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Luke 2:45 — Word Study

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N1904καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες αὐτόν ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀναζητοῦντες αὐτόν.

BSAandkai not having foundehuriskō [were unable to discover] Himautos [the Messiah, their son] they returnedhupostrephō [turned back again, went back] toeis JerusalemHierousalēm [the capital of Palestine, the holy city] searchingzēteō Him.autos

Word
Listen & take awayLuke 2
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 45 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 (autos) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Luke 2:45quick helps
In a sentenceMary and Joseph could not find Jesus, so they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him.
Who is speakingMary and Joseph are searching for their son, Jesus.
Where we areThe narrative continues after a day of travel, highlighting their concern for Jesus.
The hard wordἀναζητέω
Take awayEven when they lost Him, they actively sought Him out.
5 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, AdamClarke & more — read them › clause subjectεὑρίσκω verbεὑρίσκω 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 2:45

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 Search for Jesusgenerated

44Assuming He was in their company, they traveled on for a day before they began to look for Him among their relatives and friends.
45When they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him.
46Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
47And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.

Luke 2:45 describes how Mary and Joseph, after assuming Jesus was with them, realized He was missing and returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. This event highlights their parental concern and determination to find their son, reflecting the challenges they faced during this journey. The surrounding verses detail their initial assumption and the eventual discovery of Jesus in the temple, emphasizing the importance of His understanding and teachings, as seen in Luke 2:46.


Cross References


The Key Word ἀναζητέω, zēteōgenerated

The word ἀναζητέω (anazētēō) means 'to search' or 'to seek out,' indicating a careful and thorough effort to find something. This participle form, used in the nominative plural masculine, shows that Mary and Joseph were actively engaged in the search for Jesus.

This word is often used in contexts where the search is not just casual but implies difficulty or urgency, as seen in Luke 2:44. Their search was not only for a physical presence but also for understanding and connection.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The Berean Standard Bible translates this verse as, 'When they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him.' This wording is consistent across several versions, including the WEB and ASV, which also emphasize the act of returning to search.

However, the KJV uses 'turned back again,' while the YLT states 'not having found him,' indicating slight variations in phrasing but maintaining the same essential meaning.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb in this verse is ὑπέστρεψαν, they returned, which governs the action of the sentence. It is accompanied by a subordinate clause that explains the condition of their return — μὴ εὑρόντες, not having found — and a prepositional phrase indicating the destination, εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ, to Jerusalem.

The structure emphasizes the sequence of events: first, they could not find Jesus, leading to their decision to return, which is a common narrative technique in Greek prose to convey cause and effect.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

ἀναζητέω does not have a direct correspondence in the Septuagint, but it aligns with the Hebrew שׁוּב (H7725), which means 'to return.' This connection highlights the theme of searching and returning found in both the Old and New Testaments.

The concept of seeking is prevalent in the Hebrew Scriptures, where individuals often seek God or His guidance, paralleling Mary and Joseph's search for Jesus.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Luke 2:45 tells us that Mary and Joseph could not find Jesus after traveling a day. They returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. This story shows their determination as parents to find their son and highlights the importance of His teachings, which they would discover in the temple.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

Why did Mary and Joseph return to Jerusalem?

They returned to Jerusalem because they could not find Jesus after assuming He was with them, demonstrating their concern and urgency to locate Him.

What does the word 'search' imply in this context?

The word 'search' indicates a diligent and careful effort to find someone, reflecting the urgency of Mary and Joseph's situation as they sought Jesus.

How long did it take for them to find Jesus?

They found Jesus after three days of searching, highlighting the length and difficulty of their search.

What was Jesus doing when they found Him?

When they found Him, Jesus was in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening and asking questions, which amazed those who heard Him.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What does this passage teach us about the importance of seeking God in our lives?
  2. How can I be more diligent in my search for understanding and truth, like Mary and Joseph were in seeking Jesus?
  3. What are some ways I can encourage others who are searching for answers or guidance?
  4. How do I respond when I feel distant from God, as Mary and Joseph did when they lost Jesus?

Commentators on this verse — 5 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Luke 2:45 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

And when they found him not,.... In the company that came from Jerusalem with them, nor among any of their relations and friends, with whom they supposed he was: they turned back again to Jerusalem,

Read John Gill on Luke 2 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

Read Robert Jamieson on Luke 2 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. Ver. 45. And when they found him not] The best are sometimes at a loss, and hard put to it for three days, or so. And this, mostly, for their security, as the Church in the Canticles.

Read John Trapp on Luke 2 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 45. Seeking him.] ζητουντεςαυτον - or rather, seeking him diligently, ανζητουντες. This is the reading of BCDL, six others, Vulgate, and nine copies of the Itala. If they sought earnestly when they first found him missing, there is little doubt that their solicitude and diligence must be greatly increased during his three days' absence, therefore the word which I have adopted, on the above authority, is more likely to be the true reading than the ζητουντες of the common text, which simply signifies seeking; whereas the other strongly marks their solicitude and diligence.

Read AdamClarke on Luke 2 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

§ 14. JESUS GOES TO THE AT TWELVE YEARS OF AGE, Luke 2:40-52.To the question, What sort of a boy was Jesus? this brief passage forms the whole scripture answer. We learn from it that he had a true human soul as well as body.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Luke 2 →

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

When they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

When they didn’t find him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

When they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him.

NETBNew English Translation2006

When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

and when they found him not, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking for him.

RVARevised Version, American1894

and when they found him not, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking for him.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

And when they found him not, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

And when they found him not, they turned backe to Hierusalem, and sought him.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

and not having found him they returned to Jerusalem seeking him.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and not having found him, they turned back to Jerusalem seeking him.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

and having not found Him, they turned back to Jerusalem seeking Him.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem and started looking for him there.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

And not finding him, they returned into Jerusalem, seeking him.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

When they couldn't find him they returned to Jerusalem to look for him there.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

And seeing that he was not there, they went back to Jerusalem, to make search for him.

Word by word, the decisions they made

εὑρόντεςehuriskō having found G2147 5 different renderings
findBSB FBV MSB NETB ULB WEB
they foundASV GNV KJV NWB RVA
having foundDBY YLT
foundLSV
findingDRA
ὑπέστρεψανhupostrephō they returned G5290 4 different renderings
they returnedASV BSB DBY DRA FBV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
turned backLSV YLT
turned back againKJV
went backBBE

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.

clauseδὲnowclauseclauseclause · adverbialverbνομίσαντεςHaving supposedclause · objectsubjectαὐτὸνHimlinking verbεἶναιto beprepositional phrase · predicateἐνinnoun phraseτῇtheirσυνοδίᾳcompanyverbἦλθονthey wentnoun phrase · objectἡμέραςa day’sὁδὸνjourneyκαὶandclauseverbἀνεζήτουνbegan seekingobjectαὐτὸνHimprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνamongnoun phrasenoun phraseτοῖςtheσυγγενεῦσινrelativesκαὶandnoun phraseτοῖςtheγνωστοῖςacquaintancesκαὶandclauseclause · adverbialadverbialμὴnotverbεὑρόντεςhaving found [Him]verbὑπέστρεψανthey returnedprepositional phrase · adverbialεἰςtoἹερουσαλὴμJerusalemclause · adverbialverbἀναζητοῦντεςseekingobjectαὐτόνHim

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 non invenientes, regressi sunt in Jerusalem, requirentes eum.

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

ܘܠܐ ܐܫܟܚܘܗܝ ܘܗܦܟܘ ܠܗܘܢ ܬܘܒ ܠܐܘܪܫܠܡ ܘܒܥܝܢ ܗܘܘ ܠܗ

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 μὴ εὑρόντες ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀναζητοῦντες αὐτόν.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀναζητοῦντες αὐτόν.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀναζητοῦντες αὐτόν.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀναζητοῦντες αὐτόν.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀναζητοῦντες αὐτόν.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀναζητοῦντες αὐτόν.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες αὐτόν ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ αὐτόν.

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες αὐτόν ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ αὐτόν.

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
αὐτόν HimTR, ByzNA28, NA27, SBL, WH, Treg, Tyn
ἀναζητοῦντες searchingNA28, 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 2:45καίandandκαίμήnotnotμήεὑρίσκωhaving founhaving foundεὑρίσκωαὐτόςHimHimαὐτόςὑποστρέφωthey returnthey returnedὑποστρέφωεἰςtotoεἰςἹεροσόλυμαJerusalemJerusalemἹεροσόλυμαἀναζητέωsearchingsearchingἀναζητέωαὐτόςHim.Him.αὐτόςἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦὑπόPrep. by, Prep. by, underὑπόἀνάPrep. and,Prep. and, apieἀνάοὐNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. no, noοὐἐπερωτάωv. I interv. I interrogatἐπερωτάωἹεροσόλυμαn.f. & n.nn.f. & n.n. JerἹεροσόλυμαπότεIrg.prt. wIrg.prt. when, πότεφοβέωv. I fear,v. I fear, am tφοβέωκρούωv. I knockv. I knockκρούωκαθεύδωv. I sleepv. I sleep, am καθεύδωἹεροσόλυμαProp.n. JeProp.n. JerusalἹεροσόλυμαοἶκοςn.m. a houn.m. a house, hοἶκοςεἰσέρχομαιv. I go inv. I go in, comεἰσέρχομαιὑποστρέφωv. I turn v. I turn back,ὑποστρέφωκατοικέωv. I dwellv. I dwell in, κατοικέωεἰςPrep. intoPrep. into, in,εἰς
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 2:45

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 not having found Him they returned to Jerusalem searching Him.
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…

Read the full entry →
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)…

Read the full entry →
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 not having found Him they returned to Jerusalem searching Him.
μὴ not G3361 Particle · negative
1,060× 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
Not is a word used to show that something is not true or is not happening, like in phrases that say 'lest' or 'God forbid', as seen in various parts of the New Testament.
Tyndale gloss
not
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μή,

subjective negative particle,

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

As a neg. adv., not;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μή (mē) — not.

μή,

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μή

me

a primary particle of qualified negation (whereas 3756 expresses an

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

interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas 3756 expects an

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

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

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

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

3373, 3375, 3378.

see GREEK for 3756

see GREEK for 3362

see GREEK for 3363

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

see GREEK for 3373

see GREEK for 3375

see GREEK for 3378

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μή

Neg.prt.

not, lest

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μή mē 1x

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

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

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

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

1,085 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 23 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

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

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,060 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,σύἐγώ
ἵναin order that, so th
αὐτόςσύπροσεύχομαιI pray, pray for
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώαὐτόςεἰμίI am, exist
εἰCond
αὐτόςυἱόςa son, descendenκαίand, even, also,
Article the
καίand, even, also,εἰςδιά
μήnot1060×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, υἱόςa son, descendenσημεῖονa sign, miracle,
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
καίand, even, also,ποιμήνa shepherdβάθοςdepth, a depth,
εἰμίI am, exist
δίδωμιI offer, giveἐνμετά
τὶς
σύὑστερέωI am lacking, faγεννάωI beget, bring f
φοβέωI fear, am terrified
ἀπόArticle theμόνοςalone, but, only

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

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

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

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

Counted over the 1,321 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

and not having found Him they returned to Jerusalem searching Him.
εὑρόντεςehuriskō having found G2147 Verb · second aorist · active · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
176× 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
To find or discover something, like in Matthew 7:7-8, where Jesus teaches that those who seek will find. This word is about searching and finding, whether it's a physical object or a spiritual truth.
Amplified meaning
were unable to discover
Tyndale gloss
to find/meet
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word εὑρίσκω (i.e., *heuriskō*) means 'to find' and can refer to both literal and figurative discoveries. It encompasses a range of meanings from locating something after a search to acquiring knowledge or understanding. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, such as finding people or truths (e.g., Matthew 7:7). The entries do not show significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εὑρίσκω,

[in LXX chiefly for מצא, also for נשׂג hi., etc. ;]

to find, with or without previous search: absol., opp. to ζητέω, Mt 7:7, 8 Lk 11:9, 10; c. acc., Mt 2:8, Mk 1:37, Ac 13:22, II Ti 1:17, al.; pass., οὐχ εὑ., of disappearance, He 11:5, Re 16:20, al.; γῆ κ. τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται (for conjectures as to the meaning of this reading, v. Mayor, ICC, in l.), II Pe 3:10, WH, R, mg. Metaph.…

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

εὑρίσκω ; impf. εὕρισκον (Mk. xiv. 55 [RG ΤΊ; Lk. xix. 48 [RG‘I’]; Acts vii. 11 [exe. Tr WH]) and more rarely ηὕρισκον (cf. Kiihner § 343, i. 825 sq. [esp. Veitch s. v. fin. ] and reff. under evdoxéw) ; fut. εὑρήσω; pf. εὕρηκα; 1 aor. εὕρησα (which aor., unknown to the earlier Grks., occurs in Aesop. f. 131 [f. 41 ed. Furia, p. 333 ed. Cor.]; Maneth. 5, 137 and in Byzant. writ.; cf. Lob. ad Phryn. p. 721; W. 86 (82); [cf. B. 36 (31)]), Rev. xviii. 14 Ree. ; 2 aor. εὗρον, 1 pers. plur. in Alex. form | WH. App. Ρ. 164; B. 39 (34); W. § 13,1 (see ἀπέρχομαι) | εὕραμεν, Lk. xxiii. 2 T Tr WH, 3 pers. plur. εὗραν, Lk. viii. 35 Tr WH; Acts v. 10 Tr (in Sept. often εὕροσαν) ; Pass., pres. εὑρίσκομαι ; impf. 3 pers. sing. εὑρίσκετο, Heb. xi. 5 RG, ηὑρίσκετο 1, Τ Tr WH, (cf. Bleek and Delitzsch ad loe. [Veitch u. 5.7); 1 aor. εὑρέθην ; fut. εὑρεθήσομαι ; 2 aor. mid. εὑρόμην and later εὑράμην (Heb.…

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

εὑρίσκω. P Hib I. 485 (B.c. 255) οὐ γὰρ εὑρίσκω ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις, “for I cannot find the entry in the books” (Edd.), P Tebt I. 58° (B.c. 111) εὑρήκαμεν δὲ τὸν ἐπιδεδωκότα τὸ ὑπόμνηίμα), P Oxy IIT. 53218 (ii/A.D.) καὶ γὰρ ἐν Iladpe τότε σε εὗρον, P Iand 81 (ii/A.D.) ἐὰν τὸ χυτρί]ον εὕρωι (for form cf. Mayser Gr. p. 134 f.), διαπέμψ[ομαι διὰ το]ῦ ὀνολάτου dpep(pve[s: cf. for the passive P Rein 111} (B.c. 111) διὰ τὸ τοῦτον ἐκπεπτωκέναι Kal μὴ εὑρίσκεσθαι, ‘because this man has left the country and is not to be found,” P Oxy IV. 743% (B.C. 2) καὶ εὑρέθη μήτε εἰληφὼς μήτε δεδωκώ(ς), “it was discovered that he had neither received nor paid anything,” and P Giss I. 47* (Hadrian) λείαν ἄξια εὑρῆσθαι. For a weaker sense, as in Mt 2737 a/., see P Tebt II. 3305 (ii/A.D.) παραγενομένου εἰς τὴν κώμην εὗρον τὴν οἰκίαν μου σεσυλημένην, P Gen I. 54%! (iv/A.D.) ἀπελθόντων ἡμῶν ἐκεῖσαι εὑρήκαμεν τὸν…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εὑρίσκω (ehuriskō) — to find/meet.

εὑρίσκω,

imperfect ηὕρισκον or εὕρ- [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future εὑρήσω [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist 2 εὗρον [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural εὕροσαν [LXX+1st c.AD+]; Epic dialect infinitive εὑρέμεναι [Refs 8th c.BC+]: later aorist 1 εὕρησα [Refs 4th c.AD+]; εὗρα variant in [NT+2nd c.AD+]: perfect εὕρηκα [Refs 5th c.BC+], perfect imperative 2nd pers. singular εὕρηκε [Refs 4th c.BC+]:—middle, future εὑρήσομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist 2 εὑρόμην [Refs 8th c.BC+]: aorist 1 εὑράμην [NT+8th c.BC+]:—passive, future εὑρεθήσομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist 1 ηὑρέθην or εὑρέθην [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc.: perfect ηὕρημαι or εὕρ- [Refs 8th c.BC+] has only aorist active and middle, except ἔθ᾽ εὑρίσκω (variant{ἐφευρίσκω}) [Refs 8th c.BC+]: the augment is seldom found in Papyri, ηὕρισκεν [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; never in those of [Refs 4th c.BC+]:—find, εὗρεν δ᾽…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εὑρίσκω

heurisko

heuro hyoo'-ro, which

(together with another cognate form)

heureo hyoo-reh'-o is used for it in all the tenses

except the present and imperfect

to find (literally or figuratively):--find, get, obtain, perceive,

see.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εὑρίσκω

v.

I find

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εὑρίσκω heuriskō 176x

to find, to meet with; Mt. 18:28; 20:6; to find out, to detect, discover, Lk. 23:2, 4, 14; to acquire, obtain, win, gain, Lk. 1:30; 9:12; to find mentally, to comprehend, recognize, Acts 17:27; Rom. 7:21; to find by experience, observe, gather, Rom. 7:18; to devise as feasible, Lk. 5:19; 19:48

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εὑρίσκω to find, Hom., etc.:—c. part. to find that, Hdt.; and in Pass., ἢν εὑρεθῆις δίκαιος ὤν Soph.

c. inf., εὕρισκε πρῆγμά οἱ εἶναι found that the thing for him was, Hdt.

to find out, discover, Hom., etc.; cf. εὕρημα II:—so in Mid. to find out for oneself, Od.

to devise, invent, Aesch., etc.:—Mid., τὰ δ᾽ ἔργα τοὺς λόγους εὑρίσκεται deeds make themselves words, i. e. speak for themselves, Soph.

to find, get, gain, procure, Pind., Soph., etc.:—Mid. to get for oneself, bring on oneself, κακὸν εὕρετο Od.; αὐτὸς εὑρόμην πόνους Aesch.

of merchandise, to find a purchaser, to fetch, earn, πολλὸν χρυσίον εὑροῦσα having fetched a large sum, Hdt.; ἀποδίδοται τοῦ εὑρόντος sells for what it will fetch, Xen.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-2AAP-NPM — Verb · second aorist · active · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-2AAP-NPM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
14%found
found14% · 25×having found12% · 21×they found8% · 14×he found6% · 10×will find6% · 10×you will find5% · 9×finds4% · 7×finding3% · 6×other renderings42% · 75×

177 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 56 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb96%linking verb2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 176 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
ζητέωI seek, search fἔρχομαιI come, goἀπόλλυμιI destroy, lose,
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,τόποςa placeδέbut, on the othe
μήNeg
καίand, even, also,οὐNegArticle the
αὐτός
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastσυνέρχομαιI come or go witστόμαthe mouth, speec
ὅς
ἀγρόςa field, the couπᾶςall, the whole, ἕωςuntil, as far as
εὑρίσκωhaving found176×
what comes after →
αὐτός
καθεύδωI sleep, am sleeκαίand, even, also,ἐν
Article the
σῶμαbody, fleshψυχήthe soul, life, παιδίονa little child,
ἐν
αὐτόςArticle theγαστήρthe womb, stomac
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theὅπουwhere, whitherἄρχωI begin
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theεἷςoneἐκεῖthere, yonder, t

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

Concordanceεὑρίσκω · 176× in the New Testament
Luke Acts Matthew John Revelation Mark 2 Corinthians Hebrews Romans 1 Corinthians 1 Peter 2 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 253 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 79c. AD 40

ἅμα τῇ πρώτῃ γενέσει τὰς εἰς τὸ ζῆν παρασκευὰς ἁπάσας εὗρεν ἄνθρωπος, εἰς διδασκαλίαν τῶν ἔπειτα, μόνον οὐκ ἄντικρυς βοώσης τῆς φύσεως, ὅτι μιμούμενοι τὸν ἀρχηγέτην τοῦ γένους ἀπόνως καὶ ἀταλαιπώρως ἐν ἀφθονωτάτῃ τῶν ἀναγκαίων εὐπορίᾳ διάξουσιν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.10c. AD 75–95

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 7.8c. AD 100

καὶ ὅταν γένηται οὕτως, ἄγει ὁ βαστάζων τὸν τράγον εἰς τὴν ἔρημον καὶ ἀφαιρεῖ τὸ ἔριον καὶ ἐπιτίθησιν αὐτὸ ἐπὶ φρύγανον τὸ λεγόμενον ῥαχήλ, οὗ καὶ τοὺς βλαστοὺς εἰώθαμεν τρώγειν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ εὑρίσκοντες: οὕτω μόνης τῆς ῥαχοῦς οἱ καρποὶ γλυκεῖς εἰσιν.

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.Cair. Zen. 4 59598247 BC–246 BC

r … Ζήνωνι χαίρειν. περὶ ὧν μοι ἐνετείλω περί τε τοῦ γαυνάκου καὶ οὐχ εὑρήκαμεν, οὐδὲ γνάφαλλα ὡσαύτως. χαλκοῦς οὔ φησι ὁ δεῖνα λαβεῖν εἰς τὸ φόρετρον τοῦ ὀρόβου.

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59354Philadelphia (Arsinoites)245 BC

καθότι ἔγραψας, ἀπεστάλκαμεν κομίζοντα Ζωίλον ἐρίφους δεδαρμένους β, ὄρτυγας λδ, περιστεριδεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἠδυνάσθημεν εὑρεῖν παρευρέσει ἡιτινιοῦν. περὶ τῶν σχαδόνων εἴπαμεν Νέστωι. ἀπέσταλκεν οὖν τῆι κϛ, ὡς αὐτὸς ἔφη.

r Δημοκράτης Ζήνωνι χαίρειν. τὰ σκήνεια τῆς σκηνῆς εὕρηκα βεβρωμένα, ἑωράκην δὲ ἐν τοῖς Δημέου καὶ παρʼ Ἑλένωι ἰτέινα ὀρθὰ καὶ ἐπιτήδεια. καλῶς

and not having found Him they returned to Jerusalem searching Him.
αὐτόνautos Him G846 Personal pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
5,550× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 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'.
Amplified meaning
the Messiah, their son
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

and not having found Him they returned to Jerusalem searching Him.
ὑπέστρεψανhupostrephō they returned G5290 Verb · aorist · active · indicative · third person · plural
35× 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
To return or turn back, as in Luke 2:20 and Acts 8:28. This word is used to describe people returning home or to a previous place. It can also imply a change in direction or heart.
Amplified meaning
turned back again, went back
Tyndale gloss
to return
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὑποστρέφω (hupostrepho) is built from the prefix ὑπό (under) and the root στρέφω (to turn). It generally means to turn back or return, applicable in both literal and figurative contexts. The New Testament uses it frequently, especially in the Gospel of Luke, to describe returning to a place or state.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὑπο-στρέφω

[in LXX chiefly for שׁוּב ],

trans., to turn back or about (Hom.).

Intrans., to turn back, return: Lk 2:20, 43 8:37, 40 9:10 10:17 17:15 19:12 23:48, 56, Ac 8:28; c. inf., Lk 17:18; seq.. διά, Ac 20:3; εἰς, Lk 1:56 2:45 4:14 7:10 8:39 11:24 24:33, 52, Ac 1:12 8:25 13:13, 34 14:21 21:6 22:17 23:32, Ga 1:17; ἀπό, Lk 4:1 24:9, He 7:1; ἐκ, Ac…

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

ὑπο-στρέφω ; impf. ὑπέστρεφον ; fut. ὑποστρέψω; 1 aor. ὑπέστρεψα; fr. Hom. down; Sept. for 3); 5 trans. to turn back, to turn about: as ἵππους, Hom. Il. 5, 581. 2. intrans. to turn back i.e. to return: absol., Mk. xiv. 40 [here L WH πάλιν ἐλθών Tr ἐλθών] ; Lk. ii. 20 (here Rec. ἐπιστρέφ.), 43; viii. 37,40; ix.10; x. ΤΩ: xvil. 15; xix. 12: xxiii. 48,56; Acts viii. 28; foll. by an inf. of purpose, Lk. xvii. 18; foll. by διά with a gen. of place, Acts xx. 3; εἰς with an ace. of place, Lk. i. 56; ii. 89 [here T Tr mrg. WH ἐπιστρέφ.], 45; iv. 14; vii. 10; Vili. 39; xi. 24; xxiv. 33,52; Acts i. 12; viii. 253 xiii. 18; xiv. 21; xxi. 6; xxii. 17; xxiii. 32; Gal. 1. 17; εἰς

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

ὑποστρέφω, “turn back,” ‘* return.” For this verb, which is a favourite with Lk, cf. P Giss I. go 8 (A.D, 215) ὑποστρεφέτωσαν πάντες εἰς Tas πατρίδας τὰς idias, P Flor 11. 247} (A.D. 256) δύναται ἐξαυτῆς ὑποστρέψαι, P Oxy I. 1228 (ili/iv A.D.) ἜΠπί. . .].s ὑπέστρεφεν, ‘‘E. went back,” and P Masp I. 670049 (Byz.). See also Vett. Val. p. 2883? αὐτὸς δὲ τῆς ἐλπίδος σφαλεὶς ὑπέστρεψεν ὀλίγα aden Pes.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὑποστρέφω (hupostrephō) — to return.

ὑποστρέφω,

turn round about or back, ἵππους [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὁ κισσὸς.. Βακχίαν ὑποστρέφων ἅμιλλαν bringing back the Bacchic struggle, i. e. the swift and eager dance, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. roll up, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

3. passive, revolve beneath, τινι [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II. intransitive, turn about, especially of persons flying or retreating, [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—passive, αὖτις ὑποστρεφθείς [Refs 8th c.BC+]; -στρᾰφείς [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. generally, return, αὖτις ὑ. [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐπὶ ζήτησιν[Refs 3rd c.AD+]; in future middle, οὐ μὲν γάρ τί σ᾽ ὑποστρέψεσθαι ὀΐω [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of a disease, return, recur, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὑποστρέφω

hupostrepho

from 5259 and 4762; to turn under (behind), i.e. to return (literally

or figuratively):--come again, return (again, back again), turn back

(again).

see GREEK for 5259

see GREEK for 4762

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὑποστρέφω

v.

I turn back, return

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὑποστρέφω hypostrephō 35x

to turn back, return, Mk. 14:40; Lk. 1:56; 2:39, 43, 45

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὑποστρέφω fut. ψω to turn round about, turn back, ἵππους Il.; Βακχίαν ὑποστρέφων ἅμιλλαν bringing back the Bacchic struggle, i. e. changing sorrow into tumultuous joy, Soph.

intr. to turn about, turn short round, Il., Hdt., attic:—so in Pass., αὖτις ὑποστρεφθείς Il., etc.

generally, to return, Od., Hdt.; so in fut. mid., Od.

to turn away, and so elude an attack, Eur., Xen.

part. ὑποστρέψας as adv. reversely, Ar.

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

V-AAI-3P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
26%returned
returned26% · 9×having returned17% · 6×they returned14% · 5×returning14% · 5×return9% · 3×turned back6% · 2×travelling back3% · 1×he returned3% · 1×other renderings9% · 3×

35 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 11 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb94%adverbial6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 35 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
τρεῖςthreeβασιλείαkingship, sovere
Article the
ἐνδέbut, on the otheγνώμηopinion, counsel
αὐτός
προσκυνέωI worshipἀπόσύν
εὑρίσκωI find
μήNegοὐNeg
δέbut, on the other ha
εἰμίI am, existἐκεῖνος
ὑποστρέφωthey returned35×
what comes after →
εἰς
Article theἹεροσόλυμαPropἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusποιμήνa shepherdἀπόστολοςan apostle, a me
ἀπό
Article the
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theἑτοιμάζωI make ready, pr
ἐκ
ἹεροσόλυμαPropArticle the

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

Concordanceὑποστρέφω · 35× in the New Testament
Luke Acts 2 Peter Galatians Hebrews
Across the New Testament5 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 6 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
Philo of AlexandriaOn Dreams 1.180c. AD 40

δεύτερος δὲ πλοῦς, ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸν ὑποστρέψαι πάλιν.

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

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

The Shepherd of HermasThe Shepherd of Hermas 9.1.7c. AD 140

Ἐὰν οὖν, φημί, κύριε, μετὰ τὸ ἀπολυθῆναι τὴν γυναῖκα μετανοήσῃ ἡ γυνὴ καὶ θελήσῃ ἐπὶ τὸν ἑαυτῆς ἄνδρα ὑποστρέψαι, οὐ παραδεχθήσεται;

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

μου, ἃ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἐτύγχανον ἐπιδοὺς ἐν ἐκτάκτοις, ὅπως ἀπολογησάμενος, πρὸς ἃ ἐπιζητεῖ, δυνηθῶ ὑποστρέψαι καὶ ἀπαρτίσαι τὴν συνκομιδὴν πρὸς διόρθωσιν τῶν δημοσίων κατὰ τὸ τοῦ κρατίστου ἡγεμόνος Πετρωνίου

P.Flor. 2 247Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 253

τὸ παρὰ σοὶ ἐὰν χρῄζει αὐτοῦ ἐστʼ ἂν διαπεράσῃ τὸ Χθω καὶ δύναται ἐξαυτῆς ὑποστρέψαι. αὐτάρκως δὲ ἔχεις ἅπαξ ἐπιστέλλεσθαι περὶ τῶν κτηνῶν τοῦ ἀναπέμψαι. καὶ ἂν νῦν ἀναπέμψον

GRBS 17 (1976), p. 197-203Hermopolis bzw. AlexandriaAD 551–AD 600

διετελέσαμεν κατὰ τὸν ποταμόν· καὶ κατὰ τὴν ϛ τοῦ παρόντος μηνὸς Χοιὰκ μετὰ τὸ ὑποστρέψαι τὸν … … τη … ε … … … α … ε … φη

and not having found Him they returned to Jerusalem searching Him.
εἰςeis to G1519 Preposition
1,766× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means toward or into, indicating direction or purpose, as seen in Matthew 8:23 and Mark 1:45. It can also imply a sense of movement or action. The KJV translates it in various ways.
Tyndale gloss
toward
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰς,

prep. c. acc.,

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

Of place.

After verbs of motion;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰς (eis) — toward.

ἐν εἰς

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰς

eis

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

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

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

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

exceeding, for (intent, purpose), fore,

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰς

Prep.

into, in, among, till, for

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εἰς

into, to c. acc.

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

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

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

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

PREP PREPosition

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

1,797 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 37 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial95%predicate3%

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
βάλλωI cast, throw, rεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inδέbut, on the othe
εἰσέρχομαιI go in, come in, en
καίand, even, also,μήNegαὐτός
ἔρχομαιI come, go
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςοὗτος
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἐκκόπτωI cut out, cut oπόλιςa city
ἐγώ
εἰμίI am, existκαίand, even, also,δίδωμιI offer, give
εἰςto1766×
what comes after →
Article the
αἰώνan age, a cycle οἶκοςa house, househoοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,οὗτος
ἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem
καίand, even, also,εἰςὅτιthat, since, bec
ὅς
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἄνDisj
σύ
καίand, even, also,μήNegἐν

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BGU 3 999Pathyris100 BC

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

P.Adl. 17Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)100 BC

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

and not having found Him they returned to Jerusalem searching Him.
ἸερουσαλὴμHierousalēm Jerusalem G2419 Noun · proper name, indeclinable
76× 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
Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine, an important city in the Bible. It's mentioned in Matthew 2:3 and many other places, often as a center of worship and faith.
Amplified meaning
the capital of Palestine, the holy city
Tyndale gloss
Jerusalem
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The word Ἱεροσόλυμα (i.e. Jerusalem) is a proper noun of Hebrew origin, referring to the capital of Palestine. It appears in various forms in the New Testament, with Ἱερουσαλήμ being the indeclinable form used most frequently. The lexicons note its symbolic significance in verses like Galatians 4:25-26 and Hebrews 12:22, where it represents both the earthly city and a heavenly counterpart.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Ἱερουσαλήμ, v.s. Ἱεροσόλυμα.

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

Ἱεροσόλυμα [WH Ἴερ.. see their Intr. § 408], -ων, τά, (the invariable form in Mk. and Jn., almost everywhere in Mt. ana Joseph. [e. Ap. 1, 22, 13, ete.; Philo, leg. ad Gaium ὃ 36; (ef. Polyb. 16, 39, 4); al.]), and Ἱερουσαλήμ [WH.lep. (see ref. u. s.)], 7, indecl., (the invariable form in the Sept. [Josh. x. 1, ete.; Philo de somn. ii. 39 init. ; so Aristot. in Joseph. c. Ap. 1, 22, 7 (where see Miiller)]; in the N. T. where a certain sacred emphasis, so to speak, resides in the very name, as Gal. iv. 25 sq. [see Bp. Lghtft. ad loc.]; Heb. xii. 22; Rev. iii. 12; xxi. 2, 10; thus in direct address: Mt. xxiii. 37; Lk. xiii. 34; both forms are used promiscuously [yet with a marked preference for the indeclinable form] in the O. T. Apocr., and in the writ. of Luke and of Paul; [cf. Tdf Proleg. p- 119; WH. App. p. 160]. Whether there is also a third and unusual form Ἱεροσόλυμα, -ης, ἡ, in…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

Ἱερουσαλήμ (Hierousalēm) — Jerusalem.

Ἱερουσαλήμ, see: Ἱεροσόλυμα - (WH, Ἰερ-, see Intr., § 408), -ων, τά (on πᾶσα Ἱ., Mat.2:3, see WM, 794; M, Pr., 48, 244; Thayer, see word), and Ἱερουσαλήμ (WH, Ἰερ-), ἡ., indecl., as always in LXX exc. some parts of Apocr.. (Heb. יְרוּשָׁלִַם), the former always in FlJ, Mk, Jo EV. and Mt (except. Mat.27:37), and most frequently in Lk, the latter always in He, Re, and by St. Paul (except. Gal.1:17-18 2:1),

Jerusalem: Mat.2:1, Mrk.3:8, Jhn.1:19, al.; its…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

Ἱεροσόλυμα

Hierousalem

of Hebrew origin (3389); Hierusalem (i.e. Jerushalem), the capitol of

Palestine:--Jerusalem. Compare 2414.

see GREEK for 2414

see HEBREW for 03389

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Ἱερουσαλήμ, ἡ

Prop.n.

Jerusalem

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Ἰερουσαλήμ Ierousalēm 77x

Jerusalem, pr. name, indecl., also spelled Ἱεροσόλυμα   62x in our text. See PhotoGuide.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-PRI — Noun · proper name, indeclinable
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-PRI Indeclinable PRoper Noun

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

je-roo'-sa-lem:

I. THE NAME

1. In Cuneiform

2. In Hebrew

3. In Greek and Latin

4. The Meaning of Jerusalem

5. Other Names

II. GEOLOGY, CLIMATE AND SPRINGS

1. Geology

2. Climate and Rainfall

3. The Natural Springs

III. THE NATURAL SITE

1. The Mountains Around

2. The Valleys

3. The Hills

IV. GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY OF JERUSALEM

1. Description of Josephus

2. Summary of the Names of the Five Hills

3. The Akra

4. The Lower City

5. City of David and Zion

V. EXCAVATIONS AND ANTIQUITIES

1. Robinson

2. Wilson, and the Palestine Exploration Fund (1865)

3. Warren and Conder

4. Maudslay

5. Schick

6. Clermont-Ganneau

7. Bliss and Dickie

8. Jerusalem Archaeological Societies

VI. THE CITY'S WALLS AND GATES

1. The Existing Walls

2. Wilson's Theory

3. The Existing Gates

4. Buried Remains of Earlier Walls

5. The Great Dam of the Tyropoeon

6. Ruins of Ancient Gates

7. Josephus' Description of the Walls

8. First Wall

9. Second Wall

10. Third Wall

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Jerusalem

Called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the “city of God,” the “holy city;” by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning “the holy;” once “the city of Judah” (2 Chr. 25:28). This name is in the original in the dual form, and means “possession of peace,” or “foundation of peace.” The dual form probably refers to the two mountains on which it was built, viz., Zion and Moriah; or, as some suppose, to the two parts of the city, the “upper” and the “lower city.” Jerusalem is a “mountain city enthroned on a mountain fastness” (comp. Ps. 68:15, 16; 87:1; 125:2; 76:1, 2; 122:3). It stands on the edge of one of the highest table-lands in Palestine, and is surrounded on the south-eastern, the southern, and the western sides by deep and precipitous ravines.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(the habitation of peace), Jerusalem stands in latitude 31 degrees 46’ 35" north and longitude 35 degrees 18’ 30" east of Greenwich. It is 32 miles distant from the sea and 18 from the Jordan, 20 from Hebron and 36 from Samaria. "In several respects," says Dean Stanley, "its situation is singular among the cities of Palestine. Its elevation is remarkable; occasioned not from its being on the summit of one of the numerous hills of Judea, like most of the towns and villages, but because it is on the edge of one of the highest table-lands of the country. Hebron indeed is higher still by some hundred feet, and from the south, accordingly (even from Bethlehem), the approach to Jerusalem is by a slight descent. But from any other side the ascent is perpetual; and to the traveller approaching the city from the east or west it must always have presented the appearance beyond any other capital…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The chief city of the Holy Land, and to the Christian the most illustrious in the world. It is situated in 31 degrees 46’43" N. lat., and 35 degrees 13’ E. long. on elevated ground south of the center of the country, about thirty-seven miles from the Mediterranean, and about twenty-four from the Jordan. Its site was early hallowed by God’s trial of Abraham’s faith, Ge 22:1-24 2Ch 3:1. It was on the border of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, mostly within the limits of the former, but reckoned as belonging to the latter, because conquered by it, Jos 15:8 18:16,28 Jud 1:18. The most ancient name of the city was Salem, Ge…

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

Counted over the 367 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
Philo of AlexandriaOn Dreams 2.250c. AD 40

ἡ δὲ θεοῦ πόλις ὑπὸ Ἑβραίων Ἱερουσαλὴμ καλεῖται, ἧς μεταληφθὲν τοὔνομα ὅρασίς ἐστιν εἰρήνης.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.180c. AD 75–95

τὴν μέντοι Σολυμᾶ ὕστερον ἐκάλεσεν Ἱεροσόλυμα.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 41.2c. AD 96

οὐ πανταχοῦ, ἀδελφοί, προσφέρονται θυσίαι ἐνδελεχισμοῦ ἢ εὐχῶν ἢ περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ πλημμελείας, ἀλλ̓ ἢ ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ μόνῃ: κἀκεῖ δὲ οὐκ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ προσφέρεται, ἀλλ̓ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ ναοῦ πρὸς τὸ θυσιαστήριον, μωμοσκοπηθὲν τὸ προσφερόμενον διὰ τοῦ…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 8th c. AD
P. Murabba'ât 2 114MurabaatAD 70–AD 132

Τίτου Στατιλίου Σεουήρου πρὸ η εἰδῶν Ἰουλίων Πανέμου ὀγδόῃ καὶ δεκάτῃ … ἐν Ἱεροσολύμᾳ … αυουαια … Ὀρεινῆς προς … λεγεῶνος δεκάτης Φρετηνσίας ἑκατονταρχίας … νιου Σατορνείνου

P.Ross.Georg. 4 4Aphrodites Kome (Antaiopolites)AD 710

δυναμένους ἀνθέξεσθαι τῷ ἔργῳ ἀπόστειλον διʼ ἀποκρισιαρίου σου ὅπως ἐξέλθωσιν διὰ στράτας εἰς αὐτὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα παρασκευάζων πληρωθῆναι αὐτοὺς τοὺς μισθοὺς καὶ τὴν ἀποτροφὴν αὐτῶν ἀποστέλλων τὸ χρυσίον τῆς δαπάνης

and not having found Him they returned to Jerusalem searching Him.
ἀναζητοῦντεςzēteō searching G327 Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
3× 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
To search carefully, as in Luke 2:44-45 where Mary and Joseph looked for Jesus. It means to seek something or someone with difficulty. This word is used in the Bible to describe searching for a person or thing.
Tyndale gloss
to search
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀναζητέω (anazēteō) is built from the prefix ἀνα- and the root ζητέω, meaning to search out or seek carefully. It covers the act of investigating or searching, particularly for people, often implying difficulty. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts such as Luke 2:44-45 and Acts 11:25, where the focus is on diligent searching.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀνα-ζητέω, -ῶ

[in LXX: Jb 3:4 (דרשׁ), Jb 10:6 (בּקשׁ pi.), II Mac 13:21*;]

to look for or seek carefully ("specially of searching for human beings, with an implication of difficulty": MM, VGT, s.v.): Lk 2:44, 45, Ac 11:25.†

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

ἀνα-ζητέω, -@; [impf. ἀνεζήτουν); 1 aor. ἀνεζήτησα; ‘to run through with the eyes any series or succession of men or things, and so to seek out, search through, make diligent search, Germ. daran hinsuchen, aufsuchen’ (Win. De verb. comp. ete. Pt. iii. p. 14): τινά, Lk. ii. 44, (and 45 Ltxt. T Tr WH); Acts xi. 25. (See exx. fr. Grk. writ. [fr. Plato on] in Win. 1. c.)

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

ἀναζητέω. The verb is capable of general use, as in P Oxy VII. 106618 (iii/A.D.) ἀναζήτησον [ῥίνην] ‘look for a file.” But it is specially used of searching for human beings, with an implication of difficulty, as in the NT passages. So P Hib I. 71° (B.c. 245-4) τὴν πᾶσαν σπουδὴν ποίησαι ὅπίως

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀναζητέω (anazēteō) — to search.

ἀναζητ-έω,

investigate, τὰς αἰτίας[Refs 5th c.BC+]: —passive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. search out, discover, τὰ παραλελειμμένα ὑπὸ τῶν προτέρων ἀρχείων[Refs 3rd c.BC+]; search for, μαστροπούς[Refs 1st c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀναζητέω

anazeteo

from 303 and 2212; to search out:--seek.

see GREEK for 303

see GREEK for 2212

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀναζητέω

v.

I seek out, search for

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀναζητέω anazēteō 3x

to track; to seek diligently, inquire after, search for, Lk. 2:44, 45; Acts 11:25*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀναζητέω to examine into, investigate, τὰ ὑπὸ γῆς Plat.: Pass., Hdt., etc.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
33%seek
seek33% · 1×seeking33% · 1×searching33% · 1×

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

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

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 3 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
ὁδόςa way, road, jou
ἹεροσόλυμαProp
εἰς
ΤαρσόςTarsus
εἰς
ἀναζητέωsearching
what comes after →
αὐτός
ἐν
ΣαῦλοςSaul, the apostle

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

Concordanceἀναζητέω · 3× in the New Testament
Luke Acts
Across the New Testament2 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
Philo of AlexandriaOn Husbandry 26c. AD 40

εἰσὶ δέ γε ἃς ἀναζητοῦντες εὕρομεν διτταί, περὶ ὧν τὰ προσήκοντα, ἐὰν οἷόν τε ᾖ, λέξομεν.

JosephusThe Jewish War 3.340c. AD 75–95

Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ τὸν Ἰώσηπον ἀναζητοῦντες κατά τε ὀργὴν σφετέραν καὶ σφόδρα τοῦ στρατηγοῦ φιλοτιμουμένου, μεγίστη γὰρ ἦν μοῖρα τοῦ πολέμου ληφθείς, τούς τε νεκροὺς διηρεύνων καὶ τοὺς ἀποκρύφους.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
1st c. AD 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Ryl. 2 140Euhemeria (ArsinoitesAD 36

ἄξιος δραχμῶν η ὑπό τινων λῃστρικῶι τρόπωι ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας μου. διὸ ἀξιῶ γράψαι ἀναζητῆσαι ὑπὲρ τοῦ μέρους. εὐτύχει. Αὐνῆς ἐτῶν λε, οὐλὴ ἀντίχειρι ἀριστερῷ.

P.Ryl. 2 142Euhemeria (ArsinoitesAD 37

διὰ ὄνων εἰς λόγον δεσμῶν ἑξακοσίων . διὸ ἀξιῶ γράψαι τῷ τῆς κώμης ἀρχεφόδῳ ἀναζητῆσαι ὑπὲρ τοῦ μέρους. εὐτύχει. Ἡρακλῆς Πνεφερῶτος ἐπιδέδωκα τὸ προκείμενον ὑπόμνημα.

P.Ryl. 2 146Euhemeria (ArsinoitesAD 39

στήμονος σταθμία δύο · καθυπονοῶ δὲ τοὺς ἐν τῷ ἐποικίῳ καταγεινομένους. διὸ ἀξιῶ γράψαι ἀναζητῆσαι ὑπὲρ τοῦ μέρους πρὸς τὴν δέουσαν ἐπέξοδον. εὐτύχει. Τεσενοῦφις ὡς ἐτῶν κη οὐλὴ κνήμῃ

and not having found Him they returned to Jerusalem searching Him.
αὐτόν.autos Him. G846 Personal pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
5,550× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 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-ASM — Personal pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςHim.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

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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