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Luke 19:17 — Word Study

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N1904καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· εὖγε ἀγαθὲ δοῦλε, ὅτι ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ πιστὸς ἐγένου, ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων.¶

BSAAndkai He saidlegō to him;autos well doneeu goodagathos [beneficial, morally upright] servant!doulos [slave, one who is subject to another] Becausehoti inen very littleelachistos [least important, insignificant] faithfulpistos [trustworthy, reliable] you were,ginomai do beeimi having authorityexousia [power, freedom to act] you areechō overepanō tendeka [a decade, a multitude] cities.polis [towns, communities]

Word
Listen & take awayLuke 19
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 17 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 (polis) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Luke 19:17quick helps
In a sentenceThe master commends the servant for faithfulness in small matters, promising authority over ten cities.
Who is speakingThe master speaks to his servant, affirming his good work.
Where we areThis verse is part of a parable about stewardship and reward.
The hard wordἐξουσία
Take awayFaithfulness in small tasks leads to greater responsibilities.
7 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Ellicott & more — read them › clause subjectπιστός verbειπεν 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 19:17

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 Parable of the Minasgenerated

16The first servant came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has produced ten more minas.’
17His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
18The second servant came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’
19And to this one he said, ‘You shall have authority over five cities.’

Luke 19:17 is part of a parable where a master rewards his servants based on their faithfulness with resources entrusted to them. The servant in this verse is praised for being faithful in a small matter, which leads to his promotion over ten cities. This reflects a broader theme in the Gospels about stewardship and accountability, as seen in Matthew 25:21, where faithfulness in small things is rewarded with greater responsibilities.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Genesis 39:4Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and entrusted him with everything he owned.
21 Samuel 2:30Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.
3Matthew 25:21His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
4Romans 2:29No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.
51 Corinthians 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 12 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word ἐξουσία, exousiagenerated

The noun ἐξουσία (exousia) refers to authority or power, often implying the freedom to act. It is used in various contexts in the New Testament, indicating legal, governmental, or personal authority.

In this verse, it signifies the reward given to the faithful servant, highlighting the connection between faithfulness in minor tasks and the granting of greater authority. The parsing indicates it is in the accusative case, showing its role as the object of the verb.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against. The BSB uses authority, which is also found in the KJV, ASV, and WEB, maintaining the same meaning.

Where translations differ, they do so primarily in the rendering of ἐξουσίαν. The KJV, ASV, and WEB use authority, while the LSV and YLT phrase it as having authority. Other variations include power (DRA) and you were (YLT) for different Greek words.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The verse consists of one main clause introduced by the verb εἶπεν, he said, which governs the entire statement. This main clause contains a direct address to the servant and a reason for the master's commendation.

The structure includes several components: an adverbial phrase εὖγε (well done), the vocative noun δοῦλε (servant), and a subordinate clause explaining the reason for the commendation, which is further supported by a prepositional phrase indicating the scope of authority granted.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

ἐξουσία appears in the Septuagint, often translating Hebrew words related to authority and power. It indicates a similar concept of governance and responsibility found in the Old Testament, such as in Genesis 41:46.

The connection between the Greek and Hebrew terms emphasizes the continuity of the idea of authority across both Testaments, reflecting God's sovereignty and the delegation of power.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Luke 19:17 shows the master rewarding his servant for being faithful in a small task. The servant is praised and given authority over ten cities, illustrating the principle that faithfulness in small matters leads to greater responsibilities.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to be a good servant?

A good servant is one who is faithful and trustworthy in their duties, as shown by the servant in this parable.

How does this parable relate to our responsibilities today?

This parable teaches that being responsible and diligent in small tasks can lead to greater opportunities and responsibilities in life.

What is the significance of authority over cities?

Having authority over cities symbolizes a significant reward and responsibility, reflecting God's trust in those who are faithful.

How can I apply this teaching in my life?

You can apply this teaching by being diligent and faithful in your current responsibilities, knowing that they can lead to greater opportunities in the future.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what small areas of my life can I demonstrate faithfulness?
  2. How does this parable challenge my understanding of authority and responsibility?
  3. What does it mean for me to be a good servant in my daily life?
  4. How can I prepare myself for greater responsibilities in the future?

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

Bede comments on this verse to illustrate the importance of faithfulness in small matters and the rewards that follow.

BedeOn the Gospel of Luke c. 673–735
And he said to him: Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.

Bede emphasizes the connection between faithfulness in minor responsibilities and the greater authority granted by the master.

Early Church Fathers on Luke 19 →

Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Luke 19:17 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

And he said unto him, well, thou good servant,.... Signifying he had well done, and had approved himself to be an honest, diligent, and laborious servant; who, having the grace of God, which made him

Read John Gill on Luke 19 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

Read Robert Jamieson on Luke 19 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. Ver. 17. See Matthew 25:21-22, &c.

Read John Trapp on Luke 19 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(17) Because thou hast been faithful in a very little.—More literally, because thou didst become faithful. The words are in their substance like those in St. Matthew, but their absolute identity with those in the lesson drawn from the parable of the Unjust Steward (see Note on Luke 16:10) is every way suggestive. This parable is connected with that as its natural sequel and development. Have thou authority over ten cities.—The truth implied in Matthew 25:21 (where see Note), that the reward of faithfulness in this life, and probably in the life to come, will be found in yet wider opportunities for work in God’s service, is stated here with greater distinctness. “Authority over ten cities”…

Read Charles John Ellicott on Luke 19 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 17. Over ten cities.] This is to be understood as referring to the new kingdom which the nobleman had just received. His former trustiest and most faithful servants he now represents as being made governors, under him, over a number of cities, according to the capacity he found in each; which capacity was known by the improvement of the minas.

Read AdamClarke on Luke 19 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

17. in a very little] See Luke 12:48, Luke 16:10.have thou authority over ten cities] Another strange touch explained by the history of the times. Archelaus had actually assigned the government of cities to his adherents who had proved faithful, and this was not an uncommon plan among the Herodian princes. “We shall also reign with Him,” 2 Timothy 2:12.

Read Cambridge on Luke 19 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

17. Ten cities—Let us beware here how we transform the parable into the literal, and fancy that real crowns and kingdoms and cities are to be the rewards of the righteous.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Luke 19 →

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

His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

WEBWorld English Bible2000

“He said to him, ‘Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

NETBNew English Translation2006

And the king said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.’

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

And he said unto him, Well done, thou good servant: because thou wast found faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

RVARevised Version, American1894

And he said unto him, Well done, thou good servant: because thou wast found faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

And he said to him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

And he sayd vnto him, Well, good seruant: because thou hast bene faithfull in a very litle thing, take thou authoritie ouer ten cities.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

And he said to him, Well [done], thou good bondman; because thou hast been faithful in that which is least, be thou in authority over ten cities.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and he said to him, Well done, good servant, because in a very little thou didst become faithful, be having authority over ten cities.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

and he said to him, Well done, good servant, because you became faithful in a very little, be having authority over ten cities.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

The nobleman said to him, 'Well done, good servant. Because you were faithful in very little, you will have authority over ten cities.'

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

And he said to him: Well done, thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a little, thou shalt have power over ten cities.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

‘Well done! You're a good servant,’ said the king. ‘Since you proved yourself trustworthy in a very small matter, I'm placing you in charge of ten cities.’

BBEBible in Basic English1949

And he said to him, You have done well, O good servant: because you have done well in a small thing you will have authority over ten towns.

Word by word, the decisions they made

εἶπενlegō He said G2036 2 different renderings
he saidASV BBE DBY DRA KJV LSV NWB RVA WEB YLT
saidFBV NETB ULB
δοῦλε,doulos servant! G1401 2 different renderings
servantASV BBE BSB DRA FBV KJV LSV MSB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
slaveNETB
ἐλαχίστῳelachistos very little G1646 3 different renderings
very littleASV KJV LSV NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
very smallBSB FBV MSB NETB
leastDBY
πιστὸςpistos faithful G4103 2 different renderings
faithfulASV BSB DBY DRA KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
trustworthyFBV
ἐγένου,ginomai you were, G1096 2 different renderings
becomeYLT
becameLSV
ἐξουσίανexousia having authority G1849 3 different renderings
authorityASV BBE BSB DBY KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
having authorityLSV YLT
powerDRA

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.

clauseκαὶAndclauseverbεἶπενHe saidindirect objectαὐτῷto himclauseadverbialΕὖγεWell doneclausenoun phraseἀγαθὲgoodδοῦλεservantclauseὅτιBecauseclauseprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνinἐλαχίστῳvery littlepredicateπιστὸςfaithfullinking verbἐγένουyou wereclauselinking verbἴσθιto beclause · predicateobjectἐξουσίανhaving authorityverbἔχωνyou areprepositional phrase · adverbialἐπάνωovernoun phraseδέκαtenπόλεωνcities

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

Et ait illi : Euge bone serve, quia in modico fuisti fidelis, eris potestatem habens super decem civitates.

Jerome revised the Old Latin against the Greek from AD 382; the Latin west read this text for a thousand years.

Syriac Peshittaby AD 400

ܐܡܪ ܠܗ ܐܝܘ ܥܒܕܐ ܛܒܐ ܕܒܩܠܝܠ ܐܫܬܟܚܬ ܡܗܝܡܢ ܬܗܘܐ ܫܠܝܛ ܥܠ ܥܣܪܐ ܟܪܟܝܢ

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

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· εὖγε ἀγαθὲ δοῦλε, ὅτι ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ πιστὸς ἐγένου, ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων.¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· εὖγε ἀγαθὲ δοῦλε, ὅτι ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ πιστὸς ἐγένου, ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων.¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· εὖγε ἀγαθὲ δοῦλε, ὅτι ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ πιστὸς ἐγένου, ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων.¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· εὖγε ἀγαθὲ δοῦλε, ὅτι ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ πιστὸς ἐγένου, ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων.¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· εὖγε ἀγαθὲ δοῦλε, ὅτι ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ πιστὸς ἐγένου, ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων.¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· εὖγε ἀγαθὲ δοῦλε, ὅτι ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ πιστὸς ἐγένου, ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων.¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἀγαθὲ δοῦλε, ὅτι ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ πιστὸς ἐγένου, ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων.¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἀγαθὲ δοῦλε, ὅτι ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ πιστὸς ἐγένου, ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων.¶

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
εὖγε well doneNA28, 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 19:17καίAndAndκαίειπενHe saidHe saidειπεναὐτόςto him;to him;αὐτόςευwell donewell doneευἀγαθόςgoodgoodἀγαθόςδοῦλος (II)servant!servant!δοῦλος (II)ὅτιBecauseBecauseὅτιἐνininἐνἐλάχιστοςvery littlevery littleἐλάχιστοςπιστόςfaithfulfaithfulπιστόςγίνομαιyou were,you were,γίνομαιεἰμίdo bedo beεἰμίἐξουσίαhaving authhaving authoritἐξουσίαἔχωyou areyou areἔχωἐπάνωoveroverἐπάνωδέκαtentenδέκαπόλιςcities.cities.πόλιςεἶπονv. I say, v. I say, speakεἶπονδέωv. I bindv. I bindδέωπείθωv. I persuv. I persuade, πείθωἔξεστι(ν)v. it is pv. it is permitἔξεστι(ν)ἐπίPrep. on, Prep. on, to, aἐπίπολύςAdj much, Adj much, many,πολύςἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦκαλόςAdj beautiAdj beautiful, καλόςὅστιςRel.pr. whRel.pr. whosoevὅστιςεἰςPrep. intoPrep. into, in,εἰςἐκPrep. fromPrep. from out,ἐκμικρόςAdj littleAdj little, smaμικρόςἐπερωτάωv. I interv. I interrogatἐπερωτάωθησαυρόςn.m. a tren.m. a treasureθησαυρόςσυνείδησιςn.f. the cn.f. the consciσυνείδησιςἐλεύθεροςAdj free, Adj free, delivἐλεύθεροςεἴτεCj. and ifCj. and if, wheεἴτε
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 19:17

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.

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
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,

Read the full entry →
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

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
εἶπενlegō He said G2036 Verb · second aorist · active · indicative · third person · singular
1,988× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
to say
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — λαλέω, λέγω, λαλιά, λόγος from a scan

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

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

λέγω,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἶπον (eipon) — to say.

εἶπον

(present ἔπω is used by [Refs 2nd c.BC+]present in use is φημί, λέγω, ἀγορεύω (see. infr. IV), the future ἐρέω, ἐρῶ, the perfect εἴρηκα), Epic dialect and Lyric poetry ἔειπον [Refs 8th c.BC+]; subjunctive εἴπω (Epic dialect εἴπωμι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; optative εἴποιμ; infinitive εἰπεῖν, Epic dialect -έμεναι, -έμεν, [Refs]; participle εἰπών: also aorist 1 εἶπα (ἔειπα [Refs 5th c.BC+] as I said, [Refs 1st c.BC+] mostly in Ionic dialect Prose, also [Refs 4th c.BC+], and the 2nd pers. indicative and imperative of this form are preferred in Attic dialect, 2nd pers. singular indicative εἶπας [Refs 8th c.BC+]; imperative εἶπον (on the accent see[Refs 5th c.BC+], -ατον, -ατ; 3rd.pers. plural εἶπαν [Refs 4th c.BC+]; participle εἴπας [Refs 4th c.BC+], Aeolic dialect εἴπαις [Refs 5th c.BC+]; in compounds middle ἀπείπασθαι (which see), διείπασθαι (which see)…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

λέγω

epo

a primary verb (used only in the definite past tense, the others being

borrowed from 2046, 4483, and 5346); to speak or say (by word or

writing):--answer, bid, bring word, call, command, grant, say (on),

speak, tell. Compare 3004.

see GREEK for 2046

see GREEK for 4483

see GREEK for 5346

see GREEK for 3004

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

λέγω legō 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἔπω εἶπον prob. made up by Nicander as present of εἶπον. to say, Nicander.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-2AAI-3S — Verb · second aorist · active · indicative · third person · singular
second aorist active indicative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-2AAI-3S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
39%said
said39% · 372×he said27% · 260×they said7% · 67×having said4% · 40×other renderings15% · 143×other renderings8% · 73×

955 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 73 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
αὐτῷ·autos to him; G846 Personal pronoun · dative · singular · masculine
5,550× 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 pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-DSM — Personal pronoun · dative · singular · masculine
dative — to, for, with — the one it is done to or by.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-DSM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςto him;5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
εὖγεeu well done G7530 Adverb
6× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
well/well done!
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
100%well done
well done100% · 1×

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

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
ἀγαθὲagathos good G18 Adjective · vocative · singular · masculine
102× 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
Good or beneficial, as seen in Luke 8:8 where it describes good soil producing a good crop. This word means something that is pleasant, useful, or morally good. In the Bible, it is used to describe things that are pleasing to God and beneficial to people.
Amplified meaning
beneficial, morally upright
Tyndale gloss
good
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀγαθός (agathos) means 'good' in various contexts, including moral, physical, and beneficial senses. It can describe people, actions, and things, often implying a sense of excellence or virtue. In the New Testament, it is used to refer to morally good qualities, such as in Romans 12:2. The term contrasts with words like πονηρός (evil) and κακός (bad).

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀγαθός, -ή, -όν,

[in LXX chiefly for טוֹב;]

in general, good, in physical and in moral sense, used of persons, things, acts, conditions, etc., applied to that which is regarded as "perfect in its kind, so as to produce pleasure and satisfaction, . . . that which, in itself good, is also at once for the good and the advantage of him who comes in contact with it" (Cremer, 3): γῆ, Lk 8:8; δένδρον, Mt 7:18; καρδία, Lk 8:15; δόσις, Ja 1:17; μέρις, Lk 10:42; ἔργον (freq. in Pl.), Phl 1:6; ἐλπίς, II Th 2:16; θησαυρός, Mt 12:35; μνεία, Read the full entry →

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

ἀγαθός, -7, -όν, (akin to ἄγαμαι to wonder at, think highly of, ἀγαστός admirable, as explained by Plato, Crat. p. 412 ο. [al. al.; ef. Donaldson, New Crat. § 8287), in general denotes “ perfectus, . . . qui habet in se ac facit omnia quae habere et facere debet pro notione nominis, oflicio ac lege” (Irmisch ad Hdian. 1, 4, p. 134), excelling in any respect, distinguished, good. It can be predicated of persons, things, conditions, qualities and affections of the soul, deeds, times and seasons. To this general signif. can be traced back all those senses which the word gathers fr. the connection in which it stands; 1. of a good constitution or nature: γῆ, Lk. viii. 8; δένδρον, Mt. vii. 18, in sense equiv. to ‘fertile soil,’ ‘a fruitful tree,’ (Xen. oec. 16, 7 γῆ ἀγαθή, . . . γῆ κακή, an. 2, 4, 22 χώρας πολλῆς kK. ἀγαθῆς οὔσης). In Lk. viii. 15 ἀγαθὴ καρδία corresponds to the fig.…

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

ἀγαθός. The comparative βελτίων (in the LXX about 20 times for the commoner κρείσσων) occurs in the fragmentary P Petr III. 42 H (8) 15 (middle of iii/B.c.) (= Witkowski Epp.*, p. 16). In a votive inscription discovered at Cos (Paton and Hicks, 92), Nero is described as ἀγαθὸς θεός (cf. Deissmann ZAZ, p. 349). For ἀγαθὸς δαίμων, see 57 in the same collection (=C/G 2510)—Tiyxq ᾿Αγαθᾷ καὶ ᾿Αγαθῷ Δαίμονι καὶ τῶ(ι) δάμω(ι), etc., etc. Une other phrase is worth quoting: P Oxy II. 29814 (i/A.p.) ἐὰν ἐπ᾽ ἀγαθῷ mapayévy, ‘if you arrive happily,” 7. III. 531° (ii/A.D.) ἕως ἐπ’ ἀγαθῷ πρὸς σὲ παραγένομαι, BGU III. 83519:: (beginning of 111Α.}.) εἰς τὴν ἐπ᾽ [ἀ]γαθοῖς γεναμένης κατασποράν, P Flor I. 2110 (a.p. 239) α΄. The neuter pl., as in Lk 1219, may be illustrated by P Ryl I. 2818? (iv/a.p.) ποὺς δεξιὸς ἐὰν ἅλληται, δεσπότης ἔσται πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ κτημάτων, ‘if the right foot quiver, the man…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀγαθός (agathos) — good.

ἀγᾰθός [ᾰγ], ή, όν,

Laconian dialect ἀγασός [Refs 5th c.BC+]:— good:

I. of persons,

I.1. well-born, gentle, opposed to κακός, δειλός, οἷά τε τοῖς ἀγαθοῖσι παραδρώωσι χέρηες[Refs 8th c.BC+]; τοὺς εὐγενεῖς γὰρ κἀγαθοὺς.. φιλεῖ Ἄρης ἐναίρειν[Refs 5th c.BC+]:—in political sense, aristocrats, especially in the phrase καλοὶ κἀγαθοί (see. entry καλοκἀγαθός).

I.2. brave, valiant, since courage was attributed to Chiefs and Nobles, [Refs 8th c.BC+]

I.3. good, capable, in reference to ability, ἀ. βασιλεύς[Refs 8th c.BC+]: frequently with qualifying words, ἀ. ἐν ὑσμίνῃ[Refs 8th c.BC+]; τὰ πολέμια, τὰ πολιτικά, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: more rarely with dative, ἀ. πολέμῳ[Refs 5th c.BC+]: with infinitive, ἀ. μάχεσθαι[Refs…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀγαθός

agathos

a primary word; "good" (in any sense, often as noun):--benefit,

good(-s, things), well. Compare 2570.

see GREEK for 2570

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀγαθός, ή, όν

Adj

good

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀγαθός agathos 102x

good, profitable, generous, upright, virtuous

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀγαθός deriv. uncertain good, Lat. bonus:

of persons,

in early times, good, gentle, noble, in reference to birth, opp. to κακοί, πατρὸς δ᾽ εἴμ᾽ ἀγαθοῖο, θεὰ δέ με γείνατο μήτηρ Il.; ἀγαθοὶ καὶ ἐξ ἀγαθῶν, Lat. boni bonis prognati, Plat.; with this early sense was associated that of wealth and power, like Lat. optimus quisque in Sallust and Cicero; esp. in the phrase καλοὶ κἀγαθοί (v. καλοκἀγαθός).

good, brave, since these qualities were attributed to the Chiefs, Il.; ἀγαθὸς ἐν ὑσμίνῃ, βοὴν ἀγαθός, πὺξ ἀγαθός, etc., Hom.; ἀγ. τὰ πολέμια, τὰ πολιτικά Hdt., etc.;—also c. dat., ἀγ. πολέμῳ Xen.;—and, ἀγ. εἴς τι, περί τι, πρός τι Plat., etc.; lastly, c. inf., ἀγ. μάχεσθαι, ἱππεύεσθαι, good at fighting, etc.…

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-VSM — Adjective · vocative · singular · masculine
vocative — the one being addressed.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-VSM Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Vocative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

good (Tobh, Tubh, yaTabh; agathos, agathon, kalos, kalon): In English "good" is used in various senses, most of which are represented in the Bible.

(1) In the Old Testament the commonest word is Tobh, occurring very frequently and translated in a great variety of ways. Of the different shades of meaning, which frequently run into each other, the following may be distinguished:

(a) Possessing desirable qualities, beneficial, agreeable, e.g. "good for food" (Ge 2:9); "We will do thee good" (Nu 10:29); Who will show us any good?" (Ps 4:6); "good tidings of good" (Isa 52:7).

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
84%good
good84% · 86×good things8% · 8×good?3% · 3×other renderings6% · 6×

103 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 9 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
object34%adverbial30%subject15%predicate13%second object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 102 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
εἰςἐκγάρfor
ἔργονwork, labor, action,
πᾶςall, the whole, πλήρηςfullὑπομονήendurance, stead
καίand, even, also, nam
πονηρόςevil, bad, wickeτέDisjκαλόςbeautiful, good,
ἐγώ
ὅτιthat, since, becσάρξflesh, bodyμνείαremembrance, rec
τὶς
δύναμαιI am powerful, aπράσσωI do, fare, requεἰCond
ἀγαθόςgood102×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theπιστόςtrustworthy, faiβρέχωI moisten, rain,
Article the
αἰτέωI ask, request, γάρforκατά
ποιέωI do, make
ἵναin order that, sDisjεἰς
εἰCond
μήNegδέbut, on the othe
εἰμίI am, exist
λέγωI say, speakἄλλοςother, another,

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

Concordanceἀγαθός · 102× in the New Testament
Romans Luke Matthew 1 Peter 1 Timothy Ephesians Mark Titus Acts Hebrews John 1 Thessalonians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 183 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 The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 8c. AD 40

Μωυσῆς δὲ καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐπ’ αὐτὴν φθάσας ἀκρότητα καὶ χρησμοῖς τὰ πολλὰ καὶ συνεκτικώτατα τῶν τῆς φύσεως ἀναδιδαχθεὶς ἔγνω δή, ὅτι ἀναγκαιότατόν ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τὸ μὲν εἶναι δραστήριον αἴτιον, τὸ δὲ παθητόν, καὶ ὅτι τὸ μὲν δραστήριον ὁ τῶν ὅλων…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.14c. AD 75–95

καθʼ ὅσον δʼ ἂν ἀποστῶσι τῆς τούτων ἀκριβοῦς ἐπιμελείας, ἄπορα μὲν γίνεται τὰ πόριμα, τρέπεται δὲ εἰς συμφορὰς ἀνηκέστους ὅ τι ποτʼ ἂν ὡς ἀγαθὸν δρᾶν σπουδάσωσιν,

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.12c. AD 100

ἐὰν ᾖ ἀγαθός, ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ προηγήσεται αὐτοῦ: ἐὰν ᾖ πονηρός, ὁ μισθὸς τῆς πονηρίας ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ:

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD 7th c. AD
Pylon 7 (2025) [Avdoulou], § 1-13Oxyrhynchos (OxyrhynchitesAD 101–AD 200

ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ. Πολυκράτης Ἀθην … Πολυκράτους τῶν ἀπ’ Ὀξυρύγχων πόλεως … ἀπὸ κώμης Σερύφεως τοῦ

Pap.Brux. 8 p. 94-Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 167

καὶ Οὐήρου τῶν κυρίων Αὐτοκρατόρων εἰς δάνεια σπέρματα τῆς τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος η ἔτους ἐπʼ ἀγαθοῖς κατασπορᾶς ἃς ὁ αὐτὸς βασιλικὸς γραμματεὺς ὧι ἡ περὶ τῶν σπερμάτων διάκρισις διαφέρει, ἔγραψεν

P.Berl.Frisk 3Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 211–AD 212

καὶ ἑκάστῳ τὰ ἴδια πρυτανεύεις ὡς ἐκ τῆς θαυμασιωτάτης σου συνέσεως τὴν ὅλην ἐπαρχίαν ἀγαθῶν πεπληρῶσθαι, μάλιστα συντηροῦντός σου τοὺς γεωργοῦντας τὴν δημοσίαν γῆν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν αἰωνίου ἀηττήτου

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
δοῦλε,doulos servant! G1401 Noun · vocative · singular · masculine
126× 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 also means a slave or servant, like in Romans 6:19 and Luke 1:38. It describes someone who is subject to another person or is in a state of subjection. This concept is about being under someone's control.
Amplified meaning
slave, one who is subject to another
Tyndale gloss
slave
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δοῦλος (doulos) means a slave or servant, often indicating a person in a state of subjection. It can refer to both male and female slaves, with δούλη (doulē) specifically denoting a female slave. The term is used in various contexts in the New Testament, including literal servitude and metaphorical senses of spiritual bondage, as seen in Romans 6:19 and John 8:34.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — θεράπων, δοῦλος, διάκονος, οἰκέτης, ὑπηρέτης from a scan

THE only passage in the N. T. in which θεράπων occurs is Heb. iii. 5: ‘‘ And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant” (ὡς θεράπων). The allusion here to Num. xii. 7 is manifest, where the Septuagint has given θεράπων as its rendering of 12; it has done the same elsewhere (Exod. iv. 10; Deut. iii. 24; Josh. i. 2), yet has not made this its constant rule, frequently rendering it not by θεράπων, but by δοῦλος, out of which latter rendering, no doubt, we have at Rev. xv. 8, the phrase, Μωῦσῆς ὃ δοῦλος τοῦ Θεοῦ. It will 1 Lampe: ‘Christus est Vitis vera, ... et qua talis preponi, quin et opponi, potest omnibus aliis qui etiam sub hoe symbolo in scriptis propheticis pinguntur.’ Six) SYNONYUS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 20 not follow that there is no difference between δοῦλος and θεράπων ; nor yet that there may not be occasions when the one word would be far more fitly employed…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δοῦλος, -η, -ον,

[in LXX, ὁ δ. nearly always for עֶבֶד; ἡ δ. chiefly for שִׁפְחָה ,אָמָה ;]

in bondage to, subject to: Ro 6:19.

As subst., ὁ, ἡ δ., a slave;

fem., ἡ δ., a female slave, bondmaid (Cremer, 702; DB, iii, 215): Lk 1:38, 48, Ac 2:18 (LXX);

masc., ὁ δ., a slave, bondman: Mt 8:9 18:23, al.; opp. to ἐλεύθερος, I Co 7:22 12:13, Ga 3:28, Eph 6:8, Col 3:11, Re 6:15 13:16…

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

δοῦλος, -η, -ον, (derived by most fr. δέω to tie, bind; by some fr. AEAQ to ensnare, capture, [(?) ἃ]. al.; οἵ. Vanitek p. 322]); serving, subject to: παρεστήσατε τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν δοῦλα τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ, Ro. vi. 19. Then substantively, ἡ δούλη a female slave, bondmaid, handmaid: τοῦ θεοῦ, τοῦ κυρίου, one who worships God and submits to him, Acts ii. 18 (fr. Joel ii. 29 (iii. 2)); Lk. i. 38, 48. ὁ δοῦλος, Sept. for 33; 1. a slave, bondman, man of servile condition; a. properly: opp. to ἐλεύθερος, 1 Co. vii. 21; xii. 13; Gal. iii. 28; Eph. vi. 8; Col. iii. 11; Rev. vi. 15; xiii. 16; xix. 18; opp. to κύριος, δεσπότης, οἶκοδεσπότης, Mt. x, 24; xiii. 27sq.; Lk. xii. 46; Jn. xv. 15; Eph. vi. 5; Col. ii. 22; iv.1; 1 Tim. vi. 1; Tit. ii. 9; and very often. b. metaph. a. one who gives himself up wholly to another’s will, 1 Co. vii. 23; or dominion, τῆς ἁμαρτίας, Jn. vill. 834; Ro. vi. 17, 20; τῆς…

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

| δόλος. For δόλος in the forensic sense, as Deut 2774, cf. the Jewish prayer for vengeance from Rheneia, Sy// 816% (ii/i B.c.) ἐπὶ τοὺς δόλωι φονεύσαντας : see Deissmann LAE, p. 423. Cf. the compound δολοφονέω, BGU II. 388i. 23 (ji/iii A.D.), Sy/Z 324° (i/B.c.). In BGU I. 3261-8 (a will—a pb. 189) we find ταύτῃ τῇ διαθήκῃ δόλος πονηρὸς ἀπέστη (?=améotw). Mommsen (Si/cungsherichte der Akad. su Berlin, phil.-hist. Klasse, 18 Jan. 1894, Ρ. 50) states that he has not met the phrase elsewhere in this connexion, and compares the common formula on graves, ab hoc monumento dolus A much earlier instance of δόλος πονηρός is Sy// 319% (ii/B.C.) μήτε να[υσὶν βοηθείτωσαν δημοσίαι βουλῇ μετὰ δόλου πονηροῦ: cf. OG/S 62912 (Δ.1.. 137) χωρὶ[ς] δόλου πο[νηροῦ, PSI III. 1587 (astrological —?iii/A.D.) διὰ μετεωρισμῶν καὶ κακῶν [δόλ]ων. malus abesto. The first of these inscriptions is about contemporaneous…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δοῦλος (doulos) — slave.

δοῦλος

__A, Cretan dialect δῶλος [Refs], ὁ:—properly born bondman or slave, opposed to one made a slave, τὰ ἀνδράποδα πάντα καὶ δοῦλα καὶ ἐλεύθερα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: then, generally, bondman, slave, opposed to δεσπότης (which see): not in [Refs 8th c.BC+], who twice has feminine δούλη, ἡ, bondwoman, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: frequently of Persians and other nations subject to a despot, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οὔ τινος δοῦλοι κέκληνται, of the Greeks, [Refs 4th c.BC+] slaves to money, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; λιχνειῶν, λαγνειῶν, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__A.II adjective (not in [Refs 4th c.BC+], δοῦλος, η, ον, slavish, servile, subject, δ. πόλις [Refs 5th c.BC+]; σῶμα δ., opposed to νοῦς ἐλεύθερος, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; δ. θάνατος, ζυγόν, πούς, [Refs 5th c.BC+] more…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δοῦλος

doulos

from 1210; a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary;

frequently, therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or

subserviency):--bond(-man), servant.

see GREEK for 1210

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δοῦλος, ου, ὁ

Adj. & n.m.

a male slave

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δοῦλος doulos 126x

a male slave, or servant, of various degrees, Mt. 8:9, et al. freq.; a servitor, person of mean condition, Phil. 2:7; fem. δούλη, a female slave; a handmaiden, Lk. 1:38, 48; Acts 2:18; δοῦλος, used figuratively, in a bad sense, one involved in moral or spiritual thraldom, Jn. 8:34; Rom. 6:17, 20; 1 Cor. 7:23; 2 Pet. 2:19; in a good sense, a devoted servant or minister, Acts 16:17; Read the full entry →

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

N-VSM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Vocative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sur'-vant ('ebhedh; doulos): A very common word with a variety of meanings, all implying a greater or less degree of inferiority and want of freedom:

(1) The most frequent usage is as the equivalent of "slave" (which see), with its various shades in position (Ge 9:25; 24:9; Ex 21:5; Mt 10:24; Lu 17:7, and often); but also a hired workman where "hired servant" translates Hebrew and Greek expressions which differ from the above.

(2) An attendant in the service of someone, as Joshua was the "servant" the Revised Version (British and American) "minister" of Moses (Nu 11:28).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

[SLAVE]

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

This word sometimes denotes a man who voluntarily dedicates himself to the service of another. Thus Joshua was the servant of Moses; Elisha of Elijah; and Peter, Andrew, Philip, and Paul were servants of Jesus Christ. The servants of Pharaoh, of Saul, and of David, were their subjects in general, and their court officers and counselors in particular. The Philistines, Syrians, and other nation were servants of David, that is, they obeyed and paid him tribute. The servants of God are those who are devoted to his service and obey his holy word.

In its primary sense, the word usually means in the Bible either a hired servant, or one whose service was the property of his master for a limited time and under various restrictions. Joseph is the first whom we read of as sold into bondage, Ge 37:27,28. The households of some of the early…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ Distinguish a bondservant (Greek: doulos), who was a slave, from a hired servant (Greek: diakonos), who was not a slave

→ BOND

Laws of Moses concerning Ex 21:1-11,20,21,26,27,32; Le 19:20-22; 25:6,10,35-55; De 15:12,14,18; 24:7

Kidnapping forbidden De 21:10-14; 24:7; 1Ti 1:10; Re 18:13

Fugitive, not to be returned to his master De 23:15,16

David erroneously supposed to be a fugitive slave 1Sa 25:10

Instances of fugitive

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
41%servant
servant41% · 53×servants31% · 40×slaves11% · 14×slave11% · 14×other renderings7% · 9×

130 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 13 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
subject37%object22%predicate13%indirect object10%adverbial8%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 126 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
σύ
ἐκμέλοςa limb, memberεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegὅτιthat, since, becοὐκέτιNeg
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theἑαυτοῦ
ἄλλοςother, another, diff
ἀποστέλλωI send forth, seαὐτός
δοῦλος (II)servant!126×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theὅςλέγωI say, speak
Article the
ἀρχιερεύςhigh priest, chiθεόςGod, a godοἰκοδεσπότηςa head of a hous
ἐκεῖνος
ἐνὅςἀπολύωI release, let g
καίand, even, also, nam
φρόνιμοςintelligent, pruπαραδίδωμιI hand over, delὀκνηρόςslothful, backwa
σύ
δεσπότηςa lord, master, μετάδιά

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

Concordanceδοῦλος (II) · 126× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke Revelation John Romans 1 Corinthians Mark Colossians Galatians Acts Ephesians 2 Peter

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 55 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 85c. AD 40

καὶ αἱ τοσαῦται τῶν τοσούτων ἀλκαί τε καὶ δυνάμεις εὐοπλούντων—ἔχουσι γὰρ τὰς ἐκ φύσεως παρασκευὰς αἷς ἀμύνονται—καθάπερ δοῦλοι δεσπότην κατεπτήχασι καὶ τὰ προσταττόμενα δρῶσι·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.11c. AD 75–95

Ἐκπεμφθεὶς μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπὶ συλλογῇ τῶν καρπῶν θέρους ἀκμάζοντος ὁρᾷ πολὺ τῶν κατὰ συνήθειαν ἐπιφοιτώντων κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους ὀνειράτων διαφέρουσαν ὄψιν, ἣν περιεγερθεὶς τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὡς κρινοῦσιν αὐτῷ τὸ σημαινόμενον ἐξέθετο, λέγων…

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD 4th c. AD
CdÉ 14 (1939), p. 161-Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 117–AD 118

ενοικ α 𐅵 … … Οὐεσπασιανοῦ ἐτῶν νζ ἄσημος Διόσκορος δοῦλος Λαβερίας τῆς Πασίωνος κατὰ τὸ 𐅵 μέρος ἀπὸ Ἑλληνίου οὗ τὸ λοιπὸν ἥμισυ μέρος

P.Athen.. 43 VoArsinoitesAD 131

ἐπιτηρήσεως δραχμὰς κη Ἥρων γέρων ἀσκαύλης ἐπιτηρήσεως δραχμὰς ιϛ ἡμῖν δραχμὰς ιη Διονυσιάδος Σαραπίων δοῦλος Παπυρίου ἐπὶ δραχμαῖς μη ἡμῖν δραχμὰς μη Πτολεμαῖος αὐλητὴς Φρεμεὶ ἐπὶ δραχμαῖς ιθ ἡμῖν

P.Fay. 203 descr.Bakchias (Arsinoites)AD 148–AD 150

ταύταις ταῖς ἀνεγνωσμέναις κρίσεσιν διαγορεύει … ἐν ἀνομοίᾳ ὑποθέσει. ἤκουσας τοὺς ἁπλῷ χρήματι πωλοῦντας δοῦλον … ἀνευθύνους εἶναι, ἐπειδάν τις αὐτοῖς τοιοῦτο ἔγκλημα ἐπενέγκῃ οἷον οὗτος· ἐὰν γὰρ μηδὲν

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
ὅτιhoti Because G3754 Conjunction
1,293× 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 Greek word means 'that' or 'because', used to introduce a reason or explanation. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:9 and Romans 8:38. It helps to show cause and effect in sentences.
Tyndale gloss
that/since: that
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὅτι (hoti) is a conjunction primarily meaning 'that' or 'because.' It introduces objective clauses, often following verbs of perception or declaration, and can also serve as a causal particle. The New Testament frequently employs it in this way, such as in Matthew 5:4-12. There is some variation in how lexicons describe its usage, particularly regarding its pleonastic function in direct discourse.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅτι,

conjc. (prop. neut. of ὅστις).

As conjc, introducing an objective clause, that;

after verbs of seeing, knowing, thinking, saying, feeling: Mt 3:9 6:32 11:25, Mk 3:28, Lk 2:49, Jo 2:22, Ac 4:13, Ro 1:13 8:38 10:9, Phl 4:15, Ja 2:24, al.; elliptically, Jo 6:46, Phl 3:12, al.

After εἶναι (γίνεσθαι): defining a demonstr. or pers. pron., Jo 3:19 16:19, Ro 9:6, I Jo 3:16 al.; c. pron. interrog., Mt 8:27, Mk 4:41,

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

ὅτι [properly neut. of ὅστις], a conjunction [fr. Hom. down], (Lat. quod [ef. W. § 53,8 b.; B. § 139, 51; § 149, 87), marking I. the substance or contents (of a statement), that; 1. joined to verbs of saying and declaring (where the ace. and infin. is used in Lat.) : ἀναγγέλλειν, Acts xiv. 27; διηγεῖσθαι, Acts ix. 273; εἰπεῖν, Mt. xvi. 20; xxviii. 7,13; Jn. vii. 42; xvi. 15; 1Co.i.15; λέγειν, Mt. iii. 9; vill. 11; Mk. iii. 28; Lk. xv.7; Jn. xvi. 20; Ro. iv. 9 [T Tr WH om. L br. ὅτι}; ix. 2, and very often; προεἰρηκέναι, 2 Co. vii. 3; before the ὅτι in Acts xiv. 22 supply λέγοντες, contained in the preceding παρακαλοῦντες [ef. B. §151, 11]; ὅτι after γράφειν, 1 Co. ix.10; 1 Jn. 11. 12-14; μαρτυρεῖν, Mt. xxiii. 31; Jn. i. 34; iii. 28; iv. 44; ὁμολογεῖν, Heb. xi. 13; δεικνύειν, Mt. xvi. 21; δηλοῦν, 1 Co. i. 11; διδάσκειν, 1 Co. xi. 14. after ἐμφανίζειν. Heb. xi. 14; δῆλον (ἐστίν), 1 Co.…

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

οτι. (1) For ὅτι, ‘‘that,” introducing an objective clause after verbs of knowing, saying, etc., cf. P Tebt II. 4098 (A.D. 5) εἰδὼ[ς ὅ]τι ἐξίι)ουσίαν αὐτῶν ἔχει kal Λυσίμαχος kal σύ, ΚΕ knew that both you and Lysimachus had plenty of them” (Edd.), P Fay 109° (early i/A.D.) νομίσας ὅτι (cf. Mt 517) κιχρᾷς por αὐτούς, ““ consider that you are lending them (sc. staters) to me’’ (Edd.), BGU III. 8464* (ii/a.p.) (= Selections, p. 93) γεινώσκειν σαι θέλω, ὅτι οὐχ [HA] Lov, ὅτι ἀναβένις (1. ἀναβαίνεις) els τὴν μητρόπολιν, “1 wish you to know that I had no hope that you were coming up to the metropolis,” 74.9 αἴγραψά σοι, ὅτι γυμνός εἰμει, “1 wrote you that I am naked,” and P Tebt II. 420+ (iii/A.D.) οἴδατε ὅτι ἀπὸ ζημίας ἠμί, ‘‘ You know that I am blameless.” Ὅτι, however, is frequently omitted, e.g. BGU IIL. 8153(ii/a.p.) γεινόσκιν σε θέλω [τὴ]ν ἐπιστολήν σου ἔλαβε (corrected by another hand…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅτι (hoti) — that/since: that.

ὅτῐ,

Epic dialect ὅττῐ (both in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: conjunction, to introduce an objective clause, that, after Verbs of seeing or knowing, thinking or saying; in [Refs 8th c.BC+] —Usage:

I. when ὅτι introduces a statement of fact:

I. a in [Refs 8th c.BC+] always with indicative, the tense following the same rules as in English, ἤγγειλ᾽ ὅττι ῥά οἱ πόσις ἔκτοθι μίμνε πυλάων [Refs 8th c.BC+]

I. b in Attic dialect, ὅτι takes indicative after primary tenses, indicative or optative after secondary tenses, e.g. ἐνδείκνυμαι ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι σοφός [Refs 5th c.BC+] news came that Megara had (literal has) revolted, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: sometimes optative and indicative are found in the same sentence, ἔλεγον, ὅτι Κῦρος μὲν τέθνηκεν, Ἀριαῖος δὲ πεφευγὼς.. εἴη [Refs 5th c.BC+].. and the accusative with infinitive…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅτι

hoti

neuter of 3748 as conjunction; demonstrative, that (sometimes

redundant); causative, because:--as concerning that, as though,

because (that), for (that), how (that), (in) that, though, why.

see GREEK for 3748

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅτι

Cj.

that, since, because

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅτι hoti 1x

originally was the neuter of ὅστις, that, Mt. 2:16, 22, 23; 6:5, 16; often used pleonastically in reciting another’s words, Mt. 9:18; Lk. 19:42; Acts 5:23; as a causal particle, for that, for, because, Mt. 2:18; 5:3, 4, 5; 13:13; because, seeing that, since, Lk. 23:40; Acts 1:17

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

be-kos' (hina, "in order that"): "The multitude rebuked them, because (AV; the Revised Version (British and American) "that") they should hold their peace" (Mt 20:31).

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
64%that
that64% · 856×because19% · 252×for16% · 209×other renderings1% · 12×

1,329 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 8 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%object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,293 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
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforδέbut, on the othe
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςσύδέbut, on the othe
οἶδαI know, remember
οὐNegκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakμαθητήςa learner, disciπερί
γινώσκωI come to know, lear
οὗτοςκαίand, even, also,αὐτός
ὅτιBecause1293×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπατήρfather, Father,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existοἶδαI know, rememberδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐγώ
εἰμίI am, existοὐNegArticle the
οὗτος
εἰμίI am, existArticle theποιέωI do, make
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
Article theῥῆμαa thing spokenζητέωI seek, search f

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

Concordanceὅτι · 1,293× in the New Testament
John Luke Matthew Acts Mark 1 John Revelation 1 Corinthians Romans 2 Corinthians Galatians Philippians

2 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
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 8c. AD 40

Μωυσῆς δὲ καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐπ’ αὐτὴν φθάσας ἀκρότητα καὶ χρησμοῖς τὰ πολλὰ καὶ συνεκτικώτατα τῶν τῆς φύσεως ἀναδιδαχθεὶς ἔγνω δή, ὅτι ἀναγκαιότατόν ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τὸ μὲν εἶναι δραστήριον αἴτιον, τὸ δὲ παθητόν, καὶ ὅτι τὸ μὲν δραστήριον ὁ τῶν ὅλων…

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

ὅτι τῶν ἐθνῶν ἕκαστον ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκισάντων προσηγορεύθη.

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

ὅτι ἀληθῶς βλέπω ἐν ὑμῖν ἐκκεχυμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ πλουσίου τῆς πηγῆς κυρίου πνεῦμα ἐφ̓ ὑμᾶς.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
C.Erbstreit14Diospolis Magna (Theben)187 BC

καὶ τὴν εἰκοστὴν τοῦ ἐγκυκλίου καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ καθήκοντα. … ται Προῖτος, καθʼ ὅτι πρόκειται … ἑξήκοντα ἓξ τετρωβόλου καὶ τῆς … … τοπογραμματέως τοῦ Παθυρίτου … ἀρουρῶν

P.Grenf. 1 10 p. 24Hermonthis149 BC

ι τοῖς ἐνκαλουμένοις τὸ ἀντίγραφον τῆς ἐντεύξεως λαβεῖν παρ … τ … … πίστιν ὅτι ἀπαντησα … ἐπὶ τὸ ἐν τῆι αὐλῆι κριτήριον ἐν ἡμέραις λ οὐκ ο

P.Bour. 10Pathyris89 BC

δʼ ἐπιχειροῦντας μὴ ὑπακούειν σου … υτέραι στάσει ἐχομένους ἀσφαλισάμενος μέχρι τοῦ καὶ ἡμᾶς ὅτι τάχος ἐπιβαλεῖν πρὸς σέ. ἔρρωσοἔρρωσο ἔτους κϛ Φαμενὼθ ιϛ

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
ἐνen in G1722 Preposition
2,743× 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 is a preposition that means in, on, or among something. It's used in many places, like Matthew 7:3 and Luke 7:37, to describe a location or relationship. It can also mean by, with, or during.
Tyndale gloss
in/on/among
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The most frequent preposition in the New Testament, 2,752 occurrences. In, on, at, among, within — its force comes almost entirely from the word it is attached to. What it does here is put the events inside a community rather than at a distance: they were fulfilled among us.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐν,

prep, (the most freq. of all in NT), c. dat. (= Heb. בְּ, Lat. in, c. abl.).

Of place, c. dat. rei, pers., in, within, on, at, by, among: ἐν τ. πόλει, Lk 7:37; τ. οφθαλμῷ, Mt 7:3; τ. κοιλίᾳ, Mt 12:40; τ. ὄρει, II Pe 1:18; τ. θρόνῳ, Re 3:21; τ. δεξιᾷ τ. θεοῦ, Ro 8:34; ἐν ἡμῖν , Lk 1:1; of books, ἐν τ. βιβλίῳ, Ga 3:10; τ. νόμῳ, Mt 12:5, al.; ἐν τοῖς τ. Πατρός, in my Father's house (RV; cf. M, Pr., 103)…

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

ἐν Χριστῷ, ἐν Χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ, ἐν κυρίῳ, (οἴ. Fritzsche, Com. on Rom. vol. ii. p. 82 544.; W. 389 (364); Weiss, Bibl. Theol. des N. T. §§ 84 b., 149 c.), ingrafied as it were in Christ, in fellowship and union with Christ, with the Lord: Ro. iii. 24; vi. 11, 23; viii. 39; 1Co.i.4; 2 Co. iii. 14; Gal. ii. 4; iii. 14, 26, 28; v. 6; Eph.i. 3 [Rec. om. ἐν]; ii. 6 sq. 10,13; 1 Tim.i.14; 2 Tim.i. 1,13; ii-1; 1 Pet. iii. 16; v.10; στήκειν ἐν κυρίῳ, Phil. iv. 1; iva εὑρεθῶ ἐν αὐτῷ, that I may be found (by God and Christ) most intimately united to him, Phil. iii. 9; εἶναι ἐν Χριστῷ "Inc. 1 Co. i. 30; οἱ ἐν Xp. "Ina. Ro. viii. 1; 1 Pet. v. 14; κοιμᾶσθαι ἐν Χριστῷ, θνήσκειν ἐν κυρίῳ, to fall asleep, to die, mindful of relationship to Christ and confiding in it [W. u.s.], 1 Co. xv. 18; Rey. xiv. 13. Since such union with Christ is the basis on which actions and virtues rest, the expression is…

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

ἐν 210 contract—time of Augustus) ἱμάτια γυναικεῖα ἐν apyv(plov) δραχμαῖς ἑκατόν, P Oxy IV. 7247 (A.D. 155) ἐξ ὧν ἔσχες τὴν πρώτην δόσιν ἐν δραχμαῖς τεσσαράκοντα, 70. I. 565 (A.D. 211) δανειζομένη. .. ἀργύριον ἔντοκον ἐν δραχμαῖς ἑξακισχειλίαις, and P Grenf II. 778 (iii/iv a.p.) (=Selections, Pp. 120) το]ὺς μισθοὺς. . ὄντας ἐν δραχμαῖς τριακοσίαις τεσσαράκοντα. Similar are P Oxy IV. 7084 (a.p. 188) yopou . . ἐν (1vpod)(apraBats) ’B, BGU 1. 724 (a.p. 191) ἐξέκοψαν πλεῖστον τόπον ἐν ἀρούραις πέντε: with which may be compared Eph 2!° τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐν δόγμασιν, “consisting in.” In P Lond 9215 (ii/iii a.p.) (ΞΞ 111. P- 134) γεγονέναι ἐν ἀμπέλῳ = ‘to be planted with vines.” A predicative use of ἐν is seen in P Hib I. 421° (B.c. 262) δώσομεν Λευκίωι ἐν ὀφειλήματι, ‘asa debt,” P Petr I. 1215 (cf. II. p. 22) ὅσα δὲ ᾿Αξιοθέα προσενήνεγκται ἐμ φερνῆι, “ἐᾷς dowry,” and P Tebt I. 120 135…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐν (en) — in/on/among.

ἐν,

poetry ἐνί, εἰν, εἰνί [Refs 8th c.BC+], forms used by Epic dialect and Lyric Poets as the metre requires, but only as falsa lectio in Trag., εἰν [Refs 5th c.BC+] ἰν [Refs]

__PREP. WITH DAT. AND ACC. Radical sense, in, into.

__A WITH DAT.

__A.I OF PLACE,

__A.I.1 in, νήσῳ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; with names of cities or islands, as ἐν Ἀθήνῃς, ἐν Τροίῃ, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; where ἐν is used, it = in the district of.., ὲν Ἐλευσῖνι [Refs] in my arms, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐν αὑτῷ εἶναι to be in one's senses, be oneself, ἔτ᾽ ἐν σαυτῷ (variant -τοῦ) γενοῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__A.I.1.b ἐν τοῖς ἰχθύσιν in the fish-market, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so ἐν τοῖν δυοῖν ὀβολοῖν ἐθεώρουν ἄν in the two-obol seats, [Refs 4th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐν

en

a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or

state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or

constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between 1519

and 1537); "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.:--about, after, against, +

almost, X altogether, among, X as, at, before, between, (here-)by (+

all means), for (... sake of), + give self wholly to, (here-)in(-to,

-wardly), X mightily, (because) of, (up-)on, (open-)ly, X outwardly,

one, X quickly,

X shortly, (speedi-)ly, X that, X there(-in, -on),

through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), under, when, where(-with), while,

with(-in). Often used in compounds, with substantially the same

import; rarely with verbs of motion, and then not to indicate

direction, except (elliptically) by a separate (and different)

preposition.

see GREEK for 1519

see GREEK for 1537

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐν

Prep.

in, on, among

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐν en 2x

followed by the dat., in, Mt. 8:6; Mk. 12:26; Rev. 6:6,; upon, Lk. 8:32; among, Mt. 11:11; before, in the presence of, Mk. 8:38; in the sight, estimation of, 1 Cor. 14:11; before, judicially, 1 Cor. 6:2; in, of state, occupation, habit, Mt. 21:22; Lk. 7:25; Rom. 4:10; in the case of, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐν

e)nprepe)ni/prep ei)nprep ei)ni/prep in, among. c. dat.

Lat. in.

PREP. WITH DAT.:

OF PLACE

in, ἐν νήσῳ, ἐν Τροίῃ, etc., Hom., etc.:—elliptic, ἐν Ἀλκινόοιο (sc. οἴκῳ) Od.; εἰν Ἀΐδαο Il.; ἐν παιδοτρίβου at the school of the training master, Ar.

in, upon, ἐν οὔρεσι Hom., etc.

in the number of, amongst, ἐν Δαναοῖς, etc., Hom.; and with Verbs of ruling, ἄρχειν, ἀνάσσειν ἐν πολλοῖς to be first or lord among many, i. e. over them, id. Hom.; cf. ὁ, τό B. III. 3.

in one's hands, within one's reach or power, Lat. penes, Hom., etc.; ἐν σοὶ γάρ ἐσμεν Soph.; ἐν τῷ θεῷ τὸ τέλος ἦν Dem.

in respect of, ἐν γήρᾳ in point of age, Soph.

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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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

A principal thing to notice about this preposition, which in the King James Version represents about 16 Hebrew and as many Greek words and prepositions, is that, in hundreds of cases (especially in the Old Testament, but frequently also in the New Testament) in the Revised Version (British and American) the rendering is changed to more exact forms ("to," "unto," "by," "upon," "at," "with," "among," "for," "throughout," etc.; compare e.g. Ge 6:16; 13:8; 17:7,9,12; 18:1; Ex 8:17; Le 1:9, etc.); while, nearly as often, "in" is substituted for divergent forms of the King James Version (e.g. Ge 2:14; 17:11; 31:54; 40:7; 49:17; Ex…

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
ἐλαχίστῳelachistos very little G1646 Adjective · dative · singular · neuter
13× 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
The smallest or least important thing, as seen in Matthew 25:40 and 1 Corinthians 15:9. This word is used to describe something that is minimal or insignificant, and is often used to emphasize the importance of humility.
Amplified meaning
least important, insignificant
Tyndale gloss
least
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐλάχιστος (elachistos) means 'smallest' or 'least' and is the superlative form of ἐλαχύς (elachus). It is used in various contexts in the New Testament, often to denote size, amount, or importance, such as in Matthew 5:19 and 1 Corinthians 15:9. There is a comparative form, ἐλαχιστότερος (elachistoteros), meaning 'less than the least,' which is noted in the lexicons.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐλάχιστος, -η, -ον

(v.s. ἐλάσσων),

smallest, least: as proper superlat., I Co 15:9; elsewhere, as usually in late Gk., intensive (B1., § 11, 3); Mt 2:6 (LXX) 25:40, 45, Lk 12:26 16:10 19:17, I Co 4:3 6:2, Ja 3:4; ἐ. ἐν τ. βασιλείᾳ τ. οὐρανῶν, Mt 5:19 (v. Dalman, Words, 113). Compar., ἐλαχιστότερος (for corresp. superl., v. LS; v. also Bl., § 44, 3); less than the least: Eph 3:8.†

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

ἐλάχιστος, -η, -ov, (superl. of the adj. μικρός, but coming fr. ἐλαχύς), [(Hom. h. Mere. 578), Hdt. down], smallest, least, — whether in size: Jas. iii. 4; in amount: of the management of affairs, πιστὸς ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ, Lk. xvi. 10 (opp. to ἐν πολλῷ); xix. 17; ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ ἄδικος, Lk. xvi. 10; in importance: what is of the least moment, 1 Co. vi. 2; in authority: of commandments, Mt. νυ. 19; in the estimation of men: of persons, Mt. xxv. 40, 45: in rank and excellence: of persons, Mt. v.19; 1 Co. xv. 9; of a town, Mt. ii. 6. οὐδὲ [RG οὔτε] ἐλάχιστον, not even a very small thing, Lk. xii. 26; ἐμοὶ εἰς ἐλάχιστόν ἐστι (see εἰμί, V. 2 ¢.), 1 Co. iv. 8.

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

ἐλάχιστος. For this form as a true superlative, as in 1 Cor 159 (cf. Proleg. p. 79), we may cite P Tebt I. 2457 (B.c. 117) ἐπὶ τὸ the document is official, though written in very bad Greek. It survives even as late as viii/A.D. in P Lond 7782 (=I. p. 233) ἀπὸ μικροῦ εἴδους ἕως ἐλαχίστου. The phrase ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ, as in Lk 161°, cf. Josh 678, occurs in P Catt’: 28 (ii/A.p.) (= Chrest. 11. p. 422), and the plur. in P Hib I. 27% (B.c. 301-240) ὡς οὖν ἠδυνάμην ἀκριβέστατα ἐν ἐλαχίστοις συναγαγεῖν. With reference to persons, as Mt 55, see Sy// 41τ858 (A.D. 238) καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἀπὸ πολλῶν οἱκοδεσποτῶν εἰς ἐλαχίστους κατεληλύθαμεν. ἐλάχιστον, ““αἱ least

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐλάχιστος (elachistos) — least.

ἐλᾰχιστ-ος [ᾰ], η, ον,

superlative of ἐλαχύς: comparative ἐλάσσων (which see):— smallest, least, frequently with a negative, γέρας, δύναμις οὐκ ἐ., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; λόγου ἐλαχίστου of least account, [Refs]; ἐλαχίστου ἐδέησε διαφθεῖραι narrowly missed destroying them, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. of Time, shortest, δι᾽ ἐλαχίστου (i.e. χρόνου) [Refs 5th c.BC+]; δι᾽ ἐλαχίστης βουλῆς with shortest deliberation, [Refs]

3. of Number, fewest, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν ἐλαχίστοις δυσίν between two at least. [Refs]

4. in Mathematics texts, ἐλάχιστα καὶ μέγιστα minima and maxima, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐλάχιστος

elachistos

superlative of elachus (short); used as equivalent to 3398; least (in

size, amount, dignity, etc.):--least, very little (small), smallest.

see GREEK for 3398

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐλάχιστος, ίστη, ιστον

Adj

least, smallest, very little

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐλάχιστος elachistos 14x

used as the superlative of μικρός, smallest, least, Mt. 2:6; 5:19

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐλάχιστος ἐλά^χιστος, η, ον Sup. of ἐλαχύς, comp. ἐλάσσων, the smallest, least, οὐκ ἐλ. Hhymn., Hdt., etc.; ἐλαχίστου λόγου of least account, id. Hdt.; περὶ ἐλαχίστου ποιεῖσθαι Plat.

of Time, shortest, δι᾽ ἐλαχίστου [sc. χρόνου] Thuc.; δι᾽ ἐλαχίστης βουλῆς with shortest deliberation, id. Thuc.

of Number, fewest, Plat.

τὸ ἐλάχιστον, τοὐλάχιστον, at the least, Hdt., Xen., etc.; also ἐλάχιστα, Thuc., Plat.

there is also a new comp. ἐλαχιστότερος, less than the least, NTest.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-DSN-S — Adjective · dative · singular · neuter
dative — to, for, with — the one it is done to or by.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-DSN-S Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter Degree: Superlative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%least
least50% · 7×very little21% · 3×smallest matter7% · 1×the smallest?7% · 1×very least7% · 1×very small7% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
predicate31%adverbial23%object15%indirect object15%subject15%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 13 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
οὗτοςἐγώεἰμίI am, exist
ἐν
πιστόςtrustworthy, faiArticle theὅτιthat, since, bec
οὐδαμῶςNeg
ἸούδαςJudah, Judas, Ju
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of the hu
Article the
οὐδέNeg
οὖνtherefore, then
ἐλάχιστοςvery little13×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
ἐνἵναin order that, s
καίand, even, also, nam
διδάσκωI teachἐν
καλέωI call, invite, name
ἐν
ἐγώ
ποιέωI do, make
οὐδέNeg
ἐγώ

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

Concordanceἐλάχιστος · 13× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke 1 Corinthians James
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
The Shepherd of Hermas Josephus Clement of Rome
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4.287c. AD 75–95

χρησάμενος δὲ κἂν ἐλαχίστῳ μέρει τῶν πεπιστευμένων ἂν ἀπολέσας τύχῃ τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα ἃ ἔλαβεν ἀποδοῦναι κατεγνώσθω.

Clement of RomeSecond Clement 8.5c. AD 96

λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὁ πιστὸς ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ καὶ ἐν πολλῷ πιστός ἐστιν.

The Shepherd of HermasThe Shepherd of Hermas 10.1.5c. AD 140

ἐὰν γὰρ λάβῃς ἀψινθίου μικρὸν λίαν καὶ εἰς κεράμιον μέλιτος ἐπιχέῃς, οὐχὶ ὅλον τὸ μέλι ἀφανίζεται, καὶ τοσοῦτον μέλι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐλαχίστου ἀψινθίου ἀπόλλυται καὶ ἀπόλλυσι τὴν γλυκύτητα τοῦ μέλιτος, καὶ οὐκέτι τὴν αὐτὴν χάριν ἔχει παρὰ τῷ δεσπότῃ, ὅτι…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
7th c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 5th c. AD 1st c. AD
SB 12 10799AD 14–AD 41

ν … ν θω … αν … ωι δοῦναι εἰς γναφὴν περὶ … ἐλαχίστον. οἶδα τοῦ γερδίου δραχμαὶ δ … δραχμαὶ κ τοῦ ἄλλου γερδίου χάριν τοῦ

P.Cair. Masp. 3 67312AntinoopolisAD 567

καταλειφθησομένων παρʼ ἐμοῦ πραγμάτων καὶ ἀγωγῶν καὶ ἐνοχῶν καὶ παντὸς δικαίου, ἀπὸ πολυτελοῦς μέχρι ἐλαχίστου καὶ ἀσσαρίου ἑνὸς, ἐπὶ τῇ ἑξῆς ἐφʼ ἑκάστῳ τῶν εἰρημένων κληρονόμων προελευσομένῃ παρʼ ἐμοῦ

P.Cair. Masp. 2 67162AntinoopolisAD 568

νομῷ, τοποθεσίας Πινδάρου, ἐξ ἧς καὶ ὁρμωμένου, χαίρειν. ὁμολογῶ ἐγὼ ὁ προγεγραμμένος Ἰωάννης Κύρου ἐλάχιστος διάκονος τοῦ προειρημένου ἁγίου τόπου, διὰ ταύτης μου τῆς ἐγγράφου ἀσφαλείας, ἐσχηκέναι καὶ δεδανεῖσθαι

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
πιστὸςpistos faithful G4103 Adjective · nominative · singular · masculine
67× 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
Being faithful or trustworthy is what this word means, as seen in Matthew 24:45 and 1 Corinthians 4:2. It describes someone who is loyal and dependable, like the apostles in the Bible.
Amplified meaning
trustworthy, reliable
Tyndale gloss
faithful
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πιστός is an adjective meaning trustworthy or faithful, derived from the root πείθω. It describes both people and things, indicating reliability and trustworthiness, as seen in various New Testament passages like Matthew 24:45 and 2 Timothy 2:2. The word can also denote a believer, someone who trusts in God or is convinced of Jesus' resurrection. Notably, Liddell-Scott-Jones highlights its use in classical literature, while Moulton & Milligan note its rare active sense of 'trusting' in the New Testament.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πιστός, -ή, -όν

(< πείθω),

[in LXX chiefly for נֶאֱמָן;]

Pass., to be trusted or believed;

of persons, trusty, faithful: Mt 24:45 25:21, 23, Lk 12:42, Ac 16:15, I Co 4:2, 17 7:25, Eph 1:1 6:21, Col 1:2, 7 4:7, 9, I Ti 1:12, II Ti 2:2, He 2:17 3:2, 5, I Pe 5:12, Re 2:13 19:11; of God, I Co…

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

πιστός, -7, -όν, (πείθω [q. v-]), [fr. Hom. down], Sept. mostly for 1232}; 1. trusty, faithful; of persons who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties: δοῦλος, Mt. xxiv. 45; xxv. 21, 23; οἰκονόpos, Lk. xii. 42; 1 Co. iv. 2; διάκονος, Eph. vi. 21; Col. i. 7; iv. 7; ἀρχιερεύς, Heb. ii. 17; iii. 2; of God, abiding by his promises, 1 Co.i.9; x.13; 2Co.i. 18; 1 Th. v. 24; 2 Th. ii. 8; Heb. x. 23: xi. 11; 2 Tim. 1. 13; Avdneds 9: 1 Pet. 1v. 19% add, 1 Co.ave 17; Colsava 9s 1 Tim. i. 12; Heb. iii. 5; 1 Pet. v. 12; πιστὸς ἔν τινι, in a thing, Lk. xvi. 10-12; xix. 17; 1 Tim. iii. 11; ἐπί τι, Mt. xxv. 23; ἄχρι θανάτου, Rev. ii. 10. one who kept his plighted faith, Rev. ii. 13; worthy of trust; that can be relied on: 1 Co. vii. 25; 2 Tim. ii. 2; Christ is called μάρτυς ὁ πιστός, Rev. i. 5; with καὶ ἀληθινός added, Rev.…

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

πιστός. For πιστός, ‘‘ faithful,” ‘‘ trustworthy,” as generally in the NT, cf. P Grenf II. 7312 (late iii/A.D.) (= Selections, p- 118) τ]αύτην παραδέδωκα τοῖς καλοῖς kal πιστοῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν νεκροτάφων εἰς τήρησιν, “1 have handed her over to the good and faithful men among the grave-diggers themselves that they may take care of her” (cf. Mt 2574), and P Oxy I. 4159 (iii/iv A.D.) ἁγνοὶ πιστοὶ σύνδικοι, “true and trustworthy advocates.” In a deed of sale of a slave, published by Eitrem (S#/avenkauf, Christiania, 1916), the slave is described as 27 πιστοῦ kal adpdcrov, ‘faithful and not given to running away.’’ A petitioner for release from prison οὕνεκα Tod θεοῦ kal τοῦ καλῶς ἔχοντος, “in the name of God and of fair play,’’ describes himself, P Petr II. 19(1a)4, as δοὺς τὰ πιστά, with reference apparently to certain required ‘‘ pledges”: cf. BGU IV. 115276 (B.C. 10) οὗ τὰ] πιστὰ (reading…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πιστός (pistos) — faithful.

πιστός, ή, όν,

(πείθω):

__B passive, to be trusted or believed:

__B.I of persons, faithful, trusty, ἑταῖρος [Refs 8th c.BC+]: comparative -ότερος [Refs 5th c.BC+]: superlative πιστότατος [Refs 8th c.BC+] a trusted friend of P., Ergias cited in [Refs 4th c.BC+]; οἱ πιστοί, in Persia, trusty councillors, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τάδε Περσῶν πιστὰ καλεῖται [Refs 4th c.BC+]

__B.I.2 trustworthy, worthy of credit, [Refs 5th c.BC+]. adverb, - τῶς καὶ ἀδόλως [Refs]

__B.I.3 genuine, π. Ἀταλάντης γόνος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Θηρικλέους π. τέκνον, of a cup, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; unmistakable, νόσοι πονηραὶ καὶ π. [LXX]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πιστός

pistos

from 3982; objectively, trustworthy; subjectively,

trustful:--believe(-ing, -r), faithful(-ly), sure, true.

see GREEK for 3982

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πιστός, ή, όν

Adj

trustworthy, faithful, believing

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πιστός pistos 67x

faithful, true, trusty, Mt. 24:45; 25:21, 23; Lk. 12:42; 2 Tim. 2:2; put in trust, 1 Cor. 7:25; true, veracious, Rev. 1:5; 2:13; credible, sure, certain, indubitable, Acts 13:34; 1 Tim. 1:15; believing, yielding belief and confidence, Jn. 20:27; Gal. 3:9; spc. a Christian believer, Acts 10:45; 16:1, 15; Read the full entry →

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

A-NSM Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Faithful

As a designation of Christians, means full of faith, trustful, and not simply trustworthy (Acts 10:45; 16:1; 2 Cor. 6:15; Col. 1:2; 1 Tim. 4:3, 12; 5:16; 6:2; Titus 1:6; Eph. 1:1; 1 Cor. 4:17, etc.).

It is used also of God’s word or covenant as true and to be trusted (Ps. 119:86, 138; Isa. 25:1; 1 Tim. 1:15;

In many passages in the Bible, means "believing." Thus in Ga 3:9, believers are said to be blessed with Abraham, because of his preeminent distinction above all man for steadfast faith in God. This appellation is given in Scripture to true Christians, to indicate not only their saving faith in Christ, but their trustworthy and consistent Christian character, Ac 16:15 1Co 4:17 Eph 6:21 Col 4:9 1Pe 5:12. "A faithful saying" is one that cannot prove false, 1Ti 1:15 2Ti…

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

Counted over the 29 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.67c. AD 40

ὄντως γὰρ ἀναίσχυντος καὶ θρασεῖα ἡ αἴσθησις, ἣ ἐξουθενηθεῖσα ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ πατρὸς παρὰ τὸν πιστὸν ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ (ibid.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 6.256c. AD 75–95

πολέμιον γὰρ σὸν οὐκ εἰδέναι ἔφασκε, πιστὸν δὲ ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα δοῦλον καὶ χιλίαρχον καὶ τὸ τούτων μεῖζον γαμβρόν τε ἤδη καὶ συγγενῆ.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 11.5c. AD 100

καί: τὸ ὕδωρ αὐτοῦ πιστόν: βασιλέα μετὰ δόξης ὄψεσθε, καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν μελετήσει φόβον κυρίου

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
8th c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 4th c. AD

κέχρησαι τὸ κερμάτιον, οὐ δὲ φάσιν ἀπέστειλας ἐμοί. ἐγὼ γὰρ μή εἰ ἤδη ὅτι πιστὸς εἶ οὐκ ἂν ἔχρησά σοι. εἰδὼς τὴν σὴν πίστιν οὐδενὶ ἔδωκα τὸ γράμμα. ἄν

O.Krok. 2 267KrokodiloAD 98–AD 117

ὡς ἐπίτροπος · εἰ μὲν ηὕρηκες μίσθωμα αὐτῇ εἰς Διδύμους, ἀσφάλισον σεαυτῷ λίαν παρὰ πιστὸν ἄνθρωπον ἵνα μὴ αὐτὴν ὑβρίσωσιν· ἐὰν ποιῄσεις μοι μικρόν τι, ἀνταποδώσω σοι καὶ πάντοτε

O.Did. 402DidymoiAD 110–AD 115

μὲν ἔλθῃς ὑγιαίνουσα, οἴσεις μοι αὐτὴ τὸ τετράδερμα, εἰ δὲ μή, πέμψεις μοι διὰ πιστοῦ τινος ἐπεὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ οὐ δύναμαι μένειν. εὐχαριστῶ α … φησαπολ ἔρρωσο. τε προσα

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
ἐγένου,ginomai you were, G1096 Verb · second aorist · middle deponent · indicative · second person · singular
668× 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 versatile word meaning to be, become, or come into being, used in John 1:15 and 1 Corinthians 15:37.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

γίνομαι (ginomai) is a versatile Greek verb meaning to come into being, be born, or arise. It covers a wide range of uses, from the creation of things to events occurring. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts such as birth (e.g., Romans 1:3), occurrences in nature (e.g., John 12:29), and actions being performed (e.g., Matthew 21:42). It can also express the idea of becoming or changing states.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γίνομαι, Ion. and κοινή for Att. γίγν- (M. Pr., 47; Bl., §6, 8 Mayser, 166 f.),

[in LXX chiefly for היה ;]

of persons, things occurrences, to come into being, be born, arise, come on: Jo 1:15 8:58, I Co 15:37; a first appearance in public, Mk 1:4, Jo 1:6, al.; seq. ἐκ (of birth), Ro 1:3, Ga 4:4; διά, Jo 1:3; βροντή, Jo 12:29; σεισμός, Re 6:12; γογγυσμός, Ac 6:1; χαρά, Ac 8:8, many other similar exx.; ἡμέρα, Lk 22:66, al.; ὀψέ, Read the full entry →

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

γίνομαι (in Ionic prose writ.and in com. Grk. fr. Aristot. on for Attic γίγνομαι) ; [impf. ἐγινόμην ; fut. γενήσομαι ; 2 aor. ἐγενόμην (often in 3 pers. sing. optat. γένοιτο ; [ptep. yevapevos, Lk. xxiv. 22 Tdf. ed. 7]), and, with no diff. in signif., 1 aor. pass. ἐγενήθην, rejected by the Atticists (cf. Lob. ad Phryn. p. 108 sq.; [Thom. Mag. ed. Ritschl p. 75, 6 sq.]), not rare in later Grk., common in Sept. (Acts iv. 4; 1 Th. ii. 14; 1 Co. xv. 10, etc.), impv. γενηθήτω (Mt. vi. 10; xv. 28, ete.) ; pf. γεγένημαι and γέγονα, 3 pers. plur. γέγοναν L T Tr WH in Ro. xvi. 7 and Rey. xxi. 6 (cf. [Tdf. Proleg. p. 124; WH. App. p. 166; Soph. Lex. p. 37 sq.; Curtius, Das Verbum, ii. 187]; W. 36 and 76 (73) sq-; Mullach p. 16; B. 43 (37 sq.)), [ptep. γεγονώς] ; plpf. 3 pers. sing. ἐγεγόνει (Jn. vi. 17 [not Tdf.];. Acts iv. 22 [where L T Tr WH γεγόνει, cf. W. § 12, 9; B. 33 (29); Tdf.’s note on…

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

γίνομαι {Ξ ΠῚ. p. 210) γενοῦ πρὸς "Ata τὸν ποιμένα καὶ δέξαι παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ δραχμὰς διακοσίας, P Flor II. 180 (a.p. 253) ἐὰν γένηται πρός σε Διόσκορος, α΄. Γίνομαι sometimes supplies an aorist fir εἰμί : ἐγενόμην is normally ingressive (= became), but has to serve on occasion for summary (‘‘constative ’’) aorist as well—cf. Prolfeg. p. 109. Thus P. Flor III. 382% (cited ad 72.) might be translated ‘the son whom I neither have nor ever had,’’ as well as ‘‘ nor was ever born to me.” Lk 13? is an instance of this summary use. It appears in a very common technical usage, by which γενόμενος, with the tithe of an official, etc., denotes “ex-’’: where the title forms a verb, the aor, the perf.) partic. of this is used instead. arch” is γυμνασιαρχήσας. For the periphrasis cf. P Oxy I. 3811 (a.p. 49-50) (= Selections, p. 53) καθὰ π|ζα]ρῆλθον ἐπὶ τοῦ γενομένου τοῦ νομοῦ στρατηγοῦ Ilaciwyvos, “1…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γίνομαι (ginomai) — to be.

γίγνομαι,

Ionic dialect and after [Refs 4th c.BC+] γίνομαι [ῑ], (Attic dialect Inscrr. have γιγν- in fifth and fourth cententury,[Refs]; Thess. γίνυμαι [Refs]; Boeotian dialect γίνιουμαι [Refs]future γενήσομαι: aorist ἐγενόμην (ἐγενάμην [LXX] (προ-) Decrees Byzantine cited in [Refs 4th c.BC+], Ionic dialect 2nd pers. singular γένευ [Refs 8th c.BC+], 3rd.pers. singular γενέσκετο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Epic dialect γέντο [Refs 8th c.BC+] (gṇ-το): perfect γέγονα [Refs 8th c.BC+]: 3rd.pers. plural γέγοναν [NT]: pluperfect ἐγεγόνει [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect ἐγεγόνεε [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic dialect forms (as if from perfect γέγᾰα), 2nd pers. plural γεγάᾱτε [Refs 8th c.BC+]pluperfect ἐκ-γεγάτην [ᾰ] [Refs 8th c.BC+]; infinitive γεγάμεν [ᾰ] [Refs 8th c.BC+]; participle γεγᾰώς -ᾰυῖα, plural -ᾰῶτες, -ᾰυῖαι [Refs 8th c.BC+], contraction γεγώς, -ῶσα [Refs…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γίνομαι

ginomai

a prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be

("gen"-erate), i.e. (reflexively) to become (come into being), used

with great latitude (literal, figurative, intensive, etc.):--arise, be

assembled, be(-come, -fall, -have self), be brought (to pass), (be)

come (to pass), continue, be divided, draw, be ended, fall, be

finished, follow, be found, be fulfilled, + God forbid, grow, happen,

have, be kept, be made, be married, be ordained to be, partake, pass,

be performed, be published, require, seem, be showed, X soon as it

was, sound, be taken, be turned, use, wax, will, would, be wrought.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γίνομαι

v.

I come into being, am born

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γίνομαι ginomai 669x

pluperfect, ἐγενόει (3rd sg), to come into existence; to be created, exist by creation, Jn. 1:3, 10; Heb. 11:3; Jas. 3:9; to be born, produced, grow, Mt. 21:19; Jn. 8:58, et al.; to arise, come on, occur, as the phenomena of nature, etc.; Mt. 8:24, 26; 9:16, et al.; to come, approach, as morning or evening, Mt. 8:16; 14:15, 23; to be appointed, constituted, established, Mk. 2:27; Gal.…

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

V-2ADI-2S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: middle Deponent Mood: Indicative Person: second Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
9%it came to pass
it came to pass9% · 64×became4% · 28×there was3% · 23×do be3% · 22×came3% · 19×having become3% · 18×was3% · 18×having been3% · 17×other renderings69% · 468×

677 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 180 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
verb57%linking verb42%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 668 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
θάλασσαthe sea, lakeἐκεῖthere, yonder, tεἰμίI am, exist
Article the
δύναμιςmight, power, maεἰμίI am, existαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
ὄψιοςlateοὗτοςὡςas, like as, how
μήNeg
ἵναin order that, sοὐNegθεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
ἱμάτιονouter garmentδιάκλάδοςa branch
γίνομαιyou were,668×
what comes after →
Article the
δύναμιςmight, power, maθέλημαwill, wish, desiἔσχατοςlast, at the las
ἐν
Article theσύεἷςone
δέbut, on the other ha
ἐνArticle theἡμέραa day
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegἐκφύωI put forth, cau
εἰς
Article theκεφαλήthe headδένδρονa tree

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

Concordanceγίνομαι · 668× in the New Testament
Luke Acts Matthew Mark John 1 Corinthians Revelation Romans Hebrews 1 Thessalonians Galatians 2 Corinthians

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 Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 11c. AD 40

πρὸς δὲ τὸ μὴ γεγονὸς οἰκείωσις οὐδεμία τῷ μὴ πεποιηκότι.

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

ὡς ὁ κατακλυσμὸς ἐγένετο καὶ ὃν τρόπον Νῶχος σωθεὶς ἐν λάρνακι μετὰ τῶν συγγενῶν κατῴκησεν ἐν τῷ Σινάρῳ πεδίῳ.

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

γενώμεθα πνευματικοί, γενώμεθα ναὸς τέλειος τῷ θεῷ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 22Thebais119 BC

ἔχω εἰς τὸν Ἑρμίου λόγον περὶ πῆς τοπογραμματείας τοῦ νγ ἔτους χαλκοῦ τάλαντα δέκα. γίνεται τάλαντα ι. καὶ περὶ τῆς κωμογραμματείας ὁμοίως χαλκοῦ τάλαντα δέκα. γίνεται τάλαντα ι. καὶ

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

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

P.Adl. 10Pathyris102 BC

λ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως τετανὸς μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν οὐλὴ φαλάνθῳ ἀριστερῶι χαλκοῦ νομίσματος τάλαντα δέκα δύο, γίνεται τάλαντα ιβ, ἄτοκα, ἡμερῶν τριάκοντα ἀπὸ μηνὸς Παῦνι ιθ. τὸ δὲ δάνειον τοῦτο ἀποδότω

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
ἴσθιeimi do be G1510 Verb · present · active · imperative · second person · singular
2,457× 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 be or exist, a basic verb used to describe something or someone, like God saying 'I am' in John 8:58.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰμί,

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

As substantive verb.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰμί (eimi) — to be.

εἰμί

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί

eimi

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

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

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

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

see GREEK for 1488

see GREEK for 1498

see GREEK for 1511

see GREEK for 1527

see GREEK for 2258

see GREEK for 2071

see GREEK for 2070

see GREEK for 2075

see GREEK for 2076

see GREEK for 2771

see GREEK for 2468

see GREEK for 5600

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰμί

v.

I am, exist

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰμί eimi 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAM-2S — Verb · present · active · imperative · second person · singular
present active imperative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAM-2S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: iMperative Person: second Number: Singular

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, becκαίand, even, also,ὅς
οὗτος
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
ἐνἄνθρωποςa man, one of thθεόςGod, a god
ἐγώ
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakμετά
σύ
ἐνλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
εἰμίdo be2457×
what comes after →
Article the
υἱόςa son, descendenΧριστόςanointed, the Meβασιλείαkingship, sovere
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegγάρfor
ἐν
Article theσύαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theτὶςἐκεῖthere, yonder, t
ἐγώ
εἰςἄξιοςworthy, worthy oὧδεhere

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
ἐξουσίανexousia having authority G1849 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
102× 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
Authority refers to the power or freedom to act, like the authority given to Jesus in John 10:18 or the freedom to exercise a gift in 1 Corinthians 9:12.
Amplified meaning
power, freedom to act
Tyndale gloss
authority
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐξουσία (i.e., *exousia*) refers to power or authority, derived from the root meaning 'to be permitted.' It encompasses various forms of authority, including legal, governmental, and personal power, as well as the ability to act freely. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts related to Jesus' authority, apostolic power, and judicial authority, notably in Matthew and Luke.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐξουσία, -ας, ἡ

(< ἔξεστι),

[in LXX: IV Ki 20:13, Ps 113 (114):2 135 (136)8, 9, Is 39:2, Je 28 (51):28 (מֶמְשָׁלָה), freq. in Da for Aram. שָׁלְטָן, etc., Wi 10:14, Si 9:13, al. ;]

prop., liberty or power to act, freedom to exercise the inward force or faculty expressed by δύναμις (q.v.): I Co 9:12; ἐ. ἔχειν, II Th 3:9; id. seq. inf., Jo 10:18, I Co 9:4, 5; c. gen. obj., Ro 9:21; seq. ἐπί, c. acc., Re 22:14; περί, I Co 7:37.

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

ἐξουσία, -as, 7, (fr. ἔξεστι, ἐξόν, q. v-), fr. Eur., Xen., Plato down; Sept. for mw and Chald. Ow; power. 1. power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases; leave or permission: 1 Co. ix. 12, 18; ἔχειν ἐξουσίαν, 2 Th. iii. 9; with an inf. added indicating the thing to be done, Jn. x. 18; 1 Co. ix. 4 sq.; Heb. xiii. 10 [WH br. €&.]; foll. by an inf. with τοῦ, 1 Co. ix. 6 (LT Tr ΝῊ οπι. τοῦ) ; with a gen. of the thing or the pers. with regard to which one has the power to decide: Ro. ix. 21 (where an explanatory infin. is added [B. 260 (224)]); 1 Co. ix. 12; ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς, permission to use the tree of life, Rev. xxii. 14 [see ἐπί, C. I. 2e.]; ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν περὶ τοῦ ἰδίου θελήματος (opp. to ἀνάγκην ἔχειν [οἵ. W. § 30, 3 N.5]), 1 Co. vii. 37; ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ, [appointed, see τίθημι. 1 a. sub fin.] according to his own choice, Actsi. 7; ἐν τῇ σῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ὑπῆρχεν. i.e. at thy…

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

ἐξουσία. For the primary meaning of this important word ‘‘ power of choice,” ‘‘liberty of action,” cf. BGU IV. 11581 (8.6. 9), where it is joined with ἐγλογή--μένε(ιν) περὶ ἑατ(ὴν) Kopν(ηλίαν) τὴν ἐξουσία(ν) Kal ἐγλογὴ(ν) ἑαυτὸν πράσσειν τὸ κεφά[λ]αιοί(ν). Hence the common usage in wills, contracts, and other legal documents, to denote the ‘‘claim,’’ or “‘right,”’ or ‘‘control,’’ one has over anything, e.g. P Oxy II. 27215 (A.D. 66) ὁμολογ[ο]ῦμεν ἔχειν σε ἐξουσίζαν σε]αυτῆι τὴν ἀπία(τησΊ]ιν ποιεῖσθαι παρὰ τοῦ Ἡ ρακλήου τῶν προκειμένων ἀργ(υρίου) (δραχμῶν), BGU I. 183? (a.p. 85) ἔχειν αὐτὴν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τῶν ἰδίων πάντων, P Tebt II. 3105} (A.D. 248) ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ὑπαρχόντων : see also Milligan ad 2 Thess 3°. For the definite idea of right given by law, see P Oxy II. 237%17 (a.p. 186) ἀξιῶ τοῦ νόμου διδόντος μοι ἐξουσίαν KTA. and 16. V2, ὙΠ]. ἀν of, also 26, 259138 (A.D. 23)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐξουσία (exousia) — authority.

ἐξουσ-ία, ἡ,

(ἔξεστι) power, authority to do a thing, with infinitive, χαίρειν καὶ νοσεῖν ἐ. πάρεστι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐξουσίαν ὁ νόμος δέδωκε permission to do.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς εἰρήνης ἐ. with the freedom permitted by peace, [Refs 4th c.BC+] power of life and death, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; πρᾶγμα οὗ τὴν ἐ. ἔχουσιν ἄλλοι control over.., [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; ἐ. τινός power over, licence in a thing, τοῦ λέγειν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν μεγάλῃ ἐ. τοῦ ἀδικεῖν[Refs]; κατὰ τὴν οὐκ ἐ. τῆς ἀγωνίσεως from want of qualification for.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, power, authority, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐξουσία

exousia

from 1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, i.e. (subjectively)

force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery

(concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control),

delegated influence:--authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right,

strength.

see GREEK for 1832

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐξουσία, ας, ἡ

n.f.

power, authority, weight

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐξουσία exousia 102x

power, ability, faculty, Mt. 9:8; 10:1; efficiency, energy, Lk. 4:32; liberty, licence, Jn. 10:18; Acts 5:4; authority, rule, dominion, jurisdiction, Mt. 8:9; 28:18; meton. pl. authorities, potentates, powers, Lk. 12:11; 1 Cor. 15:24; Eph. 1:21; right, authority, full power, Mt. 9:6; 21:23; privilege, prerogative, Jn. 1:12

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐξουσία ἐξουσία, ἡ, ἔξεστι power or authority to do a thing, c. inf., Thuc., Xen.; c. gen. power over, licence in a thing, Thuc., Plat.

absol. power, authority, might, as opp. to right, Thuc.: also licence, Dem.

an office, magistracy, Lat. potestas, Plat.

as concrete, also like Lat. potestas, the body of the magistrates, in pl., the authorities, NTest.

abundance of means, resources, Thuc.

pomp, Plut.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
72%authority
authority72% · 74×power9% · 9×authorities8% · 8×right6% · 6×other renderings6% · 6×

103 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 10 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
object56%adverbial19%subject14%predicate8%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 102 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,δίδωμιI offer, giveαὐτός
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
οὐNegκαίand, even, also,ἀποκτείνωI put to death,
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςδύναμιςmight, power, maἀρχήruler, beginning
αὐτός
δίδωμιI offer, give
ποῖοςIrg
ἐν
ἐξουσίαhaving authority102×
what comes after →
Article the
σκότοςdarknessArticle theπνεῦμαwind, breath, sp
οὗτος
ποιέωI do, makeἵναin order that, sἅπαςall, the whole
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
ἐπίκαίand, even, also,Article the
καίand, even, also, nam
δύναμιςmight, power, maArticle theἐπιτροπήcommission, full
ἐπί
Article theπᾶςall, 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

Concordanceἐξουσία · 102× in the New Testament
Revelation Luke 1 Corinthians Matthew Mark John Acts Romans Colossians Ephesians 2 Corinthians 1 Peter

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament16 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 18 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.95c. AD 40

ἡ δὲ παραίνεσις γίνεται δι’ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν κλήσεων καὶ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, „ἐνετείλατο“ γὰρ „κύριος ὁ θεός“, ἵνα, εἰ μὲν πείθοιτο ταῖς παραινέσεσιν, ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ εὐεργεσιῶν ἀξιωθείη, εἰ δὲ ἀφηνιάζοι, ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου ὡς δεσπότου καὶ ἐξουσίαν…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.156c. AD 75–95

δυνάμεως γὰρ αὐτοῖς παρούσης καὶ προνοῆσαι τῆς κατʼ αὐτοὺς εὐταξίας, ταύτης δʼ ὑστεροῦντας φανεροὺς γίνεσθαι μηδʼ ὅσα πρὸς τὸ χρησιμώτερον ἡμῖν συνεργοῦσι κατὰ τὴν αὐτῶν ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ κελεύοντος ἰσχὺν ὑπουργεῖν, ᾧ καλῶς ἔχει μόνῳ τὴν…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.1c. AD 100

Ἡμερῶν οὖν οὐσῶν πονηρῶν καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος ἔχοντος τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ὀφείλομεν ἑαυτοῖς προσέχοντες ἐκζητεῖν τὰ δικαιώματα κυρίου,

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
4th c. AD 2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. AD 5th c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 41Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 46

προκειμένοις πᾶσι. εὐτύχει. … ἐπὶ ταῖς προκειμέναις ἀργυρίου διακοσίαις ὀγδοήκοντα ὀκτώ, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων, ἐξουσίας οὔσης σοι ἑτέροις μεταμισθοῦν καμιτ … γ παντὶ χρόνωι. ἔτους ζ Τιβερίου Κλαυδίου Καίσαρος

APF 6 (1920), p. 85Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 120–AD 121

ἔτους Ἁδριανοῦ τοῦ κυρίου Ἐπὶφ ὑπομνηματισμοὶ περιέχουσι, διʼ ὧνπερ πράγματος ὑπερτεθέντος εἰς τὴν μείζονα ἐξουσίαν συνέβη, καθὼς ἅπαντες προφέρονται, καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ παιδίον, εἴτε ἦν τῆς Ἀπίας τῆς καὶ

P.Bodl. 1 34Philadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 158–AD 159

πρὸς ἐμὲ τὸν μεμισθωμένον. οὐχ ἕξω δὲ κοινωνὸν οὐδὲ μίσθιον γενόμενον τῆς ὠνῆς ὑποτελῆ, ἐξουσίας σοι οὔσης ἑτέροις μεταμισθοῦν, ὁπότε ἐὰν αἱρῇ, ἐὰν φαίνηται ἐπιχωρῆσαι.

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
ἔχωνechō you are G2192 Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
709× 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 Greek word means to have or hold something, like a possession or ability. It is used in many ways, such as having power or being with someone. The Bible uses it in Revelation 5:8 and 14:6.
Tyndale gloss
to have/be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἔχω, transliterated as echō, means 'to have' or 'to hold' and is used in various contexts, including possession, ability, and condition. It appears frequently in the New Testament, often relating to physical possession or metaphorical concepts like keeping faith or emotions. Notably, it can also refer to being pregnant, as seen in Matthew 1:18. The entries do not show significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἔχω,

[in LXX for אָצֵל (ἐχόμενος), בַּעַל, יֵשׁ, etc., 59 words in all;]

(on the Aktionsart of the various tenses, v. M, Pr., 110, 145, 150, 183),

to have, as in cl., in various senses and constructions.

Trans.;

to have, hold, hold fast, etc.;

to hold, as, in the hand: Re 5:8 14:6, al.; ἐν τ. χειρί, Re 1:16 10:2, al.;

of arms and clothing, = φέρω, φορέω, to bear, wear: Mt 3:4 22:12, al.; so freq. pres. ptcp. (LS, s.v., A, I, 6; Bl., § 74, 2), Mk 11:13, Jo 18:10, Re 9:17, al.;

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

ἔχω ; fut. ἕξω ; impf. εἶχον, [1 pers. plur. εἴχαμεν, 2 Jn. ἔχω 266 5 T Tr WH], 8 pers. plur. εἶχαν (Mk. viii. 7 L T Tr WH; Rey. ix. 8 LT Tr WH; but ef. [ Soph. Lex., Intr. p. 38; Tdf. Proleg. p. 123; WH. App. p. 165]; B. 40 (35)) and εἴχοσαν (LT Tr WH in Jn. xv. 22, 24; but ef. Bitm. in Theol. Stud. u. Krit. 1858, pp. 485 sqq. 491; see his N. T. Gr. p. 43 (37); [Soph. Lex., Intr. p. 39; Τὰ Proleg. p. 124; WH. App. p. 165; ef. δολεόω ]) ; pres. mid. ptep. ἐχόμενος ; to have,—with 2 aor. act. ἔσχον; pf. ἔσχηκα; I. Transitively. have (hold) in the hand: τὶ ἐν τῇ χειρί, Rev. i. 16; vi. 5; x. 2; xvii. 4; and simply, Rev. v. 8; viii. 3, 6; xiv. 6, ete.; Heb. viii. 3. Ὁ. in the sense of wearing (Lat. gestare) ; of garments, arms and the like: τὸ ἔνδυμα, Mt. iii. 4; xxii. 12; κατὰ κεφαλῆς ἔχων, sc. τί, having a covering hanging down from the head, i.e. having the head covered [B. $130, 5; W. §…

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

ἔχω. It may be well to illustrate some of the less usual forms of this common verb. The future σχήσω (cf. Kithner-Blass Gr. 1. ii. p. 112 n.8) is restored by the editor in OGZS 751° (ii/ B.C.) ἐπεὶ θλιβέντες ἐμ πλείοσιν ἀσθενῶς [σχή]σετε. For the 2 aor. with 1 aor. termination (cf. Ac 757 D συνἐσχαν) see BGU 11. 4518 (i/ii A.D.) ἀναγκαίως ἔσχαμεν δ[ι7᾽ ἐπιστολῆς σε ἀσπάσεσθαι, and for ἔσχοσαν cf. OG/S 315°" (B.C. 164-159) ὑφοψίαν μοχθηράν, ἣν Kal περὶ Tod ἀδελφοῦ ἔσχοσαν. In 20. 2237 (iii/B.c.) we have αὐτοὶ ἀπολογισάμενοι περί τε τῆς εὐνοίας ἣν διὰ παντὸς εἰσχήκατε εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν οἰκίαν, and for similar forms see the editor's note ® to 2b. 323. For the trans. use of the verb see such passages as P Oxy IV. 743!® (B.c. 2) εἰ καὶ m[p]ds ἄλλους εἶχον πρᾶγμα, βοηθὸν αὐτοῦ γ[εἸνέσθαι διὰ ἣν ἔχομε(ν) πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς φιλίαν, BGU I. 228(a.p. 114) (= «ϑελδείζογις, p. 74), which illustrate 1 Cor…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἔχω (echō) — to have/be.

ἔχω,

__A2nd pers. singular ἔχεισθα conjecture in [Refs 7th c.BC+]; 2nd pers. singular subjunctive ἔχῃσθα [Refs 8th c.BC+]imperfect εἶχον, Epic dialect ἔχον [Refs 8th c.BC+], Ionic dialect and poetry ἔχεσκον [Refs 8th c.BC+]future ἕξω, Epic dialect infinitive ἑξέμεναι [Refs 3rd c.BC+] (of momentary action, especially in sense check, see below [Refs 4th c.BC+], not found in Attic dialect Inscrr. or [Refs]; 2nd pers. singular σχήσησθα [Refs]aorist 1 ἔσχης α falsa lectio in [Refs 3rd c.AD+]aorist 2 ἔσχον, imperative σχές [Refs 5th c.BC+] only in Oracle texts cited in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; subjunctive σχῶ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural σχοίησαν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; infinitive σχεῖν [Refs 8th c.BC+], Epic dialect σχέμεν [Refs] (in Alexandr. Gr. 3rd.pers. plural imperfect and aorist 2 εἴχοσαν [NT+3rd c.BC+], see at {Σχέθω}: perfect ἔσχηκα [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἔχω

echo

scheo skheh'-o; (used in certain tenses only)

a primary verb; to hold (used in very various applications, literally

or figuratively, direct or remote; such as possession; ability,

contiuity, relation, or condition):--be (able, X hold, possessed

with), accompany, + begin to amend, can(+ -not), X conceive, count,

diseased, do + eat, + enjoy, + fear, following, have, hold, keep, +

lack, + go to law, lie, + must needs, + of necessity, + need, next, +

recover, + reign, + rest, + return, X sick, take for, + tremble, +

uncircumcised, use.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἔχω

v.

I have, hold, possess

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἔχω echō 708x

pluperfect., ἐσχήκειν, to hold, Rev. 1:16; to seize, possess a person, Mk. 16:8; to have, possess, Mt. 7:29, et al. freq.; to have, have ready, be furnished with, Mt. 5:23; Jn. 5:36; 6:68; to have as a matter of crimination, Mt. 5:23; Mk. 11:25; to have at command, Mt. 27:65; to have the power, be able, Mt. 18:25; Lk. 14:14; Read the full entry →

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
29%having
having29% · 211×has9% · 62×have8% · 58×you have7% · 52×i have5% · 36×we have5% · 35×he has3% · 24×had3% · 21×other renderings30% · 217×

716 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 97 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
verb99%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 709 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,ἄρτοςbread, a loaf, fἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
Article the
ἄγγελοςan angel, messenαὐτόςκαίand, even, also,
μήNeg
Article theδέbut, on the otheπρόβατονa sheep
ὅς
καίand, even, also,ἐνεἰμίI am, exist
χρείαneed, necessity, bus
οὐNegαὐτόςὅς
ἔχωyou are709×
what comes after →
Article the
ἑπτάIndecυἱόςa son, descendenδέbut, on the othe
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegὅς
ἐν
Article theἑαυτοῦΧριστόςanointed, the Me
οὖςthe ear
ἀκούωI hear, listen
ἐξουσίαpower, authority, we
Article theἀλλάbut, exceptἐκβάλλωI throw, cast, p

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

Concordanceἔχω · 709× in the New Testament
Revelation John Luke Matthew Mark 1 Corinthians Acts Hebrews 1 John Romans 2 Corinthians 1 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 11c. AD 40

ἀπεριμάχητον δὲ δόγμα καὶ ἀνωφελὲς ἀναρχίαν ὡς ἐν πόλει κατασκευάζον τῷδε τῷ κόσμῳ τὸν ἔφορον ἢ βραβευτὴν ἢ δικαστὴν οὐκ ἔχοντι, ὑφ’ οὗ πάντ’ οἰκονομεῖσθαι καὶ πρυτανεύεσθαι θέμις.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.11c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Gen. 1 20Pathyris110 BC

ἔτους η Μεχεὶρ β, ἐπὶ Σώσου ἀγορανόμου. ὁμολογεῖ Ἁρκοννῆσις Φιγήριος Πέρσης τῶν μισθοφόρων ἱππέων ἔχειν παρὰ Ναομσήσιος τῆς Σπεμμίνιος εἰς λύτρα τετάρτης μερίδος γῆς ἠπείρου σιτοφόρου ἐν τῆι κάτω

P.Bad. 2 3Pathyris110 BC

Μεχεὶρ β ἐν Παθύρει ἐπὶ Σώσου ἀγορανόμου. ὁμολογεῖ Ἁρκοννῆσις Φιγήριος Πέρσης τῶν μισθοφόρων ἱππέων ἔχειν παρὰ Ναομσήσιος τῆς Σπεμμίνιος εἰς λύτρα τετάρτης μερίδος γῆς ἠπείρου σιτοφόρου ἐν τῇ κάτω

P.Adl. 4Ptolemais (Oberägypten)110 BC

Ψεμμῖνις … ου Ὥρωι Νεχούτου χαίρειν. ὁμολογῶ ἔχειν παρὰ σοῦ χαλκοῦ νομίσματος τάλαντα τρῖα ἄτοκα ?. ταῦτα δέ ἐστιν ἃ προσωφείλετό σοι

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
ἐπάνωepanō over G1883 Adverb
19× 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
Above can refer to a physical location, like a place that is higher than something else, as seen in Luke 11:44. It can also mean more than something, like a greater amount or rank.
Tyndale gloss
above
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐπάνω (*epanō*) means 'above' or 'on top of' and can function as both an adverb and a preposition. It covers a range of uses, including spatial relationships, numerical comparisons, and expressions of authority or preeminence. The New Testament employs it in various contexts, such as indicating location in Matthew and Luke or denoting superiority in John.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐπ-άνω

adv.,

[in LXX for מַעֲלָה, עַל, מֵעָל, etc. ;]

above;

adverbially;

of place: Lk 11:44;

of number, more than: Mk 14:5, I Co 15:6.

As prep. c. gen.;

of place: Mt 2:9 5:14 21:7 23:18, 20, 22 27:37 28:2, Lk 4:39 10:19, Re 6:8 20:3;

of pre-eminence: Lk 19:17, 19, Jo 3:31.†

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

ἐπ-άνω, adv., (ἐπί and ἄνω [οἵ. W. 102 (97); B. 319 (273)]}), Hdt. et sqq.; often in the Sept.; above; 1. adverbially, a. of place: Lk. xi. 44; b. of number; beyond, more than: πραθῆναι ἐπάνω τριακοσίων δηναρίων, sold for more than three hundred denaries, Mk. xiv. 5; ὥφθη ἐπάνω πεντακοσίοις ἀδελφοῖς, by more than five hundred brethren, 1 Co. xv. 6; ef. W. § 37, 5; [B. 168 (146) ]. 2. as a preposition it is joined with the gen. [W. § 54,6], a. of place: Mt. ii. 9; v.14; xxi. 7 RG; xxiii. 18, 20, [22]; xxvii. 37; xxviii. 2; Lk. iv. 39; [χ. 19]; Rev. vi. 8 [WH br. the gen.]; xx. 3, [11 Tr txt.]. b. of dignity and power: ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν ἐπάνω τινός, Lk. xix. 17, [19]; ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστί, Jn. iii. 81", [815 (but here GT WH mre. om. the cl.) }.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐπάνω (epanō) — above.

ἐπάνω [ᾰ],

adverb, (ἄνω) above, on the upper side or part, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; with Article, ὁ ἐ. πύργος the upper tower, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. as preposition, with genitive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐ. γεγονότες κακίας having risen superior to.., [Refs 1st c.AD+] set over, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

3. before, in front of, with genitive, [LXX]; in the presence of, τινός [Refs 4th c.AD+]

II. above, in a book, ἐν τοῖς ἐ. εἴρηται [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III. of Time, ἐν τοῖς ἐ. χρόνοις in former times, [Refs 1st c.BC+]

IV. of Relationship, πατέρες καὶ τούτων ἐ. [Refs 4th c.BC+]; ἐ. ὄντες Εὐρωπαῖοι citizens of Europus in unbroken descent, Cumont Fouilles de Doura-Europos [Refs]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐπάνω

epano

from 1909 and 507; up above, i.e. over or on (of place, amount, rank,

etc.):--above, more than, (up-)on, over.

see GREEK for 1909

see GREEK for 507

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐπάνω

Adv

on the top, above, superior to

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐπάνω epanō 19x

can function as an improper prep., above, over, upon, of place, Mt. 2:9; 5:14; over, of authority, Lk. 19:17, 19; above, more than, Mk. 14:5

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐπάνω ἄνω above, atop, on the upper side or part, Plat.; ὁ ἐπάνω πύργος the upper tower, Hdt.

c. gen. above, id. Hdt., Plat.

above, in a book, Lat. supra, Xen.

of Number, above, more than, NTest.

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
32%over
over32% · 6×above26% · 5×upon26% · 5×on16% · 3×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial84%predicate16%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 19 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
κάθημαιI sit, am seated
Article theκαίand, even, also,
Article the
δῶρονa gift, presentπᾶςall, the whole,
ἔρχομαιI come, go
ἄνωθενfrom above, fromοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
ἵστημιI cause to stand, st
ἔρχομαιI come, go
κρύπτωI hide, conceal, lay
πόλιςa city
ἐπάνωover19×
what comes after →
αὐτός
ὀφείλωI owe, oughtἐπιτιμάωI rebuke, chide,ὄνομαname, character,
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗwhere, whither, when
εἰμίI am, exist
ὄροςa mountain
κεῖμαιI lie, recline,
Article the
κεφαλήthe head

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

Concordanceἐπάνω · 19× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke John Revelation 1 Corinthians Mark
Across the New Testament6 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 83 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas The Didache The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 32c. AD 40

εὖ μέντοι καὶ τὸ φάναι ὅτι "σκότος ἦν ἐπάνω τῆς ἀβύσσου“ (Gen.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.132c. AD 75–95

ἄλλαι δʼ ἐπάνω τούτων ἐκ διφθερῶν κατεσκευασμέναι ὑπερῄεσαν σκέπη καὶ βοήθεια ταῖς ὑφανταῖς ἔν τε τοῖς καύμασι καὶ ὁπότε ὑετὸς εἴη γεγενημέναι.

The DidacheThe Didache 9.4c. AD 100

ὥσπερ ἦν τοῦτο τὸ κλάσμα διεσκορπισμένον ἐπάνω τῶν ὀρέων καὶ συναχθὲν ἐγένετο ἕν, οὕτω συναχθήτω σου ἡ ἐκκλησία ἀπὸ τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς εἰς τὴν σὴν βασιλείαν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. AD 2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Mich. 5 260Tebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 35

βεβαιώσω ἀπὸ δημοσίων πάντων καὶ ἀρταβίας καὶ ναυβίου καὶ παντὸς εἴδους τῶν ἐπὶ τῶν ἐπάνω χρόνου μέχρι τοῦ διεληλυθότος ἑνὸς καὶ εἰκοστοῦ ἔτους καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἑνὸς καὶ εἰκοστοῦ

P.Freib. 4 55Philadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 71

μηδεμίας ὀφειλῆς μηδὲ περὶ ἄλλου μηδενὸς ἁπλῶς πράγματος ἐνγράπτου ἢ ἀγράφου τῶν ἐκ τῶν ἐπάνω χρόνων μέχρι τῆς ἐνεστώσης ἡμέρας ἀλλὰ μηδὲ ἐγκαλεῖν μηδὲ ἐγκαλέσειν τρόπωι μηδενὶ καὶ ἀναδεδωκέναι

P.Sijp. 9 dThebenAD 101–AD 200

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

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
δέκαdeka ten G1176 Adjective · nominative
27× 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 is the Greek word for the number ten. It appears in many Bible verses, including Matthew 20:24 and Revelation 2:10, where it describes a brief period of trouble.
Amplified meaning
a decade, a multitude
Tyndale gloss
ten
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word δέκα (i.e., *deka*) means 'ten.' It is an indeclinable number used in various contexts, including references to time, such as 'ten days' in Revelation 2:10. The entries note its use in classical literature and its connections to other numbers, but there is no significant disagreement among lexicons regarding its meaning.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δέκα, οἱ, αἱ, τά,

ten: Mt 20:24, al.; θλίψις ἡμερῶν δ., i.e. of brief duration: Re 2:10.†

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

δέκα, οἱ, αἱ. τά, [fr. Hom. down], ten: Mt. xx. 24, ete. θλίψις ἡμερῶν δέκα, i.e. to last a short time: Rey. ii. 10; ef. Dan. i. 12, 14; Num. xi. 19; Ter. heaut. 5, 1, 36 decem dierum vix mi est familia. Sexa-Svo, rare in the earlier writ., frequent in the later (see Passow 8. v. δέκα [esp. Soph. Lex. 5. v.; ef. W. 23 (22); Bp. Lghtft. on Gal. i. 18]), and in Sept.; i. q. δώδεκα, twelve: Acts xix. 7 and xxiv. 11, in both places LT Tr WH δώδεκα : [Rev. xxi. 16 Tdf. edd. 2, τ." [Sexa-<£, sixteen: Rev. xiii. 18 Lmrg. (Sept., al.) *] [δεκα-οκτώ for δέκα καὶ ὀκτώ, eighteen: Tdf. in Lk. xiii. 4, 11, but WH om. L Tr br. καί ; ef. s. v. καί, I. 1 b.*]

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

δέκα. The indeterminate use of δέκα to denote simply a period of time, which is found in Biblical Greek (Gen 2455, Numb , δεκαοκτω 1113, Dan 14, Rey 210), may be illustrated from P Petr IIT. 36 verso? where a prisoner complains that he has been harshly treated in prison—Awpa@t παραπολλύμενος μῆνές εἰσιν δέκα, *‘ p-rishing from hunger for the last ten months” ; and from a more literary source in the J/imes of Herodas I. 24 —Bék’ εἰσὶ μῆνες, during which a husband, who has gone on a journey to Egypt, does not write to his wife. See further Lumbroso in Archiv iv. p. 319 f., where some parallels are quoted from literary Kowy. Of course there is no proof that the above is not to be taken literally.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δέκα (deka) — ten.

δέκᾰ, οἱ, αἱ, τά,

indeclinable, ten, [Refs 8th c.BC+]the Ten, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; also οἱ δ. the Attic dialect Orators, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; τὰ δέκα [ἔτη] ἀφ᾽ ἥβης those who are ten years past [Refs 5th c.BC+]; δ. ἄνδρες, = Latin decemviri, [Refs 2nd c.AD+] δεκᾰ-είς, [NT+4th c.BC+]; Thess. δεκαπέμπε [Refs 1st c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

δέκα

deka

a primary number; ten:--(eight-)een, ten.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δέκα

Indec.num.

ten

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δέκα deka 25x

ten, Mt. 20:24; 25:1; ἡμερῶν δέκα, ten days, a few days, a short time, Rev. 2:10

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δέκα Some connect it with δάκτυλος, from the number of the fingers. ten, Lat. decem, Hom., etc.: —οἱ δέκα the Ten, Oratt.: οἱ δέκα [ἔτη] ἀφ᾽ ἥβης those who are ten years past 20 (the age of military service), Xen.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-NUI — Adjective · nominative
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-NUI Indeclinable NUmeral (Adjective)

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(`eser; deka).

See NUMBER.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ (Used for an indefinite number) Ge 31:7; Le 26:26; Nu 14:22; Zec 8:23

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
93%ten
ten93% · 25×eighteen7% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object44%subject22%adverbial22%predicate4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 27 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,ἀκούωI hear, listenἔχωI have, hold, po
κέραςa horn
καίand, even, also,ἔχωI have, hold, po
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
Σατανᾶςan adversary, Saὅς
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
δραχμήa drachmaκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
αὐτός
δίδωμιI offer, giveκέραςa horn
δέκαten27×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
ὀκτώIndecἐπίκεφαλήthe head
μνᾶa mina
καίand, even, also,ἔχωI have, hold, po
κέραςa horn
ὅς
ὀκτώIndec
ἐπίκαίand, even, also,
ἀγανακτέωI am angry, am incen
περί

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

Concordanceδέκα · 27× in the New Testament
Luke Revelation Matthew Acts Mark
Across the New Testament5 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 149 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 105c. AD 40

Ὁ μὲν οὖν Σόλων ἑβδομάσι δέκα ταῖς εἰρημέναις καταριθμεῖ τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον.

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

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.4c. AD 100

λέγει δὲ οὕτως καὶ ὁ προφήτης: Βασιλεῖαι δέκα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς βασιλεύσουσιν, καὶ ἐξαναστήσεται ὄπισθεν μικρὸς βασιλεύς, ὃς ταπεινώσει τρεῖς ὑφ̓ ἓν τῶν βασιλέων.

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

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

ὧν αἱ γειτνίαι πρόκεινται. ἐπρίαντο Ἑτπεσοῦχος Νεχθανούφιος καὶ οἱ τούτου ἀδελφοὶ πρὸς χαλκοῦ ταλάντων δέκα . προπωλητὴς καὶ βεβαιωτὴς τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην πάντων Πετεαρσεμθεῦς ὁ ἀποδόμενος, ὃν

P.Adl. 20Poinkoris (Diopolites)99 BC

Λιβύης τοῦ Διοπολίτου ἐπὶ … τοῦ παρὰ … ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο Ὧρος Ἑρμίου ὡς ἐτῶν δέκα δύο μετὰ προσπωλουμένης τῆς Ὥρου συγγενοῦς Ἀρσινόης τῆς Βελλέους ὡς ἐτῶν κβ μέσης μελιχρόου

And He said to him; well done good servant! Because in very little faithful you were, do be having authority you are over ten cities.
πόλεων.¶polis cities. G4172 Noun · genitive · plural · feminine
163× 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
In the Bible, a city refers to a town with walls, like Jerusalem in Matthew 2:23. It can also mean the people who live there, as in Matthew 10:5. Jesus often visited cities during his ministry.
Amplified meaning
towns, communities
Tyndale gloss
city
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πόλις (polis) means 'city' and can refer to an enclosed town or the inhabitants of a city. It appears frequently in the New Testament, often in the context of specific cities like Jerusalem or as a general term for urban areas. The word is derived from various dialects and has a rich history in classical literature, indicating both physical locations and the concept of citizenship.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πόλις, -εως, ἡ,

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

a city: Mt 2:23, Mk 1:45, Lk 4:29, Jo 4:8, al. mult.; opp. to κῶμαι (κ. καὶ ἀγροί), Mt 9:35 10:11, Mk 6:56, Lk 8:1 13:22; c. nom. propr. in appos. (cl.), Ac 11:5 16:14; c. id. in gen. appos. (Bl., § 35, 5), Ac 8:5, II Pe 2:6; gen., of the region, Lk 1:26 4:31, Jo 4:5; of the inhabitants, Read the full entry →

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

πόλις, -ews, 7, (πέλομαι, to dwell [or rather denoting originally ‘fulness,’ ‘ throng’; allied with Lat. pleo, plebs, ete.; ef. Curtius p. 79 and §374; Vanitek p. 499; (otherwise Fick i. 138)]), [fr. Hom. down], Sept. chiefly for ~y, besides for 7 Pp, WH (8 ate), ete., a city; a. univ.: Mt. ii. 23; Mk.i.45; Lk. iv. 29; Jn. xi.54; Acts vy. 16, and very often in the historical bks. of the N. T. ; κατὰ τὴν πόλιν, through the city [A. V. in; see xara, IT. 1 a.], Acts xxiv. 12; κατὰ πόλιν, κατὰ πόλεις, see κατά, IT. 3 a. a. p. 328"; opp. to κῶμαι, Mt. ix. 35; x.11; Lk. viii. 1; xiii. 22; to κῶμαι καὶ aypot, Mk. vi. 56; ἡ ἰδία πόλις, see ἴδιος, 1 Ὁ. p. 297"; πόλις with the gen. of a pers. one’s native city, Lk. ii. 4,11; Jn.i.44 (45); or the city in which one lives, Mt. xxii. 7; Lk. iv. 29; x. 11; Acts xvi. 20; Rev. xvi. 19; Jerusalem is called, on account of the temple erected there, πόλις…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

πόλις. In the second Logia fragment, P Oxy IV. 6542, Blass suggested the restoration ὑμεῖς ἐστὲ mrd[Ats (sc. τοῦ θεοῦ), and is followed by White (Sayzzgs, p. 9). It may be worth while to note that this ancient by-form of πόλις occurs in three ostraca of the reign of Caligula as a proper name, Ostr 380! διαγεγρά(φηκεν) Πτόλις Ψενεν(ούφιος), 7. 3811, 3821, and similarly in PSI IV. 317! (a.p. 95) ᾿Ασκληπιάδης Πτόλιδι τῶι φιλτάτωι χαίρειν. This recalls πολιτάρχης 5 the fact that πτόλεμος also survived in the royal name ἹΠτολεμαῖος. The distributive force which πόλις has in several Lucan passages (Ac 154 a/.) and in Tit 1° is to be set against the very different meaning of the phrase in sundry documents of the new collection from Alexandria (reign of Augustus). Schubart, who edits the documents in BGU IV., notes (Archiv v. p. 38) that in a good many papers relating to the hire of a nurse…

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

πόλις (polis) — city.

πόλις,

Epic dialect also πτόλις (found sometimes in Trag. etc., see at {πτόλις}), ἡ: Epic dialect forms, accusative singular πόληα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; genitive πόλιος or πτόλιος, [Refs 8th c.BC+] P.(scanned ?~X ?~X ?~X ¯ [Refs 8th c.BC+]: Ionic dialect forms, genitive πόλεως [Refs 6th c.BC+]; dative mostly πόλει, but πόλῑ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; accusative πόλῑς [Refs]: Doric dialect genitive singular πόλιος [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; dative singular πόλι [Refs 4th c.BC+]; dative plural πολίεσι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πολίεσσι Foed.Lac. cited in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Cretan dialect πόλιθι [Refs]: Aeolic dialect genitive πόλιος [Refs 7th c.BC+] disyllable (as also in Comedy texts, except [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Attic dialect dual πόλη [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—city, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; π. ἄκρη, ἀκροτάτη, ={ἀκρόπολις}, the citadel, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; which at Athens also was in early times called…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

πόλις

polis

probably from the same as 4171, or perhaps from 4183; a town

(properly, with walls, of greater or less size):--city.

see GREEK for 4183

see GREEK for 4171

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πόλις, εως, ἡ

n.f.

a city

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πόλις polis 162x

a city, an enclosed and walled town, Mt. 10:5, 11; 11:1; meton. the inhabitants of a city, Mt. 8:34; 10:15; with a gen. of person, or a personal pronoun, the city of any one, the city of one’s birth or residence, Mt. 9:1; Lk. 2:4, 11; ἡ πόλις, the city, κατ’ ἐξοχήν, Jerusalem, Mt. 21:18; 28:11; met. a place of permanent residence, abode, home, Heb. 11:10, 16; 13:14. The frequency count does not include its occurrence in the name Νέαν πόλιν in Acts 16:11

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πόλις πόλις, ιος, ἡ, gen. πόλεως dissyll. in attic Poets ionic and doric πόλιος dissyll. in Il. doric πολίεσι:—acc. πόλεις, πόλιας:— a city, Hom., Hes., etc.; πόλις ἄκρη and ἀκροτάτη, ῀ ἀκρόπολις, the citadel, Il.: this at Athens was often called simply πόλις, while the rest of the city was called ἄστυ, Thuc., etc.:—the name of the city was often added in gen., Ἰλίου π., Ἄργους π. the city of . . , Aesch., etc.; also in appos., ἡ Μένδη π. Thuc.

one's city or country, Od., etc.

when πόλις and ἄστυ are joined, the former is the body of citizens, the latter their dwellings, Il.; ὧν πόλις ἀνάριθμος ὄλλυται, where πόλις = a number of citizens, Soph.:—hence,

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-GPF — Noun · genitive · plural · feminine
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked plural feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-GPF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Genitive Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Smith's Bible Dictionary

The earliest notice in Scripture of city-building is of Enoch by Cain, in the land of his exile. (Genesis 4:17) After the confusion of tongues the descendants of Nimrod founded Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar, and Asshur, a branch from the same stock, built Nineveh, Rehoboth-by-the-river, Calah and Resen, the last being "a great city." The earliest description of a city, properly so called, is that of Sodom, (Genesis 19:1-22) Even before the time of Abraham there were cities in Egypt, (Genesis 12:14,15; Numbers 13:22) and the Israelites, during their sojourn there, were employed in building or fortifying the "treasure cities" of Pithom and Raamses.…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ Ancient Ge 4:17; 10:10-12

→ Fortified Nu 32:36; De 9:1; Jos 10:20; 14:12; 2Ch 8:5; 11:10-12; 17:2,19; 21:3; Isa 23:11

→ Gates of

See GATES

→ Designated as

Royal Jos 10:2; 1Sa 27:5; 2Sa 12:26; 1Ch 11:7

Treasure Ge 41:48; Ex 1:11;

- First mention of

Ge 4:17

- Designed for habitations

Ps 107:7,36

- Often built to perpetuate a name

Ge 11:4

- Often founded and enlarged by blood and rapine

Mic 3:10; Hab 2:12

- BUILT

. Of brick and slime

Ge 11:3

. Of stone and wood

Ps 102:14; Eze 26:12

. Of brick and mortar

Ex 1:11,14

. On solid foundations

Thompson Chain Reference topics

(1) General References to

Ge 11:4; 18:24; 41:48; Nu 13:28; De 6:10; 2Ki 13:25

Ps 55:9; Mic 5:14

(2) Fenced

Nu 32:17; De 3:5; Jos 10:20; 2Ki 18:13; 2Ch 14:6; 17:2

2Ch 19:5; 21:3; 33:14; Jer 5:17

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
79%city
city79% · 131×cities10% · 16×town7% · 12×towns2% · 4×other renderings1% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial60%subject20%object12%predicate7%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 163 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
εἰςἐνκαίand, even, also,
εἰς
κατοικέωI dwell in, settκαίand, even, also,πόλιςa city
κατά
διοδεύωI journey througArticle theδιαπορεύομαιI journey throug
ἄνDisj
δέbut, on the otheὅς
ἐν
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastεἰμίI am, existκίνδυνοςdanger, peril, r
πόλιςcities.163×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰςὁράωI see, look upon
Article the
μέγαςἅγιοςset apart, holy,ΓαλιλαίαGalilee
ἐκεῖνος
καίand, even, also,ἐκτινάσσωI shake offArticle the
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
καίand, even, also,ἕωςuntil, as far asἐν
οὗτος
φεύγωI flee, escape, ἐπίπαρά

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

Concordanceπόλις · 163× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Matthew Revelation John Mark Hebrews 2 Corinthians 2 Peter James Jude Romans

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament13 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 585 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 11c. AD 40

ἀπεριμάχητον δὲ δόγμα καὶ ἀνωφελὲς ἀναρχίαν ὡς ἐν πόλει κατασκευάζον τῷδε τῷ κόσμῳ τὸν ἔφορον ἢ βραβευτὴν ἢ δικαστὴν οὐκ ἔχοντι, ὑφ’ οὗ πάντ’ οἰκονομεῖσθαι καὶ πρυτανεύεσθαι θέμις.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.62c. AD 75–95

ὅρους τε γῆς πρῶτος ἔθετο καὶ πόλιν ἐδείματο καὶ τείχεσιν ὠχύρωσεν εἰς ταὐτὸν συνελθεῖν τοὺς οἰκείους καταναγκάσας.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 16.5c. AD 100

πάλιν ὡς ἔμελλεν ἡ πόλις καὶ ὁ ναὸς καὶ ὁ λαὸς Ἰσραὴλ παραδίδοσθαι, ἐφανερώθη.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Lond. 3 p. 18 no. 678Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)100 BC–99 BC

ἱερέων 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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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 Πατοῦτος παστοφορίου ἐντὸς τοῦ

P.Adl. 20Poinkoris (Diopolites)99 BC

τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν τῶι πατρὶ τοῦ Ὥρου γῆν ἀρουρῶν … ἐν τῶι ἄνω πεδίωι Κροκοδίλων πόλεως ἀπὸ σφραγῖδος μιᾶς ἀναγραφομένης εἰς Ψενμ … τῶν πενταρούρων, νότου γῆ Πετεσούχου τοῦ Ἑρμίου

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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