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John 3:24 — Word Study

Depth

N1904οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν Ἰωάννης.

BSANot yetoupō [at this point in time] forgar [as a reason, to explain] wereeimi castballō [with force, cast] intoeis [toward, into the direction of] theho prisonphulakē [a place of confinement] <the>ho John.Iōannēs [the Baptist, a prophet]

Word
Listen & take awayJohn 3
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 24 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 (Iōannēs) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
John 3:24quick helps
In a sentenceThis verse explains that John the Baptist had not yet been imprisoned.
Who is speakingThe narrator, providing context about John.
Where we areThis verse is part of a narrative about John’s ministry before his arrest.
The hard wordβάλλω
Take awayJohn's ministry continues unaffected for now.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectβάλλω verbεἰμί The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the New Testament.

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

Deep Study — John 3:24

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 — John's Ministry Before Imprisonmentgenerated

23Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because the water was plentiful there, and people kept coming to be baptized.
24(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)
25Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the issue of ceremonial washing.
26So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

John 3:24 clarifies that John the Baptist had not yet been imprisoned, which is significant for understanding the timeline of events in his ministry. This verse follows a description of John's baptizing activities, highlighting the importance of his role prior to his arrest, as seen in Matthew 4:12 and Luke 3:19-20.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Matthew 4:12When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee.
2Matthew 14:3Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
3Mark 6:17For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.
4Luke 3:19–20But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done,
5Luke 9:7–9When Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, he was perplexed. For some were saying that John had risen from the dead,

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

For John was not yet cast into prison.Matthew 4:12 Matthew 14:3 Mark 6:17 Luke 3:19–20 Luke 9:7–9

The Key Word βάλλω, ballōgenerated

The word βεβλημένος is a perfect passive participle of βάλλω, meaning 'to throw' or 'to cast'. It indicates that John has been cast into prison, with the action completed by an unnamed agent.

The perfect aspect shows that the action of being thrown into prison has relevance to the present situation, even though it has not yet occurred in the narrative.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as thrown, which is also used in the Webster's Bible and Modern English Version. The KJV and ASV use cast, which emphasizes a more forceful action.

The translations differ on the verb used for John's imprisonment: thrown (BSB, WEB) versus cast (KJV, ASV).


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main clause is introduced by the conjunction γὰρ, meaning 'for', which provides the reason for the preceding statement about John's activities. The finite verb ἦν serves as the main verb, with the participial phrase βεβλημένος describing John's state.

The structure includes a subject Ἰωάννης (John) and an adverbial phrase οὔπω (not yet), indicating the timing of the action.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

φυλακή is the Greek word for 'prison' and is used in the Septuagint to translate Hebrew terms related to guarding or keeping watch. It emphasizes a place of confinement.

The word βάλλω also appears in the Septuagint, where it can mean to fall or to be cast down, linking the concept of imprisonment to broader themes of being cast away or confined.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

John 3:24 explains that John the Baptist had not yet been thrown into prison, which is important for understanding the timeline of his ministry. This verse follows a description of John's baptizing activities, showing that he was still active before his arrest.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that John had not yet been thrown into prison?

It indicates that at this point in the narrative, John the Baptist was still freely ministering and baptizing, which is crucial for understanding the events leading up to his imprisonment.

Why is John's imprisonment significant?

John's imprisonment marks a turning point in the narrative of the Gospels, as it leads to a greater focus on Jesus' ministry and the fulfillment of His mission.

How does this verse relate to the other Gospels?

This verse connects with accounts in the other Gospels that describe John's ministry and eventual arrest, providing a timeline for the events surrounding Jesus' early ministry.

What role did John play in the ministry of Jesus?

John served as a forerunner to Jesus, preparing the way for His ministry through baptism and preaching repentance.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What can we learn from John's example of faithfulness in ministry before his imprisonment?
  2. How does understanding the timeline of John's ministry help us appreciate the context of Jesus' early work?
  3. In what ways can we remain active in our calling even when facing challenges or opposition?
  4. How does this verse encourage us to recognize the importance of preparation in our spiritual lives?

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

Several early church Fathers comment on John’s ministry and imprisonment, using this verse to discuss the significance of John's role and the timeline of events in the Gospels.

Eusebius of CaesareaECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 3.24.8-12 c. 260–340
For it is evident that the three Evangelists recorded only the deeds done by the Savior for one year after the imprisonment of John the Baptist and indicated this in the beginning of their account.… They say, therefore,
Early Church Fathers on John 3 →
John ChrysostomHom. xx. 1 c. 347–407
But why did he go on baptizing now? Because, had he left off, it might have been attributed to envy or anger: whereas, continuing to baptize, he got no glory for himself, but sent hearers to Christ.
Early Church Fathers on John 3 →
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of John 29 c. 347–407
Besides, even while he was baptizing, he did not cease continually to exhort them, and to show them the high and awful nature of Jesus.
Early Church Fathers on John 3 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on John 3:24 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

For John was not yet cast into prison. As he afterwards was by Herod, for the sake of Herodias, because he reproved Herod for taking her to be his wife, when she was wife to his brother Philip; see

Read John Gill on John 3 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

For John was not yet cast into prison. For John was not yet cast into prison. From the first three Evangelists one would naturally conclude that our Lord's public ministry only began after the Baptist's imprisonment.

Read Robert Jamieson on John 3 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

For John was yet in the exercise of his public ministry, not cast into prison, as he was soon after.

Read Matthew Poole on John 3 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

24 For John was not yet cast into prison. Ver. 24. Cast into prison] The primitive bishops were found more frequently in prisons than palaces. Bocardo became a college of Quondams, as the Marian martyrs merrily called it. If Petronius could tell Caesar that he had rather be with Cato in the prison house than with him in the senate house; why should it grieve any to suffer bonds with and for Christ? Chrysostom had rather be Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ than Paul rapped up into tbe third heaven. (Homil. in Ephesians 3:1) ΜεταΚατωνοςενοικηματι, μαλλονημετασουενταυθαειναιβουλομαι. (Dio Cass.) The former holder of some office or position; one who has been deposed or ejected; �D

Read John Trapp on John 3 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(24) Was not yet cast into prison.—This Judæan ministry, then, preceded the Galilean ministry of the earlier Gospels. (See John 4:3, and Note on Matthew 4:12.)

Read Charles John Ellicott on John 3 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

24. This corrects the impression, naturally derived from the Synoptists, that Christ’s public ministry did not commence till after the imprisonment of the Baptist. The whole of these first three chapters and part of the fourth must be placed before Matthew 4:12, where there are great gaps in the history.

Read Cambridge on John 3 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For John was not yet cast into prison - See Luke 3:20. The mention of this shows that John was not imprisoned until some time after our Lord entered on his ministry.

Read Albert Barnes on John 3 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

24. John… not… prison—This verse is a remarkable indication that our Evangelist writes for a body of readers who had a previous general acquaintance with the facts of Christian history.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on John 3 →

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

(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)

WEBWorld English Bible2000

for John was not yet thrown into prison.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)

NETBNew English Translation2006

(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

For John was not yet cast into prison.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

For John was not yet cast into prison.

RVARevised Version, American1894

For John was not yet cast into prison.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

For John was not yet cast into prison.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

For Iohn was not yet cast into prison.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

for John was not yet cast into prison.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

for John was not yet cast into the prison —

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

for John was not yet cast into the prison—

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

for John had not yet been thrown in prison.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

For John was not yet cast into prison.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

(This was before John was imprisoned.)

BBEBible in Basic English1949

For at this time John had not been put into prison.

Word by word, the decisions they made

βεβλημένοςballō cast G906 2 different renderings
castASV DBY DRA GNV KJV LSV NWB RVA YLT
thrownBSB MSB NETB ULB WEB

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.

clauseγὰρforclauseadverbialοὔπωNot yetverb phrase · verbἦνhad beenβεβλημένοςcastprepositional phrase · adverbialεἰςintonoun phraseτὴνtheφυλακὴνprisonsubjectἸωάνηςJohn

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

Nondum enim missus fuerat Joannes in carcerem.

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

ܠܐ ܓܝܪ ܥܕܟܝܠ ܢܦܠ ܗܘܐ ܝܘܚܢܢ ܒܝܬ ܐܣܝܪܐ

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

οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν Ἰωάννης.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν Ἰωάννης.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν Ἰωάννης.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν Ἰωάννης.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν Ἰωάννης.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν Ἰωάννης.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν Ἰωάννης.

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

οὔπω γὰρ ἦν βεβλημένος εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν Ἰωάννης.

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
<the>NA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, Treg, TR, ByzWH

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 3:24οὔπωNot yetNot yetοὔπωγάρforforγάρεἰμίwerewereεἰμίβάλλωcastcastβάλλωεἰςintointoεἰςthetheφυλακήprisonprisonφυλακή<the><the>ἸωάννηςJohn.John.ἸωάννηςοὐNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. no, noοὐφυλάσσωv. I keep,v. I keep, guarφυλάσσωῥίπτωv. I throwv. I throw, casῥίπτωνοέωv. I underv. I understandνοέωσυνίημιv. I consiv. I consider, συνίημιὥσπερAdv just aAdv just as, asὥσπερτοιοῦτοςDem.pr. ofDem.pr. of suchτοιοῦτοςἄξιοςAdj worthyAdj worthy, worἄξιοςγέενναn.f. Gehenn.f. Gehennaγέενναφυλακήn.f. a watn.f. a watchingφυλακήἹεροσόλυμαn.f. & n.nn.f. & n.n. JerἹεροσόλυμαεἰσέρχομαιv. I go inv. I go in, comεἰσέρχομαιθύραn.f. a doon.f. a door, opθύραβάλλωv. I cast,v. I cast, throβάλλωβαπτιστήςn.m. the bn.m. the baptizβαπτιστήςΖεβεδαῖοςn.m. Zebedn.m. ZebedeeΖεβεδαῖος
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 3:24

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.

Not yet for were cast into the prison <the> John.
οὔπωoupō Not yet G3768 Adverb · negative
27× 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
Not yet means something has not happened, as in Matthew 24:6 and Mark 13:7. It can also be used with a negative, like in Mark 11:2. Jesus used it in John 2:4 and 3:24.
Amplified meaning
at this point in time
Tyndale gloss
not yet
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word οὔπω (oupo) is an adverb meaning 'not yet.' It combines the negative particle οὐ (not) with a form of πώ (yet). This term appears in various contexts in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 24:6 and John 2:4. It is noted for being a stronger form of negation compared to other expressions like μήπω.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὔπω,

neg. adv. of time,

not yet: Mt 24:6, Mk 13:7, Jo 2:4 3:24 6:17, al.; c. neg., Mk 11:2, Lk 23:53; interrog., Mt 16:9, Mk 4:40 8:17, 21.

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

οὔπω, (fr. οὐ and the enclitie πώ), adv., [fr. Hom. down], (differing fr. μήπω, as οὐ does fr. μή [4- v. ad init.]), not yel; a. in a negation: Mt. xxiv. 6; Mk. xiii. 7; Jn. ii. 4; iii. 24; vi. 17 Ltxt. T Tr WH; vii. 6, 85 RL WH txt., 8°, 30,39; viii. 20, 57; xi. 30; xx. 17; 1 Co. iii. 2; Heb. ii. 8; xii. 4; 1 Jn. iii. 2; Rev. xvii. 10, 12 (where Lehm. οὐκ) ; οὐδεὶς οὔπω, no one ever yet (see οὐδείς, 2, and cf. οὐ, 3.a.), Mk. xi. 2 L T Tr WH; Lk. xxiii. 53 L Tr WH; Acts viii. 16 Rec. b. in questions, nondumne? do ye not yet ete.: Mt. xv.17 RG; xvi. 9; Mk. iv. 40 L Tr WH; viii. 17, [21 L txt. T Tr WH)

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

οὔπω. An interesting ex. of this strong negative is afforded by P Oxy II. 29418 (A.p. 22) (= Se/ectzons, p. 35), where a man, who is anxious regarding certain news, writes to his brother—éy@ δὲ αὐτὸς οὔπω οὐδὲ ἐνήλεπα (= ἐναλήλιφα ἐμαυτὸν) ἕως ἀκούσω φάσιν παρὰ σοῦ περὶ ἁπάντων, ““1 am not so much as anointing myself until I hear word from you on each point” (Edd.). Other exx. are P Hlamb I. 27° (B.C. 250) τὴν δὲ τιμὴν οὕπω ἐκεκόμιστο, ‘but he has not yet received the price,’ P Tebt II. 423! (early iii/a.p.) οὔπου (/. οὔπω) μοι ἐδήλωσας περὶ τ]ούτου, ‘‘you have not yet told me about it,” and P Oxy XIV. 17638 (alter A.D, 222) οὔπω μέχρι σήμερον τὰ πλοῖα τῆς ἀνώνας ἐξῆλθεν, In PSI IV. 42318 (iii/B.c.) the two parts of the word are separated—ov yap mw εἰργασμένοι εἰσὶν κτλ. ae? οὐρά, A.D.) (Ξ: ΠΡ. 115) δράκοντα δακόνοντα κονοντα τὴ | | OupBavos (Δ δάκνοντα τὴν) οὐράν, and in the magical P…

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

οὔπω (oupō) — not yet.

οὔπω

or οὔ πω, Ionic dialect οὔκω, adverb not yet, opposed to οὐκέτι (no longer, no more), usually with present or past (especially perfect, or aorist in perfect sense) tenses, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; frequently with another word between, as οὐ γάρ πω [Refs 8th c.BC+]

2. sometimes merely as a stronger form of the negative, not, not at all, when it may be used with the present or future, σοὶ δ᾽ οὔ πω.. θεοὶ κοτέουσιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]: with aorist, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὔπω

oupo

from 3756 and 4452; not yet:--hitherto not, (no...) as yet, not yet.

see GREEK for 3756

see GREEK for 4452

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὔπω

Neg.adv.

not yet

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὔπω oupō 26x

not yet, Mt. 15:17; 16:9; 24:6 Jn. 2:4

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

οὔπω not yet, Lat. nondum, opp. to οὐκέτι (no longer, no more), Hom., Hes., etc.

as a stronger form of the negat., not, not at all, σοὶ δ᾽ οὔ πω θεοὶ κοτέουσιν Il., etc.

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

ADV-N ADVerb or adverb and particle combined Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
96%not yet
not yet96% · 25×still not4% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial96%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 27 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
ἀλλάbut, except
γίνομαιI come into bein
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakεἰς
οὐδείςno one, none, nothin
ὅςεἰμίI am, exist
καίand, even, also, nam
γίνομαιI come into beinεἰμίI am, exist
ὅτιthat, since, because
χείρa handαὐτός
οὔπωNot yet27×
what comes after →
γάρfor
εἰμίI am, existἀναβαίνωI go up, mount, δύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἔρχομαιI come, go
Article theπρόςκαίand, even, also,
νοέωI understand, consid
οὐδέNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article the
συνίημιI consider, understa

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

Concordanceοὔπω · 27× in the New Testament
John Mark 1 Corinthians Hebrews Matthew Revelation 1 John Luke Philippians
Across the New Testament9 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.32c. AD 40

ἄνθρωπον δὲ τὸν ἐκ γῆς λογιστέον εἶναι νοῦν εἰσκρινόμενον σώματι, οὔπω δ’ εἰσκεκριμένον.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4.298c. AD 75–95

τούς τε νεωστὶ δειμαμένους οἰκίας, οἷς οὔπω χρόνος ἀπολαύσεως αὐτῶν ἐνιαύσιος, καὶ φυτεύσαντας οὔπω δὲ καρπῶν μετεσχηκότας, ἐᾶν κατὰ χώραν, καὶ τοὺς μνηστευσαμένους δὲ καὶ νεωστὶ γεγαμηκότας, μὴ πόθῳ τούτων φειδόμενοι τοῦ ζῆν καὶ τηροῦντες αὑτοὺς…

The Shepherd of HermasThe Shepherd of Hermas 3.9.5c. AD 140

οἱ ὑπερέχοντες οὖν ἐκζητεῖτε τοὺς πεινῶντας, ἕως οὔπω ὁ πύργος ἐτελέσθη: μετὰ γὰρ τὸ τελεσθῆναι τὸν πύργον θελήσετε ἀγαθοποιεῖν, καὶ οὐχ ἕξετε τόπον.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 2nd c. BC
PSI 4 437Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)247 BC

σὺ οὖν γράψον ἡμῖν τίνα οἰκονομίαν ποιήσηται ὁ Πετοσῖρις. γίνωσκε δὲ καὶ τὴν πίσσαν οὔπω εἰληφότας ἡμᾶς· διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἐκάθητο, ἀλλὰ ἔφατο Ῥόδιππος λόγους ἀποδιδόναι αὐτόν. ἔρρωσο.

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59454Krokodilopolis? Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)247 BC

ἐξ ἐμοῦ δεῖν εἶναι τὴν πρᾶξιν τῶν Α δραχμῶν καὶ οὐχὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἐγγύου, οὔπω δήπου σε ἔδει εἰς ἀλλοτρίαν οἰκίαν, οὗ ἐγὼ τυγχάνω ὤν, εἰσελθόντα παροινεῖν γυναῖκα ἐλευθερίαν

PSI 4 439Arsinoites245 BC

λόγους τῶν γενημάτων τῆς Θεμίστου μερίδος καὶ τῆς Πολέμωνος ὡσαύτως· τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν τόπων οὔπω ἐπειλήφαμεν παρὰ τῶν ὑπηρετῶν. καλῶς οὖν ποιήσεις, ἐπαναγνοὺς καὶ ἀντιγραψάμενος, ἀποστείλας μοι τοὺς τόμους,

Not yet for were cast into the prison <the> John.
γὰρgar for G1063 Conjunction
1,038× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in John than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
For is a word used to explain or give a reason, often introducing a justification or clarification, as seen in Matthew 4:18 and Romans 7:1. It's a conjunction that connects ideas and provides additional information.
Amplified meaning
as a reason, to explain
Tyndale gloss
for
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word γάρ (gar) is a coordinating particle primarily used to introduce reasons or explanations, similar to 'for' in English. It can serve various functions, including causal, explicative, and conclusive, and is often placed after the first word in a clause. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts that clarify or justify preceding statements, aligning with its classical usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γάρ,

co-ordinating particle, contr. of γε ἄρα,

verily then, hence, in truth, indeed, yea, then, why, and when giving a reason or explanation, for, the usage in NT being in general accord with that of cl.;

explicative and epexegetic: Mt 4:18 19:12, Mk 1:16 5:42 16:4, Lk 11:30, Ro 7:1, I Co 16:5, al.

Conclusive, in questions, answers and exclamations: Mt 9:5 27:23, Lk 9:25 22:27, Jo 9:30, Ac 8:31 16:37 19:35,

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

γάρ, a conjunction, which ace. to its composition, γέ and dpa (i. 4. ἄρ), is properly a particle of affirmation and conclusion, denoting truly therefore, verily as the case stands, “ the thing is first aflirmed by the particle yé, and then is referred to what precedes by the force of the particle dpa” (Klotz ad Devar. ii. 1, p. 232; οἵ. Kiihner ii. p. 724; [Jelf § 786; W. 445 (415) sq-]). Now since by a new affirmation not infrequently the reason and nature of something previously mentioned are set forth, it comes to pass that, by the use of this particle, either the reason and cause of a foregoing statement is added, whence arises the causal or argumentative force of the particle, for (Lat. nam, enim; Germ. denn) ; or some previous declaration is explained, whence γάρ takes on an ex plicative force: YP Sor, the fact is, namely (Lat. videlicet, Germ. ndmilich). Thus the force of the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γάρ (gar) — for.

γάρ

(γε, ἄρα), causal conjunction, used alone or with other Particles.

I. introducing the reason or cause of what precedes, for, τῷ γὰρ ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θῆκε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη· κήδετο γ. Δαναῶν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; but frequently in explanation of that which is implied in the preceding clause, πολλάων πολίων κατέλυσε κάρηνα.. τοῦ γὰρ κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον [Refs]

I. b in simple explanations, especially after a Pronoun or demonstrative adjective, ἀλλὰ τόδ᾽ αἰνὸν ἄχος κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἱκάνει· Ἕκτωρ γ. ποτε φήσει [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὃ δὲ δεινότατον.. ὁ Ζεὺς γ... [Refs 5th c.BC+]; frequently in introducing proofs or examples, μαρτύριον δέ· Δήλου γ. καθαιρομένης.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τεκμήριον δέ· οὔτε γ. Λακεδαιμόνιοι.. [Refs 4th c.BC+]; in full, τεκμήριον δὲ…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γάρ

gar

a primary particle; properly, assigning a reason (used in argument,

explanation or intensification; often with other particles):--and, as,

because (that), but, even, for, indeed, no doubt, seeing, then,

therefore, verily, what, why, yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γάρ

Cj.

for

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γάρ gar 1x

for; it is, however, frequently used with an ellipsis of the clause to which it has reference, and its force must then be variously expressed: Mt. 15:27; 27:23, et al.; it is also sometimes epexegetic, or introductory of an intimated detail of circumstances, now, then, Mt. 1:18

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γάρ for, Lat. enim, and like it, regularly placed after the first word of a sentence: to introduce the reason:

ARGUMENTATIVE, to introduce the reason for a statement, which usually precedes:—when it precedes the statement, it may be rendered since, as, Ἀτρείδη, πολλοὶ γὰρ τεθνᾶσιν Ἀχαιοί, χρὴ πόλεμον παῦσαι Il.

the statement of which γάρ gives the reason may be omitted, οὐ γάρ τί μοι Ζεὺς ἦν ὁ κηρύξας τάδε [yes], for it was not Zeus, etc., Soph.; ἔστι γὰρ οὕτω [yes], for so it is, i. e. yes certainly, Plat.; οἵδ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ εἰσί: τοῦτο γάρ σε δήξεται [I say this], for it will sting thee, Eur.: —in Conditional Propositions, where the Condition is omitted, it may be transl. for otherwise, else, οὐ γὰρ ἄν με ἔπεμπον πάλιν, (sc. εἰ μὴ ἐπίστευον)…

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

for (ki (conjunction), le, from 'el (preposition), and various other words. In the New Testament also the words are various, chiefly gar, kai gar, hoti (conjunctions); anti apo eis dia (accusative), epi (dative and accusative), peri (genitive), pros (genitive and accusative), huper (genitive) (prepositions)): the English Revised Version and the American Standard Revised Version give in many cases more literal or more accurate renderings than those in the King James Version.

In the New Testament the most important preps. from a doctrinal point of view are anti, "face to face," "over against," "instead," "on behalf of," peri, "around," "about," "concerning," huper, "over," "on behalf of." The first has been claimed as stating the substitutionary nature of Christ's sacrifice as contrasted with huper and peri, more frequently used of it. But, although anti in the New Testament often means…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
97%for
for97% · 1050×other renderings3% · 33×

1,083 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 11 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
adverbial3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,038 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
αὐτόςἐγώσύ
οὐNeg
οὐδείςno one, none, noαὐτόςλαλέωI speak, say
εἰμίI am, exist
θάλασσαthe sea, lakeλυπέωI pain, grieve, καθεύδωI sleep, am slee
οὗτος
εἰςαὐτόςδιά
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existκύριοςlord, Lord, mastἐγώ
γάρfor1038×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, θεόςGod, a godArticle the
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theσύἐν
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becἐνοὐNeg
αὐτός
Article theοὗτοςλέγωI say, speak
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theδιάἐν

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

Concordanceγάρ · 1,038× in the New Testament
Romans Matthew 1 Corinthians Luke Hebrews Acts 2 Corinthians John Mark Galatians 1 Thessalonians Revelation

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.7c. AD 100

ἐγνώρισεν γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ δεσπότης διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τὰ παρεληλυθότα καὶ τὰ ἐνεστῶτα, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων δοὺς ἀπαρχὰς ἡμῖν γεύσεως, ὧν τὰ καθ̓ ἕκαστα βλέποντες ἐνεργούμενα, καθὼς ἐλάλησεν, ὀφείλομεν πλουσιώτερον καὶ ὑψηλότερον προσάγειν τῷ φόβῳ αὐτοῦ.

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

ἀποκαταστῆναι , ἔτι καὶ νῦν καλῶς ποιήσεις παρακαλῶν σαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς παρʼ ἡμῶν· προσπέπτωκεν γὰρ Παῶν ἀναπλεῖν ἐν τῶι Τῦβι μηνὶ μετὰ δυνάμεων ἱκανῶν πρὸς τὸ καταστεῖλαι τοὺς ἐν

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

ἀλλʼ ἀποστερέσαι … ησας ἀλλά … τας κατὰ κοινόν … ἐπίσκεψιν ποιησάσθαι. … τούτων γὰρ γενομένων ἐσόμεθα βεβοηθημένοι ὑφʼ ὑμῶν. ἔρρωσθε. ἔτους θ Φαρμοῦθι κζ, ἐπιλέγματος ἀναγνωσθέντος τοῦ ὑπομνήματος

P.Bad. 2 16Pathyris89 BC

ποιήσετε συνγεινόμενοι εἰς τοῦτον τόπον ἐν ἀσφαλείαι ὑπάρχοντα συντηρηθῆναι τοῦτον τῶι κυρίωι βασιλεῖ· οὕτω γὰρ πράσσοντες καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὰ πράγματα εὔνοιαν διατηροῦντες … ε … παρὰ τῶν ἐπάνω

Not yet for were cast into the prison <the> John.
ἦνeimi were G1510 Verb · imperfect · active · indicative · third person · singular
2,457× 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
To be or exist, a basic verb used to describe something or someone, like God saying 'I am' in John 8:58.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰμί,

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

As substantive verb.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰμί (eimi) — to be.

εἰμί

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί

eimi

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

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

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

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

see GREEK for 1488

see GREEK for 1498

see GREEK for 1511

see GREEK for 1527

see GREEK for 2258

see GREEK for 2071

see GREEK for 2070

see GREEK for 2075

see GREEK for 2076

see GREEK for 2771

see GREEK for 2468

see GREEK for 5600

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰμί

v.

I am, exist

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰμί eimi 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-IAI-3S — Verb · imperfect · active · indicative · third person · singular
imperfect active indicative — a continuing action in past time.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

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

2,408 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 139 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
linking verb87%verb13%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,457 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, becκαίand, even, also,ὅς
οὗτος
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
ἐνἄνθρωποςa man, one of thθεόςGod, a god
ἐγώ
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakμετά
σύ
ἐνλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
εἰμίwere2457×
what comes after →
Article the
υἱόςa son, descendenΧριστόςanointed, the Meβασιλείαkingship, sovere
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegγάρfor
ἐν
Article theσύαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theτὶςἐκεῖthere, yonder, t
ἐγώ
εἰςἄξιοςworthy, worthy oὧδεhere

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

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

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Not yet for were cast into the prison <the> John.
βεβλημένοςballō cast G906 Verb · perfect · passive · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
123× 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
To throw something with force, as seen in Matthew 4:18 and 10:34, where Jesus talks about throwing a net and a sword. It can also mean to pour or lay something down. In the Bible, it is used in various contexts, including throwing out demons or laying down one's life.
Amplified meaning
with force, cast
Tyndale gloss
to throw: throw
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word βάλλω (i.e., *ballō*) means to throw, cast, or place something, and can apply to both physical and metaphorical contexts. It is used in various ways, such as throwing weapons, pouring liquids, or even casting someone into a situation. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts like casting out demons or laying down burdens. The lexicons do not indicate significant disagreement about its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

βάλλω,

[in LXX for נפל, שׂום, ידד, etc.;]

prop., of a weapon or missile; then generally, of things and persons, lit. and metaph., to throw, cast, put, place: c. acc., seq. εἰς, Mt 4:18, and freq. ἐπί, Mt 10:34; κάτω, Mt 4:6; ἔξω, Mt 5:13; ἀπό, Mt 5:29; ἐκ, Mk 12:44; δρέπανον, Re 14:19; μάχαιραν, Mt 10:34; κλῆρον, Mt 27:35; of fluids, to pour: Read the full entry →

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

βάλλω; fut. Bara; pf. βέβληκα ; 2 aor. ἔβαλον (3 pers. plur. ἔβαλον in Lk. xxiii. 34; Acts xvi. 23, ἔβαλαν, {π6 Alex. form, in Acts xvi. 37 L T Tr WH; [Rev. xviii. 19 Lehm., see WH. App. p. 165 and] for reff. ἀπέρχομαι init.) ; Pass., [pres. βάλλομαι] ; pf. βέβλημαι ; plpf. ἐβεβλήμην; 1 aor. ἐβλήθην; 1 fut. βληθήσομαι ; to throw, — either with force, or without force yet with a purpose, or even carelessly ; 1. with force and effort: βάλλειν τινὰ ῥαπίσμασι to smite one with slaps, to buffet, ΜΚ. xiv. 65 Rec. (an imitation of the phrases, τινὰ βάλAew λίθοις, βέλεσι, τόξοις, etc., κακοῖς, ψόγῳ, σκώμμασι. etc., in Grk. writ. ; cf. Passow i. p. 487; [L. and S.s. v. T. 1 and 3]; for the Rec. ἔβαλλον we must read with Fritzsche and Schott ἔβαλον, fr. which arose ἔλαβον, adopted by L T Tr WIL; βαλεῖν and λαβεῖν are often confounded in codd. ; οἵ. Grimm on 2 Mace. y. 6; [Serivener, Introd. p.…

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

βάλλω. That the verb does not necessarily imply casting or thrusting with some degree of violence is clear already from the NT itself; and there are vernacular parallels to negative the assumption of “Jewish Greek.” Thus in BGU 11. 5974 (A.D. 75) ἵνα βάληι τὸν μόσχον mpd τῶν προβάτων the verb does not suggest a violent ‘‘ Βιησίηρ ἡ of the helpless calf before the ferocious beasts afterwards named. Cf. P Oxy VII. 1069%° (iii/A.pD.) κ[α]λὰ μέτρα αὐτῷ βαλέτωσαν, ‘let them put good measure into it” with reference to the making of a tunic, and 2d. VI. 9349 (iii/A.D.) μὴ οὖν ἀμελήσῃς τοῦ βαλεῖν τὴν κόπρον, “do not fail therefore to throw the manure on the land” (Edd.): ef. P Fay 1187! (a.p. 110) βάλλωι ἕξ ἀρούρας εἰς τὴν Ψεννόφριν, “1 am manuring six arourae at Psennophris” (Edd.). For a similar absolute usage see Sy// 5227 (iii/p.c.) θύειν δὲ τὸμ μὲν βοῦν BeBAnκότα, τὴν δὲ οἷν βεβληκ[υ]ῖαν…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

βάλλω (ballō) — to throw: throw.

βάλλω,

future βᾰλῶ (in Attic dialect Prose only in compounds), Ionic dialect βαλέω [Refs 8th c.BC+]aorist 2 ἔβᾰλον, Ionic dialect προ-βάλεσκε [Refs 8th c.BC+]; later aorist 1 ἔβαλα [LXX]; Epic dialect and Ionic dialect infinitive βαλέειν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; optative βλείης in [Refs 5th c.BC+], participle βλείς [Refs]perfect βέβληκα: pluperfect ἐβεβλήκειν, Epic dialect βεβλήκειν [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—middle, Ionic dialect imperfect βαλλέσκετο [Refs 5th c.BC+]future βᾰλοῦμαι (προ-) [Refs 8th c.BC+]aorist 2 ἐβᾰλόμην, Ionic dialect imperative βαλεῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+] used mostly in compounds:—passive, future βληθήσομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; participle δια-βεβλησόμενος [Refs 2nd c.AD+]: aorist ἐβλήθην [Refs 8th c.BC+] also has an Epic dialect aorist passive, ἔβλητο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; subjunctive βλήεται [Refs 8th c.BC+]; optative βλῇο or βλεῖο [Refs 8th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

βάλλω

ballo

a primary verb; to throw (in various applications, more or less

violent or intense):--arise, cast (out), X dung, lay, lie, pour, put

(up), send, strike, throw (down), thrust. Compare 4496.

see GREEK for 4496

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

βάλλω

v.

I cast, throw, rush, put, place, drop

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀμφιβάλλω amphiballō 1x

to throw around; to cast a net, Mk. 1:16*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

βάλλω Root ΒΑΛ Act. to throw:

with acc. of person or thing aimed at, to throw so as to hit, to hit one with a missile, opp. to striking (τύπτω, οὐτάω), βλήμενος ἠὲ τυπείς Il.; c. dupl. acc. pers. et partis, μιν βάλε μηρὸν ὀϊστῶι id. Il.: c. acc. cogn. added, ἕλκος, τό μιν βάλε the wound which he gave him, id. Il.:—also, βάλε κατ᾽ ἀσπίδα smote upon it, id. Il.

of things, ἡνίοχον ῥαθάμιγγες ἔβαλλον id. Il.; of the Sun, ἀκτῖσιν ἔβαλλεν [χθόνα] Od.: to strike the senses, of sound, κτύπος οὔατα βάλλει Il.

metaph., β. τινὰ κακοῖς to smite with reproaches, Soph., etc.; φθόνος βάλλει τινά Aesch.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-RPP-NSM — Verb · perfect · passive · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-RPP-NSM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: peRfect Voice: Passive Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

In general "to throw," with various degrees of violence; usually, with force, but not so necessarily, as e.g. in "cast a net," "cast lots." When applied to molten metal, as in English, first, "to let run. into molds," with reference to their descent by gravity, and, then, "to form," as in Ex 25:12, etc. Usually in the New Testament for ballo, but not always. Thus, in Lu 1:29 "cast in her mind" means "considered" (dielogizeto); "cast reproach" for Greek oneidizon, "reproached" (Mt 27:44); "casting down" for kathaireo, "demolishing" (2Co 10:4); "casting all anxiety upon" (1Pe 5:7), a still stronger term, as in

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
15%cast
cast15% · 19×they cast8% · 10×casting6% · 7×do cast6% · 7×he cast3% · 4×thrown3% · 4×be cast3% · 4×other renderings47% · 58×other renderings8% · 10×

123 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 61 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 123 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
αὐτόςαἴρωI raise, lift upἧλοςa nail
αὐτός
ἱμάτιονouter garmentπερισσεύωI exceed, am lefἀδελφόςa brother
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
πούςthe footὀφθαλμόςthe eyeὅσος
πῦρfire, trials
εἰςArticle the
ἐγώ
παῖςa boy or girl chἐνἱματισμόςraiment, clothin
βάλλωcast123×
what comes after →
εἰς
Article theφυλακήa watching, guarγέενναGehenna
Article the
θεόςGod, a godδάκτυλοςa fingerδράκωνa dragon or huge
αὐτός
εἰςArticle the
ἀπό
σύ
καίand, even, also, nam
πυρέσσωI am sick with aὁράωI see, look uponεἰς

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

Concordanceβάλλω · 123× in the New Testament
Matthew Revelation Mark Luke John Acts 1 John James

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament8 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 27 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Preliminary Studies 129c. AD 40

21,20) ἢ βαλλόμενον καὶ τοξευόμενον ἀποκύουσι.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.98c. AD 75–95

εὐμενῶς τε οὖν αὐτὸν προσδέχεσθαι τὴν θυσίαν παρεκάλει καὶ μηδεμίαν ὀργὴν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ὁμοίαν βαλεῖν, ὅπως ἔργοις τε τοῖς ταύτης προσλιπαροῦντες καὶ πόλεις ἀναστήσαντες εὐδαιμόνως ζῆν ἔχοιεν καὶ μηδενὸς ὧν καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἐπομβρίας ἀπέλαυον ὑστερῶσιν…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.6c. AD 100

Περιέσχεν με συναγωγὴ πονηρευομένων, ἐκύκλωσάν με ὡσεὶ μέλισσαι κηρίον, καί: Ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 7th c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Fay. 118Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 110

ἐπεὶ κοπρηγεῖν μέλλει τὰ κτήνη εἰς Ψεννῶιφριν, ἔχοντας βελενκώθια καὶ σηστρίδια ὡσεὶ εἰς ξυλαμήν. βάλλω ἓξ ἀρούρας εἰς τὴν Ψεννῶφριν. ἐὰν ἀναβαίνῃ τὰ κτήνη γέμισον αὐτὰ βάκανον καὶ ξύλον.

P.Sijp. 9 dThebenAD 101–AD 200

κιβαριάτου τ … τοῦ ὄξους οὔπω πέπρακα … κριθῆς. ἔλαβον ἄλλας δύο ἀρτάβας καὶ ἔβαλον αὐτὰς ἐπάνω τῶν ἄλλων ἀρταβῶν ϛ. ἔχω παρα … ὡς ἐνετείλω μοι. ἄσπασαι Σαραπάμμωνα

O.Claud. 4 887Mons ClaudianusAD 150–AD 154

ἐστομώσαμεν σίδηρα εἰς στόμωμα καὶ εἰς τοὺς σφῆνας. ὡς βάλλουσι τοὺς σφῆνας εὐχαριστοῦμεν αὐτοῖς. βέβληται καὶ ἐπιβεβλήμεθα … τὴν πλάκα. εἰ οὖν θέλεις ἵνα ἀπαρτισθῇ, ἔξελθε στομώσειν αὐτοῖς καὶ

Not yet for were cast into the prison <the> John.
εἰςeis into G1519 Preposition
1,766× 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 toward or into, indicating direction or purpose, as seen in Matthew 8:23 and Mark 1:45. It can also imply a sense of movement or action. The KJV translates it in various ways.
Amplified meaning
toward, into the direction of
Tyndale gloss
toward
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

εἰς is a preposition meaning 'into' or 'to,' used with the accusative case. It indicates direction, entrance, or limit, applicable to place, time, and figurative purposes. The New Testament frequently employs it to express movement toward locations or states, as seen in passages like Matthew 8:23. It can also denote relationships or results, such as 'for' or 'among.'

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰς,

prep. c. acc.,

expressing entrance, direction, limit, into, unto, to, upon, towards, for, among (Lat. in, c. acc.).

Of place.

After verbs of motion;

of entrance into: Mt 8:23 9:7, Mk 1:45, Lk 2:15 8:31, al.;

of approach, to or towards: Mk 11:1, Lk 6:8 19:28, Jo 11:31 21:6, al.;

before pl. and collective nouns, among: Mk 4:7 8:19, 20, Lk 11:49, Jo 21:23, al.;

Of a limit reached, unto, on, upon: Mt 8:18, 21:1, Mk…

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰς (eis) — toward.

ἐν εἰς

or ἐς, PREP. WITH ACC. ONLY:—both forms are found in [Refs 8th c.BC+], Ionic dialect poets, and early metrical Inscrr.; ἐς is best attested in [Refs 5th c.BC+], and is found in nearly all early Ionic dialect Inscrr. (except [Refs 5th c.BC+]; and usually in Attic dialect Prose (except [Refs 5th c.BC+] is used before vowels for the sake of meter; ἐς was retained in the phrases ἐς κόρακας (whence the Verb σκορακίζω), ἐς μακαρίαν. Aeolic dialect poets have εἰς before vowels, ἐς before consonants, and this is given as the rule in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; compare ἐν, ἰν. The diphthong is genuine in Aeolic dialect εἰς, but spurious in Attic dialect-Ionic dialect) Radical sense into, and then more loosely, to:

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰς

eis

a primary preposition; to or into (indicating the point reached or

entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etc.);

also in adverbial phrases:--(abundant-)ly, against, among, as, at,

(back-)ward, before, by, concerning, + continual, + far more

exceeding, for (intent, purpose), fore,

+ forth, in (among, at, unto, -so much that, -to), to the

intent that, + of one mind, + never, of, (up-)on, + perish, + set at

one again, (so) that, therefore(-unto), throughout, til, to (be, the

end, -ward), (here-)until(-to), ...ward, (where-)fore, with. Often

used in composition with the same general import, but only with verbs

(etc.) expressing motion (literally or figuratively).

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰς

Prep.

into, in, among, till, for

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εἰς

into, to c. acc.

PREP. WITH ACC. ONLY. Radical sense, into, and then to:

OF PLACE, the commonest usage, εἰς ἅλα into or to the sea, Hom., etc.:—properly opposed to ἐκ, ἐς σφυρὸν ἐκ πτέρνης from head to foot, Il.; εἰς ἔτος ἐξ ἔτεος from year to year, Theocr.:—then, with all Verbs implying motion or direction, ἰδεῖν εἰς οὐρανόν Il.; εἰς ὦπα ἰδέσθαι to look in the face, id. Il.:—in Hom. and Hdt. also c. acc. pers., where the attic use ὡς, πρός, παρά.

with Verbs which express rest in a place, when a previous motion into or to it is implied, ἐς μέγαρον κατέθηκε, i. e. he brought it into the house, and put it there, Od.; παρεῖναι ἐς τόπον to go to a place and be there, Hdt.

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

PREP PREPosition

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
33%into
into33% · 595×to32% · 570×for10% · 185×in9% · 160×unto4% · 69×toward2% · 44×other renderings8% · 145×other renderings2% · 29×

1,797 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 37 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
adverbial95%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,766 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
βάλλωI cast, throw, rεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inδέbut, on the othe
εἰσέρχομαιI go in, come in, en
καίand, even, also,μήNegαὐτός
ἔρχομαιI come, go
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςοὗτος
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἐκκόπτωI cut out, cut oπόλιςa city
ἐγώ
εἰμίI am, existκαίand, even, also,δίδωμιI offer, give
εἰςinto1766×
what comes after →
Article the
αἰώνan age, a cycle οἶκοςa house, househoοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,οὗτος
ἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem
καίand, even, also,εἰςὅτιthat, since, bec
ὅς
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἄνDisj
σύ
καίand, even, also,μήNegἐν

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

Concordanceεἰς · 1,766× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Matthew John Mark Romans Revelation 2 Corinthians Hebrews 1 Peter 1 Corinthians Ephesians

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 9c. AD 40

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

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

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

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Grenf. 2 33Pathyris101 BC

καὶ τοῖς μετόχοις γῆς σιτοφόρου λεγομένης Νεχθαραῦτι θεοῦ μεγάλου παρὰ τῶν ἱερέων ἐτῶν δέκα εἰς τὰ ἐνλιπόντα αὐτῷ ἑτέρων , τεσσάρων εἰς συμπλήρωσιν ἐτῶν πέντε , ὥστε γεωργῆσαι ἧς

BGU 3 999Pathyris100 BC

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

P.Adl. 17Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)100 BC

ος, βορρᾶ γῆ Σχώτου τοῦ Τρύφωνος, ἀπηλιώτου τὸ λοιπὸν τῆς γῆς, λιβὸς ἡ φέρουσα εἰς τὸ Κρόνειον ὁδός, ἢ οἳ ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος Νεχούτου Πέρσης τῆς

Not yet for were cast into the prison <the> John.
τὴνho the G3588 Article · accusative · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 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-ASF — Article · accusative · singular · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
the19783×
what comes after →
θεόςGod, a god
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusArticle the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
ἐγώσύαὐτός

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

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

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Not yet for were cast into the prison <the> John.
φυλακὴνphulakē prison G5438 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
46× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in John than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word refers to a prison, guard, or watch, like in Acts 12:10 where Peter was held in prison by King Herod's guards. It can also mean a place of protection or a time of vigilance, as in Luke 2:8 where shepherds kept watch over their flocks.
Amplified meaning
a place of confinement
Tyndale gloss
prison/watch: prison
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

φυλακή (phulakē) refers to a guarding or watch, often associated with the act of keeping watch or the place where individuals are held, such as a prison. It encompasses meanings related to security, custody, and the time divisions of night. The New Testament uses it in contexts of imprisonment (e.g., Mt 14:10) and as a watch during the night (e.g., Lk 12:38).

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

φυλακή, -ῆς, ἡ

(< φυλάσσω)

[in LXX chiefly for מִשְׁמֶרֶת and cogn. forms, also for כֶּלֶא etc. ;]

actively, a guarding, guard, watch (Hom., Plat., Xen., al.): cogn. acc., φυλάσσειν φυλακάς, to keep watch, Lk 2:8;

of those who keep watch (as also Lat. custodia), a guard; pl., sentinels, a guard (Hom., al.): Ac 12:10;

of the place where persons are kept under guard, a prison (Hdt., Thuc., al.): Mt 14:10, Mk 6:17, Lk 3:20, Ac 5:19, II Co 6:5,

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

φυλακή, -js, ἡ, (φυλάσσω), fr. Hom. down, Sept. for NNW, Ww, 71D (a prison), x52 (enclosure, confinement), guard, watch, i. e. a. in an act. sense, a watching, keeping watch: φυλάσσειν φυλακάς, to keep watch, Lk. ii. 8 (often in the Grk. writ. fr. Xen. an. 2, 6, 10, etc.; Plat. lege. 6 p. 758 ἃ. down; [οἵ. φυλακὰς ἔχειν, ete. fr. Hom. (Il. 9, 1 ete.) on]; often also in Sept. for Το Ww). b. like the Lat. custodia and more freq. the plur. custodiae (see Klotz, Hdwrbch. [or Harpers’ Lat. Dict.] s.v.), iq. persons keeping watch, a guard, sentinels: Acts xii. 10 [here A. V. ward] (and very often in prof. auth. fr. Hom. down). c. of the place where captives are kept, a prison: Mt. xiv. 10; xxy. 36, [39], 43 sq.; Mk. vi. 17, 27 (28); Lk. iii. 20; xxi. 12; xxii.33; Actsv.19, 22; vili.3; xii. ὅ 5α. 17; xvi. 27,40; xxii.4; xxvi. 10; 2 Co. vi. 5 [here, as in ΗΘ}. xi. 36, A. V. imprisonment]; 2 Co.…

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

φυλακή. (1) For φυλακή in the general sense of ‘‘ care,” “charge,” of a thing: P Lille I. 78 (iii/B.c.) ἐπιζητήσαντος αὐτοῦ βυβλάριά τινα, ἃ ἐδεδώκειν ἐν φυ(λακῆι) ““1] me réclama de petits livres qu’il m’avait donnés en garde.” (2) ‘‘ watch,” “‘guard”’: P Tebt II. 2827 (late ii/B.c.) a guard declares that he will keep the best watch possible upon other people’s holdings—ov(Aakiv) ἀλ[λο]τρ[{1ὧν κλή(ρων) συντηιρήσιν ἀπὸ τίο]ῦ BeAtirov, /vene 254 (soon after B.C. 200) ὅπως δὲ ἡ χ]ώρα ἡ Μιλησίων καὶ ἸΠριηνέων ἐμ. φυλ[ακῆι καὶ σωτηρίαι ὑπάρχηι. (3) = ‘‘a guard,” i.e. ‘‘persons keeping guard” (Lat. custodia), as in Ac 12: P Giss I. 1915 (ii/A.D.), a sister begs her brother not to face some danger (perhaps connected with the Jewish war) without a guard—pi μόνος τὸν κίνδυνον [ἄνευ] φυλακῆς ὑπόμεινε (/. ὑπόμενε). (4) = “« prison” (Mt 1419, a/.): BGU IV. 1138'8 (B.c. 18) ἀπολείίψ)ομαι τὸν…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

φυλακή (phulakē) — prison/watch: prison.

φῠλᾰκ-ή, ἡ,

(φύλαξ) watching or guarding, especially by night, φυλακῆς μνήσασθε [Refs 8th c.BC+]; φυλακὰς ἔχειν keep watch and ward, [Refs]; φ. κατέχειν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; φυλακὴ ἔχει αὐτόν watching engages him, variant in [Refs 8th c.BC+] tell an unarmed man to stand on the defensive, i.e. to give commands that cannot be obeyed, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὅπως ἀφανὴς εἴη ἡ φ. that there might be nothing visible to watch, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; φυλακὰς φυλάξειν keep watch and ward, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; φυλακὰς καταστήσασθαι, κατασκευάσασθαι, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. watch or guard, of persons, [NT+5th c.BC+]; φ. τοῦ σώματος a body guard, [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc.; garrison of a place or fortress, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἡ…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

φυλακή

phulake

from 5442; a guarding or (concretely, guard), the act, the person;

figuratively, the place, the condition, or (specially), the time (as a

division of day or night), literally or figuratively:--cage, hold,

(im-)prison(-ment), ward, watch.

see GREEK for 5442

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

φυλακή, ῆς, ἡ

n.f.

a watching, guard, prison, imprisonment

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

φυλακή phylakē 47x

a keeping watch, ward, guard, Lk. 2:8; a place of watch, Rev. 18:2; a watch, guard, body of guards, Acts 12:10; ward, custody, imprisonment, 2 Cor. 6:5; 11:23; Heb. 11:36; prison, 1 Pet. 3:19; a place of custody, prison, Mt. 14:10; 25:39, 44; a watch or division, of the night, which in the time of our Savior was divided into watches of three hours each, called ὀψέ, μεσονύκτιον, ἀλεκτοροψωνία and πρωία, or πρωί, Mt. 14:25; 24:43; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

φυλακή φυ^λα^κή, ἡ, φυλάσσω a watching or guarding, watch, guard, ward, esp. by night, φυλακῆς μνήσασθε keep watch and ward, Il.; so, φυλακὰς ἔχειν id. Il.; ὅπως ἀφανὴς εἴη ἡ φ. that there might be nothing visible to watch, Thuc.; φυλακὴν φυλάττειν to keep watch, Xen.; τὰς φ. ποιεῖσθαι id. Xen.; φυλακὰς καταστήσασθαι to set watches, Ar.

a watch or guard, of persons, Plat., Xen., etc.; ἡ τοῦ σώματος φ. a body guard, Dem.:— a guard or garrison, Hdt.; ἡ ἐν τῇ Ναυπάκτῳ φ., of a squadron of ships, Thuc.

of place, a watch, station, post, Il., Xen.

of time, a watch of the night, Hdt., Eur., etc.

a place for keeping others in, a ward, prison, Anth., NTest.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Prison

The first occasion on which we read of a prison is in the history of Joseph in Egypt. Then Potiphar, “Joseph’s master, took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound” (Gen. 39:20-23). The Heb. word here used (sohar) means properly a round tower or fortress. It seems to have been a part of Potiphar’s house, a place in which state prisoners were kept.

The Mosaic law made no provision for imprisonment as a punishment. In the wilderness two persons were “put in ward” (Lev. 24:12; Num. 15:34), but it was only till the mind of God concerning them should be ascertained. Prisons and prisoners are mentioned in the book of Psalms (69:33; 79:11; 142:7). Samson was confined in a…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

[For imprisonment as a punishment, see PUNISHMENTS] It is plain that in Egypt special places were used as prisons, and that they were under the custody of a military officer. (Genesis 40:3; 42:17) During the wandering in the desert we read on two occasions of confinement "in ward" -- (Leviticus 24:12; Numbers 15:34) but as imprisonment was not directed by the law, so we hear of none till the time of the kings, when the prison appears as an appendage to the palace, or a special part of it. (1 Kings 22:27) Private houses were sometimes used as places of confinement. By the Romans the tower of Antoni, was used as a prison at Jerusalem, (

→ Public ward of Ac 5:18

→ Cells of Ac 16:24

→ Court of Jer 33:1

→ Dungeon in

See DUNGEON

→ See IMPRISONMENT

→ See PRISONERS

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
73%prison
prison73% · 35×watch10% · 5×prisons6% · 3×imprisonments4% · 2×guard2% · 1×imprisonment2% · 1×time of night2% · 1×

48 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 7 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
adverbial74%predicate13%object9%subject2%indirect object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 46 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
ἐνθύραa door, opportunἐκ
εἰς
βάλλωI cast, throw, rκαίand, even, also,παραδίδωμιI hand over, del
ἐν
καίand, even, also,ἐγώDisj
καίand, even, also, nam
συναγωγήan assembly, conδεσμόςa bond, chainδαιμόνιονan evil-spirit,
δέbut, on the other ha
τέταρτοςfourth
φυλακήprison46×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
οὐNegἔρχομαιI come, goφέρωI carry, bear, b
Article the
νύξthe night, nightκλέπτηςa thief
εἰμίI am, exist
καίand, even, also,ἐν
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spὄρνεονa bird
βάλλωI cast, throw, rush,

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

Concordanceφυλακή · 46× in the New Testament
Acts Matthew Luke Revelation Mark 2 Corinthians 1 Peter Hebrews John
Across the New Testament9 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 71 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 Epistle of Barnabas The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.55c. AD 40

ἡ μὲν οὖν εὐθιξία θέσις ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ, ἡ δὲ ἐπιμονὴ πρᾶξις τῶν καλῶν [τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ καλά], ἡ δὲ μνήμη φυλακὴ καὶ διατήρησις τῶν ἁγίων δογμάτων.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.136c. AD 75–95

Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἱππεῖς παραλαβόντες τὸν Βενιαμὶν ἦγον πρὸς Ἰώσηπον καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἑπομένων, ὁ δὲ τὸν μὲν ἰδὼν ἐν φυλακῇ, τοὺς δʼ ἐν πενθίμοις σχήμασι, τί δή, φησίν, ὦ κάκιστοι, φρονήσαντες ἢ περὶ τῆς ἐμῆς φιλανθρωπίας ἢ περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς προνοίας…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 14.7c. AD 100

λέγει οὖν ὁ προφήτης: Ἐγὼ κύριος, ὁ θεός σου, ἐκάλεσά σε ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ κρατήσω τῆς χειρός σου καὶ ἐνισχύσω σε, καὶ ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους, εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν ἀνοῖξαι ὀφθαλμοὺς τυφλῶν καὶ ἐξαγαγεῖν ἐκ δεσμῶν πεπεδημένους καὶ ἐξ οἴκου φυλακῆς…

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

τῆς τούτων ἀπαιτήσεως οὐ μετρίως ἐσκυλμένος ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ, ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου συνόδου … μετὰ φυλακῆς τόπον ἐκ τόπου μεταγειοχότων καὶ ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου πρα … ησων ἀπʼ ὀλίγων

P.Lond. 2 p. 163-165 no. 354Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites8 BC–5 BC

τας φάσκοντες τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν ἐκ τοῦ ζῆν μεθεστακέναι πρὸς … λο … κατὰ φυλακὴν. καταστάντες δὲ καὶ ἀπολογησάμενοι ἐφάνημεν τῶι Κόρδωι ἀθῶιοι τῆς συκοφαντίας, ὥστε εἰ μὴ ἐξ

P.Fay. 53Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 111

ἄλλος μητρὸς τῆς αὐτῆς συντάξιμον τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους Θεαδελφίας δραχμὰς ὀκτώ, γίνονται δραχμαὶ η, φυλακῆς δραχμὴν μίαν διώβολον, ἐπιμερισμοῦ ἀπόρων τρεισκαιδεκάτου ἔτους δραχμὰς δύο ἡμιώβολον δεσμοφυλάκων ἡμιώβολον χαλκοῦς β,

Not yet for were cast into the prison <the> John.
ho <the> G3588 Article · nominative · singular · masculine
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-NSM — Article · nominative · singular · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-NSM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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

Not yet for were cast into the prison <the> John.
Ἰωάννης.Iōannēs John. G2491 Noun · nominative · singular · masculine
134× 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
John refers to several important figures in the Bible, including John the Baptist and John the Apostle, one of Jesus' twelve apostles. John the Baptist is mentioned in Matthew 3:1 and John the Apostle in Matthew 4:21.
Amplified meaning
the Baptist, a prophet
Tyndale gloss
John
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word Ἰωάννης (transliterated as Ioannes) is a proper noun meaning "John." It is derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) and refers to several biblical figures, including John the Baptist, John the Apostle, John the father of Peter, and John Mark. The New Testament frequently uses this name, appearing in various forms across different verses.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Ἰωάνης (Rec. -ννης, q.v.; cf. Dalman, Gr., 142; Tdf., Pr., 79; WH, App., 159; Bl., § 3, 10; 10, 2), -ου, dat., -ῃ (but in Mt 11:4, Lk 7:18, 22, Re 1:1, -ει), acc., -ην, ὁ (Heb. יוֹחָנָן, LXX: Ἰωανάν, II Ch 23:1, al.; -ννάν, Je 47 (40):8, al., Aq.), Hellenized form of Ἰωανάν,

John (I Es 8:38(41)*), viz.,

John the Baptist: Mt 3:1, al.

John the Apostle, son of Zebedee: Mt 4:21, Mk 1:19,

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

Ἰωάννης (Iōannēs) — John.

Ἰωάνης (Rec. ννης, which see; cf. Dalman, Gr., 142; Tdf., Pr., 79; WH, App., 159; Bl., §3, 10; 10, 2), -ου, dative, -ῃ (but in Mat.11:4. Luk.7:18, 22 Rev.1:1, ει), accusative, -ην, ὁ (Heb. יוֹחָנָן, LXX: Ἰωανάν, 2Ch.23:1, al.; -ννάν, Je 47 (40):8, al., Aq.), Hellenized form of Ἰωανάν,

John ( I Est.8:38(41)*), viz.,

1. John the Baptist: Mat.3:1, al.

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

Ἰωάννης

Ioannes

of Hebrew origin (3110); Joannes (i.e. Jochanan), the name of four

Israelites:--John.

see HEBREW for 03110

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Ἰωάννης, ου, ὁ

n.m.

John

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Ἰωάννης Iōannēs 135x

also spelled Ἰωάνης, Joannes, John, pr. name (1) John the Baptist, Mt. 3:1, et al. (2) John, son of Zebedee, the apostle, Mt. 4:21, et al. (3) John, surnamed Mark, Acts 12:12, et al. (4) John, the high-priest, Acts 4:6

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

N-NSM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

John

(1.) One who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment on the apostles Peter and John (Acts 4:6). He was of the kindred of the high priest; otherwise unknown.

(2.) The Hebrew name of Mark (q.v.). He is designated by this name in the acts of the Apostles (12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37).

(3.) THE APOSTLE, brother of James the “Greater” (Matt. 4:21; 10:2; Mark 1:19; 3:17; 10:35). He was one, probably the younger, of the sons of Zebedee (Matt. 4:21) and Salome (Matt. 27:56; comp. Mark 15:40), and was born at Bethsaida. His father was apparently a man of some wealth (comp.…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

the same name as Johanan, a contraction of Jehoanan, Jehovah’s gift . One of the high priest’s family, who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment upon the apostles Peter and John. (Acts 6:6) The Hebrew name of the evangelist Mark. (Acts 12:12,25; 13:5,13; 15:37)

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

1. THE BAPTIST, the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ, was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, and was born about six months before Christ, as Reland and Robinson suppose at Juttah, Jos 21:16 Lu 1:29, a town some five miles south of Hebron, but according to tradition at a place about four miles west of Jerusalem. Several Old Testament predictions found their fulfillment in him. See Isa 40:3 Mt 3:3 Mal 3:1 4:5 Mt 11:14. His birth, name, and office were also foretold by the angel Gabriel to his father Zacharias while ministering at the temple altar. Several other…

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

the grace or mercy of the Lord

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
98%john
john98% · 133×other renderings2% · 3×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject48%object25%adverbial16%predicate5%indirect object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 134 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
αὐτόςκαίand, even, also,δέbut, on the othe
καίand, even, also, nam
ἸάκωβοςJamesΠέτροςPeterΖεβεδαῖοςZebedee
ὅτιthat, since, because
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheτὶς
μαθητήςa learner, disciple,
Article the
λέγωI say, speak
γράφωI writeἀνήρa male human beiἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸωάννηςJohn.134×
what comes after →
Article the
βαπτιστήςthe baptizer, thἀδελφόςa brotherβαπτίζωI dip, submerge,
καίand, even, also, nam
ἸάκωβοςJamesArticle theλέγωI say, speak
λέγωI say, speak
διάἐπιστάτηςmaster, teacherκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
βαπτίζωI dip, submerge, bap
ἐνβάπτισμαthe rite or cere
μένDisj
βαπτίζωI dip, submerge,σημεῖονa sign, miracle,

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

ConcordanceἸωάννης · 134× in the New Testament
Luke Mark Matthew Acts John Revelation Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament7 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 8.305c. AD 75–95

οἱ δὲ τὰς μὲν ἐνεπίμπρασαν τὰς δὲ διήρπασαν πορευθέντες, τήν τε Ἰωάνου λεγομένην καὶ Δάνα καὶ Ἀβελάνην καὶ ἄλλας πολλάς.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 7th c. AD 5th c. AD 4th c. AD 8th c. AD
P.Jud.Des.Misc. p. 103-105 no. 19Jericho (Judaea)AD 101–AD 200

FrA αλλα … Ἰωάνης … πο επι … … τοῦ ε … … ἕπτα καί … ιου ν

ÉdP 5 (1939), p. 108Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 304

τοῦ λόγου περὶ τοῦ προτέρου ιθ ἔτους καὶ ιη ἔτους καὶ ια ἔτους. Αὐρήλιος Ἰωάννης ἔγραψα τὰ ὅλα. ἔτους κα καὶ ιγ Ἁθὺρ ιζ.

P.Cair. Isid. 115Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 306

μου ἀρουρῶν περὶ κώμην Καρανίδα πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τέσσαρας ἥμισυ, γίνονται ἀρτάβαι δ 𐅵. Αὐρήλιος Ἰωάννης ἔγραψα τὰ ὅλα. ἔτους ιε καὶ γ Ἁθὺρ κα.

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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