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Galatians 4:31 — Word Study

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N1904διό, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας·

BSASo then,ara brothers,adelphos [fellow believers] notou we areeimi of [the] slave womanpaidiskē [a maidservant] childrenteknon [born to parents] butalla [in contrast] of theho free;eleutheros [the eleuthera, unrestricted and liberated]

Word
Listen & take awayGalatians 4
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 31 is in this chapter.
Greek ↓ Download MP3 Nestle 1904 — the very text on this page — read by Andy Martin in Erasmian pronunciation.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (eleutheros) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Galatians 4:31quick helps
In a sentencePaul explains that believers are children of the free woman, not the slave woman.
Who is speakingThe Apostle Paul, addressing fellow believers.
Where we areThe conclusion of an argument about the nature of believers' inheritance.
The hard wordπαιδίσκη
Take awayBelievers are free and not bound by the law.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectτέκνον verbεἰμί 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 — Galatians 4:31

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 — Children of the Promisegenerated

28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
29At that time, however, the son born by the flesh persecuted the son born by the Spirit. It is the same now.
30But what does the Scripture say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
31Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

Galatians 4:31 concludes Paul's argument about the distinction between those born of the flesh and those born of the Spirit. He emphasizes that believers, like Isaac, are children of promise, contrasting their status with that of the slave woman and her offspring. This reflects the broader themes of freedom and inheritance found throughout the letter to the Galatians, particularly in relation to the law and grace.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Galatians 5:1–13It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.
2John 1:12–13But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—
3John 8:36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
4Hebrews 2:14–15Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,
51 John 3:1–2Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 5 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word παιδίσκη, paidiskēgenerated

The term παιδίσκης refers to a female slave or maidservant, specifically in a familial context. It is a genitive singular noun, indicating possession, and is derived from the word for 'child' or 'young girl.' In this verse, it highlights the contrast between those who are enslaved and those who are free.

This word is used to describe the status of the woman who bore children under bondage, contrasting her with the free woman, which signifies a spiritual and relational distinction between those who are under the law and those who are free in Christ.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

In the Berean Standard Bible, the term παιδίσκης is rendered as slave woman, which is consistent across several translations including the KJV and WEB. However, the ASV opts for a handmaid, while the YLT uses maid-servant, showing a variation in the emphasis on the servant's role.

The translations agree on the overall meaning, but differ in their choice of words for παιδίσκης, reflecting different nuances of the Greek term.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The verse contains a main clause introduced by the linking verb ἐσμὲν, we are, which connects the subject ἀδελφοί (brothers) to the predicate describing their identity. The structure also includes contrasting noun phrases: παιδίσκης (of the slave woman) and ἐλευθέρας (of the free woman).

This simple structure highlights the contrast between the two identities, with the linking verb serving as the pivot point that connects the believers' status to their spiritual heritage.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

παιδίσκης appears in the Septuagint as a translation for Hebrew terms referring to female servants or maidservants. It is often used in contexts that emphasize servitude, which aligns with its usage in this verse to denote the slave woman.

The term's connection to the Hebrew word שִׁפְחָה (maidservant) underscores the cultural understanding of servitude in biblical times, reinforcing the contrast Paul draws between slavery and freedom.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Galatians 4:31 explains that believers are not like the children of the slave woman, but rather like those of the free woman. This shows that they are part of God's promise and live in freedom, not under the law.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to be children of the free woman?

Being children of the free woman signifies that believers are free from the bondage of the law and are heirs to the promises of God, living in the grace of Christ.

How does Paul contrast the slave woman and the free woman?

Paul contrasts the slave woman, representing the law and bondage, with the free woman, symbolizing grace and freedom in Christ, emphasizing the different spiritual statuses of believers.

What is the significance of 'brothers' in this verse?

The term 'brothers' indicates a close relationship among believers, signifying unity and shared inheritance as children of God.

Why does Paul use the analogy of children?

Paul uses the analogy of children to illustrate the spiritual heritage and identity of believers, emphasizing that they are not slaves but heirs to God's promises.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways do I see myself as a child of the free woman in my life?
  2. How can I better understand the implications of being free in Christ?
  3. What steps can I take to live out my identity as a child of promise?
  4. How does this passage encourage me to support others in their journey of faith?

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

Early church Fathers referenced this verse to discuss the nature of freedom in Christ and the implications for believers' identity.

TertullianOn the Apparel of Women Book II c. 155–220
Nay, rather banish quite away from your "free" head all this slavery of ornamentation.
Early Church Fathers on Galatians 4 →
John ChrysostomHomily on Galatians 4 c. 347–407
He turns and discusses this on all sides, desiring to prove that what had taken place was no novelty, but had been before typified many ages ago.
Early Church Fathers on Galatians 4 →
Augustine of HippoAGAINST TWO LETTERS OF PELAGIUS 3.12 354–430
Let us consider whether we should say that the righteous people of old were children of the slave woman or the free. But God forbid that they should be the slave woman’s.
Early Church Fathers on Galatians 4 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Galatians 4:31 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

So then, brethren,.... This is the conclusion of the whole allegory, or the mystical interpretation of Agar and Sarah, and their sons: we are not children of the bondwoman; the figure of the first

Read John Gill on Galatians 4 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. So then [ ara (G686) oun (G3767), G.

Read Robert Jamieson on Galatians 4 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The church of the Gentiles was not typified in Hagar, but in Sarah; from whence the scope of the apostle is to conclude, that we are not under the law, obliged to Judaical observances, but are freed from them, and are justified by faith in Christ alone, not by the works of the law. By this conclusion the apostle maketh way for the exhortation in the following chapter, pressing them to stand fast in their liberty.

Read Matthew Poole on Galatians 4 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Ver. 31. We are not children, &c.] q.d. We are in a far better condition than legalists. "I have blessed Ishmael," saith God; "twelve princes shall he beget; but my covenant will I establish with Isaac," Genesis 17:20-21. And such honour have all his saints.

Read John Trapp on Galatians 4 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(21-31) The next eleven verses contain an elaborate argument from the history of the two sons of Abraham, as types of the two covenants, in further proof that freedom is the essential character of the Christian dispensation. We have seen that St. Paul applies the history of the natural Israel allegorically to the spiritual Israel; and not only does he do this with reference to the history of the formed theocracy, but he goes back to its origin in the time of the patriarchs, and traces there the first beginnings of the separation between the Law and the promise. The same history had been already allegorically treated by Philo. The treatment of it by St. Paul is, however, quite different, and…

Read Charles John Ellicott on Galatians 4 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 31. So then] We-Jews and Gentiles, who believe on the Lord Jesus, are not children of the bond woman-are not in subjection to the Jewish law, but of the free; and, consequently, are delivered from all its bondage, obligation, and curse. Thus the apostle, from their own Scripture, explained by their own allegory, proves that it is only by Jesus Christ that they can have redemption; and because they have not believed in him, therefore they continue to be in bondage; and that shortly God will deliver them up into a long and grievous captivity: for we may naturally suppose that the apostle has reference to what had been so often foretold by the prophets, and confirmed by Jesus Christ…

Read AdamClarke on Galatians 4 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

31. So then] Better, wherefore. The conclusion is drawn from the whole preceding argument. It is the assertion of our liberty in the Gospel of Christ—freedom from the curse of the law, from the yoke of ritual observances, from the bondage of sin and Satan, from the burden of an evil conscience—an earnest of “the glorious liberty of the children of God”.

Read Cambridge on Galatians 4 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

So then, brethren - It follows from all this. Not from the allegory regarded as an argument - for Paul does not use it thus - but from the considerations suggested on the whole subject.

Read Albert Barnes on Galatians 4 →

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

Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

So then, brothers, we are not children of a servant, but of the free woman.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

NETBNew English Translation2006

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of a handmaid, but of the freewoman.

RVARevised Version, American1894

Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of a handmaid, but of the freewoman.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the free.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Then brethren, we are not children of the seruant, but of the free woman.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

So then, brethren, we are not maid servant's children, but [children] of the free woman.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

then, brethren, we are not a maid-servant's children, but the free-woman's.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

then, brothers, we are not a maidservant’s children, but the free [woman’s].

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Therefore, brothers, we are not children of a slave girl, but of the free woman.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

So then, brethren, we are not the children of the bondwoman, but of the free: by the freedom wherewith Christ has made us free.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Therefore, my friends, we're not children of a servant girl, but of the free woman.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

So, brothers, we are not children of the servant-woman, but of the free woman.

Word by word, the decisions they made

παιδίσκηςpaidiskē of [the] slave woman G3814 4 different renderings
slave womanBSB MSB NETB
a maidservantLSV
girlULB
servant girlFBV

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.

clauseδιόSo thenclauseἀδελφοίbrothersclauselinking verbἐσμὲνwe arenoun phrase · predicateοὐκnotnoun phraseπαιδίσκηςof [the] slave womanτέκναchildrenἀλλὰbutnoun phraseτῆςof theἐλευθέραςfree

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

Itaque, fratres, non sumus ancillæ filii, sed liberæ : qua libertate Christus nos liberavit.

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

ܚܢܢ ܗܟܝܠ ܐܚܝ ܠܐ ܗܘܝܢ ܒܢܝ ܐܡܬܐ ܐܠܐ ܒܢܝ ܚܐܪܬܐ

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

διό, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας·

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

διό, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας·

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

διό, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας·

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

διό, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας·

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

διό, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας·

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

διό, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας·

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας·

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας·

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
διό, So then,NA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WH, TregTR, Byz

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.

Galatians 4:31διόSo then,So then,διόἀδελφόςbrothers,brothers,ἀδελφόςοὐnotnotοὐεἰμίwe arewe areεἰμίπαιδίσκηof [the] slof [the] slave παιδίσκητέκνονchildrenchildrenτέκνονἀλλάbutbutἀλλάof theof theἐλεύθεροςfree;free;ἐλεύθεροςδιάPrep. throPrep. through, διάἄλφαletter theletter the firsἄλφαμήNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. not, lμήπαῖςn.f. & n.mn.f. & n.m. a bπαῖςτιμωρίαn.f. punisn.f. punishmentτιμωρίαἄλλοςAdj other,Adj other, anotἄλλοςἔρχομαιv. I come,v. I come, goἔρχομαιμόνοςAdv alone,Adv alone, but,μόνοςἐγκακέωv. I am fav. I am faint, ἐγκακέωμνημονεύωv. I rememv. I remember, μνημονεύωἈνδρέαςn.m. Andren.m. AndrewἈνδρέαςἀδελφήn.f. a sisn.f. a sisterἀδελφήἔξεστι(ν)v. it is pv. it is permitἔξεστι(ν)ἄξιοςAdj worthyAdj worthy, worἄξιοςπροσέρχομαιv. I come v. I come near,προσέρχομαιεἷςAdj oneAdj oneεἷςἐπανίστημιv. I rise v. I rise up agἐπανίστημιγονεύςn.m. a parn.m. a parentγονεύς
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 Galatians 4:31

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.

So then, brothers, not we are of [the] slave woman children but of the free;
διό,ara So then, G1352 Particle
53× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Galatians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Therefore is a word that shows a consequence or a reason, like in Matthew 27:8 and Romans 1:24. It explains why something happens.
Tyndale gloss
therefore
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word διό (dio) is a conjunction meaning 'wherefore' or 'on which account.' It is derived from the combination of two words meaning 'through' and 'which thing.' The New Testament uses it in various contexts, including Matthew 27:8 and Romans 1:24. The entries generally agree on its meaning and usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

διό

conjunct. for δι᾽ ὅ,

wherefore, on which account: Mt 27:8, Lk 7:7, Ac 15:19, Ro 1:24, al.; δ. καί, Lk 1:35, Ac 10:29 24:26, Ro 4:22 15:22, II Co 1:20 4:13 5:9, Phl 2:9, He 11:12 13:12 (v. Ellic. on Ga 4:31).

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

διό, conjunction i. q. d¢ 6, [fr. Thue. and Plato down], wherefore, on which account: Mt. xxvii. 8; Lk. i. 35; vil. 7; Acts x. 29; Ro. i. 24; ii. 1; 1 Co. xii. 3; 2 Co. vi. 17; Heb. iii. 7; Jas. i. 21; 1 Pet. i. 13, and often. [Cf. W. 445 (414); B. 233 (200); on Paul’s use, see Ellic. on Gal. iv. 31.]

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

διό comes out in OG/S 4098 (ii/A.D.) τῶν ἐκλέκτων ἐν Ῥώμῃ δικαστῶν, 5257 διϊκαστὴν ἐν Ῥώμῃ. On the ἀρχιδικαστής, who seems to have occupied the position of a permanent judge at Alexandria, before whom parties in civil cases could elect to have their disputes tried, see Milne, Roman Foyt, Ρ- 196 ff. P Lond 908" (a.p. 139) (= III. p. 132) mentions an ἀ., and also (1..5) Ev8al?Jpovos δι[έπ]οντος τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἀρχιδικάστειαν. The abstract figures without ἀρχι- in Michel 477} (mid. ii/B.c.) ἀπ[ολυθείς τε ἀπὸ τῆς δικαστείας ἐπεδήμησεν κτλ. For the δικαστήριον, as the Praefect’s tribunal or court, see P Strass I. 517,19. (a.p. 262), P Oxy I. 5911 (a.p. 292), P Amh II. 824 19 (iii/iv avp.), ete. MGr δικαστῆς survives…

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

διό (dio) — therefore.

διό,

conjunction, for δι᾽ ὅ, wherefore, on which account, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; διὸ καί, διὸ δὴ καί, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

διό

dio

from 1223 and 3739; through which thing, i.e. consequently:--for which

cause, therefore, wherefore.

see GREEK for 1223

see GREEK for 3739

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

διό

Cj.

wherefore

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

διό dio 53x

inferential conj., on which account, wherefore, therefore, Mt. 27:8; 1 Cor. 12:3

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

διό dio/conjConjunct., for δι᾽ ὅ wherefore, on which account, Lat. quapropter, quocirca, quare, Thuc., Plat., etc.

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

PRT PaRTicle, disjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
96%therefore
therefore96% · 51×other renderings4% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 53 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
πιστεύωI believe, have fait
γράφωI writeἐγώ
σύ
ἐπισκιάζωI overshadow, en
ΠαῦλοςPaul
Article the
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
οὐNeg
ζήτημαa question, dispute
καίand, even, also,
διόSo then,53×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἀναντιρρήτωςwithout contradiπυκνόςfrequent, often
παρακαλέωI summon, entreat, a
σύἀλλήλων
λέγωI say, speak
ἀναβαίνωI go up, mount, ἐγείρωI wake, arouse, Article the
Article the
λαλέωI speak, sayπαρίημιI neglect, omit,
οὐNeg
ἐγκακέωI am faint, am wἐπαισχύνομαιI am ashamed

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

Concordanceδιό · 53× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians Hebrews Acts Romans Ephesians 2 Peter 1 Corinthians 1 Thessalonians James Luke 1 Peter Galatians
Across the New Testament15 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 8 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 Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome Polycarp
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 38c. AD 40

διὸ φλέβας μαστοῖς ἐοικυίας ἐπλημμύρει, αἳ στομωθεῖσαι ποταμοὺς καὶ πηγὰς ἔμελλον ἀναχεῖν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.163c. AD 75–95

διὸ καὶ Φαραώθης ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων οὐ τοῖς περὶ αὐτῆς λεγομένοις ἀρκεσθεὶς ἀλλὰ καὶ θεάσασθαι σπουδάσας οἷός τε ἦν ἅψασθαι τῆς Σάρρας.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.3c. AD 100

διὸ καὶ μᾶλλον συγχαίρω ἐμαυτῷ ἐλπίζων σωθῆναι.

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

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

P. Amh. Gr. 2 36138 BC–131 BC

τῶι Παθυρίτηι ἐγγαιδίων, διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν, λείπω τε τὴν ὑπερβολὴν, διοδεύων κινδυνεύω παρʼ ἕκαστον. Διὸ ἀξιῶ

ἡμᾶς εἶναι καὶ ἑτέρωι τόπωι κατοικούσας μὴ εὐχερῶς δύνασθαι ἐπιβαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν σημαινομένην κτῆσιν. Διὸ καταπεφευγυῖαι ἐπὶ σὲ, ἀξιοῦμεν, ἐὰν φαίνηται, μεταπεμψάμενον αὐτὸν ἐπισκέψασθαι καὶ ἐὰν ἦι οἷα γράφομεν

So then, brothers, not we are of [the] slave woman children but of the free;
ἀδελφοί,adelphos brothers, G80 Noun · vocative · plural · masculine
343× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Galatians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for brother refers to a male sibling or a fellow Christian, as seen in Matthew 1:2 and 1 Corinthians 1:1. It implies a close relationship.
Amplified meaning
fellow believers
Tyndale gloss
brother
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἀδελφός is built from a copulative particle and δελφύς, meaning 'womb.' It primarily refers to a brother, either by birth or in a broader sense, such as a fellow Christian or a member of the same nation. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, including familial and spiritual relationships, as seen in Matthew 1:2 and 1 Corinthians 1:1.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀδελφός, -οῦ, ὁ

(< ἀ- copul., δελφύς, womb),

in cl., a brother, born of the same parent or parents. [In LXX (Hort, Ja., 102 f.), for אָח;]

lit. of a brother (Ge 4:2, al.).

Of a neighbour (Le 19:17).

Of a member of the same nation (Ex 2:14, De 15:3). In NT in each of these senses (1. Mt 1:2, al.; 2. Mt 7:3; 3. Ro 9:3) and also,

of a fellow-Christian: I Co 1:1, Ac 9:30. This usage finds…

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

ἀδελφός, -οῦ, ὁ, (fr. a copulative and δελφύς, from the same womb; cf. ἀγάστωρ), [fr. Hom. down]; 1. a brother (whether born of the same two parents, or only of the same father or the same mother): Mt. i. 2; iv. 18, and often. That ‘the brethren of Jesus,’ Mt. xii. 46, 47 [but WH only in mrg.]; xiii. 55 sq.; Mk. vi. 3 (in the last two passages also sisters); Lk. viii. 19 sq.; Jn. ii. 12; vii. 8; Acts i. 14; Gal. i. 19; 1 Co. 1. 5, are neither sons of Joseph by a wife married before Mary (which is the account in the Apocryphal Gospels [ef. Thilo, Cod. Apocr. N. T. i. 8362 sq.]), nor cousins, the children of Alpheus or Cleophas [i. 6. Clopas] and Mary a sister of the mother of Jesus (the current opinion among the doctors of the church since Jerome and Ausustine [ef. Bp. Lghtft. Com. on Gal., diss. ii.]), according to that use of language by which ἀδελφός like the Hebr. τὶ denotes any…

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

ἀδελφός. For the literal and the more general derived sense we may quote Sy// 474° ἀδελφοὶ ols κοινὰ τὰ πατρῷα, and 276" διὰ τὸ Μεσσαλιήτας εἶναι ἡμῖν ἀδελφούς]. In P Lond 421 (B.C. 168) (= I. p. 30, Selections p. 9) ᾿Ισίας Ἡφαιστίωνι τῶι ἀδελφῶ[ι χαί(ρειν)], it seems probable that Isias is

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀδελφός (adelphos) — brother.

ἀδελφός [ᾰ],

(ἀ- copulative, δελφύς, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; compare ἀγάστωρ) properly, son of the same mother:

I. as substantive, ἀδελφός, ὁ, vocative ἄδελφ; Epic dialect, Ionic dialect, and Lyric poetry ἀδελφεός (genitive -ειοῦ in [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—brother, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἀδελφοί brother and sister, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so of the Ptolemies, θεοὶ ἀδελφοί[Refs 3rd c.BC+]; ἀπ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων ἀδελφεός[LXX+5th c.BC+]

I.2. kinsman,[LXX]; tribesman, Ex.[Refs]

I.3. colleague, associate, [Refs]; member of a college, [Refs]

I.4. term of address, used by kings, [LXX+2nd c.BC+], etc.:—as a term of affection, applicable by wife to husband, [LXX+2nd c.BC+]

I.5. brother (as a fellow Christian), [NT]; of other religious communities, e.g. Serapeum, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀδελφός

adelphos

from 1 (as a connective particle) and delphus (the womb); a brother

(literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like 1):--brother.

see GREEK for 1

see GREEK for 1

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀδελφός, οῦ, ὁ

n.m.

a brother

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀδελφός adelphos 343x

a brother, near kinsman or relative; one of the same nation or nature; one of equal rank and dignity; an associate, a member of the Christian community

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀδελφός α copul. , δελφύς; cf. Lat. couterinus ἀδελφοί are properly sons of the same mother:

as Subst., ἀδελφός, ὁ, voc. ἄδελφε (not -φέ), ionic ἀδελφεός, epic -ειός:—a brother, or generally, a near kinsman, ἀδελφοί brother and sister, like Lat. fratres, Eur.; ἀδελφεοὶ ἀπ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων brothers by both parents, i. e. not half-brothers, Hdt.

a brother (as a fellow Christian), NTest.

adj., ἀδελφός, ή, όν, brotherly or sisterly, Trag., Plat.

like Lat. geminus, gemellus, of anything in pairs, twin, Xen.:—then, just like, c. gen. or dat., ἀδελφὰ τῶνδε, ἀδελφὰ τούτοισι Soph.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-VPM — Noun · vocative · plural · masculine
vocative — the one being addressed.
Agrees with anything else marked plural masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-VPM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Vocative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
64%brothers
brothers64% · 223×brother35% · 121×other renderings1% · 4×

348 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 5 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
subject25%object20%adverbial12%indirect object6%predicate4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 343 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,ἸωάννηςJohnἈνδρέαςAndrew
σύ
δέbut, on the otheπερίἀδελφόςa brother
ἀνήρa male human being,
λέγωI say, speakποιέωI do, makeφημίI say
δέbut, on the other ha
σύἐγώπαραδίδωμιI hand over, del
οὖνtherefore, then
ἄραDisjἑπτάIndecλοιπόςleft, left behin
ἀδελφόςbrothers,343×
what comes after →
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,Article theἐν
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,ἀγαπητόςloved, belovedArticle the
σύ
Article theκαίand, even, also,ὡςas, like as, how
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastἐκκλησίαan assembly, conεὐαγγέλιονthe good news, t
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἀδελφήa sisterπατήρfather, Father,

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

Concordanceἀδελφός · 343× in the New Testament
Acts 1 Corinthians Matthew Luke Mark 1 Thessalonians James Romans 1 John John 2 Corinthians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 419 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 Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 12c. AD 40

ἀλλ’ ὅ γε μέγας Μωυσῆς ἀλλοτριώτατον τοῦ ὁρατοῦ νομίσας εἶναι τὸ ἀγένητον — πᾶν γὰρ τὸ αἰσθητὸν ἐν γενέσει καὶ μεταβολαῖς οὐδέποτε κατὰ ταὐτὰ ὄν — τῷ μὲν ἀοράτῳ καὶ νοητῷ προσένειμεν ὡς ἀδελφὸν καὶ συγγενὲς ἀιδιότητα, τῷ δ’ αἰσθητῷ γένεσιν οἰκεῖον…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.53c. AD 75–95

οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀδελφοὶ διαφόροις ἔχαιρον ἐπιτηδεύμασιν·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.10c. AD 100

ἀκριβεύεσθαι οὖν ὀφείλομεν, ἀδελφοί, περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν, ἵνα μὴ ὁ πονηρὸς παρείσδυσιν πλάνης ποιήσας ἐν ἡμῖν ἐκσφενδονήσῃ ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν.

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ν μέσος ἢ ἐλασσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς παστοφορίου ὠκοδομημένου καὶ δεδοκωμένου καὶ τεθυρωμένου ἐν τῷ ἀπὸ νότου μέρει τοῦ ἐν Παθύρει

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

ἐτῶν 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

So then, brothers, not we are of [the] slave woman children but of the free;
οὐκou not G3756 Particle · negative
1,622× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Galatians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a strong 'no', used to deny something completely. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 13:29 and John 1:21. It is a negative answer to a question.
Tyndale gloss
no
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word οὐ (transliterated as ou) is a primary negative particle meaning 'not' or 'no.' It is used to negate verbs or statements, often appearing in various forms depending on the following sound. In the New Testament, it frequently serves to deny facts and is distinct from another negative particle, μή (transliterated as ), which is used for prohibitions or wishes.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὐ, before a vowel with smooth breathing οὐκ, before one with rough breathing οὐχ (but improperly οὐχ ἰδού, Ac 2:7, WH, mg.; cf. WH, Intr., § 409; M, Pr., 44, 244),

[in LXX for לֹא, אַיִן, אֵין;]

neg. particle,

not, no, used generally c. indic. and for a denial of fact (cf . μή);

absol. (accented), οὔ, no: Mt 13:29, Jo 1:21 21:5; οὒ οὔ, Mt 5:37, Ja 5:12.

Most freq. negativing a verb or other word, Mt 1:25 10:26, 38, Mk 3:25 9:37, Jo 8:29, Ac 7:5, Ro 1:16, Phl 3:3, al.; in…

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

οὐ before a consonant, οὐκ before a vowel with a smooth breathing, and ody before an aspirated vowel ; but sometimes in the best codd. οὐχ occurs even before a smooth breathing; accordingly LT WH mrg. have adopted οὐχ ἰδού, Acts ii. 7; LT οὐχ ᾿Ιουδαϊκῶς, Gal. ii. 14 (see WH. Introd. § 409); L οὐχ ὀλίγος, Acts xix. 23; οὐχ ἠγάπησαν, Rev. xii. 11; and contrariwise οὐκ before an aspirate, as οὐκ ἕστηκεν, Jn. viii. 44 T; [οὐκ ἕνεκεν, 2 Co. vii. 12 T]; (οὐκ εὗρον, Lk. xxiv. 3; [οὐκ ὑπάρχει, Acts iii. 6] in cod. x [alsoC*; ef. cod. Alex. in 1 ἔβαν. iv. 2,12; Job xix. 16; xxxviiil. 11, 26]); cf. W. $5, 14d. 14; Β. τ; [A. v. Schiitz, Hist. Alphab. Att., Berol. 1875, pp: 54-58 ; Sophocles, Hist. of Grk. Alphab., 1st ed. 1848, p- 64 sq. (on the breathing); Tdf Sept., ed. 4, Proleg. pp: Xxxiii. xxxiv.; Scrivener, Collation ete., 2d ed., p. lv. no. 9; id. cod. Bezae p. xlvii. no. 11 (ef. p. xlii.…

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

ου to make the voyage” (Edd.), and P Amh II. 78?! (a.p. 184) τοιαύτης ο[ὖ]ν αὐθαδίας ἐν αὐτῷ οὔσης οὐ δυνάμενος [ἐν]καρτερεῖν ἐπιδίδωμι, ‘“ his audacity having reached this pitch I can endure no longer and present this petition.” See further Proleg. p. 231 f. In support of the translation ‘‘ I determined not to know” in 1 Cor 2, we may cite P Par 2657 (B.c. 163) (= UPZi. Ρ-. 248) οὐκ ἐκρίναμεν καταχωρῆσαι, ‘we determined not to record,” P Tebt I. 124° (c. B.c. 118) οὐκ (ἐκδρίναμεν ἐξαρ[ιθ]μεῖ[σθαι, “we determined not to be counted,” and the classical formula in P Hamb I. 27° (B.c. 250 (249)) οὐκ ἔφη εἰδέναι, ‘he said that he did not know.” The origin of the double negative οὐ μή is fully discussed by Moulton Pro/eg. p. 187 ff. When we pass to its actual occurrences in the NT, we find that these for the most part are found in passages derived from the OT and in the Sayings of our Lord…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὐ (ou) — no.

οὐ,

the negative of fact and statement, as μή of will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective. —The same differences hold for all compounds of οὐ and μή, and some examples of οὐδέ and οὐδείς are included below.—As to the Form, see infr. G. USAG[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I. as the negative of single words,

II. as the negative of the sentence.

I. οὐ adhering to single words so as to form a quasi-compound with them:—with Verbs: οὐ δίδωμι withhold, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐκ εἰῶ prevent, [Refs]; οὐκ ἐθέλω refuse, [Refs]; οὔ φημι deny, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; but sometimes οὐ is retained, εἰ δ᾽ ἂν.. οὐκ ἐθέλωσιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐάντε.. οὐ (variant{μή}) φῆτε ἐάντε φῆτε [Refs 8th c.BC+] —On the use of οὐ in contrasts, see below [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὐ

ou

ouk ook, and (before an aspirate)

ouch ookh

a primary word; the absolute negative (compare 3361) adverb; no or

not:--+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, +

nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but. See also

3364, 3372.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὐ

Neg.prt.

no, not

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὐ ou 1x

negative adverb, originally the gen. of ὅς, spelled οὐκ if followed by a word beginning with a vowel and a smooth breathing, οὐχ if followed by a vowel and rough breathing, not, no, Mt. 5:37; 12:43; 23:37; for the peculiarities of its usage (especially as distinct from μή) consult a grammar

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

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
82%not
not82% · 1383×certainly6% · 96×surely4% · 70×no longer3% · 50×no2% · 39×other renderings3% · 51×

1,689 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
adverbial82%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,622 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
εἰμίI am, existἐγώαὐτός
ὅς
ἐγώθερίζωI reap, gatherδέbut, on the othe
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύαὐτόςἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἐνἐπί
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforὅς
οὐnot1622×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
ἐκArticle theἐγώ
μήNeg
παρέρχομαιI pass byεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inπίνωI drink, imbibe
οἶδαI know, remember
ὅτιthat, since, becArticle theτίςIrg
γάρfor
εἰμίI am, existθέλωI will, wish, deArticle the
δύναμαιI am powerful, am ab
ἔρχομαιI come, goσῴζωI save, healArticle 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

Concordanceοὐ · 1,622× in the New Testament
John Matthew Luke 1 Corinthians Romans Mark Acts 2 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews 1 John Galatians

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

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
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 6c. AD 40

ὡς γὰρ τῶν κολοσσιαίων μεγεθῶν τὰς ἐμφάσεις καὶ ἡ βραχυτάτη σφραγὶς τυπωθεῖσα δέχεται, οὕτως τάχα που καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀναγραφείσης ἐν τοῖς νόμοις κοσμοποιίας ὑπερβάλλοντα κάλλη καὶ ταῖς μαρμαρυγαῖς τὰς τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ψυχὰς ἐπισκιάζοντα βραχυτέροις…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.11c. AD 75–95

ὁ δὲ τῶν παρʼ ἡμῖν ἀρχιερέων οὐδενὸς ἀρετῇ δεύτερος Ἐλεάζαρος τῷ προειρημένῳ βασιλεῖ ταύτης ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς ὠφελείας οὐκ ἐφθόνησε πάντως ἀντειπὼν ἄν, εἰ μὴ πάτριον ἦν ἡμῖν τὸ μηδὲν ἔχειν τῶν καλῶν ἀπόρρητον.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.8c. AD 100

ἐγὼ δὲ οὐχ ὡς διδάσκαλος, ἀλλ̓ ὧς εἰς ἐξ ὑμῶν ὑποδείξω ὀλίγα, δἰ ὧν ἐν τοῖς παροῦσιν εὐφρανθήσεσθε.

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

δὲ γενόμεναι κατὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον κληρονομήσασαι ταξάμεναι τὰ καθήκοντα τέλη θεᾶι Βερενίκηι κυριεύομεν. ὅθεν οὐκ ἀποδιδόντων τὰ ἡμέτερα ἐπεδώκαμεν ἐν τῶι λ ἔτει προσανγελίαν Ἡρακλείδει γενομένωι ἀρχιφυλακίτηι τοῦ Παθυρίτου

C.Erbstreit16Diospolis Magna (Theben)135 BC

ι ἀρουρῶν πρόκτησιν … ένου αὐτὸν ἐν συνεδρίωι καὶ συγχώρησιν … ειν, ἐν ἧι οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ὁ πατήρ. ὅθεν καταβεβραβευμένοι … ήρου συνεριου ἀξιοῦμεν, ἐὰν φαίνηται, συντάξαι γράψαι, οἷς

P.Adl. 2Pathyris125 BC

ὠνῆς ἐν πίστει διὰ τῶν περὶ τὸν Πανεβχοῦνιν ἐκτελειωθεῖσαν τῶι … ἔτει ἀντὶ ὀφειλημάτων, οὐκ ἐπελευσομένους τὸν Πανερέα καὶ τὴν Σενενοῦπιν περὶ ὀφειλημάτων μηδὲ περὶ ἄλλου μηδενός. ταῦτα δὲ

So then, brothers, not we are of [the] slave woman children but of the free;
ἐσμὲνeimi we are G1510 Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · plural
2,457× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Galatians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To be or exist, a basic verb used to describe something or someone, like God saying 'I am' in John 8:58.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

εἰμί is a Greek verb meaning 'to be' or 'to exist.' It serves various functions, such as a substantive verb for persons and things, and as a copula linking subjects and predicates. The New Testament frequently uses it in passages like John 1:1 and Matthew 24:3. Notably, it can also express possibility, as seen in Hebrews 9:5.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰμί,

with various uses and significations, like the English verb to be.

As substantive verb.

Of persons and things, to be, exist: Ac 17:28, Jo 1:1 8:58 17:5, al; ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν (for past ptcp.), Re 1:4, 8 4:8 11:17 16:5 (v. Swete, Ap., 5; M, Pr., 228); τὰ (μὴ) ὄντα, Ro 4:17, I Co 1:28.

Of times, events, etc., to be, happen, take place: Mt 24:3, Mk 14:2 15:42, Lk 21:23, Jo 4:6, 23 5:10, al.

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

εἰμί (fr. ἔω, whence ἐμέ in inscriptions [7]; Aeol. ἐμμὲ (Curtius (yet ἔμμε, so G. Meyer) 8 564; Veitch p. 2287), impv. ἴσθι, ἔστω, less usual ἤτω, 1 Co. xvi. 22; Jas. v.12; Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 48,5; [1 Mace. x. 31; Ps. ciii. (civ.) 31]; Plat. rep. 2 p. 361 ¢. [here it has given place to ἔστω (or ἴτω), see Stallb. ad loc.; Veitch p. 200 sq.; 3 pers. plur. ἔστωσαν, Lk. xii. 35; 1 Tim. iii. 12], inf. εἶναι ; impf. —ace. to the more ancient and elegant form, ἦν, 2 pers. ἦσθα (Mt. xxvi. 69; Mk. xiv. 67), rarer form ἧς (Mt. RKV. 1235 dn ΧΙ: 9]. 92); xxI LS. Reyna 15 G@ ΕΣ Tr WH), 3 pers. ἦν, 1 pers. plur. jer, — ace. to the mid. form, com. in later Grk. [ef. Veitch p. 226], ἤμην (Mt. xxv. 35sq.; [on Acts xi. 11 ef. WH. Intr. § 404]; Gal.i.10, etc.), plur. ἤμεθα (Mt. xxiii. 30 G L T Tr WH; Acts xxvii. 37 L T Tr WH; [Gal. iv. 3 TWH Tr mrg.; Eph. ii. 3 T Tr WH; Bar. i. 19]); cf. Lob. ad Phryn.…

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

εἰμί. Middle forms in the flexion of εἰμί other than the present tense (cf. however MGr εἶμαι, -σαι, etc.) begin to appear very early in the dialects and are well established in the papyri. Thus the Ist sing. impf. ἤμην, which always takes the place of the class. ἢ in the NT (but see Ac 2018 D) may be illustrated from PSI IV. 36274 (B.c. 251-0) ἤμην δὲ πρὸς τῶι λαμβάνειν τὸν χαλκόν, P Magd 65 (B.c. 221) ἤμην γυμνός, P Par 57 (B.c. 129) ὧν ἤμην δι᾽ αὐτῶν [π]αραμε[μετ]ρηκ[υῖα, P Oxy IIT. 526% (ii/A.p.) οὐκ ἤμην ἀπαθὴς ἀλόγως σε καταλείπιν. For ist plur. ἤμεθα see P Petr IT. 4 (7)° (B.C. 255-4) τεθλιμμένοι ἤμεθα : cf. Ac 2737, Eph 23, as contrasted with the act. ἦμεν in Ac 111 (NB), 1612, Rom 7° a/.: the two forms are found together in Gal 4% (SDFG). The non-classical ἧς (Lob. Phryx. p. 149) is found sefzes in the NT as compared with ἦσθα (from an old perf. form ἤησθα), which is confined…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰμί (eimi) — to be.

εἰμί

(sum), Aeolic dialect ἔμμι [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Cretan dialect ἠμί [Refs]; 2nd pers. singular εἶ, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect εἰς [Refs 8th c.BC+], Epic dialect and Doric dialect ἐσσί [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἐστί, Doric dialect ἐντί [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. dual ἐστόν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; 1st pers. plural ἐσμέν, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect εἰμέν (also in [Refs 5th c.BC+], Doric dialect εἰμές [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural εἰσί (-ίν), Epic dialect and Ionic dialect ἔασι (-ιν) [Refs 8th c.BC+], Doric dialect ἐντί [Refs 5th c.BC+], Epic dialect and Lyric poetry also in middle form ἔσσο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἔστω (ἤτω [LXX+5th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural ἔστωσαν, but ἔστων [Refs 8th c.BC+], and early Attic dialect Inscrr., [Refs 2nd c.BC+]subjunctive ὦ, ᾖς, ᾖ, Epic dialect ἔω [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἔῃ [Refs…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί

eimi

the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a

primary and defective verb; I exist (used only when emphatic):--am,

have been, X it is I, was. See also 1488, 1498, 1511, 1527, 2258,

2071, 2070, 2075, 2076, 2771, 2468, 5600.

see GREEK for 1488

see GREEK for 1498

see GREEK for 1511

see GREEK for 1527

see GREEK for 2258

see GREEK for 2071

see GREEK for 2070

see GREEK for 2075

see GREEK for 2076

see GREEK for 2771

see GREEK for 2468

see GREEK for 5600

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰμί

v.

I am, exist

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰμί eimi 2x

to be, to exist, Jn. 1:1; 17:5; Mt. 6:30; Lk. 4:25, freq.; ἐστί[ν], it is possible, proper, Heb. 9:5; a simple linking verb (“copula”) to the subject and predicate, and therefore in itself affecting the force of the sentence only by its tense, mood, etc., Jn. 1:1; 15:1, freq.; it also forms a frequent circumlocution with the participles of the present and perfect of other verbs, Mt. 19:22; Mk. 2:6

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εἰμί The whole of the pres. ind. (except 2nd sg. εἶ) may be enclitic when εἰμί is the Copula; but the 3rd sg. is written ἔστι in certain cases of emphasis, e. g. ἔστι μοι, I have: when used as Verb Subst., it retains the accent in all persons. as Substantive Verb, to be, to exist, οὐκ ἔσθ᾽ οὗτος ἀνήρ, οὐδ᾽ ἔσσεται Od.; τεθνηῶτος, μηδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἐόντος id. Od.; οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστι he is no more, Eur.; θεοὶ αἰὲν ἐόντες Il.; ἐσσόμενοι posterity, id. Il.; ζώντων καὶ ὄντων Ἀθηναίων Dem.:—so of cities, etc., ὄλωλεν, οὐδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἔστι Τροία (cf. Troja fuit), Eur.

of things, to be, exist, εἰ ἔστιν ἀληθέως [ἡ τράπεζα] Hdt.; ἕως ἂν ὁ πόλεμος ἦι so long as it last, Thuc.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-1P — Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · plural
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAI-1P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: first Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
26%is
is26% · 619×are9% · 228×was7% · 176×being6% · 138×it is5% · 112×will be4% · 87×am3% · 80×were3% · 67×other renderings37% · 901×

2,408 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 139 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
linking verb87%verb13%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,457 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
οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, becκαίand, even, also,ὅς
οὗτος
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
ἐνἄνθρωποςa man, one of thθεόςGod, a god
ἐγώ
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakμετά
σύ
ἐνλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
εἰμίwe are2457×
what comes after →
Article the
υἱόςa son, descendenΧριστόςanointed, the Meβασιλείαkingship, sovere
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegγάρfor
ἐν
Article theσύαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theτὶςἐκεῖthere, yonder, t
ἐγώ
εἰςἄξιοςworthy, worthy oὧδεhere

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

Concordanceεἰμί · 2,457× in the New Testament
John Luke Matthew Acts Mark 1 Corinthians Romans Revelation 1 John 2 Corinthians Hebrews Galatians

67 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
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
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 1.2c. AD 75–95

τινὲς μὲν γὰρ ἐπιδεικνύμενοι λόγων δεινότητα καὶ τὴν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς θηρευόμενοι δόξαν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τῆς παιδείας τὸ μέρος ὁρμῶσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ χάριν ἐκείνοις φέροντες, περὶ ὧν τὴν ἀναγραφὴν εἶναι συμβέβηκε, τὸν εἰς αὐτὴν πόνον καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν ὑπέστησαν·

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

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

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

Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν, μηνὸς Ἐπεὶφ κε. ἐν Παθύρει, ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν, μηνὸς Τῦβι ιη ἐν Παθύρει ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο

So then, brothers, not we are of [the] slave woman children but of the free;
παιδίσκηςpaidiskē of [the] slave woman G3814 Noun · genitive · singular · feminine
13× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Galatians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A maidservant is a female slave or servant, often a young girl, as mentioned in Matthew 26:69 and Mark 14:66. This term highlights the role of women in servitude during biblical times.
Amplified meaning
a maidservant
Tyndale gloss
maidservant
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

παιδίσκη is a feminine diminutive of παῖς, meaning a young girl or maiden. It primarily refers to a young female slave or maidservant, as seen in various New Testament passages like Matthew 26:69 and Mark 14:66. The term can also denote a courtesan in some contexts. Notably, Thayer's entry highlights its use in the Septuagint for female slaves.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

παιδίσκη, -ης, ἡ,

dimin, of παῖς,

[in LXX for שִׁפְחָה, אָמָה, etc.;]

a young girl, a maiden (נַעֲרָה, Ru 4:12).

Colloq., a young female slave, a maid-servant (v. Kennedy, Sources, 40 f.; Deiss., LAE, 186, 3322): Mt 26:69, Mk 14:66, 69, Lk 12:45 22:56, Jo 18:17, Ac 12:13 16:16; of Hagar, Ga 4:22, 23, 30(LXX); id., metaph., Ga 4:31.†

SYN.: v.s. παῖς.

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

παιδίσκη, -ns, 7, (fem. of παιδίσκος, a young boy or slave ; a dimin. of παῖς, see νεανίσκος) ; 1. a young girl, damsel, (Xen., Menand., Polyb., Plut., Leian. ; Sept. Ruth iv. 12). 2. a maid-servant, a young female slave; cf. Germ. Madchen [our maid] for a young female-servant (Hdt. 1, 93; Lys., Dem., al.) : Lk. xii. 45; Acts xvi. 16; opp. to ἡ ἐλευθέρα, Gal. iv. 22 sq. 30 sq-; spec. of the maid-servant who had charge of the door: Mt. xxvi. 69; Mk. xiv. 66, 69; Lk. xxii. 56; Acts xii. 13; ἡ π. ἡ θυρωρός, Jn. xviii. 17; (also in the Sept. of a female slave, often for HAS, ANDW). Cf. Lob. ad Phryn. p. 239. [Syn. see παῖς, fin.]

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

παιδίσκη from meaning originally ‘‘a young woman” came in later Greek to denote ‘‘a female slave”: see Rutherford WP, p- 312f., Kennedy, Sowsces, p. 401, Exx. of this meaning, as in LXX and NTI, are—PSI IV. 406” (iii/B.c.) Δριμύλος παιδίσκην ἠγόραζεν (δραχμὰς) τ, P Criss I. 2 19 (Bic. 173) παιδίσκην δο[ύλην αὐτῆς] ἧι. ὄνομα Στολίς, P Grenf I. 43° (ii/B c.) ᾿ΑἸφροδισία καὶ ἡ θυγάτηρ καὶ ἡ παιδίσκη, BGU I. 9519 (ii/A.D.) ὑπάρχι δὲ τῇ θυγατρὶ] παιδίσκη δούλη Tacov[xap|tov, and the illiterate P Oxy VII. 10691® (ili/a.D) τὴν πεδείσκην pov δὲ mpd λόγον avaykacov φειλοπονεῖστε (= φιλοπονεῖσθαι), ‘make my slave-girl be properly industrious” (Ed.). Other reff. in Rostovtzeff, Large Estate,p.115f. In PSI VI. 667 (iii/B.c.) a παιδίσκη writes to her employer that she is ‘‘ tired of dragging wood” (kek[pnkut?]a ξυλοφοροῦσᾳ), but “‘does not wish to go on strike” (οὐ θέλουσα ἀναχωρῆσαι). On the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

παιδίσκη (paidiskē) — maidservant.

παιδίσκ-η, ἡ,

diminutive of παῖς (ἡ), young girl, maiden, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. νέα, of a wife, [Refs 1st c.AD+]

II. young female slave, bondmaid, [NT+5th c.BC+]: generally, maidservant, [NT]; τοὺς παῖδας καὶ τὰς π. [NT]

II.2. prostitute, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

παιδίσκη

paidiske

feminine diminutive of 3816; a girl, i.e. (specially), a female slave

or servant:--bondmaid(-woman), damsel, maid(-en).

see GREEK for 3816

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

παιδίσκη, ης, ἡ

n.f.

a female slave, maidservant, maid.

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

παιδίσκη paidiskē 13x

a girl, damsel, maiden; a female slave or servant, Mt. 26:69; Mk. 14:66, 69

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

παιδίσκη παιδίσκη, ἡ, Dim. of παῖς h a young girl, maiden, Xen.

a young slave, courtesan, Hdt., Plut.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-GSF — Noun · genitive · singular · feminine
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-GSF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

woom'-an ('ishshah, "a woman" (feminine of 'ish, "a man"]; gune, "a woman" "wife"):

I. IN THE CREATIVE PLAN

II. IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES

1. Prominence of Women

2. Social Equality

3. Marriage Laws

4. Inheritance

5. Domestic Duties

6. Dress and Ornaments

7. Religious Devotion and Service

(1) in Idolatry and False Religion

(2) in Spiritual Religion

III. INTER-TESTAMENTAL ERA

IV. IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES

1. Mary and Elisabeth

2. Jesus and Women

3. In the Early Church

4. Official Service

5. Widows

6. Deaconesses

IV. LATER TIMES

1. Changes in Character and Condition

2. Notable Examples of Christian Womanhood

3. Woman in the 20th Century

The generic term "man" includes woman. In the narrative of the creation (Ge 1:26,27) Adam is a collective term for mankind. It may signify human being, male or female, or humanity entire. "God said, Let us make man .... and let them"…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Woman

Was “taken out of man” (Gen. 2:23), and therefore the man has the preeminence. “The head of the woman is the man;” but yet honour is to be shown to the wife, “as unto the weaker vessel” (1 Cor. 11:3, 8, 9; 1 Pet. 3:7). Several women are mentioned in Scripture as having been endowed with prophetic gifts, as Miriam (Ex. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4:4, 5), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), Anna (Luke 2:36, 37), and the daughters of Philip the evangelist…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Is spoken of in Scripture as the beloved and honored companion and helpmeet, not the servant, of man, Ge 2:23,24, created as the necessary completion of man, Ge 3:16 1Co 11:3,8,9 14:34,35 1Ti 2:11-14, yet specially qualified for that sphere, and as necessary in it as man in his. Man and woman are indeed essentially one, the natural qualities of each so responding to those of the other as to lay the foundation of the most tender and abiding unity. The Bible thus raised the Jewish woman high above the woman of heathenism; and the Old Testament contains some of the finest portraitures of female character. But still greater is the contrast between the women of heathenism and…

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- Origin and cause of the name

Ge 2:23

- ORIGINALLY MADE

. By God in his own image

Ge 1:27

. From one of Adam's ribs

Ge 2:21,22

. For man

1Co 11:9

. To be an helpmeet for man

Ge 2:18,20

. Subordinate to man

1Co 11:3

. To be the glory of man

1Co 11:7

- Deceived by Satan

Ge 3:1-6; 2Co 11:3; 1Ti 2:14

- Led man to disobey God

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
38%slave woman
slave woman38% · 5×servant girl31% · 4×girl15% · 2×servant girls8% · 1×maid-servants8% · 1×other renderings0% · 0×

13 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 5 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
subject69%object23%predicate8%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 13 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,ἐκεἷςone
εἷςone
αὐτός
αὐτός
δέbut, on the othe
προσέρχομαιI come near, consent
πυλώνa large gate, a
προσευχήprayer, a place for
Article the
παιδίσκηof [the] slave woman13×
what comes after →
Article the
ἀρχιερεύςhigh priest, chiθυρωρόςa door-keeper, p
τὶς
κάθημαιI sit, am seatedἔχωI have, hold, po
καίand, even, also, nam
εἷςoneArticle the
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
αὐτός

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

Concordanceπαιδίσκη · 13× in the New Testament
Galatians Acts Luke Mark John Matthew
Across the New Testament6 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 58 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 Didache The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.94c. AD 40

ἐκ μὲν τῆς Λείας πέμπτος υἱός ἐστιν Ἰσσάχαρ γνήσιος τοῦ Ἰακώβ, συγκαταριθμουμένων δὲ τῶν ἐκ τῆς Ζέλφας δυεῖν ἕβδομος, τοῦ δὲ Ἰακὼβ πέμπτος ἐστὶν ὁ Δὰν ἐκ τῆς Βάλλας τῆς παιδίσκης Ῥαχήλ.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4.248c. AD 75–95

ἂν δʼ ἐξελέγξῃ τὴν παιδίσκην ἐφθαρμένην, δημότις μὲν οὖσα τοῦ μὴ σωφρόνως προστῆναι τῆς παρθενίας ἄχρι νομίμων γάμων καταλευέσθω, ἂν δʼ ἐξ ἱερέων ᾖ γεγενημένη, καιέσθω ζῶσα.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 19.7c. AD 100

οὐκ ἔσῃ διγνώμων οὐδὲ γλωσσώδης, ὑποταγήσῃ κυρίοις ὡς τύπῳ θεοῦ ἐν αἰσχύνῃ καὶ φόβῳ: οὐ μὴ ἐπιτάξῃς δούλῳ σου ἡ παιδίσκῃ ἐν πικρίᾳ, τοῖς ἐπὶ τὸν αὐτὸν θεὸν ἐλπίζουσιν, μή ποτε οὐ μὴ φοβηθήσονται τὸν ἐπ’ ἀμφοτέροις θεόν: ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν κατὰ πρόσωπον…

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 1st c. AD 2nd c. BC 3rd c. AD
P. Mich. 5 265ArsinoitesAD 37

δεξιῶι, τοῖς δυσὶ Πομσάειος, πεπρακέναι αὐτῇ Τακωνάειτι καὶ Τεσενούφι πέμπτῳ τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν τῇ Θενπετερμούθι παιδίσκην δούλην ᾗ ὄνομα Τασουχᾶς, ὡς ἐτῶν δέκα ἑπτὰ ὑπόπτιλλος οὐλὴ μετώπῳ ἐκ δεξιῶν, ταύτην

P.Mich. 2 127Tebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 45–AD 46

οἴνου κεραμίου α. δραχμαὶ δ ἐν τῇ πόλει ὑπὲρ τῆς γυναικὸς Μομμοῦτος καὶ τῆς παιδίσκης Χράτου Ἁρπεήσιος ἐφοδίου. δραχμαὶ δ Φαῶφι α. διὰ Ὀννόφριος πτεραφόρου καὶ Ἁρμάειος γερδίου καὶ

P.Mich. 5 322 aTebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 46

τρισὶ Ὀννώφρι καὶ Ψύφι καὶ Ψενκήβκι τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν τῷ αὐτῷ Ψύφι τῷ καὶ Ἁρποχρατίωνι παιδίσκην δούλην, ᾗ ὄνομα Τύχη ἡ καὶ Ταπάεις, καὶ ταύτης ἔκγονα θηλυκὰ δύο , αἷς

So then, brothers, not we are of [the] slave woman children but of the free;
τέκναteknon children G5043 Noun · nominative · plural · neuter
99× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Galatians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means a child, either male or female, born to parents, as mentioned in Matthew 7:11 and Romans 9:8.
Amplified meaning
born to parents
Tyndale gloss
child
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τέκνον (teknon) means a child, whether male or female, and can also refer to descendants or inhabitants. It is used in various contexts in the New Testament, including as a term of endearment and to denote spiritual offspring, particularly in relation to God. The word is derived from the verb meaning 'to bear' or 'to give birth.' Notably, it appears in verses like Matthew 2:18 and Romans 8:16.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τέκνον, -ου, τό

(< τίκτω),

[in LXX chiefly for בֵּן, also for יֶלֶד, etc. ;]

that which is begotten, born (cf. Scottish bairn), a child of either sex: Mk 13:12, Lk 1:7, Ac 7:5; pl., Mt 7:11, Mk 7:27, Lk 1:17, Eph 6:1, al.; τέκνα ἐπαγγελίας, Ro 9:8; τ. τῆς σαρκός, ib.; in a wider sense (as Heb. בָּנִים), of posterity, Mt 2:18, Lk 3:8, al.…

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

τέκνον, -ov, τό, (τίκτω, τεκεῖν), fr. Hom. down, Sept. chiefly for 13, sometimes for ΠΩΣ offspring; plur. children; a. prop. a. univ. and without regard to sex, child: Mk. xiii. 12; Lk. i. 7: Acts vii.5; Rev. xii. 4; plur., Mt. vii. 11; x. 21; xv. 26; Mk. vii. 27; xii. 19; Lk.i.17; xiv. 26; Actsxxi.5; 2Co. xii. 14; Eph. vi. 1; Col. iii. 20sq.; 1 Th. ii. 7,11; 1 Tim. iii.4; Tit. i.6; 2Jn.1, 4,13, and often; with emphasis: to be regarded as true, genuine children, Ro. ix. 7; τέκνα ἐπαγγελίας, children begotten by virtue of the divine promise, Ro. ix. 8; accounted as children begotten by virtue of God’s promise, Gal. iv. 28; τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκός, children by natural descent, Ro. ix. 8. in a broader sense (like the Hebr. 0°33), posterity: Mt. ii. 18; iii. 9; Lk. iii. 8; Acts ii. 39; xiii. 33 (32). with emphasis: genuine posterity, true offspring, Jn. viii. 39; (of wo men) to be regarded as…

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

τέκνον. (1) The following may serve as exx. of this very common word = ‘“‘a child’’—P Amh II. 35% (B.c. 132) ὑπέρ τε τοῦ

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τέκνον (teknon) — child.

τέκνον, τό,

(τίκτω,--οὐκ ἔστι μήτηρ ἡ κεκλημένου τέκνου τοκεύς, τροφὸς δὲ.. [Refs 4th c.BC+], child, ἄλοχοι καὶ νήπια τέκνα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; γυναῖκες καὶ τ. [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc.: the singular is used by [Refs 8th c.BC+] only in vocative, as a form of address from elders to their youngers, my son, my child, sometimes with masculine adjective, φίλε τέκνον [Refs 8th c.BC+]: the relative pronoun or Participle sometimes follows in masculine or feminine, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—the word is used in Prose at Cyrene, [Refs 4th c.BC+] in Attic dialect Prose, [LXX+5th c.BC+]; rare in Comedy texts except in paratragoedic passages, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; in Trag. it is generally used with especially reference to the mother, ὦ τέκνον Νηρῇδος, ὦ παῖ Πηλέως [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ἀγαμέμνονος παῖ (sic codices) καὶ Κλυταιμήστρας τέκνον…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τέκνον

teknon

from the base of 5098; a child (as produced):--child, daughter, son.

see GREEK for 5098

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τέκνον, ου, τό

n.n.

a child, descendent, inhabitant

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

τέκνον teknon 99x

a child, a son or daughter, Mt. 2:18; Lk. 1:7; pl. descendants, posterity, Mt. 3:9; Acts 2:39; child, son, as a term of endearment, Mt. 9:2; Mk. 2:5; 10:24; pl. children, inhabitants, people, of a city, Mt. 23:37; Lk. 19:44; from the Hebrew, met. a child or son in virtue of discipleship, 1 Cor. 4:17; 1 Tim. 1:2; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τέκνον τέκνον, ου, τό, τίκτω that which is borne or born, a child (cf. Scottish bairn, from Anglo-S. beran, to bear), Hom., etc.; my son, my child, sometimes with masc. adj., φίλε τέκνον id. Hom.; the relat. Pron. or Participle often follows in masc. or fem.

of animals, the young, id. Hom., etc.

metaph., flowers are γαίας τέκνα Aesch.; birds αἰθέρος τέκνα Eur.

The penult. is long in Hom., in Trag. more often short.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Smith's Bible Dictionary

The blessing of offspring, but especially of the male sex, is highly valued among all eastern nations, while a the absence is regarded as one of the severest punishments. (Genesis 16:2; 7:14; 1 Samuel 1:6; 2 Samuel 6:23; 2 Kings 4:14; Isaiah 47:9; Jeremiah 20:15; Psalms 127:3,5) As soon as the child was born it was washed in a bath, rubbed with salt and wrapped in swaddling clothes. (Ezekiel 16:4; Job 38:9; Luke…

A numerous offspring was regarded as a signal blessing, Ps 127:3-5, and childless wives sought various means to escape the reproach of barrenness, which was deprecated in the blessing given to a newly married couple, Ru 4:11. The pangs of childbirth, in their suddenness and sharpness, are often alluded to in Scripture. The apostle Paul speaks of them as fruits and evidences of the fall; but assures those who abide in faith, that, amid all the suffering that reminds them that woman was first in the transgression, Ge 3:16, they may yet look trustfully to God for acceptance and salvation, 1Ti 2:15.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ In answer to prayer

To Abraham Ge 15:2-5; with 21:1,2

Isaac Ge 25:21

Leah Ge 30:17-22

Rachel Ge 30:22-24

Hannah 1Sa 1:9-20

Zacharias Lu 1:13

→ Treatment of, at birth Eze 16:4-6; Lu 2:7,12

→ Circumcision of

→ See CIRCUMCISION

→ Dedicated to God in infancy

Samson Jud 13:5,7

Samuel 1Sa 1:24-28

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- Christ was an example to

Lu 2:51; Joh 19:26,27

- Are a gift from God

Ge 33:5; Ps 127:3

- Are capable of glorifying God

Ps 8:2; 148:12,13; Mt 21:15,16

- SHOULD BE

. Brought to Christ

Mr 10:13-16

. Brought early to the house of God

1Sa 1:24

. Instructed in the ways of God

De 31:12,13; Pr 22:6

. Judiciously trained

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
77%children
children77% · 76×child17% · 17×son4% · 4×other renderings2% · 2×

99 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 5 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
object31%subject18%predicate18%adverbial10%indirect object9%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 99 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,δίδωμιI offer, giveἄρτοςbread, a loaf, f
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakεἰμίI am, existμήτηρa mother
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
ἀλλάbut, exceptἀντιμισθίαa reward, recompθεόςGod, a god
πατήρfather, Father, ance
καίand, even, also,ὡςas, like as, how
Disj
μήτηρa motherπατήρfather, Father, γονεύςa parent
τέκνονchildren99×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἈβραάμPropσάρξflesh, body
σύ
πόσοςὅςπάντοτεalways, at all t
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐπανίστημιI rise up againsArticle theβάλλωI cast, throw, r
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ὅςἀποκτείνωI put to death,
ἐγώ
ἀνίστημιI raise up, set ἀγαπητόςloved, belovedὅς

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

Concordanceτέκνον · 99× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Mark Romans 1 John 1 Timothy Acts Ephesians Galatians 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 John
Across the New Testament23 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Didache The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 167c. AD 40

ἡ μὲν γυνὴ σφοδρὰς ἀνίας ἐνδεξαμένη τὰς ἐν ὠδῖσι καὶ τὰς παρὰ τὸν ἄλλον βίον λύπας ἐπαλλήλους καὶ μάλιστα τὰς ἐπὶ τέκνοις γεννωμένοις καὶ τρεφομένοις καὶ νοσοῦσι καὶ ὑγιαίνουσι καὶ εὐτυχοῦσι καὶ ἀτυχοῦσιν, εἶτ’ ἀφαίρεσιν ἐλευθερίας καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.74c. AD 75–95

Νῶχος δὲ τοῖς πραττομένοις ὑπʼ αὐτῶν δυσχεραίνων καὶ τοῖς βουλεύμασιν ἀηδῶς ἔχων ἔπειθεν ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτοὺς καὶ τὰς πράξεις μεταφέρειν, ὁρῶν δʼ οὐκ ἐνδιδόντας, ἀλλʼ ἰσχυρῶς ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς τῶν κακῶν κεκρατημένους, δείσας μὴ καὶ…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 7.1c. AD 100

Οὐκοῦν νοεῖτε, τέκνα εὐφροσύνης, ὅτι πάντα ὁ καλὸς κύριος προεφανέρωσεν ἡμῖν, ἵνα γνῶμεν, ᾧ κατὰ πάντα εὐχαριστοῦντες ὀφείλομεν αἰνεῖν.

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.Bon. 24 aTebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 135

π … ικ … οικ … ἀπηλιώτου πρότερον τοῦ προγεγραμμένου Προκτηρος … νυνὶ δὲ τέκνων Μυς … τοῦ Φ … … ωπ … ικαι … … , καὶ ἀπέχειν

P.Athen.. 35Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 154

ἐστὶν ἡ πέμπτη τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος μηνὸς Φαρμοῦθι καὶ παραστήσειν τὸν μὲν Ζεναμοῦνιν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ τέκνα εἰς τὸ ἁλιεύειν καὶ πωλεῖν καὶ Πετεσοῦχον ὡσαύτως δὲ παραστήσειν σὺν τοῖς προγεγραμμένοις τοὺς

P.Berl.Leihg. 1 24Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 169

Πτολεμαῖος ἐπίτροπος Σερήνου ἀντεξηγητοῦ καὶ Πλουτάμμωνος ἀφηλίκων τέκνων Σαραπίωνος Ἠπιοδώρου Ἰσιδώρῳ Νικάνδρου μισθωτῇ χαίρειν. ἀπέχω παρὰ σοῦ τὸν χειμερινὸν φόρον κήπου παραδείσου,

So then, brothers, not we are of [the] slave woman children but of the free;
ἀλλὰalla but G235 Conjunction
638× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Galatians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
But is a strong opposing word, used in Matthew 5:15 and John 7:16. It shows contrast or surprise, like in the phrase 'but God' in Romans 3:31.
Amplified meaning
in contrast
Tyndale gloss
but
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀλλά (alla) is an adversative particle, meaning 'but' or 'otherwise.' It is derived from the neuter plural of ἄλλος and is used to introduce opposition or contrast in sentences. In the New Testament, it often appears in contexts that involve negation or exceptions, such as in Matthew 5:15 and John 16:2. The lexicons note its stronger adversative force compared to δέ.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀλλά (ἀλλ’ usually bef. α and υ, often bef. ε and η, rarely bef. ο and ω, never bef. ι; Tdf., Pr., 93 f.; WH, App., 146),

adversative particle,

stronger than δέ; prop. neuter pl. of ἄλλος, used adverbially, with changed accent; hence prop. otherwise, on the other hand (cf. Ro 3:31);

opposing a previous negation, but: οὐ (μὴ) . . . ἀ., Mt 5:15, 17 Mk 5:39, Jo 7:16, al.; rhetorically subordinating but not entirely negativing what precedes, οὐ . . . ἀ., not so much . . . as, Mk 9:37, Mt 10:20, Jo 12:44, al.; with ellipse of the negation, Mt 11:7-9

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

ἀλλά, an adversative particle, derived from ἄλλα, neut. of the adj. ἄλλος, which was originally pronounced ἀλλός (cf. Klotz ad Dévar. ii. p. 1 sq.), hence properly, other things se. than those just mentioned. It differs from δέ, as the Lat. at and sed from autem, [ef. W. 441 sq. (411)]. 1. But. So related to the preceding words that it serves to introduce 1. an opposition to concessions; nevertheless, notwithstanding: Mt. xxiv. 6; Mk. xiii. 20; xiv. 28; Jn. xvi. 7, 20; Acts iv. 17; vii. 48; Ro. v. 14 sq.; x. 16; 1 Co. iv. 4; 2 Co. vii. 6; Phil. ii. 27 (ἀλλ᾽ ὁ θεός etc.), ete. 2. an objection: Jn. vii. 27; Ro. x. 18 sq.; 1 Co. xv. 35; Jas. ii. 18. 3. an exception: Lk. xxii. 53; Ro. iv. 2; 1 Co. viii. 7; xe 29: 4. a restriction: Jn. xi. 42; Gal. iv. 8; Mk. xiv. 36. 5. an ascensive transition or gradation, nay rather, yea moreover: Jn. xvi. 2; 2 Co. i. 9; esp. with καί added, Lk. xii. 7…

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

ἀλλά. The closeness οἱ ἀλλά to πλήν appears in more uses than one. Armitage Robinson, Zp/estans, p. 205, has a note on a quasi-resumpltive use of ἀλλά in Eph 524 which is closely paralleled by that of πλήν in ver. 33. Then there are instances of ἀλλά = ‘‘except.” ‘This is clear where we have ἀλλ᾽ ἤ (as in 2 Cor 13%): thus P Petr 11. 9 (3)® (B.c. 24139) ὥστε μηθένα εἶναι ἐνταῦθα ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἡμᾶς, ‘ There is no one left here except ourselves” (Ed.), 2d. 46 (α)" (B.C. 209) καὶ μὴ ὑποκεῖσθαι πρὸς ἄλλο μηδὲν add’ ἢ τὴν mpoyeypap[μέν]ην ἐγγύην, “has not been pledged for any other purpose than the aforesaid security” (1α.), P Lond 89738 (a.p. 84) (=TIII. p. 207) ὃ μέντοιγε οὐ θέλων. ἀλλὰ ἢ ἀνάγκηι. In P Tebt I. το 419 (B.c. 92) μὴ ἐξέστω Φιλίσκωι γυναῖκα ἄλλην. μ γυ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀλλά (alla) — but.

ἀλλά,

conjunction, originally neuter plural of ἄλλος, otheruise: used adversatively to limit or oppose words, sentences, or clauses, stronger than δέ:

I. in simple oppositions, but,

I.1. after negative clauses, οὐ κακός, ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαθός[Refs 8th c.BC+]

I.1. b after a simple negative, ἦ παραφρονεῖ; οὔκ, ἀλλ᾽ ὕπνος μ᾽ ἔχει[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.1. c frequently after οὐ μόνον, μὴ μόνον, with or without καί, οὐ μόνον ἅπαξ, ἀ. πολλάκις[Refs 5th c.BC+], either, not only.. but.., μὴ ὅτι ἰδιώτην τινά, ἀλλὰ τὸν μέγαν βασιλέα[Refs 5th c.BC+]; or, not only not.. but.., οὐχ ὅπως κωλυταὶ.. γενήσεσθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ.. περιόψεσθε[Refs 5th c.BC+]; the negative form is ἀλλ᾽ οὐδέ, μὴ ὅτι ὑπὲρ ἄλλου, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτοῦ δίκην εἴρηκα[Refs 4th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀλλά

alla

neuter plural of 243; properly, other things, i.e. (adverbially)

contrariwise (in many relations):--and, but (even), howbeit, indeed,

nay, nevertheless, no, notwithstanding, save, therefore, yea, yet.

see GREEK for 243

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀλλά

Cj.

but, except

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀλλά alla 638x

but; however; but still more; ἀλλάγε, at all events; ἀλλή, unless, except. Ἀλλά also serves to introduce a sentence with keenness and emphasis, Jn. 16:2; Rom. 6:5; 7:7; Phil. 3:8

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀλλά Conjunct., properly neut. pl. of ἄλλος (with changed accent) otherwise, but, stronger than δέ:

to oppose single clauses, but, Lat. autem, the preceding clause being negat., οὐ μόνον ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις Plat.; so, οὐχ (or μὴ) ὅτι, οὐχ (or μὴ) ὅπως, are followed by ἀλλά or ἀλλά καὶ . . . , not only . . . , but . . .

after a negative ἀλλά sometimes = ἀλλ᾽ ἤ, except, but, ἔπαισεν οὔτις ἀλλ᾽ ἐγώ Soph.

to oppose whole sentences, but, yet, Lat. at:— used by Hom., with imperat. or subj., to remonstrate, encourage, persuade, like Lat. tandem, ἀλλ᾽ ἴθι, ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε, ἀλλὰ ἴωμεν, Hom.

joined with other Particles, ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα, or, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν, but then, however, Hdt., etc.

ἀλλὰ γάρ, Lat. enimvero, but really, certainly, attic

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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
92%but
but92% · 591×instead2% · 15×other renderings4% · 25×other renderings2% · 12×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial10%object6%predicate3%subject2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 638 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
οἶδαI know, rememberκατεργάζομαιI work out, prodἐπιγινώσκωI come to know,
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγράφωI writeἐν
ἐγώ
ἀπόκρατέωI lay hold of, oθέλημαwill, wish, desi
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegοὐδείςno one, none, noΜωϋσῆςMoses
θεόςGod, a god
Article theἄνομοςlawless, sinful,
ἀλλάbut638×
what comes after →
Article the
Article theπέμπωI sendθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ἐν
οὐNeg
πᾶςall, the whole, ἐνδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐν
πᾶςall, the whole, Article theδύναμιςmight, power, ma
ἵναin order that, so th
φανερόωI make clear, viπληρόωI fill, fulfill,σῴζωI save, heal

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

Concordanceἀλλά · 638× in the New Testament
John 1 Corinthians Romans 2 Corinthians Mark Matthew Luke Acts Galatians 1 Peter Hebrews Philippians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
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 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 1.1c. AD 75–95

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.8c. AD 100

ἐγὼ δὲ οὐχ ὡς διδάσκαλος, ἀλλ̓ ὧς εἰς ἐξ ὑμῶν ὑποδείξω ὀλίγα, δἰ ὧν ἐν τοῖς παροῦσιν εὐφρανθήσεσθε.

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 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
P. Grenf. 1 21Pathyris127 BC

ἐπὶ Διονυσίου ἀγορανόμου ἐν τῶι ϛ ἔτους ἐπὶ τοῦ Φιλομήτορος, ἣ διασαφεῖ τά τε ἄλλα καὶ ἐπίτροπον Ἑρμ … φιλον ὄντα συγγενῆ κατέστησεν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων δ

P.Grenf. 1 44Pathyris127 BC

ἐπὶ Διονυσίου ἀγορανόμου ἐν τῶι ϛ ἔτει ἐπὶ τοῦ Φιλομήτορος ἣ διασαφεῖ τά τε ἄλλα καὶ ἐπίτροπον Ἑρμ … φιλον ὄντα συγγενῆ κατέστησεν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων δ

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

νῦν οὐδενός … ς ἀξιοῦμεν … ἀνθρώπου ἀλόγως … ὀφείλει ἡμῖν διάφορα … θαι ἀλλʼ ἀποστερέσαι … ησας ἀλλά … τας κατὰ κοινόν … ἐπίσκεψιν ποιησάσθαι. … τούτων γὰρ

So then, brothers, not we are of [the] slave woman children but of the free;
τῆςho of the G3588 Article · genitive · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Galatians 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-GSF — Article · genitive · singular · feminine
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-GSF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.

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

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

Lamentations 3:1.

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.

Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.

That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…

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
of 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

So then, brothers, not we are of [the] slave woman children but of the free;
ἐλευθέρας·eleutheros free; G1658 Adjective · genitive · singular · feminine
23× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Galatians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means being free or unrestricted, like not being a slave to anything. In John 8:33 and 1 Corinthians 12:13, it talks about being free in Christ.
Amplified meaning
the eleuthera, unrestricted and liberated
Tyndale gloss
free/freedom
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἐλεύθερος (i.e., *eleutheros*) means 'free' and is used in various contexts, primarily to denote a person who is not a slave. It can also refer to being exempt from obligations or restrictions, as seen in passages like John 8:33 and 1 Corinthians 7:21-22. The term has a broader application, including freedom from sin and the law. Some entries highlight its use in civil contexts, while others emphasize its ethical implications.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐλεύθερος, -α, -ον

[in LXX chiefly for חׇפְשִׁי ;]

free;

in civil sense, not a slave: Jo 8:33, I Co 7:21, 22 12:13, Ga 3:28, Eph 6:8, Col 3:11, Re 6:15 13:16 19:18; fem., Ga 4:22, 23, 30;

as regards restraint and obligation in general: Mt 17:26, I Co 9:1; seq. ἐκ, I Co 9:19; ἀπό, Ro 7:3; c. inf.,

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

ἐλεύθερος, -Epa, -epov, (EAEY@Q@ i. q. ἔρχομαι [so Curtius, Ρ. 497, after Etym. Magn. 329, 43; Suid. col. 1202 a. ed: Gaisf.; but al. al., cf. Vaniéek p. 61]; hence, prop. one who can go whither he pleases), [fr. Hom. down], Sept. for wan, free ; 1. freeborn; in a civil sense, one who is not a slave: Jn. viii. 33; 1 Co. vii. 22; xii. 13; Gal. iii. 28; Eph. vi. 8; Col. iii. 11; Rev. vi. 15; xiii. 16; xix. 18; fem., Gal. iv. 22 sq. 30 sq. (opp. to ἡ παιδίσκη): of one who ceases to be a slave, freed, manumitted : γίνεσθαι ἐλεύθερον, 1 Co. vii. 21. 2. free, exempt, unrestrained, not bound by an obligation: 1 Co. ix.1; ἐκ πάντων (see ἐκ, I. 6 fin.), 1 Co. ix. 19; ἀπότινος, free from i. e. no longer under obligation to, so that one may now do what was formerly forbidden by the person or thing to which he was bound, Ro. vii. 8 [ef. W. 196 sq. (185); B. 157 sq. (188), 269 (231)]; foll. by an…

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

ἐλεύθερος. For the spiritual significance of this term in the Pauline writings cf. the preceding article, and what is said s.v. ἀπελεύθερος. In the oldest Greek marriage contract we possess, P Eleph 1 (B.C. 311-0) (= Selections, p. 1 ff.), the contracting parties are described as ἐλεύθερος ἐλευθέρα, and in the curious law-suit, P Oxy I. 37118 (a.p. 49) (= Selections, p: 50), which recalls in various particulars the Judgment of Solomon, the nurse, who is charged with carrying off a foundling, defends herself on the ground that she did so ὀν[ό]ματι ἐλευθέρου, “‘in virtue of its being freeborn.” Other exx. of the adj. are P Ryl II. 117?® (a.p. 269) πρὸς τὸ ἔχειν pe τ[ὰ ἐ]μὰ ἐλεύθερον, ‘so that I may keep my property in freedom,” and P Oxy IX. 11868 (iv/A.p.), the edict of a Preses in which it is declared that for slaves punishment by scourging (διὰ τῶν ἱμάντων) is lamentable (ἀνιαρόν), but…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐλεύθερος (eleutheros) — free/freedom.

ἐλεύθερος, α, ον

(ος, ον [Refs 5th c.BC+]: later ἐλαύθερος [Refs]; Elean ἐλεύθαρος [Refs]:— free, [Refs 8th c.BC+] has the word only in [Refs 8th c.BC+] the day of freedom, i.e.freedom, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; and κρητὴρ ἐλεύθερος the cup drunk to freedom,[Refs 4th c.BC+]; of persons, [Refs 7th c.BC+]: comparative, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: superlative, [Refs]; τὸ ἐ. freedom, Hdt [Refs], etc.; τοὐλεύθερον [Refs 5th c.BC+]: c.genitive, free or freed from a thing, φόνου, πημάτων, φόβου, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἔξω αἰτίας ἐ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐ. ἀπ᾽ ἀλλήλων independent, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__b ἐλευθέρα, ἡ, married woman, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; wife, [Refs 5th c.AD+]; but, freedwoman, [Refs]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐλεύθερος

eleutheros

probably from the alternate of 2064; unrestrained (to go at pleasure),

i.e. (as a citizen) not a slave (whether freeborn or manumitted), or

(genitive case) exempt (from obligation or liability):--free (man,

woman), at liberty.

see GREEK for 2064

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐλεύθερος, έρα, ερον

Adj

free, delivered from obligation

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐλεύθερος eleutheros 23x

free, in a state of freedom as opposed to slavery, 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:28; free, exempt, Mt. 17:26; 1 Cor. 7:39; unrestricted, unfettered, 1 Cor. 9:1; free from the dominion of sin, etc., Jn. 8:36; Rom. 6:20; free in the possession of Gospel privileges, 1 Pet. 2:16

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐλεύθερος ἐλεύθερος = Lat. liber free, opp. to δοῦλος: ἐλεύθερον ἦμαρ the day of freedom, i. e. freedom, Il.; κρητὴρ ἐλεύθερος the cup drunk to freedom, id. Il.:—of persons, Hdt., attic: —τὸ ἐλ. freedom, Hdt.:—c. gen. free or freed from a thing, Trag.

of things, free, open to all, Xen.

like ἐλευθέριος, fit for a freeman, free, frank, Hdt., attic:—adv., ἐλευθέρως εἰπεῖν Hdt., Soph.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-GSF — Adjective · genitive · singular · feminine
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-GSF Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
96%free
free96% · 22×free?4% · 1×

23 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 2 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
predicate56%subject26%object13%adverbial4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 23 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
ἐκὁμοίωςin like mannerυἱόςa son, descenden
ἀνήρa male human being,
Article the
εἴτεand if, whether
δοῦλος (II)
ἄραDisj
ἸησοῦςJesus
ὅτιthat, since, because
λέγωI say, speak
ἐλεύθεροςfree;23×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theἀπόὅς
καίand, even, also, nam
πᾶςall, the whole, μήNegArticle the
γίνομαιI come into being, a
μᾶλλονmore, rather
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existἔνιthere is in, is
καλέωI call, invite, name
δοῦλος (II)

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

Concordanceἐλεύθερος · 23× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians Galatians Revelation John Romans 1 Peter Colossians Ephesians Matthew
Across the New Testament9 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 15 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 Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Posterity of Cain 138c. AD 40

τοῦτο δ’ ἐστὶ τὸ δογματικώτατον, ὅτι ὁ σοφὸς μόνος ἐλεύθερός τε καὶ ἄρχων,

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.196c. AD 75–95

ἔφερον δὲ τὸ ἀργύριον τῶν ἐλευθέρων οἱ ἀπὸ εἴκοσι ἐτῶν ἄχρι πεντήκοντα γεγονότες.

The Shepherd of HermasThe Shepherd of Hermas 22.2.2c. AD 140

εἶχέ τις ἀγρὸν καὶ δούλους πολλοὺς καὶ μέρος τι τοῦ ἀγροῦ ἐφύτευσεν ἀμπελῶνα: καὶ ἐκλεξάμενος δοῦλόν τινα πιστὸν καὶ εὐάρεστον ἔντιμον, προσεκαλέσατο αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ: Λάβε τὸν ἀμπελῶνα τοῦτον, ὃν ἐφύτευσα, καὶ χαράκωσον αὐτόν, ἕως ἔρχομαι, καὶ…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 7th c. AD
O.Did. 394DidymoiAD 110–AD 115

οἶσθα ὅτι πόσα πέπονθα ἵνα ἐλευθέρα γένωμαι. οἶσθα ὅτι οὐκ εἰς ἀχρεῖον πρᾶγμα ὤφληκα, ἀλλὰ ἵνα ζήσωμεν οἱ δύο τὴν

P.Stras. 7 684AD 117–AD 138

τῇ μητροπόλει … … … ου Πλουτίωνος … … … … … … … ἐλευθέρα τ … … τοῦ Λυσιμάχου ἀπολειφθησόμενα … … … ευτικὰ καὶ πάντα καὶ ε

P.Wisc. 1 33ArsinoitesAD 147

Διοσκόρου τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀρσινοίτου. πάντων αἴσχιστόν ἐστιν τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἀδικημάτων τὸ ἐλευθέρους ἀνθρώπους ὕβρεως τυγχάνειν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο προσφεύγω σοι, τῷ κυρίῳ, δηλῶν καὶ τὸν τῆς

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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