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John 3:4 — Word Study

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N1904Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;¶

BSASayslegō topros Himautos <the>ho Nicodemus;Nikodēmos Howpōs [in what way, by what means] is abledunamai a mananthrōpos [a human being, an individual] to be borngennaō [spiritually renewed, regenerated] oldgerōn [aged, mature] being?eimi Not is he abledunamai intoeis theho wombkoilia [the place of birth, the source of life] of theho mothermētēr of himautos a second timedeuteros [again, anew] to entereiserchomai [go into, become part of] andkai to be born?gennaō [to experience spiritual rebirth, to be remade]

Word
Listen & take awayJohn 3
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 4 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 (gennaō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
John 3:4quick helps
In a sentenceNicodemus questions how an old man can be born again.
Who is speakingNicodemus, a Jewish leader, is asking Jesus.
Where we areThis conversation occurs during a night visit to Jesus.
The hard wordγεννηθῆναι
Take awayThe concept of spiritual rebirth is central to this dialogue.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subject verbλέγω The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

1 of 23 occurs nowhere else in the New Testament — a word chosen on purpose.

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 3:4

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

Context — Nicodemus's Inquirygenerated

3Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. ”
4“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”
5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
6Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.

John 3:4 captures a pivotal moment where Nicodemus, a Pharisee, seeks understanding from Jesus about spiritual rebirth. This conversation reveals the confusion surrounding Jesus' teachings on being born again, which is crucial for entering the kingdom of God. Nicodemus's struggle to comprehend the concept underscores the transformative nature of Jesus' message, which is further elaborated in the surrounding verses.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1John 3:3Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. ”
2John 4:11–12“Sir,” the woman replied, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water?
3John 6:53–60So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you.
41 Corinthians 1:18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
51 Corinthians 2:14The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

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


The Key Word γεννηθῆναι, gennaōgenerated

The verb γεννάω (gennaō) means 'to be born' or 'to beget.' It encompasses both physical birth and the metaphorical sense of spiritual rebirth, as seen in this context. The aorist passive infinitive form indicates an action that is completed by an outside force, emphasizing the necessity of divine intervention in the process of being born again.

In this verse, the focus is on the impossibility perceived by Nicodemus regarding physical rebirth. His question highlights the distinction between physical and spiritual birth, a central theme in Jesus' teaching.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The Berean Standard Bible translates the verse as: 'How can a man be born when he is old?' This is echoed in the KJV and ASV, which maintain similar wording.

However, the Young's Literal Translation uses 'How is a man able to be born, being old?' which emphasizes ability, while the BBE opts for 'How is it possible for a man to be given birth when he is old?' highlighting the aspect of possibility.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb in this verse is λέγει, he says, which governs Nicodemus's inquiry about rebirth. The structure includes a direct question about the nature of being born again, with additional clauses elaborating on the impossibility he perceives.

The sentence is organized around Nicodemus's questions, with a primary clause followed by subordinate clauses that detail his confusion regarding the concept of entering his mother's womb again.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

γεννάω does not appear in the Septuagint in the same context as it does in the New Testament, but it is related to the Hebrew term יָלַד (H3205), meaning 'to bear' or 'to bring forth.' This connection underscores the continuity of the concept of birth in both the Old and New Testaments.

The use of κοιλία in the Septuagint for womb relates closely to its use here, reinforcing the physical aspect of birth that Nicodemus grapples with.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

John 3:4 shows Nicodemus asking Jesus how an old man can be born again. He wonders if it is possible to enter his mother's womb a second time. This question illustrates his confusion about Jesus' teaching on spiritual rebirth.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does Nicodemus mean by asking if a man can enter his mother's womb again?

Nicodemus is expressing his confusion about the idea of being born again, interpreting it literally rather than understanding it as a spiritual rebirth.

Why is the concept of being born again significant?

Being born again is essential for entering the kingdom of God, indicating a transformation that goes beyond physical existence.

How does Jesus respond to Nicodemus's inquiry?

Jesus elaborates on the necessity of being born of water and the Spirit, explaining the spiritual nature of rebirth.

What does this passage teach about spiritual renewal?

It emphasizes that spiritual renewal is a divine act that cannot be achieved through human effort alone.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What does it mean to be spiritually reborn in my own life?
  2. How can I help others understand the importance of spiritual rebirth?
  3. What barriers might people have in accepting the concept of being born again?
  4. In what ways can I seek to experience a deeper spiritual renewal?

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

Several early church Fathers comment on this passage, focusing on the necessity of spiritual rebirth and its implications for understanding Jesus' teachings.

Gregory of NazianzusON HOLY BAPTISM, ORATION 40.8 c. 329–390
We are a compound of both body and soul. The one part is visible, the other invisible. In the same way, our cleansing also is two-fold, that is, by water and the Spirit.
Early Church Fathers on John 3 →
John ChrysostomHom. xxiv. 2 c. 347–407
He says therefore, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God: as if He said, Thou art not yet born again, i. e. of God, by a spiritual begetting; and therefore thy knowledge of Me is not spiritual, but carnal and human.
Early Church Fathers on John 3 →
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of John 24 c. 347–407
"Nicodemus saith, How can a man be born when he is old?" Callest thou Him "Master," sayest thou that He is "come from God," and yet receivest thou not His words,
Early Church Fathers on John 3 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on John 3:4 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Nicodemus saith unto him,.... Understanding him of a natural birth, to be repeated: how can a man be born when he is old? as it seems by this, he himself now was: can he enter the second time into his mothers womb, and be born?

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

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?

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

By the answer of Nicodemus, it should seem that he was an old man; which is also probable, because he was one of the rulers: he puts the case as to himself; I am, saith he, an old man, how should I be born? Can a man enter the second time into his mother’ s womb, and be born? How true is that of the apostle, , The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God! What a gross conception doth Nicodemus (though doubtless a learned as well as a great man) discover of regeneration, as if it could not be without a man’ s mother travailing in birth with him a second time! Nicodemus’ s question discovers a great deal of ignorance and weakness, but yet a great deal of simplicity and…

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

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’ s womb, and be born? Ver. 4. How can a man, &c.] He understands no more of the doctrine of regeneration (though he could not but have often read of it in Ezekiel, and elsewhere) than a common cow herd doth the darkest precepts of astronomy, 1 Corinthians 2:14. All this is gibberish to him. Water ariseth no higher than the spring whence it came; so the natural man can ascend no higher than nature.

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

(4) The proper meaning of the word rendered “sound” (öùíή) is articulate “voice.” It is used in fifteen passages in this Gospel only, and everywhere translated “voice” except here. Let the reader substitute the one meaning for the other in any of these passages, e.g., John 1:23; John 3:29; John 5:25; John 5:28; John 10:3-5; John 10:16, and he will find that they are not interchangeable.

Read Charles John Ellicott on John 3 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 4. How can a man be born when he is old?] It is probable that Nicodemus was pretty far advanced in age at this time; and from his answer we may plainly perceive that, like the rest of the Jews, and like multitudes of Christians, he rested in the letter, without paying proper attention to the spirit: the shadow, without the thing signified, had hitherto satisfied him. Our Lord knew him to be in this state, and this was the cause of his pointed address to him.

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

4. when he is old] He purposely puts the most impossible case; the words do not imply that he was an old man himself. It is difficult to believe that Nicodemus really supposed Christ to be speaking of ordinary birth; the metaphor of ‘new birth’ for spiritual regeneration cannot have been unfamiliar to him. Either he purposely misunderstands, in order to reduce Christ’s words to an absurdity; or, more probably, not knowing what to say, he asks what he knew to be a foolish question.the second time] This expression has contributed to the word which probably means ‘from above,’ being translated ‘again.’ But ‘to enter a second time into his mother’s womb’ is simply a periphrasis for ‘to be born’…

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

How can a man ... - It may seem remarkable that Nicodemus understood the Saviour literally, when the expression “to be born again” was in common use among the Jews to denote a change from “Gentilism”

Read Albert Barnes 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

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”

WEBWorld English Bible2000

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”

NETBNew English Translation2006

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?”

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

RVARevised Version, American1894

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Nicodemus saith to him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Nicodemus sayde vnto him, Howe can a man be borne which is olde? can he enter into his mothers wombe againe, and be borne?

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Nicodemus says to him, How can a man be born being old? can he enter a second time into the womb of his mother and be born?

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

Nicodemus saith unto him, 'How is a man able to be born, being old? is he able into the womb of his mother a second time to enter, and to be born?'

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

Nicodemus says to Him, “How is a man able to be born, being old? Is he able to enter into the womb of his mother a second time, and to be born?”

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?”

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Nicodemus saith to him: How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born again?

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

“How can you be reborn when you're old?” Nicodemus asked. “You can't go back into your mother's womb and be born a second time!”

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Nicodemus said to him, How is it possible for a man to be given birth when he is old? Is he able to go into his mother's body a second time and come to birth again?

Word by word, the decisions they made

γεννηθῆναιgennaō to be born G1080 2 different renderings
be bornASV DBY DRA FBV KJV NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
to be bornBSB LSV MSB YLT
ὤν;eimi being? G1510 2 different renderings
he isASV BBE BSB DRA KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
beingDBY LSV YLT
μητρὸςmētēr mother G3384 2 different renderings
motherASV BSB DBY DRA KJV LSV MSB NETB RVA WEB YLT
mothersGNV
δεύτερονdeuteros a second time G1208 2 different renderings
a second timeASV BBE BSB DBY DRA FBV LSV MSB NETB RVA ULB WEB YLT
second timeKJV NWB
εἰσελθεῖνeiserchomai to enter G1525 3 different renderings
enterASV BSB DBY DRA GNV KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
to enterLSV YLT
go intoBBE

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.

clauseclauseverbλέγειSaysprepositional phrase · adverbialπρὸςtoαὐτὸνHimnoun phrase · subject-ΝικόδημοςNicodemusclauseadverbialΠῶςHowverbδύναταιis ablesubjectἄνθρωποςa manobjectγεννηθῆναιto be bornclause · adverbialpredicateγέρωνoldlinking verbὤνbeingclauseμὴNotclauseverbδύναταιis he ableclause · objectclauseprepositional phrase · adverbialεἰςintonoun phraseτὴνthenoun phraseκοιλίανwombnoun phraseτῆςof thenoun phraseμητρὸςmotherαὐτοῦof himadverbialδεύτερονa second timeverbεἰσελθεῖνto enterκαὶandclauseverbγεννηθῆναιto be born

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

Dicit ad eum Nicodemus : Quomodo potest homo nasci, cum sit senex ? numquid potest in ventrem matris suæ iterato introire et renasci ?

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

ܐܡܪ ܠܗ ܢܝܩܕܡܘܣ ܐܝܟܢܐ ܡܫܟܚ ܕܢܬܝܠܕ ܓܒܪܐ ܣܒܐ ܕܠܡܐ ܡܫܟܚ ܬܘܒ ܠܟܪܣܐ ܕܐܡܗ ܕܬܪܬܝܢ ܙܒܢܝܢ ܠܡܥܠ ܘܢܬܝܠܕ

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

Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;¶

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, SBL, WH, TR, ByzTreg, Tyn

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 3:4λέγωSaysSaysλέγωπρόςtotoπρόςαὐτόςHimHimαὐτός<the><the>ΝικόδημοςNicodemus;Nicodemus;ΝικόδημοςπῶςHowHowπῶςδύναμαιis ableis ableδύναμαιἄνθρωποςa mana manἄνθρωποςγεννάωto be bornto be bornγεννάωγέρωνoldoldγέρωνεἰμίbeing?being?εἰμίμήNotNotμήδύναμαιis he ableis he ableδύναμαιεἰςintointoεἰςthetheκοιλίαwombwombκοιλίαof theof theμήτηρmothermotherμήτηραὐτόςof himof himαὐτόςδεύτεροςa second tia second timeδεύτεροςεἰσέρχομαιto enterto enterεἰσέρχομαικαίandandκαίγεννάωto be born?to be born?γεννάωἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦνῖκοςn.n. victon.n. victoryνῖκοςγένοςn.n. offspn.n. offspring,γένοςεἰςPrep. intoPrep. into, in,εἰςφημίv. I sayv. I sayφημίπρόPrep. befoPrep. beforeπρόποῦIrg.adv. wIrg.adv. where,ποῦἀνήρn.m. a maln.m. a male humἀνήρὀπτάνομαιv. I appeav. I appear, amὀπτάνομαιγῆραςn.n. old an.n. old ageγῆραςοὐNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. no, noοὐδύοAdj. & IndAdj. & Indec.nuδύοἐπερωτάωv. I interv. I interrogatἐπερωτάωδουλεύωv. I am a v. I am a slaveδουλεύωσῴζωv. I save,v. I save, healσῴζωῬοβοάμProp.n. ReProp.n. RehoboaῬοβοάμἙσρώμProp.n. HeProp.n. HezronἙσρώμ
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 3:4

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

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

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
Λέγειlegō Says G3004 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
2,255× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means to say or speak, and it is used by Jesus and others in the New Testament to share teachings and tell stories. It appears in Matthew 9:34 and John 1:29.
Tyndale gloss
to say
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

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

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

Read the full entry →
Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

λέγω,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

λέγω (legō) — to say.

λέγω,

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

λέγω

lego

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

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

5346 generally refer to an individual expression or speech

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

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

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

shew, speak, tell, utter.

see GREEK for 2036

see GREEK for 5346

see GREEK for 4483

see GREEK for 2980

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

λέγω

v.

I say, speak

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

λέγω legō 2x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-3S — Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

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

1,357 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 107 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb98%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,255 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
αὐτός
πρόςμαθητήςa learner, disciἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theοὗτοςἐγώ
ἸησοῦςJesus
Article theδέbut, on the otheγόνυa knee
ἀμήνHebr
ἀμήνHebrαὐτόςλέγωI say, speak
λέγωSays2255×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
μαθητήςa learner, disciἸησοῦςJesusΠέτροςPeter
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becοὐNegἐάνCond
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theπρόςαὐτός
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theοὗτοςσύ

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

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

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

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

Counted over the 1,290 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 5c. AD 40

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

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

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.4c. AD 100

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 33Pathyris101 BC

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

P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

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

P.Adl. 16Pathyris100 BC

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

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
πρὸςpros to G4314 Preposition
700× 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
A preposition showing direction or relationship, like towards or with something, as seen in Mark 5:11 and John 18:16. This means indicating movement or direction. It's about showing proximity or connection.
Tyndale gloss
to/with
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πρός is a preposition that indicates direction, proximity, or relation. It can be used with the genitive to denote motion from a place, with the dative for local proximity, and with the accusative to express motion towards a place or object. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, such as Acts 27:34 for benefit and Mark 5:11 for proximity.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πρός,

prep. c. gen., dat., acc.

C. gen., of motion from a place, from the side of, hence metaph., in the interests of, Ac 27:34 (cf. Page, in l.).

C. dat., of local proximity, hard by, near, at: Mk 5:11, Lk 19:37, Jo 18:16 20:11, 12, Re 1:13.

C. acc., of motion or direction towards a place or object, to, towards.

Of place,

after verbs of motion or of speaking and other words with the idea of direction: ἔρχομαι, ἀναβαίνω, πορεύομαι, λέγω, ἐπιστολή, etc., Mt 3:14, Mk 6:51, Lk 11:5, Jo 2:3,

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

πρός, a preposition, i.q. Epic mpori, from πρό and the adverbial suffix τι, (cf. the German vor . . . hin [Curtius § 381]); it is joined I. with the AccusaTIvE, to, towards, Lat. ad, denoting direction towards athing, or position and state looking towards a thing (W. § 49h. p. 404 (378)): it is used 1. of the goal or limit towards which a movement is directed: πρός twa or τι, a. prop. after verbs of going, departing, running, coming, ete.: ἄγω, Jn. xi. 15; ἀναβαίνω, Mk. vi. 51; Jn. xx. 17; Acts xv. 2; ἀνακάμπτω, Mt. ii. 12; Acts xvili. 21; ἀνέρχομαι, Gal. i. 17 [1]. Tr mrg. arépy.]; ἀπέρχομαι, Mt. » xiv. 25 [Rec.]; Mk. iii. 13, etc.; πρὸς ἑαυτόν, to his house, Lk. xxiv. 12 [T om. L Trbr. WH reject the ys.; Tr reads mp. αὐτόν ; some connect the phrase w. θαυμάζων (see 2 Ὁ. below) ]; Jn. xx. 10 [Ὁ Tr αὐτούς, WH air. (cf. s. v. αὑτοῦ sub fin.)]; γίνεσθαι πρός τινα, to come to one, 1 Co.…

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

πρός reference to place PSI IV. 31178 (iv/A.D.?) πρ]ὸς τὴν Aavitk.ay τῆς κοίλης Dupials. Headlam (on Herodas VII. 123) holds that τὰ πρὸς τὴν θύραν in Mk 2? ‘‘is surely idiomatic (not vulgar as Moulton thinks) ‘spots which commanded the door’”: cf. Mt 310, Lk 35. For πρός, ‘‘with,” as in Jn ΤΡ, Heb 41%, cf. Epict. iv. 9. 13 πρὸς ὃν οὐδείς ἐστί σου πιθανώτερος (see Sharp Ξε, p. 92). And for the possibility that the difficult πρός in Mk 63, οἷ", 14%, Jn 1}, 1 Jn 1?, is to be explained as an Aramaism, see Rendel Harris Prologue to S. John’s Gospel p. 8f., and Burney Avamaic Origin of the Fourth Gospel p. 28 f. (6) of time = ‘‘for’’ (a time) and no longer—BGU I. 1131? (A.D. 143) βουλόμενος παρεπιδημεῖν πρὸς καιρόν (cf. Lk 818), P Oxy I. 6714 (A.D. 338) πρὸς ὀλίγον εἰσχύει, ‘‘withstands but for a short time” (cf. Jas 4), and P Flor III. 282° (A.D. 520) πρὸς ὅλον χρόνον. (c) of mental…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πρός (pros) — to/with.

πρός,

preposition, expressing direction,

__A on the side of, in the direction of, hence with genitive, dative, and accusative, from, at, to: Epic dialect also προτί and ποτί, in [Refs 8th c.BC+] usually with accusative, more rarely with dative, and each only once with genitive, [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—dialectal forms: Doric dialectποτί (which see) and ποί, but Cretan dialect πορτί [Refs], Argive προτ(ί) [Refs 7th c.BC+] πός [Refs 4th c.BC+]., also sometimes in Asia Minor in compounds, see at {ποσάγω},{ποσφέρω}; Aeolic dialect πρός [Refs 7th c.BC+]; πρές [Refs 6th c.AD+]; Pamphylian περτ (ί) [Refs] (With προτί, πρός cf. Sanskrit práti 'towards, near to, against, back, etc.', Slavonic protiv[ucaron], Lett. pret 'against', Latin pretium: ποτί (which see) and πός are not cognate) [Refs 4th c.BC+] refers to that from which something…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πρός

pros

a strengthened form of 4253; a preposition of direction; forward to,

i.e. toward (with the genitive case, the side of, i.e. pertaining to;

with the dative case, by the side of, i.e. near to; usually with the

accusative case, the place, time, occasion, or respect, which is the

destination of the relation, i.e. whither or for which it is

predicated):--about, according to , against, among, at, because of,

before, between, (where-)by, for, X at thy house, in, for intent, nigh

unto, of, which pertain to, that, to (the end that), X together, to

(you) -ward, unto, with(-in). In the comparative case, it denotes

essentially the same applications, namely, motion towards, accession

to, or nearness at.

see GREEK for 4253

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πρός

Prep.

to, towards, with

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πρός pros 700x

from; met. for the benefit of, Acts 27:34; with a dative, near, by, at, by the side of, in the vicinity of, Mk. 5:11; Lk. 19:37; with an accusative, used of the place to which anything tends, to, unto, towards, Mt. 2:12; 3:5, 13; at, close upon, Mt. 3:10; Mk. 5:22; near to, in the vicinity of, Mk. 6:45; after verbs of speaking, praying, answering to a charge, etc., to, Mt. 3:15; 27:14; of place where, with, in, among, by, at, etc., Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πρός prep. with gen., implying motion from a place; with dat., abiding at a place; with acc., motion to a place

WITH GEN.,

of Place, from, from forth, Hom., Soph.

on the side or quarter of, νήσοισι πρὸς Ἤλιδος islands looking (as it were) from Elis, i. e. towards Elis, Od.; πρὸς τοῦ Ἑλλησπόντου ἵδρυται μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦ Στρύμονος lies more towards (i. e. nearer) the Hellespont than the Strymon, Hdt.; ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο πρὸς Ὀλύνθου Thuc., etc.:—often with words denoting the points of the compass, δύω θύραι εἰσίν, αἱ μὲν πρὸς βορέαο, αἱ δ᾽ αὖ πρὸς νότου one looking north wards, the other south wards, Od.; so, οἰκέουσι πρὸς νότου ἀνέμου Hdt., etc.

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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
69%to
to69% · 506×with7% · 48×for6% · 42×toward4% · 30×against3% · 21×at3% · 20×unto2% · 18×other renderings5% · 37×other renderings1% · 10×

732 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 32 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial93%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 700 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
ἔρχομαιI come, go
καίand, even, also,Article theνύξthe night, night
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakArticle theπαραγίνομαιI appear, come,
αὐτός
ἄγωI leadφέρωI carry, bear, bμαθητήςa learner, disci
ἐγώ
ὑπέρσῶμαbody, fleshυἱόςa son, descenden
πρόςto700×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, θεόςGod, a godμαθητήςa learner, disci
αὐτός
Article theλέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,
σύ
καίand, even, also,ἐνἔρχομαιI come, go
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,Article theοὐNeg
ἀλλήλων
τίςIrgλέγωI say, speakμήNeg

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

Concordanceπρός · 700× in the New Testament
Luke Acts John Mark Matthew 2 Corinthians 1 Corinthians Hebrews Romans Ephesians 1 Thessalonians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 3c. AD 40

ἡ δ’ ἀρχή, καθάπερ ἔφην, ἐστὶ θαυμασιωτάτη κοσμοποιίαν περιέχουσα, ὡς καὶ τοῦ κόσμου τῷ νόμῳ καὶ τοῦ νόμου τῷ κόσμῳ συνᾴδοντος καὶ τοῦ νομίμου ἀνδρὸς εὐθὺς ὄντος κοσμοπολίτου πρὸς τὸ βούλημα τῆς φύσεως τὰς πράξεις ἀπευθύνοντος, καθ’ ἣν καὶ ὁ σύμπας…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.4c. AD 75–95

τὸν μὲν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους πόλεμον ἡμῖν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις γενόμενον καὶ τὰς ἐν αὐτῷ πράξεις καὶ τὸ τέλος οἷον ἀπέβη πείρᾳ μαθὼν ἐβιάσθην ἐκδιηγήσασθαι διὰ τοὺς ἐν τῷ γράφειν λυμαινομένους τὴν ἀλήθειαν,

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.3c. AD 100

τούτων οὖν μενόντων τὰ πρὸς κύριον ἁγνῶς, συνευφραίνονται αὐτοῖς σοφία, σύνεσις, ἐπιστήμη, γνῶσις.

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.Grenf. 1 28Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)109 BC

r … πυρὸν νέον καθαρὸν ἄδολον μέτρωι ὧι καὶ παρείληφεν καὶ ἀποκαθεστάμενον εἰς οἶκον πρὸς αὐτὸν ἰδίοις ἀνηλώμασιν. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶι ἐν τῶι ὡρισμένωι χρόνωι ἢ μὴ ποιῆ

P.Amh. 2 48Pathyris107 BC

παρεχέτω τὸν οἶνον μόνιμον ἕως Ἁθὺρ λ τοῦ δεκάτου ἔτους, καὶ ἀποκαταστησάτω εἰς οἶκον πρὸς αὐτὴν τοῖς ἰδίοις. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῷ ἐν τῷ ὡρισμένῳ χρόνῳ ἀποτεισάτω ἑκάστου κεραμίου

P.Grenf. 1 30Pathyris104 BC

πᾶσι χαίρειν καὶ ἐρρωμένοις διὰ παντὸς εὐημερεῖν. ὑγιαίνομεν δὲ καὶ αὐτοί. μεταλαβόντες τοὺς συντετελεσμένους πρὸς τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς Ἑρμωνθίτας ἀγῶνας μεγάλως ἐχάρημεν. ἐπεὶ οὖν προκεχειρίκαμεν προστάτην τοῦ μεγίστου θεοῦ Νεχθφαραῦτος

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
αὐτὸνautos Him G846 Personal pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
5,550× 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 pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P-ASM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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

5,861 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 92 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object33%adverbial28%indirect object19%subject18%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 5,561 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςHim5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
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

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
Νικόδημος·Nikodēmos Nicodemus; G3530 Noun · nominative · singular · masculine
5× 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
Nicodemus was a Jewish leader who secretly followed Jesus, as seen in John 3:1 and 7:50. His name means victorious among his people, which is ironic given his secretive faith.
Tyndale gloss
Nicodemus
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word Νικόδημος (i.e., *Nikodemos*) means 'victorious among his people.' It refers specifically to Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in the New Testament, particularly in the Gospel of John. The entries indicate that this name is used consistently in the context of Nicodemus's interactions with Jesus.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Νικόδημος, -ου, ὁ,

Nicodemus: Jo 3:1, 4, 9 7:50 19:39.†

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

Νικόδημος, (νίκη and δῆμος [i. e. ‘conqueror of the peuple’ ]), -ov, 6, Nicodemus, (rabbin. 172. 2}, a member of the Sanhedrin who took the part of Jesus: Jn. iii. 1, 4,9; vit. 505; xix. 39.

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

Νικόδημος. For this proper name, which is common both to Greeks and Jews, cf. P Hib I. 110 verso, 7,105 (ς, B.c. 255), BGU IV. 1132 (B.c. 13) Νικοδείμον, P Flor I. 62° (a.p. 201) Νικόδημον βουλευτήν, and the Indexes to Sy// and Preisigke’s Sammelbuch.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

Νικόδημος (Nikodēmos) — Nicodemus.

Νικόδημος, -ου, ὁ

Nicodemus: Jhn.3:1, 4 3:9 7:50 19:39.†

(From Abbott-Smith. LSJ has no entry)

Strong's Greek Dictionary

Νικόδημος

Nikodemos

from 3534 and 1218; victorious among his people; Nicodemus, an

Israelite:--Nicodemus.

see GREEK for 3534

see GREEK for 1218

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Νικόδημος, ου, ὁ

n.m.

Nicodemus

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Νικόδημος Nikodēmos 5x

Nicodemus, pr. name, Jn. 3:1, 4, 9; 7:50; 19:39*

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
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

nik-o-de'-mus (Nikodemos): A Pharisee and a "ruler of the Jews," mentioned only by John. He

(1) interviewed Christ at Jerusalem and was taught by Him the doctrine of the New Birth (Joh 3:1-15),

(2) defended Him before the Sanhedrin (Joh 7:50-52), and

(3) assisted at His burial (Joh 19:39-42).

1. The Interview:

This meeting, which it has been surmised took place in the house of John (Joh 3:1-15), was one of the results of our Lord's ministry at Jerusalem during the first Passover (compare Joh 3:2 with Joh 2:23). Although Nicodemus had been thus won to believe in the divine…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Nicodemus

The people is victor, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He is first noticed as visiting Jesus by night (John 3:1-21) for the purpose of learning more of his doctrines, which our Lord then unfolded to him, giving prominence to the necessity of being “born again.” He is next met with in the Sanhedrin (7:50-52), where he protested against the course they were taking in plotting against Christ. Once more he is mentioned as taking part in the preparation for the anointing and burial of the body of Christ (John 19:39). We hear nothing more of him. There can be little doubt that he became a true disciple.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(conqueror of the people), a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews and a teacher of Israel, (John 3:1,10) whose secret visit to our Lord was the occasion of the discourse recorded only by St. John. In Nicodemus a noble candor and a simple love of truth shine out in the midst of hesitation and fear of man. He finally became a follower of Christ, and came with Joseph of Arimathaea to take down and embalm the body of Jesus.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, at first a Pharisee, and afterwards a disciple of Jesus. He was early convinced that Christ came from God, but was not ready at once to rank himself among His followers. In Joh 3:1-20, he first appears as a timid inquirer after the truth, learning the great doctrines of regeneration and atonement. In Joh 7:45-52, we see him cautiously defending the Savior before the Sanhedrin. At last, in the trying scene of the crucifixion, he avowed himself a believer, and came with Joseph of Arimathea to pay the last duties to the body of Christ, which they took down from the cross, embalmed, and laid in the sepulchre, Joh 19:39.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%nicodemus
nicodemus100% · 5×

5 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 1 different way. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject80%predicate20%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 5 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
Φαρισαῖοςa Pharisee
Article the
Article the
αὐτός
ἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also, nam
δέbut, on the othe
ΝικόδημοςNicodemus;
what comes after →
ὄνομαname, character, rep
αὐτός
πῶς
δύναμαιI am powerful, a
καίand, even, also, nam
λέγωI say, speak
πρός
αὐτός
Article the
ἔρχομαιI come, go

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

ConcordanceΝικόδημος · 5× in the New Testament
John
Across the New Testament1 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 14.37c. AD 75–95

Μετʼ οὐ πολὺ δὲ ἧκον πάλιν πρέσβεις πρὸς αὐτὸν Ἀντίπατρος μὲν ὑπὲρ Ὑρκανοῦ, Νικόδημος δὲ ὑπὲρ Ἀριστοβούλου, ὃς δὴ καὶ κατηγόρει τῶν λαβόντων χρήματα Γαβινίου μὲν πρότερον Σκαύρου δὲ ὕστερον, τοῦ μὲν τριακόσια τοῦ δὲ τετρακόσια τάλαντα, πρὸς τοῖς…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 1st c. AD 2nd c. BC 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Diosk. 6Herakleopolites147 BC

ὥρμησαν . μετὰ δὲ τὸ παραδοθῆναι τοὺς διασαφουμένους Ἐπιμάχωι τῶι παρὰ τοῦ φρουράρχου ἐπιπαραγενηθέντες Νικόδημός τις καὶ Ἀσκληπιάδης καὶ ἄλλοι πλείονες ὡσαύτως μεθύοντες καὶ ἀκούσαντες ἔνδον εἶναι ἡμᾶς εἰσεβιάζοντο

P.Oxy. Hels. 12OxyrhynchosAD 99

Γερμανικείου ε διὰ Διδύμου καὶ μετόχων τραπεζιτῶν λαογραφίας β ἔτους Δρόμου Γυμνασίου Διογᾶς καὶ Νικόδημος καὶ Ὥριμος καὶ Σαραπᾶς καὶ Ἡρακλᾶς καὶ Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ καὶ Εὔπορος καὶ Διόσκορος δοῦλος

CdÉ 24 (1949), p. 309-HermopolisAD 285

Αὐρηλία … ἡ καὶ Ἡσυχία πέπρακα καὶ ἀπέσχον τὴν τιμὴν ἐκ πλήρους … Αὐρήλιος Νικόδημος ὁ καὶ Κύριλλος … Αὐρήλιος … ὁ καὶ … ἐξωδίασα ὡς πρόκειται. … ειτεεν

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
πῶςpōs How G4459 Adverb · interrogative
118× 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
How is a question about the way something is done, as in Matthew 12:29, or an exclamation of surprise, like how much something is.
Amplified meaning
in what way, by what means
Tyndale gloss
how?!
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word πῶς (transliterated as pōs) is an interrogative adverb meaning 'how' or 'in what manner.' It appears in direct questions, indirect discourse, and exclamations, often seeking clarification or expressing astonishment. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, including Matthew 12:29 and John 3:4. Notably, Liddell-Scott mentions its use to express displeasure or doubt.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πῶς, interrog. adv., correl. of ὅπως,

prop., in direct questions, how?: c. indic., Mt 12:29, Mk 3:23, Lk 11:18, Jo 3:4, al.; καὶ π., Mk 4:13, Lk 20:44; π. οὖν, Mt 12:26; π. οὐ, Mt 16:11, Lk 12:56; in deliberative questions (cf. Bl., § 64, 6), c. subjc., Mt 23:33 26:54; π. οὖν, Ro 10:14; π. δέ, Read the full entry →

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

πῶς, (fr. obsol. OS, whence ποῦ, ποῖ, etc. [ef. Curtius § 631]), adv., [fr. Hom. down] ; I. in interroga tion; how? in what way ?— in a direct question, foll. by a. the indicative, it is the expression a. of one seeking information and desiring to be taught: Lk. 1.84; x. 26; Jn.iii.9; ix. 26; 1 Co. xv. 35 [cf. W. 266 (250)]; πῶς οὖν, Jn. ix. 10 Tdf. (but L WH br. οὖν), 19; Ro. iv. 10. B. of one about to controvert another, and emphatically deny that the thing inquired about has happened or been done: Mt. xii. 29; Mk. iii. 23; Lk xi.18; Jn. iii. 4,12; v.44,47; vi.52; ix.16; 1 Jn. iii. 17; iv. 20; Ro. iii. 6; vi. 2; 1 Co. xiv. 7, 9,16; 1 Tim. iii. 5; Heb. ii. 3; καὶ πῶς, Mk. iv. 13; Jn. xiv. 5 [here L txt. Tr WHom. καί]; πῶς οὖν, Mt. xii. 26; Ro. x. 14 RG; mas δέ, Ro. x. 14

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

πῶς, “*how,” 2 “in what manner,” (a) in direct questions— P Oxy IV. 7441? (B.c. 1) (= Selections, Ὁ. 33) πῶς Sivapal oe ἐπιλαθεῖν : “how can I forget you?” Cf. Ac 85! πῶς yap ἂν δυναίμην; which Field (Vo/es, p. 117) renders, ““Why, how can I?” For the exclamatory πῶς, as in Mk 1074, cf. Philemon fy. 2 ὦ πῶς πονηρόν ἐστιν ἀνθρώπου φύσις | τὸ σύνολον, Epict. Aan. 24. 3 Opare ὑμεῖς, πῶς ἄνισοί ἐστε kal ἀγνώμονες ; see further K. Rupprecht in Philologus \xxx. (V. F. xxxiv.), 1924, p- 207. (6) in indirect discourse—P Oxy IV. 745° (c. A.D. 1) οὐκ οἶδας yap πῶς μοι ἐχρήσατο ἐν ᾿Οξυρύγχοις, ‘‘ you don't know how he treated me at Oxyrhynchus(?),” P Tebt II. 4o8* (A.D. 3) ἐπιστάμενος πῶς σε τίθεμαι Ke φιλῶ, “since you know how I esteem and love you”’ (Edd.) (cf. Ac 2018), P Oxy II. 29474 (A.p. 22) (= Selections, p. 36) γράψον μοι πῶς πάλιν ἄνω Aadaxeverat, “‘ write me how his hair is growing…

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

πῶς (pōs) — how?!.

πῶς,

Ionic dialect κῶς, interrogative adverb of Manner, how? [Refs 8th c.BC+]; sometimes to express displeasure, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; to express astonishment or doubt, π. εἶπα; [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. λέγει; [Refs]; π. φῄ; [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. τοῦτ᾽ ἔλεξα; [Refs 4th c.BC+]; π. τοῦτ᾽ εἶπες α; [Refs 5th c.BC+]; also π. μὴ φῶμεν..; surely we must, [Refs]

__b in dialogue, to ask explanation, with a repetition of a word used by the previous speaker, δίκαια— Answ. π. δίκαι; [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μὴ δίκαιος ὤν—Answ. π. μὴ δίκαιο; [Refs]; συμβολάς—Answ. π. συμβολά; [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; πῶς alone, how so, π., ὅς γε..; [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

πῶς πώς

pos

adverb from the base of 4226; an interrogative particle of manner; in

what way? (sometimes the question is indirect, how?); also as

exclamation, how much!:--how, after (by) what manner (means), that.

(Occasionally unexpressed in English).

see GREEK for 4226

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πῶς

Adv. & Irg.adv.

how, in what manner

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

ADV-I ADVerb or adverb and particle combined Interrogative

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Represents various Hebrew and Greek words, interrogative, interjectional and relative. Its different uses refer to

(1) the manner or way, e.g. Ge 44:34, "How shall I go up to my father?" ('ekh); Mt 6:28, "how they grow" (pos); 1Co 15:35, "How are the dead raised?";

(2) degree, extent, frequently, "how great" (Da 4:3, mah; Mr 5:19, hosos, "how much"); "how many" (Mt 27:13, posos); "how much" (Ac 9:13, hosos); "how much more" (Mt 7:11, posos;

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

Counted over the 65 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 68c. AD 40

ἡνίκα γὰρ ζῷα διαπλάττειν ἔδοξε τῷ δημιουργῷ, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα τῇ τάξει φαυλότερά πως ἦν, ἰχθύες, τὰ δ’ ὕστατα ἄριστα, ἄνθρωποι, τὰ δ’ ἄλλα μέσα τῶν ἄκρων, ἀμείνω μὲν τῶν προτέρων, χείρω δὲ τῶν ἑτέρων, χερσαῖα καὶ πτηνά.

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

πῶς τὸ Σοδομιτῶν ἔθνος θεὸς κατεστρέψατο χολωθεὶς αὐτοῖς ἐφ' οἷς ἡμάρτανον.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.9c. AD 100

αἰσθάνεσθαι οὖν ὀφείλομεν, μὴ ὄντες ἀσύνετοι, τὴν γνώμην τῆς ἀγαθωσύνης τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν, ὅτ̓ ἡμῖν λέγει, θέλων ἡμᾶς μὴ ὁμοίως πλανωμένους ἐκείνοις ζητεῖν, πῶς προσάγωμεν αὐτῷ.

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

Ζήνωνι. νυκτὸς ἐκ τοῦ σιτοβολῶνος ἀπόλωλεν σήσαμον καὶ λελέανται τῆι χειρί. διὸ οὐ δυνάμεθά πως ἐπιμετρήσαντες ἰδεῖν τὸ ἀπολωλὸς ἕως ἂν ὑμεῖς ἴδητε καὶ ἐναντίον ὑμῶν ἐπιμετρηθῆι.

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59455Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)249 BC–248 BC

οὐκ ἔχομεν ὀψώνιον οὐδὲ διαλελογισμένοι εἰσὶν ἡμῖν, καὶ σιτομετρίαν διμήνου οὐκ ἔχομεν. συνεπισκέψει οὖν πῶς ζῶμεν. ἔδωκαν δὲ ἡμῖν ἑκάστωι κεράμιον οἴνου καὶ σίτου ἑκάστωι ἔδωκαν εἰς τὸ

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

ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, ὅπως μὴ ἐκεῖ καταστασιασθῶμεν ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐκ τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς αἰσθήσει πῶς τοὺς λοιποὺς τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ νομοῦ διατίθησιν.

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
δύναταιdunamai is able G1410 Verb · present · no voice stated · indicative · third person · singular
209× 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 able or have power, as in Matthew 6:24 and Mark 2:7, meaning to have the capability or strength to do something.
Tyndale gloss
be able
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δύναμαι, transliterated as dunamai, means 'to be able' or 'to have power.' It can refer to personal ability, permission, or opportunity. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, such as in Matthew 6:24 and Mark 2:7. The lexicons indicate that it can be used with an infinitive or an accusative, but there is some variation in the forms and usages noted in different sources.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δύναμαι, depon.,

[in LXX chiefly for יָכֹל ;]

to be able, have power, whether by personal ability, permission, or opportunity: c. inf. (M, Pr., 205; WM, § 44, 3) pres., Mt 6:24, Mk 2:7, Jo 3:2, I Co 10:21, al.; c. inf. aor., Mt 3:9, Mk 1:45, Jo 3:3, 4 Ro 8:39, al.; c. acc., to be able to do something: Mk 9:22, Lk 12:26; II Co 13:8; absol., to be able, capable, powerful: Read the full entry →

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

δύναμαι, depon. verb, pres. indic. 2 pers. sing. δύνασαι and, acc. to a rarer form occasional in the poets and fr. Polyb. on to be met with in prose writ. also (cf. Lob. ad Phryn. p. 359; [ WH. App. p.168; W.§ 18, 2b.; Veitch 8. v.]), δύνῃ (Mk. ix. 22 sq. L T Tr WH; [Lk. xvi. 2 T WH Tr txt. ]; Rey. ii. 2); impf. ἐδυνάμην and Attic ἠδυνάμην, between which forms the Mss. and editions are almost everywhere divided, [in Mk. vi. 19; xiv. 5; Lk. Vili. 19; xix. 3; Jn. ix. 33; xii. 39 all edd. read 78., so RG in Mt. xxvi. 9; Lk. i. 22; Jn. xi. 37; Rev. xiv. 3; on the other hand, in Mt. xxii. 46; Lk. i. 22; Jn. xi. 37; Rey. xiv. 3, L T Tr WH all read ἐδ., so T WH in Mt. xxvi. 9; RGin Mt. xxii. 46. Cf. WH. App. p. 162; W. § 12, 1b.; B. 83 (29) ]; fut. δυνήσομαι ; 1 aor. ἠδυνήθην and (in Mk. vii. 24 T WH, after codd. 8B only; in Mt. xvii. 16 cod. B) ἠδυνάσθην (cf. [WH τι. 5. and p. 169]; Kiihner §…

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

δύναμαι. The following exx. of this common verb may be cited— P Par 471° (c. B.C. 153) (= Selections, p. 22) ἐνβέβληκαν (sc. οἱ θεοὶ) ὑμᾶς εἰς ὕλην μεγάλην Kal οὗ δυνάμεθα ἀποθανεῖν, ““they have cast us into a great forest, where we may possibly die,” P Oxy IV. 743% (B.c. 2) οὐκ ἠδυνάσθην συντυχεῖν ᾿Α., “1 was unable to meet A.,” 26. 7γ4413 (B.c. 1) [ΞΞ Selections, p. 33) πῶς δύναμαί σε ἐπιλαθεῖν ; ‘how can I forget you?”, P Lond 144™ (?i/a.p.) (ΞΞ 11. p. 253) ἵνα δυνηθῇ τὸ παιδάριόν μου ἐλθεῖν mpd[s ple, P Oxy LIT. 47218 (4 A.D. 130) οὐ δύναται γὰρ κεκλέφθαι τὸ μηδ᾽ ἀρχὴν γενόμενον μὴ δυνατὸν δ᾽ εἶναι, ‘for it is impossible for that to have been stolen which neither ever existed at all nor could exist” (Edd.). It takes an ace. ve? (as in Lk 1255) in P Ryl IL. 7758 (A.p. 192) οὐ yap δύναμαι κοσμητείαν. In P Leid {50 (ii/B.c.) ἔφη δύνασθαι τὰ ἔργα πάντα ἐπιτελέσιν ἐν ἡλι (?—was ὀλίγαις…

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

δύναμαι (dunamai) — be able.

δύνᾰμαι [ῠ],

2nd pers. singular δύνασαι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect and Doric dialect δύνᾳ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; δύνῃ is subjunctive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect 3rd.pers. plural δυνέαται [Refs 5th c.BC+]; subjunctive δύνωμαι, Ionic dialect 2nd pers. singular δύνηαι [Refs 8th c.BC+]: imperfect 2nd pers. singular ἐδύνω [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect 3rd.pers. plural ἐδυνέατο [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future δυνήσομαι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Doric dialect δυνᾱσοῦμαι [Refs 4th c.BC+]: aorist ἐδυνησάμην [Refs 8th c.BC+], Epic dialect δυν- [Refs]; subjunctive δυνήσωνται [Refs 7th c.BC+], never in good Attic dialect, falsa lectio in [Refs 4th c.BC+]passive forms, Epic dialect, Ionic dialect, Lyric poetry, ἐδυνάσθην or δυνάσθην [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect Prose ἐδυνήθην [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect δεδύνημαι [Refs 4th c.BC+] —The double…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δύναμαι

dunamai

of uncertain affinity; to be able or possible:--be able, can (do, +

-not), could, may, might, be possible, be of power.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δύναμαι

v.

I am powerful, am able

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δύναμαι dynamai 210x

to be able, either intrinsically and absolutely, which is the ordinary signification; or, for specific reasons, Mt. 9:15; Lk. 16:2 See ability; (be) able; can.

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δύναμαι decl. in pres. and imperf. like ἵσταμαι Dep.

to be able, capable, strong enough to do, c. inf., Hom., etc.; but the inf. is often omitted, Ζεὺς δύναται ἅπαντα [sc. ποιεῖν] Od.; so also, μέγα δυνάμενος very powerful, mighty, id. Od.; οἱ δυνάμενοι men of power, Eur., Thuc.; δυνάμενος παρά τινι having influence with him, Hdt., etc.

to be able, i. e. to dare or bear to do a thing, οὐδὲ ποιήσειν δύναται Od.; οὐκέτι ἐδύνατο βιοτεύειν Thuc.

with ὡς and a Sup., ὡς ἐδύναντο ἀδηλότατα as secretly as they could, id. Thuc.; ὡς δύναμαι μάλιστα as much as I possibly can, Plat.; or simply ὡς ἐδύνατο in the best way he could, Xen.

to pass for, i. e.

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PNI-3S — Verb · present · no voice stated · indicative · third person · singular
present no voice stated indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PNI-3S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: middle or passive depoNent Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Singular

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a'-b'-l: The Greek dunamai, "to have power," may refer either to inherent strength, or to the absence of in external obstacles, or to what may be allowable or permitted. The Greek ischuo, as in Lu 13:24; Joh 21:6, refers always to the first of the above meanings. The use of the word as an adjective the King James Version of 2Co 3:6, is misleading, and has been properly changed in the Revised Version (British and American) into "sufficient as ministers," i.e. "hath fitted us to be ministers."

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
38%able
able38% · 78×you are able12% · 24×being able10% · 21×he is able5% · 10×you able3% · 7×be able3% · 7×will be able3% · 6×they were able3% · 6×other renderings23% · 48×

207 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 33 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 209 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
καίand, even, also,σύὅτιthat, since, bec
μήNeg
καίand, even, also,ἸησοῦςJesusὥστεso that, therefo
οὐδείςno one, none, nothin
καίand, even, also,οὐκέτιNegἐν
Article the
πρόςμᾶλλονmore, ratherοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
πῶς
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakDisj
δύναμαιis able209×
what comes after →
Article the
υἱόςa son, descendenθεόςGod, a godπροσέρχομαιI come near, con
αὐτός
θεραπεύωI care for, atteμηδέNegδέωI bind
σῴζωI save, heal
βασιλεύςa king, ruler, eαὐτόςArticle the
ἔρχομαιI come, go
πρόςκαίand, even, also,
ἐγώ
καθαρίζωI make cleanποιέωI do, makeνῦνnow, already, at

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

Concordanceδύναμαι · 209× in the New Testament
John Mark Matthew Luke Acts 1 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews James Ephesians Romans 1 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament19 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 159 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 21c. AD 40

οὗ χάριν τῆς ἀρίστης αὑτοῦ φύσεως οὐκ ἐφθόνησεν οὐσίᾳ μηδὲν ἐξ αὑτῆς ἐχούσῃ καλόν, δυναμένῃ δὲ πάντα γίνεσθαι.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.215c. AD 75–95

Σάρρα δὲ γεννηθέντα τὸν Ἰσμαῆλον ἐκ τῆς δούλης αὐτῆς Ἀγάρης τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἔστεργεν οὐδὲν ἀπολείπουσα τῆς πρὸς ἴδιον υἱὸν εὐνοίας, ἐτρέφετο γὰρ ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς ἡγεμονίας διαδοχῇ, τεκοῦσα δʼ αὐτὴ τὸν Ἴσακον οὐκ ἠξίου παρατρέφεσθαι τούτῳ τὸν Ἰσμαῆλον ὄντα…

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

Δεῖ οὖν ἡμᾶς περὶ τῶν ἐνεστώτων ἐπιπολὺ ἐραυνῶντας ἐκζητεῖν τὰ δυνάμενα ἡμᾶς σώζειν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
P.Edg. $1Syrien253 BC

τε ἐπιμελόμενος ἵνα ὑγιαίνηις καὶ ἡμῖν γράφων ἐάν τί σοι βούληι γίνεσθαι ὧν ἡμεῖς δυνάμεθα. καλῶς δʼ ἂν ποιήσαις ἀγοράσας ἡμῖν ἵνα ὡς ἂν παραγενώμεθα ἔχωμεν μέλιτος τοῦ βελτίστου

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59330Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)249 BC

φόρωι τοῦ λζ ἔτους, συνφωνήσας Ἡρακλείδης μετὰ Θοτέως αὐτοὶ ἄνευ ἡμῶν διελογίσαντο καὶ οὐ δυνάμεθα παρακολουθῆσαι τί πεποιήκασιν ἕως τοῦ νῦν, οὐδὲ αἰτούμενοι τὸν λόγον ἐτόλμησαν ἡμῖν δοῦναι. καὶ

τι καταπεφύτευκεν ἀμπέλωι, κατεγνωκὼς τῶι γυναῖκας ἡμᾶς εἶναι καὶ ἑτέρωι τόπωι κατοικούσας μὴ εὐχερῶς δύνασθαι ἐπιβαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν σημαινομένην κτῆσιν. Διὸ καταπεφευγυῖαι ἐπὶ σὲ, ἀξιοῦμεν, ἐὰν φαίνηται, μεταπεμψάμενον αὐτὸν

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
ἄνθρωποςanthrōpos a man G444 Noun · nominative · singular · masculine
548× 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 a human being, and is used in the Bible to describe people, like in John 16:21 and Romans 7:1.
Amplified meaning
a human being, an individual
Tyndale gloss
a human
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (i.e., *anthropos*) means 'man' or 'human being,' encompassing both males and females. It is derived from roots meaning 'man-faced' and is used in various contexts throughout the New Testament, such as to distinguish humans from God and animals. The term can imply human frailty and is often used in phrases that reflect human nature or condition.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἄνθρωπος, -ου, ὁ,

[in LXX chiefly for אָדָם, אִישׁ, also for אֱנוֹשׁ, etc.;]

man:

generically, a human being, male or female (Lat. homo): Jo 16:21; c. art., Mt 4:4 12:35, Mk 2:27, Jo 2:25, Ro 7:1, al; disting. from God, Mt 19:6, Jo 10:33, Col 3:23, al.; from animals, etc., Mt 4:19, Lk 5:10, Re 9:4, al.; implying human frailty and imperfection, I Co 3:4; σοφία ἀνθρώπων,

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

ἄνθρωπος, -ov, 6, [perh. fr. ἀνήρ and oy, i. e. man’s face; Curtius § 422; Vaniéek p.9. From Hom. down]; man. Tt is used 1. univ., with ref. to the genus or nature, without distinction of sex, a human being, whether male or female: Jn. xvi. 31. And in this sense a. with the article, generically, so as to include all human individuals: Mt. iv. 4 (ἐπ᾿ ἄρτῳ ζήσεται 6 ἄνθρωπος) ; Mt. xii. 35 (ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθ. every good person); Mt. xv. 11, 18; Mk. ii. 27; vil. 15, 18, 20; Lk.iv.4; Jn. ii. 25 [W. § 18, 8]; vii. 51; Ro. vii.1,ete. b. so that a man is distinguished from beings of a different race or order; a. from animals, plants, ete.: Lk. v.10; Mt.iv.19; xii. 12; 2 Pet. ii. 16; Rev. ix. 4, 7, 10, 15,18; xi. 13, ete. β. from God, from Christ as divine, and from angels: Mt. x. 32; xix. 6; Mk. x. 9; Lk. 11. 15 [Ὁ WH om., L Tr br.] (opp. to angels); Jn. x. 33; Acts x. 26; xiv.11; 1 Th. ii. 13…

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

ἄνθρωπος, like ἀνήρ, has kept its differentia practically unchanged from Homer to MGr. It is interesting to notice its philosophical abstract ἀνθρωπότης vouched for as fairly popular Greek by Vettius Valens (p. 346%, in antith. to ἀθανασία), passing into Christian theology (see LS and Sophocles Zex.), and current in MGr. The NT has no trace of the curious misuse by which the principal difference between a. and ἀνήρ is ignored: Tob 65 ἀνθρώπου ἢ γυναικός. P Flor |. 61 (a.p. 86-8) ἄξιος μ[ὲ]ν ἧς μαστιγωθῆναι, διὰ σεαυτοῦ [κ]Ἰατασχὼν ἄνθρωπον εἰσχήμονα καὶ yuv[ai]kas is not parallel, as a. only means as little is Jn 772. (Grimm). Another case of ἄνθρωπος invading the sphere of ἀνήρ is the Matthzean locution ἄ, οἰκοδεσπότης, βασιλεύς, φαγός etc. though not Attic: Mt may have got it from LXX (so Lev 21° ἀνθρώπου ἱερέως). Some papyrus passages may be cited, though little is needed. The…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) — a human.

ἄνθρωπος, ἡ,

Attic dialect crasis ἅνθρωπος, Ionic dialect ὥνθρωπος, for ὁ ἄνθρ-:— man, both as a generic term and of individuals, [Refs 8th c.BC+], opposed to gods, ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων τ᾽ ἀνθρώπων[Refs 8th c.BC+]; πρὸς ἠοίων ἢ ἑσπερίων ἀνθρώπων the men of the east or of the west, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; even of the dead in the Isles of the Blest,[Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. [Refs 5th c.BC+] uses it both with and without the Article to denote man generically, ὁ ἄ. θείας μετέσχε μοίρας[Refs]; ὁ ἄ. the ideal man, humanity, ἀπώλεσας τὸν ἄ., οὐκ ἐπλήρωσας τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν[Refs 2nd c.AD+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἄνθρωπος

anthropos

from 435 and ops (the countenance; from 3700); man-faced, i.e. a human

being:--certain, man.

see GREEK for 435

see GREEK for 3700

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἄνθρωπος, ου, ὁ

n.m.

a man, one of the human race

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos 550x

a human being, Jn. 16:21; Phil. 2:7; an individual, Rom. 3:28, et al. freq.; used also pleonastically with other words, Mt. 11:19; et al.; met. the spiritual frame of the inner man, Rom. 7:22; Eph. 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:4

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἄνθρωπος prob. from ἀνήρ, ὤψ, manfaced man, Lat. homo (not vir), opp. to gods, ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν, χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων τ᾽ ἀνθρώπων Il.

with or without the Art. to denote man generally, Plat., etc.

in pl. mankind, ἀνθρώπων, ἀνδρῶν ἠδὲ γυναικῶν Il.; ὁ ἄριστος ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὄρτυξ the best quail in the world, Plat.; μάλιστα, ἥκιστα ἀνθρώπων most, least of all, Hdt., etc.

with another Subst., to give it a contemptuous sense, ἄνθρ. ὑπογραμματεύς, συκοφάντης, Oratt.; so homo histrio Cic.:—so, ἄνθρωπος or ὁ ἄνθρωπος was used alone, the man, the fellow, Plat.:— also in vocat. it was addressed contemptuously to slaves, ἄνθρωπε or ὦ 'νθρωπε, sirrah! you sir! Hdt., Plat.

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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
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

See ANTHROPOLOGY.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Man

(1.) Heb. ‘Adam, used as the proper name of the first man. The name is derived from a word meaning “to be red,” and thus the first man was called Adam because he was formed from the red earth. It is also the generic name of the human race (Gen. 1:26, 27; 5:2; 8:21; Deut. 8:3). Its equivalents are the Latin homo and the Greek anthropos (Matt. 5:13, 16). It denotes also man in opposition to woman (Gen. 3:12; Matt. 19:10).

(2.) Heb. ‘ish, like the Latin vir and Greek aner, denotes properly a man in opposition to a woman (1 Sam. 17:33;

→ CREATED Ge 1:26,27; 2:7; 5:1,2; De 4:32; Job 4:17; 10:2,3,8,9; 31:15; 33:4; 35:10; Ps 8:5; 100:3; 119:73; 138:8; 139:14; Ec 7:29; Isa 17:7; 42:5; 43:7; 45:12; 64:8; Jer 27:5; Zec 12:1; Mal 2:10; Mr 10:6; Heb 2:7

See CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD, below

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
59%man
man59% · 328×men33% · 185×a man2% · 13×other renderings6% · 33×

559 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 21 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
subject43%adverbial24%object17%predicate9%indirect object5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 548 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
υἱόςa son, descendenκοινόωI make unclean, ἀπό
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
εἰςπρόςδέbut, on the othe
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
καίand, even, also,ἐξέρχομαιI go out, come oλέγωI say, speak
ἐκ
DisjλέγωI say, speakεἰμίI am, exist
ἐγώ
γάρforὅτιthat, since, becΠαῦλοςPaul
ἄνθρωποςa man548×
what comes after →
Article the
δέbut, on the otheπατήρfather, Father, Article the
οὗτος
ὅςδίκαιοςjust, righteous,καίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
ὑπόκαίand, even, also,Article the
ἐν
Article theμαλακόςsoft, effeminateπνεῦμαwind, breath, sp

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

Concordanceἄνθρωπος · 548× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke John Mark Acts 1 Corinthians Romans Revelation Galatians 1 Timothy Hebrews Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 708 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 25c. AD 40

τὴν γοῦν ἀνθρώπου γένεσιν ἀναγράφων ἐν τοῖς ἔπειτα διαρρήδην ὁμολογεῖ, ὡς ἄρα κατ’ εἰκόνα θεοῦ διετυπώθη (Gen.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.16c. AD 75–95

γέγονε γὰρ πρὸ ἐτῶν δισχιλίων, ἐφʼ ὅσον πλῆθος αἰῶνος οὐδʼ αὐτῶν οἱ ποιηταὶ τὰς γενέσεις τῶν θεῶν, μήτι γε τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων πράξεις ἢ τοὺς νόμους ἀνενεγκεῖν ἐτόλμησαν.

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

οὐ ταύτην τὴν νηστείαν ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην, λέγει κύριος, οὐκ ἄνθρωπον ταπεινοῦντα τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ,

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC 3rd c. AD
P.Cair. Zen. 3 59301Philadelphia (Arsinoites)251 BC

Ψύχεως. καλῶς ἂν οὖν ποιήσαις διέμενος αὐτόν, καθὰ ἐν πόλει μοι ἐπηγγείλω. ἔστιν γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἡμῖν χρήσιμος. ἔρρωσο. ἔτους λϛ, Παχώνς.

P.Giss. 1 39Theben206 BC–181 BC

ἀεὶ χρόνου. ἐὰν δέ τίς σοι ἐπέλθηι ἔκ τε τοῦ ἐμοῦ ὀνόματος ἢ ἄλλου ἀνθρώπου, ἀνεπιεικὲς ἐκστήσω αὐτὸν ἀπὸ σοῦ περὶ αὐτῶν καὶ βεβαιώσω σοι αὐτὰ ἀπὸ συναλλαγμάτων καὶ

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

ντων ὑμῶν διαλήψεως … καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν οὐδενός … ς ἀξιοῦμεν … ἀνθρώπου ἀλόγως … ὀφείλει ἡμῖν διάφορα … θαι ἀλλʼ ἀποστερέσαι … ησας ἀλλά … τας

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
γεννηθῆναιgennaō to be born G1080 Verb · aorist · passive · infinitive
97× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To beget means to produce or create offspring, and is used to describe the father or mother of a child. It can also mean to regenerate or be born again, as seen in Matthew and Luke.
Amplified meaning
spiritually renewed, regenerated
Tyndale gloss
to beget
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

γεννάω is a verb meaning to beget or bring forth, primarily used in the context of fathers begetting children and mothers giving birth. It also extends metaphorically to concepts like regeneration and producing effects in various contexts. The New Testament uses it in passages such as Matthew 1:1-16 and John 3:4, where it refers to both physical birth and spiritual rebirth.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γεννάω, -ῶ

(< γέννα, poët. for γένος),

[in LXX chiefly for ילד ;]

of the father, to beget: c. acc., Mt 1:1-16, Ac 7:8, 29; seq. ἐκ, Mt 1:3, 5, 6.

Of the mother, to bring forth, bear: Lk 1:13, 57 23:29, Jo 16:21; εἰς δουλείαν, Ga 4:24. Pass.

to be begotten: Mt 1:20;

to be born: Mt 2:1, 4 19:12 26:24, Mk 14:21, Lk 1:35, Jo 3:4, Ac 7:20, Ro 9:11,

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

γεννάω, -@ ; fut. γεννήσω ; 1 aor. ἐγέννησα; pf. yeyevynka; [Pass., pres. γεννάομαι, -ῶμαι]; pf. yeyevynpar; 1 aor. ἐγεννήθην ; (fr. γέννα, poetic for γένος) ; in Grk. writ. fr. Pind. down; in Sept. for 37°; to beget; 1. properly : of men begetting children, Mt. i. 1-16; Acts vii. 8, 29; foll. by ἐκ with gen. of the mother, Mt. i. 3, 5, 6; more rarely of women giving birth to children, Lk. i. 13, 57; xxiii. 29; Jn. xvi. 215; εἰς δουλείαν to bear a child unto bondage, that will be a slave, Gal. iv. 24, ({ Xen. de rep. Lae. 1, 3]; Leian. de sacrif.6; Plut. de liber. educ. 5; al.; Sept. Is. xvi. 9; 4 Mace. x. 2, etc.). Pass. to be begotten: τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθέν that which is begotten in her womb, Mt. i. 20; to be born: Mt. ii. 1, 4 [W. 266 (250) ; B. 203 (176) ]; xix. 12; xxvi. 24; Mk. xiv. 21; Lk. i. 35; Jn. 111. 4; [Acts vii. 20]; Ro. ix. 11; Heb. xi. 23; with the addition εἰς τὸν κόσμον…

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

γεννάω. P Fay 289 (A.p. 150-1) (= Selections, p. 82) ἀπογραφόμεθα τὸν γεννηθέντα ἡμεῖν ... υἱόν : the same formula in BGU I. 111} (ii/a.p.). Ῥ Gen I. 191 (Δ... 148) μηδέ[π]ω pov yevvyO(elons), 2. 3314 (ab. 156) γεννηθέντα [τ]ῷ ts (ἔτει) ᾿Αντω[νίνου] Καίσαρος, Sy// 406° (A.D. 147) συνησθέντες μοι γεννηθέντος υἱοῦ (of civic congratulations sent to Antoninus), C. avd B. ii. 590 (p. 656) Λούκιος γυν αι]κὶ ἰδίᾳ σεμνοτάτῃ, γεννηθείσῃ ἔτους Ῥξα (=a.p. 77), BGU I. 132 11:5 (ii/A.D.) Ἥρων ἄλλος vids μη(τρὸς) τῆς α(ὐτῆς) yevνηθ(είς). The confusion of forms from γίνομαι and forms from γεννάω, which gave a start to the mixing of γένημα and γέννημα, produces in BGU I. 28'® (Ἀν. 183) and riot (A.b. 138-9) the form γενηθέντα : see Deissmann 4S p. 154. With Mk 14%! cf. OGZS 45819 διὸ ἄν τις δικαίως ὑπολάβοι τοῦτο ἁτῶι ἀρχὴν τοῦ βίου Kal τῆς ζωῆς γεγονέναι, ὅ ἐστιν πέρας καὶ ὅρος τοῦ μεταμέλεσθαι, ὅτι…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γεννάω (gennaō) — to beget.

γενν-άω,

future middle γεννήσομαι in passive sense, [Refs 1st c.BC+] (but -ηθήσομαι[Refs]: (γέννα):—causal of γίγνομαι (compare γείνομαι), mostly of the father, beget, ὁ γεννήσας πατήρ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οἱ γεννήσαντές σε your parents, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὅθεν γεγενναμένοι sprung, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of the mother, bring forth, bear, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle, produce from oneself, create, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. produce, grow, get, κἂν σῶμα γεννήσῃ μέγα [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. metaphorically, engender, produce, λήθη τῶν ἰδίων κακῶν θρασύτητα γεννᾷ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; γεννῶσι τὸν οὐρανὸν [οἱ φιλόσοφοι] call it into existence, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; ὁ ἐξ ἀσωμάτου γεννῶν λόγος[Refs 3rd c.AD+]; of numbers, produce a total, [Refs 1st…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γεννάω

gennao

from a variation of 1085; to procreate (properly, of the father, but

by extension of the mother); figuratively, to regenerate:--bear,

beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make,

spring.

see GREEK for 1085

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γεννάω

v.

I beget, bring forth, give birth to

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γένημα genēma 4x

natural produce, fruit, increase, Mt. 26:29; Mk. 14:25; Lk. 12:18; 22:18; 2 Cor. 9:10*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γεννάω 11), of the father, to beget, engender, Aesch., Soph.; rarely of the mother, to bring forth, Aesch.; οἱ γεννήσαντες the parents, Xen.; τὸ γεννώμενον the child, Hdt.:—like φύω 1. 2, as κἂν σῶμα γεννήσηι μέγα even if he grow, get a large body, i. e. if he be of giant frame, Soph.

metaph. to produce, Plat.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-APN — Verb · aorist · passive · infinitive
aorist passive infinitive — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-APN Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: Passive Mood: iNfinitive TVM equivalent: G5683

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

See BORN.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
40%begat
begat40% · 39×born18% · 17×has been born5% · 5×having been born4% · 4×have begotten3% · 3×he begat2% · 2×shall be born2% · 2×be born2% · 2×other renderings24% · 23×

97 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 30 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb96%object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 97 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
δέbut, on the other ha
ἸακώβPropἸσαάκPropἸούδαςJudah, Judas, Ju
Article the
πᾶςall, the whole, καίand, even, also,ἀγαπάωI love
οὐNeg
εἰCondὅςπορνείαfornication, ido
θεόςGod, a god
Article theἐκ
τυφλόςblind
ὅτιthat, since, becἵναin order that, sὀφθαλμόςthe eye
γεννάωto be born97×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸσαάκPropἸακώβPropἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
ἐκ
Article theπνεῦμαwind, breath, spὕδωρwater
καίand, even, also, nam
μαστόςa breast, papεἰςοὗτος
ἐν
ΒηθλέεμPropΤαρσόςTarsusArticle the
υἱόςa son, descendent
σύδύο

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

Concordanceγεννάω · 97× in the New Testament
Matthew John 1 John Acts Hebrews Luke Galatians 1 Corinthians 2 Peter 2 Timothy Mark Philemon
Across the New Testament13 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 142 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Didache
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 51c. AD 40

αὐτίκα γοῦν ὁ ἓξ συντιθέμενος ἐκ δυοῖν τριάδων οὐκέτι γεννᾶται πολυπλασιασθεισῶν, ἀλλ’ ἕτερος, ὁ ἐννέα.

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

ὡς ἐκ Κατούρης Ἁβράμῳ γαμηθείσης τὸ τῶν Τρωγλοδυτῶν Ἀράβων ἔθνος ἐγεννήθη.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 19.5c. AD 100

οὐ φονεύσεις τέκνον ἐν φθορᾷ, οὐδὲ πάλιν γεννηθὲν ἀποκτενεῖς.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 0th c. BC 1st c. AD
PSI 12 1242101 BC–AD 100

ἀπαλλάξομεν. εὖ δʼ ἂν ἔχοι καὶ ὑμᾶς ἑορτάσαι πρεπόντως τῆι πρώτηι γενεθλίωι Διονυσίου πρώτου γεννηθέντος παιδίου. ἡμεῖς δὲ ἤδη πρὸς τῶι πλεῖν ἦμεν. ἀσπάζου τὴν μητέρα καὶ Διονύσιον καὶ

P.Warr. 2ArsinoitesAD 72

ἀπογράφομαι τὸν ἐπιγεννηθέντα μοι ἐκ τῆς συνούσης μοι γυναικὸς Ταμάρωνος τῆς Ἡρακλείου υἱὸν Ἡρακλείδην γεγεννημένον τῶι β ἔτει Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος Οὐεσπασιανοῦ Σεβαστοῦ καὶ ὄντα ἐτῶν γ ἐπιδίδωμι τὴν ἀπογραφήν.

P.Mich. 3 203Pselkis (Nubien)AD 114–AD 116

Ἰουλλίου πάντα ἐκομισάμην καὶ διὰ τοῦ παιδαρίου Ἰουλίου κάλαθον ἐλαιῶν. γινώσκειν σε θέλω ὅτι ἐγεννήθη μοι ἄλλο παιδίον ἄρσενον ᾧ ὄνομα Ἀγαθὸς Δαίμων θεῶν θελόντων. ἐὰν εὕρω εὐκαιρίαν ἐργασίαν

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
γέρωνgerōn old G1088 Noun · nominative · singular · masculine
1× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means an old man or aged person. In John 3:4, Nicodemus is described as an old man who comes to Jesus at night to ask questions.
Amplified meaning
aged, mature
Tyndale gloss
an old man
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

γέρων (gerōn) means 'an old man' and can also refer to 'elders' or 'chiefs' in a political context, such as those who advised kings. It appears in the New Testament in John 3:4. The term is used in various literary sources from Homer onward, indicating its longstanding presence in the Greek language.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γέρων, -οντος, ὁ,

[in LXX for זָקֵן;]

an old man: Jo 3:4.†

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

γέρων, -ovros, ὁ, [fr. Hom. down], an old man: Jn. iii. 4. [Syn. οἵ. Augustine in Trench § evii. 2.]

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

γέρων αἱρῶμαι γένεσι πλὴν κνήκου, “with any crops I choose except cnecus” (Edd.). In P Oxy IX. 120276 (A.p. 217) kat ἀκολουθείαν τῶν ἐτῶν καὶ τοῦ γένους, the word is cf. BGU I. τ4055. (8.0: 010) Tots πρὸς [y]évous συνγενέσι, ‘to the legitimate parents.” With γένος = ‘‘ offspring,” as in Ac 178, cf. ZG XLV. 641 (Thurii) kal γὰρ ἐγὼν ὑμῶν γένος ὄλβιον εὔχομαι εἶμεν... . “OAPre καὶ μακαριστέ, θεὸς δ᾽ ἔσῃ ἀντὶ βροτοῖο, and 6:8 γῆς παῖς εἰμὶ καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος, αὐτὰρ ἐμοὶ γένος οὐράνιον (both cited by Norden Agnostos Theos, p. 194). Ac 4° has a close parallel in P Tebt IL. 291°6 (A.p. 162) ἀἸπέδ[ι)ξας σεαυτὸν γένους [ὄϊντα ἱερατικοῦ. In OG/S 470° (time of Augustus) a certain Theophron describes himself as priest διὰ γένου τῆς ᾿Αναΐτιδος ᾿Αρτέμιδος, ‘‘hereditary”’ priest. In 76. κ13}0 (iii/A.D.) γένους τῶν ᾿Εἰπι(λ)αϊδῶν, and 6354 (Palmyra, A.D. 178-9) οἱ ἐγ γένους Ζαβδιβωλείων, it…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γέρων (gerōn) — an old man.

γέρων, οντος, ὁ,

old man, [Refs 8th c.BC+]

2. γέροντες, οἱ, Elders, Chiefs, κίκλησκεν δὲ γέροντας ἀριστῆας Παναχαιῶν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in other states, as at Elis, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II. as adjective, old, γέρον σάκος [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οἶνος [Refs 4th c.BC+]; πέπλος, λέμβος, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]: rarely in Prose, οἱ γέροντες τῶν ἰχθύων [Refs 4th c.BC+]; of stags, [Refs]; Ἀντίγονος ὁ γ. Antigonus the Elder, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III. part of the spinning-wheel, [Refs 5th c.BC+]. (Sanskrit járant- 'old', járati 'render infirm'; compare γέρας.)

Strong's Greek Dictionary

γέρων

geron

of uncertain affinity (compare 1094); aged:--old.

see GREEK for 1094

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γέρων, οντος, ὁ

n.m.

an old man

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γέρων gerōn 1x

an old man, Jn. 3:4*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γέρων an old man, Hom., etc.

in political sense, γέροντες the Elders, Seniors, or Chiefs, who formed the King's Council, Hom.:—then, like Lat. Patres, the Senators, esp. at Sparta, Hdt.

as adj. old, mostly with a masc. Noun, Theogn., Aesch., etc.; but γέρον σάκος occurs in Od.

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
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

old.

See AGE, OLD.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%old
old100% · 1×

1 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 1 different way. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

Concordanceγέρων · 1× in the New Testament
John
Across the New Testament1 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 105c. AD 40

„Ἐν ἀνθρώπου φύσει ἑπτά εἰσιν ὧραι, ἃς ἡλικίας καλέουσι, παιδίον, παῖς, μειράκιον, νεανίσκος, ἀνήρ, πρεσβύτης, γέρων·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 5.339c. AD 75–95

οὗτοι καὶ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ὑβρισταὶ γενόμενοι καὶ πρὸς τὸ θεῖον ἀσεβεῖς οὐδενὸς ἀπείχοντο παρανομήματος, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐφέροντο τῶν γερῶν κατὰ τιμήν, ἃ δʼ ἐλάμβανον αὐτοῖς ἁρπαγῆς τρόπῳ, γυναῖκάς τε τὰς ἐπὶ θρησκείᾳ παραγινομένας ὕβριζον φθοραῖς ταῖς μὲν…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 2nd c. BC 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD
BGU 4 1141Alexandria15 BC–14 BC

κατʼ ἰδίαν λάθρᾳ τοῦ Ξύστου θέλων ἐπιγνῶναι, εἰ καὶ ὁ Ξύστος συνιστορεῖ, εἶπεν ὁ γέρων μὴ εἰδέναι αὐτὸν τὸ καθόλον περὶ τούτων μηδέν. εἶπα δὲ αὐτῶι· καὶ χειρογραφῆσαί σε

P.Athen.. 43 VoArsinoitesAD 131

ἐπιτηρήσεως δραχμὰς οβ ἐπὶ δραχμαῖς κδ ἡμῖν δραχμὰς κδ ἡμῖν δραχμαὶ λβ … αρεμφις γέρων ἀσκαύλης ἐπιτηρήσεως δραχμὰς ξ ἐπὶ ἐπὶ δραχμαῖς ιϛ ἡμῖν δραχμὰς λϛ λοιπὸν δραχμαὶ

CdÉ 43 (1968), p. 123-125Oase El AragAD 101–AD 200

Σωτήριχος Ὡρίωνος πεντώβολον Λυκαρίωνος … Πόπλιος Πτολλ ὀβολοὶ ϛ Τιβέσε Διδύμου ὀβολοὶ ϛ Ἐσθώτης γέρων δραχμὴ α ὀβολός Παν … ως Λεο … χ ὀβολοὶ ϛ Ἀπολλῶς Σωπάτρου δραχμὴ

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
ὤν;eimi being? G1510 Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
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-PAP-NSM — Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAP-NSM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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
εἰμίbeing?2457×
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

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
μὴ Not G3361 Particle · negative
1,060× 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
Not is a word used to show that something is not true or is not happening, like in phrases that say 'lest' or 'God forbid', as seen in various parts of the New Testament.
Tyndale gloss
not
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μή () is a Greek negative particle used to express subjective negation, often in conditional or hypothetical contexts. It contrasts with οὐ (ou), which indicates absolute denial. μή can function as an adverb meaning 'not' or as a conjunction meaning 'lest.' It appears in various grammatical constructions, including prohibitions and deliberative questions, and is referenced in verses like Matthew 5:29 and John 3:18.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μή,

subjective negative particle,

used where the negation depends on a condition or hypothesis, expressed or understood, as distinct from οὐ, which denies absolutely. μή is used where one thinks a thing is not, as distinct from an absolute negation. As a general rule, οὐ negatives the indic., μή the other moods, incl, ptcp. [In LXX for אֵין, אַיִן, אַל.]

As a neg. adv., not;

with ref. to thought or opinion: Jo 3:18, Tit 1:11, II Pe 1:9.

In delib. questions, c. subjc. (M, Pr., 185): Mk 12:14, Ro 3:8.

In conditional and final sentences, after εἰ, ἐάν, ἄν, ἵνα, ὅπως: Mt 10:14,

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

μή, Sept. for Ox, |X, PN, ἃ particle of negation, which differs from οὐ (which is always an adverb) in that ov denies the thing itself (orto speak technically, denies simply, absolutely, categorically, directly, objectively). but μή denies the thought of the thing, or the thing according to the judgment, opinion, will, purpose, preference, of some one (hence, as we say technically, indirectly, hypothetically, subjectively). This distinction holds also of the compounds οὐδείς, μηδείς, οὐκέτι, μηκέτι, ete. But pris either an ad verb of negation, not (Lat. non, ne); or aconjunction, that... not, lest, (Lat. ne); or an interrogative particle, (Lat. num) [i. e. (generally) implying aneg. ans.; in indir. quest. whether nol (suggesting apprehension) ]. Cf. Herm. ad Vig. § 267 p- 802 sqq-; Matthiae § 608; Bitm. Gram. § 148 (cf. Alex. Bttm. N. T. Gr. p. 344 (296) sqq.); Kiihner ii. §§ 512 sq. p.…

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

μή Grenf II. 384 (mid. 1.8.6.) καλῶς οὖ]ν ποιήσις μὴ ἀμελήσ[α]ς α[. . ἀγο]ράσαι. .. , P Oxy I. 3815 (a.p. 49--50) (= Selections, p. 53) τοῦ δὲ Σύρου μὴ βουλομένου ἐνμεῖναι τοῖς κεκριμένοις, “45 Syrus does not wish to abide by what has been decided,” 2d. II. 2755 (A.D. 66) (= Selections, p. 58) ἔγραψα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ μὴ ἰδότος γράμματα, “1 wrote for him seeing that he was unlettered,” BGU I. 22° (a.p. 114) (= Selections, p. 74) TappovOios . . . τὸ παρὸν μὴ ἔχουσα κύριον, ‘ Tarmuthis at present without a guardian,’ and P Grenf II. 779 (iii/iv A.D.) (= Sedections, p. 120) θαυμάζω πάνυ [ὅτι] ἀλόγως ἀπέστητε μὴ ἄραντες [τὸ σ]ῶμα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ὑμῶν, “1 wonder exceedingly that you went off so unreasonably, without taking the body of your brother”; cf. P Tor 1. 1¥8-4 (νον 116) εἰ δὲ kal τις θείηι τὸ μὴ ὄν (cf. 1 Cor 1°8)—acc. and inf. follow, P Ryl II. 144°? (Α.Ὁ. 38) ἐπαγαγεῖν αἰτίας τοῦ μὴ ὄντος, ‘‘…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μή (mē) — not.

μή,

Elean μά [ᾱ] [Refs 6th c.BC+]. (Cf. Sanskrit mā´, Armenian mi [from I.-[Refs 5th c.BC+] mē´], negative used in prohibitions):—not, the negative of the will and thought, as οὐ of fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective. (A few examples of μηδέ and μηδείς have been included.)

__A in INDEPENDENT sentences, used in expressions of will or wish, command, entreaty, warning,

__A.1 with present imperative, 2 person, μή μ᾽ ἐρέθιζε [Refs 8th c.BC+]: rarely with aorist imperative, μὴ.. ἔνθεο τιμῇ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in Attic dialect, μὴ ψεῦσον, ὦ Ζεῦ, τῆς.. ἐλπίδος [Refs 8th c.BC+]perfect imperative [Refs 8th c.BC+] person when perfect = present, μὴ κεκράγετε [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μή

me

a primary particle of qualified negation (whereas 3756 expresses an

absolute denial); (adverb) not, (conjunction) lest; also (as an

interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas 3756 expects an

affirmative one)) whether:--any but (that), X forbear, + God forbid, +

lack, lest, neither, never, no (X wise in), none, nor, (can-)not,

nothing, that not, un(-taken), without. Often used in compounds in

substantially the same relations. See also 3362, 3363, 3364, 3372,

3373, 3375, 3378.

see GREEK for 3756

see GREEK for 3362

see GREEK for 3363

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

see GREEK for 3373

see GREEK for 3375

see GREEK for 3378

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μή

Neg.prt.

not, lest

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μή mē 1x

a negative particle, can function as a conj, not, for the particulars of its usage, especially as distinguished from that of οὐ, consult a grammar; as a conj., lest, that not, Mt. 5:29, 30; 18:10; 24:6; Mk. 13:36; μή, or μήτι, or μήποτε, when prefixed to an interrogative clause, it expresses an intimation either of the reality of the matters respecting which the question is asked, Mt. 12:23; or the contrary, Jn. 4:12

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

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
71%not
not71% · 772×except9% · 95×unless5% · 58×surely not4% · 41×lest3% · 32×otherwise2% · 23×other renderings4% · 48×other renderings1% · 16×

1,085 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 23 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
adverbial84%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,060 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
καίand, even, also,σύἐγώ
ἵναin order that, so th
αὐτόςσύπροσεύχομαιI pray, pray for
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώαὐτόςεἰμίI am, exist
εἰCond
αὐτόςυἱόςa son, descendenκαίand, even, also,
Article the
καίand, even, also,εἰςδιά
μήNot1060×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, υἱόςa son, descendenσημεῖονa sign, miracle,
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
καίand, even, also,ποιμήνa shepherdβάθοςdepth, a depth,
εἰμίI am, exist
δίδωμιI offer, giveἐνμετά
τὶς
σύὑστερέωI am lacking, faγεννάωI beget, bring f
φοβέωI fear, am terrified
ἀπόArticle theμόνοςalone, but, only

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

Concordanceμή · 1,060× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John 1 Corinthians Romans Mark Acts Revelation 2 Corinthians Hebrews 1 Timothy Galatians

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 1,321 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.

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
δύναταιdunamai is he able G1410 Verb · present · no voice stated · indicative · third person · singular
209× 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 able or have power, as in Matthew 6:24 and Mark 2:7, meaning to have the capability or strength to do something.
Tyndale gloss
be able
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δύναμαι, transliterated as dunamai, means 'to be able' or 'to have power.' It can refer to personal ability, permission, or opportunity. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, such as in Matthew 6:24 and Mark 2:7. The lexicons indicate that it can be used with an infinitive or an accusative, but there is some variation in the forms and usages noted in different sources.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δύναμαι, depon.,

[in LXX chiefly for יָכֹל ;]

to be able, have power, whether by personal ability, permission, or opportunity: c. inf. (M, Pr., 205; WM, § 44, 3) pres., Mt 6:24, Mk 2:7, Jo 3:2, I Co 10:21, al.; c. inf. aor., Mt 3:9, Mk 1:45, Jo 3:3, 4 Ro 8:39, al.; c. acc., to be able to do something: Mk 9:22, Lk 12:26; II Co 13:8; absol., to be able, capable, powerful: Read the full entry →

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

δύναμαι, depon. verb, pres. indic. 2 pers. sing. δύνασαι and, acc. to a rarer form occasional in the poets and fr. Polyb. on to be met with in prose writ. also (cf. Lob. ad Phryn. p. 359; [ WH. App. p.168; W.§ 18, 2b.; Veitch 8. v.]), δύνῃ (Mk. ix. 22 sq. L T Tr WH; [Lk. xvi. 2 T WH Tr txt. ]; Rey. ii. 2); impf. ἐδυνάμην and Attic ἠδυνάμην, between which forms the Mss. and editions are almost everywhere divided, [in Mk. vi. 19; xiv. 5; Lk. Vili. 19; xix. 3; Jn. ix. 33; xii. 39 all edd. read 78., so RG in Mt. xxvi. 9; Lk. i. 22; Jn. xi. 37; Rev. xiv. 3; on the other hand, in Mt. xxii. 46; Lk. i. 22; Jn. xi. 37; Rey. xiv. 3, L T Tr WH all read ἐδ., so T WH in Mt. xxvi. 9; RGin Mt. xxii. 46. Cf. WH. App. p. 162; W. § 12, 1b.; B. 83 (29) ]; fut. δυνήσομαι ; 1 aor. ἠδυνήθην and (in Mk. vii. 24 T WH, after codd. 8B only; in Mt. xvii. 16 cod. B) ἠδυνάσθην (cf. [WH τι. 5. and p. 169]; Kiihner §…

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

δύναμαι. The following exx. of this common verb may be cited— P Par 471° (c. B.C. 153) (= Selections, p. 22) ἐνβέβληκαν (sc. οἱ θεοὶ) ὑμᾶς εἰς ὕλην μεγάλην Kal οὗ δυνάμεθα ἀποθανεῖν, ““they have cast us into a great forest, where we may possibly die,” P Oxy IV. 743% (B.c. 2) οὐκ ἠδυνάσθην συντυχεῖν ᾿Α., “1 was unable to meet A.,” 26. 7γ4413 (B.c. 1) [ΞΞ Selections, p. 33) πῶς δύναμαί σε ἐπιλαθεῖν ; ‘how can I forget you?”, P Lond 144™ (?i/a.p.) (ΞΞ 11. p. 253) ἵνα δυνηθῇ τὸ παιδάριόν μου ἐλθεῖν mpd[s ple, P Oxy LIT. 47218 (4 A.D. 130) οὐ δύναται γὰρ κεκλέφθαι τὸ μηδ᾽ ἀρχὴν γενόμενον μὴ δυνατὸν δ᾽ εἶναι, ‘for it is impossible for that to have been stolen which neither ever existed at all nor could exist” (Edd.). It takes an ace. ve? (as in Lk 1255) in P Ryl IL. 7758 (A.p. 192) οὐ yap δύναμαι κοσμητείαν. In P Leid {50 (ii/B.c.) ἔφη δύνασθαι τὰ ἔργα πάντα ἐπιτελέσιν ἐν ἡλι (?—was ὀλίγαις…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δύναμαι (dunamai) — be able.

δύνᾰμαι [ῠ],

2nd pers. singular δύνασαι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect and Doric dialect δύνᾳ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; δύνῃ is subjunctive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect 3rd.pers. plural δυνέαται [Refs 5th c.BC+]; subjunctive δύνωμαι, Ionic dialect 2nd pers. singular δύνηαι [Refs 8th c.BC+]: imperfect 2nd pers. singular ἐδύνω [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect 3rd.pers. plural ἐδυνέατο [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future δυνήσομαι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Doric dialect δυνᾱσοῦμαι [Refs 4th c.BC+]: aorist ἐδυνησάμην [Refs 8th c.BC+], Epic dialect δυν- [Refs]; subjunctive δυνήσωνται [Refs 7th c.BC+], never in good Attic dialect, falsa lectio in [Refs 4th c.BC+]passive forms, Epic dialect, Ionic dialect, Lyric poetry, ἐδυνάσθην or δυνάσθην [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect Prose ἐδυνήθην [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect δεδύνημαι [Refs 4th c.BC+] —The double…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δύναμαι

dunamai

of uncertain affinity; to be able or possible:--be able, can (do, +

-not), could, may, might, be possible, be of power.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δύναμαι

v.

I am powerful, am able

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δύναμαι dynamai 210x

to be able, either intrinsically and absolutely, which is the ordinary signification; or, for specific reasons, Mt. 9:15; Lk. 16:2 See ability; (be) able; can.

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δύναμαι decl. in pres. and imperf. like ἵσταμαι Dep.

to be able, capable, strong enough to do, c. inf., Hom., etc.; but the inf. is often omitted, Ζεὺς δύναται ἅπαντα [sc. ποιεῖν] Od.; so also, μέγα δυνάμενος very powerful, mighty, id. Od.; οἱ δυνάμενοι men of power, Eur., Thuc.; δυνάμενος παρά τινι having influence with him, Hdt., etc.

to be able, i. e. to dare or bear to do a thing, οὐδὲ ποιήσειν δύναται Od.; οὐκέτι ἐδύνατο βιοτεύειν Thuc.

with ὡς and a Sup., ὡς ἐδύναντο ἀδηλότατα as secretly as they could, id. Thuc.; ὡς δύναμαι μάλιστα as much as I possibly can, Plat.; or simply ὡς ἐδύνατο in the best way he could, Xen.

to pass for, i. e.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PNI-3S — Verb · present · no voice stated · indicative · third person · singular
present no voice stated indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PNI-3S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: middle or passive depoNent Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Singular

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a'-b'-l: The Greek dunamai, "to have power," may refer either to inherent strength, or to the absence of in external obstacles, or to what may be allowable or permitted. The Greek ischuo, as in Lu 13:24; Joh 21:6, refers always to the first of the above meanings. The use of the word as an adjective the King James Version of 2Co 3:6, is misleading, and has been properly changed in the Revised Version (British and American) into "sufficient as ministers," i.e. "hath fitted us to be ministers."

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
38%able
able38% · 78×you are able12% · 24×being able10% · 21×he is able5% · 10×you able3% · 7×be able3% · 7×will be able3% · 6×they were able3% · 6×other renderings23% · 48×

207 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 33 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 209 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
καίand, even, also,σύὅτιthat, since, bec
μήNeg
καίand, even, also,ἸησοῦςJesusὥστεso that, therefo
οὐδείςno one, none, nothin
καίand, even, also,οὐκέτιNegἐν
Article the
πρόςμᾶλλονmore, ratherοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
πῶς
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakDisj
δύναμαιis he able209×
what comes after →
Article the
υἱόςa son, descendenθεόςGod, a godπροσέρχομαιI come near, con
αὐτός
θεραπεύωI care for, atteμηδέNegδέωI bind
σῴζωI save, heal
βασιλεύςa king, ruler, eαὐτόςArticle the
ἔρχομαιI come, go
πρόςκαίand, even, also,
ἐγώ
καθαρίζωI make cleanποιέωI do, makeνῦνnow, already, at

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

Concordanceδύναμαι · 209× in the New Testament
John Mark Matthew Luke Acts 1 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews James Ephesians Romans 1 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament19 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 159 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 21c. AD 40

οὗ χάριν τῆς ἀρίστης αὑτοῦ φύσεως οὐκ ἐφθόνησεν οὐσίᾳ μηδὲν ἐξ αὑτῆς ἐχούσῃ καλόν, δυναμένῃ δὲ πάντα γίνεσθαι.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.215c. AD 75–95

Σάρρα δὲ γεννηθέντα τὸν Ἰσμαῆλον ἐκ τῆς δούλης αὐτῆς Ἀγάρης τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἔστεργεν οὐδὲν ἀπολείπουσα τῆς πρὸς ἴδιον υἱὸν εὐνοίας, ἐτρέφετο γὰρ ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς ἡγεμονίας διαδοχῇ, τεκοῦσα δʼ αὐτὴ τὸν Ἴσακον οὐκ ἠξίου παρατρέφεσθαι τούτῳ τὸν Ἰσμαῆλον ὄντα…

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

Δεῖ οὖν ἡμᾶς περὶ τῶν ἐνεστώτων ἐπιπολὺ ἐραυνῶντας ἐκζητεῖν τὰ δυνάμενα ἡμᾶς σώζειν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
P.Edg. $1Syrien253 BC

τε ἐπιμελόμενος ἵνα ὑγιαίνηις καὶ ἡμῖν γράφων ἐάν τί σοι βούληι γίνεσθαι ὧν ἡμεῖς δυνάμεθα. καλῶς δʼ ἂν ποιήσαις ἀγοράσας ἡμῖν ἵνα ὡς ἂν παραγενώμεθα ἔχωμεν μέλιτος τοῦ βελτίστου

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59330Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)249 BC

φόρωι τοῦ λζ ἔτους, συνφωνήσας Ἡρακλείδης μετὰ Θοτέως αὐτοὶ ἄνευ ἡμῶν διελογίσαντο καὶ οὐ δυνάμεθα παρακολουθῆσαι τί πεποιήκασιν ἕως τοῦ νῦν, οὐδὲ αἰτούμενοι τὸν λόγον ἐτόλμησαν ἡμῖν δοῦναι. καὶ

τι καταπεφύτευκεν ἀμπέλωι, κατεγνωκὼς τῶι γυναῖκας ἡμᾶς εἶναι καὶ ἑτέρωι τόπωι κατοικούσας μὴ εὐχερῶς δύνασθαι ἐπιβαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν σημαινομένην κτῆσιν. Διὸ καταπεφευγυῖαι ἐπὶ σὲ, ἀξιοῦμεν, ἐὰν φαίνηται, μεταπεμψάμενον αὐτὸν

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
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.
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

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
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

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
κοιλίανkoilia womb G2836 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
23× 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 belly or womb, referring to the stomach or intestines, or the womb where a baby grows, as seen in Luke 1:41-42 and Matthew 12:40.
Amplified meaning
the place of birth, the source of life
Tyndale gloss
belly/womb/stomach
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

κοιλία refers to the belly or womb, derived from the word for 'hollow.' It encompasses meanings related to the abdomen, intestines, and metaphorically, the heart or inner self. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, including physical and figurative senses, such as in Matthew 12:40 and John 7:38. Some lexicons note its use in the Septuagint for Hebrew terms related to the womb.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

κοιλία, -ας, ἡ

(< κοῖλος, hollow),

[in LXX chiefly for בֶּטֶן, מֵעִים, קֶרֶב, De 7:13, II Ki 7:12, Ge 41:21, al.; also (Jb 3:11 10:18 31:15 38:8) for רֶחֶם;]

the belly (stomach or intestines or both): Mt 12:40 15:17, Mk 7:19, Lk 15:16, Ro 16:18, I Co 6:13, Phl 3:19, Re 10:9, 10.

(As often in LXX) the womb: Lk 1:41, 42, 44 2:21 11:27 23:29, Jo 3:4; ἐκ κ. μητρός (cf. Ps 21 (22):11, Jb 1:21, al.),

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

κοιλία, -as, 7, (κοῖλος hollow); Sept. for 03 the belly, Dyn the bowels, 27p the interior, the midst of a thing, Dn the womb; the belly: and 1. the whole belly, the entire cavity; hence ἡ ἄνω and ἡ κάτω κοιλία, the upper [i. e. the stomach] and the lower belly are distinguished ; very often so in Grk. writ. fr. Hdt. down. 2. the lower belly, the alvine region, the receptacle of the exerement (Plut. symp. 7, 1, 3 sub fin. εἴπερ εἰς κοιλίαν ἐχώρει διὰ στομάχου πᾶν τὸ πινόμενον) : Mt. xv. 17; Mk. vii. 19. 3. the ψωμί ει (Lat. stomachus): Mt. xii. 40; Lk. xv. 16 [WH Trmmrg. χορτασθῆναι ἐκ etc.]; 1 Co. vi. 13; Rev. x. 9 sq.; δουλεύειν τῇ κοιλίᾳ, to be given up to the pleasures of the palate, to gluttony, (see δουλεύω, 2 b.), Ro. xvi. 18; also ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία, Phil. iii. 19; κοιλίας ὄρεξις, Sir. xxiii. 6. 4. the womb, the place where the fetus is conceived and nourished till birth: Lk. i.…

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

κοιλία. For κοιλία (MGr κοιλιά) ‘‘belly,” ‘‘abdomen,” it is sufficient to cite P Magd 334 (B.c. 221) κατέκαυσεν τήν τε κοιλίαν Kal Tov ἀριστερὸν μηρόν, P Leid Ui 8 (ji/B.c.) (= I. p. 124) πεσόντα ἐπὶ κοιλίαν, P Par 18 42513 (Rom.) ἐπιγεγραμμένον ἐπὶ τῆς κοιλίας τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῆς οἵ a dead body, P Ryl II. 635 (astrological—iii/a.p.) Λέοντος κοιλία, and from the inscrr. Sy// 8035 (iii/B.c.) ἀνὴρ ἐ[ντὸ]ς τᾶς κοιλίας ἕλκος ἔχων. For the usage in Phil 319 it is customary to quote Eupolis Κόλακ. Fr. 172 (Kock I.) κοιλιοδαίμων, **a devotee of the belly,” and for the deeper, inner sense, which the word has in Jn 788, see the passages from the LXX cited in Grimm-Thayer. An interesting ex. of κοίλωμα = “hollow,” as in the LXX, occurs in P Petr II. 13 (18a) (B.c. 258-3) where preparations are made—tva ἀναχωσθῆι καὶ ὁμαλισθῇ τὰ κοιλώμα[τα] πρὸ [τοῦ] τὸν βασιλέα παραγενέσθαι, ‘that the excavation may…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

κοιλία (koilia) — belly/womb/stomach.

κοιλί-α,

Ionic dialect κοιλί-η, ἡ, (κοῖλος) cavity of the body, i.e. thorax with abdomen, [Refs 5th c.BC+], = thorax, ἡ κάτω, = abdomen, accusative to [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; τὰ κατὰ κ. νουσήματα diseases of the thoracic cavity, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. belly, abdomen, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; opposed to ἡ ἄνω κ., stomach, [Refs 5th c.BC+][same place]; κ. alone frequently = stomach, [Refs]; of birds, [Refs]; also, paunch or rumen of animals, [NT]

3. intestines, κ. κείνη [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc.; of animals, κ. ὑεία pig's tripe, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: plural, tripe and puddings, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. b phrases, κ. σκληρὰν ἔχειν to be costive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὴν κ. λύειν to relax the bowels, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; αἱ κ. λύονται, ἀναλύονται,[Refs]; εὔλυτοί [εἰσι] [Refs 5th c.BC+]; [οἶνος] κοιλίας…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

κοιλία

koilia

from koilos ("hollow"); a cavity, i.e. (especially) the abdomen; by

implication, the matrix; figuratively, the heart:--belly, womb.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

κοιλία, ας, ἡ

n.f.

belly, womb, the inner man

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

κοιλία koilia 22x

a cavity; the belly, Mt. 15:17; Mk. 7:19; the stomach, Mt. 12:40; Lk. 15:16; the womb, Mt. 19:12; Lk. 1:15; from the Hebrew, the inner self, Jn. 7:38

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

κοιλία κοιλία, ἡ, κοῖλος the large cavity of the body, the belly, Lat. venter, Hdt., Ar., etc.

the intestines, bowels, Hdt.; κ. ὑεία pig's tripe, Ar.; in pl. tripe and puddings, id. Ar.

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
48%womb
womb48% · 11×belly30% · 7×stomach17% · 4×wombs4% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial52%subject22%predicate13%object13%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 23 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
ἐνεἰςκαίand, even, also,
ἐκ
χωλόςlame, deprived oὅστιςἔτιstill, yet, even
ἑαυτοῦ
Article the
κοιλίαwomb23×
what comes after →
μήτηρa mother
αὐτόςγεννάωI beget, bring fἐγώ
Article the
κῆτοςa sea monster, hβαστάζωI carry, carry aμήτηρa mother
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰςδιά
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ἐκῥέωI flow
ἐγώ

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

Concordanceκοιλία · 23× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians Acts John Revelation Galatians Mark Philippians Romans
Across the New Testament10 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 65 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.12c. AD 40

κεφαλή, τράχηλος, στέρνον, χεῖρες, κοιλία, ἦτρον, πόδες.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.273c. AD 75–95

ψευσαμένη δὲ τὸν ἄνδρα ἐπὶ τοῖς γάμοις καὶ τὸν θεὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὅρκοις μετʼ αἰσχύνης καταστρέφει τὸν βίον τοῦ τε σκέλους ἐκπεσόντος αὐτῇ καὶ τὴν κοιλίαν ὑδέρου καταλαβόντος.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 13.2c. AD 100

εἶτα ἐξῆλθεν Ῥεβέκκα πυθέσθαι παρὰ κυρίου, καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς αὐτήν: Δύο ἔθνη ἐν τῇ γαστρί σου καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ σου, καὶ ὑπερέξει λαὸς λαοῦ καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι.

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

ἔστιν δὲ σημεῖον τῆς ταφῆς· σινδών ἐστιν ἐκτὸς ἔχων χρῖμα ῥόδινον, ἐπιγεγραμμένον ἐπὶ τῆς κοιλίας τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῆς. ἐρρῶσθαί σε, ἄδελφε, εὔχομαι. ἔτους γ Θὼθ ια.

P.Col. 10 263MemphitesAD 178

Φιλαδελφίας τοῦ Ἀρσινοείτου πεπρακέναι αὐτὸν Ἀσκλᾶν τῷ Ἐπιμάχῳ ὄνον θήλειανὀστρακινόχρωμον ἔχουσαν ὀμφάλιον ἐπὶ τῇ κοιλία μέσῃ καὶ αὐτόθεν ἀπεσχηκέναι τὸν Ἀσκλᾶν παρὰ τοῦ Ἐπιμάχου συνεσταμένην τιμὴν ἀργυρίου δραχμὰς ἑκατὸν

P.Oxy. 1 108OxyrhynchosAD 215

ιϛ, κρέως μναῖ γ. ιζ, κρέως μναῖ β, γλῶσσα μία. ιη, γλῶσσα μία. κα, κοιλία.

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
τῆςho of the G3588 Article · genitive · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 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-GSF — Article · genitive · singular · feminine
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

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

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

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

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

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

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

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

Lamentations 3:1.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
μητρὸςmētēr mother G3384 Noun · genitive · singular · feminine
84× 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
A mother is described by this word, used literally or figuratively, as in Matthew 1:18 and Galatians 4:26.
Tyndale gloss
mother
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μήτηρ (i.e., *mētēr*) means 'mother' in Greek, both literally and figuratively. It can refer to a biological mother, a city (as in Galatians 4:26), or even symbolize something that nurtures, such as Babylon in Revelation 17:5. The word is derived from a primary root and has been used in various contexts, including poetry and everyday speech. Notably, Thayer's entry mentions a debate about its etymology, but the general meaning remains consistent across sources.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μήτηρ, gen., μητρός, ἡ,

[in LXX chiefly for אֵם;]

mother: Mt 1:18 2:11, al.; fig., of one who takes the place of a mother, ἰδοὺ, ἡ μ. μου, Mt 12:49 (cf. Mt 12:50, Mk 3:35, Jo 19:27, Ro 16:13, I Ti 5:2); of a city, ἥτις ἐσὶν μ. ἡμῶν, Ga 4:26; symbolically of Babylon, ἡ μ. τ. πορνῶν, Re 17:5.

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

μήτηρ, gen. μητρός, dat. μητρί, ace. μητέρα, ἧ, [fr. Hom. down; fr. Skr. ma ‘to measure’; but whether denoting the ‘ moulder,’ or the ‘ manager’ is debated; ef. Vaniéek p- 657; Curtius § 472; (cf. μέτρον)], Hebr. O8, a mother; prop.: Mt. i. 18; ii. 11, and often; trop. of that which is like a mother: Mt. xii. 49 sq.; Mk. iii. 35; Jn. xix. 27; Ro. xvi. 13, cf. 1 Tim. v. 2; a city is called 9 μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν, that produces and harbors the harlots. Rev. xvii. 5; of a city where races of men [i. e. Christians] originated, Gal. iv. 26 [here G T Tr WH om. L br. πάντων (on the origin of which ef. Bp. Lghtft. ad loc.)1.

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

μήτηρ. It is not necessary to illustrate at length this common noun, but one or two points may be noted. Thus for its loose use (cf. Rom 161% and see s.vv. ἀδελφός, πατήρ, τέκνον) we may cite P Oxy X. 1296 (iii/A.D.) where the writer greets each of two women as ‘‘ mother ”—® ἀσπάζομαι τὴν μητέραν (for the form cf. Moulton Pro/eg. p. 49) pov Ταμιέαν, and 15 τὴν μητέραν μου Τιμπεσοῦρί(ιν) : cf. 7. XIV. 1678 (iii/A.D.), where the same designation is applied to at least three persons. Similarly in P Giss I. 78! (ii/A.p.) ᾿Αλινὴ Τετῆτι τῆι μητρὶ χαίρειν, the word is used as the pet-name of an old servant. Μήτηρ is used fey as voc. in BGU III. 814 (iii/a.p.). For the adj. μητρικός cf. P Ryl IL. 1538% (A.p. 138-61) ὃ μητρικός pov δοῦλος Μύρων, “my mother’s slave Myron.” In MGr it has developed the sense ‘‘motherly.”’ The MGr noun μητέρα shows the acc. sing. treated as nom. on the analogy of…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μήτηρ (mētēr) — mother.

μήτηρ,

Doric dialect μάτηρ, ἡ: though paroxytone in nominative, it follows πατήρ in the accent of the indirect cases, genitive μητερος contraction μητρός, dative μητέρι, μητρί, both forms being found in [Refs 8th c.BC+], but the longer forms rarely in Trag. exc. Lyric poetry, as ματέρος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μητέρος in iambics, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—mother, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of animals, dam,[Refs 8th c.BC+]; of a mother-bird, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of queen bees, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; ἀπὸ ματρὸς φίλας, ἐκ ματρός, from one's mother's womb, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: in plural, mother and grandmother, [Refs 1st c.AD+]; as an address to elderly women, ὦ μῆτερ [Refs 3rd c.BC+], = Mater Patriae, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; μ. τῶν ἀηττήτων στρατοπέδων, = Mater invictorum castrorum, of Julia Domna, [Refs 3rd…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μήτηρ

meter

apparently a primary word; a "mother" (literally or figuratively,

immediate or remote):--mother.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μήτηρ, μητρός, ἡ

n.f.

a mother

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μήτηρ mētēr 83x

a mother, Mt. 1:18; 12:49, 50, et al. freq.; a parent city, Gal. 4:26; Rev. 17:5

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μήτηρ a mother, Hom., etc.; of animals, a dam, id. Hom.; ἀπό or ἐκ μητρός from one's mother's womb, Pind., Aesch.

also of lands, μήτηρ μήλων, θηρῶν mother of flocks, of game, Il.; of Earth, γῆ πάντων μ. Hes.; γῆ μήτηρ Aesch.; ὦ γαῖα μῆτερ Eur.:—also ἡ Μάτηρ alone for Δημήτηρ, Hdt.

of one's native land, μᾶτερ ἐμά, Θήβα Pind., etc.

poet. as the source of events, μ. ἀέθλων, of Olympia, id. Pind.; night is the mother of day, Aesch.; the grape of wine, id. Aesch.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

muth'-er ('em, "mother," "dam," "ancestress"; meter):

1. Her Position in the Old Testament:

In vain do we look in the Scriptures for traces of the low position which woman occupies in many eastern lands. A false impression has been created by her present position in the East, especially under Mohammedan rule. Her place as depicted in the Scriptures is a totally different one. Women there move on the same social plane with men. They often occupy leading public positions (Ex 15:20; Jud 4:4; 2Ki 22:14). The love of offspring was deeply imbedded in the heart of Hebrew women, and thus motherhood was highly respected. Among the patriarchs women, and especially mothers, occupy a prominent place. In Rebekah's marriage, her mother seems…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

The superiority of the Hebrew over all contemporaneous systems of legislation and of morals is strongly shown in the higher estimation of the mother in the Jewish family, as contrasted with modern Oriental as well as ancient Oriental and classical usage. The king’s mother, as appears in the case of Bath-sheba, was treated with special honor. (Exodus 20:12; Leviticus 19:3; 5:16; 21:18,21; 1 Kings 2:29; Proverbs 10:1; 15:20; 17:25; 29:15; 31:1,30)

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The Hebrew words AM and AB, mother and father, are simple and easy sounds for infant lips, like mamma and papa in English. See ABBA. "Before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and My mother," Isa 8:4. In addition to the usual meaning of "mother," AM sometimes signifies in the Bible grandmother, 1Ki 15:10, or some remote female ancestor, Ge 3:20. It is put for a chief city, 2Sa 20:19; for a benefactress, Jud 5:7; for a nation, as in the expressive English phrase, "the mother country," Isa 3:12 49:23. The fond affection of a mother is often referred to in…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ General scriptures concerning Ex 20:12; 21:15,17; Le 18:7; 19:3; 20:9; De 5:16; 1Ki 19:20; Pr 1:8; 6:20; 10:1; 15:20; 19:26; 20:20; 23:22-25; 28:24; 29:15; 30:11,17; Mt 10:37; 15:4-6; 19:19; Mr 7:10-12; 10:19; Lu 18:20; Eph 6:2; 2Ti 1:5

→ See CHILDREN, DUTY OF

→ See PARENTS

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
94%mother
mother94% · 79×mothers2% · 2×other renderings4% · 3×

84 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 5 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject33%object31%adverbial17%indirect object10%predicate8%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 84 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,ὁράωI see, look uponαὐτός
Disj
πατήρfather, Father, ἀδελφήa sister
κοιλίαbelly, womb, the inn
ἐκ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀδελφήa sister
ἸωσήφProp
καίand, even, also,
μήτηρmother84×
what comes after →
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ΜαρίαPropλέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theκολλάωI glue, cleave, ἀγαπάωI love
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusυἱόςa son, descendenκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
σύ
καίand, even, also,ΕὐνίκηEunice

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

Concordanceμήτηρ · 84× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke Mark John Acts Ephesians Galatians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Revelation Romans
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 125 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 Polycarp The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 133c. AD 40

πάσῃ μητρὶ καθάπερ ἀναγκαιότατον μέρος ἡ φύσις πηγάζοντας ἀνέδωκε μαστοὺς προευτρεπισαμένη τροφὰς τῷ γεννησομένῳ·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.77c. AD 75–95

λάρνακα τετράστεγον κατασκευάσας πηχῶν τὸ μῆκος τριακοσίων πεντήκοντα δὲ τὸ πλάτος καὶ τριάκοντα τὸ βάθος, εἰς ταύτην σὺν τῇ μητρὶ τῶν παίδων καὶ ταῖς τούτων γυναιξὶν ἀνέβη, τά τε ἄλλα ὅσα πρὸς τὰς χρείας ἐπικουρήσειν αὐτοῖς ἔμελλεν ἐνθέμενος, ζῷά…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 18.5c. AD 96

ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἐν ἀνομίαις συνελήμφθην, καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐκίσσησέν με ἡ μήτηρ μου.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 83Pathyris115 BC

θεοῦ Φιλοπάτορος Νέου καὶ θεοῦ Εὐεργέτου καὶ θεῶν Φιλομητόρων Σωτήρων, ἱεροῦ πώλου Ἴσιδος μεγάλης μητρὸς θεῶν, ἀθλοφόρου Βερενίκης Εὐεργέτιδος, κανηφόρου Ἀρσινόης Φιλαδέλφου, ἱερείας Ἀρσινόης Φιλοπάτορος τῶν ὄντων ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείαι,

P.Stras. 2 85Pathyris114 BC

θεοῦ Φιλοπάτορος Νέου καὶ θεοῦ Εὐεργέτου καὶ θεῶν Φιλομητόρων Σωτήρων, ἱεροῦ πώλου Ἴσιδος μεγάλης μητρὸς θεῶν, ἀθλοφόρου Βερενίκης Εὐεργέτιδος, κανηφόρου Ἀρσινόης Φιλαδέλφου, ἱερείας Ἀρσινόης Φιλοπάτορος τῶν ὄντων ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείαι,

P.Grenf. 2 26Pathyris104 BC

καὶ Ψεννήσει καὶ Φαγώνι, τοῖς δ τοῦ Πανοβχούνιος τοῦ Ταρεήσιος τῆς Πατοῦτος τῆς Παοῦτος μητρὸς τοῦ προγεγραμμένου πατρὸς Ὥρου, ἀπέχειν καὶ μὴ ἐπικαλεῖν περὶ ὀφειλήματος συναλλαγμάτων Αἰγυπτίων καὶ Ἑλληνικῶν

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
αὐτοῦautos of him G846 Personal pronoun · genitive · singular · masculine
5,550× 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 pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-GSM — Personal pronoun · genitive · singular · masculine
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-GSM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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

5,861 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 92 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object33%adverbial28%indirect object19%subject18%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 5,561 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςof him5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
δεύτερονdeuteros a second time G1208 Adverb
44× 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
Secondly refers to something that happens after something else, as in John 3:4. It can also mean a second time or in second place.
Amplified meaning
again, anew
Tyndale gloss
secondly
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δεύτερος (deuteros) means 'second' in order, time, or rank. It can be used as an adjective or adverb, indicating a sequence or repetition, such as 'second time' or 'in the second place.' The New Testament uses it in various contexts, including Matthew 22:26 and Acts 7:13. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δεῦτερος, -α, -ον,

second in order, with or without idea of time: Mt 22:26, 39, al.; θάνατος, Re 2:11 20:14 21:8; χάρις, II Co 1:15. In neut. as adv., secondly, a second time; opp. to πρῶτον: Jo 3:4 21:16, I Co 12:28, Re 19:3; τὸ δ., II Co 13:2, Ju 5; ἐν τ. δ., at the second time: Ac 7:13; in later usage (as I Mac 9:1), ἐκ δ., Mk 14:72, Jo 9:24, Ac 11:9, Read the full entry →

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

δεύτερος, -έρα, -epov, [fr. Hom. down; Curtius § 277], second: Mt. xxii. 26; Mk. xii. 21; Lk. xii. 38; Jn. iv. 54; Rev. iv. 7, etc.; the second, the other of two: Mt. xxii. 39; Mk. xii. 31; 1 Co. xv. 47; Tit. iii. 10; 2 Pet. iii. 1; Heb. viii. 7; x. 9; δεύτερος θάνατος (see θάνατος, 3), Rev. ii, 11; xx. 14; xxi. 8; δευτέρα χάρις in 2 Co. i. 15 is not a double benefit, but a second, opp. to the former which the Corinthians would have had if Paul in passing through Achaia into Macedonia had visited them πρότεpov, [WH txt. Trmrg. read δευτ. χαράν, q. ν.]. The neuter δεύτερον is used adverbially in the second place, a second time [cf. W. § 37,5 Note 1]: Jn. iii. 4; Rev. xix. 3; πάλιν is added, as often in Grk. writ. (see ἄνωθεν, fin.): Jn. xxi. 16; also τὸ δεύτερον, 2 Co. xiii. 2; Jude 5; ἐκ δευτέρου (1 Mace. ix. 1), Mk. xiv. 72; Jn. ix. 24; Acts xi. 9; Heb. ix. 28; ef. W. § 51, 1d.; with…

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

δεύτερος. For δεύτερον = “‘in the second place,” as in 1 Cor 12°, ef. P Tebt 1. 562° (late ii/B.c.) καλῶς οὖν ποήσῃς εὐχαριστῆσαι πρῶτον μὲν τοῖς θεοῖς δεύτερον δὲ σῶσαι ψυχὰς πολλάς KTA., “please therefore in the first place to give thanks [?—see s. τ. εὐχαριστέω] to the gods and secondly to save many lives, etc.”’ (Edd.) In P Tebt 11. 2977® (c. A.D. 123) we find ἐγ δευτέρου = “ἃ second time,’’ as in Mk 147 αἱ OGZS 299%? (c. B.C. 170) τῆι δεύτερον ἡμέραι is defended by Kaibel αὐ. Dittenberger z ἤθε... appealing to TMAe 1. 155% tar δεύτερον apépar μετὰ τὰ ἱερά, and the analogy of τῷ ὕστερον ἔτει and ἡ σήμερον ἡμέρα. In MGr δευτέρα is “ Monday”’ (ἡ δεύτερη = 2nd, fem. of δεύτερος and sharing its…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δεύτερος (deuteros) — secondly.

δεύτερος, α, ον,

second, (perhaps from δύο with comparative termination):

I. next in Order (with a notion of Time), in [Refs 8th c.BC+] of one who comes in second in a race,[Refs]next, [Refs]; οὔ μ᾽ ἔτι δ. ὧδε ἵξετ᾽ ἄχος no second grief, i.e. none hereafter like this, [Refs]; as comparative, with genitive, ἐμεῖο δεύτεροι after my time, [Refs]; σοὶ δ᾽ οὐκέτι δ. ἔσται no second choice will be allowed thee, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in Attic dialect and Trag. with Article, ὁ δ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; αἱ δ. πως φροντίδες σοφώτεραι second thoughts are wisest, [Refs 5th c.BC+] the next best way, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.2. of Time, next, later, δ. χρόνῳ in after time, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; δ. ἡμέρῃ on the next day, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; δ. ἔτεϊ τούτων in the year after…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δεύτερος

deuteros

as the compare of 1417; (ordinal) second (in time, place, or rank;

also adverb):--afterward, again, second(-arily, time).

see GREEK for 1417

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δεύτερος, α, ον

Adj & Adv.

second, in the second place, for the second time

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δεύτερος deuteros 43x

second, Mt. 22:26; τὸ δεύτερον, again, the second time, another time, Jude 5; so ἐκ δευτέρου, Mt. 26:42; and ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ, Acts 7:13

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δεύτερος second, being comp. of δύο:

in point of Order, of one who comes in second in a race, Il.: in attic with Art., ὁ δεύτερος Soph., etc.; αἱ δεύτεραι φροντίδες second thoughts, Eur.; proverb., τὸν δ. πλοῦν to try the next best way, Plat.

of Time, δευτέρηι ἡμέρηι on the next day, Hdt.: c. gen., ἐμεῖο δεύτερος after my time, Il.; δευτέρωι ἔτεϊ τούτων in the year after this, Hdt.: in neut. as adv., δεύτερον αὖ, δεύτερον αὖτις secondly, next, afterwards, a second time, Hom., attic; in Prose also δεύτερα:— with Art., τὸ δεύτερον Hdt., Aesch., etc.; τὰ δεύτερα Thuc.; ἐκ δευτέρου for the second time, NTest.

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

ADV ADVerb or adverb and particle combined

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

tim: The basis of the Hebrew measurement of time was the day and the lunar month, as with the Semites generally. The division of the day into hours was late, probably not common until after the exile, although the sun-dial of Ahaz (2Ki 20:9; Isa 38:8) would scent to indicate some division of the day into periods of some sort, as we know the night was divided, The word used for "hour" is Aramaic she`a' (sha`ta'), and does not occur in the Old Testament until the Book of Daniel (4:33; 5:5), and even there it stands for an indefinite period for which "time" would answer as well.

1. The Day:

The term "day" (yom) was in use from the earliest times, as is indicated in the story of the Creation (Ge 1). It there doubtless denotes an indefinite period, but is marked off by "evening and…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Besides the ordinary uses of this word, the Bible sometimes employs it to denote a year, as in Da 4:16; or a prophetic year, consisting of three hundred and sixty natural year, a day being taken for a year. Thus in Da 7:25 12:7, the phrase "a time, times, and the dividing of a time" is supposed to mean three and a half prophetic years, or 1,260 natural years. This period is elsewhere paralleled by the expression, "forty-two months," each month including thirty years, Re 11:2-3 12:6,14 13:5.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ Beginning of Ge 1:1,14

→ Epochs of

Before the flood Jos 24:2

→ The exodus Ex 19:1; 40:17; 1Ki 6:1

→ Daniel' s reckoning of time, and times, and half times Da 7:25; 12:7

→ Indicated by a sun-dial 2Ki 20:9-11; Isa 38:8

→ Division of, into watches Ex 14:24; 1Sa 11:11; Mt 14:25; Mr 6:48

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- The duration of the world

Job 22:16; Re 10:6

- The measure of the continuance of anything

Jud 18:31

- An appointed season

Ne 2:6; Ec 3:1,17

- COMPUTED BY

. Years

Ge 15:13; 2Sa 21:1; Da 9:2

. Months

Nu 10:10; 1Ch 27:1; Job 3:6

. Weeks

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
67%second
second67% · 31×second time24% · 11×secondly4% · 2×a second2% · 1×afterward2% · 1×

46 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 5 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial46%subject36%object11%predicate7%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 44 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheθάνατοςdeath
ἐκ
πάλινagain, further, εὐθέωςimmediately, sooἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
καίand, even, also, nam
φυλακήa watching, guarεἷςone
πάλινagain, further, on t
δέbut, on the otheαὐτός
αὐτός
μήτηρa mother
δεύτεροςa second time44×
what comes after →
λέγωI say, speak
ὡσαύτωςlikewiseArticle the
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἄπειμι (I)I am absent
ἀπέρχομαιI come or go away fr
προσεύχομαιI pray, pray forὁράωI see, look upon
ζῷονan animal
ὅμοιοςlike, similar toλέγωI say, speak
ὅμοιοςlike, similar to
αὐτός

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

Concordanceδεύτερος · 44× in the New Testament
Revelation Acts Hebrews John Matthew Luke Mark 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 Peter Jude Titus
Across the New Testament12 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 124 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas The Didache Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 37c. AD 40

ὀνομάζει δὲ καὶ ἡμέραν μετὰ τὴν γένεσιν αὐτοῦ δευτέραν, ὅλον ἡμέρας διάστημα καὶ μέτρον ἀνατιθεὶς οὐρανῷ διὰ τὴν ἐν αἰσθητοῖς ἀξίωσίν τε καὶ τιμήν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.10c. AD 75–95

Εὗρον τοίνυν, ὅτι Πτολεμαίων μὲν ὁ δεύτερος μάλιστα δὴ βασιλεὺς περὶ παιδείαν καὶ βιβλίων συναγωγὴν σπουδάσας ἐξαιρέτως ἐφιλοτιμήθη τὸν ἡμέτερον νόμον καὶ τὴν κατʼ αὐτὸν διάταξιν τῆς πολιτείας εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα φωνὴν μεταβαλεῖν,

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 13.5c. AD 100

Καὶ ἐποίησεν Ἰακὼβ ἐναλλὰξ τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπέθηκεν τὴν δεξιὰν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἐφραίμ, τοῦ δευτέρου καὶ νεωτέρου, καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτόν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. AD 7th c. AD
ZPE 14 (1974), p. 146-151Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)11 BC

ν αἰγων β ἔτους ἑνὸς καὶ εἰκοστοῦ τῆς Καίσαρος κρατήσεως Θεοῦ υἱοῦ Σεβαστοῦ Δείου δευτέρᾳ καὶ εἰκάδι Θὼθ δευτέρᾳ καὶ εἰκάδι ἐν Πτολεμαίδι Εὐεργέτιδι τοῦ Ἀρσινοίτου νομοῦ. ἐμίσθωσεν Γάιος

P.Amh. 2 113Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 157

κη οὐλὴ μετώπῳ μετὰ κυρίου τοῦ ἀνδρὸς Στοτοήτεως Πακύσεως ὡς ἐτῶν λε οὐλὴ δακτύλῳ δευτέρῳ χειρὸς ἀριστερᾶς, ἀπέχειν παρʼ αὐτῆς τὸν ὁμολογοῦντα παραχρῆμα διὰ χειρὸς ἀπὸ ἀργυρίου δραχμῶν τριακοσίων

P.Amh. 2 90ArsinoitesAD 159

ἐκφορίου τοῦ παντὸς ἀσπερμεὶ τῷ μὲν πρώτῳ ἔτει πυροῦ ἀρταβῶν τριάκοντα δύο τῷ δὲ δευτέρῳ ἔτει ὁμοίως πυροῦ ἀρταβῶν τεσσαράκοντα καὶ θαλλοῦ κατʼ ἔτος ὁμοίως πυροῦ ἀρτάβης μιᾶς πάντων

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
εἰσελθεῖνeiserchomai to enter G1525 Verb · second aorist · active · infinitive
192× 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 enter means to go into a place or situation, like Jesus entering a house in Matthew 9:25 or a city in Mark 1:21. It can be physical or symbolic, like entering a new phase of life. This word is used in many Bible stories, including when Jesus entered Jerusalem in Mark 11:11.
Amplified meaning
go into, become part of
Tyndale gloss
to enter
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word εἰσέρχομαι (*eiserchomai*) means to enter, either literally or figuratively. It is composed of the prefix εἰς (into) and the root ἔρχομαι (to come). This term is used in various contexts in the New Testament, including entering a house (Matthew 8:5) or the kingdom of God (Matthew 7:13). It can also refer to entering into states of being or experiences, such as hope or temptation.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰσ-έρχομαι,

[in LXX chiefly for בּוֹא ;]

to go in or into, enter: Mt 9:25, Lk 7:45, al.; seq. εἰς, Mt 10:12, Mk 2:1, al.; seq. διά (πύλης, θύρας, etc.), Mt 7:13, Jo 10:1, al.; ὑπὸ τ. στέγην, Mt 8:8; c. adv.: ὅπου, Mk 14:14, He 6:20; ὧδε, Mt 22:12; ἔσω, Mt 26:58; seq. πρός, c acc. pers., Mk…

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

εἰσ-έρχομαι ; fut. εἰσελεύσομαι ; 2 aor. εἰσῆλθον, 2 pers. plur. εἰσήλθατε (Lk. xi. 52, but Rec. -@ere), impy. εἰσέλθατε (Mt. vii. 13 but R ἃ -θετε, [3d pers. sing. -θάτω Mk. xiii. 15, R G -θέτω]) ; see ἀπέρχομαι, init. ; pi. εἰσελήλυθα, 3 pers. plur. εἰσελήλυθαν (Jas. v. 4, for RG εἰσεληλύθασιν, see γίνομαι, init.); Sept. mostly for 8)3; to go or come into or in; to enter; 1. prop., of men and of animals: foll. by eis with specification of the place (cf. Win. De verb. comp. ete. Pt. ii. p. 12 sq-), as into a house, into a city, Mt. viii. 5; x. 12; Mk. ii. 1; xi. 11; Acts xxiii. 16, 33, and often. without specification of place, —when mention of it has already been made, as Mt. ix. 25; [Mk. vii. 25 Tdf.]; Lk. vii. 45; xiv. 23; xv. 28 ef. 25; xxiv.3; Actsi. 13; v. 7,10; x. 25; 1 Co. xiv. 23 sq. ; or it can be easily supplied from the context, as Lk. xiii. 24; xvii. 7; εἰς is also added…

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

εἰσέρχομαι. With the use of εἰσέρχομαι in Lk 177 we may compare P Eleph 138 (B.c. 223-2) οὔπω εἰσελήλυθεν ἐξ ἀγροῦ. For other examples of this common verb, cf. P Ryl 11. 151° (A.D. 40) εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν ὑ[πάρ]χοί(υσαν) ἐν τῇ κώμῃ οἰκ[ίαν, P Oxy ID. 237% 17 (a.p. 186) τὸν μείζονα ἀγῶνα e[i]oeXevoerat, ‘he shall enter upon the more serious lawδι (Edd.), and P Tebt 11. 4188 (iii/A.D.) καλῶς ποιήσεις, ἀδελφέ, [ἐϊὰν εἰσέρχῃ ἐνεγκὼν μετὰ σεαυτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκά μου, ἔγραψα [γ]ὰρ αὐτῇ σὺν σοὶ εἰσελθεῖν, “you will do well, brother, to come up and bring my wife with you, for I have written to her to come with you’’ (Edd.). See also P Leid W¥-4! (ii/iii A.D.) Κύριε... . εἴσελθε καὶ ἐπάκουσόν por. On the use of the mid. εἰσέλθοιτο for the active in Phrygian sepulchral inscrr. see W. M. Ramsay Exp T xxvi. p.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰσέρχομαι (eiserchomai) — to enter.

εἰσέρχομαι,

future -ειεύσομαι: aorist -ήλῠθον, -ῆλθον: in Attic dialect, future is supplied by εἴσειμι, and imperfect by εἰσῄειν:— go in or into, enter, in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἄλσος, δόμους, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; εἰσῆλθ᾽ ἑκατόμβας invaded the hecatombs, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: but in Prose mostly with Preps., ἐς οἴκημα [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐς. ἐς τὰς σπονδάς come into the treaty, [Refs]; εἰς τὸν πόλεμον variant in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; εἰ. εἰς τοὺς ἐφήβους enter the ranks of the Ephebi, [Refs]; also εἰ. πρός τινα enter his house, visit him, [Refs]; of a doctor, pay a visit, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, of money, etc., come in, προσόδους εἰσελθούσας [Refs]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰσέρχομαι

eiserchomai

from 1519 and 2064; to enter (literally or figuratively):--X arise,

come (in, into), enter in(-to), go in (through).

see GREEK for 1519

see GREEK for 2064

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰσέρχομαι

v.

I go in, come in, enter

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰσέρχομαι eiserchomai 194x

to go or come in, enter, Mt. 7:13; 8:5, 8; spc. to enter by force, break in, Mk. 3:27; Acts 20:29; met. with εἰς κόσμον, to begin to exist, come into existence, Rom. 5:12; 2 Jn. 7; or, to make one’s appearance on earth, Heb. 10:5; to enter into or take possession of, Lk. 22:3; Jn. 13:27; to enter into, enjoy, partake of, Mt. 19:23, 24; to enter into any one’s labor, be his successor, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εἰσέρχομαι fut. -ελεύσομαι aor2 -ήλυ^θον, -ῆλθον but attic fut. is supplied by εἴσειμι and imperf. by εἰσῄειν Dep.:— to go in or into, enter, c. acc., Il., etc.; in Prose, εἰς. εἰς . . , Xen., etc.; εἰς. εἰς τὰς σπονδάς to come into the treaty, Thuc.; εἰς. εἰς τοὺς ἐφήβους to enter the Ephebi, Xen.: of money, to come in, id. Xen.

of the chorus or of actors, to come upon the stage, to enter, Plat., Xen.:— to enter the lists, Soph.

as attic law-term, of the accuser, to come into court, Plat., Dem.

metaph., [μένος] ἄνδρας ἐσέρχεται courage enters into the men, Il.; Κροῖσον γέλως εἰσῆλθεalso c. dat., δέος εἰς. τινι Plat.:—also to come into one's mind, Hdt.; so, impers., εἰσῆλθε αὐτόν, c. inf., it comes into one's head that . . , id.…

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

V-2AAN Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Active Mood: iNfinitive TVM equivalent: G5629

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
12%having entered
having entered12% · 24×enter12% · 23×he entered8% · 16×entered8% · 16×entering6% · 11×you may enter4% · 7×do enter3% · 5×they entered2% · 4×other renderings45% · 88×

194 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 67 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
verb93%adverbial5%object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 192 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
αὐτόςἑαυτοῦἀρχιερεύςhigh priest, chi
μήNeg
οὐNegἵναin order that, sΣαμαρίτηςa Samaritan
αὐτός
ἔγερσιςa waking up, resεἰςπαρακαλέωI summon, entrea
Article the
εἰμίI am, existοὐNegοὐδέNeg
θεόςGod, a god
Article the
εἰσέρχομαιto enter192×
what comes after →
εἰς
Article theαὐτόςπειρασμόςtrial, testing,
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἐξέρχομαιI go out, come oἐπιτρέπωI allow, permit
δέbut, on the other ha
εἰςArticle theαὐτός
διά
Article theαὐτόςἀπιστίαunbelief, unfait
αὐτός
εἰςκαίand, even, also,

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

Concordanceεἰσέρχομαι · 192× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Acts Mark Hebrews John Revelation James 1 Corinthians Romans

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament10 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 333 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.34c. AD 40

διὸ καὶ Μωυσῆς φησιν ὅτι „οὐκ ἐάσει τὸν ὀλοθρεύοντα εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὰς οἰκίας ὑμῶν πατάξαι“ (Exod.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.319c. AD 75–95

καὶ οἱ μὲν μηδὲ θύσαντες, οἱ δὲ ἡμιέργους τὰς θυσίας καταλιπόντες, πολλοὶ δʼ οὐδʼ ἀρχὴν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν δυνηθέντες ἀπίασιν ὑπακούειν τοῖς Μωυσέος προστάγμασι μᾶλλον ἢ ποιεῖν τὰ κατὰ βούλησιν τὴν ἑαυτῶν προτιμῶντες, καὶ τὸν ἐλέγξοντα περὶ…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.8c. AD 100

Ἰδού, τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός: Εἰσέλθατε εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθήν, ἣν ὤμοσεν κύριος τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακώβ, καὶ κατακληρονομήσατε αὐτήν, γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι.

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 2nd c. BC 6th c. AD
P.Ryl. 2 151Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 40

τῆς Θεμίστου μερίδος. Ἡραῒς γυνὴ Ἡρακλᾶτος τοῦ Π … … τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς κώμης εἰσελθοῦσα εἰς τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν ἐν τῇ κώμῃ οἰκίαν καὶ συλλαβοῦσα τὴν θυγατέρα μου ἔδωκεν πληγὰς

P.Fouad 1 75ArsinoitesAD 64

r Θαυβᾶς Πομπηίωι τῶι πατρὶ χαίρειν. καλῶς ποιήσεις λαβὼν τὴν ἐπιστολήν μου ἐξαυτῆς εἰσελθὼν διὰ τὸ τὴν ταλαίπωρον θυγατέρα σου Ἑρεννίαν τετελευτηκέναι καὶ ἤδη εὐτυχῆσθαιτῷ Φαῶφι τῆι ἐνάτηι

P.Vind.Bosw. 1Nilopolis (Arsinoites)AD 87

μερίδος στρατηγοῦ … … ος τὸ ὑπογεγραμμένον ε … ως ἐξ ἡμῶν ἄνδρες ι εἰσελθόντες εἰς τὸν κράτιστον πρὸς τῷ ἰδίῳ λόγῳ ἠξίουν ἐξετασθῆναι πότερον πραταὶ αἱ τάξεις εἰσὶν

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× 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
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

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

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

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

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

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
89%and
and89% · 8448×also8% · 714×other renderings2% · 191×other renderings1% · 124×

9,477 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 42 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial16%subject13%object10%predicate3%verb2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 8,978 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
ἐνἐπίπρός
σύ
χάριςgrace, favor, kiπρόςπατήρfather, Father,
ἐγώ
πατήρfather, Father, πρόςθεόςGod, a god
εἰμίI am, exist
αὐτόςArticle theἐγώ
θεόςGod, a god
Article theθέλημαwill, wish, desiδέbut, on the othe
καίand8978×
what comes after →
Article the
ἀδελφόςa brotherπατήρfather, Father, μήτηρa mother
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theπρός
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existμήNegδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
Article theαὐτόςἀνήρa male human bei
ἐν
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ὅλοςall, the whole,

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

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

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

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

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

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

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Says to Him <the> Nicodemus; How is able a man to be born old being? Not is he able into the womb of the mother of him a second time to enter and to be born?
γεννηθῆναι;¶gennaō to be born? G1080 Verb · aorist · passive · infinitive
97× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To beget means to produce or create offspring, and is used to describe the father or mother of a child. It can also mean to regenerate or be born again, as seen in Matthew and Luke.
Amplified meaning
to experience spiritual rebirth, to be remade
Tyndale gloss
to beget
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

γεννάω is a verb meaning to beget or bring forth, primarily used in the context of fathers begetting children and mothers giving birth. It also extends metaphorically to concepts like regeneration and producing effects in various contexts. The New Testament uses it in passages such as Matthew 1:1-16 and John 3:4, where it refers to both physical birth and spiritual rebirth.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γεννάω, -ῶ

(< γέννα, poët. for γένος),

[in LXX chiefly for ילד ;]

of the father, to beget: c. acc., Mt 1:1-16, Ac 7:8, 29; seq. ἐκ, Mt 1:3, 5, 6.

Of the mother, to bring forth, bear: Lk 1:13, 57 23:29, Jo 16:21; εἰς δουλείαν, Ga 4:24. Pass.

to be begotten: Mt 1:20;

to be born: Mt 2:1, 4 19:12 26:24, Mk 14:21, Lk 1:35, Jo 3:4, Ac 7:20, Ro 9:11,

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

γεννάω, -@ ; fut. γεννήσω ; 1 aor. ἐγέννησα; pf. yeyevynka; [Pass., pres. γεννάομαι, -ῶμαι]; pf. yeyevynpar; 1 aor. ἐγεννήθην ; (fr. γέννα, poetic for γένος) ; in Grk. writ. fr. Pind. down; in Sept. for 37°; to beget; 1. properly : of men begetting children, Mt. i. 1-16; Acts vii. 8, 29; foll. by ἐκ with gen. of the mother, Mt. i. 3, 5, 6; more rarely of women giving birth to children, Lk. i. 13, 57; xxiii. 29; Jn. xvi. 215; εἰς δουλείαν to bear a child unto bondage, that will be a slave, Gal. iv. 24, ({ Xen. de rep. Lae. 1, 3]; Leian. de sacrif.6; Plut. de liber. educ. 5; al.; Sept. Is. xvi. 9; 4 Mace. x. 2, etc.). Pass. to be begotten: τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθέν that which is begotten in her womb, Mt. i. 20; to be born: Mt. ii. 1, 4 [W. 266 (250) ; B. 203 (176) ]; xix. 12; xxvi. 24; Mk. xiv. 21; Lk. i. 35; Jn. 111. 4; [Acts vii. 20]; Ro. ix. 11; Heb. xi. 23; with the addition εἰς τὸν κόσμον…

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

γεννάω. P Fay 289 (A.p. 150-1) (= Selections, p. 82) ἀπογραφόμεθα τὸν γεννηθέντα ἡμεῖν ... υἱόν : the same formula in BGU I. 111} (ii/a.p.). Ῥ Gen I. 191 (Δ... 148) μηδέ[π]ω pov yevvyO(elons), 2. 3314 (ab. 156) γεννηθέντα [τ]ῷ ts (ἔτει) ᾿Αντω[νίνου] Καίσαρος, Sy// 406° (A.D. 147) συνησθέντες μοι γεννηθέντος υἱοῦ (of civic congratulations sent to Antoninus), C. avd B. ii. 590 (p. 656) Λούκιος γυν αι]κὶ ἰδίᾳ σεμνοτάτῃ, γεννηθείσῃ ἔτους Ῥξα (=a.p. 77), BGU I. 132 11:5 (ii/A.D.) Ἥρων ἄλλος vids μη(τρὸς) τῆς α(ὐτῆς) yevνηθ(είς). The confusion of forms from γίνομαι and forms from γεννάω, which gave a start to the mixing of γένημα and γέννημα, produces in BGU I. 28'® (Ἀν. 183) and riot (A.b. 138-9) the form γενηθέντα : see Deissmann 4S p. 154. With Mk 14%! cf. OGZS 45819 διὸ ἄν τις δικαίως ὑπολάβοι τοῦτο ἁτῶι ἀρχὴν τοῦ βίου Kal τῆς ζωῆς γεγονέναι, ὅ ἐστιν πέρας καὶ ὅρος τοῦ μεταμέλεσθαι, ὅτι…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γεννάω (gennaō) — to beget.

γενν-άω,

future middle γεννήσομαι in passive sense, [Refs 1st c.BC+] (but -ηθήσομαι[Refs]: (γέννα):—causal of γίγνομαι (compare γείνομαι), mostly of the father, beget, ὁ γεννήσας πατήρ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οἱ γεννήσαντές σε your parents, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὅθεν γεγενναμένοι sprung, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of the mother, bring forth, bear, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle, produce from oneself, create, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. produce, grow, get, κἂν σῶμα γεννήσῃ μέγα [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. metaphorically, engender, produce, λήθη τῶν ἰδίων κακῶν θρασύτητα γεννᾷ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; γεννῶσι τὸν οὐρανὸν [οἱ φιλόσοφοι] call it into existence, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; ὁ ἐξ ἀσωμάτου γεννῶν λόγος[Refs 3rd c.AD+]; of numbers, produce a total, [Refs 1st…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γεννάω

gennao

from a variation of 1085; to procreate (properly, of the father, but

by extension of the mother); figuratively, to regenerate:--bear,

beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make,

spring.

see GREEK for 1085

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γεννάω

v.

I beget, bring forth, give birth to

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γένημα genēma 4x

natural produce, fruit, increase, Mt. 26:29; Mk. 14:25; Lk. 12:18; 22:18; 2 Cor. 9:10*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γεννάω 11), of the father, to beget, engender, Aesch., Soph.; rarely of the mother, to bring forth, Aesch.; οἱ γεννήσαντες the parents, Xen.; τὸ γεννώμενον the child, Hdt.:—like φύω 1. 2, as κἂν σῶμα γεννήσηι μέγα even if he grow, get a large body, i. e. if he be of giant frame, Soph.

metaph. to produce, Plat.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-APN — Verb · aorist · passive · infinitive
aorist passive infinitive — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-APN Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: Passive Mood: iNfinitive TVM equivalent: G5683

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

See BORN.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
40%begat
begat40% · 39×born18% · 17×has been born5% · 5×having been born4% · 4×have begotten3% · 3×he begat2% · 2×shall be born2% · 2×be born2% · 2×other renderings24% · 23×

97 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 30 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb96%object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 97 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
δέbut, on the other ha
ἸακώβPropἸσαάκPropἸούδαςJudah, Judas, Ju
Article the
πᾶςall, the whole, καίand, even, also,ἀγαπάωI love
οὐNeg
εἰCondὅςπορνείαfornication, ido
θεόςGod, a god
Article theἐκ
τυφλόςblind
ὅτιthat, since, becἵναin order that, sὀφθαλμόςthe eye
γεννάωto be born?97×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸσαάκPropἸακώβPropἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
ἐκ
Article theπνεῦμαwind, breath, spὕδωρwater
καίand, even, also, nam
μαστόςa breast, papεἰςοὗτος
ἐν
ΒηθλέεμPropΤαρσόςTarsusArticle the
υἱόςa son, descendent
σύδύο

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

Concordanceγεννάω · 97× in the New Testament
Matthew John 1 John Acts Hebrews Luke Galatians 1 Corinthians 2 Peter 2 Timothy Mark Philemon
Across the New Testament13 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 142 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Didache
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 51c. AD 40

αὐτίκα γοῦν ὁ ἓξ συντιθέμενος ἐκ δυοῖν τριάδων οὐκέτι γεννᾶται πολυπλασιασθεισῶν, ἀλλ’ ἕτερος, ὁ ἐννέα.

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

ὡς ἐκ Κατούρης Ἁβράμῳ γαμηθείσης τὸ τῶν Τρωγλοδυτῶν Ἀράβων ἔθνος ἐγεννήθη.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 19.5c. AD 100

οὐ φονεύσεις τέκνον ἐν φθορᾷ, οὐδὲ πάλιν γεννηθὲν ἀποκτενεῖς.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 0th c. BC 1st c. AD
PSI 12 1242101 BC–AD 100

ἀπαλλάξομεν. εὖ δʼ ἂν ἔχοι καὶ ὑμᾶς ἑορτάσαι πρεπόντως τῆι πρώτηι γενεθλίωι Διονυσίου πρώτου γεννηθέντος παιδίου. ἡμεῖς δὲ ἤδη πρὸς τῶι πλεῖν ἦμεν. ἀσπάζου τὴν μητέρα καὶ Διονύσιον καὶ

P.Warr. 2ArsinoitesAD 72

ἀπογράφομαι τὸν ἐπιγεννηθέντα μοι ἐκ τῆς συνούσης μοι γυναικὸς Ταμάρωνος τῆς Ἡρακλείου υἱὸν Ἡρακλείδην γεγεννημένον τῶι β ἔτει Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος Οὐεσπασιανοῦ Σεβαστοῦ καὶ ὄντα ἐτῶν γ ἐπιδίδωμι τὴν ἀπογραφήν.

P.Mich. 3 203Pselkis (Nubien)AD 114–AD 116

Ἰουλλίου πάντα ἐκομισάμην καὶ διὰ τοῦ παιδαρίου Ἰουλίου κάλαθον ἐλαιῶν. γινώσκειν σε θέλω ὅτι ἐγεννήθη μοι ἄλλο παιδίον ἄρσενον ᾧ ὄνομα Ἀγαθὸς Δαίμων θεῶν θελόντων. ἐὰν εὕρω εὐκαιρίαν ἐργασίαν

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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