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Matthew 11:26 — Word Study

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N1904ναὶ πατήρ, ὅτι οὕτως εὐδοκία ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου.¶

BSAYesnai [verily, indeed] Oho Father,patēr [the heavenly Parent] forhoti thusohutō, ohutōs [so it was, in this manner] well-pleasingeudokia [good and acceptable, a delight] it was beforeemprosthen [belonging to You, as Your pleasure, before You, in Your presence] You.su

Word
Listen & take awayMatthew 11
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 26 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 (su) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Matthew 11:26quick helps
In a sentenceJesus affirms the Father's delight in revealing truths to the humble.
Who is speakingJesus, addressing God as Father.
Where we areThis verse is part of a teaching moment where Jesus praises the Father.
The hard wordεὐδοκία
Take awayGod delights in revealing His truth to those who are humble.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subject 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 — Matthew 11:26

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 — Jesus Praises the Fathergenerated

25At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
26Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.
27All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
28Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:26 is part of a passage where Jesus expresses gratitude to the Father for revealing truths to the humble rather than the wise and learned. This moment emphasizes the contrast between worldly wisdom and childlike faith. The surrounding verses highlight Jesus’ relationship with the Father and His role in revealing divine truths, as seen in Matthew 11:25 and Matthew 11:27.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Job 33:13Why do you complain to Him that He answers nothing a man asks?
2Isaiah 46:10I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
3Luke 10:21At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.
4Romans 9:18Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
5Romans 11:33–36O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 8 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word εὐδοκία, eudokiagenerated

The noun εὐδοκία (eudokia) means goodwill or good pleasure. It signifies a state of satisfaction and delight, particularly in the context of God's approval. The parsing shows it as a nominative singular feminine noun, indicating it is the subject of the clause.

In this verse, it conveys the idea that what has occurred is pleasing to God, reflecting His desires and intentions. This term emphasizes the relational aspect of God's approval in the context of His revelation to humanity.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The Berean Standard Bible translates the verse as well-pleasing, which is consistent with the KJV's seemed good and the ASV's well-pleasing.

However, the translations differ on the rendering of οὕτως. The BSB and others use this, while the ASV and several others opt for so it was.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb in this passage is ἐγένετο, it was, which governs the overall structure. The sentence contains several clauses, including a subject and a prepositional phrase that elaborates on the nature of God’s pleasure.

The sentence structure reveals a clear cause-and-effect relationship, with the adverbial clause οὕτως modifying the verb to specify how the action was pleasing to God.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

εὐδοκία appears in the Septuagint, often translating the Hebrew term for goodwill or favor, indicating a continuity of meaning in the context of divine approval.

The word οὕτως also has roots in the Septuagint, where it translates Hebrew terms that convey similar notions of manner or way, reinforcing the connection between the Old and New Testaments.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Matthew 11:26 shows Jesus affirming that it was pleasing to God to reveal truths to those who are humble. This reflects God's nature and His delight in the hearts of the simple.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that this was well-pleasing to God?

It means that God's approval and delight were expressed in the way He chose to reveal truths, particularly to those who are humble and childlike.

Why does Jesus mention the Father in this context?

Jesus emphasizes His relationship with the Father, acknowledging that the revelation of divine truths is aligned with the Father's will and pleasure.

How does this verse relate to the surrounding verses?

This verse connects to Jesus' praise of the Father for hiding truths from the wise and revealing them to little children, highlighting the theme of humility.

What can we learn about God's character from this verse?

We learn that God delights in revealing His truth to those who approach Him with humility, demonstrating His grace and love.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways can I cultivate a childlike faith to better understand God's truths?
  2. How do I see God's pleasure in my life when I seek to know Him?
  3. What are some truths about God that I have learned through humility?
  4. How can I share the joy of God's revelations with others?

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

Early Church Fathers comment on this verse, reflecting on the nature of God’s pleasure in revealing truths to the humble.

JeromeVerse 26. c. 347–420
Yes, Father, because it was pleasing to You in this way. Speaking with affection to the Father, that the work begun in the apostles may be completed.
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 11 →
Theophylact of Ohrid c. 1055–1107
Here He shows the Father’s love for man, in that the Father revealed the mysteries to the babes, without having been called upon by anyone to do so, but because it so pleased Him to do from the beginning.
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 11 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Matthew 11:26 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. Or, "so is the good will", or "pleasure before thee": thus, רצון מלפניך יהי, "let it be the good will before thee", or "in thy sight, O Lord", is

Read John Gill on Matthew 11 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good , [ eudokia (G2107)] - the emphatic and chosen term for expressing any object of divine complacency;

Read Robert Jamieson on Matthew 11 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Ver. 25,26. , hath the same thing, only he thus prefaces, In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, & c. He rejoiced in spirit, his heart was inwardly affected with this grace of God his Father. Then he answered and said. Answering in Scripture doth not always signify replying to the words of others, but a speaking upon some fit occasion offered, a beginning of a speech. I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth. In the Greek the same word is used which signifieth to confess. In all thanksgiving and praising there is a confession of the power, wisdom, or goodness of God, so as all praising is a confessing, though all confession…

Read Matthew Poole on Matthew 11 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. Ver. 26. Even so, Father, for so, &c.] Christ being tired out, as it were, by the untractableness of his hearers, turns him to his Father, and comforts himself with the consideration of his most wise decree and counsel: so must we in like case, accounting that we are a sweet savour unto God howsoever, even in them that perish, and that God shall have his end upon them, though we have not ours, 2 Corinthians 2:15.

Read John Trapp on Matthew 11 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(26) For so it seemed good.—Literally, Yea, Father, [I thank Thee] that thus it was Thy good pleasure. The words recall those that had been spoken at our Lord’s baptism (“in whom I am well pleased,” Matthew 3:17), and the song of the heavenly host on the night of the Nativity (“good will among men,” Luke 2:14). The two verses are remarkable as the only record outside St. John’s Gospel of a prayer like that which we find in John 17. For the most part, we may believe, those prayers were offered apart on the lonely hill-side, in the darkness of night; or, it may be, the disciples shrank in their reverence, or perhaps in the consciousness of their want of capacity, from attempting to record…

Read Charles John Ellicott on Matthew 11 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 26. Even so, Father] ναιοπατηρ. An emphatical ratification of the preceding address. It was right that the heavenly wisdom, despised, rejected, and persecuted by the scribes and Pharisees, should be offered to the simple people, and afterwards to the foolish people, the Gentiles, who are the children of wisdom, and justify God in his ways, by bringing forth that fruit of the Gospel of which the Pharisees refused to receive even the seed.

Read AdamClarke on Matthew 11 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

26. Even so, Father: for] Translate: “yea Father [I thank thee] that, &c.”

Read Cambridge on Matthew 11 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

26. It seemed good — It was not so done by God from mere arbitrary unreasoning and absolute will, but because it was good. It seemed right to the Infinite Mind. It seems right to all right reason.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Matthew 11 →

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

Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

NETBNew English Translation2006

Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.

RVARevised Version, American1894

yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

It is so, O Father, because thy good pleasure was such.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Yea, Father, for thus has it been well-pleasing in thy sight.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

Yes, Father, because so it was good pleasure before Thee.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

Yes, Father, because so it was good pleasure before You.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Yes, Father, you were pleased to do this!

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Yes, Father, for so it was pleasing in your eyes.

Word by word, the decisions they made

οὕτωςohutō, ohutōs thus G3779 3 different renderings
so it wasASV BBE LSV RVA ULB WEB YLT
thisBSB FBV MSB NETB
thusDBY

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.

clauseclauseναίYesclausenoun phrase-ΠατήρFatherclauseὅτιforclauseadverbialοὕτωςthussubjectεὐδοκίαwell-pleasinglinking verbἐγένετοit wasprepositional phrase · predicateἔμπροσθένbeforeσουYou

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

Ita Pater : quoniam sic fuit placitum ante te.

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

ܐܝܢ ܐܒܝ ܕܗܟܢܐ ܗܘܐ ܨܒܝܢܐ ܩܕܡܝܟ

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

ναὶ πατήρ, ὅτι οὕτως εὐδοκία ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου.¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ναὶ πατήρ, ὅτι οὕτως εὐδοκία ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου.¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ναὶ πατήρ, ὅτι οὕτως εὐδοκία ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου.¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ναὶ πατήρ, ὅτι οὕτως εὐδοκία ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου.¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ναὶ πατήρ, ὅτι οὕτως ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου.¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ναὶ πατήρ, ὅτι οὕτως εὐδοκία ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου.¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ναὶ πατήρ, ὅτι οὕτως ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου.¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ναὶ πατήρ, ὅτι οὕτως ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου.¶

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
εὐδοκία well-pleasingNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WHTreg, TR, Byz

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.

Matthew 11:26ναίYesYesναίOOπατήρFather,Father,πατήρὅτιforforὅτιοὕτωthusthusοὕτωεὐδοκίαwell-pleasiwell-pleasingεὐδοκίαγίνομαιit wasit wasγίνομαιἔμπροσθενbeforebeforeἔμπροσθενσύYou.You.σύοὗτοςDem.pr. thDem.pr. this, hοὗτοςἐνPrep. in, Prep. in, on, aἐνὅστιςRel.pr. whRel.pr. whosoevὅστιςεὖAdv well, Adv well, well εὖδοκέωv. I thinkv. I think, seeδοκέωπροφήτηςn.m. a pron.m. a prophet,προφήτηςτιμάωv. I valuev. I value at aτιμάωἈβραάμProp.n. AbProp.n. AbrahamἈβραάμοἶδαv. I know,v. I know, remeοἶδαγινώσκωv. I come v. I come to knγινώσκωἀμφιέννυμιv. I put ov. I put on, clἀμφιέννυμιλάμπωv. I shinev. I shineλάμπωἔμπροσθενAdv. & PreAdv. & Prep. inἔμπροσθενοὕτωAdv thus, Adv thus, so, iοὕτωὄψιοςAdj lateAdj lateὄψιοςγωνίαn.f. a corn.f. a corner, γωνίαεὐδοκίαn.f. good-n.f. good-will,εὐδοκίαὁμολογέωv. I confev. I confess, pὁμολογέω
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 Matthew 11:26

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.

Yes O Father, for thus well-pleasing it was before You.
ναὶnai Yes G3483 Particle
34× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'yes' or 'verily', used to affirm or agree with something. In the New Testament, it is often translated as 'yes' or 'even so', and is used by Jesus and others to emphasize their statements.
Amplified meaning
verily, indeed
Tyndale gloss
yes
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ναί (nai) is a particle used to express strong affirmation, meaning 'yes' or 'verily.' It appears in various contexts, such as answering questions, confirming statements, and making solemn assertions. The New Testament references include Matthew 5:37 and Revelation 22:20. Notably, it can be repeated for emphasis, as in Matthew 5:37, and is often used in oaths.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ναί,

particle of affirmation,

yea, verily, even so; in answer to a question: Mt 9:28 13:51 17:25 21:16, Jo 11:27 21:15, 16, Ac 5:8 22:27, Ro 3:29; seq. λέγω ὑμῖν, Mt 11:9, Lk 7:26; repeated for emphasis, ναὶ ναί (opp. to οὒ οὔ): Mt 5:37; ἤτω ὑμῶν τὸ ναὶ ναί, Ja 5:12; ν. καὶ οὔ, II Co 1:18, 19; ἵνα ᾖ . . . τὸ ναὶ ναί, II Co 1:17; τὸ ν., II Co 1:20; in assent to an assertion: Read the full entry →

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

ναί, a particle of assertion or confirmation [akin to vn; ef. Donaldson, Cratylus § 189], fr. Hom. down, yea, verily, truly, assuredly, even so: Mt. xi. 26; Lk. x. 21; Philem. 20; Rev. i. 7; xvi. 7; xxii. 203 vai. λέγω ὑμῖν κτὰλ., Mt. xi. 9; Lk. vii. 26; xi. 51; xii. δ; vai, λέγει τὸ πνεῦμα, Rev. xiv. 13; it is responsive and confirmatory of the substance of some question or statement: Mt. ix. 28; ΧΙ, 51; xv. 27; xvii. 25; xxi. 16; Mk. vii. 28; Jn. xi. 27; xxi. 15 sq.; Acts v. 8 (9); xxii. 27; Ro. iii. 29; a repeated vai, most assuredly, [ A.V. yea, yea], expresses emphatic assertion, Mt. v. 37; ἤτω ὑμῶν τὸ ναὶ vai, let your vai be vai, i. 6. let your allegation be true, Jas. v.12 [B. 163 (142); W. 59 (58)]; εἶναι or γίνεσθαι ναὶ καὶ οὔ, to Naocdp be or show one’s self double-tongued, i. e. faithless, waver ing, false, 2 Co. i. 18 sq.; ἵνα παρ᾽ ἐμοὶ τὸ ναὶ ναὶ καὶ τὸ od ov, that with me…

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

ναί (nai) — yes.

ναί,

adverb, used to express strong affirmation, yea, verily, in [Refs 8th c.BC+] yea thee, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. frequently in oaths, ν. μά yea by.., see at {μ; ν}. alone, ν. τὰν Κόραν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ν. πρὸς θεῶν ἀρήξατ᾽ [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. in answers, yes, τοῦτ᾽ ἐτήτυμο; Answ. ν. [NT+5th c.BC+]

II.2. ν. followed by ἀλλά, etc., to mark a qualified assent, yes, but.., [Refs 4th c.BC+]; ν., κατὰ σχολήν γε ἴσως· οὐ μήν.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ναί

nai

a primary particle of strong affirmation; yes:--even so, surely,

truth, verily, yea, yes.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ναί

Disj.prt.

yes, certainly, even so

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ναί nai 33x

a particle, used to strengthen an affirmation, certainly, Rev. 22:20; to make an affirmation, or express an assent, yea, yes, Mt. 5:37; Acts 5:8

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ναί used in strong affirmation, yea, verily, Lat. nae, Hom., attic; in Hom. mostly followed by δή.

ναὶ μά in oaths, yea by . . , ναὶ μὰ τόδε σκῆπτρον Il.; μά is sometimes omitted, ναὶ τὰν κόραν Ar.; ναὶ πρὸς θεῶν Eur.

in answers, alone, aye, yes, τοῦτ᾽ ἐτήτυμον; answ. ναί Aesch.; ναί, ναί Ar.

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

PRT PaRTicle, disjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%yes
yes100% · 35×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
predicate18%subject12%object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 34 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
λέγωI say, speak
δέbut, on the otheθυσιαστήριονan altar
ναίDisj
Article theσύ
Article the
ἐγώαὐτόςσύ
σύ
λόγοςa word, speech,
ναίYes34×
what comes after →
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
καίand, even, also,σύἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegἔρχομαιI come, go
λέγωI say, speak
σύArticle the
ναίDisj
καίand, even, also,οὐNeg
Article the
πατήρfather, Father,

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

Concordanceναί · 34× in the New Testament
Matthew 2 Corinthians Luke Revelation John Acts James Mark Philemon Philippians Romans
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
The Shepherd of Hermas Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome Josephus
Philo of AlexandriaWho is the Heir of Divine Things 81c. AD 40

ναί, φαίην ἄν, ὦ καταγέλαστοι καὶ λίαν εὐχερεῖς·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 17.169c. AD 75–95

παραπλησία δὲ καὶ περὶ τὸ ἦτρον κάκωσις ἦν, ναὶ μὴν καὶ τοῦ αἰδοίου σῆψις σκώληκας ἐμποιοῦσα, πνεύματός τε ὀρθία ἔντασις καὶ αὐτὴ λίαν ἀηδὴς ἀχθηδόνι τε τῆς ἀποφορᾶς καὶ τῷ πυκνῷ τοῦ ἄσθματος, ἐσπασμένος τε περὶ πᾶν ἦν μέρος ἰσχὺν οὐχ ὑπομενητὴν…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 60.3c. AD 96

ναί, δέσποτα, ἐπίφανον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἐφ̓ ἡμᾶς εἰς ἀγαθὰ ἐν εἰρήνῃ, εἰς τὸ σκεπασθῆναι ἡμᾶς τῇ χειρί σου τῇ κραταιᾷ καὶ ῥυσθῆναι ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας τῷ βραχίονί σου τῷ ὑψηλῷ, καὶ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν μισούντων ἡμᾶς ἀδίκως.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 4th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Mil.Vogl. 3 184Tebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 41–AD 54

τριάκοντα … … οὐλὴ δακτύλῳ … … Ἀκουσάριον μὲν ἀπέχειν παρὰ τοῦ Παποντῶτος … ναι επ … … … … … ὅσα ἐπὶ τὸν γάμον κεκομισμένα ἠνέχθη αὐτῷ Παποντῶτι

P.Fam.Tebt. 24 [1888]ArsinoitesAD 124

ἔτους διαλογισμοῦ ὑπομνηματισμῶν … … … κέναι καὶ ἀξιοῦντα παραλαμβάνειν αὐτὸν τὰ βιβλία … ναι τῷ γραμματεύσαντι Λεωνίδῃ ρα … τιν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν β … … … τινο

O.Claud. 4 853Mons ClaudianusAD 186–AD 187

ὀψώνια τοισ … … αις ἡμῶν δοθῆναι … θη τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν … ναι κε … … τραφη … ἀνθρωπ … ἐργαζο … … απο … … ανερ

Yes O Father, for thus well-pleasing it was before You.
ho O G3588 Article · nominative · singular · masculine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The definite article — the commonest word in the Greek New Testament at 19,867 occurrences. Greek uses it more freely than English does and can drop it deliberately, so its presence and its absence both carry weight for a translator; but no single occurrence carries a message of its own. Here it simply gathers “the things” into one definite bundle.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

the prepositive article (ἄρθρον προτακτικόν), originally a demonstr. pron. (so usually in Hom.), in general corresponding to the Eng. definite article.

As demonstr. pron.

As freq. in Hom., absol., he (she, it), his (etc.): Ac 17:28 (quoted from the poet Aratus).

Distributive, ὁ μὲν . . . ὁ δέ, the one . . . the other: I Co 7:7, Ga 4:22; pl., Ac 14:4, 17:32, Phl 1:16, al.; οἱ μὲν . . . ἄλλοι δέ, Mt 16:14, Jo 7:12; οἱ μεν̀ . . . ὁ δέ, He 7:21, 23.

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

ὁ 435 ὁ tives of quantity, ὅλος, πᾶς, πολύς, see each in its own place. d. What has been said concerning adjectives holds true also of all other limitations added to substantives, as ἡ κατ᾽ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις, Ro. ix. 11; ἡ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη, Ro. xi. 27; 6 λόγος 6 τοῦ σταυροῦ, 1 Co. i. 18; ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις, Col. ii. 5; on the other hand, ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, 1 Th. i. 8; τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους, 2 Co. viii. 4; see many other exx. of each usage in W. 131 (124) sqq.; [B. 91 (80) sqq.]. e. The noun has the article before it when a demonstrative pronoun (υὗτος, ἐκεῖνος) belonging to it either precedes or follows [W. § 18, 4; B. § 127, 29-31]; as, ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος, Jn. ix. 24 [οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρ. 1, Tr mrg. WH); Acts vi. 13; xxii. 26; ὁ λαὸς οὗτος, Mt. xv. 8; 6 vids σου οὗτος, Lk. xv. 30; plur. Lk. xxiv. 17, and numberless other exx.; οὗτος 6 ἄνθρωπος, Lk. xiv. 30; οὗτος ὁ…

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

ὃ, ἡ τό. (1) Apart from connexion with μέν or δέ (see below) the demonstrative use of the art. in the NT is confined to a poetical quotation Ac 1778, but it is not uncommon in the papyri, e.g. P Par 45® (B.C. 153) (= Witkowski®, p. 85) τὰ (for ἃ) πράσεις (Δ πράσσεις), P Oxy VIII. 1160! (iii/iv A.D.) Ta (for ἃ) σεσύλληχα (for συνείληχα) δὲ κέρμα {ταν τηρῶ αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν δίκην, “1 am keeping for the trial the money that I have collected” (Ed.). For the distributive Opéev.. - 6 8€, as in 1 Cor7’, cf. P Lond 535 (B.c. 161) (=I. p. 19, U.P.Z. i. p. 239) kal τὰ μὲν ἡμῶν ἐληφότων εἰς τὴν γινομένην ἡμῖν συντάξειν, τὰ δ᾽ ἔτι διὰ τὴν τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων {(.. ... > παρελκομένων. (2) The use of the art. as a relative, of which there is no trace in the NT, may again be illustrated by the following papyrus citations from ¢c. A.D. 346—P Lond 414® (= II. Ῥ. 292) γεινῴσκιν oe θέλω περὶ τοῦ βρεουίου…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

__C in Epic dialect, the so-called postpositive Article, = relative Pronoun, ὅς, ἥ, ὅ.—The nominative masculine and feminine singular and plural, ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ, have no accent in codices and most printed books, except when used as the relative; but ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ differ only in writing from ὃ, ἣ, οἳ, α; the nominative forms of the article are said by Hdn.Gr.1.474 to be oxytone, and by [Refs 2nd c.AD+] in Aeolic dialect accusative to [Refs 8th c.BC+] genitive and dative dual τοῖιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]— In Doric dialect and all other dialects except Attic dialect and Ionic dialect the feminine forms preserve the old ᾱ instead of changing it to η, hence Doric dialect etc. ἁ, τάν, τᾶ; the genitive plural τάων contracts in many dialects to τᾶ; the genitive…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be

supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one,

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

the prepositive article, answering, to a considerable extent, to the English definite article; but, for the principle and facts of its usage, consult a grammar; ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, the one ... the other, Phil. 1:16, 17; Heb. 7:5, 6, 20, 21, 23, 24; pl. some ... others, Mt. 13:23; 22:5, 6; ὁ δέ, but he, Mt. 4:4; 12:48; οἱ δέ, but others, Mt. 28:17; used, in a poetic quotation, for a personal pronoun, Acts 17:28

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

in epic, the relative Pronoun, when it is written with the accent ὅ, ἥ, τό ῀ ὅς, ἥ, ὅ. Besides the common forms, note epic gen. sg. τοῖο for τοῦ; pl. nom. τοί, ταί; gen. fem. τάων [α^], dat. τοῖσι, τῇς and τῇσι; dual gen, and dat. τοῖιν:— in Trag. we find τοὶ μέν . . , τοὶ δέ . . , for οἱ μέν . . , οἱ δέ . . ; dat. pl. also τοῖσι, ταῖσι: the dual has commonly but one gender, τώ for τά, τοῖν for ταῖν.

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

joined with a Subst., not as the Art., but like Lat. ille, ὁ Τυδείδης Tydeus's famous son, Il.; Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων Nestor— that aged man, id. Il.; τιμῆς τῆς Πριάμου for honour, namely that of Priam, id. Il.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
O19783×
what comes after →
θεόςGod, a god
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusArticle the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
ἐγώσύαὐτός

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Yes O Father, for thus well-pleasing it was before You.
πατήρ,patēr Father, G3962 Noun · nominative · singular · masculine
413× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A father is a male parent, like Joseph, the father of Jesus, as mentioned in Matthew 2:22 and Luke 1:17. It can also refer to a forefather or ancestor, like Abraham, as seen in Matthew 3:9 and John 8:39.
Amplified meaning
the heavenly Parent
Tyndale gloss
father
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πατήρ (patēr) means 'father' and can refer to a male parent, an ancestor, or even a metaphorical originator. It appears frequently in the New Testament, often in relation to God as the Father of believers, as well as in the context of respect for elders or teachers. The term can also denote a broader familial or ancestral connection, as seen in references to forefathers.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πατήρ, πατρός, -τρί, τέρα,

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

a father;

prop.,

of the male parent: Mt 2:22, Lk 1:17, Jo 4:53; anarth., He 12:7 (M, Pr., 82 f.); pl., of both parents (cl.), He 11:23; οἱ π. τ. σαρκός, He 12:9;

of a forefather or ancestor (in cl. usually in pl.; Hom., al.): Mt 3:9, Lk 1:73, Jo 8:39, al.; pl., Mt 23:30, 32, Lk 6:23, 26, Jo 4:20,

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

πατήρ [fr. τ. pa; lit. nourisher, protector, upholder ; (Curtius § 348)], πατρός, -rpl, -τέρα, voc. πάτερ [for which the nom. 6 πατήρ is five times used, and (anarthrous) πατήρ in Jn. xvii. 21 T Tr WH, 24 and 25 LT Tr WH; ef. B. § 129,5; W.§ 29,2; WH. App. p. 158], plur. πατέρες, πατέρων, πατράσι (Heb. i.1), πατέρας, 6,[fr. Hom. down], Sept. for 38, a father; 1. prop., i. q. generator or male ancestor, and either a. the nearest ancestor: Mt. ii. 22; iv. 21 sq.; viii. 21; Lk.i.17; Jn. iv.53; Acts vii. 143 1 Co. v. 1, etc.; of πατέρες τῆς σαρκός, fathers of the corporeal nature, natural fathers, (opp. to ὁ πατὴρ τῶν πνευμάτων), Heb. xii. 9; plur. of both parents, Heb. xi. 23 (not infreq. in prof. auth., ef. Delitzsch ad loc.); or Ὄ. a more remote ancestor, the founder of α race or tribe, progenitor of a people, forefather: 80 Abraham is called, Mt. iii. 9; Lk. i. 73; xvi. 24; Jn. viii.…

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

πατήρ. For the looser use οἵ πατήρ as a title or respect or honour, see P Oxy X. 1296 (iii/A.D.), where the writer

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πατήρ (patēr) — father.

πᾰτήρ, ὁ,

genitive and dative πατέρος, πατέρι in Epic dialect and Lyric poetry, Attic dialect πατρός, πατρί (which is also the commoner form in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; accusative always πατέρ; vocative πάτερ: plural πατέρες, πατέρας, πατέρων (πατρῶν only [Refs 8th c.BC+]; dative πατράσι [ᾰ] (cf. Sanskrit locative plural pitṛ[snull]u, no dative plural occurs in [Refs 8th c.BC+], late Epic dialect πατέρεσσι [Refs 4th c.AD+]:— father, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; πατρὸς πατήρ grandfather,[Refs 8th c.BC+]; τὰ πρὸς πατρός by the father's side, [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc.; especially of God, the father of the Israelites, [LXX]; father of men, [NT]; father of Jesus Christ, [Refs]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πατήρ

pater

apparently a primary word; a "father" (literally or figuratively, near

or more remote):--father, parent.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πατήρ, πατρός, ὁ

n.m.

father, Father, ancestor

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πατήρ acc. always πατέρα gen. pl. rarely πατρῶν a father, Hom., etc.; πατρὸς πατήρ a grandfather, Il.; τὰ πρὸς πατρός ῀ πατρόθεν, by the father's side, Hdt.

among the gods Zeus is called πατήρ, πατὴρ Ζεύς, π. ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε Hom., Hes.; so Ζεὺς π. Aesch.; Ζεῦ πάτερ καὶ θεοί Ar.

a respectful mode of addressing elderly persons, Od.

metaph. the father of anything, Lat. auctor, π. ἀοιδᾶν Pind., etc.

in pl. fathers, i.e. forefathers, Hom.; ἐξ ἔτι πατρῶν as an inheritance from one's fathers, Od.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fa'-ther (Anglo-Saxon, Foeder; German, Vater; Hebrew 'abh, etymology uncertain, found in many cognate languages; Greek pater, from root pa, "nourisher," "protector," "upholder"):

1. Immediate Male Ancestor:

Immediate male ancestor. The father in the Hebrew family, as in the Roman, had supreme rights over his children, could dispose of his daughter in marriage (Ge 29), arrange his son's marriage (Ge 24), sell his children (Ex 21:7), but not his daughter to a stranger (Ne 5:5), had power of life and death, as in the case of Isaac (Ge 22), Jephthah's daughter (Jud 11:34), the sacrificing of his children to Molech (Le 18:21; 20:3-5), etc. Respect, reverence and affection for…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Father

A name applied (1) to any ancestor (Deut. 1:11; 1 Kings 15:11; Matt. 3:9; 23:30, etc.); and (2) as a title of respect to a chief, ruler, or elder, etc. (Judg. 17:10; 18:19; 1 Sam. 10:12; 2 Kings 2:12; Matt. 23:9, etc.). (3) The author or beginner of anything is also so called; e.g., Jabal and Jubal (Gen. 4:20, 21; comp. Job 38:28).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

The position and authority of the father as the head of the family are expressly assumed and sanctioned in Scripture, as a likeness of that of the Almighty over his creatures. It lies of course at the root of that so-called patriarchal government, (Genesis 3:16; 1 Corinthians 11:3) which was introductory to the more definite systems which followed, and which in part, but not wholly, superseded it. The father’s blessing was regarded as conferring special benefit, but his malediction special injury, on those on whom it fell, (Genesis 9:25,27; 27:27-40; 48:15,20; 49:1) ... and so also the sin of a parent was held to affect, in certain cases, the welfare of his descendants. (2 Kings…

Is often synonymous with ancestor, founder, or originator, as Ge 4:20-21 Joh 8:56 Ro 4:16. Joseph was a father to Pharoah, Ge 45:8, as his counselor and provider. God is the FATHER of men, as their Creator, De 32:6 Isa 63:16 64:8 Lu 3:38. But as we have forfeited the rights of children by our sins, it is only through Christ that we can call God by that endearing name, "our Father," Joh 20:17 Ro 8:15-17.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
86%father
father86% · 359×fathers12% · 51×other renderings2% · 9×

419 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 8 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject32%adverbial26%object21%predicate7%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 413 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,πρόςἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
θεόςGod, a godθάνατοςdeathἀδελφόςa brother
θεόςGod, a god
ἀπόArticle theἐν
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,προσεύχομαιI pray, pray forἸησοῦςJesus
σύ
ἐξομολογέωI consent fully,γράφωI writeπροσεύχομαιI pray, pray for
πατήρFather,413×
what comes after →
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,Article theἐν
σύ
Article theκαίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theκύριοςlord, Lord, mastΧριστόςanointed, the Me
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,Article theμετά
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastπαιδίονa little child, πέμπωI send

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

Concordanceπατήρ · 413× in the New Testament
John Matthew Luke Acts Mark Romans 1 John Ephesians Hebrews 1 Corinthians 1 Thessalonians 2 Corinthians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 615 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 7c. AD 40

Τινὲς γὰρ τὸν κόσμον μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν κοσμοποιὸν θαυμάσαντες τὸν μὲν ἀγένητόν τε καὶ ἀίδιον ἀπεφήναντο, τοῦ δὲ θεοῦ πολλὴν ἀπραξίαν ἀνάγνως κατεψεύσαντο, δέον ἔμπαλιν τοῦ μὲν τὰς δυνάμεις ὡς ποιητοῦ καὶ πατρὸς καταπλαγῆναι, τὸν δὲ μὴ πλέον ἀποσεμνῦναι…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.20c. AD 75–95

οὔτε γὰρ αὐτῷ ποτʼ ἂν γενέσθαι νοῦν ἀγαθὸν τῷ νομοθέτῃ ταύτης ἀπολειπομένῳ τῆς θέας, οὔτε τῶν γραφησομένων εἰς ἀρετῆς λόγον οὐδὲν ἀποβήσεσθαι τοῖς λαβοῦσιν, εἰ μὴ πρὸ παντὸς ἄλλου διδαχθεῖεν, ὅτι πάντων πατήρ τε καὶ δεσπότης ὁ θεὸς ὢν καὶ πάντα…

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 31Pathyris105 BC

τὸ ἐπιβάλλον αὐτῷ μέρος δανείου οὗ ἔθετο Πατοῦς Ὥρου ὁ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ Ταρεήσιος πατὴρ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐν Κροκοδίλων πόλει ἀρχείου χαλκοῦ δραχμὰς Ε καὶ τοὺς τούτων τόκους· ὃς

P.Grenf. 2 26Pathyris104 BC

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

P.Adl. 20Poinkoris (Diopolites)99 BC

Ψενμεγχείους ὡς ἐτῶν λε μέσου … πάντες τῶν ἐκ τοῦ Παθυρίτου τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν τῶι πατρὶ τοῦ Ὥρου γῆν ἀρουρῶν … ἐν τῶι ἄνω πεδίωι Κροκοδίλων πόλεως ἀπὸ σφραγῖδος μιᾶς

Yes O Father, for thus well-pleasing it was before You.
ὅτιhoti for G3754 Conjunction
1,293× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'that' or 'because', used to introduce a reason or explanation. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:9 and Romans 8:38. It helps to show cause and effect in sentences.
Tyndale gloss
that/since: that
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅτι,

conjc. (prop. neut. of ὅστις).

As conjc, introducing an objective clause, that;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅτι (hoti) — that/since: that.

ὅτῐ,

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

I. when ὅτι introduces a statement of fact:

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅτι

hoti

neuter of 3748 as conjunction; demonstrative, that (sometimes

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

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

see GREEK for 3748

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅτι

Cj.

that, since, because

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅτι hoti 1x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

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

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

1,329 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 8 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial16%object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,293 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforδέbut, on the othe
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςσύδέbut, on the othe
οἶδαI know, remember
οὐNegκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakμαθητήςa learner, disciπερί
γινώσκωI come to know, lear
οὗτοςκαίand, even, also,αὐτός
ὅτιfor1293×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπατήρfather, Father,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existοἶδαI know, rememberδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐγώ
εἰμίI am, existοὐNegArticle the
οὗτος
εἰμίI am, existArticle theποιέωI do, make
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
Article theῥῆμαa thing spokenζητέωI seek, search f

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

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

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 8c. AD 40

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

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

ὅτι τῶν ἐθνῶν ἕκαστον ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκισάντων προσηγορεύθη.

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

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 10 p. 24Hermonthis149 BC

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

P.Bour. 10Pathyris89 BC

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

Yes O Father, for thus well-pleasing it was before You.
οὕτωςohutō, ohutōs thus G3779 Adverb
209× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Thus means in this way or like this, as when Jesus teaches us to pray in Matthew 5:16 and Luke 1:25.
Amplified meaning
so it was, in this manner
Tyndale gloss
thus(-ly)
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word οὕτω (i.e., houto) is an adverb meaning 'in this way' or 'thus.' It is derived from the demonstrative pronoun οὗτος and is used in various contexts to refer to what precedes or follows in a statement. The New Testament employs it frequently, particularly in the Gospels and Acts, to clarify or emphasize descriptions and comparisons.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὕτως, rarely (Bl., § 5, 4; WH, App., 146 f.) οὕτω, adv.

(< οὗτος),

[in LXX chiefly for כֵּן;]

in this way, so, thus;

referring to what precedes: Mt 5:16 6:30, Mk 10:43 14:59, Lk 1:25 2:48 15:7, Jo 3:8, Ro 1:15, I Co 8:12, al.; οὕτως καί, Mt 17:12, Mk 13:29, al.; pleonastically, resuming a ptcp. (cl.; v. Bl., § 74, 6), Ac 20:11 27:17.

Referring to what follows: Mt 1:18 6:9, Lk 19:31, Jo 21:1,

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

οὕτω and οὕτως (formerly in printed editions οὕτω appeared before a consonant, οὕτως before a vowel; but [recent critical editors, following the best Mss. (“cod. Sin. has -ro but fourteen times in the N. T.” Scrivener, Collation ete. p. liv.; οἵ. his Introduction ete. p. 561), have restored οὕτως; viz. Treg. uniformly, 205 times; Taf. 203 times, 4 times + ; Lchm. 196 times, 7 times +w (all before a consonant); WH 196 times, 10 times -ro (all before a consonant); cf. Tdf. Proleg. p. 97; WH. App. p- 146 54.7; ef. W. § 5, 1b.; B. 9; [Lob. Pathol. Elementa ii. 213 sqq.]; ef. Kriiger § 11, 12, 1; Kiihner §72, 3 a.), adv., (fr. οὗτος), [fr. Hom. down], Sept. for 13, in this manner, thus, 80; 1. by virtue of its native demonstrative force it refers to what precedes; in the manner spoken of; in the way described; in the way it was done; in this manner; in such a manner; thus, so: Mt. vi. 30…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὕτως (ohutō, ohutōs) — thus(-ly).

οὕτως,

and before a consonant οὕτω (but sometimes οὕτως before a consonant, [Refs 5th c.BC+], and οὕτω before a vowel is found in Epic dialect Poets and _Ionic dialect_ Prose, see near the end); in Attic dialect strengthened

__A οὑτωσί [Refs 5th c.BC+]; see at {οὗτος Α}:— adverb of οὗτος, in this way or manner, so, thus: οὕτως is antecedent to ὡς, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in Attic dialect also οὕτως ὥσπερ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὥσπερ.., οὕτω καὶ.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὡσαύτως, ὥσπερ.., οὕτω καὶ.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; also οὕτως, ὅπως.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; poetry also ὥστε.., οὕτω δὲ.. [Refs 5th c.BC+] is frequently left out after ὡς, ὡς ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐποίουν ταῦτα [Refs 5th c.BC+] —Sts. οὕτω or -ως refers to what follows, thus, as follows, οὕτω χρὴ ποιεῖν: ἐὰν.. [Refs 5th c.BC+] followed by a quotation, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; καὶ οὕτως even…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὕτω οὕτως

houto

houtos hoo'-toce

adverb from 3778; in this way (referring to what precedes or

follows):--after that, after (in) this manner, as, even (so), for all

that, like(-wise), no more, on this fashion(-wise), so (in like

manner), thus, what.

see GREEK for 3778

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὕτως

Adv

thus, so, in this manner

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὕτως houtōs 208x

thus, in this way, Mt. 1:18; 2:5; 5:16; et al. freq.; ὁς μὲν οὕτως, ὁς δὲ οὕτως, one so, and another so, one in one way, and another in another, 1 Cor. 7:7; so, Mt. 7:12; 12:40; 24:27, 37, et al. freq.; thus, under such circumstances, Acts 20:11; in such a condition, viz., one previously mentioned, Acts 27:17; 1 Cor. 7:26, 40; and, perhaps, Jn. 4:6; in an ordinary way, at ease, like Latin sic, perhaps, Jn. 4:6

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

ADV ADVerb or adverb and particle combined

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
48%thus
thus48% · 104×so39% · 83×this way4% · 9×other renderings4% · 9×other renderings5% · 10×

215 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 13 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial88%predicate12%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 209 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
περιτομήcircumcisionπλοῖονa ship, vesselἑπτάIndec
ὅτιthat, since, because
πατήρfather, Father, αὐτόςσύ
οὗτος
τίςIrgεἰCondἔχωI have, hold, po
δέbut, on the other ha
φανερόωI make clear, viλαλέωI speak, sayποιέωI do, make
οὐNeg
δέbut, on the othe
οὕτωthus209×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theσύἐγώ
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
γάρfor
γράφωI writeπρέπωit becomes, is fδιώκωI pursue, persec
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἄνθρωποςa man, one of thθησαυρίζωI store up, trea
λαλέωI speak, say
βλασφημέωI speak evil agaοὐNegκαίand, even, also,

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

Concordanceοὕτω · 209× in the New Testament
Matthew 1 Corinthians Acts Luke Romans John Mark Hebrews 2 Corinthians James Revelation 1 Thessalonians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 419 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 6c. AD 40

ὡς γὰρ τῶν κολοσσιαίων μεγεθῶν τὰς ἐμφάσεις καὶ ἡ βραχυτάτη σφραγὶς τυπωθεῖσα δέχεται, οὕτως τάχα που καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀναγραφείσης ἐν τοῖς νόμοις κοσμοποιίας ὑπερβάλλοντα κάλλη καὶ ταῖς μαρμαρυγαῖς τὰς τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ψυχὰς ἐπισκιάζοντα βραχυτέροις…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.19c. AD 75–95

ἰστέον οὖν, ὅτι πάντων ἐκεῖνος ἀναγκαιότατον ἡγήσατο τῷ καὶ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ μέλλοντι βίον οἰκονομήσειν καλῶς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις νομοθετεῖν θεοῦ πρῶτον φύσιν κατανοῆσαι καὶ τῶν ἔργων τῶν ἐκείνου θεατὴν τῷ νῷ γενόμενον οὕτως παράδειγμα τὸ πάντων ἄριστον…

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
6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD 7th c. AD 2nd c. AD

καὶ συνγραφὴν πατρικῆς … ὑπογράφει ἐν τοῖς μάρτυσι ὁ Πατοῦς συνορῶν … τὴν ὑπογραφήν. οὕτως ἑκουσίως ὁ Καλλιμήδης … α διὰ μονογράφου Θορταίου ἔφεσιν λαβόν… τοῦ λδ ἔτους

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

r … ς οὕτως ὑπὸ γε… ς δεομένων δὲ τῶν … ντων ὑμῶν διαλήψεως … καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι

P.Bad. 2 16Pathyris89 BC

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

Yes O Father, for thus well-pleasing it was before You.
εὐδοκίαeudokia well-pleasing G2107 Noun · nominative · singular · feminine
9× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Goodwill is about satisfaction and kindness, as in God's good pleasure in Matthew 11:26 and Luke 10:21.
Amplified meaning
good and acceptable, a delight
Tyndale gloss
goodwill
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word εὐδοκία (i.e., *eudokia*) means good pleasure, goodwill, or satisfaction. It is derived from the verb εὐδοκέω and appears in various New Testament contexts, such as Matthew 11:26 and Luke 2:14. The lexicons agree on its general meaning, though some emphasize its use in relation to God's approval or delight.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

† εὐδοκία, -ας, ἡ

(< εὐδοκέω, q.v.),

[in LXX: Ps 5:12, al. (רָצוֹן), freq. in Si; in Inscr. (I.G., 5960), LXX, and NT = εὐδόκησις (Diod.) ;]

good pleasure, good-will, satisfaction, approval: Mt 11:26, Lk 10:21, Ro 10:1, Eph 1:5, 9, Phl 1:15 2:13; c. gen. obj., II Th 1:11 (v. Milligan, in l); ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία, Rec., R, mg., WH, mg. (v. Field, Notes, 48 f.), Lk 2:14; -ας, Lk, l.c., R, txt., WH, txt. (v. ICC, in l; WH, App., in l).†

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

εὐδοκία, -as, ἡ, (fr. εὐδοκέω, as εὐλογία fr. εὐλογέω), unknown to prof. auth. [ Boeckh, Inserr. 5960], found in the O. T. in some of the Pss. (for ΤΣ) and often in Sir.; on itef. Fritzsche on Rom. ii. p. 371 sq.; [esp. Bp. Lghtft. on Phil.i.15]; prop. beneplacitum (Vulg. [ed. Clement. ] Eph. i. 9); 1. will, choice: Mt. xi. 26; Lk. x. 21, (on both pass. see ἔμπροσθεν, 2 b.); Sir. 1. 27 (24); XxXxvi. 13, ete. ; in particular, good-will, kindly intent, benevolence: Eph. i. 5,9; Phil. ii. 13, (Ps. 1. (11.) 20; Sir. ii. 16; xi. 17 (15) ete.) ; δι᾿ εὐδοκίαν, prompted by good will, bli ei.) 15: 2. delight, pleasure, satisfaction: with gen. of the thing that pleases, 2 Th.i. 11; ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία, either among men pleasure produced by salvation, or God’s pleasure in men, Lk. ii. 14 RG Tr mrg. WH mrg.; ἄνθρωποι εὐδοκίας, men in whom God is well p.eased [i.e. not a particular class of men…

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

εὐδοκία is apparently confined to Jewish and Christian literature (to the usual reff. add Pss Sol 34, 88°), but we can cite from our documents instances of the cognate noun εὐδόκησις, e.g. P Lond 289% (a.p. 91) (=I. p. 185) γεγώνεισμαι (/. γέγονε εἴς pe) ἡ εὐδόκησις καθὼς προκῖται, P Oxy IX. 1200%% (A.D. 266) οὐ προσδεόμενος ἑτέρας μου εὐδοκήσεως ἢ μεταλήμψεως, ‘ without requiring any further consent or concurrence from me” (Ed.), and similarly 75. X. 1273°® (A.D. 260). From the inscrr. we may cite Sy// 929198 (B.c. 139?) ἔλαβον εὐδόκησιν, and OG/S 335! (ii/B.c.) κατὰ τὴϊν τοῦ δήμου ἐπιταγὴν καὶ τὴν βασιλέω]ς εὐδόκησιν. All these passages confirm the meaning ‘‘ good pleasure,” ‘‘ good will,” which εὐδοκία seems to have in all its NT occurrences, even in Rom 101. On the important Lk 2! see Field WVo/es, p. 48 f., and for a defence of the reading of the TR and on εὐδοκία ἔμπροσθέν cov as…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εὐδοκία (eudokia) — goodwill.

εὐδοκ-ία, ἡ,

={εὐδόκησις}, especially of God, [LXX+NT]; good will, [NT]; contentment, [Refs 1st c.BC+]

2. object of desire, [LXX]

3. variant for{εὐδοκιμίη} in [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

εὐδοκία

eudokia

from a presumed compound of 2095 and the base of 1380; satisfaction,

i.e. (subjectively) delight, or (objectively) kindness, wish,

purpose:--desire, good pleasure (will), X seem good.

see GREEK for 2095

see GREEK for 1380

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εὐδοκία, ας, ἡ

n.f.

good-will, favor

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εὐδοκία eudokia 9x

good will, favor, Lk. 2:14; good pleasure, purpose, intention, Mt. 11:26; Lk. 10:21; Eph. 1:5, 9; Phil. 2:13; by impl. desire, Rom. 10:1; Phil. 1:15; 2 Thess. 1:11*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εὐδοκία from εὐδοκέω εὐδοκία, ἡ, satisfaction, approval, NTest.

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

N-NSF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
33%good pleasure
good pleasure33% · 3×well-pleasing22% · 2×desire11% · 1×pleasure11% · 1×goodwill11% · 1×good-will11% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial44%subject33%predicate11%object11%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 9 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
κατάὑπέρ
οὕτωthus, so, in this ma
ὅτιthat, since, bec
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of the hu
ἐν
μένDisj
Article the
διά
καίand, even, also,
εὐδοκίαwell-pleasing
what comes after →
Article the
ἐμόςθέλημαwill, wish, desiΧριστόςanointed, the Me
γίνομαιI come into being, a
ἔμπροσθεν
αὐτός
ὅς
ἀγαθωσύνηgoodness
καίand, even, also,

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

Concordanceεὐδοκία · 9× in the New Testament
Ephesians Luke Philippians 2 Thessalonians Matthew Romans
Across the New Testament6 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 5th c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Oxy. 50 3585OxyrhynchitesAD 426–AD 475

θείου συνεδρίου φροντίζοντι τῶν ἐν τῷ Ὀξυρυγχίτῃ πραγμάτων τῆς εὐσεβεστάτης καὶ ἐπιφανεστάτης ἡμῶν δεσποίνης Εὐδοκίας παρὰ Αὐρηλίου Ἀνουθίου ἀπὸ ἐποικίου Πτὲλ τῆς αὐτῆς θειοτάτης οἰκίας. Ἁρεώτης ὁ ὑδροπάροχος γεωργῶν

P.Stras. 7 655HermopolisAD 451–AD 500

σκου τοῦ λαμπροτάτου … … ἰνδικτίονος … τῇ εὐγενεστάτῃ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑρμουπολιτῶν … Εὐδοκίας … ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως. ὁμολογῶ ἑκουσίως καὶ αὐθαιρέτως μεμισθῶσθαι παρὰ σοῦ ἐφʼ ὃν

Anagennesis 2 (1982), p. 142-143 no. 3Arsinoites (?)AD 501–AD 600

Εὐδοκίᾳ σιλιγνιαρίᾳ. παράσχου ὑπὲρ … … … μεγάλου καὶ μικροῦ πλοίου ἀπερχομέν εἰσενεγκεῖν … αφ

Yes O Father, for thus well-pleasing it was before You.
ἐγένετο it was G1096
668× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A versatile word meaning to be, become, or come into being, used in John 1:15 and 1 Corinthians 15:37.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

[in LXX chiefly for היה ;]

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γίνομαι (ginomai) — to be.

γίγνομαι,

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γίνομαι

ginomai

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γίνομαι

v.

I come into being, am born

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γίνομαι ginomai 669x

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

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

677 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 180 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb57%linking verb42%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 668 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
θάλασσαthe sea, lakeἐκεῖthere, yonder, tεἰμίI am, exist
Article the
δύναμιςmight, power, maεἰμίI am, existαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
ὄψιοςlateοὗτοςὡςas, like as, how
μήNeg
ἵναin order that, sοὐNegθεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
ἱμάτιονouter garmentδιάκλάδοςa branch
γίνομαιit was668×
what comes after →
Article the
δύναμιςmight, power, maθέλημαwill, wish, desiἔσχατοςlast, at the las
ἐν
Article theσύεἷςone
δέbut, on the other ha
ἐνArticle theἡμέραa day
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegἐκφύωI put forth, cau
εἰς
Article theκεφαλήthe headδένδρονa tree

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

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

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 11c. AD 40

πρὸς δὲ τὸ μὴ γεγονὸς οἰκείωσις οὐδεμία τῷ μὴ πεποιηκότι.

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

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

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

γενώμεθα πνευματικοί, γενώμεθα ναὸς τέλειος τῷ θεῷ.

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

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

P.Adl. 10Pathyris102 BC

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

Yes O Father, for thus well-pleasing it was before You.
ἔμπροσθένemprosthen before G1715 Preposition
48× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Before something in place or time, like in front of a person or thing, as seen in Matthew 5:24 and Luke 19:4.
Amplified meaning
belonging to You, as Your pleasure, before You, in Your presence
Tyndale gloss
before
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἔμπροσθεν (*emprosthen*) is an adverb and preposition meaning 'before' or 'in front of,' applicable to both place and time. It appears in various New Testament contexts, such as in Matthew and Luke, often indicating physical presence or temporal precedence. The entries do not show significant disagreement, but they collectively highlight its use in both literal and figurative senses.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἔμ-προσθεν

adv.

of place (in cl. also of time),

[in LXX chiefly for עֳנִי ;]

adverbially, before, in front: Lk 19:28; εἰς τὸ ἔ., Lk 19:4; opp. to ὄπισθεν, Re 4:6; opp. to τὰ ὀπίσω, τὰ ἔ., Phl 3:13.

As prep., before;

in front of: Mt 5:24 6:2 7:6 11:10 27:29, Lk 5:19 7:27 14:2, Jo 3:28 10:4, Re 19:10 22:8;

in the presence of: Mt 27:11, Ga 2:14, I Th 1:3 2:19 3:9 3:13…

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

ἔμπροσθεν. For ἐ. of place, as in all its NT occurrences, cf. P Tebt II. 316%. * (A.D. 99) οἰκοῦμεν δὲ ἐν τῷ ἔνπροσθις (/. ἔμπροσθε) ναυάρχου, ““ννε live opposite the admiralty” (Edd.), P Giss I. 9918 (1i/iii A.D.) τὰ γράμματα é]y στή[λαι]ν δυοῖν [ἔϊμπροσθεν ἱδρυμέϊν7αιν τοῦ [ν]εώ, and the magical P Par 5741229 (ili/A.D.) (= Selectvons, p. 113) βάλε ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ κλῶνας ἐλαίας. The word is very common in the papyri with reference to /7me, e.g. P Petr II. 8 (1)A-7 (6. B.C. 250) ἐν τοῖς ἔνπροσθεν χρόνοις, 7). 13 (1) (B.C 258-3) καθὰ Kal ἔνπροσθεν ἐγένετο, P Ryl II. 15778 (A.D. 135) τῶν ἔμπροσθεν καὶ τῶν ἐπεσομένων χρόνων. Cf. Jiche/ 978% (B.c. 281-0) ἔν τε τῶι ἔμπροσθε]ν χρόνωι. MGr ἐμπρός…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἔμπροσθεν (emprosthen) — before.

ἔμπροσθ-εν,

sometimes also ἔμπροσθε [Refs 8th c.BC+].

I. adverb,

I.1. of Place, before, in front, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὸ and τὰ ἔ. the front, the foreside, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; εἰς τὸ ἔ. forwards, [Refs]; στὰς ἐκ τοῦ ἔ. in front, opposite, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.2. of Time, before, of old, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὰ ἔ. [Refs]; οἱ ἔ. our ancestors, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]

II. as preposition with genitive, before, in front of,

II.1. of Place, ἐ. αὐτῆς (i.e. τῆς νηός) [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. of Time, ἔ. ταύτης (i.e. τῆς γνώμης) [Refs]; ἔ. εἶναι τῶν πραγμάτων to be beforehand with events, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II.3. of Degree, ἔ. τοῦ δικαίου preferred before justice, [Refs]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἔμπροσθεν

emprosthen

from 1722 and 4314; in front of (in place (literally or figuratively)

or time):--against, at, before, (in presence, sight) of.

see GREEK for 1722

see GREEK for 4314

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἔμπροσθεν

Adv. & Prep.

in front, before the face

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἔμπροσθεν emprosthen 48x

also an improper prep., before, in front of, Lk. 19:4; Phil. 3:14; before, in the presence of, in the face of, Mt. 5:24; 23:14; before, previous to, Jn. 1:15, 27, 30; from the Hebrew, in the sight or estimation of, Mt. 11:26; 18:14

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἔμπροσθεν e)/m-prosqenadverbe)/m-prosqeadverb adv.:

of Place, before, in front, Hdt., Xen.: τὸ and τὰ ἔμπροσθεν the front, fore-side, Hdt., etc.; εἰς τὸ ἔμπ. forwards, id. Hdt.; ἐκ τοῦ ἔμπρ. opposite, Xen.

of Time, before, earlier, of old, Plat.

as prep. with gen. before, in front of:

of Place, ἐμπρ. αὐτῆς (sc. τῆς νηός) Hdt.

of Time, ἔμπρ. ταύτης (sc. τῆς γνώμης) id. Hdt.

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

PREP PREPosition

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

be-for': The translation of a great variety of Hebrew and Greek words. "Haran died before (the English Revised Version "in the presence of," literally "before the face of") his father Terah" (Ge 11:28). To be "before" God is to enjoy His favor (Ps 31:22). "The Syrians before" (Isa 9:12 the Revised Version, margin "on the east," as "behind," owing to the position of Canaan, relative to Syria, implies the west).

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
86%before
before86% · 43×ahead4% · 2×front4% · 2×precedence4% · 2×of2% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial90%predicate10%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 48 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
σύ
ὁδόςa way, road, jouφῶςlight, a source δῶρονa gift, present
αὐτός
ἐνκἀγώκατασφάζωI slaughter
ἐγώ
ἐνἀρνέομαιI deny, repudiat
ποιέωI do, make
μήNegσημεῖονa sign, miracle,
γίνομαιI come into being, a
εὐδοκίαgood-will, favor
ἔμπροσθενbefore48×
what comes after →
Article the
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of thθεόςGod, a godπατήρfather, Father,
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,πᾶςall, the whole, ἐμπαίζωI mock
σύ
ὥσπερjust as, as
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
λέγωI say, speakὥστεso that, therefoεἰCond
ἐγώ
γίνομαιI come into bein

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

Concordanceἔμπροσθεν · 48× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke John 1 Thessalonians Revelation Acts Mark 1 John 2 Corinthians Galatians Philippians
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 58 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 123c. AD 40

εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ διτταὶ δεξαμεναὶ πρὸς τὰς τῶν περιττωμάτων ἀποχετεύσεις, ἡ μὲν ἔμπροσθεν, ἡ δὲ κατόπιν·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.109c. AD 75–95

Οἱ δὲ Νώχου παῖδες τρεῖς ὄντες Σημᾶς καὶ Ἰαφθᾶς καὶ Χαμᾶς ἔτεσιν ἑκατὸν ἔμπροσθεν τῆς ἐπομβρίας γεγονότες, πρῶτοι κατελθόντες ἀπὸ τῶν ὀρῶν εἰς τὰ πεδία τὴν ἐν τούτοις οἴκησιν ἐποιήσαντο, καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους σφόδρα δεδιότας διὰ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν τὰ πεδία…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 3.4c. AD 100

τότε ῥαγήσεται πρώϊμον τὸ φῶς σου, καὶ τὰ ἱμάτιά σου ταχέως ἀνατελεῖ, καὶ προπορεύσεται ἔμπροσθέν σου ἡ δικαιοσύνη, καὶ ἡ δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ περιστελεῖ σε.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 1st c. AD 1st c. BC 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Coll.Youtie 1 19Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 44

τελεσμάτων πάντων σιτικῶν τε καὶ ἀργυρικῶν καὶ ἐπιγραφῶν πασῶν καὶ παντὸς εἴδους ἐκ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνων μέχρι τοῦ γ ἔτους καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ γ ἔτους Τιβερίου Κλαυδίου Καίσαρος Σεβαστοῦ

P.Fam.Tebt. 3Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 92

τελεσμάτων πάντων σιτικῶν τε καὶ ἀργυρικῶν καὶ κατακριμάτων πάντων καὶ παντὸς εἴδους ἀπὸ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνων μέχρι τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος ἑνδεκάτου ἔτους καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἑνδεκάτου ἔτους Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος Δομιτιανοῦ

P.Fam.Tebt. 13ArsinoitesAD 113–AD 114

ἥτις αὐτοῖς συνειστήκει ἀπὸ συνγραφῆς ὁμολογίας τετελειωμένης διὰ τοῦ ἐν Τεπτύνει γραφείου ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν χρόνοις, καὶ ἐξεῖναι ἑκατέρῳ αὐτῶν τὰ καθʼ ἑαυτὸν οἰκονομεῖν ὡς ἐὰν αἱρῆται, τῇ δὲ

Yes O Father, for thus well-pleasing it was before You.
σου.¶su You. G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · genitive · singular
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

σύ is the second-person singular pronoun meaning 'you' in Greek. It has various forms: genitive σοῦ, dative σοί, and accusative σέ. The word can be used for emphasis or contrast, particularly in the New Testament, as seen in verses like Matthew 26:64. It also appears in various dialects and has enclitic forms.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

thou, you, gen., σοῦ, dat., σοί, acc., σέ, pl., ὑμεῖς, -ῶν, -ῖν, -ᾶς (enclitic in oblique cases sing., except after prep. (BL, §48, 3), though πρὸς σέ occurs in Mt 25:39). Nom. for emphasis or contrast: Jo 1:30, 42 4:10 5:33, 39, 44, Ac 4:7, Eph 5:32; so also perhaps σὺ εἶπας, Mt 26:64, al. (M, Pr., 86); before voc., Mt 2:6, Lk 1:76, Jo 17:5, al.; sometimes without emphasis (M, Pr., 85f.), as also

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

σύ, pron. of the second pers. (Dor. and Aeol. τύ, Boeot. Tov), gen. σοῦ, dat. σοί, ace. σέ (which oblique cases are enclitic, unless a preposition precede; yet πρός σε is written [uniformly in Ree. (exe. Mt. xxvi. 18), in Grsb. (exe. Jn. xxi. 22, 23), in Treg. (exc. Mt. xxvi. 18; Acts xxiii. 30), in Lchm. (exe. Mt. xxvi.18; Jn. xvii. 11, 13; xxi. 22, 23; Acts xxiii. 30), in Tdf. (exe. Mt. xxvi. 18; Lk. i. 19; Jn. xvii. 11, 13; Jn. xxi. 22; Acts xxiii. 18, 30; 1 Tim. iii. 14; Tit. iii. 12); also by WH in Mt. xxv. 39], see ἐγώ, 2; Lipsius, Grammat. Untersuch. p. 62 sq. [W. §6, 3; B. 31 (27)]); plur. ὑμεῖς, εἴς. : Lat. tu, ete., vos, ete.; thou, ete., ye,ete. The nominatives ov and ὑμεῖς are expressed for emphasis — before a vocative, as σὺ Βηθλεέμ, Mt. ii. 6; σὺ παιδίον (Leian. dial. deor. 2, 1), Lk. i. 76; add, Jn. xvii. 5; Acts i. 24; 1 Tim. vi. 11, etc.; ὑμεῖς of Φαρισαῖοι, Lk. xi. 39…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

thou: pronoun of the second person:—Epic dialect nominative τύνη [ῡ] [Refs 8th c.BC+] (Laconian dialect τούνη [Refs 5th c.AD+]; Aeolic dialect σύ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Doric dialect τύ [ῠ] [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τού [short syllable] [Refs 6th c.BC+] (also τούν [Refs]σύ, [Refs 8th c.BC+]—Gen. σοῦ, [Refs], elsewhere only Attic dialect, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; enclitic σου, [Refs 8th c.BC+] (also in Lyric poetry, [Refs 8th c.BC+] (which also occurs in Lyric poetry, [Refs 7th c.BC+], and as enclitic σευ, [Refs 8th c.BC+], σεο (enclitic) [Refs] σευ (enclitic) [Refs]:—Doric dialect τεῦ, τευ, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; rarely τέο, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τεῦς [Refs 6th c.BC+]; Doric dialect τεοῦς [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τοι variant in [Refs]; enclitic τεος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; other Doric dialect forms are τίω, τίως, both [Refs 3rd c.BC+]—Dat. σοί, [Refs 8th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

the person pronoun of the second person singular; thou:-- thou. See

also 4571, 4671, 4675; and for the plural 5209, 5210, 5213, 5216.

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

you, gen., σοῦ, dat., σοί, acc., σέ, Mt. 1:20; 2:6

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-2GS — Personal pronoun · second person · genitive · singular
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked singular.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-2GS Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: second Case: Genitive Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
78%you
you78% · 2412×you yourselves7% · 221×you yourself5% · 168×your3% · 87×other renderings3% · 96×other renderings3% · 89×

3,073 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
subject28%object24%adverbial23%indirect object20%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,892 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
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύYou.2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

Concordanceσύ · 2,892× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke John Acts Mark 2 Corinthians 1 Corinthians Romans 1 Thessalonians Revelation Hebrews Colossians

16 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
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 450 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 AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.48c. AD 40

„οὐ φυτεύσεις σεαυτῷ ἄλσος, πᾶν ξύλον παρὰ τὸ θυσιαστήριον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου οὐ ποιήσεις σεαυτῷ“ (Deuter.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

παύσομαι δὲ τοῦ λοιποῦ μετὰ τοσαύτης ὀργῆς τὰς τιμωρίας ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀδικήμασιν εἰσπραττόμενος καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον σοῦ παρακαλοῦντος.

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 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 35Ptolemais - Akko (Syrien)103 BC

τοῦ ἀποδοθῆι τὸν ἐπεσταλμένον ἡμῖν κατὰ μῆνα πυρὸν τοῖς παρʼ ἡμῶν. διʼ ἄλλων γεγράφαμεν ὑμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν βουλόμεθα μηδεμιᾶς προσφωνήσεως προσπεπτωκυίας. ἑαυτῶν δὲ ἐπιμελόμενοι ἵνʼ ὑγιαίνητε, — ἔσμεν ἐν

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

η Φατρήους καὶ … χαίρειν καὶ ἐρρωμένοις διευτυχεῖν. ἐρρώμεθα δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ ὑμῶν τὴν ἀρίστην μνείαν ποιούμενοι παρὰ τοῖς ἐν Πηλουσίωι θεοῖς. καλῶς ποιήσεις διαλύσας Ἁρκοννῆσιν καὶ

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

παρὰ Πετεύριος διεθέντος μου ὑπάρξει σοι εἰς στέφανον χαλκοῦ τάλαντα δεκάπεντε, τάλαντα ιε. εὐτύχει .

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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