
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀκούω, transliterated as akouo, means 'to hear' or 'to listen.' It covers a range of meanings from simply hearing sounds to understanding and obeying what is said. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, including commands to listen (e.g., Mk 4:3) and references to understanding (e.g., 1 Cor 14:2). The lexicons do not show significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀκούω,

[in LXX chiefly for שׁמע;]

to hear, listen, attend, perceive by hearing, comprehend by hearing.

Intrans.: Mk 4:3 7:37, Ja 2:5, Re 2:7, al.; τ. ὠσίν, Mt 13:15(LXX); c. cogn. dat., ακοῇ ἀ. (v.s. ἀκοή), Mt 13:14, Ac 28:26(LXX); ὁ ἔχων ὦτα (οὖς) ἀκούειν, ἀκουσάτω, Mt 11:15, Mk 4:23, Re 2:7, al.

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

ἀκούω [on the use of the pres. in a pf. sense ef. W. 274 sq. (258); B. 203 (176)]; impf. ἤκουον ; fut. (in best Grk. usage) ἀκούσομαι, Jn. v. 25 RGL, 28 RGL; Acts iii. 22; vii. 37 RG; xvii. 32; [xxi. 22]; xxv. 22; xxviii. 28; [Ro. x. 14 Tdf.], and (a later form) ἀκούσω. Mt. xii. 19; xiii. 14, (both fr. the Sept.) ; [Jn. x. 16; xvi. 13 Tr WH mrg.; Acts xxviii. 26]; Ro. x. 14 ΓΒ 617; and T Tr WH in Jn. v. 25, 28, (ef. W.82 (79); B. 53 (46) [Veitch 5. v.]); [1 aor. ἤκουσα; Jn. iii. 32, ete.]; pf. ἀκήκοα; Pass.,[ pres. ἀκούομαι; 1 fut.axovaOncopar]; 1 aor. ἠκούσθην ; [fr. Hom. down]; tohear. I. absol. 1. tobe endowed with the faculty of hearing (not deaf): Mk. vii. 37; Lk. vii. 22; Mt.xi.5. 2. to attend to (use the faculty of hearing), consider what is or has been said. So in exhortations: ἀκούετε, Mk. iv. 3; ἀκούσατε, Jas. ii. 5; ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω, Mt. xi. 15; xiii. 9, [in both T…

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

ἀκούω. The verb is of course common enough, and needs little or no illustration, having few peculiarities. Its use for a judicial hearing (as Ac 2523) may be paralleled with P Tand οἷ (ii/A.p.) Kal [pé]x [pr] τούτου οὔπο ἠκούσθ[ημ]εν, and P Oxy VII. 1032 (A.p. 162), where the epistrategus endorses a petition with ἀκουσθήσεται. So in BGU IL. 511i? (= Chrest. 1. p. 26), an account written about A.D. 200 of a trial before Claudius, we have ἀκούει Κλαύδιος Καῖσα[ρ Σέβαστος ᾿Ισιδώρου] γυμνασιάρχου πόλεως ᾿Α[λεξανδρέων] κατὰ ᾿Αγρίππου βασιλέω[ς]. The last example will illustrate ἀκούειν with normal gen. of person: P Par 485 (B.C. 153) (= Witkowski*® p. 91) ἀκούσαντες . . τὰ περὶ σοῦ συνβεβηκότα will serve for accus. vez, and will also illustrate the common use with περί, since the phrase is a mixture of ἀκ. περὶ σοῦ and ἀκ. τά σοι συνβεβηκότα (Witk.).…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀκούω (akouō) — to hear.

ἀκούω:

Epic dialect imperfect ᾰκουον[Refs 8th c.BC+]future ἀκούσομαι (active ἀκούσω first in [NT+4th c.BC+]aorist ἤκουσα, Epic dialect ᾰκουσα[Refs 8th c.BC+]perfect ἀκήκοα, Laconian dialect ἄκουκα[Refs 1st c.AD+]; ἤκουκα is a late form, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; later Ionic dialect ἀκήκουκα[Refs 3rd c.BC+]: pluperfect ἀκηκόειν[Refs 5th c.BC+]; old Attic dialect ἠκηκόη[Refs 5th c.BC+] —rare in middle, present (see. below [Refs]: Epic dialect imperfect ἀκούετο[Refs 8th c.BC+]: aorist ἠκουσάμην[Refs 2nd c.BC+]:—passive, future ἀκουσθήσομαι[Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist ἠκούσθην[Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἤκουσμαι[Refs 1st c.BC+]; ἀκήκουσμαι is uncertain in [Refs 2nd c.AD+]: pluperfect ἤκουστο[Refs 4th c.BC+], (παρ-) [Refs 1st c.AD+]:—hear, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: properly with accusative of thing heard, genitive of person from whom it is heard, ταῦτα Καλυψοῦς ἤκουσα[Refs…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀκούω

akouo

a primary verb; to hear (in various senses):--give (in the) audience

(of), come (to the ears), (shall) hear(-er, -ken), be noised, be

reported, understand.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀκούω

v.

I hear, listen

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀκούω akouō 428x

some list the future active as a middle deponent, ἀκούσομαι, to hear; to hearken, listen to, Mk. 4:3; Lk. 19:48; to heed, obey, Mt. 18:15; Acts 4:19; to understand, 1 Cor. 14:2; to take in or admit to mental acceptance, Mk. 4:33; Jn. 8:43, 47

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀκούω Root ΑΚΟϜ to hear, Hom., etc. —Construct., properly, c. acc. of thing heard, gen. of pers. from whom it is heard, ταῦτα Καλυψοῦς ἤκουσα Od.; the gen. pers. may be omitted, ἀκήκοας λόγον Soph., or the acc. rei, ἄκουε τοῦ θανόντος id. Soph.:—often however c. gen. rei, to have hearing of a thing.

c. gen. objecti, to hear of, hear tell of, ἀκ. πατρός Od.; so c. acc., Od.:—so, ἀκ. περί τινος.

the pers. from whom the thing is heard takes a prep., ἀκούειν τι ἀπό, ἔκ, παρά, πρός τινος, Il., attic

to know by hearsay, εἴ που ἀκούεις Od.; so Plat., etc.

absol. to hearken, give ear, to begin a proclamation, ἀκούετε λεώι hear, O people.

to listen to, give ear to, Il.

to obey, c. gen., or more rarely c. dat., id. Il.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-AAI-3S — Verb · aorist · active · indicative · third person · singular
aorist active indicative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-AAI-3S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
20%having heard
having heard20% · 88×hearing10% · 45×hear9% · 39×i heard7% · 31×heard6% · 28×you have heard4% · 18×he should hear4% · 16×you hear2% · 9×other renderings37% · 161×

435 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 90 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
verb89%adverbial11%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 428 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
καίand, even, also, nam
ὁράωI see, look uponαὐτόςβλέπωI look, see
Article the
πᾶςall, the whole, καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, exist
ὅς
ἀκούωI hear, listenπᾶςall, the whole, λόγοςa word, speech,
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theὅτανwhen, whensoeverὡςas, like as, how
οὖςthe ear
ἔχωI have, hold, poArticle the
ἀκούωhe heard428×
what comes after →
Article the
λόγοςa word, speech, μαθητήςa learner, disciπερί
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegβλέπωI look, see
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theοὗτοςὅτιthat, since, bec
ὅτιthat, since, because
εἶπονI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,πολύςmuch, many, ofteσυζητέωI seek together,

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

Concordanceἀκούω · 428× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Matthew John Revelation Mark 1 John Hebrews Ephesians Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament23 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 515 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 The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.16c. AD 40

ὅταν οὖν λέγῃ „ἰδεῖν τί καλέσει", ἄκουε ἴσον τῷ, διὰ τί καλέσει καὶ προσκαλέσεται καὶ ἀσπάσεται τούτων ἕκαστον ὁ νοῦς·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.184c. AD 75–95

καὶ ὁ μὲν ταῦτʼ ἀκούσας θυσίαν προσφέρει τῷ θεῷ κελευσθεὶς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 7.3c. AD 100

ἀκούσατε, πῶς περὶ τούτου πεφανέρωκαν οἱ ἱερεῖς τοῦ ναοῦ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 5th c. AD 7th c. AD 3rd c. AD
P.Lond. 7 2011Pharbaithos (Arsinoites)244 BC

r Παταικίων Ζήνωνι χαίρειν. ἀκηκόαμεν παρὰ Πύρρου τοὺς αἰπόλους ἀναχωρεῖν. τὸν μὲν οὖν Λιμναῖον ἔφη ἤδη ἀπεληλυθέναι, Δημήτριον δὲ

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59368Memphis (?)242 BC

ϛ ἔτους τινὰ δὲ ἐν τῶι Μεμφίτηι, ἃ εἶχεν Παμῆς καὶ Ἀμεννεύς, οὓς νῦν ἀκούομεν μεταγηγοχέναι εἰς τὸν Ἡρακλεοπολίτην ἄνευ ἡμῶν, Ἀμμώνιος δʼ ὁ οἰκονόμος ἀπαγήοχεν αὐτοὺς καὶ τὰ

P.Grenf. 2 36Pathyris96 BC

ἡμῖν κακὸν ἐποίησεν ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπιμεμέληται, περὶ ὧν, ἐὰν αἱρῆτε, γράψατέ μοι. ἠκούσαμεν τὸν μῦν καταβεβρωκέναι τὸν σπόρον. καλῶς ἡμῖν ὦδε, ἢ ἐν Διοσπόλει ἐὰν αἱρῆσθε, πυρὸν

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
φωνὴνphōnē a voice G5456 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
139× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Voice or sound refers to any kind of noise, like a person speaking or an animal making a sound. In the Bible, it is used in Matthew 2:18 and Acts 2:14 to describe a voice or sound. It can also mean a language or saying.
Amplified meaning
sound, noise
Tyndale gloss
voice/sound: noise
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

φωνή is a feminine noun meaning 'voice' or 'sound,' primarily associated with articulate sounds made by humans and animals. It can also refer to sounds from inanimate objects and encompasses speech, language, and tones. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, such as in Matthew 2:18 and John 3:8. Notably, the lexicons differ on whether it can apply to inanimate sounds, with some sources emphasizing its primary association with living beings.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — φωνή, λόγος from a scan

On these words, and on their relation to one another, very much has been written by the Greek grammarians and natural philosophers (see Lersch, Sprachphilosophie der Alten, vol. iii. pp. 85, 45, and passim). Φωνή, from φάω, ds φωτίζουσα τὸ νοούμενον (Plutarch, De Plac. Phil. 19), rendered in our Version ‘ voice’ (Matt. ii. 18), ‘sound’ (John iii. 8), ‘noise’ (Rev. vi. 1), is distinguished from ψόφος, in that it is the cry of a living creature (ἡ δὲ φωνὴ ψόφος τίς ἐστιν ἐμψύχου, Aristotle, De Anima, 2. 8. 14), being sometimes ascribed to God (Matt. ui. 17), to men (Matt. iii. 3), to animals (Rev. ix. 9), and, though improperly, to inanimate objects as well (1 Cor. xiv. 7), as to the trumpet (Matt. xxiv. 31), to the wind (John iii. 8), to the thunder (Rev. vi. 1; οἵ. Ps. lxxvi. 19). But λόγος, a word, saying, or rational utterance of the νοῦς, whether spoken (προφορικός, and thus φωνὴ τῶν…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

φωνή, -ῆς, ἡ,

[in LXX chiefly and very freq. for קוֺל ;]

a voice;

prop., of persons, Mt 2:18 (LXX), al.; φ. αἴρειν (ἐπαίρειν), Lk 17:13, Ac 2:14, al.; φ. μεγάλῃ εἰπεῖν (λέγειν, φωνεῖν, etc.), Lk 8:28, Ac 7:57, Re 5:12, al.; γίνεται (ἔρχεται) φ. ἐκ τ. οὐρανῶν (ἐξ οὐρανοῦ), Mk 1:11, Lk 3:22, Jo 12:28, al. (cf. DCG, ii, 810a; Dalman, Words, 204 f.); ἀκούειν φωνήν (-ῆς; v.s. ἀκούω), Ac 9:4, 7 al.; φ.…

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

φωνή, -ἢς, ἡ, (φάω to shine, make clear, [ef. Curtius §407; L. and S.s. v. φάω]), fr. Hom. down, Hebr. Tips 1. a sound, tone: of inanimate things, as of musical instruments, Mt. xxiv. 31 [T om. ¢., WH give it only in mrg.; ef. B. § 132, 10]; 1 Co. xiv. 7 sq.; Rev. xiv. 2; xviii. 22, (Is. xviii. 3; xxiv. 8; Sir. 1.16; 1 Mace. v. 313 ὀργάνων, Plat. de rep. 3 p. 397 ἃ. ; συρίγγων, Eur. Tro. 127; ψαλτηρίου καὶ αὐλοῦ, Plut. mor. p. 713 ¢.); of wind, Jn. iii. 8; Acts ii. 6; of thunder, Rev. vi. 1; xiv. 2; xix. 6, cf. iv. 5; viii. 5; xi. 19; xvi. 18; noise, of a millstone, Rev. xviii. 22; of a thronging multitude, Rev. xix. 1, 6; of chariots, Rev. ix. 9; of wings, whir (Ezek. i. 24), ibid.; of waters (Ezek. i. 24; 4 Esdr. vi. 17), Rev. i. 15; xiv. 2; xix. 6; also with the gen. of a thing implying speech, the sound [A.V. voice]: τοῦ ἀσπασμοῦ, Lk. i. 445 ῥημάτων, Heb. xii. 19; the cry (of men)…

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

φωνή, «ἐᾷ sound,” ‘fa voice”: cf P Lond 191257 (A.D. 41) γνησιωτέραις ὑμᾶς φωναῖς προσαγορεύσας, * addressing you more frankly by word of mouth,” P Ryl II. 77% (A.D. 192) ἔχομεν δὴ φωνὴν τοῦ ᾿Ασπιδᾶ, ““ννὲ now have the declaration of Aspidas” (Edd.). In one of the family letters of Paniskos (iii/iv A.D.) from the Michigan papyri edited by J. G. Winter in the Journ. Egypt. Arch. xiii. p. 721 we find wodAdkt[s] φωνὴν αὐ[τῷ] ἐβά[λομ]εν ἵνα ἔλ[θῃ] πρὸς τὸν ἐπανορθωτὴ(ν) ᾿Αχιλλ[έα, ““ννε sent him word repeatedly that he might come to the epanorthotes Achilles” —a phrase for which the editor can find no parallel. For the power of the divine voice cf. Wiinsch 4/ p. 23° (1,4...) διὰ φωνῆς προστάγματος, where the editor compares Ps 32 αὐτὸς εἶπεν, καὶ ἐγενήθησαν. The word is used of Coptic speech in P Lond 7718 (end vi/A.D.) (=I. p. 232) τῇ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων φωνῇ : cf. also P Giss I. 4oll- 27 (A.D.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

φωνή (phōnē) — voice/sound: voice.

φων-ή, ἡ,

sound, tone, properly, the sound of the voice, whether of men or animals with lungs and throat (ἡ φωνὴ ψόφος τίς ἐστιν ἐμψύχου [Refs 4th c.BC+]; opposed to φθόγγος (see. φθόγγος [Refs]

I. mostly of human beings, speech, voice, utterance, φ. ἄρρηκτος [Refs 8th c.BC+]; φ. δέ οἱ αἰθέρ᾽ ἵκανεν, of Ajax' battle-cry, [Refs]; of the battle-cry of an army, Τρώων καὶ Ἀχαιῶν.. φ. δεινὸν ἀϋσάντων [Refs]: plural, of the cries of market-people, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὀξεῖα, βαρυτέρα, λεία, τραχεῖα φ., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μιαρά, ἀναιδής, [Refs 5th c.BC+]with his voice, aloud, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; μιᾷ φ. with one voice, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; ἀπὸ φωνῆς, with genitive, dictated by.., [Refs 4th c.AD+] in Euc.Dat.p.234 M., [Refs 4th c.BC+] the notes of the voice, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πᾶσαν, τὸ λεγόμενον, φ. ἱέντα…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

φωνή

phone

probably akin to 5316 through the idea of disclosure; a tone

(articulate, bestial or artificial); by implication, an address (for

any purpose), saying or language:--noise, sound, voice.

see GREEK for 5316

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

φωνή, ῆς, ἡ

n.f.

a sound, noise, voice

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

φωνή phōnē 139x

a sound, Mt. 24:31; Jn. 3:8; Rev. 4:5; 8:5; a cry, Mt. 2:18; an articulate sound, voice, Mt. 3:3, 17; 17:5; 27:46, 50; voice, speech, discourse, Jn. 10:16, 27; Acts 7:31; 12:22; 13:27; Heb. 3:7, 15; tone of address, Gal. 4:20; language, tongue, dialect, 1 Cor. 14:10

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

φωνή φωνή, ἡ, φάω a sound, tone, properly the sound of the voice, mostly of men, Lat. vox, Hom., etc.; of a battlecry, Xen.; φωνὴν ῥηγνύναι, Virgil's rumpere vocem, to utter an articulate sound, Hdt., Ar.; φ. ἱέναι, Lat. vocem edere, Hdt., etc.: pl. αἱ φ. the tones of the voice, Plat.:—proverb., φωνῇ ὁρᾶν, of a blind man, Soph.

the voice or cry of animals, Od., Hdt., etc.

any articulate sound, as opp. to inarticulate (ψόφος), Soph., etc.

of sounds from inanimate objects, φ. συρίγγων Eur.; ὀργάνων Plat.

the faculty of speech, discourse, Lat. sermo, Soph.

language, Lat. lingua, Hdt.

a kind of language, dialect, Aesch., Thuc., etc.

a phrase, saying, τὴν Σιμωνίδου φ. Plat.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-ASF — Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-ASF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

vois.

See BATH KOL.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ OF GOD Eze 1:24,28; 10:5; Joh 5:37; 12:28-30; Ac 7:31; 9:4,7; 26:14,15

See ANTHROPOMORPHISMS

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
67%voice
voice67% · 94×a voice14% · 20×sound9% · 13×voices6% · 9×other renderings2% · 3×other renderings1% · 2×

141 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 8 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
subject40%object29%adverbial28%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 139 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,ἀκούωI hear, listenἐπαίρωI raise, lift up
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀστραπήa flash of lightαὐτόςἔτιstill, yet, even
ἀκούωI hear, listen
καίand, even, also,γῆthe earth, soil,τέταρτοςfourth
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
ἀκούωI hear, listenκαίand, even, also,αὐτός
κράζωI cry aloud, shriek
καίand, even, also,πάλινagain, further, γόνυa knee
φωνήa voice139×
what comes after →
μέγας
λέγωI say, speakArticle theἐκ
αὐτός
ἀκούωI hear, listenπώποτεat any time, eveκαίand, even, also,
ἐκ
Article theοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
Article the
ἀσπασμόςa greeting, saluνυμφίοςa bridegroomυἱόςa son, descenden
λέγωI say, speak
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusαὐτός

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

Concordanceφωνή · 139× in the New Testament
Revelation Acts John Luke Matthew Mark Hebrews 1 Corinthians 2 Peter 1 Thessalonians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 302 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 The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 62c. AD 40

χρώματα μὲν [ἡ] ὅρασις, φωνὰς δὲ ἀκοή, χυλοὺς δὲ γεῦσις, καὶ ὄσφρησις ἀτμούς, μαλακότητας δὲ καὶ σκληρότητας καὶ ὅσα θερμὰ ἢ ψυχρὰ λειότητάς τε καὶ τραχύτητας ἁφή.

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

ὡς πύργος, ὃν οἱ παῖδες αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ὕβρει τοῦ θεοῦ ᾠκοδόμησαν, καὶ ὡς τὰς φωνὰς αὐτῶν μετέβαλε καὶ ὁ τόπος, ἐν ᾧ τοῦτο γέγονε, Βαβυλὼν ἐκλήθη.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 3.1c. AD 100

Λέγει οὖν πάλιν περὶ τούτων πρὸς αὐτούς: Ἱνατί μοι νηστεύετε, λέγει κύριος, ὡς σήμερον ἀκουσθῆναι ἐν κραυγῇ τὴν φωνὴν ὑμῶν;

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 4th c. AD 5th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Phil. 3 VoArsinoitesAD 123

φ … … σατε … το γρ … … … πρ … φωνη ἐστι τω … εισγραπτ … … ος ὁ στρατηγός· ἄλλον ἀντʼ αὐτοῦ δότε.

P.Mich. 8 488AD 101–AD 200

σχολάζεις τηρεῖν τὰ ἐκεῖ καὶ ἁρπάζεται ὑπὸ τῶν παραγόντων. ἂν οὐχ εὑρίσκεις ἀποδοῦναι τὴν φωνήν ὡς εἶπας αὐτῷ … … ι ἐμφανής. καὶ πότε θέλεις γένηται ἀμμὰς πρὸς σέ;

P.Oxy. 51 3614OxyrhynchosAD 200

μιᾶς νωνῶν … ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ. μετʼ ἄλλα. Καῖσαρ σκεψάμενος μετὰ τῶν φίλων τῇ πατρίῳ φωνῇ ἀπεφήνατο, ἀναγνοὺς ἐκ βιβλίου, οἱ μὲν ἐπίτροποι ἡμῶν ἕξουσιν διὰ φροντίδος μισθοῦν τὰ τέλη

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
λέγουσανlegō saying G3004 Verb · present · active · participle · accusative · singular · feminine
2,255× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means to say or speak, and it is used by Jesus and others in the New Testament to share teachings and tell stories. It appears in Matthew 9:34 and John 1:29.
Tyndale gloss
to say
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

λέγω (legō) is a primary Greek verb meaning 'to say' or 'to speak.' It encompasses a range of uses, including expressing thoughts, making declarations, and narrating events. The New Testament frequently employs it in direct speech and as a way to convey meaning, such as in Matthew 27:11. Abbott-Smith notes its distinction from similar verbs like λαλέω.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — λαλέω, λέγω, λαλιά, λόγος from a scan

In dealing with synonyms of the N. T. we plainly need not concern ourselves with such earlier, or even contemporary, uses of the words which we are discriminating, as lie altogether outside of the N. T. sphere, when these uses do not illustrate, and have not affected, their Scriptural employment. It follows from this that all those contemptuous uses of λαλεῖν as to talk at random, as one ἀθυρόστομος, or with no door to his lips, might do; of λαλιά, as chatter («Kpacia λόγου ἄλογος, Plato, Defin. 416)—for I cannot believe that we are to find this at John iv. 42—may be dismissed and set aside. The antithesis in the line of Eupolis (Meineke, /ragm. Com. Gr. p. 174), Λαλεῖν ἄριστος, ἀδυνατώτατος λέγειν, does little or nothing to illustrate the matter in hand. The distinction which indeed exists between the words may in this way be made clear. There are two leading aspects under which speech…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

λέγω,

[in LXX very freq., chiefly for אמר; λέγει for נְאֻם, Ge 22:16, al.;]

in Hom., to pick out, gather, reckon, recount.

In Hdt. and Att., to say, speak, affirm, declare: absol., Ac 13:15 24:10; seq. orat. dir., Mt 9:34, Mk 3:11, Jo 1:29, al.; seq. ὅτι recit., Mk 3:21, Lk 1:24, Jo 6:14, al.; acc. et. inf., Lk 11:18, Jo 12:29, al.; after another verb of speaking, προσφωνεῖν κ. λέγειν, Mt 11:17, al.; ἀπεκρίθη (ἐλάλησεν) λέγων (καὶ λέγει; Dalman…

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

λέγω (in the N. T. only the pres. and impf. act. and pres. pass. are in use; 3 pers. plur. impf. ἔλεγαν, Jn. xi. 56 Tdf. [ef. ἔχω, init.]): I. in its earliest use in Hom. to lay (like Lat. lego, Germ. legen; οἵ. J. G. Miiller in Theol. Stud. u. Krit. for 1835, p. 127 sqq.; Curtius § 538) ; to cause to lie down, put to sleep; 1. to collect, gather; to pick out. 2. lo lay with, count with; to enumerate, recount, narrate, describe; [οἷ. Eng. tale, Germ. ztihlen). II. to put word to word in speaking, join words together, i. e. to say (how it differs fr. λαλεῖν, see under that word ad init.) ; once so by Hom. in 1]. 2, 222 [yet ef. Schmidt, Syn. i. ch. 1, §§ 20; 48, 2; L. and S. s. vy. B. II. 2]; often in Pind., and by far the most com. use in Attic; Sept. more than thirteen hundred times for 728; often also for D8} (saying, dictum); very rarely for 1393; and soin N.T. 1. univ. a. absol. to…

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

λέγω. (1). “‘I say, speak”: see e.g. P Par 47 {= Selections, Ῥ- 21 ff.), ¢. B.C. 153, which is addressed on the verso—mpds τοὺς τὴν ἀλήθεαν λέγοντες (—-as), P Fay 12378 (c. A.D. 100) γνώσομαι yap εἰ ἀληθῶς λέγι, “1 will find out whether he is speaking the truth,” P Ryl 11. 7615 (late li/A.D.) ἃ καὶ ἀναγνώσομαι λεγομένου τοῦ [π]ράγματος, “1 will read them when the case is argued” (Edd.), P Flor II. 1327 (A.D. 257) ἔλεζξ]αν πεποιηκέναι ταῦτα ἀγνοίᾳ, ‘they said they had done this in ignorance,” and the magical P Par 5741238 (iii/A.D.) (= Selectzons, p. 113) λόγος λεγόμενος ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ, ‘ invocation to be uttered over the head (of the possessed one).”” For the phrase τὸ αὐτὸ λέγειν, cf. I Cor 11°, Weiss (Meyer 15 ad 1) cites a sepulchral inscr. of husband and wife from Rhodes, /J/Ae 149 (ii/B.c.) ταὐτὰ λέγοντες ταὐτὰ φρονοῦντες ἤλθομεν τὰν ἀμέτρητον ὁδὸν εἰς ᾿Αἴδαν. (2). Closely…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

λέγω (legō) — to say.

λέγω,

__B pick up, etc.: tenses for signification 1 and 11, future λέξω [Refs 8th c.BC+]: aorist ἔλεξα [Refs 4th c.BC+]:—middle, future in passive sense λέξομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist ἐλεξάμην [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Epic dialect ἐλέγμην [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—passive, aorist ἐλέχθην [Refs 8th c.BC+]-; post-[Refs 8th c.BC+]perfect εἴλοχα (κατ-, συν-), passive εἴλεγμαι, in these senses rarely λέλεγμαι (see. the compounds); also future λεγήσομαι (συλ-): aorist 2 ἐλέγην (κατ-, συν-):—gather, pick up, ὀστέα.. λέγωμεν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; αἱμασιάς τε λέγων picking out stones for building walls, [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—middle, gather for oneself, ἐπὶ δὲ ξύλα πολλὰ λέγεσθε [Refs 8th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

λέγω

lego

a primary verb; properly, to "lay" forth, i.e. (figuratively) relate

(in words (usually of systematic or set discourse; whereas 2036 and

5346 generally refer to an individual expression or speech

respectively; while 4483 is properly to break silence merely, and 2980

means an extended or random harangue)); by implication, to mean:--ask,

bid, boast, call, describe, give out, name, put forth, say(-ing, on),

shew, speak, tell, utter.

see GREEK for 2036

see GREEK for 5346

see GREEK for 4483

see GREEK for 2980

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

λέγω

v.

I say, speak

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

λέγω legō 2x

to lay, to arrange, to gather; to say, Mt. 1:20; to speak, make an address or speech, Acts 26:1; to say mentally, in thought, Mt. 3:9; Lk. 3:8; to say in written language, Mk. 15:28; Lk. 1:63; Jn. 19:37; to say, as distinguished from acting, Mt. 23:3; to mention, speak of, Mk. 14:71; Lk. 9:31; Read the full entry →

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAP-ASF — Verb · present · active · participle · accusative · singular · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAP-ASF Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Participle Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
35%saying
saying35% · 480×says13% · 175×i say12% · 164×he says9% · 122×say5% · 70×he was saying3% · 42×they say2% · 31×other renderings17% · 225×other renderings4% · 48×

1,357 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 107 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
verb98%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,255 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
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
αὐτός
πρόςμαθητήςa learner, disciἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theοὗτοςἐγώ
ἸησοῦςJesus
Article theδέbut, on the otheγόνυa knee
ἀμήνHebr
ἀμήνHebrαὐτόςλέγωI say, speak
λέγωsaying2255×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
μαθητήςa learner, disciἸησοῦςJesusΠέτροςPeter
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becοὐNegἐάνCond
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theπρόςαὐτός
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theοὗτοςσύ

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

Concordanceλέγω · 2,255× in the New Testament
Luke John Matthew Mark Acts Revelation Hebrews Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians James Galatians

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

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

Counted over the 1,290 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 The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 5c. AD 40

οὐ μὴν διὰ τοῦθ’ ἡσυχαστέον, ἀλλ’ ἕνεκα τοῦ θεοφιλοῦς καὶ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐπιτολμητέον λέγειν, οἴκοθεν μὲν οὐδέν, ὀλίγα δ’ ἀντὶ πολλῶν, ἐφ’ ἃ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν φθάνειν εἰκὸς ἔρωτι καὶ πόθῳ σοφίας κατεσχημένην.

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 2.4c. AD 100

πεφανέρωκεν γὰρ ἡμῖν διὰ πάντων τῶν προφητῶν, ὅτι οὕτε θυσιῶν οὔτε ὁλοκαυτωμάτων οὔτε προσφορῶν χρῄζει, λέγων ὅτε μέν:

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 6th c. AD 1st c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 33Pathyris101 BC

τὸ ἐπιβάλλον αὐτῷ μέρος ἧς ἐμισθώσατο σὺν Πακοίβι Σχώτου καὶ τοῖς μετόχοις γῆς σιτοφόρου λεγομένης Νεχθαραῦτι θεοῦ μεγάλου παρὰ τῶν ἱερέων ἐτῶν δέκα εἰς τὰ ἐνλιπόντα αὐτῷ ἑτέρων ,

P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

ἑτερᾶς· νότου γῆ Τακοίμιος, βορρᾶ γῆ Χενσθώτου, ἀπηλιώτου Ἀείους, λιβὸς περίχωμα, τῆς δʼ ἄλλης λεγομένης Πκρώ· νότου γῆ Σενπελαίας, βορρᾶ γῆ Πανᾶτος ἀπηλιώτου ποταμός, λιβὸς Ἀραμείους, ἢ οἳ ἂν

P.Adl. 16Pathyris100 BC

οἱ Φίβιος τοῦ Πανεχάτου υἱοί, ἀπηλιώτου ὁδὸς βασιλική, λιβὸς γῆ Ψεμμώνθου τοῦ Πανεχάτου, ἄλλης λεγομένης Φαμούνιος νότου γῆ Παθώτου τοῦ Πατοῦτος, βορρᾶ γῆ Πατσεοῦτος τοῦ Φίβιος, ἀπηλιώτου ποταμός, λιβὸς

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
αὐτῷ·autos to him; G846 Personal pronoun · dative · singular · masculine
5,550× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

αὐτός is a pronoun meaning 'self' or 'the same,' used to emphasize distinction or opposition. It can function as a reflexive pronoun and appears frequently in the New Testament, often in contexts that highlight contrast or identity, such as in Luke 5:37 and John 2:25. The entries indicate that it can also be used in various grammatical constructions, including with articles to denote sameness.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

determinative pron., in late Gk. much more freq. than in cl. (WM, 178 f.; Jannaris, HGG, §1399).

Emphatic (so always in nom. exc. when preceded by the art., v. infr., iii);

self (ipse), expressing opposition, distinction, exclusion, etc., αὐ. ἐκχυθήσεται, Lk 5:37; αὐ. ἐγινώσκεν, Jo 2:25; αὐ. ὑμεῖς, Jo 3:28; καὶ αὐ. ἐγώ, Ro 15:14; αὐ. Ἰησοῦς, Jo 2:24; αὐ. καὶ οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ, Mk 2:25; ὑμεῖς αὐ., Mk 6:31; esp. (as freq in cl.) αὐ. ὁ, Mt 3:4, Mk 6:17, Jo 16:27, I Th 3:11, al.; in late Gk., sometimes…

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

αὐτός, -7, -d, pron. (“derived from the particle αὖ with the added force of a demonstrative pronoun. In itself it signifies nothing more than again, applied to what has either been previously mentioned or, when the whole discourse is looked at, must necessarily be .upplied.” Klotz ad Devar. ii. p. 219; [see Vaniéek p. 268]). It is used by the bibl. writ. both of the O. T. and of the N. T. far more frequently than the other pronouns; and in this very frequent and almost inordinate use of it, they deviate greatly from prof. auth.; cf. B. § 127, 9. [On classic usage ef. Hermann, Opusce. i. 308 sqq., of which dissertation a summary is given in his edition of Viger pp- 732-736.] I. self, as used (in all persons, genders, numbers) to distinguish a person or thing from or contrast it with another, or to give him (it) emphatic prominence. ik When used to express Opposition or Distinction, it is…

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

αὐτός. The weakening of the old distinction between αὐτὸς 6 and ὁ αὐτός, especially in Luke, is noted in Proleg. p. 91, and paralleled from Hellenistic. We may add (cf. Linleitung p. 145f.) Sy// 8071 (ii/A.D.) αὐταῖς ταῖς ἡμέραις, where Dittenberger remarks ‘‘expectaveris ταῖς αὐταῖς," OG/S 383! (Antiochus of Commagene, i/8.c.) τὴν αὐτήν τε κρίσιν, for which Ditt. desiderates ταύτην τὴν κρίσιν, P Iib I. 30° (B.c. 265) αὐτὸς Ὧρος “the said H.,’’ P Lille I. 238 (B.C, 221) οὗ μ[ισ]θωτὴς Ἡρώδ[ης] ὁ αὐτός “ce méme L.,”’ P Oxy VI. 892% (A.D. 338) τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως, 26. VIII. 1105 (A.D. 254) τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀμφοδογραμματέως “the said a.’’: all these seem to be practically identical, with αὐτός differing little from ἐκεῖνος. The combination αὐτὸ τοῦτο may be illustrated by P Grenf I. 114 (literary, ii/B.c.) “ for this reason ” (Ed.) as in 2 Pet 1°, P Ryl 11. 77°9 (a.p. 192) καὶ αὐτὰ ταῦτα ἀσφαλίσομαι…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

(Cretan dialect ἀϝτός [Refs] (also αὐτόν[Refs], reflexive pronoun, self:—in oblique cases used for the personal pronoun, him, her, it:—with Article, ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (also ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

I. self, myself, thyself, etc., accusative to the person of the Verb: frequently joined with ἐγώ, σύ, etc. (see. below 10),

I.1. one's true self, the soul, not the body, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; reversely, body, not soul, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; oneself, as opposed to others who are less prominent, as king to subject, [Refs]; man to wife and children, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; warrior to horses, [Refs 8th c.BC+], or to weapons, [Refs]; shepherd to herd, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; seamen to ships, [Refs]: generally, whole to parts,[Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, the Master, as in the [Refs 4th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea

of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used

(alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the

proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one,

the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy-

)self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at,

- by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man),

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

self, very; alone, Mk. 6:31; 2 Cor. 12:13; of one’s self, of one’s own motion, Jn. 16:27; used also in the oblique cases independently as a personal pron. of the third person; ὁ αὐτός, the same; unchangeable, Heb. 1:12; κατὰ τὸ αὐτό, at the same time, together, Acts 14:1; ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, in one and the same place, Mt. 22:34; at the same time, together, Acts 3:1

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

αὐτός self, Lat. ipse:— in the oblique cases simply for the personal Pron., him, her, it:— with the Artic. ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (or ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

self, myself, thyself, etc., acc. to the person of the Verb., Hom., etc.:

oneself, one's true self, the soul, not the body, Od.; or opp. to others, as king to subjects, parent to children, man to wife, etc., Hom.; hence absol. for the master, τίς οὗτος;—Αὐτός, i. e. Socrates, Ar.; similarly in neut. αὐτὸ δείξει the result will shew, Eur.

of oneself, of one's own accord, Lat. sponte, Hom., Soph.

by oneself, alone, αὐτός περ ἐών although alone, Il.; αὐτοί ἐσμεν we are by ourselves, i. e. among friends, Ar.

in Plat., τὸ δίκαιον αὐτό right in itself, the idea of right, etc.; cf. αὐτοάνθρωπος.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-DSM — Personal pronoun · dative · singular · masculine
dative — to, for, with — the one it is done to or by.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-DSM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
52%him
him52% · 3025×them25% · 1488×it6% · 323×her4% · 250×other renderings10% · 587×other renderings3% · 188×

5,861 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 92 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
object33%adverbial28%indirect object19%subject18%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 5,561 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
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςto him;5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

Concordanceαὐτός · 5,550× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Revelation Romans Hebrews 1 John 1 Corinthians Ephesians 2 Corinthians

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
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

περὶ τοῦ γένους Ἀδάμου καὶ τῶν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ δέκα γενεῶν τῶν μέχρι τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ.

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 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

Πακοίβιος ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν μ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ μερίδα γῆς σιτοφόρου ἐν τῷ περὶ Παθῦρειν πεδίωι σφραγίδων τεσσάρων , ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

1 ἔτους ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ Γ. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ὡς ἐτῶν νε μέσος ἢ ἐλάσσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, καὶ Πετεαρσοῆρις Σχώτου τῶν αὐτῶν ἱερέων ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος ἢ ἐλασσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
ΣαοὺλSaoul Saul G4549 Noun · proper name, indeclinable
9× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Acts than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Saul was the Jewish name of the Apostle Paul before he became a Christian, and it is also the name of the first king of Israel. The Bible mentions Saul in Acts 13:21 and other passages.
Amplified meaning
the Jewish name of the Apostle Paul
Tyndale gloss
Saul
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

Σαούλ is the Greek form of the name Saul, derived from Hebrew. It refers to the first king of Israel and is also the Jewish name of the Apostle Paul, used in specific contexts in the New Testament, particularly in Acts 9:4, 17; 22:7, 13; and 26:14. The name appears only in the indeclinable form when addressing Saul.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Σαούλ, ὁ indecl.

(in FlJ, Σάουλος; Heb. שָׁאוּל)

Saul;

the King of Israel: Ac 13:21;

the Jewish name of the Apostle Paul, used in the indecl. form only in address (cf. Σαῦλος): Ac 9:4, 17 22:7, 13 26:14.†

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

Σαούλ, (7NW ‘asked for’), 6, indecl. (in Joseph. Σάουdos), Saul; 1. the name of the first king of Israel: Acts xiii. 21. 2. the Jewish name of the apostle Paul, but occurring only in address [ef. B. 6]: Acts ix. 4,17; xxii. 7,13; xxvi. 14; in the other pass. of the Acts the form Σαῦλος (4. v-) with the Grk. term. is used.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

Σαούλ (Saoul) — Saul.

σαῦλος, η, ον,

an adjective descriptive of gait and carriage, defined as τὸ φαῦλον καὶ διερρυηκός by [Refs 5th c.BC+]; σαῦλα ποσὶν βαίνουσα, applied to the gait of the tortoise, straddling, waddling, [Refs]; of the loose, wanton gait of courtesans or Bacchantes, σ. βαίνειν [Refs 6th c.BC+]; also of a prancing horse, σ. βαίνειν, ἵππος ὡς κορωνίης [Refs 7th c.BC+]

Σαούλ (Saoul) — Saul.

σαῦλος, η, ον,

an adjective descriptive of gait and carriage, defined as τὸ φαῦλον καὶ διερρυηκός by [Refs 5th c.BC+]; σαῦλα ποσὶν βαίνουσα, applied to the gait of the tortoise, straddling, waddling, [Refs]; of the loose, wanton gait of courtesans or Bacchantes, σ. βαίνειν [Refs 6th c.BC+]; also of a prancing horse, σ. βαίνειν, ἵππος ὡς κορωνίης [Refs 7th…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

∑αούλ

Saoul

of Hebrew origin (7586); Saul (i.e. Shaul), the Jewish name of

Paul:--Saul. Compare 4569.

see GREEK for 4569

see HEBREW for 07586

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Σαούλ, ὁ

Prop.n.

Saul

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Σαούλ Saoul 9x

Saul, pr. name, indecl. I. Saul, king of Israel, Acts 13:21; II. The Apostle Paul, Acts 9:4, 17; 22:7, 13; 26:14*

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-PRI — Noun · proper name, indeclinable
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-PRI Indeclinable PRoper Noun

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sol (sha'ul; Saoul):

(1) The first king of Israel.

I. EARLY HISTORY

1. Name and Meaning

2. Genealogy

3. Home and Station

4. Sources for Life

5. Election as King

6. Reasons for It

II. REIGN AND FALL

1. His First Action

2. Army Reorganized

3. Battle of Michmash

4. Defeats the Amalekites

5. Deposition Pronounced

6. David Introduced to Saul

7. Two Accounts

8. Saul's Envy of David

9. Attempts to Get Rid of David

10. David Spares Saul

11. Saul's Divided Energies

12. Consults a Necromancer

13. Battle of Gilboa

14. Double Accounts

15. Saul's Posterity

III. CHARACTER

1. Book of Chronicles

2. Saul's Failings

3. His Virtue

4. David's Elegy

I. Early History.

1. Name and Meaning:

The name Saul is usually regarded as simply the passive participle of the verb "to ask," and so meaning "asked" (compare 1Sa 8:4 ff), but the gentilic adjective sha'uli (

Saul

Asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48.

(2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, “asked for”), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Jewish nation. The singular providential circumstances connected with his election as king are recorded in 1 Sam. 8-10. His father’s she-asses had strayed, and Saul was sent with a servant to seek for them. Leaving his home at Gibeah (10:5, “the hill of God,” A.V.; lit., as in R.V. marg., “Gibeah of God”), Saul and his servant went toward the north-west over Mount Ephraim, and then turning north-east they came to “the land of Shalisha,” and thence eastward to the land of Shalim, and at length came to the district of Zuph, near Samuel’s home at Ramah (9:5-10). At this point…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(desired), more accurately Shaul. One of the early kings of Edom, and successor of Samlah. (Genesis 36:37,38; 1 Chronicles 1:48) (B.C. after 1450.) The first king of Israel, the son of Kish, and of the tribe of Benjamin. (B.C, 1095-1055.) His character is in part illustrated by the fierce, wayward, fitful nature of the tribe and in part accounted for by the struggle between the old and new systems in which he found himself involved. To this we must add a taint of madness. which broke out in violent frenzy at times leaving him with long lucid intervals. He was remarkable for his strength and activity, (2 Samuel 1:25) and, like the Homeric heroes, of gigantic stature, taller by head and shoulders than the rest of the people, and…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Israelites, anointed by Samuel, B. C. 1091, and after a reign of forty years filled with various events, slain with his sons on Mount Gilboa. He was succeeded by David, who was his son-in-law, and whom he had endeavored to put to death. His history is contained in 1Sa 10:1-31:13. It is a sad and admonitory narrative. The morning of his reign was bright with special divine favors, both providential, and spiritual, 1Sa 9:20 10:1-11,24,25. But he soon began to disobey God, and was rejected as unworthy to found a line of kings; his sins and misfortunes multiplied, and his sun went down in gloom. In his first war with the Ammonites, God was with him; but then follow his presumptuous sacrifice, in the absence of Samuel…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%saul
saul100% · 9×

9 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 1 different way. 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
object78%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 9 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
ΣαούλProp
αὐτόςἐγώδιάλεκτοςlanguage, speech
ἐγώ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
λέγωI say, speak
χείρa hand
Article the
θεόςGod, a god
ΣαούλSaul
what comes after →
ΣαούλProp
τίςIrg
τίςIrg
ἐγώ
ἀδελφόςa brother
Article theἀναβλέπωI look up, recov
υἱόςa son, descendent
ΚίςProp

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

ConcordanceΣαούλ · 9× in the New Testament
Acts
Across the New Testament1 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 30 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
Clement of Rome Josephus Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Migration of Abraham 196c. AD 40

οὗ χάριν καὶ ὁ ταχθεὶς τὴν ἀρίστην τάξιν παρὰ θεῷ τρόπος, ὄνομα Σαμουήλ, οὐχ ὑφηγεῖται τὰ τῆς βασιλείας δίκαια τῷ Σαοὺλ [[οὐδ’]ὐδ[οὐδ’]] ἔτι [οὐδ’]ιατρίβοντι ἐν τοῖς σκεύεσιν, ἀλλ[οὐδ’] ἐπειδὰν ἐκεῖθεν αὐτὸν ἐξελκύσῃ.

JosephusThe Jewish War 5.51c. AD 75–95

ἔνθα μίαν ἑσπέραν αὐλισάμενος ὑπὸ τὴν ἕω πρόεισι, καὶ διανύσας ἡμέρας σταθμὸν στρατοπεδεύεται κατὰ τὸν ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων πατρίως Ἀκανθῶν αὐλῶνα καλούμενον πρός τινι κώμῃ Γαβὰθ Σαοὺλ λεγομένῃ, σημαίνει δὲ τοῦτο λόφον Σαούλου, διέχων ἀπὸ τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 4.13c. AD 96

διὰ ζῆλος Δαυεὶδ φθόνον ἔσχεν οὐ μόνον ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ Σαοὺλ βασιλέως Ἰσραὴλ ἐδιώχθη.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
7th c. AD
ZPE 77 (1989), p. 185 no. 1Arsinoiton PolisAD 676–AD 725

κυρικῷ ἐλαιοπράτῃ· παράσχου Σαοῦλ δἰ Ἑρμείου κατὰ κέλευσιν τοῦ θεοφυλάκτου Κύρου ἐλαίου λαγήνια ι, δέκα, εἰς ξέστας σ

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
Σαούλ,Saoul Saul, G4549 Noun · proper name, indeclinable
9× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Acts than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Saul was the Jewish name of the Apostle Paul before he became a Christian, and it is also the name of the first king of Israel. The Bible mentions Saul in Acts 13:21 and other passages.
Tyndale gloss
Saul
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

Σαούλ is the Greek form of the name Saul, derived from Hebrew. It refers to the first king of Israel and is also the Jewish name of the Apostle Paul, used in specific contexts in the New Testament, particularly in Acts 9:4, 17; 22:7, 13; and 26:14. The name appears only in the indeclinable form when addressing Saul.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Σαούλ, ὁ indecl.

(in FlJ, Σάουλος; Heb. שָׁאוּל)

Saul;

the King of Israel: Ac 13:21;

the Jewish name of the Apostle Paul, used in the indecl. form only in address (cf. Σαῦλος): Ac 9:4, 17 22:7, 13 26:14.†

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

Σαούλ, (7NW ‘asked for’), 6, indecl. (in Joseph. Σάουdos), Saul; 1. the name of the first king of Israel: Acts xiii. 21. 2. the Jewish name of the apostle Paul, but occurring only in address [ef. B. 6]: Acts ix. 4,17; xxii. 7,13; xxvi. 14; in the other pass. of the Acts the form Σαῦλος (4. v-) with the Grk. term. is used.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

Σαούλ (Saoul) — Saul.

σαῦλος, η, ον,

an adjective descriptive of gait and carriage, defined as τὸ φαῦλον καὶ διερρυηκός by [Refs 5th c.BC+]; σαῦλα ποσὶν βαίνουσα, applied to the gait of the tortoise, straddling, waddling, [Refs]; of the loose, wanton gait of courtesans or Bacchantes, σ. βαίνειν [Refs 6th c.BC+]; also of a prancing horse, σ. βαίνειν, ἵππος ὡς κορωνίης [Refs 7th c.BC+]

Σαούλ (Saoul) — Saul.

σαῦλος, η, ον,

an adjective descriptive of gait and carriage, defined as τὸ φαῦλον καὶ διερρυηκός by [Refs 5th c.BC+]; σαῦλα ποσὶν βαίνουσα, applied to the gait of the tortoise, straddling, waddling, [Refs]; of the loose, wanton gait of courtesans or Bacchantes, σ. βαίνειν [Refs 6th c.BC+]; also of a prancing horse, σ. βαίνειν, ἵππος ὡς κορωνίης [Refs 7th…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

∑αούλ

Saoul

of Hebrew origin (7586); Saul (i.e. Shaul), the Jewish name of

Paul:--Saul. Compare 4569.

see GREEK for 4569

see HEBREW for 07586

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Σαούλ, ὁ

Prop.n.

Saul

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Σαούλ Saoul 9x

Saul, pr. name, indecl. I. Saul, king of Israel, Acts 13:21; II. The Apostle Paul, Acts 9:4, 17; 22:7, 13; 26:14*

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-PRI — Noun · proper name, indeclinable
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-PRI Indeclinable PRoper Noun

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sol (sha'ul; Saoul):

(1) The first king of Israel.

I. EARLY HISTORY

1. Name and Meaning

2. Genealogy

3. Home and Station

4. Sources for Life

5. Election as King

6. Reasons for It

II. REIGN AND FALL

1. His First Action

2. Army Reorganized

3. Battle of Michmash

4. Defeats the Amalekites

5. Deposition Pronounced

6. David Introduced to Saul

7. Two Accounts

8. Saul's Envy of David

9. Attempts to Get Rid of David

10. David Spares Saul

11. Saul's Divided Energies

12. Consults a Necromancer

13. Battle of Gilboa

14. Double Accounts

15. Saul's Posterity

III. CHARACTER

1. Book of Chronicles

2. Saul's Failings

3. His Virtue

4. David's Elegy

I. Early History.

1. Name and Meaning:

The name Saul is usually regarded as simply the passive participle of the verb "to ask," and so meaning "asked" (compare 1Sa 8:4 ff), but the gentilic adjective sha'uli (

Saul

Asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48.

(2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, “asked for”), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Jewish nation. The singular providential circumstances connected with his election as king are recorded in 1 Sam. 8-10. His father’s she-asses had strayed, and Saul was sent with a servant to seek for them. Leaving his home at Gibeah (10:5, “the hill of God,” A.V.; lit., as in R.V. marg., “Gibeah of God”), Saul and his servant went toward the north-west over Mount Ephraim, and then turning north-east they came to “the land of Shalisha,” and thence eastward to the land of Shalim, and at length came to the district of Zuph, near Samuel’s home at Ramah (9:5-10). At this point…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(desired), more accurately Shaul. One of the early kings of Edom, and successor of Samlah. (Genesis 36:37,38; 1 Chronicles 1:48) (B.C. after 1450.) The first king of Israel, the son of Kish, and of the tribe of Benjamin. (B.C, 1095-1055.) His character is in part illustrated by the fierce, wayward, fitful nature of the tribe and in part accounted for by the struggle between the old and new systems in which he found himself involved. To this we must add a taint of madness. which broke out in violent frenzy at times leaving him with long lucid intervals. He was remarkable for his strength and activity, (2 Samuel 1:25) and, like the Homeric heroes, of gigantic stature, taller by head and shoulders than the rest of the people, and…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Israelites, anointed by Samuel, B. C. 1091, and after a reign of forty years filled with various events, slain with his sons on Mount Gilboa. He was succeeded by David, who was his son-in-law, and whom he had endeavored to put to death. His history is contained in 1Sa 10:1-31:13. It is a sad and admonitory narrative. The morning of his reign was bright with special divine favors, both providential, and spiritual, 1Sa 9:20 10:1-11,24,25. But he soon began to disobey God, and was rejected as unworthy to found a line of kings; his sins and misfortunes multiplied, and his sun went down in gloom. In his first war with the Ammonites, God was with him; but then follow his presumptuous sacrifice, in the absence of Samuel…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%saul
saul100% · 9×

9 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 1 different way. 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
object78%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 9 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
ΣαούλProp
αὐτόςἐγώδιάλεκτοςlanguage, speech
ἐγώ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
λέγωI say, speak
χείρa hand
Article the
θεόςGod, a god
ΣαούλSaul,
what comes after →
ΣαούλProp
τίςIrg
τίςIrg
ἐγώ
ἀδελφόςa brother
Article theἀναβλέπωI look up, recov
υἱόςa son, descendent
ΚίςProp

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

ConcordanceΣαούλ · 9× in the New Testament
Acts
Across the New Testament1 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 30 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
Clement of Rome Josephus Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Migration of Abraham 196c. AD 40

οὗ χάριν καὶ ὁ ταχθεὶς τὴν ἀρίστην τάξιν παρὰ θεῷ τρόπος, ὄνομα Σαμουήλ, οὐχ ὑφηγεῖται τὰ τῆς βασιλείας δίκαια τῷ Σαοὺλ [[οὐδ’]ὐδ[οὐδ’]] ἔτι [οὐδ’]ιατρίβοντι ἐν τοῖς σκεύεσιν, ἀλλ[οὐδ’] ἐπειδὰν ἐκεῖθεν αὐτὸν ἐξελκύσῃ.

JosephusThe Jewish War 5.51c. AD 75–95

ἔνθα μίαν ἑσπέραν αὐλισάμενος ὑπὸ τὴν ἕω πρόεισι, καὶ διανύσας ἡμέρας σταθμὸν στρατοπεδεύεται κατὰ τὸν ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων πατρίως Ἀκανθῶν αὐλῶνα καλούμενον πρός τινι κώμῃ Γαβὰθ Σαοὺλ λεγομένῃ, σημαίνει δὲ τοῦτο λόφον Σαούλου, διέχων ἀπὸ τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 4.13c. AD 96

διὰ ζῆλος Δαυεὶδ φθόνον ἔσχεν οὐ μόνον ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ Σαοὺλ βασιλέως Ἰσραὴλ ἐδιώχθη.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
7th c. AD
ZPE 77 (1989), p. 185 no. 1Arsinoiton PolisAD 676–AD 725

κυρικῷ ἐλαιοπράτῃ· παράσχου Σαοῦλ δἰ Ἑρμείου κατὰ κέλευσιν τοῦ θεοφυλάκτου Κύρου ἐλαίου λαγήνια ι, δέκα, εἰς ξέστας σ

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
τίtis why G5101 Interrogative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
562× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions like who, which, or what, as seen in Matthew 3:7 and Mark 11:28. It seeks information about a person or thing. This term is essential in direct and indirect questions.
Amplified meaning
for what reason
Tyndale gloss
which?
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τίς is an interrogative pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' or 'what,' used in both direct and indirect questions. It can function as a substantive, adjective, or adverb, appearing in various contexts throughout the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:7 and John 18:23. The neuter form τί also means 'what' or 'which.' There are instances where τίς may be used interchangeably with other pronouns like ποῖος.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τίς, neut., τί, gen., τίνος, interrog. pron., [in LXX for מָה ,מִי ;] in masc. and fem.,

who, which, what?; in neut., which, what?, used both in direct and in indirect questions.

As subst.,

masc., fem.: τίς; who, what?, Mt 3:7 26:68; Mk 11:28, Lk 9:9, al. mult.; c. gen. partit., Ac 7:52, He 1:5, al; seq. ἐκ (= gen. partit.), Mt 6:27, Lk 14:28, Jo 8:46; = ποῖος, Mk 4:41 6:2, Lk 19:3,

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

τὶς, τὶ. ἘΣ what follows, εἰ καί lays less emphasis upon it; although it is evident that εἰ καί can often be substituted for καὶ ei.” Cf. Herm. Vig. p. 829 sq.; W. 444 (413); Ellic. on Phil. ii. 17; Schmalfeld, Griech. Syntax, § 41; Paley, Grk. Particles, p. 31]. 8. εἰ μή, a. in a conditional protasis, with the same sequence of moods and tenses as the simple εἰ, see 1. above, if not, unless, except, [W. 477 (444) sqq.; B. 345 (297)]: Mt. xxiv. 22; Jn. ix. 33; | xv. 22, 24; Ro. vii. 7, ete. b. it serves, with the entire. following sentence, to limit or correct what has just been said, only, save that, (Lat. nisi quod), [B. 359 (308) ]: Mk. vi. 5; 1 Co. vii. 17 (where Paul by the addition εἰ μὴ ἑκάστῳ κτλ. strives to prevent any one in applying what had been said a little while before, viz. οὐ δεδούλωται . . ἐν τοιούτοις to his own case, from going too far) ; in ironical answers, unless…

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

τις (indef. pron.), ‘* someone, something’’: P Vat ΑἸ (B.c. 168) (= UPZi. p. 303) πᾶς τις πειρᾶται. . ., P Lond 421° (B.C. 168) (= Selections, p. 10) εἰς πᾶν τι ἐληλυθυῖα διὰ, τὴν τοῦ σίτου τιμήν, ‘having come to the last extremity because of the high price of corn,’’ P Oxy IV. 7421° (B.c. 2) ἐάν τι δύνῃ... δὸς ἐργασίαν, “if you can, give your attention to it’’ (Edd.), 2d. I. 120% (iv/a.D.) τινα ὁρῶντα αἱαυτὸν (/. ἑαυτὸν) ἐν δυστυχίᾳ, ““α man finding himself in adversity,’ 13 ἀποστῖλόν pot τινα ἢ Γοῦνθον ἢ ᾿Αμμώνιον, “send someone to me, either Gunthus or Ammonius” (Edd.). P Oxy VI. 937°" (ili/A.D.) γ]ράψον ἐκεῖ TO kat’ εἶδος ὅτι τι kal τι εἴληφας is translated by the editors ‘* write the list there, that you have received so and so.” They 3) ες remark that it is simpler to take τι καί τι as analogous to τὸ καὶ τό than ‘‘to take τί kal τί as an indirect interrogative, ὅτι being…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τίς (tis) — which?.

τίς

__B Interrog. pronoun τίς, Elean and Laconian dialect τίρ (which see), τί:—genitive Epic dialect and Ionic dialect τέο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τοῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect, Trag., and Attic dialect τίνος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative Ionic dialect τέῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; no dative in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τῷ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίῳ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; τίνι first in [NT+8th c.BC+]; genitive Epic dialect τέων [Refs 8th c.BC+], and as monosyllable [Refs]; Trag. and Attic dialect τίνων [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative τίσι first in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect τέοισι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίοισι [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Megarian dialect σά [Refs 5th c.BC+]: of the plural [Refs 8th c.BC+] with genitive τέω; ποῖος (what? which?) is sometimes preferred (especially in neuter…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τίς

tis

probably emphatic of 5100; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or

what (in direct or indirect questions):--every man, how (much), +

no(-ne, thing), what (manner, thing), where (-by, -fore, -of, -unto, -

with, -withal), whether, which, who(-m, -se), why.

see GREEK for 5100

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τίς, τί

Irg.pr.

who, which, what

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Τίτιος Titios 1x

Titius, pr. name, Acts 18:7*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τίς in direct questions, who? which? neut. what? which? Lat. quis, quae, quid?, Hom., etc.: relating to other words in the same case, τίς δ᾽ οὗτος ἔρχεαι; who art thou that comest? Il.; τίν᾽ ὄψιν σὴν προσδέρκομαι; what face is this I see of thine? Eur.:— τίς ἄν or κεν, with the opt., expresses doubt, who could, who would do so? Hom.: —in double questions, τί λαβόντα τί δεῖ ποιεῖν; what has one received and what must one do? Dem.; so, τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; who and whence art thou? Od.

τίς with Particles: τίς γάρ; Lat. quisnam? why who? who possibly? Il., etc.; τίς δή; who then? Theogn.; τίς δῆτα; Soph.; τίς ποτε; who in the world? who ever? Xen.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Interrog-ASN — Interrogative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

I-ASN Part of Speech: Interrogative pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
48%what
what48% · 273×who21% · 117×why18% · 101×which5% · 29×whom5% · 29×other renderings3% · 19×

568 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 17 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
object30%adverbial25%predicate24%subject21%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 561 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
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakπρόςἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusκαίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existοὗτοςθεόςGod, a god
διά
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakεἶπονI say, speak
Disj
ἐσθίωI eatπῶςποιέωI do, make
τίςwhy562×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theοὗτοςκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spσημεῖονa sign, miracle,μαθητήςa learner, disci
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakδιώκωI pursue, persec
ποιέωI do, make
Article theἵναin order that, sὅτιthat, since, bec
οὖνtherefore, then
εἶπονI say, speakποιέωI do, makeεἰμίI am, exist

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

Concordanceτίς · 562× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Romans 1 Corinthians Revelation 2 Corinthians Hebrews Ephesians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament20 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 601 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 The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

καὶ γὰρ λόγον καὶ ἀκοὴν ὑπερβάλλει μείζω καὶ σεμνότερα ὄντα ἢ ὡς θνητοῦ τινος ὀργάνοις ἐναρμοσθῆναι.

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 2.5c. AD 100

πλήρης εἰμὶ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, καὶ στέαρ ἀρνῶν καὶ αἷμα ταύρων καὶ τράγων οὐ βούλομαι, οὐδ̓ ἂν ἔρχησθε ὀφθῆναί μοι, τίς γὰρ ἐξεζήτησεν ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν;

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 4th c. AD 6th c. AD

ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν· μὴ ἐξέστω δὲ τῷ καθόλου ἐπὶ τὴν διαθήκην ταύτην ἄλλῳ τινὶ ἐπέρχεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μὴ ἄκυρον ἔστω καὶ προσαποτεισάτω ὁ ἐπιφέρων ὕστερον … ἄλλον τῆς

P.Cair. Cat. 10364 descr.Pathyris126 BC–102 BC

προγεγραμμένου ἵππου, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαί σοι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν δὲ ἐπέλθωμεν ἢ ἄλλος τις ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἥ τʼ ἔφοδος ἄκυρος ἔσται καὶ προσαποτείσομέν σοι χαλκοῦ τάλαντα πέντε.

BGU 6 1260Pathyris102 BC

σημαινομένης ἀρούρης μιᾶς , καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσασθαι Νεχθανοῦπιν καὶ τοὺς τούτου υἱοὺς μηδʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Πετεαρσεμθεία μηδʼ ἐπʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῦ περὶ

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
μεegō Me G3165 Personal pronoun · first person · accusative · singular
1,872× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
I/we
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐγώ, gen, etc., ἐμοῦ, ἐμοί, ἐμέ (enclitic μου, μοι, με), pl. ἡμεῖς, -ῶν, -ῖν, -ᾶς,

pers. pron.

I.

The nom. is usually emphatic, when expressed as subjc, as in Mt 3:11, Mk 1:8, Lk 3:16, al. But often there is no apparent emphasis, as Mt 10:16, Jo 10:17; ἰδοὺ ἐ. (= Heb. הִנֵּנִי, cf. I Ki 3:8), Ac 9:10; ἐ. (like Heb. אֲנִי), I am, Jo 1:23 (LXX), Ac 7:32 (LXX).

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

ἐγώ, gen. ἐμοῦ, enclitic pod; dat. ἐμοί, enclitic μοί; acc. ἐμέ, enclitic μέ; plur. ἡμεῖς, ete.; personal pronoun, J. 1. The nominatives ἐγώ and ἡμεῖς, when joined to a verb, generally have force and emphasis, or indicate antithesis, as Mt. iii. 11; Mk.i. 8; Lk. iii. 16 (ἐγὼ pev... ὁ δέ); Mt. iii. 14 (ἐγὼ... ἔχω, καὶ σύν ; V. 22, 28, 39, and often; ἡμεῖς, contrasted with God, Mt. vi. 12; ἡμεῖς x. of Φαρισαῖοι, Mt. ix. 14; cf. W. § 22,6. But sometimes they are used where there is no emphasis or antithesis in them, as Mt. x. 16; Jn. x. 17; and in many edd. in Mk. i. 2; Lk. vii. 27; οἵ. B. §129, 12. ἰδοὺ ἐγώ, 1397, behold me, hereamT: Acts ix.10 (1S. iii. 8). ἐγώ, like 38, Jam: Jn. i. 23; Acts vii. 32, [ef. W.585 (544); B. 125 (109)]. 2. The enclitic (and monosyllabic) gen., dat., and ace. are connected with nouns, verbs, adverbs, but not with prepositions: ἔμπροσθέν pov, Jn. i. 15; ὀπίσω…

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

ἐγώ. Deissmann (ZAZ p. 134 ff.) has drawn attention to the parallels to the solemn use of the first personal pronoun in the Fourth Gospel that may be adduced from inscriptions and magical texts. Thus in an inscr. in honour of Isis from Ios, written in ii/iii A.p., the contents of which are preChristian, we find —Elows ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ τ[ύρανν]ος πάσης χόρας.. ἐγὼ νόμους ἀνθρώποις ἐθέμην . . ἐγώ εἰμι Kpdvov θυγάτηρ πρεσβυτάτη α΄. And similarly in the magical papyrus P Lond 4645 (iv/a.p.) (=I. p. 69) ἐγώ εἰμι ὃ ἀκέφαλος δαίμων . . ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια ὁ μεισῶν ἀδικήματα γείνεσθαι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ α΄. With the construction of the phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί ; in Jn 24 we may compare BGU IV. 1141°8 (n.c. 14) ἐδίδουν αὐτῷ διαστολὰς μηδὲν αὐτῶι καὶ ἐκείνωι εἶναι : for its meaning see Ε΄. C. Burkitt in 77:5 xiii. p- 594f., where it is rendered, ‘‘ What have I and thou to do with that ?” On the difficult…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μέ (me) — me.

ἐγώ,

I: pronoun of the first person:—Epic dialect mostly ἐγών before vowels (so in Doric dialect, before consonants, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect ἱών [Refs 2nd c.AD+]:— strengthened ἔγωγε, I at least, for my part, indeed, for myself (more frequently in Attic dialect than in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: Doric dialect ἐγώνγα [Refs 7th c.BC+]: Boeotian dialect ἱώνγα [Refs 6th c.BC+]; ἱώνει [Refs]; ἰώγα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: Laconian dialect and Tarentum dialect ἐγώνη, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

II. oblique cases from a different root, genitive ἐμοῦ, enclitic μο; Ionic dialect and Epic dialect ἐμέο, ἐμεῦ, μευ, also ἐμέθεν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect ἔμεθεν [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Doric dialect ἐμέος, ἐμεῦς, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect ἐμοῦς [Refs 6th c.BC+] — _dative_ ἐμοί, enclitic μοι (which may be compared with Sanskrit…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐγώ

me

a shorter (and probably originally) from of 1691; me:--I, me, my.

see GREEK for 1691

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐγώ egō 2x

I, gen., ἐμοῦ [μου], dat., ἐμοί [μοι], acc., ἐμέ [με]

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-1AS — Personal pronoun · first person · accusative · singular
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-1AS Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: first Case: Accusative Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
35%us
us35% · 717×me32% · 644×mine20% · 402×we ourselves6% · 124×my2% · 45×other renderings5% · 97×

2,029 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 27 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

And having fallen on the ground he heard a voice saying to him; Saul Saul, why Me do you persecute?
διώκεις;diōkō do you persecute? G1377 Verb · present · active · indicative · second person · singular
45× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To pursue or follow someone, which can be done with or without hostile intent, as seen in Matthew 5:10-12 and Luke 17:23. It can also mean to persecute, as in Acts 26:11 and Revelation 12:13. This word is used to describe chasing after something or someone.
Amplified meaning
pursue, follow with hostile intent
Tyndale gloss
to pursue
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

διώκω (diōkō) means to pursue or chase, often with a sense of hostility, as in persecution. It can also refer to following eagerly after something, such as righteousness or peace. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, including persecution (e.g., Matthew 5:10-12) and the pursuit of virtues (e.g., Romans 12:13). The lexicons do not show significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

διώκω

[in LXX chiefly for רדף ;]

to put to flight, drive away: Mt 23:34.

to pursue;

of persons; c. acc, without hostility, to follow after: Lk 17:23; with hostile purpose: Ac 26:11, Re 12:13. Hence, to persecute: Mt 5:10-12, 44 10:23, Lk 11:49 21:12, Jo 5:16 15:20, Ac 7:52 9:4, 5 22:4, 7, 8 26:14, 15, Ro 12:14, I Co 4:12 15:9, II Co 4:9,

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

διώκω ; impf. ἐδίωκον ; fut. διώξω (Mt. xxiii. 34; Lk. xxi. 12; Jn. xv. 20; 2S. xxii. 38; Sap. xix. 2; a rarer form for the more com. Attic διώξομαι, ef. Bitm. Ausf. Spr. ii. 154; W.84 (80); [B. 53 (46); esp. Veitch s. v.; Rutherford, New Phryn. p. 377]); 1 aor. ἐδίωξα ; Pass., [pres. διώκομαι]; pf. ptep. dediwypevos; 1 fut. διωχθήσομαι; (fr. δίω to flee) ; Sept. commonly for 17; 1. to run or flee, put to flight, drive away: (τινὰ) ἀπὸ πόλεως εἰς πόλιν, Mt. xxiii. 34, cf. x. 23 Grsb. 2. to run swiftly in order to catch some person or thing, to run after; absol. (Hom. Il. 23, 8344; Soph. El. 738, ete.; διώκειν δρόμῳ, Xen. an. 6, 5, 25; ef. 7, 2, 20), to press on: fig. of one who in a race runs swiftly to reach the goal, Phil. iii. 12 (where distinguished fr. καταλαμβάνειν, [cf. Hdt. 9, 58; Leian. Hermot. 77]), vs. 14. fo pursue (in a hostile manner): τινά, Acts xxvi. 11; Rev. xii. 138.…

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

διώκω. P Fay 11139 (A.D. 95-6) (= Sevections, p. 67) τὸν λ[ι]μνασμ[ὸν] δ[(Ποξον τῶν [ἐ]ϊλα[ι]ώνίων τ]ῶν πάντον, “hasten with the flooding of all the olive-yards " (Edd.), 76, 1125 (A.D. 99) εὖ πυήσις διῶξαι τοὺς σκαφήτρους τῶν ἐλαιώνον, ‘please carry forward the digging of the olive-yards’’ (Edd.). For διώκω = ‘pursue,’” cf. OG/S 532° (B.C. 3) ὅπλο[ις τε] καὶ σιδήρωι διώξειν, and the moral tale in P Grenf II. 84? (v/vi A.D.) where a patricide, fleeing into the desert, ἐδιόκαιτο (2. ἐδιώκετο) ὑπὸ λέωντος, ‘was pursued by a kon.” The phrase δίωκε τὸν λόγον = ‘‘ pursue the recital of the formula’’ is common in the magic papyri: see the editor’s note on P Lond 46" (iv/A.D.) (=I. p. 78). We may add two exx. of the verb from Christian amulets. The first, P Oxy VIII. 1151 (? v/A.D.) opens, Φεῦγε πν(εῦμ)ᾳ μεμισιμένον, Χιριστό)ς σε διώκει, ** Fly, hateful spirit ! Christ In the second, BGU III.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

διώκω (diōkō) — to pursue.

διώκω,

Epic dialect infinitive διωκέμεναι, -έμεν (see. below): future -ξω[Refs 7th c.BC+]aorist ἐδίωξα: aorist 2 ἐδιώκαθον (see. διωκάθω): perfect δεδίωχα [Refs 4th c.BC+] —middle (see. below):—passive, future διωχθήσομαι [Refs 1st c.BC+]; but διώξομαι in passive sense, [LXX+1st c.BC+]: aorist ἐδιώχθην [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect δεδίωγμαι [NT]; see at {δίω}):—cause to run, set in quick motion, opposed to φεύγω:

1. pursue, chase, in war or hunting, φεύγοντα διώκειν [Refs 8th c.BC+] —middle, διώκεσθαί τινα πεδίοιο, δόμοιο, chase one over or across.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]

1. b with accusative person, of a lover, [Refs 7th c.BC+] [same place]; follow, [NT+5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

διώκω

dioko

a prolonged (and causative) form of a primary verb dio (to flee;

compare the base of 1169 and 1249); to pursue (literally or

figuratively); by implication, to persecute:--ensue, follow (after),

given to, (suffer) persecute(-ion), press forward.

see GREEK for 1169

see GREEK for 1249

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

διώκω

v.

I pursue, persecute

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

διώκω diōkō 45x

to put in rapid motion; to pursue; to follow, pursue the direction of, Lk. 17:23; to follow eagerly, endeavor earnestly to acquire, Rom. 9:30, 31; 12:13; to press forwards, Phil. 3:12, 14; to pursue with malignity, persecute, Mt. 5:10, 11, 12, 44

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

διώκω δίω II to pursue aperson, to chase, hunt, Il., etc.:—so in Mid., διώκεσθαί τινα πεδίοιο to chase one over or across the plain, Hom.: — to be a follower of a person, attach oneself to him, Xen.

to pursue an object, seek after, Od., etc.; δ. τὰ συμβάντα to follow or wait for the event, Dem.

to drive or chase away, banish, Od., Hdt.

of the wind, to drive a ship, of rowers, to impel, speed on her way, Od.; of a chariot, to drive, Orac. ap. Hdt.; δ. πόδα to urge on, Aesch.:—then, intr. to drive, drive on, Il.: to gallop, speed, run, Aesch.

as law-term, to prosecute, bring an action against a man, ὁ διώκων the prosecutor (opp. to ὁ φεύγων the defendant), Hdt., etc.; ὁ διώκων τοῦ ψηφίσματος he who impeaches the words of the decree, Dem.; c. gen. poenae, θανάτου or περὶ θανάτου δ. τινά, Lat. capitis accusare, Xen.: but c. gen. criminis, to…

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-2S — Verb · present · active · indicative · second person · singular
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAI-2S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: second Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
18%persecuting
persecuting18% · 8×do pursue9% · 4×pursuing7% · 3×persecuted4% · 2×persecute you?4% · 2×i was persecuting4% · 2×being persecuted4% · 2×they may persecute4% · 2×other renderings44% · 20×

45 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 26 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
verb98%adverbial2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 45 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
καίand, even, also, nam
σύἀποκτείνωI put to death, αὐτός
Article the
μακάριοςhappy, blessedὑπέρεὐλογέωI bless
ἐγώ
τίςIrgεἰCond
σύ
ὅςκαίand, even, also,
δέbut, on the other ha
ὅτανwhen, whensoeverἸσραήλProp
διώκωdo you persecute?45×
what comes after →
Article the
ἐκκλησίαan assembly, conπροφήτηςa prophet, poetἸουδαῖοςJewish
καίand, even, also, nam
λέγωI say, speakσύArticle the
δέbut, on the other ha
δικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesεἰCond
σύ
ἐν
εἰς
Article theἀλλήλων

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

Concordanceδιώκω · 45× in the New Testament
Acts Matthew Galatians Romans 1 Corinthians John Luke Philippians 2 Timothy 1 Peter 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy
Across the New Testament15 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 43 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 Didache Clement of Rome Polycarp
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Posterity of Cain 18c. AD 40

διοιχθέντων γὰρ τῶν διανοίας ὀμμάτων ὀξυδερκέστερον εἶδεν ὅτι ἐπὶ τὴν δυσαλώτου πράγματος θήραν ἀναδέδυκεν ἐξαναχωροῦντος αἰεὶ καὶ μακρὰν ἀφισταμένου καὶ φθάνοντος ἀπείρῳ τῷ μεταξὺ διαστήματι τοὺς διώκοντας.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.178c. AD 75–95

Ἅβραμος δὲ διώκων εἵπετο μέχρι καὶ δευτεραίους συνήλασεν αὐτοὺς εἰς Ὠβὰ τῆς Δαμασκηνῶν γῆς, ἐπιδείξας ὅτι τὸ νικᾶν οὐκ ἐν τῷ πλήθει καὶ τῇ πολυχειρίᾳ κεῖσθαι συμβέβηκεν, ἀλλὰ προθυμία τῶν μαχομένων καὶ τὸ γενναῖον κρατεῖ παντὸς ἀριθμοῦ, τριακοσίοις…

Clement of RomeSecond Clement 20.4c. AD 96

εἰ γὰρ τὸν μισθὸν τῶν δικαίων ὁ θεὸς συντόμως ἀπεδίδου, εὐθέως ἐμπορίαν ἠσκοῦμεν καὶ οὐ θεοσέβειαν: ἐδοκοῦμεν γὰρ εἶναι δίκαιοι, οὐ τὸ εὐσεβές, ἀλλὰ τὸ κερδαλέον διώκοντες.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 5th c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
BGU 11 2129Alexandria (?)AD 101–AD 200

σε ὑγιαίνειν μετὰ τῶν σῶν πάντων, καὶ ἐγὼ αὐτὸς ἔρρωμαι. ἐξελθὼν ἀφʼ ὑμῶν πολλὰ ἐδίωξα θέλων καταλαβεῖν τὸ πλοῖόν μου ἵνα πέμψω ὑμῖν τὸ περὶ τῶν οὐετρανῶν, καὶ οὐ

P.Wisc. 2 48AD 154–AD 159

ἔβαλόν μοι τὰ μὲν ἔρριπτον καὶ γὰρ ἄν τινας οἵτινες μήτε … ἐξ ὅσων ἐδίωξαν μήτε στρατοπεδάρχου μήτε ἑκατον… … ου κελεύσαντι … δι … … … χαρισθέντες ἔδησάν

P.Ross.Georg. 3 2AlexandriaAD 270

τὴν τελευτὴν τοῦ … τρου ἀηδῶς ἔσχον. ἀλλὰ ἀνθρώπινον· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς τοῦτο διώκομεν. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τὸν Μάρκον παρεμυθησάμεθα λυπούμενον ἤτε διὰ τὴν ἐκείνου τελευτὴν ἤτε διὰ

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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