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Luke 12:49 — Word Study

Depth

N1904Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τί θέλω εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη.

BSAFirepur [flames or divine judgment] I cameerchomai [to bring, to send] to castballō [set fire to, kindle] uponeis theho earth [the soil or the world] andkai howtis I wishthelō [desire, long for] ifei alreadyēdē it be kindled!anaptō [even now, burning or ablaze]

Word
Listen & take awayLuke 12
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 49 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 (anaptō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Luke 12:49quick helps
In a sentenceJesus declares His purpose to bring a transformative fire to the earth, expressing a deep longing for it to be ignited.
Who is speakingJesus is speaking about His mission and the urgency of His message.
Where we areThis verse is part of a broader teaching where Jesus contrasts His mission with expectations of peace.
The hard wordΠῦρ
Take awayThe fire represents a divine judgment or transformation that Jesus desires to initiate.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause verbἔρχομαι The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the New Testament.

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

Deep Study — Luke 12:49

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

Context — The Mission of Jesusgenerated

48But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.
49I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
50But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.

Luke 12:49 occurs within a passage where Jesus speaks about the implications of His coming. He emphasizes that His arrival is not merely to bring peace but also to provoke a division and a change in the hearts of people. This fire symbolizes the judgment and the purification that His message will bring, as He prepares to fulfill His mission on earth.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Luke 12:51–52Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.
2Isaiah 11:4but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.
3Joel 2:30–31I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
4Malachi 3:2–3But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
5Malachi 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”

The Key Word Πῦρ, purgenerated

The Greek word πῦρ (i.e., *pur*) means 'fire' and can refer to literal flames or metaphorical concepts like divine judgment. It is used in various contexts throughout the Bible, often symbolizing trials or purification, as seen in passages like Matthew 3:10 and Revelation 20:10.

In this verse, fire represents both the transformative power of Jesus’ message and the judgment that accompanies it. The choice of this word indicates the intensity and urgency of His mission.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses the phrase ignite a fire. The KJV and ASV use send fire, which conveys a similar idea but emphasizes the act of dispatching rather than igniting.

Where the translations differ, they do so primarily in the rendering of ἦλθονI came (ASV, WEB, YLT) versus to send (KJV, BBE) — and θέλωI wish (BSB, WEB) versus I desire (ASV). The translations agree on the meaning of ἤδη, all rendering it as already.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the verse is ἦλθον, I came, which governs the rest of the sentence. It is followed by a noun phrase, Πῦρ, fire, as the object, and an infinitive phrase, βαλεῖν, to cast, indicating the purpose of His coming.

The structure also includes a conditional clause introduced by εἰ, if, which presents a hypothetical situation regarding the state of the fire, and concludes with a verb phrase ἀνήφθη, it be kindled, expressing a desire for the fire to already be burning.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

πῦρ corresponds to the Hebrew word אֵשׁ (H784), which also means 'fire'. This connection highlights the continuity of the concept of fire as a symbol of judgment and purification in both the Old and New Testaments.

The term ἀνάπτω is not found in the Septuagint but is significant in the context of igniting or kindling, which is a recurring theme in the Hebrew Scriptures when discussing divine actions.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Luke 12:49 shows Jesus expressing His purpose of bringing a fire to the earth, symbolizing a transformative message that brings both judgment and change. He wishes for this fire to be kindled now, indicating the urgency of His mission.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does the fire symbolize in this verse?

The fire symbolizes the transformative power of Jesus' message and the judgment that comes with it, representing both purification and division.

Why does Jesus express a desire for the fire to be kindled?

Jesus expresses a longing for the fire to be kindled to emphasize the urgency of His mission and the need for transformation in the hearts of people.

How does this verse relate to other teachings of Jesus?

This verse relates to Jesus' broader teachings about division and the cost of discipleship, as seen in other passages where He speaks of the challenges His followers will face.

What does it mean that Jesus came to send fire on the earth?

It means that Jesus' mission includes bringing a message that will challenge and change people's lives, often leading to conflict and division as they respond to His call.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways can I allow the transformative fire of Jesus' message to change my life?
  2. How do I respond to the challenges that come with following Jesus, as indicated in this verse?
  3. What does it mean for me to be a witness of this fire in my community?
  4. How can I prepare my heart to be kindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit?

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

The early church Fathers reference this verse to discuss the nature of Jesus' mission and the implications of His message of judgment and transformation.

TertullianAgainst Marcion Book IV c. 155–220
Whom else than the God of retribution can I understand by Him who shall "beat His servants with stripes," either "few or many," and shall exact from them what He had committed to them? Whom is it suitable for me to obey,
Early Church Fathers on Luke 12 →
Pseudo-ClementRecognitions (Book VI) 3rd–4th c.
On this account, therefore, He said, 'I have come to send fire on the earth; and how I wish that it were kindled!' [Luke 12:49] There is therefore a certain fight,
Early Church Fathers on Luke 12 →
Methodius of OlympusMethodius Discourse VI. Agathe d. c. 311
For the flesh is truly, as it were, our five-lighted lamp, which the soul will bear like a torch, when it stands before Christ the Bridegroom, on the day of the resurrection,
Early Church Fathers on Luke 12 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Luke 12:49 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

I am come to send fire on the earth,.... Meaning either the Gospel, which is as fire, that gives both light and heat, warms the hearts of God's people, and causes them to burn within them; though

Read John Gill on Luke 12 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? I am come to send, [ balein (G906), rather, 'to cast'] fire on the earth.

Read Robert Jamieson on Luke 12 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Some of the ancients here by fire understood the Holy Ghost, or the preaching of the gospel, with those flames of love and holy affections which that causeth in the hearts of good people; but this interpretation cannot but be looked upon as strained to those who compare this verse with , and the parallel text in . By fire here therefore is to be understood the dissension or division mentioned , with all those persecutions, wars, &c. which are the effects of it. A prediction or threatening of persecutions or wars, or any kind of troubled state of things, is often expressed in holy writ under the notion of fire, and water, or a flood, for though fire and water are opposite in their qualities…

Read Matthew Poole on Luke 12 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? Ver. 49. To send fire on the earth] That is, that persecution that is evangelii genius, guardian of the gospel, as Calvin wrote to the French king, and dogs at the heels the preaching of the truth. And what will I if it be already kindled?] As if he should say, Let it kindle as soon as it will, I am contented; I know much good will come of it.

Read John Trapp on Luke 12 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(49) I am come to send fire on the earth.—There is a strange unique abruptness in the utterance. We are compelled to assume a pause, a moment’s thought, as in one whose gaze looks out into the future, and who at once feels its terrors and yet accepts them. The fire which He came to send is the fire of judgment which shall burn up the chaff (see Note on Matthew 3:12), the baptism of fire which shall purify and cleanse as well as destroy. The Son of Man knew that this, with all its terrors, was what He came to work. If the fire was already kindled, if judgment was already passed upon the unfaithful stewards and the servants who knew their Lord’s will and did it not, why should He wish to…

Read Charles John Ellicott on Luke 12 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 49. I am come to send fire] See this subject largely explained on Matthew 10:34, &c. From the connection in which these words stand, both in this place and in Matthew, it appears as if our Lord intended by the word fire, not only the consuming influence of the Roman sword, but also the influence of his own Spirit in the destruction of sin. In both these senses this fire was already kindled: as yet, however, it appeared but as a spark, but was soon to break out into an all-consuming flame.

Read AdamClarke on Luke 12 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

49. I am come to send fire on the earth] St John had preached “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire” and that “He should burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” The metaphor is probably to be taken in all its meanings; fire as a spiritual baptism; the refining fire to purge gold from dross, and bum up the chaff of all evil in every imperfect character; and the fire of retributive justice. There is a remarkable ‘unwritten saying’ of Christ, “He who is near me is near the fire,” which is preserved in Ignatius, Origen, and Didymus.what will ], if it be already kindled?] Rather, how I would that it had been already kindled! (as in Sir 23:14). It may also be punctuated ‘what…

Read Cambridge on Luke 12 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I am, come ... - The result of my coming will be that there will be divisions and contentions.

Read Albert Barnes on Luke 12 →

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

I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

WEBWorld English Bible2000

“I came to throw fire on the earth. I wish it were already kindled.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

NETBNew English Translation2006

“I have come to bring fire on the earth – and how I wish it were already kindled!

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

¶ I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, if it is already kindled?

RVARevised Version, American1894

I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what will I, if it is already kindled?

NWBWebster's Bible1833

I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I, if it is already kindled?

GNVGeneva Bible1599

I am come to put fire on the earth, and what is my desire, if it be already kindled?

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

I have come to cast a fire on the earth; and what will I if already it has been kindled?

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

'Fire I came to cast to the earth, and what will I if already it was kindled?

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

I came to cast fire to the earth, and what I wish [is] if it were already kindled!

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

I came to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

I have come to set the earth on fire, and I really wish it was already burning!

BBEBible in Basic English1949

I came to send a fire on the earth, and it may even now have been lighted.

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἦλθονerchomai I came G2064 4 different renderings
i cameASV LSV RVA ULB WEB YLT
comeBSB DBY DRA FBV GNV
to sendBBE KJV NWB
to bringMSB NETB
θέλωthelō I wish G2309 3 different renderings
i wishBSB LSV MSB NETB ULB WEB
i desireASV
desireGNV
ἤδηēdē already G2235 2 different renderings
alreadyASV BSB DBY FBV GNV KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
nowBBE

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.

clauseclauseverbἦλθονI cameclause · adverbialobjectΠῦρFireverbβαλεῖνto castprepositional phrase · adverbialἐπὶuponnoun phraseτὴνtheγῆνearthκαὶandclauseobjectτίhowverbθέλωI wishclauseεἰifclauseadverbialἤδηalreadyverbἀνήφθηit be kindled

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

Ignem veni mittere in terram, et quid volo nisi ut accendatur ?

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

ܢܘܪܐ ܐܬܝܬ ܕܐܪܡܐ ܒܐܪܥܐ ܘܨܒܐ ܐܢܐ ܐܠܘ ܡܢ ܟܕܘ ܚܒܬ

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

Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τί θέλω εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τί θέλω εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τί θέλω εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τί θέλω εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τί θέλω εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τί θέλω εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν τὴν γῆν καὶ τί θέλω εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη.

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν τὴν γῆν καὶ τί θέλω εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη.

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
ἐπὶ uponNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WH, TregTR, Byz

Apparatus — SBL Greek New Testament, CC BY 4.0


The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Greek New Testament — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

Luke 12:49πῦρFireFireπῦρἔρχομαιI cameI cameἔρχομαιβάλλωto castto castβάλλωἐπίuponuponἐπίthetheγῆearthearthγῆκαίandandκαίτίςhowhowτίςθέλωI wishI wishθέλωεἰififεἰἤδηalreadyalreadyἤδηἀνάπτωit be kindlit be kindled!ἀνάπτωεἰ δὲ μήNeg.prt. bNeg.prt. but ifεἰ δὲ μήDisj.prt. Disj.prt. or, tἀνάPrep. and,Prep. and, apieἀνάῥίπτωv. I throwv. I throw, casῥίπτωτὶςIndef.pr. Indef.pr. any oτὶςἄσβεστοςAdj inextiAdj inextinguisἄσβεστοςφλόξn.f. a flan.f. a flameφλόξταχύςAdv quicklAdv quickly, spταχύςἨλίαςn.m. Elijan.m. ElijahἨλίαςγέενναn.f. Gehenn.f. Gehennaγέενναφυλακήn.f. a watn.f. a watchingφυλακήκάθημαιv. I sit, v. I sit, am seκάθημαιθρόνοςn.m. a thrn.m. a throne, θρόνοςκατοικέωv. I dwellv. I dwell in, κατοικέωμήτεNeg.cj. noNeg.cj. nor, neμήτεἆραIrg.prt. aIrg.prt. a partἆραεἶπονv. I say, v. I say, speakεἶπονἀγνοέωv. I do nov. I do not knoἀγνοέω
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 Luke 12:49

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.

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
Πῦρpur Fire G4442 Noun · accusative · singular · neuter
71× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Fire, literally or figuratively, is used in the Bible to describe flames, lightning, or God's judgment. It appears in Matthew 13:40 and Revelation 8:5. Jesus teaches about fire in Luke 3:9 and John 15:6.
Amplified meaning
flames or divine judgment
Tyndale gloss
fire
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πῦρ, gen. πυρός, is a Greek noun meaning 'fire.' It appears frequently in the New Testament, often symbolizing divine judgment or trials, as seen in verses like Mark 9:22 and 1 Corinthians 3:13. The word can also refer to hellfire, with specific references in Matthew 18:8 and Revelation 20:10. It has metaphorical uses, such as describing the tongue in James 3:5.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πῦρ, gen., πυρός, τό,

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

fire: Mk 9:22, Lk 3:9, Jo 15:6, Ac 2:19, I Co 3:13, Ja 3:5, Re 8:5, al; π. καὶ θεῖον, Lk 17:29; κατακαίειν (ἐν) π., Mt 13:40, Re 17:16 18:8; καίεσθαι πυρί, He 12:18, Re 8:8 21:8; φλὸξ πυρός, Ac 7:30, Read the full entry →

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

πῦρ, gen. πυρός, τό, [prob. fr. Skr. pu ‘to purify’ (cf. Germ. feuer); Vaniéek p. 541; Curtius § 385], fr. Hom. down; Hebr. wx; fire: Mt. iii. 10, 12; vii.19; xvii. 15; Mk. ix. 22; Lk. iii. 9,17; ix. 54; Jn. xv.6; Actsii. 19; xxviii. 5; 1 Co. iii. 13; Heb. xi. 34; Jas. 111. 5; v. 3; Rev. Cob OAS ths 17. 18. sau Bie ἈΠ|:15.; Sahig 8» Soe PIF Sap 8; xx. 9; ἅπτειν πῦρ, to kindle a fire, Lk. xxii. 55 [T Tr txt. WH περιάπτ.]; ἔβρεξε πῦρ καὶ θεῖον, Lk. xvii. 29; κατακαίειν τι ev ['T om. WH br. ἐν] πυρί, Rev. xvii. 16; xvili. 8; καίομαι πυρί, Mt. xiii. 40 [R LT WH κατακ.]; Heb. xii. 18 [W. § 31, 7 d.]; Rev. viii. 8; xxi. 8; φλὸξ πυρός, a fiery flame or flame of fire, Acts vii. 30; 2 Th. i. 8 Ltxt. Trtxt.; Heb. i. 7; Rev. i.14; ii.18; xix. 12, (Ex. iii. 2 cod. Alex.; Is. xxix.6); mip φλογός, a flaming fire or fire of flame, 2 Th. i.8 RGLmrg. T Trmre. WH (Ex. iii. 2 cod. Vat.; Sir. xlv. 19)…

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

πῦρ (pur) — fire.

πῦρ

(once πύυρ [?~X ¯ ?~X] by 'distraction', [Refs 4th c.BC+]; not used in plural, see at {πυρά},{τά}:—fire, π. καίειν or δαίειν to kindle fire, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; π. ἀνακαίειν, ἅπτειν, ἐξάπτειν, αἴθειν, ἐναύειν, (see entry).; π. ποιεῖν, ποιήσασθαι, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; π. ἐμβαλεῖν νηυσί, κλισίῃσι, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; π. φυσητέον, ῥιπίζειν, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__b π. τεχνικόν, see at {τεχνικός}.

2. funeral-fire (compare πυρά), ὄφρα πυρός με.. λελάχωσι θανόντα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ζῶντα διδόναι τινὰ πυρί burn one alive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. sacrificial fire, ἐν πυρὶ βάλλε θυηλάς [Refs 8th c.BC+]

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

πῦρ

pur

a primary word; "fire" (literally or figuratively, specially,

lightning):--fiery, fire.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πῦρ, πυρός, τό

n.n.

fire, trials

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πῦρ pyr 71x

fire, Mt. 3:10; 7:19; 13:40, et al. freq.; πυρός, used by Hebraism with the force of an adjective, fiery, fierce, Heb. 10:27; fire used figuratively to express various circumstances of severe trial, Lk. 12:49; 1 Cor. 3:13; Jude 23

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πῦρ not used in pl. v. πυρά fire, Hom., etc.; πῦρ καίειν or δαίειν to kindle fire, id. Hom.; πῦρ ἀνακαίειν, ἅπτειν, ἐξάπτειν, αἴθειν, ἐναύειν, v. sub vocc.; πῦρ ἐμβάλλειν νηυσί Il.

the funeral-fire (cf. πυρά), id. Il.

the fire of the hearth, πυρὶ δέχεσθαί τινα Eur.; π. ἄσβεστον or ἀθάνατον the fire of Vesta in the Prytaneion, Plut.

as a symbol of things irresistible or terrible, μάρναντο δέμας πυρὸς αἰθομένοιο they were fighting like burning fire, Il.; κρεῖσσον ἀμαιμακέτου πυρός Soph.; διὰ πυρὸς ἰέναι (as we say) to go through fire and water, Xen.; but, διὰ πυρὸς ἦλθε ἑτέρῳ λέκτρῳ she raged furiously against the other partner of the bed, Eur.:—of persons, ὦ πῦρ σύ Soph.:—rarely as an image of warmth and comfort…

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-ASN — Noun · accusative · singular · neuter
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-ASN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fir ('esh; pur):

These are the common words for fire, occurring very frequently. 'Ur, "light" (Isa 24:15 the King James Version; compare the Revised Version (British and American); Isa 31:9, and see FIRES), nur (Aramaic) (Da 3:22 ff) are found a few times, also 'eshshah (Jer 6:29), and be`erah (Ex 22:6), once each. Ac 28:2,3 has pura, "pyre," and Mr 14:54; Lu 22:56, phos, "light," the Revised Version (British and American) "in the light (of the fire)." "To set…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Fire

(1.) For sacred purposes. The sacrifices were consumed by fire (Gen. 8:20). The ever-burning fire on the altar was first kindled from heaven (Lev. 6:9, 13; 9:24), and afterwards rekindled at the dedication of Solomon’s temple (2 Chr. 7:1, 3). The expressions “fire from heaven” and “fire of the Lord” generally denote lightning, but sometimes also the fire of the altar was so called (Ex. 29:18; Lev. 1:9; 2:3; 3:5, 9).

Fire for a sacred purpose obtained otherwise than from the altar was called “strange fire” (Lev. 10:1, 2;

is represented as the symbol of Jehovah’s presence and the instrument of his power, in the way either of approval or of destruction. (Exodus 3:2; 14:19) etc. There could not be a better symbol for Jehovah than this of fire, it being immaterial, mysterious, but visible, warming, cheering, comforting, but also terrible and consuming. Parallel with this application of fire and with its symbolical meaning are to be noted the similar use for sacrificial purposes and the respect paid to it, or to the heavenly bodies as symbols of deity, which prevailed among so many nations of antiquity, and of which the traces are not even now extinct; e.g. the Sabean and Magian systems of worship. (Isaiah 27:9) Fire for sacred purposes obtained elsewhere than from the altar was called "strange fire," and for the use of such Nadab and Abihu were punished…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

In Scripture, is often connected with the presence of Jehovah; as in the burning bush, and on Mount Sinai, Ex 3:2 19:18 Ps 18:1-50 Hab 1:1-3:19. The second coming of Christ will be "in flaming fire," 2Th 1:8. In the New Testament it illustrates the enlightening, cheering, and purifying agency of the Holy Spirit, Mt 3:11 Ac 2:3. By sending fire from heaven to consume sacrifices, God often signified his acceptance of them: as in the case of Abel, Ge 4:4; Abraham, Ge…

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

Counted over the 246 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 146c. AD 40

συγκέκραται γὰρ ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν, γῆς καὶ ὕδατος καὶ ἀέρος καὶ πυρός, ἑκάστου τῶν στοιχείων εἰσενεγκόντος τὸ ἐπιβάλλον μέρος πρὸς ἐκπλήρωσιν αὐταρκεστάτης ὕλης, ἣν ἔδει λαβεῖν τὸν δημιουργόν, ἵνα τεχνιτεύσῃ τὴν ὁρατὴν ταύτην εἰκόνα·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.70c. AD 75–95

ὑπὲρ δὲ τοῦ μὴ διαφυγεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τὰ ηὑρημένα μηδὲ πρὶν εἰς γνῶσιν ἐλθεῖν φθαρῆναι, προειρηκότος ἀφανισμὸν Ἀδάμου τῶν ὅλων ἔσεσθαι τὸν μὲν κατʼ ἰσχὺν πυρὸς τὸν ἕτερον δὲ κατὰ βίαν καὶ πλῆθος ὕδατος, στήλας δύο ποιησάμενοι τὴν μὲν ἐκ πλίνθου…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 11.1c. AD 96

Διὰ φιλοξενίαν καὶ εὐσέβειαν Λὼτ ἐσώθη ἐκ Σοδόμων, τῆς περιχώρου πάσης κριθείσης διὰ πυρὸς καὶ θείου, πρόδηλον ποιήσας ὁ δεσπότης, ὅτι τοὺς ἐλπίζοντας ἐπ’ αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐγκαταλείπει, τοὺς δὲ ἑτεροκλινεῖς ὑπάρχοντας εἰς κόλασιν καὶ αἰκισμὸν τίθησιν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 2nd c. AD 2nd c. BC 3rd c. AD 1st c. BC
P.Köln 3 14731 BC–AD 15

τριβῆς καὶ σήψεως, πλὴν ἐὰν μή τι βίαιον ἐκ θεοῦ γένηται κατὰ χειμῶνα ἢ πυρὸς ἀπὸ γῆς πάθῃ τὸ πλοῖον ἢ ὑπὸ πολεμίων ἢ λῃστῶν περισπασθῇ ὃ καὶ συμφανὲς

P.Amh. 2 133HermopolitesAD 90–AD 133

χλωρῶν οὔπω οὐδέν. παρακαλῶ σε γράψαι μοι περὶ τῆς ὑγιείας σου. οὐ προχωρεῖ ὁ πυρὸς εἰ μὴ ἐκ δραχμῶν ἑπτά . ἔρρωσο καὶ παρακληθεὶς συνεχῶς ἡμῖν γράφε περὶ τῆς

P.Stras. 4 267Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 126–AD 128

μὲν φοίνικας ἀπὸ συνκομιδῆς καρπῶν, τὸ δὲ ἔδαφος ἀπὸ συγκομιδῆς τῶν σπαρησομένων, τὸν δὲ πυρ… … … … ἐὰν φαίνηται μισθῶσαι ἐπὶ τούτοις

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
ἦλθονerchomai I came G2064 Verb · second aorist · active · indicative · first person · singular
635× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To come or go is the meaning of this word, used in many applications, such as in Matthew 8:9 and Romans 9:9. The KJV translates it in various ways, including come, go, and enter.
Amplified meaning
to bring, to send
Tyndale gloss
to come/go
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἔρχομαι (i.e., *erchomai*) means 'to come' or 'to go.' It is used in various contexts, often indicating arrival or return, and can apply to both people and events. The New Testament frequently employs this term, notably in references to the coming of the Messiah (e.g., Mt 11:3). Lexicons note its use with various prepositions to indicate direction or purpose.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἔρχομαι,

[in LXX very freq. for בּוֹא, also for הלךְ ni., אתה, etc., 34 words in all ;]

to come;

of persons, either as arriving or returning from elsewhere: Mt 8:9, Mk 6:31, Lk 7:8, Jo 4:27, Ro 9:9, al.; seq. ἀπό, Mk 5:35 7:1, Jo 3:2, al.; ἐκ, Lk 5:17, Jo 3:31, al.; εἰς, Mk 1:29, al.; διά seq. εἰς, Mk 7:31; ἐν (Cremer, 263 f., but v.s. ἐν), Ro 15:29,

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

ἔρχομαι, impy. ἔρχου. ἔρχεσθε, (for the Attic ἴθι, tre fr. εἶμι); impf. ἠρχόμην (for ἤειν and ya more com. in Attic) ; fut. ἐλεύσομαι; ---- (on these forms cf. [esp. Rutherford, New Phryn. p. 103 sqq.; Veitch 5. v.]; Matthiae § 234; Bttm. Ausf. Spr. ii. 182 sq.; Kriiger § 40 5. v.; Kiihner §343; W.§ 15s. v.; [B. 58 (50)]); pf. ἐλήλυθα; plpf. ἐληλύθειν; 2 aor. ἦλθον and (occasionally by LT Tr WH [together or severally ]—as Mt. vi. 10; [vii. 25, 27; x.13; xiv. 34; xxv. 86; Mk. i. 29; vi. 29; Lk. i. 59; ii. 16; v. 7; Vi. 17; viii. 35; x1. 2; xxiii. 33; xxiv. 1,23]; Jn. [1.39 (40); iii. 26]; iv. 27; [xii. 97; Acts xii. 10; [xiv. 24]; xxviii. 14 sq. etc.) in the Alexandrian form ἦλθα (see ἀπέρχομαι init. for reff.); Sept. for x13, rarely for ANN and 72; [fr. Hom. down] ; I. to come; 1. prop. a. of persons; a. univ. to come from one place into another, and used both of persons arriving,—as in…

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

ἔρχομαι. P Fay 123!5 (c A.D. 100) ἐλήλυθεν γὰρ Τεύφιλος ᾿Ιουδαῖος λέγων [ὅ]τι ἤχθην is γεωργίαν, ‘ Teuphilus the Jew has come saying, ‘I have been pressed in as a cultivator’” (Edd.) will serve as an instance of the ordinary use of this very common verb: the mention of the Jew Teuphilus (or Theophilus) is interesting. A few miscellaneous exx. may be added which illustrate NT constructions or phrases— with Jn 5*% cf. P Lond 427 (B.c. 168) (= I. p. 30, Se/ections, Ῥ. 10) εἰς πᾶν τι ἐληλυθυῖα διὰ τὴν τοῦ σίτου τιμήν, ‘ having come to the last extremity because of the high price of corn,” P Vat A® (B.c. 168) (= Witkowski’, p. 65) τοῦ παιδίου σου els τὰ ἔσχατα ἐληλυθότος, P Flor IL. 212° (A.D. 254) els τοσαύτην ἀτυχίαν ἦλθες. . . ὡς μὴ ἔχειν σε ἀρτά[β]ην μίαν λωτίνου: with Jn 939 cf. P Tor I. 1 ἴ1 39 (B.c. 116) ἔρχεσθαι ἐπὶ τὸ κριτήριον : with Jn 18, cf. the late P Iand I. 21% (vi/vii A.D.)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἔρχομαι (erchomai) — to come/go.

ἔρχομαι

[Refs 8th c.BC+]: imperfect ἠρχόμην [Refs 5th c.BC+]; frequently in later Prose, [LXX+NT+2nd c.AD+]; in Attic dialect rare even in compounds, ἐπ-ηρχόμην [Refs 5th c.BC+]future ἐλεύσομαι, [Refs 8th c.BC+], Ionic dialect, Trag. [Refs 5th c.BC+], in Attic dialect Prose only in [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist, Epic dialect and Lyric poetry ἤλῠθον [Refs 8th c.BC+]; but ἦλθον is more frequently even in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Epic dialect infinitive ἐλθέμεναι, -έμεν, [Refs 8th c.BC+] unaugmented unless ἐξ-ελύθη [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Doric dialect ἦνθον [Refs 5th c.BC+]; participle ἐνθών [Refs 6th c.BC+]; subjunctive ἔνθῃ [Refs]; Laconian dialect ἔλσῃ, ἔλσοιμι, ἐλσών, [NT+5th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural ἤλθοσαν [LXX+2nd c.BC+]; ἤλυθα [Refs 4th c.AD+]perfect ἐλήλῠθα (not in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; syncopated. plural ἐλήλῠμεν, -υτε, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic dialect…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἔρχομαι

erchomai

middle voice of a primary verb

(used only in the present and imperfect tenses, the others being

supplied by a kindred (middle voice)

eleuthomai el-yoo'-thom-ahee, or (active)

eltho el'-tho,

which do not otherwise occur)

to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and

figuratively):--accompany, appear, bring, come, enter, fall out, go,

grow, X light, X next, pass, resort, be set.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἔρχομαι

v.

I come, go

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἔρχομαι erchomai 632x

to come, to go, to pass. By the combination of this verb with other terms, a variety of meaning results, which, however, is due, not to a change of meaning in the verb, but to the adjuncts. Ὁ ἐρχόμενος, He who is coming, the expected Messiah, Mt. 11:3

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἔρχομαι to come or go, Hom., etc.

to come or go back, return, Od.; in full, αὖτις, ἄψ, πάλιν ἐλθεῖν id. Od.

c. acc. cogn., ὁδόν or κέλευθον ἐλθεῖν to go a journey, Hom., Aesch.; ἀγγελίην ἐλθεῖν to go a message, Il.

c. gen. loci, πεδίοιο ἐλθεῖν over or across the plain, id. Il.

c. part. fut., to denote the object, ἔρχομαι οἰσόμενος I go to fetch, id. Il.; μαρτυρήσων ἦλθον Aesch., etc.:—like an auxiliary Verb, ἔρχομαι λέξων I am going to tell, I intend to say (as in French je vais dire), Hdt.

the aor. part. ἐλθών is often added to another Verb, κάθηρον ἐλθών come and cleanse, Il., etc.

Post-Homeric phrases:

εἰς λόγους ἔρχεσθαί τινι to come to speech with, Hdt., Soph.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-2AAI-1S — Verb · second aorist · active · indicative · first person · singular
second aorist active indicative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-2AAI-1S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: first Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
14%coming
coming14% · 92×having come13% · 81×came11% · 73×come9% · 55×comes7% · 44×they came3% · 22×he came3% · 18×he comes2% · 16×other renderings38% · 241×

642 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 91 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
verb92%adverbial7%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 635 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, existβροχήa heavy rain
Article the
εὐλογέωI blessεἰμίI am, existκαίand, even, also,
ὅτιthat, since, because
αὐτόςἀκούωI hear, listenνομίζωI think, suppose
αὐτός
μαθητήςa learner, disciλέγωI say, speakἐπί
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theὅτανwhen, whensoeverὅτεwhen
ἔρχομαιI came635×
what comes after →
πρός
αὐτόςσύἐγώ
Article the
ὥραan hour, seasonἸησοῦςJesusκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
εἰς
Article theτόποςa placeΚαφαρναούμProp
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theὁράωI see, look uponἔρχομαιI come, go
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theεἰςἡμέραa day

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

Concordanceἔρχομαι · 635× in the New Testament
John Matthew Luke Mark Acts Revelation 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Romans Galatians Hebrews 1 John

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 423 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 Didache
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 27c. AD 40

καὶ γὰρ εὔλογον τῷ ὄντι πρῶτον αὐτὸν εἰς γένεσιν ἐλθεῖν, ἄριστόν τε ὄντα τῶν γεγονότων κἀκ τοῦ καθαρωτάτου τῆς οὐσίας παγέντα, διότι θεῶν ἐμφανῶν τε καὶ αἰσθητῶν ἔμελλεν οἶκος ἔσεσθαι ἱερώτατος.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.27c. AD 75–95

ταύτης δʼ ὑπʼ ὄψιν οὐκ ἐρχομένης, ἀλλὰ βαθεῖ μὲν κρυπτομένης σκότει, πνεύματος δʼ αὐτὴν ἄνωθεν ἐπιθέοντος, γενέσθαι φῶς ἐκέλευσεν ὁ θεός.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 5.9c. AD 100

ὅτε δὲ τοὺς ἰδίους ἀποστόλους τοὺς μέλλοντας κηρύσσειν τὸ εὐαγγέλιον αὐτοῦ ἐξελέξατο, ὄντας ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἁμαρτίαν ἀνομωτέρους, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλούς, τότε ἐφανέρωσεν ἑαυτὸν εἶναι υἱὸν θεοῦ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Cair. Zen. 3 59469276 BC–227 BC

καὶ ἵνʼ ἀεὶ διδῶσιν οἱ ἐκεῖθεν ποιά τινα· τὴν δὲ τιμὴν αὐτοῦ ὡς ἂν ἔλθῃς δώσουσι. καί, εἰ δυνατόν, Ἕρμωνα πρόδομα λαβεῖν ἄχρι τῶν Λαμέδοντος.

P.Lond. 7 2009Philadelphia (Arsinoites)247 BC

καὶ ἐν τῶι β ἔτει … τῆι ζ εἰς τὴν η ἦλθεν μετά μεθυόντων … τινων καὶ ἔκρουσεν τὴν θύραν κελεύων ἄνοιξον ἵνα πίωμεν. ἐμοῦ δὲ

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

παρὰ τοῖς ἐν Πηλουσίωι θεοῖς. καλῶς ποιήσεις διαλύσας Ἁρκοννῆσιν καὶ Ψενανοῦπιν καὶ … … ελθεῖν ἐπὶ προ … ους καὶ γραψάτωσαν ἡμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐσπούδασας διὰ τὰς ἡμῶν παρακλήσεις

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
βαλεῖνballō to cast G906 Verb · second aorist · active · infinitive
123× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To throw something with force, as seen in Matthew 4:18 and 10:34, where Jesus talks about throwing a net and a sword. It can also mean to pour or lay something down. In the Bible, it is used in various contexts, including throwing out demons or laying down one's life.
Amplified meaning
set fire to, kindle
Tyndale gloss
to throw: throw
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

βάλλω,

[in LXX for נפל, שׂום, ידד, etc.;]

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

βάλλω (ballō) — to throw: throw.

βάλλω,

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

βάλλω

ballo

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

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

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

see GREEK for 4496

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

βάλλω

v.

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

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀμφιβάλλω amphiballō 1x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

βάλλω Root ΒΑΛ Act. to throw:

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

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

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

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

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

123 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 61 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 123 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςαἴρωI raise, lift upἧλοςa nail
αὐτός
ἱμάτιονouter garmentπερισσεύωI exceed, am lefἀδελφόςa brother
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
πούςthe footὀφθαλμόςthe eyeὅσος
πῦρfire, trials
εἰςArticle the
ἐγώ
παῖςa boy or girl chἐνἱματισμόςraiment, clothin
βάλλωto cast123×
what comes after →
εἰς
Article theφυλακήa watching, guarγέενναGehenna
Article the
θεόςGod, a godδάκτυλοςa fingerδράκωνa dragon or huge
αὐτός
εἰςArticle the
ἀπό
σύ
καίand, even, also, nam
πυρέσσωI am sick with aὁράωI see, look uponεἰς

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

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

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

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

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

21,20) ἢ βαλλόμενον καὶ τοξευόμενον ἀποκύουσι.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.98c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Sijp. 9 dThebenAD 101–AD 200

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

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

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

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
ἐπὶeis upon G1909 Preposition
886× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A preposition meaning upon, to, or against, often used to show location or direction, like in Matthew 6:10 where Jesus teaches us to pray for God's will to be done on earth. It can also indicate a sense of time or order.
Tyndale gloss
upon/to/against
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

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

with primary sense of superposition, on, upon.

C. gen.,

of place, answering the question, where?

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐπί (epi) — upon/to/against.

ἐπί,

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

__A WITH GEN.:

__A.I of Place,

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐπί

epi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

etc. (literally or figuratively).

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐπί

Prep.

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

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐπί epi 890x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐπί

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

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

WITH GEN.:

of Place,

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

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

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

PREP PREPosition

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

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial91%predicate6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 886 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaαὐτόςλευκόςwhite, bright
αὐτός
δέbut, on the otheφιάληa shallow and flκεφαλήthe head
κάθημαιI sit, am seated
Article theκαίand, even, also,γυνήa woman, wife, m
πίπτωI fall, fall under
δέbut, on the otheκαίand, even, also,Article the
ἔρχομαιI come, go
ὁδόςa way, road, jouγάρforκαίand, even, also,
ἐπίupon886×
what comes after →
Article the
γῆthe earth, soil,κεφαλήthe headθρόνοςa throne, seat
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,Article theὅτιthat, since, bec
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
Article theὅςκαίand, even, also,
σύ
καίand, even, also,Article theπᾶςall, the whole,
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,Article theὅς

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

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

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 29c. AD 40

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

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

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

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

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

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

ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐωνήσατο παρὰ Πανοβχούνιος τοῦ Τοτόηους ἐν τῷ ιε ἔτει Παῦνι γ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀρχείου, μιᾶς μὲν ἐν τῷ ἀπὸ λιβὸς πεδίωι, γείτονες· νότου γῆ Πατοῦτος τοῦ

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

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
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 Luke 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.

Read the full entry →
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

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
γῆν earth G1093 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
250× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for earth or ground, referring to soil, a region, or the entire globe, as seen in Luke 21:35 and Acts 1:8.
Amplified meaning
the soil or the world
Tyndale gloss
earth: soil
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γῆ, γῆς, ἡ,

[in LXX for אֶרֶץ, אֲדָמָה, etc.;]

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

land;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γῆ (gē) — earth: planet.

γῆ, ἡ,

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γῆ

ge

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

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

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

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γῆ, γῆς, ἡ

n.f.

the earth, soil, land

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γῆ gē 250x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

urth ('adhamah, 'erets, 'aphar; ge, oikoumene):

In a hilly limestone country like Palestine, the small amount of iron oxide in the rocks tends to be oxidized, and thereby to give a prevailing reddish color to the soil. This is especially the case on relatively barren hills where there is little organic matter present to prevent reddening and give a more blackish tinge.

'Adhamah (compare 'adham, "a man," and Adam) is from 'adham, "to be red," and is used in the senses: "earth" (Ex 20:24), "land" (Ps 105:35), a "land" or country (Isa 14:2), "ground" (Ge 4:11), "the earth" (Ge 7:4).

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Earth

(1.) In the sense of soil or ground, the translation of the word adamah’. In Gen. 9:20 “husbandman” is literally “man of the ground or earth.” Altars were to be built of earth (Ex. 20:24). Naaman asked for two mules’ burden of earth (2 Kings 5:17), under the superstitious notion that Jehovah, like the gods of the heathen, could be acceptably worshipped only on his own soil.

(2). As the rendering of ’erets, it means the whole world (Gen. 1:2); the land as opposed to the sea (1:10). Erets also denotes a country (21:32); a plot of ground (23:15); the ground on which a man stands (33:3); the inhabitants of the earth (6:1; 11:1); all the world except Israel (

Smith's Bible Dictionary

The term is used in two widely-different senses: (1) for the material of which the earth’s surface is composed; (2) as the name of the planet on which man dwells. The Hebrew language discriminates between these two by the use of separate terms, adamah for the former, erets for the latter. Adamah is the earth in the sense of soil or ground, particularly as being susceptible of cultivation. (Genesis 2:7) Erets is applied in a more or less extended sense-- (1) to the whole world, (Genesis 1:1) (2) to land as opposed to sea, (Genesis 1:10) (3) to a country, (Genesis 21:32) (4) to a plot of ground, (Genesis 23:15) and (5) to…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

In both Hebrew and Greek the same word is used to denote the earth as a whole, and a particular land. Only the context can enable us to decide in which of these senses it is to be taken in a given passage.

Thus in Mt 27:45 we might, so far as the original word is concerned, render either "there was darkness over all the land," or over all the earth. The expression "all the earth" is sometimes used hyperbolically for a large portion of it, Ezr 1:2. The word is used of the whole world, etc. In a moral sense, earthly is opposed to what is heavenly, spiritual and holy, Joh 3:31 1Co 15:47 Col 3:2

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

Counted over the 1,727 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 26c. AD 40

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

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

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.7c. AD 100

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

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

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

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

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

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

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

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke 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

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
τίtis how G5101 Interrogative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
562× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions like who, which, or what, as seen in Matthew 3:7 and Mark 11:28. It seeks information about a person or thing. This term is essential in direct and indirect questions.
Tyndale gloss
which?
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

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

As subst.,

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τίς (tis) — which?.

τίς

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τίς

tis

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

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

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

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

see GREEK for 5100

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τίς, τί

Irg.pr.

who, which, what

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Τίτιος Titios 1x

Titius, pr. name, Acts 18:7*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

Counted over the 601 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

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

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

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.5c. AD 100

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

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

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

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

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

BGU 6 1260Pathyris102 BC

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

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
θέλωthelō I wish G2309 Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · singular
207× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To will or desire something, as seen in Romans 9:16 and 1 Corinthians 12:6, where it describes a person's intentional choice or preference. This word is about making a conscious decision.
Amplified meaning
desire, long for
Tyndale gloss
to will/desire
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

θέλω (thelō) means to will, wish, or desire. It is a common verb in the New Testament, often expressing intention or resolution, and can appear in various constructions, such as with an infinitive or an accusative. The lexicons note its frequent use compared to similar verbs and highlight its role in expressing personal desire or divine will, but they do not indicate significant disagreements among them.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

θέλω (the strengthened form ἐθέλω is found in Hom., and is the more freq. in Attic; v. Rutherford, NPhr., 415 f.),

[in LXX for חפץ ,אבה; c. neg., מאן pi., etc.;]

to will, be willing, wish, desire (more freq. than βούλομαι, q.v., in vernac. and late Gk., also in MGr.; for various views as to its relation to β., v. Thayer, 286; but v. also Bl., §24, s.v.): absol., Ro 9:16, I Co 4:19 12:18, Ja 4:15; τ. θεοῦ θέλοντος, Ac 18:21; c. acc. rei, Mt 20:21, Mk 14:36, Jo 15:7, Ro 7:15, 16, I Co 4:21 7:36, Read the full entry →

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

θέλω (only in this form in the N. T.; in Grk. auth. also ἐθέλω [Veitch 5. v.; Lob. ad Phryn. p. 7; B. 57 (49)]); impf. ἤθελον ; [fut. 3 pers. sing. θελήσει, Rev. xi. 5 WII mrg.]; 1 aor. ἠθέλησα; (derived apparently fr. dey with a fuller aspiration, so that it means prop. to seize with the mind; but Curtius p. 726, ed. 5, regards its root as uncertain [he inclines, however, to the view of Pott, Fick, Vanicek and others, which connects it with a root meaning to hold to]); Sept. for 728 and yan; To WILL, (have in mind,) intend; i. e. 1. to be resolved or determined, to purpose: absol., ὁ θέλων, Ro. ix. 16; τοῦ θεοῦ θέλοντος if God will, Acts xviii. 21; ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ (in Attic ἐὰν θεὸς θέλῃ, ἣν οἱ θεοὶ θέλωσιν [ ef. Lob. u.s.]), 1 Co. iv. 19; Jas. ἵν. 15; καθὼς ἠθέλησε, 1 Co. xii. 18; xv. 38; τί, Ro. vii. 15 sq. 19 sq.; 1 Co. vii. 36; Gal. v.17; with the aorist inf., Mt. xx. 14…

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

θέλω. For the form ἐθέλω, which is wanting in the NT as in the LXX, Nageli (p. 57) refers to the magic papyri and to the poetic 7J/de 111. 1064: it is common in the Attic inscrr. up to the end of iv/B.c., but from B.C. 250 θέλω occurs, and eventually takes its place as the regular form in the Kow (cf. Meisterhans G7. p. 178). For the verb denoting a personal wish or desire we may cite P Petr I. ταῦ (a Will) τὰ [ἐμαυτοῦ διοικεῖν ὡς ἐ]γὼ θέλω, P Oxy VIT. τοῦτ" (B.c. 22) od BE ypade ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐὰν θέλῃς (ci Mt 85), 726. III. 531° (ii/A.p.) περὶ ὧν θέλεις δήλωσόν μοι, P Cairo Preis 48° (ii/A.D.) τὸ μὲν πλοῖόν σοι, ὡς ἠθέλησας, σκέψομαι, and the constant epistolary phrase γινώσκειν σε θέλω, as in P Oxy IV. 74377 (B.c. 2) ὥστ᾽ ἂν τοῦτό σε θέλω γεινώσκειν ὅτι ἐγὼ αὐτῴ διαστολὰς δεδώκειν τὸ βαδίσαι εἰς Τακόνα, ‘I wish you therefore to know…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

θέλω (thelō) — to will/desire.

θέλω,

see at {ἐθέλω} and add ὅστις ἂν θέλῃ [Refs]

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

θέλω

v.

I will, wish, desire

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

θέλω thelō 208x

to exercise the will, properly by an unimpassioned operation; to be willing, Mt. 17:4; to be inclined, disposed, Rom. 13:3; to choose, Lk. 1:62; to intend, design, Lk. 14:28; to will, Jn. 5:21; 21:22; ἤθελον, I could wish, Gal. 4:20

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

wish: The word appears both as a substantive and as a verb in the Old Testament, having a variety of meanings: (1) The substantive, peh, means "mouth" and also "speech." In this form it occurs in Job 33:6 margin: "Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead." Elihu here refers to Job's expressed desire for an umpire (9:33), and one who would maintain his right with God (16:21). (2) The verb: (a) haphets, "willing," or "desirous" (Ps 40:14 the King James Version); (b) sha'-al, "to ask," "petition," "supplicate" (Job 31:30 the King James Version); (c) another variation of meaning is found in Ps 73:7 where maskith, "to imagine," is translated "wish": "They have more…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
9%desiring
desiring9% · 18×i desire5% · 10×wishing4% · 9×willing4% · 8×i want3% · 7×do you desire3% · 7×desires3% · 7×shall desire3% · 7×other renderings65% · 138×

211 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 89 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 207 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,ὅςλέγωI say, speak
ἐάνCond
ὅςγάρforκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
καίand, even, also,γραμματεύςa scribe, town-cὅπωςhow, in order th
ὅς
γάρforβασιλεύςa king, ruler, eἐγώ
τίςIrg
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakΠιλᾶτοςPilate
θέλωI wish207×
what comes after →
δέbut, on the other ha
σύπᾶςall, the whole, οὗτος
Article the
ψυχήthe soul, life, θέλημαwill, wish, desiθεόςGod, a god
ποιέωI do, make
Article theὧδεhereἐν
αὐτός
ἀποκτείνωI put to death, δειγματίζωI hold up as an λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also, nam
οὐNegἰάομαιI healδίδωμιI offer, give

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

Concordanceθέλω · 207× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke Mark John 1 Corinthians Romans Acts Galatians 2 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews 1 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 61 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Philo of Alexandria Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 104c. AD 40

τῇ δ’ ἕκτῃ περὶ πάντα καταρτύεται νόος ἀνδρός, οὐδ’ ἕρδειν ἔθ’ ὁμῶς ἔργ’ ἀπάλαμνα θέλει·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.9c. AD 75–95

τούτῳ δὴ πειθόμενος ὡς αἰεὶ τοῖς χρήσιμον ἢ καλόν τι πράττειν δυναμένοις συμφιλοκαλοῦντι καὶ ἐμαυτὸν αἰσχυνόμενος, εἰ δόξαιμι ῥαθυμίᾳ πλέον ἢ τῷ περὶ τὰ κάλλιστα χαίρειν πόνῳ, προθυμότερον ἐπερρώσθην, ἔτι κἀκεῖνα πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις λογισάμενος οὐ…

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 1st c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Edg. $1Alexandria (?)252 BC

αὐτός τε ἔρρωσαι καὶ τὰ ἄλλα σοί ἐστιν κατὰ νοῦν, εἴη ἂν ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω· ὑγίαινον δὲ καὶ αὐτός. ἐγραψέν μοι Μαιανδρία ὅτι χλαμύδα αὐτὴν κελεύεις ἐξυφᾶναι. νυνὶ μὲν

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59478276 BC–227 BC

αὐτός τε ἔρρωσαι καὶ τὰ λοιπά σοι κατὰ γνώμην ἐστίν, εἴη ἂν ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω· ὑγίαινον δὲ καὶ αὐτός. ἀπέσταλκά σοι κομίζοντα Πολέμωνα χοιρίδιον τριακονθήμερον α καὶ χαλκῶν δραχμὰς

P.Cair. Zen. 4 59575276 BC–227 BC

σὺ καὶ οὕς βούλει καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ κατὰ νοῦν ἐστιν, γένοιτʼ ἂν ὡς ἡμεῖς θέλομεν. ἱκανῶς δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔχομεν, καί σου μνημονεύομεν ἐν παντὶ καιρῶι, ὥσπερ καὶ προσῆκόν

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
εἰei if G1487 Conditional particle
501× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'if' and is used to express conditions or questions. It appears in many Bible verses, such as Matthew 11:14 and Romans 8:25, introducing a condition or hypothesis.
Tyndale gloss
if
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word εἰ, transliterated as ei, is a primary conditional particle meaning 'if' or 'whether.' It is used in various contexts, including conditions, indirect questions, and expressions of wishes. In the New Testament, it appears frequently, often followed by different verb tenses to indicate various conditions. The lexicons do not present significant disagreement on its usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰ,

conjunctive particle, used in conditions and in indirect questions.

Conditional, if;

c. indic., expressing a general assumption;

pres.: seq. indic, pres., Mt 11:14, Ro 8:25, al.; seq. imperat., Mk 4:23 9:22, Jo 15:18, I Co 7:9, al.; seq. fut. indic., Lk 16:31, Ro 8:11, al.; seq. pf. or aor., with negation in apodosis, Mt 12:26, Ro 4:14, al.; similarly, seq. impf., Lk 17:6, Jo 8:39; seq. quæst.,

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

εἰ 109 εἰ WH, s0 Trin Mt. xii. 41; Ὀζείας L T Tr WH; Πειλᾶτος T WH; Σεμεείν T Tr WH; Ταβειθά WH; Χερουβείν 1, T Tr WH (-βίμ RG); Χοραζείν T Tr WH; ἀφείδεια L; εἰδέα T Tr WH; ἐπαρχεία T WH; ἐπιπόθεια WH; ἡλεί T ; πανοικεί TWH; ῥαββεί T WH; ῥαββουνεί WH; σαβαχθανεί Tr WH; ταλειθά WH; τάχειον WH; τραπεζείτης T WH.| el, is first a conditional particle, ἐγ (Lat. si) ; secondly, an interrogative particle, whether, (Lat. an, num, ne). I. εἰ CoNDITIONAL (on the difference between it and ἐάν, see ἐάν, I. 1 b.) is connected, according to the variety of conditions, with various tenses and moods; viz. ἘΣ with the Indicative of all tenses, when anything is simply and generally assumed to be, or to be done, or to have been done, or to be about to be, (W. § 41 b., 2; ef. 42, 2; [Β. 220(190)]). a. withthe Ind. Present; a. foll. in the apodosis by the ind. pres.: Mt. xix. 10 (εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία...…

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

ΕἸ , J ἐκπλησσω γὰρ τὸ ἀγαθὸν τοῦ ἀστέρος καὶ εἰς τὸ ἐναντίον ἐκπίπτει. See also Michel 827 A (mid. 11,8.0.) τό τε νόμισμα τὸ ἐκπεπτωκὸς ἀριθμῶι, of coins that have fallen out of use. The verb is not infrequent with reference to crops that “fall to be included”’ in the produce of a particular year, eg. BGU II. 5915" (A.p. 56-7) βουλόμεθα μισθώσασθαι τοὺς ἐκπεπτωκότας εἰς τὸ τρίτον ἔτος Νέρωνος. . . φοινεικίνους καρπούς, P Fay ο115 (A.p. 99) ἐϊλαϊκοὺς καρποὺς ἐκπεππτωκότας (/. ἐκπεπτωκ --Ἰ εἰς τὸ ἐνεστὸ(ς) τρίτον ἔτος. Cf. P Hib I. γ810 (B.c. 244--3) a letter requesting that two persons should be released from some public service—81a τὸ μὴ ἐκπεσίεῖν αὐτοῖς τὸ viv λειτουργῆσαι, ‘because it is not at present their turn to serve,’’ where the editors point out that éxmec[et]v, which has been corrected in the papyrus, is practically equivalent to προσπέσηι in 1.4 of the same document. For the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰ (ei) — if.

εἰ,

Attic dialect-Ionic dialect and [Refs 4th c.AD+] ἤ [Refs] in Epic dialect:— Particle used interjectionally with imperative and to express a wish, but usually either in conditions, if, or in indirect questions, whether. In the former use its regular negative is μ; in the latter, οὐ.

__A INTERJECTIONALLY, in [Refs 8th c.BC+], come now! with imperative, εἰ δὲ.. ἄκουσον [Refs 8th c.BC+]

__A.2 in wishes, with optative, ἀλλ᾽ εἴ τις.. καλέσειεν [Refs]; so later, εἴ μοι ξυνείη μοῖρα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of unattained wishes, in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; later with past tenses of indicative, εἰ γάρ μ᾽ ὑπὸ γῆν.. ἧκεν [Refs 4th c.BC+]; εἰ γὰρ τοσαύτην δύναμιν εἶχον ὥστε.. [Refs 8th c.BC+]infinitive (compare the use of infinitive in commands), αἰ γὰρ τοῖος ἐὼν.. ἐμὸς γαμβρὸς καλέεσθαι…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰ

ei

a primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that,

etc.:--forasmuch as, if, that, (al-)though, whether. Often used in

connection or composition with other particles, especially as in 1489,

1490, 1499, 1508, 1509, 1512, 1513, 1536, 1537. See also 1437.

see GREEK for 1489

see GREEK for 1490

see GREEK for 1499

see GREEK for 1508

see GREEK for 1509

see GREEK for 1512

see GREEK for 1513

see GREEK for 1536

see GREEK for 1537

see GREEK for 1437

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰ

Cond.

if

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰ ei 502x

if, Mt. 4:3, 6; 12:7; Acts 27:39, freq.; since, Acts 4:9; whether, Mk. 9:23; Acts 17:11; that, in certain expressions, Acts 26:8, 23; Heb. 7:15; by a suppression of the apodosis of a sentence, εἰ serves to express a wish; O if! O that! Lk. 19:42; 22:42; also a strong negation, Mk. 8:12; Heb. 3:11; 4:3; εἰ καί, if even, though, although, Read the full entry →

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

COND CONDitional particle or conjunction

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
74%if
if74% · 388×only17% · 89×whether3% · 14×lest3% · 14×other renderings3% · 17×

522 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 12 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial7%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 501 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδίδωμιI offer, giveἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἄρτοςbread, a loaf, fδίδωμιI offer, give
ὅτιthat, since, because
ΒηθσαϊδάPropγινώσκωI come to know, σύ
σύ
ἐνλέγωI say, speakἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςἐγώ
εἰif501×
what comes after →
δέbut, on the other ha
τὶςArticle theεἰ δὲ μήNeg
μήNeg
Article theἐνεἷςone
τὶς
θέλωI will, wish, deδοκέωI think, seem, aἔχωI have, hold, po
γάρfor
Article theπιστεύωI believe, have διά
Article the
θεόςGod, a godΣατανᾶςan adversary, Saδεξιόςon the right han

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

Concordanceεἰ · 501× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians Matthew Luke John Romans 2 Corinthians Acts Mark Galatians Hebrews Revelation 1 Peter

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 307 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.

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
ἤδηēdē already G2235 Adverb
60× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Already or even now is the meaning of this word, which is used to describe something that has happened or is happening at the current time. It is used in Matthew 3:10 and John 4:36 to describe events that are happening now or have already occurred.
Tyndale gloss
already
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἤδη (i.e., *ēdē*) is an adverb meaning 'now' or 'already.' It is used in the New Testament to indicate a present time or state, as seen in verses like Matthew 3:10 and Romans 1:10. The word can also imply immediacy or logical proximity, with variations such as 'νῦν... ἤδη' (now already) and 'ἤδη ποτέ' (now at length).

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἤδη

adv.,

in NT, always of time; now, already: Mt 3:10, Mk 4:37, Lk 7:6, Jo 4:36, al.; νῦν . . . ἤ., now already, I Jo 4:3; ἤ. ποτέ, now at length, c. fut., Ro 1:10 (cf. ἄρτι).

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

ἤδη, adv., [fr. Hom. down; on deriv. see Vanitek p. 745; Peile p. 395], in the N. T. everywh. of time, now, already, (Lat. jam): Mt. iii. 10; v. 28; xiv.15; Mk. iv. 37; ΧΙ. 11; Lk. vii. 6; xii. 49; [xxiv. 29 T WH Trtxt., L Tr mrg. br.]; Jn. iv. 35 (36), 51; xix. 28 (that all things were now finished and that nothing further remained for him to do or to suffer); Acts xxvii. 9; Ro. xiii. 11 (that it is already time to wake up and indulge no longer in sleep); 1 Co. iv. 8, and often; νῦν... ἤδη, now already (Lat. jam nunc): 1 Jn. iv. 3; ἤδη ποτέ, now at last, at length now: with fut. Ro. i. 10; [with aor. Phil. iv. 10. Syn. see ἄρτι, fin.]

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

ἤδη. For the idea of ‘logical proximity and immediateness ”’ (cf. Baumlein Griech. Partikeln, p. 138 ff.) which underlies this word and is perhaps to be seen in 1 Cor 67 (cf. Ellicott ad /.), we may cite the common use of the adverb in magical incantations, e.g. P Par 574128 (iii/A.p.) (= Selectzons, p. 114) ἔξελθε, δαῖμον, .. . καὶ ἀπόστηθι ἀπὸ τοῦ S(c)i(va) ἄρτι ἄρτι ἤδη, P Lond 121978 (iii/A.p.) (ΞΞ 1. p. 96) ἐν [τ]ῇ ἄρτι ὥρᾳ ἤδη ἤδη ταχὺ ταχύ: see also Deissmann ZS, p. 289, Archiv i. p. 426. Other examples of the word are P Fay 109! (early i/A.D.) τοὺς τρεῖς στατῆρες (/. -ας) ods εἴρηκέ σοι Σέλευκος δῶναί por ἤδη δὸς Κλέωνι, ‘the three staters which S. told you to give me, now give to C.,” P Ryl II. 7748 (a.p. 192) κα[ὶ] ὀφείλει στεφῆναι, ἤδη yap ἡ ἀρχὴ ἀδιάπτωτός ἐστιν τῇ πόλί(ει), ‘and he ought to be crowned, for the office is now secured to the city” (Edd.). For ἤδη οὖν see P…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἤδη (ēdē) — already.

ἤδη,

adverb:

1. already, by this time, νὺξ ἤ. τελέθει 'tis already night, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: with numerals, ἤ. γὰρ τρίτον ἔτος [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἦν δ᾽ ἦμαρ ἤ. δεύτερον[Refs]

2. forthwith, immediately, φρονέω δὲ διακρινθήμεναι ἤ. Ἁργείους καὶ Τρῶας [Refs 8th c.BC+]; στείχοις ἂν ἤ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἤδη.. στέλλεσθ; [Refs]; μετὰ τοῦτ᾽ ἤ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἤ. ποτέ now at length, Mitteis [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; on the verso of a letter, urgent, immediate, PCair. Zen.154 [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; ἤ. ἤ. ταχὺ ταχύ [Refs]

3. opposed to to the future or past, actually, now, οὐκ ὄναρ, ἀλλ᾽ ὕπαρ ἤ. [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οἱ μὲν τάχ᾽, οἱ δ᾽ ἐσαῦθις, οἱ δ᾽ ἤ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οὐ τάχ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ἤ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἡ ἤ. χάρις present…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἤδη

ede

apparently from 2228 (or possibly 2229) and 1211; even now:--already,

(even) now (already), by this time.

see GREEK for 2228

see GREEK for 2229

see GREEK for 1211

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἤδη

Adv

now, already

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἤδη ēdē 62x

before now, now, already, Mt. 3:10; 5:28; ἤδη ποτέ, at length, Rom. 1:10; Phil. 4:10

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
84%already
already84% · 51×now15% · 9×other renderings2% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 60 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
ὅτιthat, since, because
ὄχλοςa crowdἔρχομαιI come, goγινώσκωI come to know,
εἰμίI am, exist
καίand, even, also,κορέννυμιI fill, feed fulκόσμοςthe world, unive
αὐτός
ἐπιθυμέωI long for, coveσύνδέbut, on the othe
καίand, even, also, nam
τόποςa place
ὥραan hour, season
Article theὅτιthat, since, bec
ἤδηalready60×
what comes after →
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theαὐτόςκαίand, even, also,
Article the
κλάδοςa branchθύραa door, opportunἡμέραa day
ἡμέραa day
τρεῖςthreeἔχωI have, hold, po
γίνομαιI come into being, a
καίand, even, also,ἵστημιI cause to stand
παρέρχομαιI pass by
ἀπολύωI release, let gπαραινέωI admonish, advi

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

Concordanceἤδη · 60× in the New Testament
John Luke Mark Matthew 1 Corinthians Acts Philippians 1 John 2 Timothy Romans 1 Timothy 2 Peter
Across the New Testament13 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 12 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 AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 24c. AD 40

εἰ δέ τις ἐθελήσειε γυμνοτέροις χρήσασθαι τοῖς ὀνόμασιν, οὐδὲν ἂν ἕτερον εἴποι τὸν νοητὸν κόσμον εἶναι ἢ θεοῦ λόγον ἤδη κοσμοποιοῦντος·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.6c. AD 75–95

ἤδη μὲν οὖν καὶ πρότερον διενοήθην, ὅτε τὸν πόλεμον συνέγραφον, δηλῶσαι τίνες ὄντες ἐξ ἀρχῆς Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ τίσι χρησάμενοι τύχαις ὑφʼ οἵῳ τε παιδευθέντες νομοθέτῃ τὰ πρὸς εὐσέβειαν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἄσκησιν ἀρετῆς πόσους τε πολέμους ἐν μακροῖς…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.7c. AD 100

ἡμῶν μέν: ἀλλ̓ ἐκεῖνοι οὕτως εἰς τέλος ἀπώλεσαν αὐτὴν λαβόντος ἤδη τοῦ Μωϋσέως.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 3rd c. BC 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Cair. Zen. 3 59331Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)249 BC

πρὸς αὐτοὺς περὶ τιμῆς … … σοι πλῆθός τι εἰς ρν δέλφακας διὰ τὸ ἤδη ἐκ … ναι ἕως λ τοῦ Παχώνς· καὶ ἀπόστειλον πε … … ων ἐν

τοῦ παλαιοῦ, ὄξους α, εἰ δὲ μὴ ὑπάρχει τοῦ παλαιοῦ, τοῦ νέου, εἰ ἔστιν ἤδη χρηστόν. ἔρρωσο. ἔτους γ, Μεσορὴ ζ.

P.Grenf. 1 42Diospolis Parva170 BC–169 BC

μικρᾶι ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τῶι ἐν Πτολεμαίδι ὑπαίθρωι. πολλὰς χρείας μισθοφόρων ἱππέων παρεσχημένων ἡμῶν ἤδη πολλάκις κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον καὶ κινδύνους μεγάλους … ἐνηνοχότων ἐν τοῖς μάλιστʼ ἀναγκαιοτάτοις καιροῖς

Fire I came to cast upon the earth and how I wish if already it be kindled!
ἀνήφθη.anaptō it be kindled! G381 Verb · aorist · passive · indicative · third person · singular
2× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Luke than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This verb means to set something on fire or to kindle a flame, as seen in Luke 12:49 and James 3:5. It involves starting a fire or igniting a spark. The term is used to describe the act of starting a fire or inspiring a passion.
Amplified meaning
even now, burning or ablaze
Tyndale gloss
to set fire
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀνάπτω (anaptō) is built from the prefix ἀνά- and the root πτω, meaning to kindle or light up. It covers a range of meanings from physically lighting a fire to metaphorically attaching or ascribing something. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts like Luke 12:49 and James 3:5, where it signifies the act of kindling or igniting.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀν-άπτω,

[in LXX chiefly for יצת;]

to kindle: Lk 12:49, Ja 3:5 (MM, VGT, s.v.).†

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

ἀν-άπτω; 1 aor. ἀνῆψα; 1 aor. pass. ἀνήφθην; to light up, kindle: Lk. xii. 49; Acts xxviii. 2[R 67; Jas. iii. 5. [From Hat. down.]

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

ἀνάπτω. P Giss I. 38 (meant to be literary—A.p. 117) τοιγαροῦν θύοντες τὰς ἑστίας ἀνάπτωμεν. P Leid W*Y-% (occult) ἀνάψας TH βομών (7. τὸν βωμόν). (MGr ἀνάφτω.)

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀνάπτω (anaptō) — to set fire.

ἀνάπτω,

make fast on or to, [Refs 8th c.BC+] — middle, ἐκ τοῦδ᾽ ἀναψόμεσθα πρυμνήτην κάλων to him will we moor our bark, i.e. he shall be our protector, [Refs]; θεοῖσι κῆδος ἀνάψασθαι form a close connexion with.., [Refs]; χάριτας ἔς τινα ἀ. confer favours on.., [Refs]; also, fasten to oneself, ἐπιστολὴν ἐκ τῶν δακτύλων ἀ.[Refs 4th c.BC+]; take in tow, ναῦν[Refs 1st c.BC+]:—passive, to be fastened or fasten oneself on to, cling to, with genitive, πέπλων[Refs 5th c.BC+]; have a thing fastened on one, περιβόλαι᾽ ἀνήμμεθα [Refs]

2. hang up in a temple, offer up, like{ἀνατίθημι}, πολλὰ δ᾽ ἀγάλματ᾽ ἀνῆψεν [Refs 8th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀνάπτω

anapto

from 303 and 681; to enkindle:--kindle, light.

see GREEK for 303

see GREEK for 681

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀνάπτω

v.

I kindle, set on fire

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀνάπτω anaptō 2x

to light, kindle, set on fire, Lk. 12:49; Jas. 3:5*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀνάπτω to make fast on or to a thing, ἐξ ἱστοῦ πείρατ᾽ ἀνῆπτον made fast the rope to the mast, Od.:—Mid., ἐκ τοῦδ᾽ ἀναψόμεσθα κάλων to him will we make fast our cable, i. e. he shall be our protector, Eur.:—Pass. to fasten oneself on to, cling to a thing, c. gen., id. Eur.; ἀμφί τινι id. Eur.; ἀνῆφθαί τι to have a thing fastened on one, id. Eur.

to hang up in a temple, offer up, ἀγάλματα Od.

metaph. to attach to, μῶμον ἀνάψαι id. Od.; αἷμα ἀν. τινί a charge of bloodshed, Eur.

to light up, light, λύχνα Hdt.; πῦρ Eur.; also, πυρὶ ἀν. δόμους id. Eur.:—metaph., νέφος οἰμωγῆς ὡς τάχ᾽ ἀνάψει id. Eur.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%it kindles
it kindles50% · 1×it be kindled!50% · 1×

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
ἤδηnow, already
εἰCond
ὕληwood, fuel
ἡλίκοςof what size, ho
ἀνάπτωit be kindled!
what comes after →

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

Concordanceἀνάπτω · 2× in the New Testament
James Luke
Across the New Testament2 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 13 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
Philo of AlexandriaWho is the Heir of Divine Things 301c. AD 40

χρὴ δὲ μὴ ἀγνοεῖν, ὅτι ἀκολουθίαν μὲν καὶ εἱρμὸν καὶ ἐπιπλοκὰς αἰτιῶν ἅτε φιλόσοφος καὶ θεοφράδμων ἀνὴρ οἶδεν, τούτοις δ’ οὐκ ἀνάπτει τὰς τῶν γινομένων αἰτίας.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.207c. AD 75–95

ἐπικειμένων δὲ τῶν ἱερῶν τῷ βωμῷ αἰφνίδιον ἐξ αὐτοῦ πῦρ ἀνήφθη αὐτόματον, καὶ ὅμοιον ἀστραπῆς λαμπηδόνι ὁρώμενον τῇ φλογὶ πάντα ἐδαπάνα τὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ.

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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