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John 14:15 — Word Study

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N1904Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσετε.

BSAIfean [on the condition that, in case] you shall loveagapaō [show esteem and goodwill towards] Me,egō <the>ho commandmentsentolē [divine instructions, orders] <the>ho of Mineemos you will keep.tēreō [obey, observe, watch over]

Word
Listen & take awayJohn 14
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 15 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 (tēreō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
John 14:15quick helps
In a sentenceJesus states that love for Him is demonstrated through obedience to His commandments.
Who is speakingJesus, addressing His disciples.
Where we areThis is part of Jesus' farewell discourse, where He teaches His followers about love and obedience.
The hard wordἀγαπᾶτέ
Take awayLove for Jesus is active and expressed through keeping His commandments.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause verbἀγαπάω 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 — John 14:15

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 — Jesus' Teaching on Love and Obediencegenerated

14If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.
15If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—
17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.

John 14:15 is a part of Jesus' farewell discourse, where He emphasizes the importance of love as a condition for obedience. He assures His disciples that their love for Him should be evident through their actions, specifically by keeping His commandments. This teaching is foundational for understanding the relationship between love and obedience in the Christian faith.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1John 14:21–24Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
2John 8:42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.
3John 15:10–14If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.
4John 21:15–17When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”
5Matthew 10:37Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;

The Key Word ἀγαπᾶτέ, agapaōgenerated

The verb ἀγαπάω means to love in a moral or social sense, indicating esteem and goodwill towards someone. In this context, it is a present active subjunctive form, suggesting an ongoing action or attitude of love that the disciples are to maintain.

This love is not merely an emotion but is demonstrated through actions, specifically through the obedience to the commandments given by Jesus. It reflects a commitment to uphold His teachings and live according to His will.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as keep, which aligns with the KJV and ASV. These versions emphasize the action of obedience to commandments.

The Young's Literal Translation uses commands, suggesting a slightly different nuance, while the Basic English Bible opts for laws. The variations highlight different aspects of the same underlying concept of obedience.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main finite verb is ἀγαπᾶτέ, you shall love, which governs the entire sentence. It is followed by a noun phrase με, Me, and another verb phrase τηρήσετε, you will keep, indicating the action that follows from the love expressed.

The structure clearly shows that love is the condition for the subsequent action of keeping commandments, emphasizing the cause-and-effect relationship between love and obedience.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

ἐντολήcommandment — corresponds to the Hebrew מִצְוָה, used in the Septuagint to refer to divine instructions. This connection reinforces the continuity of God's commandments from the Old Testament to the teachings of Jesus.

ἀγαπάω does not have a direct equivalent in the Septuagint, but its Hebrew counterpart אָהֵב conveys a similar sense of love and relational commitment.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

John 14:15 teaches that if we truly love Jesus, we will show that love by keeping His commandments. This means that our actions reflect our love for Him, emphasizing that love is not just a feeling but is demonstrated through obedience.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to keep Jesus' commandments?

Keeping Jesus' commandments means to obey His teachings and live according to His instructions, demonstrating love for Him through our actions.

How is love for Jesus shown?

Love for Jesus is shown through obedience to His commandments, as He emphasizes that our actions must reflect our love for Him.

Are Jesus' commandments difficult to follow?

While following Jesus' commandments can be challenging, they are rooted in love and guide us in living a life that honors Him.

What is the significance of the condition 'if you love Me'?

This condition highlights that love for Jesus is not just a sentiment but requires action, linking our feelings with our behaviors.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways can I show my love for Jesus through my actions?
  2. How can I better understand and follow the commandments of Jesus in my daily life?
  3. What challenges do I face in keeping Jesus' commandments, and how can I overcome them?
  4. How does my love for Jesus influence my relationships with others?

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

Early Church Fathers comment on this verse to emphasize the connection between love and obedience in the life of a believer.

CyprianTreatise I On the Unity of the Church c. 200–258
From which an example is given us to avoid the way of the old man, to stand in the footsteps of a conquering Christ, that we may not again be incautiously turned back into the nets of death, but, foreseeing our danger,
Early Church Fathers on John 14 →
John ChrysostomCatena Aurea by Aquinas c. 347–407
Our Lord having said, Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that I will do; that they might not think simply asking would be enough, He adds, If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And then I will do what ye ask, seems to be His meaning.
Early Church Fathers on John 14 →
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of John 75 c. 347–407
We need everywhere works and actions, not a mere show of words. For to say and to promise is easy for any one, but to act is not equally easy.
Early Church Fathers on John 14 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on John 14:15 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

If ye love me,.... Not that Christ doubted of the love of his disciples to him; but he argues from it to their observance of his precepts, seeing ye do love me; as all do who are born again, who have

Read John Gill on John 14 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

If ye love me, keep my commandments. If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Read Robert Jamieson on John 14 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Do not show your love to me in mourning, and being troubled for my going from you; but show it by your obedience to what I have commanded you. True love must not evaporate in compliment, but discover itself in a strict observance of the commandments of God.

Read Matthew Poole on John 14 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. Ver. 15. If ye love me, keep my commandments] No better way to seal up love than by being obedient. "How canst thou love me," said she, "when thy heart is not with me?" Judges 16:15. Hushai, to show his love to David, set upon that difficult and dangerous service for him, of insinuating into Absalom’ s counsels, and defeating them.

Read John Trapp on John 14 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(15) If ye love me, keep my commandments.—Comp. Notes on John 14:17; John 13:34; John 15:10. The connection here is through the condition “in My name,” which includes willing obedience to His commands. The word “My” is emphatic—“The commandments which ye have received from Me.” Those of this last discourse are perhaps prominent in the thought.

Read Charles John Ellicott on John 14 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 15. If ye love me, keep my commandments.] Do not be afflicted at the thought of my being separated from you: the most solid proof ye can give of your attachment to and affection for me is to keep my commandments. This I shall receive as a greater proof of your affection than your tears.

Read AdamClarke on John 14 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15. If ye love me] The connexion with what precedes is again not quite clear. Some would see it in the condition ‘in My name,’ which includes willing obedience to His commands. Perhaps it is rather to be referred to the opening and general drift of the chapter. ‘Let not your heart be troubled at My going away. You will still be Mine, I shall still be yours, and we shall still be caring for one another. I go to prepare a place for you, you remain to continue and surpass My work on earth. And though you can no longer minister to Me in the flesh, you can prove your love for Me even more perfectly by keeping My commandments when I am gone.’ ‘My’ is emphatic; not those of the Law but of the…

Read Cambridge on John 14 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

If ye love me - Do not show your love by grief at my departure merely; or by profession, but by obedience.

Read Albert Barnes on John 14 →

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

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

If you love me, keep my commandments.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

If you love Me, keep My commandments.

NETBNew English Translation2006

“If you love me, you will obey my commandments.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

¶ If ye love me, keep my commandments.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.

RVARevised Version, American1894

If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

If ye loue me, keepe my comandements,

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

'If ye love me, my commands keep,

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

If you love Me, keep My commands,

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

If you love me, you will keep my commandments,

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

If you love me, keep my commandments.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

If you love me, you will keep my commands.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

If you have love for me, you will keep my laws.

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἐντολὰςentolē commandments G1785 2 different renderings
commandmentsASV BSB DBY DRA KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
commandsFBV LSV YLT
τηρήσετε.tēreō you will keep. G5083 3 different renderings
keepDBY DRA KJV LSV MSB NWB WEB YLT
will keepASV BBE BSB FBV RVA ULB
obeyNETB

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.

clauseclauseἘὰνIfclauseverbἀγαπᾶτέyou loveobjectμεMeclausenoun phrase · objectτὰς-noun phraseἐντολὰςcommandmentsnoun phraseτὰς-ἐμὰςMyverbτηρήσετεyou will keep

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

Si diligitis me, mandata mea servate :

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

ܐܢ ܪܚܡܝܢ ܐܢܬܘܢ ܠܝ ܦܘܩܕܢܝ ܛܪܘ

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

Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσετε.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσετε.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσετε.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσετε.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσετε.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσετε.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς

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
τηρήσετε. you will keep.NA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WH, TregTR, Byz

Apparatus — SBL Greek New Testament, CC BY 4.0


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.

John 14:15ἐάνIfIfἐάνἀγαπάωyou shall lyou shall loveἀγαπάωμεMe,Me,με<the><the>ἐντολήcommandmentcommandmentsἐντολή<the><the>ἐγώof Mineof Mineἐγώτηρέωyou will keyou will keep.τηρέωεἰCond. ifCond. ifεἰἐντέλλομαιv. I give v. I give orderἐντέλλομαιφιλέωv. I love,v. I love, kissφιλέωφυλάσσωv. I keep,v. I keep, guarφυλάσσωκουστωδίαn.f. a guan.f. a guardκουστωδίααἰτέωv. I ask, v. I ask, requeαἰτέωμένωv. I remaiv. I remain, abμένωπλησίονAdv near, Adv near, nearbπλησίοντηρέωv. I keep,v. I keep, guarτηρέωκαινόςAdj fresh,Adj fresh, newκαινόςπέμπωv. I sendv. I sendπέμπωἀγαπητόςAdj loved,Adj loved, beloἀγαπητόςἐντολήn.f. an orn.f. an ordinanἐντολήὑμέτεροςPoss.pr. yPoss.pr. yourὑμέτερος
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 John 14:15

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.

If you shall love Me, <the> commandments <the> of Mine you will keep.
Ἐὰνean If G1437 Conditional particle
339× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'if' and is used to show uncertainty or possibility, as in Matthew 6:22 and Romans 2:25, to express conditions or circumstances.
Amplified meaning
on the condition that, in case
Tyndale gloss
if
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἐάν is a conditional particle formed from εἰ (if) and ἄν. It indicates uncertainty or a hypothetical situation, often followed by the subjunctive mood. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, such as in Matthew 6:22 and Romans 2:25. It can also appear with other particles, enhancing its conditional meaning.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐάν, contr. fr. εἰ ἄν,

conditional particle,

representing something as "under certain circumstances actual or liable to happen," but not so definitely expected as in the case of εἰ c. ind. (Bl., §65, 4; cf. Jo 13:17, I Co 7:36), if haply, if;

c. subjc. (cl.);

pres.: Mt 6:22, Lk 10:6, Jo 7:17, Ro 2:25, 26 al.;

aor. (= Lat. fut. pf.): Mt 4:9 16:26 (cf. ptcp. in Lk 9:25; M, Pr., 230), Mk 3:24, Lk 14:34, Jo 5:43,

Read the full entry →
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

ἐάν ; I. aconditional particle (derived fr. εἰ ἄν), which makes reference to time and to experience, introducing something future, but not determining, before the event, whether it is certainly to take place; if, in case, (Lat. si; Germ. wenn; im Fall, dass; falls; wofern); οἴ.» among others, Hermann ad Viger. p.832; Klotz ad Devar. ii. 2 p- 450 sqq.; W. 291 (273) sq. It is connected 1. with the Subjunctive, according to the regular usage of the more ancient and elegant classic writers. a. with the subjunc. Present: Mt. vi. 22 (ἐὰν οὖν ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ἁπλοῦς 7, if it be the case, as to which I do not know, that thine eye etc.); ibid. 23; xvii. 20; Lk. x. 6; Jn. vii. 17; viii. 54 [RGL mrg.]; ix. 31; xi. 9,10; Acts v. 38; xiii. 41; Ro. ii. 25 sq.; 1 Co.ix.16; Gal. v. 2; 1 Tim. i. 8 [not Lehm.]; Heb. xiii. 23; 1 Jn. i. 9; ii. 3, 15 ete. Ὁ. with the subjunc. Aorist, corresponding to the Lat.…

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

ἐάν (ean) — if.

ἐάν

(so early Attic Inscrr., as [Refs 4th c.BC+], also contraction ἤν and ἄν, see at {ἤν},{ἄν} (B) [ᾱ], which by crasis with καί become κἄν:—if haply, if, regularly followed by subjunctive: for its use and for examples, see at {εἰ} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. in Hellenistic and late Greek, ={ἄν} after relative Pronouns and Conjunctions, as ὃς ἐάν whosoever, [LXX+5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐάν ἐάνπερ

ean

from 1487 and 302; a conditional particle; in case that, provided,

etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote

indefiniteness or uncertainty:--before, but, except, (and) if, (if)

so, (what-, whither-)soever, though, when (-soever), whether (or), to

whom, (who-)so(-ever). See 3361.

see GREEK for 1487

see GREEK for 302

see GREEK for 3361

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐάν

Cond.

if

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐάν ean 350x

if, ἐὰν μή, except, unless; also equivalent to ἀλλά, Gal. 2:16. Ἐάν, in NT as in the later Greek, is substituted for ἄν after relative words, Mt. 5:19. Tends to be an indicator for the subjunctive mood.

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐάν compounded of εἰ ἄν ἐα?ν contracts into ἤν and ἄν if haply, if, followed by subj. (whereas εἰ is foll. by ind. or opt.), epic εἴ κε, αἴ κε.

in NTest. ἐάν is used just like the adverb ἄν after relative Pronouns and Conjunctions, as ὃς ἐάν whosoever, ὅσος ἐάν, ὅστις ἐάν, ὅπου ἐάν, etc.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
COND — Conditional particle
conditional particle — it marks the clause as a condition.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

COND CONDitional particle or conjunction

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
74%if
if74% · 255×only14% · 49×maybe8% · 26×other renderings4% · 15×

345 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 12 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
adverbial11%subject8%object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 339 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
ὅς
καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, existδῶρονa gift, present
καίand, even, also, nam
ἁμαρτάνωI sinεἷςoneαὐτός
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύαὐτόςγάρfor
σύ
λέγωI say, speakπρόςποιέωI do, make
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἐπίδέbut, on the othe
ἐάνIf339×
what comes after →
μήNeg
μετανοέωI repent, changeτὶςεἰμίI am, exist
τὶς
σύἀδελφόςa brotherArticle the
δέbut, on the other ha
καίand, even, also,Article theμήNeg
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastφωνήa sound, noise, ἐντολήan ordinance, in
θέλωI will, wish, desire
δύναμαιI am powerful, aArticle theἵναin order that, s

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

Concordanceἐάν · 339× in the New Testament
Matthew John 1 Corinthians Mark Luke 1 John Romans Acts Revelation Hebrews 2 Corinthians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 746 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 The Shepherd of Hermas Josephus Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 79c. AD 40

τουτὶ δὲ συμβήσεται, ἐὰν μήτε αἱ ἄλογοι ἡδοναὶ ψυχῆς δυναστεύσωσι γαστριμαργίαν καὶ λαγνείαν ἐπιτειχίσασαι μήτε αἱ δόξης ἢ χρημάτων ἢ ἀρχῆς ἐπιθυμίαι τὸ τοῦ βίου κράτος ἀνάψωνται μήτε στείλωσι καὶ κάμψωσι διάνοιαν αἱ λῦπαι μήθ’ ὁ κακὸς σύμβουλος…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4.252c. AD 75–95

ἐὰν δέ που μόνῃ περιπεσὼν βιάσηται μηδενὸς βοηθοῦ παρόντος, μόνος ἀποθνησκέτω.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.5c. AD 100

λογισάμενος οὖν τοῦτο, ὅτι ἐὰν μελήσῃ μοι περὶ ὑμῶν τοῦ μέρος τι μεταδοῦναι ἀφ̓ οὗ ἔλαβον, ὅτι ἔσται μοι τοιούτοις πνεύμασιν ὑπηρετήσαντι εἰς μισθόν, ἐσπούδασα κατὰ μικρὸν ὑμῖν πέμπειν, ἵνα μετὰ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν τελείαν ἔχητε τὴν γνῶσιν.

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 1st c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Adl. 10Pathyris102 BC

δεδανεισμένος Πανᾶς Ἀγαθίνωι καὶ Πατῆτι τοῖς δανείζουσιν ἐν μηνὶ Ἐπεὶφ εἰκάδος τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶι ἐν τῶι ὡρισμένωι χρόνωι ἀποτεισάτω καθὰ γέγραπται παραχρῆμα ἐπάναγκον· ἡ δὲ

P.Adl. 15Pathyris (?)101 BC

ποιησάτω ἐν μηνὶ Παχὼν τοῦ αὐτοῦ ιε ἔτους, καὶ ἀποτεισάτω ἑκάστης ἀρτάβης πυροῦ ἧς ἐὰν μὴ ἀποδῶι χαλκοῦ δραχμὰς δισχιλίας τετρακοσίας , κριθῆς χιλίας τετρακοσίας , καὶ ἑβδόμην μερίδα

P.Adl. 19Pathyris99 BC

τοῦτο ἀποδότω ὁ δεδανεισμένος τῶι δανείζοντι ἐν μηνὶ Μεσορὴ λ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ιϛ ἔτους· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶι ἐν τῶι ὡρισμένωι χρόνωι ἢ μὴ ποιήσηι καθὰ γέγραπται ἀποτεισάτω ἐν

If you shall love Me, <the> commandments <the> of Mine you will keep.
ἀγαπᾶτέagapaō you shall love G25 Verb · present · active · subjunctive · second person · plural
143× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To love means to show esteem and goodwill towards someone, as seen in Matthew 5:43 and John 8:42. This love is not just a feeling, but an action that is demonstrated towards others. It is a key concept in the Bible.
Amplified meaning
show esteem and goodwill towards
Tyndale gloss
to love
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀγαπάω (i.e., *agapao*) means to love in a moral or social sense, often implying esteem and goodwill toward others. It is used in the New Testament to describe both human affection and divine love, such as God's love for humanity and the love Christians should have for one another. Lexicons note a distinction between ἀγαπάω and φιλέω (i.e., *phileo*), with the former suggesting a more deliberate, willful love.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — ἀγαπάω, φιλέω from a scan

We have made no attempt to discriminate between these words in our English Version. And yet there is often a difference between them, well worthy to have been noted and reproduced, if this had lain within the compass of our language; being very nearly equivalent to that between ‘diligo’ and ‘amo’ in the Latin. To understand the exact distinction between these, will help us to understand that between those other which are the more immediate object of our inquiry. For this we possess abundant material in Cicero, who often sets the words in instructive antithesis to one another. Thus, writing to one friend of the affection in which he holds another (Hp. Fam. xiii. 47) : *Ut scires illum a-me non diligt solum, verum etiam amart;? and again (Ad Brut. 1): ‘L. Clodius valde me diligit, vel, ut ἐμφατικώτερον dicam, valde me amat.’? From these and other like passages (there is an ample…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀγαπάω, -ῶ,

[in LXX chiefly for אהב;]

to love, to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing. Of human affection, to men: τ. πλησίον, Mt 5:43; τ. ἐχθρούς, ib. 44; to Christ, Jo 8:42; to God, Mt 22:37; c. acc. rei, Lk 11:43, Jo 12:43, Eph 5:25, II Tim 4:8, 10, He 1:9, I Pe 2:17, 3:10, II Pe 2:15, I Jo 2:15, Re 12:11.

Of divine love;

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

ἀγαπάω, -&; [impf. ἠγάπων] ; fut.dyarjow; 1 aor. ἦγάmoa; pé. act. [1 pers. plur. 7yampxapev 1 Jn. iv. 10 WH txt.], ptep. ἠγαπηκώς (2 Tim. iv. 8); Pass., [pres. dyaπῶμαι]; pf. ptep. ἤγαπημένος ; 1 fut. ἀγαπηθήσομαι; (akin to ἄγαμαι [Fick, Pt. iv. 12; see ἀγαθός, init.]); to love, to be full of good-will and exhibit the same: LK. vii. 47; 1 Jn. iv. 7 sq.; with ace. of the person, to have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of: Mt. ν. 43 sqq-; xix. 19; Lk. vii. 5; Jn. xi. 5; Ro. xiii. 8; 2 Co. xi. 11; xii.15; Gal. v.14; Eph. v. 25, 28; 1 Pet. i. 22, and elsewhere; often in 1 Ep. of Jn. of the love of Christians towards one another; of the benevolence which God, in providing salvation for men, has exhibited by sending his Son to them and giving him up to death, dn. iii. 16; Ro. viii. 87; 2 Th. ii. 16; 1 Jn. iv. 11, 19; [noteworthy is Jude 1 L T Tr WH τοῖς ἐν θεῷ πατρὶ…

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

ἀγαπάω. The Pauline phrase in 1 Th 14 ἀδελφοὶ ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ [rod] θεοῦ, which in this exact form is not found elsewhere in the NT (cf. in the LXX Sir 45! ἠγαπημένον ὑπὸ (ἀπὸ N) θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων), is well illustrated by a similar

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀγαπάω (agapaō) — to love.

ἀγαπάω

(Doric dialect ἀγαπ-έω [Refs 4th c.BC+], Epic dialect aorist ἀγάπησα[Refs 8th c.BC+]: perfect ἠγάπηκα[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I. greet with affection (compare {ἀγαπάζω}), once in [Refs 8th c.BC+], Od.[same place]:—in Trag. only show affection for the dead, ὅτ᾽ ἠγάπα νεκρούς[Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, to be regarded with affection, ξένων εὐεργεσίαις ἀγαπᾶται[Refs 5th c.BC+]:— generally, love, ὥσπερ.. οἱ ποιηταὶ τὰ αὑτῶν ποιήματα καὶ οἱ πατέρες τοὺς παῖδας ἀγαπῶσι[Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὡς λύκοι ἄρν᾽ ἀγαπῶσ᾽ poetical cited in [Refs]; ἐπιστήμην, τὰ χρήματα, etc., [Refs 4th c.BC+]; especially of children, αὐτὸν ἐτιθηνούμην ἀγαπῶσα[Refs]:—passive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in LXX of the love of God for man and of man for God, [LXX+NT] implying regard rather than affection, but the two are interchanged,[Refs 5th c.BC+]; φιλεῖσθαι defined…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀγαπάω

agapao

perhaps from agan (much) (or compare 5689); to love (in a social or

moral sense):--(be-)love(-ed). Compare 5368.

see GREEK for 5689

see GREEK for 5368

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀγαπάω

v.

I love

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀγαπάω agapaō 143x

to love, value, esteem, feel or manifest generous concern for, be faithful towards; to delight in, to set store upon, Rev. 12:11

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀγαπάω ἀγάπη of persons, to treat with affection, to caress, love, be fond of, c. acc., attic for ἀγαπάζω, Plat., etc.; Pass. to be beloved, id. Plat., Dem.

in NTest. to regard with brotherly love, v. ἀγαπή.

of things, to be well pleased or contented at or with a thing, c. dat., Dem., etc.; also c. acc. rei, id. Dem.; absol. to be content, Luc.: —ἀγ. ὅτι.., εἰ.., ἐὰν.., to be well pleased that . . ., Thuc., etc.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAS-2P — Verb · present · active · subjunctive · second person · plural
present active subjunctive — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAS-2P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Subjunctive Person: second Number: Plural

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

luv ('ahebh, 'ahabhah, noun; phileo, agapao, verb; agape, noun): Love to both God and man is fundamental to true religion, whether as expressed in the Old Testament or the New Testament. Jesus Himself declared that all the law and the prophets hang upon love (Mt 22:40; Mr 12:28-34). Paul, in his matchless ode on love (1Co 13), makes it the greatest of the graces of the Christian life--greater than speaking with tongues, or the gift of prophecy, or the possession of a faith of superior excellence; for without love all these gifts and graces, desirable and useful as they are in themselves, are as nothing, certainly of no permanent value in the sight of God. Not that either Jesus or Paul underestimates the faith from which all the graces proceed, for this grace is recognized as…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Love

This word seems to require explanation only in the case of its use by our Lord in his interview with “Simon, the son of Jonas,” after his resurrection (John 21:16, 17). When our Lord says, “Lovest thou me?” he uses the Greek word agapas; and when Simon answers, he uses the Greek word philo, i.e., “I love.” This is the usage in the first and second questions put by our Lord; but in the third our Lord uses Simon’s word. The distinction between these two Greek words is thus fitly described by Trench:, ”Agapan has more of judgment and deliberate choice; philein has more of attachment and peculiar personal affection. Thus the ‘Lovest thou’ (Gr. agapas) on the lips of the Lord seems to Peter at this moment too cold a word, as though his Lord were keeping him at a distance, or at least not inviting him to draw near, as in the…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

GOD IS LOVE; AND HE THAT DWELLETH IN LOVE DWELLETH IN GOD, AND GOD IN HIM, 1Jo 4:16. Love is a chief attribute of Jehovah, the length and breadth and height and depth of which are beyond comprehension, for they are infinite, Eph 3:18,19. Between the three Persons of the Godhead, love is unutterable full, perfect, and blissful; towards holy angels and Christians, God’s love is an infinite fatherly complacency and affection; towards sinners, it is immeasurable compassion. It is shown in all his works and ways, and dictated his holy law, but is most signally displayed in the gospel, Joh 3:16. "Herein is love."

Holy love in man would make the whole heart and soul supremely delight in and obey God, and cordially and practically love all beings according to their character-the good…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ OF CHILDREN FOR PARENTS

See CHILDREN

→ OF GOD, LOVE OF

→ OF MAN FOR GOD Ex 20:6; De 5:10; 6:5; 7:9; 10:12; 11:1,13,22; 13:3; 30:6,16,20; Jos 22:5; 23:11; Ps 18:1; 31:23; 37:4; 45:10,11; 63:5,6; 69:35,36; 73:25,26; 91:14; 97:10; 116:1; 145:20; Pr 8:17; 23:26; Isa 56:6,7; Jer 2:2,3; Mt 22:37,38; Mr 12:29,30,32,33; Lu 11:42;

Across the New Testament22 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 123 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.129c. AD 40

ἀλλ’ οὗτος μέν, ὡς ἔφην, ἔχων τὸ πάθος ἰᾶσθαι αὐτὸ πειρᾶται τοῖς λεχθεῖσι σωτηρίοις φαρμάκοις, Μωυσῆς δὲ ὅλον τὸν θυμὸν ἐκτέμνειν καὶ ἀποκόπτειν οἴεται δεῖν τῆς ψυχῆς, οὐ μετριοπάθειαν ἀλλὰ συνόλως ἀπάθειαν ἀγαπῶν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.64c. AD 75–95

τούτων Ἰώβηλος μὲν ἐξ Ἄδας γεγονὼς σκηνὰς ἐπήξατο καὶ προβατείαν ἠγάπησεν, Ἰούβαλος δέ, ὁμομήτριος δʼ ἦν αὐτῷ, μουσικὴν ἤσκησε καὶ ψαλτήρια καὶ κιθάρας ἐπενόησεν, Ἰουβῆλος δὲ τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἑτέρας γεγονότων ἰσχύι πάντας ὑπερβαλὼν τὰ πολεμικὰ διαπρεπῶς…

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
4th c. AD 6th c. AD 5th c. AD 7th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Oxy. 50 3555OxyrhynchosAD 1–AD 200

Θερμουθίου τῆς Πλουτάρχου τῶν ἀπʼ Ὀξυρύγχων πόλεως. θεραπαινίδιόν μου οἰκογενές, οὗ ἔστιν ὄνομα Πεῖνα, ἠγάπησα καὶ ἐτημέλησα ὡς θυγάτριον ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι τοῦ ἡλικίας γενόμενον ἔχειν με γηροβοσκόν, γυναῖκα ἀβοήθητον

P.Oxy. 46 3313OxyrhynchosAD 101–AD 200

καὶ ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν τὰ παιδία ὡς ἴδια τέκνα καὶ πλέον τῶν ἡμῶν τιμῶμεν καὶ ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτὰ καὶ οὕτως χαίρομεν ἴσα σοι καὶ τῷ πατρὶ αὐτῶν. περὶ ὧν ἄλλων θέλεις

P.Lond. 6 1918Herakleopolites bzw. KynopolitesAD 330–AD 340

r τῷ τιμιωτάτῳ καὶ ἠγαπημένῳ πατρὶ ἄπα Παιηοῦτι Χαρίσιος πλεῖστα χαίρειν. πρὸ μὲν πάντων ἀσπάζομαί σε πολλὰ ἐν κυρίῳ,

If you shall love Me, <the> commandments <the> of Mine you will keep.
με,egō Me, G3165 Personal pronoun · first person · accusative · singular
1,872× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
I/we
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

pers. pron.

I.

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μέ (me) — me.

ἐγώ,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐγώ

me

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

see GREEK for 1691

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐγώ egō 2x

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

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

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

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

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

If you shall love Me, <the> commandments <the> of Mine you will keep.
τὰςho <the> G3588 Article · accusative · plural · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in John 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-APF — Article · accusative · plural · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked plural feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-APF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

20,685 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 83 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject34%adverbial32%object24%predicate5%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 19,783 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
<the>19783×
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

If you shall love Me, <the> commandments <the> of Mine you will keep.
ἐντολὰςentolē commandments G1785 Noun · accusative · plural · feminine
67× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'commandment', referring to a divine instruction or order, as seen in Luke 15:29 and John 10:18. It is about following God's rules. Jesus taught that the greatest commandment is to love God and love others.
Amplified meaning
divine instructions, orders
Tyndale gloss
commandment
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐντολή (i.e., *entolē*) means a command, injunction, or order, often used in a religious context to refer to God's commandments. It is derived from the verb ἐντέλλω and appears frequently in the New Testament, particularly in relation to the Mosaic law and the teachings of Christ. Notably, it is used in verses like Matthew 5:19 and John 14:15.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐντολή, -ῆς, ἡ

(< ἐντέλλω, q.v.),

[in LXX chiefly for מִצְוָה; in pl. freq. in Pss for פִּקּוּדִים ;]

generally, a charge, injunction, order, command: Lk 15:29, Jo 10:18 11:57 12:49, 50 14:31, Ac 17:15, Col 4:10; ἐ. σαρκίνη, He 7:16, 18

Esp. of religious precepts and commandments;

of God's commandments: in OT, Mt 15:3 22:36, 38, 40 ; Mk 10:5, 19 12:28, 31 Eph 2:15, He 9:19; esp. of the decalogue,

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

ἐντολή, -ῆς, ἡ, (ἐντέλλω Or ἐντέλλομαι, 4. v-), fr. Pind. and Hdt. down; Sept. often for ΤῚΝ, in the Pss. the plur. ἐντολαΐ also for Dpa; an order, command, charge, precept ; 1. univ. a charge, injunction: Lk. xv. 29; ἐντολὴν λαμβάνειν παρά τινος, Jn. x. 18; πρός τινα, Acts XVii. 15; λαβεῖν ἐντολὰς περί τινος, Col. iv. 10; that which is prescribed to one by reason of his office, ἐντολὴν ἔχειν foll. by inf., Heb. vii. 5; ἐντολὴν διδόναι τινί, Jn. xiv. 31 LTr WH; with τί εἴπῃ added, of Christ, whom God commanded what to teach to men, Jn. xii. 49; ἡ ἐντολὴ αὐτοῦ, of God, respecting the same thing, vs. 50. 2. a commandment, i. e. a prescribed rule in accordance with which a thing is done; a. univ. ἐντολὴ σαρκική [-ἰνη ἃ LT Tr WH], a precept relating to lineage, Heb. vii. 16; of the Mosaic precept concerning the priesthood, Heb. vii. 18; of a magistrate’s order or edict: ἐντολὴν διδόναι…

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

ἐντολή is used of a royal ‘‘ ordinance” of Euergetes IT. in P Tebt I. 610 (B.C. 140) broreTaxa]pev δὲ Kal τῆς παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως[καὶ τῶν βασιλισσῶν παραδεδοἸμένης περὶ τῶν ἀνηκόντων [τοῖς ἱεροῖς κομίζεσθαι ἐϊντολῆς τὸ ἀντίγραφον, and in Par 6518 (B.c. 146), the writer, after informing Ptolemy Philometor that he had executed certain instructions regarding Egyptian contracts, adds— μὲν ἐντολὴ ἐγδέδοται ἡμῖν els τὴν A τοῦ ᾿Αθύρ: cf. P Lille I. 385 (c. B.c. 240) ἐν(τολὴ) τοῖς ἐλαιοκαπήλοις, ‘‘ circulaire aux revendeurs ᾿᾿ (Ed.). From Roman times we may cite the reference to Imperial ordinances —tats θειαῖς ἐντολαῖς in an inscr. from Bulgaria, Sy// 418°4 (a.D. 238) : cf. τ Cor 719 αἱ. Other more general exx. are P Ryl II. 812 (the letter of an official—c. A.D. 104) μεμνῆσ[θαί μΊου τῆς yevopevy[s] αὐτῷ ἐντολῆς, BGU 11. 6008 (ii/ili A.D.) ἐνμένω πᾶσι ταῖς προγεγραμέν[α7ις [ἐν]τολαῖς [κ]αθὼς…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐντολή (entolē) — commandment.

ἐντολ-ή, ἡ,

injunction, order, command, frequently in plural, orders, commands, [NT+5th c.BC+]; ἐντολὰς δοῦναι Decrees cited in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; royal ordinance, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; θεῖαι ἐ., of Imperial ordinances, [Refs 3rd c.AD+]; ἀπ᾽ ἐντολῆς by proxy, [Refs 2nd c.AD+] —Rare in Trag. and _Attic dialect_ Prose.

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐντολή

entole

from 1781; injunction, i.e. an authoritative

prescription:--commandment, precept.

see GREEK for 1781

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐντολή, ῆς, ἡ

n.f.

an ordinance, injunction, command

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐντολή entolē 67x

an injunction; a precept, commandment, law, Mt. 5:19; 15:3, 6; an order, direction, Acts 17:15; an edict, Jn. 11:57; a direction, Mk. 10:5; a commission, Jn. 10:18, a charge of matters to be proclaimed or received, Jn. 12:49, 50; 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Pet. 2:21

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐντολή ἐντολή, ἡ, ἐντέλλω an injunction, order, command, behest, Hdt., etc.

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

N-APF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Nave's Topical Bible

→ General scriptures concerning Ex 13:8-10; 20:3-17; De 4:5,9,10; 5:6-21; 6:4-9; 11:18-21; 32:46,47; Jos 8:30-35; 2Ch 17:7-9; Ne 8:2-8; Ps 78:1-7; Pr 3:3,4; 6:20,21; 7:1-4; Isa 57:8; Jer 11:4; Zec 7:9,10; 8:16,17

→ PRECEPTS OF JESUS. EXPLICITLY STATED, OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC DISCOURSE Mt 5:16,22-24,27-48…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
58%commandment
commandment58% · 40×commandments35% · 24×command3% · 2×other renderings4% · 3×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object55%subject24%adverbial16%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 67 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
τηρέωI keep, guard, oκαίand, even, also,οὗτος
εἰμίI am, exist
ποῖοςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mastὅστις
λαμβάνωI receive, take
καίand, even, also,ὅςἱερατείαthe duty of a pr
ποῖοςIrg
διδάσκαλοςa teacher
πρῶτοςfirst, before
καίand, even, also,
ἐντολήcommandments67×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐμόςἁμαρτίαa sin
αὐτός
τηρέωI keep, guard, oζωήlifeμήNeg
καινόςfresh, new
γράφωI writeδίδωμιI offer, give
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,τηρέωI keep, guard, o
οὗτος
Article the

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

Concordanceἐντολή · 67× in the New Testament
1 John John Romans Matthew Mark 2 John Hebrews Luke 1 Corinthians 2 Peter Ephesians Revelation
Across the New Testament16 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 101 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 The Shepherd of Hermas Philo of Alexandria The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.93c. AD 40

πρόσταξις, ἀπαγόρευσις, ἐντολὴ καὶ παραίνεσις·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.43c. AD 75–95

καὶ παρακρούεται μὲν οὕτω τὴν γυναῖκα τῆς ἐντολῆς τοῦ θεοῦ καταφρονῆσαι·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.11c. AD 100

ἐφ̓ ὅσον ἐστὶν ἐν ἡμῖν, μελετῶμεν τὸν φόβον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ φυλάσσειν ἀγωνιζώμεθα τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ, ἵνα ἐν τοῖς δικαιώμασιν αὐτοῦ εὐφρανθῶμεν.

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 2nd c. BC 3rd c. BC 3rd c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 37Pathyris109 BC

τὰ βασιλικὰ πραγματευομένοις χαίρειν. πρὸς τῆι οἰκονομίαι τῆς κώμης καθέσταται Πατσεοῦς Πατῆτος ὁ τὴν ἐντολὴν ἐπιδεικνὺς χειρογραφήσας ὡς εἴθισται καὶ διαστολὴν λαβὼν προ

P.Flor. 2 190Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 252

ὀνηλάτου κτηνῶν πέντε ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ θ σὺν διχώροις ιϛ ἁπλᾶ μονόχωρα λβ ἐξ ἐντολῆς τοῦ ἀξιολογωτάτου εὐσχήμονος ὧν μοι πέμψον γράμματα. ἐρρῶσθαί σε εὔχομαι τιμιώτατε ἔτους γ Θὼθ

P.Flor. 2 240Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 252

χαίρειν. ὡς ἠθέλησεν ὁ ἀξιολογώτατος εὐσχήμων ἐν Ταλει ὧν τῇ τρυγῇ μετεπέμψατό με καὶ ἐντολὰς ἔσχον πέμψαι σοι οἴνου μονόχωρα ρκ ἀφʼ ὧν ἔπεμψά σοι ἐπὶ λόγου διὰ μὲν

If you shall love Me, <the> commandments <the> of Mine you will keep.
τὰςho <the> G3588 Article · accusative · plural · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in John 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-APF — Article · accusative · plural · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked plural feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-APF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

20,685 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 83 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject34%adverbial32%object24%predicate5%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 19,783 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
<the>19783×
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

If you shall love Me, <the> commandments <the> of Mine you will keep.
ἐμὰςemos of Mine G1473 Possessive pronoun · first person singular possessor · accusative · plural · feminine
2,567× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a pronoun meaning I or me, used by the speaker to refer to themselves. It is often used in the Bible to emphasize the speaker's identity.
Tyndale gloss
I/we
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The first-person pronoun. A Greek verb already carries its person in the ending, so the pronoun is usually present for emphasis. Luke puts himself inside the “us” among whom these things were fulfilled: he writes as one of the people the events happened to, not as an observer standing outside them.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

pers. pron.

I.

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐγώ (egō) — I/we.

ἐγώ,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐγώ

ego

a primary pronoun of the first person I (only expressed when

emphatic):--I, me. For the other cases and the plural see 1691, 1698,

1700, 2248, 2249, 2254, 2257, etc.

see GREEK for 1691

see GREEK for 1698

see GREEK for 1700

see GREEK for 2248

see GREEK for 2249

see GREEK for 2254

see GREEK for 2257

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐγώ

Pers.pr.

I

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐγώ egō 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐγώ

pron. of the first person, Lat ego

epic ἐγών before vowels

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
S-1SAPF — Possessive pronoun · first person singular possessor · accusative · plural · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked plural feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

S-1SAPF Part of Speech: poSessive pronoun Person: first Number: Singular Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Mine

The process of mining is described in Job 28:1-11. Moses speaks of the mineral wealth of Palestine (Deut. 8:9). Job 28:4 is rightly thus rendered in the Revised Version, “He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; they are forgotten of the foot [that passeth by]; they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.” These words illustrate ancient mining operations.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
47%i myself
i myself47% · 406×me myself21% · 180×me13% · 114×myself4% · 36×mine4% · 36×my3% · 26×i myself also3% · 26×other renderings5% · 42×

866 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 25 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
subject30%object26%adverbial26%indirect object10%predicate6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,567 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
πατήρfather, Father, ance
Article theθεόςGod, a godκαίand, even, also,
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
Article theναίDisjδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
μένωI remain, abideεἰμίI am, existπατήρfather, Father,
καίand, even, also, nam
ὡςas, like as, howαὐτόςοὕτωthus, so, in thi
δίδωμιI offer, give
ὅςArticle theαὐτός
ἐγώof Mine2567×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godπατήρfather, Father, ἐν
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theσύοὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,σύ
ἐν
Article theΧριστόςanointed, the Meαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
οὐNegλέγωI say, speakArticle 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

Concordanceἐγώ · 2,567× in the New Testament
John Acts Luke Matthew 2 Corinthians Romans Mark 1 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews Galatians Philippians

18 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
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 853 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 17c. AD 40

ᾗ δὲ συνέστηκεν, εἰσόμεθα παρακολουθήσαντες εἰκόνι τινὶ τῶν παρ’ ἡμῖν.

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

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

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 35Ptolemais - Akko (Syrien)103 BC

συνγενόμενοι Ὥρωι Ψεν … λειτουργῶι μέχρι τοῦ ἀποδοθῆι τὸν ἐπεσταλμένον ἡμῖν κατὰ μῆνα πυρὸν τοῖς παρʼ ἡμῶν. διʼ ἄλλων γεγράφαμεν ὑμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν βουλόμεθα μηδεμιᾶς

P.Adl. 14Pathyris101 BC

σφραγίδων, ἧς ἐτελειώθη ὠνῆς ἀποστασίου ἐν τῷ ιδ ἔτει Φαῶφι ι εἰς τὸ ἐνλιπὸν μοι ἄπρατον γῆς ἀρουρῶν γ, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαι μήτʼ αὐτὸν Κολλούθην μήδʼ ἄλλον μηδένα ὑπὲρ

P.Cair. Goodspeed 9Pathyris100 BC–99 BC

παρὰ Πατῆτος τοῦ Πανεβχώνιος. ἐκμισθωθείσης μοι τῆς νήσου καλουμένης Περχμασσινηιτ εἰς τὸ ιϛ ἔτος πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τεσσαράκοντα πέντε γίνονται πυροῦ

If you shall love Me, <the> commandments <the> of Mine you will keep.
τηρήσετε.tēreō you will keep. G5083 Verb · aorist · active · imperative · second person · plural
71× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means to keep or observe something, like watching over it to keep it safe. Jesus uses it in John 17:11-12 to ask God to keep his followers safe. The Bible translates it as 'hold fast' or 'keep'.
Amplified meaning
obey, observe, watch over
Tyndale gloss
to keep: observe
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τηρέω is a verb meaning to watch over, guard, or keep. It encompasses a range of meanings including observing, preserving, and maintaining, often with a sense of careful attention. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, such as keeping commandments (e.g., Mt 19:17) and guarding one's faith (e.g., 2 Tim 4:7). It is related to the idea of custody and protection.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τηρέω, -ῶ

[in LXX for שָׁמַר, נָצַר, etc. ;]

to watch over, guard, keep, preserve: Mt 27:36, Ac 16:23, al.; ἑαυτόν, II Co 11:9, I Ti 5:22, Ja 1:27, Ju 21; seq. εἰς, Jo 12:7, Ac 25:21, I Pe 1:4, II Pe 2:4, 9 3:7, Ju 6; ἐν, Jo 17:11, 12, Ju 21; ἐκ, Jo 17:15, Re 3:10; τ. πίστιν, II Ti 4:7, Re 14:12; τ. ἑνότητα τ. πνεύματος, Read the full entry →

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

τηρέω, -ῶ; impf. ἐτήρουν; fut. τηρήσω; 1 aor. ἐτήρησα; pf. τετήρηκα, 3 pers. plur. τετηρήκασιν (Jn. xvii. 6 RG) and τετήρηκαν (ibid. LT Tr WH, [see γίνομαι, init.]) ; Pass., pres. τηροῦμαι; impf. ἐτηρούμην ; pf. τετήρημαι; 1 aor. ἐτηρήθην ; (τηρός, found only once, Aeschyl. suppl. 248, where it is doubtful whether it means ‘ guarding’ or ‘watching ’), fr. Pind., Soph., Thuc. down; Sept. several times for Dv, 1¥i, etc.; to attend to carefully, take care of; i.e. a. prop. to guard: twa, a prisoner, Mt. xxvii. 36, 54; Acts xvi. 23; pass., Acts xii. 5; [xxiv. 23]; xxv. 4, 21 ["]; ri, xii. 6; of τηροῦντες, [(R.V.) the watchers] the guards, Mt. xxviii. 4 (Cant. iii.3). Ὁ. metaph. to keep: τινά, one in that state in which he is, τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον, his own virgin daughter, sc. as a Virgin i. 6. unmarried, 1 Co. vii. 37; ἑαυτόν, himself such as he is, i. 6. begotten of God, 1 Jn. v. 18 [but…

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

τηρέω (1) lit. “watch,” ‘‘observe”: P Tebt II. 2784% (early i/A.D.) τηρῖ ple] γάρ, “for he watches me (?)” (Edd.). (2) “‘cuard,” ‘ protect”: PSI III. 168° (B.c. 118) τηροῦντός μου σὺν ἄλλοις ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐμ Iloxpiper βασιλικοῦ χώματος, P Oxy VI. 985 (accounts—2"¢ half i/a.D.) ἐργάτηι τηροῦντι τὸν οἶνον... (δραχμαὶ) δ. (3) “keep,” ‘‘preserve”: BGU IV. 114125 (B.c. 13) κἀγὼ τὴν φιλίαν σου θέλων ἄμεμπτίον] ἐματὸν ἐτήρησα (cf. 1 Thess 5"), P Oxy XIV. 175725 (ii/A.D., after Hadrian) κόμισαι παρὰ Θέωνος μάνια (‘‘ vessels?) δύο kal τήρησόν por αὐτὰ ἕως ἀναβῶ, 20. IIT. 53315. (ii/iili A.D.) ἵνα τηρήσωσι αὐτῶν τὴν δεξιάν, ““{Παΐ they should keep their pledge,” 2. VIII. 11601® (iii/iv A.D.) τὰ σεσύλληχα δὲ κέρμα {ταῦ τηρῶ αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν δίκην, “I am keeping for the trial the money that I have collected” (Ed.), and 75. X. 12987 (iv/A.D.) ἐγὼ μόνος (1 μόνον 9) πάνυ ἐμαυτὸν τηρῶν imp τὸν ἀσφαλήν, “I have…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τηρέω (tēreō) — to keep: observe.

τηρ-έω

(τη- also in Doric dialect, [Refs 7th c.BC+], perfect τετήρηκα [Refs 4th c.BC+]:—watch over, take care of, guard, δώματα [Refs 5th c.BC+]; rarely of persons, δαιμόνων.., αἵτινες τηροῦμεν ὑμᾶς [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τ. τὴν ἀρχήν maintain it, [Refs 2nd c.BC+] —passive, τὸ ἔξωθεν [τεῖχος] ἐτηρεῖτο was constantly guarded, [Refs 5th c.BC+]future middle τηρήσομαι in passive sense, [Refs]

2. τ. ὅπως.. ἔσται take care that.. , [Refs 4th c.BC+]; τ. μὴ.. cavere ne.. , [Refs 5th c.BC+]: also in middle, τηρώμεσθ᾽, ὅπως μὴ.. αἰσθήσεται [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. τηρεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρός protect them from the fire, i.e. cook them slowly, Bilabel Ὀψαρτ.[Refs]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τηρέω

tereo

from teros (a watch; perhaps akin to 2334); to guard (from loss or

injury, properly, by keeping the eye upon; and thus differing from

5442, which is properly to prevent escaping; and from 2892, which

implies a fortress or full military lines of apparatus), i.e. to note

(a prophecy; figuratively, to fulfil a command); by implication, to

detain (in custody; figuratively, to maintain); by extension, to

withhold (for personal ends; figuratively, to keep unmarried); by

extension, to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively, to keep

unmarried):--hold fast, keep(- er), (pre-, re-)serve, watch.

see GREEK for 2334

see GREEK for 5442

see GREEK for 2892

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τηρέω

v.

I keep, guard, observe

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

τηρέω tēreō 70x

to keep watch upon, guard, Mt. 27:36, 54; 28:4; Acts 12:6; to watch over protectively, guard, 1 Jn. 5:18; Rev. 16:15; to mark attentively, to heed, Rev. 1:3; to observe practically, keep strictly, Mt. 19:17; 23:3; 28:20; Mk. 7:9; Jn. 8:51; to preserve, shield, Jn. 17:15; to store up, reserve, Jn. 2:10; 12:7; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τηρέω τηρέω, φυτ. -ήσω

τῆρος to watch over, protect, guard, Pind., Ar.:—Pass. to be constantly guarded, Thuc.; fut. mid. τηρήσομαι in pass. sense, id. Thuc.

to take care that . . , Arist., Ar., Plat.

to give heed to, watch narrowly, observe, Ar.; τὰς ἁμαρτίας Thuc.

to watch for, c. acc., Soph., Ar.; παραστείχοντα τηρήσας having watched for him as he was passing by, Soph.

absol. to watch, keep watch, Arist.:—c. inf. to watch or look out, so as to . . , Thuc.

to observe or keep an engagement, Isocr., etc.; τ. εἰρήνην Dem.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-AAM-2P — Verb · aorist · active · imperative · second person · plural
aorist active imperative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-AAM-2P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: Active Mood: iMperative Person: second Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
15%keep
keep15% · 11×keeping15% · 11×do keep7% · 5×kept3% · 2×be kept3% · 2×will keep3% · 2×may keep3% · 2×being kept3% · 2×other renderings49% · 36×

73 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 40 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
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 71 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
ποιέωI do, makeἐγώτηρέωI keep, guard, o
Article the
καίand, even, also,σείωI shakeαὐτός
αὐτός
ἐντολήan ordinance, inμετάδιδάσκωI teach
ἐγώ
λόγοςa word, speech, ἐνταφιασμόςembalming, prepaἐντολήan ordinance, in
σύ
παράδοσιςan instruction, ἐλάσσωνless, smaller, iλόγοςa word, speech,
τηρέωyou will keep.71×
what comes after →
Article the
ἐντολήan ordinance, inλόγοςa word, speech, ἑαυτοῦ
αὐτός
ἐνἐκεῖthere, yonder, tἐκεῖνος
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theγίνομαιI come into beinμένωI remain, abide
ἐν
Article theοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
κατά
δέbut, on the othe

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

Concordanceτηρέω · 71× in the New Testament
John Revelation Acts 1 John Matthew Jude 2 Peter 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians James 1 Corinthians 1 Peter
Across the New Testament16 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 18 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 The Shepherd of Hermas Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.65c. AD 40

αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλήν, καὶ σὺ τηρήσεις αὐτοῦ πτέρναν“ (Gen.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.129c. AD 75–95

οὐ γὰρ ἐπιχώριος ἡμῖν ὁ τοιοῦτος αὐτῶν τύπος, ἀλλʼ ἕν τε αὐτῶν σχῆμα καὶ τελευτὴ μία, Νῶχός τέ τοι Νῶε καλεῖται καὶ τοῦτον τὸν τύπον ἐπὶ παντὸς τηρεῖ σχήματος.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 10.11c. AD 100

κολλᾶσθε μετὰ τῶν φοβουμένων τὸν κύριον, μετὰ τῶν μελετώντων ὃ ἔλαβον διάσταλμα ῥήματος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ, μετὰ τῶν λαλούντων τὰ διδαιώματα κυρίου καὶ τηρούντων, μετὰ τῶν εἰδότων, ὅτι ἡ μελέτη ἐστὶν ἔργον εὐφροσύνης, καὶ ἀναμαρυκωμένων τὸν λόγον κυρίου.

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 1st c. BC
SB 3 6823AD 41–AD 54

Καπίτων Τήρῃ τῷ φιλτάτῳ πλεῖστα χαίρειν. πρὸ μὲν πάντων ἐχάρην μεγάλως λαβών σου ἐπιστολήν, ὅτι ὑγιαίνεις

P.Tebt. 2 302Tebtynis (ArsinoitesAD 71–AD 72

ἀξιοῦμέν σε βεβαιῶσαι ἡμῖν τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀντὶ συντάξεως ἡμῖν ἐκ διαδοχῆς τῶν γονέων τετηρημένην … ἐκ πολλοῦ χρόνου αὐτουργούντων ἡμῶν σὺν γυναιξὶ καὶ τέκνοις ὅπως δυνώμεθα … ηναι

Aegyptus 67 (1987), p. 60-61 no. 55Talei (Arsinoites)AD 111–AD 112

ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ … … … υ εἰς χρείαν … ι … δ τηρεῖν. ἔτους ιε Τραιανοῦ Καίσαρος τοῦ κυρίου

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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