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Matthew 12:39 — Word Study

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N1904 δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου.

BSA<the>ho Andde answeringapokrinō He saidlegō to them;autos A generationgenea evilponēros [evil and false] andkai [morally unfaithful, spiritually adulterous] adulterousmoichalis a signsēmeion seeks for;epizēteō [seeks after, looks for] andkai a signsēmeion [token, indication] notou will be givendidōmi to itautos onlyei except theho signsēmeion of JonahIōnas [who was swallowed by a whale] theho prophet.prophētēs [one who speaks forth God's will, messenger]

Word
Listen & take awayMatthew 12
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 39 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 (prophētēs) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Matthew 12:39quick helps
In a sentenceJesus responds to the demand for a sign by condemning the generation as wicked and unfaithful, promising only the sign of Jonah.
Who is speakingJesus is addressing the scribes and Pharisees who questioned Him.
Where we areThis verse is part of a larger dialogue where Jesus confronts the religious leaders' request for a miraculous sign.
The hard wordσημεῖον
Take awayOnly the sign of Jonah will be given, indicating a deeper truth about Jesus' mission.
7 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Ellicott & more — read them › clause subject verbἀποκρίνομαι 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 12:39

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' Response to Demand for a Signgenerated

38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

Matthew 12:39 captures a moment where Jesus is challenged by the scribes and Pharisees, who are seeking a miraculous sign to validate His authority. In His reply, Jesus characterizes their generation as wicked and adulterous, indicating their spiritual unfaithfulness and lack of genuine faith. He emphasizes that the only sign they will receive is that of the prophet Jonah, foreshadowing His own death and resurrection, which is a theme echoed throughout the Gospels.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Isaiah 57:3“But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
2Mark 8:38If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
3James 4:4You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
4Matthew 16:4A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
5Luke 11:29–30As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.

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


The Key Word σημεῖον, sēmeiongenerated

The word σημεῖον (sēmeion) means a sign or token, often indicating something miraculous or divine. It is used in various contexts in the New Testament to refer to signs that point to God's authority and intervention.

In this verse, it specifically refers to the sign of Jonah, which symbolizes Jesus' resurrection after three days, paralleling Jonah's time in the belly of the fish. This highlights a significant theme of Jesus' ministry, where His identity and mission are validated through His resurrection.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is presented in the Berean Standard Bible, which states that a wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but only the sign of the prophet Jonah will be given. This is echoed in the KJV and ASV, which similarly emphasize the unfaithfulness of the generation.

Where the translations differ is in the rendering of ἀποκριθεὶς — the BSB uses 'replied', while the KJV opts for 'answered'. The terms 'wicked' and 'evil' are used interchangeably across various translations, but the BSB maintains a consistent terminology.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main finite verb is εἶπεν, He said, which governs the entire sentence. This verb is followed by a noun phrase that serves as the subject of the statement, and several clauses that expand on the content of His reply.

The structure includes a main clause where Jesus states the condition of the generation, followed by a subordinate clause that details the sign that will be given. This layered structure reflects the complexity of Jesus' response.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

σημεῖον appears in the Septuagint as a translation for the Hebrew word for 'sign', often used in prophetic contexts. It carries the connotation of divine intervention and is significant in the prophetic literature, such as in Isaiah.

The connection to Jonah, who is referenced in the Old Testament, reinforces the continuity between the prophetic signs of the past and Jesus' own fulfillment of those prophecies.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Matthew 12:39 shows Jesus responding to the religious leaders who asked for a sign. He calls them a wicked and adulterous generation and states that they will receive no sign except for the sign of Jonah, which points to His own resurrection after three days.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does Jesus mean by 'a wicked and adulterous generation'?

Jesus is criticizing the spiritual state of the people who demand signs, indicating their lack of faith and loyalty to God.

Why is the sign of Jonah significant?

The sign of Jonah foreshadows Jesus' death and resurrection, paralleling Jonah's three days in the fish, symbolizing God's power to save and redeem.

How does this verse relate to the overall message of Matthew?

This verse emphasizes the theme of faith and the rejection of Jesus by the religious leaders, highlighting the need for true belief beyond mere signs.

What can we learn from Jesus' response?

We learn that faith should not be based solely on miraculous signs but on a deeper understanding of God's revelation through Jesus.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways do I seek signs from God rather than trusting in His word?
  2. How can I cultivate a faith that looks beyond signs to the truth of God's promises?
  3. What does the story of Jonah teach me about God's mercy and redemption?
  4. How can I share the significance of Jesus' resurrection as the ultimate sign of His authority?

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

Early church Fathers provide insights into this verse, commenting on the spiritual state of the generation and the significance of Jesus' words.

Origen of AlexandriaFRAGMENT 274 c. 185–253
That generation was evil, on account of the influence that had come to be in it from the evil one. It was adulterous because it had left her natural husband—the word or law of truth—and had come to be wedded to a lie.
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 12 →
JeromeVerse 39. c. 347–420
And he answered and said to them: An evil and adulterous generation. Admirably said adulterous: because she had dismissed her husband, and according to Ezekiel, had joined herself to many lovers (Ezek. 16).
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 12 →
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 43 c. 347–407
Wherefore also He rebukes them severely. And when they were questioning Him roughly and insulting Him, He reasoned with them gently; when they were flattering; reproachfully, and with great severity;
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 12 →

Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Matthew 12:39 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

But he answered and said unto them,.... Not to the Pharisees, who were unworthy of an answer from him; having, in such an imperious manner, and with a sole view to tempt him, and after such miracles

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

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: But he answered and said unto

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

39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: Ver. 39. An evil and adulterous generation, &c.] Spuria soboles, a bastardly brood. So he calleth them, because utterly degenerate from their forefathers’ faith and holiness. Seeking after a sign] επιζητει, summo studio efflagitat. Seeking with utmost earnestness, as if it were such a business as must be done or they were undone. It is the guise of hypocrites to be hot in a cold matter, to show great zeal in trifles, neglecting the main meanwhile. But the sign of the prophet Jonas] Nor that neither, but for a further…

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

(39) An evil and adulterous generation.—The true relation between Israel and Jehovah had been represented by the prophets as that of the wife to her husband (Jeremiah 3; Ezekiel 16, 23; Hosea 1, 2). The adulterous generation was therefore one that was unfaithful to its Lord—demanding a sign, instead of finding sufficient proofs of faithfulness and love in what He had already done. There shall no sign be given to it.—The words seem at first to place our Lord’s miracles of healing outside the category of signs, and yet it was to these that He referred the messengers of the Baptist as proof that the Christ had indeed come (Matthew 11:5). They must, however, be interpreted by the context. One…

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

Verse 39. An evil and adulterous generation] Or, race of people; for so γενεα should be translated here, and in most other places in the Gospels; for our Lord, in general, uses it to point out the Jewish people. This translation is a key to unlock some very obscure passages in the evangelists. Seeketh after a sign] Or, seeketh another sign, (επιζητει,) so I think this word should be translated. Our Lord had already given the Jews several signs; and here they desire sign upon sign. Our Lord terms the Jews an adulterous race. Under the old covenant, the Jewish nation was represented as in a marriage contract with the Lord of hosts; as believers, in the new covenant, are represented as the…

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

39. adulterous] estranged from God; a figure often used by the Prophets to express the defection of Israel from Jehovah.

Read Cambridge on Matthew 12 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

39. He answered — Our Lord uniformly rebuked this demand for a sign. The temper of the demand itself was not to be indulged. Luke says that they made the request tempting, or making experiments upon him.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Matthew 12 →

The verse in English, compared — 16 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

NETBNew English Translation2006

But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet:

RVARevised Version, American1894

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet:

NWBWebster's Bible1833

But he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh for a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

But he answered and said to them, An euill and adulterous generation seeketh a signe, but no signe shall be giuen vnto it, saue that signe of the Prophet Ionas.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

But he, answering, said to them, A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it save the sign of Jonas the prophet.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

And he answering said to them, 'A generation, evil and adulterous, doth seek a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

And He answering said to them, “A generation, evil and adulterous, seeks a sign, and a sign will not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

But Jesus answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign. But no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Who answering said to them: An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

“An evil and adulterous generation are the ones who look for a miraculous sign. The only sign they will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah,” Jesus told them.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

But he, answering, said to them, An evil and false generation is looking for a sign; and no sign will be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah:

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἀποκριθεὶςapokrinō answering G611 3 different renderings
he answeredASV GNV KJV NETB NWB RVA WEB
answeringBBE DBY DRA LSV YLT
answeredULB
γενεὰgenea A generation G1074 2 different renderings
generationASV BBE BSB DBY DRA FBV GNV KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
a generationLSV
πονηρὰponēros evil G4190 3 different renderings
evilASV DRA FBV KJV LSV NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
wickedBSB DBY MSB
evil and falseBBE
σημεῖονsēmeion a sign G4592 2 different renderings
a signASV BBE BSB DBY DRA KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
signFBV
ἐπιζητεῖ·epizēteō seeks for; G1934 3 different renderings
seeks afterDBY WEB
seeksLSV
seeks forULB
σημεῖονsēmeion a sign G4592 2 different renderings
a signASV BBE BSB DBY DRA KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
signFBV

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.

clauseδὲAndclausesubject-adverbialἀποκριθεὶςansweringverbεἶπενHe saidindirect objectαὐτοῖςto themclauseclausenoun phrase · subjectnoun phraseΓενεὰA generationπονηρὰevilκαὶandμοιχαλὶςadulterousobjectσημεῖονa signverbἐπιζητεῖseeks forκαὶandclausesubjectσημεῖονa signadverbialοὐnotverbδοθήσεταιwill be givenindirect objectαὐτῇto itclauseεἰifclauseadverbialμὴnotnoun phrase · subjectτὸthenoun phraseσημεῖονsignnoun phraseἸωνᾶof Jonahnoun phraseτοῦtheπροφήτουprophet

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

Qui respondens ait illis : Generatio mala et adultera signum quærit : et signum non dabitur ei, nisi signum Jonæ prophetæ.

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

ܗܘ ܕܝܢ ܥܢܐ ܘܐܡܪ ܠܗܘܢ ܫܪܒܬܐ ܒܝܫܬܐ ܘܓܝܪܬܐ ܐܬܐ ܒܥܝܐ ܘܐܬܐ ܠܐ ܬܬܝܗܒ ܠܗ ܐܠܐ ܐܬܗ ܕܝܘܢܢ ܢܒܝܐ

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

δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου.

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου.

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

Every witness on this verse all agree
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

Every edition agrees. All 8 printed editions — Nestle-Aland 28, Nestle-Aland 27, SBLGNT, Westcott-Hort, Tregelles, Tyndale House 2017, Textus Receptus (KJV), Byzantine majority — carry every word of this verse, in the same order, with no difference that any translator would render differently.


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 12:39<the><the>δέAndAndδέἀποκρίνομαιansweringansweringἀποκρίνομαιειπενHe saidHe saidειπεναὐτόςto them;to them;αὐτόςγενεάA generatioA generationγενεάπονηρόςevilevilπονηρόςκαίandandκαίμοιχαλίςadulterousadulterousμοιχαλίςσημεῖονa signa signσημεῖονἐπιζητέωseeks for;seeks for;ἐπιζητέωκαίandandκαίσημεῖονa signa signσημεῖονοὐnotnotοὐδίδωμιwill be givwill be givenδίδωμιαὐτόςto itto itαὐτόςεἰonlyonlyεἰμήexceptexceptμήthetheσημεῖονsignsignσημεῖονἸωνᾶςof Jonahof JonahἸωνᾶςthetheπροφήτηςprophet.prophet.προφήτηςσημαίνωv. I signiv. I signify, iσημαίνωἀπόPrep. fromPrep. from, awaἀπόεἶπονv. I say, v. I say, speakεἶπονἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦἐπίPrep. on, Prep. on, to, aἐπίεἰ δὲ μήNeg.prt. bNeg.prt. but ifεἰ δὲ μήγένοςn.n. offspn.n. offspring,γένοςκακόςAdj bad, eAdj bad, evilκακόςσαπρόςAdj rottenAdj rotten, useσαπρόςμοιχόςn.m. an adn.m. an adulterμοιχόςμήNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. not, lμήοὐNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. no, noοὐπρόPrep. befoPrep. beforeπρόφημίv. I sayv. I sayφημίτέραςn.n. a wonn.n. a wonder, τέραςἐπερωτάωv. I interv. I interrogatἐπερωτάωμοιχαλίςn.f. an adn.f. an adulterμοιχαλίς
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 12:39

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.

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
ho <the> G3588 Article · nominative · singular · masculine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 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.

Read the full entry →
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

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

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

1. This adjective is used as a definitive, that is, before nouns which are specific or understood; or it is used to limit their signification to a specific thing or things, or to describe them; as the laws of the twelve tables. the independent tribunals of justice in our country, are the security or private rights, and the best bulwark against arbitrary power. the sun is the source of light and heat.

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

2. the is also used rhetorically before a noun in the singular number, to denote a species by way of distinction; a single thing representing the whole. the fig tree putteth forth her green figs; the almond tree shall flourish; the grasshopper shall be a burden.

3. In poetry, the sometimes loses the final vowel before another vowel.

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
<the>19783×
what comes after →
θεόςGod, a god
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusArticle the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
ἐγώσύαὐτός

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
δὲde And G1161 Conjunction
2,787× 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 is a conjunction that means and, but, or then, used to connect ideas like in Matthew 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 6:15.
Tyndale gloss
then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δέ (de) is a post-positive particle in Greek, primarily used as a conjunction to connect clauses. It can express contrast (but, on the other hand) or continuation (and, also), and is often used to transition between ideas or to add emphasis. In the New Testament, it appears frequently in various contexts, such as contrasting statements or resuming interrupted discourse, with notable examples in Matthew and 2 Corinthians.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δέ (before vowels δ’; on the general neglect of the elision in NT, v. WH, App., 146; Tdf., Pr., 96),

post-positive conjunctive particle;

copulative, but, in the next place, and, now (Abbott, JG, 104): Mt 1:2ff., II Co 6:15, 16, II Pe 1:5-7; in repetition for emphasis, Ro 3:21, 22, 9:30, I Co 2:6, Ga 2:2, Phl 2:8; in transition to something new, Mt 1:18 2:19, Lk 13:1, Jo 7:14, Ac 6:1, Read the full entry →

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

δέ (related to δή, as μέν to μήν, ef. Klotz ad Devar. ii. 2 p. 355), a particle adversative, distinctive, disjunctive, but, moreover, (W.§ 53, 7 and 10, 2); it is much more freq. in the historical parts of the N. T. than in the other books, very rare in the Epp. of John and the Apocalypse. {On its general neglect of elision (when the next word begins with a vowel) cf. Tdf. Proleg. p. 96; WH. App. Ῥ 146; W.§5,1a.; B. p.10sq.] It is used ἘΠ ΟἹ δὲ univ. by way of opposition and distinction; it is added to statements opp. to a preceding statement: ἐὰν yap ἀφῆτε... ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῆτε, Mt. vi. 14 sq.; ἐὰν de ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς κτλ. Mt. vi. 23; ἐλεύσονται δὲ ἡμέραι, Mk. ii. 20; it opposes persons to persons or things previously mentioned or thought of, —either with strong emphasis: ἐγὼ δέ, Mt. v. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39,44; ἡμεῖς de, 1 Co. i. 23; 2 Co. x. 13; σὺ δέ, Mt. vi. 6; ὑμεῖς δέ, Mk. viii. 29; of δὲ…

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

δεῖ. For the conjunctive, as in Mt 26%, cf. P Fay 109° (early i/A.D.) ἐάν σε δῇ (for δέῃ) τὸ εἱμάτιόν σου θεῖναι ἐνέχυρον. “even if you have to pawn your cloak” (Edd.). In P Tebt I. 585° (B.c. 111) we have ἐάν followed by the indicative— ἐὰν δεῖ σε συνπεσεῖν τῶι ᾿Ανικήτωι, σύνπεσαι, ‘if you must meet Anicetus, meet him” (Edd.): cf. Mayser G7. p. 325. Other examples of the verb are l’ Par 461® (B.C. 153) διὸ Kal ἡγούμενος δεῖν ἐπ᾿ ἄλλου μὲν μηθενὸς αὐτῶι διακριθῆναι» P Lille I. 267 (iii.B.c.) περὶ (corr. from πεερὶ) δὲ τούτου τοῦ μέρους δεήσει ἐπισχεῖν, P Tebt 11. 3414 (A.p. 140-1) δεήσι ἐπισταλῆναι εἰς δάνε[ι]α σπέρματα κατασπίο]ρᾶς KTA., “ΕἼ will be necessary to send on account of loans of seedcorn for the sowing,” etc., AécheZ 1001" © (Theran Doric —c. B.C. 200) no one may bring forward a proposal ὡς δεείσῃ διαλῦσαι τὸ κοινὸν εἰ τὰς θυσίας, P Flor II. 133" (A.D. 257) ἔδι μὲν ὑμᾶς μηδὲ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δέ (de) — then.

δέ,

but: adversative and copulative Particle,

I. answering to μέν (which see), τὴν νῦν μὲν Βοιωτίαν, πρότερον δὲ Καδμηίδα γῆν καλουμένην [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. without preceding μέν,

II.1. adversative, expressing distinct opposition, αἰεί τοι τὰ κάκ᾽ ἐστὶ φίλα.. μαντεύεσθαι, ἐσθλὸν δ᾽ οὔτε τί πω εἶπας[Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in Prose, οὐκ ἐπὶ κακῷ, ἐλευθερώσει δέ.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. copulative,

II.2. a in explanatory clauses, ξυνέβησαν.. τὰ μακρὰ τείχη ἑλεῖν (ἦν δὲ σταδίων μάλιστα ὀκτώ) [Refs 8th c.BC+]: when a substantive is followed by words in apposition, Ἀρισταγόρῃ τῷ Μιλησίῳ, δούλῳ δὲ ἡμετέρῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in answers, διπλᾶ λέγειν. —Answ. διπλᾶδ᾽ ὁρᾶν…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δέ

de

a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and,

etc.:--also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δέ

Cj.

but, on the other hand, and

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δέ de 2x

a conjunctive particle, marking the superaddition of a clause, whether in opposition or in continuation, to what has preceded, and it may be variously rendered but, on the other hand, and, also, now, etc.; καὶ δέ, when there is a special superaddition in continuation, too, yea, etc. It sometimes is found at the commencement of the apodosis of a sentence, Acts 11:17. It serves also to mark the resumption of an interrupted discourse, 2 Cor. 2:10; Gal. 2:6

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δέ but: conjunctive Particle, with adversative force: it commonly answers to μέν, and may often be rendered by while, whereas, on the other hand, v. μέν:— but μέν is often omitted, δέ being used merely to pass on from one thing to another; ὣς Ἀχιλεὺς θάμβησεν, θάμβησαν δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι Il.; etc.; κινεῖ κραδίην κινεῖ δὲ χόλον Eur.

δέ is often redundant,

to introduce the apodosis, where it may be rendered by then, yet, εἰ δέ κε μὴ δώωσιν, ἐγὼ δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕλωμαι if they will not give it, then I will take it, Il.; so at in Lat., si tu oblitus es, at Dii meminerint Catull.

to resume after interruption caused by a parenthesis, where it may be rendered by I say, now, so then, Hdt.

POSITION of δέ: properly second, being often put between the Art. and Subst., the prep. and case.

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
33%now
now33% · 974×however27% · 780×then21% · 620×and12% · 360×but5% · 154×other renderings2% · 49×

2,937 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 15 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

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,787 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
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existσύ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπεντακισχίλιοιfive thousand
εἰCond
παλαιόςold, ancient, woσύεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ἀναπίπτωI lie down, reclμνημεῖονa tomb, sepulche
οὗτος
δίδωμιI offer, giveθεόςGod, a godπίστιςfaith, belief, t
δέAnd2787×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusθεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐπί
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theσύ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὗτοςἸωάννηςJohn
τὶς
Article theαὐτόςὄνομαname, character,

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

Concordanceδέ · 2,787× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians John Mark Romans 2 Corinthians Hebrews Galatians James 1 Timothy

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

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
ἀποκριθεὶςapokrinō answering G611 Verb · aorist · passive deponent · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
231× 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
To answer or respond, as in Matthew 27:12 and Mark 14:61, where Jesus answers the high priest. It can also mean to begin speaking or to give a reply. The KJV translates it as 'answer'.
Tyndale gloss
to answer
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀποκρίνομαι (apokrinomai) is built from the prefix ἀπο- and the root κρίνω, meaning to separate or distinguish. It primarily means to answer or reply, often in a context where a response is expected. In the New Testament, it appears in various forms, particularly in legal or conversational contexts, such as in Matthew 3:15 and John 1:49.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀπο-κρίνω,

[in LXX chiefly for ענה;]

in cl.,

to separate, distinguish.

to choose. Mid., to answer: Mt 27:12, Mk 14:61, Lk 3:16 23:9, Jo 5:17, 19, Ac 3:12. In late Gk. the pass, also is used in this sense, and pass. forms are the more freq. in NT (M, Pr., 39, 161; MM, s.v.);

in general sense: absol., Mk 12:34; c. acc. rei, Mt 22:46; c. dat. pers., Mt 12:38; seq. πρός, Ac 25:16;

Hebraistically

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

ἀποκρίνομαι. Syil 928°? (Magnesia, early 11,8.6.) περὶ ταύτης τῆς] χώρας τῆς παρὰ IIpinvéwy ἀποκεκριμένης οὔσης shows the old ἀποκρίνω in passive. For the combination of pf. partic. and ὦν, cf. Col 12. In P Ryl II. 122" (a.p. 127) εἰς τὸ κἀμὲ δύνασθαι ἀποκριθῆναι τῶι δημοσίωι, ‘enabling me thus to fulfil my duties towards the Treasury” (Edd.), we have an , ἀποκρίνομαι isolated ex. of the passive aor. not meaning ‘‘answer.” This latter, so overwhelmingly predominant in NT, is rather surprisingly uncommon in the non-literary Kow#. Early inscriptional instances are Sy// 328" (8.6. 84) ἀπεκρίθην κα]λῶς [αὐτ]όν [τε δεδωἸκέναι kal KrA., 24. 307%! (B.C. 150-47) ἔδοξεν... τούτοις φιλανθρώπως ἀποκριθῆναι, 25. 9305: (B.C. 112), same phrase: the last two are senatus consulta, starting in Latin. Similarly the dialectic Sy// 654° (Ὁ ii/B.c.) ἀποκριθῆμεν τοῖς πρεσβευταῖς διότι KTA. Mayser, p. 379…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀποκρίνω (apokrinō) — to answer.

ἀποκρίνω [ῑ],

future -κρῐνῶ, set apart, probably in [Refs 7th c.BC+]:—passive, to be parted or separated, ἀποκρινθέντε parted from the throng (of two πρόμαχοι), [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of the elements in cosmogony, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀποκεκρίσθαι εἰς ἓν ὄνομα to be separated and brought under one name, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οὐ βεβαίως ἀπεκρίθησαν, of combatants, separated without decisive result, [Refs]

2. in Medicine texts in passive, to be distinctly formed, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of the embryo, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; τὰ ἐν τῷ σώματι -όμενα bodily secretions, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; but ἐς τοῦτο πάντα ἀπεκρίθη all illnesses determined or ended in this alone, [Refs 5th c.BC+]are voided, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀποκρίνομαι

apokrinomai

from 575 and krino; to conclude for oneself, i.e. (by implication) to

respond; by Hebraism (compare 6030) to begin to speak (where an

address is expected):--answer.

see GREEK for 575

see HEBREW for 06030

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀποκρίνομαι

v.

I answer, reply

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀποκρίνομαι apokrinomai 231x

to answer, Mt. 3:15; in NT to respond to certain present circumstances, to avow, Mt. 11:25

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

V-AOP-NSM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: passive depOnent Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
47%answering
answering47% · 115×answered36% · 89×he answered4% · 9×they answered3% · 8×other renderings9% · 23×other renderings1% · 3×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb59%adverbial41%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 231 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
λόγοςa word, speech, ἐγώσύ
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theΠέτροςPeterὅς
τότεthen
θεόςGod, a god
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the othe
οὐδείςno one, none, nothin
αὐτόςπρεσβύτεροςelderοὐκέτιNeg
ἀποκρίνομαιanswering231×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theλέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesus
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theοὐNeg
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusΠέτροςPeterἄγγελοςan angel, messen
ἸησοῦςJesus
καίand, even, also,οὔτεNegArticle the

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

Concordanceἀποκρίνομαι · 231× in the New Testament
John Matthew Luke Mark Acts Colossians Revelation

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament7 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 118 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Josephus Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.46c. AD 40

ὁ δὲ ἀποκρίνεται ὅτι, ὦ ψευδοδοξοῦσα, οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ νοῦς αἴτιον οὐδενός, ἀλλ’ ὁ πρὸ τοῦ νοῦ θεός·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.174c. AD 75–95

ἐκ μέντοι τῶν κλάδων ἀνίησι κάλυκα προσεχῆ τῷ κλωνί, περίεισι δʼ αὐτὴν ἔλυτρον, ὅπερ ἀποκρίνεται κατʼ αὐτὸ πρὸς τὸν καρπὸν μεταβαλεῖν ἠργμένης·

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 12.4c. AD 96

ἐπισταθέντων δὲ τῶν παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ λεγόντων: Πρὸς σὲ εἰσῆλθον οἱ κατάσκοποι τῆς γῆς ἡμῶν: ἐξάγαγε αὐτούς, ὁ γὰρ βασιλεὺς οὕτως κελεύει, ἥδε ἀπεκρίθη: Εἰσῆλθον μὲν οἱ ἄνδρες, οὓς ζητεῖτε, πρός με, ἀλλ̓ εὐθέως ἀπῆλθον καὶ πορεύονται τῇ ὁδῷ:…

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.Amh. 2 65 RoHermopolisAD 117–AD 127

Δίδυμος· ὅλως ἀμφοδογραμματεὺς οὐ καθίστησιν σιτολόγον. ἐκεῖνος· σὺ αὐτοὺς εἰσέδωκας ἐργολαβῆσαι θέλων. Πομπήιος Πλάντας ἀποκρίνεται· Ἑρμαῖος ὁ ἀδελφὸς … πράγματι ε … … … … ματι εἰργολάβησεν … Πομπήιος

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

γὰρ επ … … ἁπλῆς πράσεως … τ … … εἶπεν· τί πρὸς ταῦτα ἀποκρίνῃ; … … αι καὶ μηδε … … … η τοῖς ονη … … βοηθῆσαι

PSI 10 1100ArsinoitesAD 161

περιγραφῇ τῇ ἐμῇ ταῦτα βασταχθῇ καὶ παραπόληται τῷ ταμίῳ. Φαῦστος ἐπύθετο· ὑπὸ τίνος βασταχθῇ; ἀπεκρίνατο· ὑπὸ τῶν σιτολόγων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων. ἐὰν οὖν σοι δοκῆι, κατάστησόν τινας ἐπακολουθοῦντας. Φαῦστος

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
εἶπενlegō He said G2036 Verb · second aorist · active · indicative · third person · singular
1,988× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
to say
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — λαλέω, λέγω, λαλιά, λόγος from a scan

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

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

λέγω,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἶπον (eipon) — to say.

εἶπον

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

λέγω

epo

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

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

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

speak, tell. Compare 3004.

see GREEK for 2046

see GREEK for 4483

see GREEK for 5346

see GREEK for 3004

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

λέγω legō 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
αὐτοῖς·autos to them; G846 Personal pronoun · dative · plural · masculine
5,550× 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 pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P-DPM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Dative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
γενεὰgenea A generation G1074 Noun · nominative · singular · feminine
43× 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
A generation of people, like those living at the same time, as mentioned in Matthew 1:17 and Mark 13:30.
Tyndale gloss
generation
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

γενεά (genea) refers to a generation, encompassing meanings such as race, family, and age. It is derived from the root related to birth and denotes both the people of a specific time and the lineage of individuals. In the New Testament, it is often used to describe the Jewish people or to signify a contemporary group sharing similar traits, particularly in a negative context. The lexicons do not present significant disagreements on its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γενεά, -ᾶς, ἡ

(< γίγνομαι),

[in LXX chiefly for דּוֹר, דֹּר (Cremer, 148) ;]

race, stock, family (in NT, γέννημα, q.v.).

generation;

of the contemporary members of a family: pl., Mt 1:17 (cf. Ge 31:3, מוֹלֶדֶת); metaph., of those alike in character, in bad sense, Mt 17:17, Mk 9:19, Lk 9:41 16:8, Ac 2:40;

of all the people of a given period: Mt 24:34, Mk 13:30, Lk 21:32

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

γενεά, -Gs, ἡ, (TENQ, γίνομαι [cf. Curtius p.610]) ; Sept. often for 7; in Grk. writ. fr. Hom. down; 1. abegetting, birth, nativity: Hdt. 3, 33 ; Xen. Cyr. 1, 2, 8, ete. ; {others make the collective sense the primary signif., see Curtius u. s.]. 2. passively, that which has been begotten, men of the same stock, a family; a. prop. as early as Hom.; equiv. to nmnawn, Gen. xxxi. 3, ete.; σώζειν Ραχάβην κ' τὴν γενεὰν αὐτῆς, Joseph. antt. 5, 1, 5. the several ranks in a natural descent, the successive members of a genealogy: Mt. i. 17, (ἑβδόμη γενεὰ οὗτός ἐστιν ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου, Philo, vit. Moys. i. § 2). b. metaph. a race of men very like each other in endowments, pursuits, character ; and esp. in a bad sense a perverse race: Mt. xvii. 17; Mk. ix. 19; Lk. ix. 41; xvi. 8; [Acts ii. 40]. 3. the whole multitude of men living at the same time: Mt. xxiv. 34; Mk. xiii. 30; Lk. i. 48 (πᾶσαι ai…

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

γενεά. The collective sense of this word—involved in its historic relation to yévos—is normal throughout, and survives in MGr γενιά = “race, lineage.’’ Thus it denotes a family, without individual reference: P Oxy 1. 104" (a will—a.p. 96) τῆς τούτου γενεᾶς, ‘his issue” (should he himself predecease)— similarly PSI IIL. 240° (ii/A.p.). . . ἑκά]στου αὐτῶν γενεᾶς, in a will—2d. LV. 713% (A.D. 97) τῇ ἐξ ἀλλήλων γενεᾷ, ‘their joint issue,’’ P Hal I. 1747 (iii/B.c,) ἄλλον δ᾽ ὅρκον μηδένα ἐξέστω ὀμνύναι py[d]t opk[(Ljew μηδὲ γενεὰν παρίστασθαι, “ΕΟ one may swear by any other oath [than Zeus, Hera and Poseidon], nor offer it, nor may he bring forward his family,” zc. to swear by them: see note, p. 121. Sy// 8561648 (ii/B.C.) ὁμοίως δὲ kal εἰ ye[vjeav ποιήσαιτο, of a manumitted slave, ἐλευθέρα ἔστίω] kal ἀνέφαπτος a γίεῖνεά. Cagnat…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γενεά (genea) — generation.

γενεά, ᾶς,

Ionic dialect γενεή, ῆς, ἡ, Epic dialect dative γενεῆφι [Refs 8th c.BC+]: (γενέσθαι):

I. of the persons in a family,

I.1. race, family, Πριάμου γ. [Refs 8th c.BC+]; γενεῇ ὑπέρτερος higher by birth or blood, [Refs]younger in [Refs 7th c.BC+]; ταύτης εἶναι γ. καὶ αἵματος of this race and blood, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; γενεῇ by birthright, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Αἰτωλὸς γενεήν by descent, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; γενεὴ ἔκ τινος descent from..,[Refs 5th c.BC+]; of horses, breed, stock, [Refs 8th c.BC+] families, [Refs 1st c.AD+]; γενεὰν ποιεῖσθαι to have issue, [Refs]: hence, tribe, nation, Περσῶν γ., Τυρρηνῶν γ., [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γενεά

genea

from (a presumed derivative of) 1085; a generation; by implication, an

age (the period or the persons):--age, generation, nation, time.

see GREEK for 1085

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γενεά, ᾶς, ἡ

n.f.

a generation

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γενεά genea 43x

pr. birth; hence, progeny; a generation of mankind, Mt. 11:16; 23:36, et al.; a generation, a step in a genealogy, Mt. 1:17; a generation, an interval of time, an age; in NT course of life, in respect of its events, interests, or character, Lk. 16:8; Acts 13:36

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γενεά γίγνομαι of the persons in a family.

race, stock, family, Hom., etc.; Πριάμου γ. Il.; ἐκ γενεῆς according to his family, id. Il.; γενεῆι by birth-right, Od.; γενεὴν Αἰτωλός by descent, Il.:—of horses, a breed, id. Il.:—generally, γενεήν in kind, Hdt.:—also a tribe, nation, Περσῶν γ. Aesch.

a race, generation, οἵηπερ φύλλων γενεὴ τοιήδε καὶ ἀνδρῶν Il.; δύο γενεαὶ ἀνθρώπων id. Il.

offspring, Orac. ap. Hdt.; and of a single person, Soph.

of time or place in reference to birth:

a birth-place, γενεὴ ἐπὶ λίμνηι Γυγαίηι Il.; of an eagle's eyrie, Od.

age, time of life, esp. in phrases γενεῆι νεώτατος, πρεσβύτατος youngest, eldest, in age, or by birth, Hom.

time of birth, ἐκ γενεῆς Hdt.; ἀπὸ γ. Xen.

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

jen-er-a'-shun (Latin generatio, from genero, "beget"):

(1) The translation

(a) of dor, "circle," "generation," hence, "age," "period," "cycle": "many generations" (De 32:7);

(b) the people of any particular period or those born about the same time: "Righteous before me in this generation" (Ge 7:1); "four generations" (Job 42:16);

(c) the people of a particular class or sort, with some implied reference to hereditary quality; the wicked (De 32:5; Pr 30:11); the righteous (Ps 14:5; 112:2).

(2) toledhoth, "births," hence

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Generation

Gen. 2:4, “These are the generations,” means the “history.” 5:1, “The book of the generations,” means a family register, or history of Adam. 37:2, “The generations of Jacob” = the history of Jacob and his descendants. 7:1, “In this generation” = in this age. Ps. 49:19, “The generation of his fathers” = the dwelling of his fathers, i.e., the grave. Ps. 73:15, “The generation of thy children” = the contemporary race. Isa. 53:8, “Who shall declare his generation?” = His manner of life who shall declare? or rather = His race, posterity, shall be so numerous that no one shall be able to declare it.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

In the long-lived patriarchal age a generation seems to have been computed at 100 years, (Genesis 15:16) comp. Genesis15:13 and Eccl 12:40 But subsequently the reckoning was the same which has been adopted by modern civilized nations, viz. from thirty to forty years (Job 42:16) (Generation is also used to signify the men of an age or time, as contemporaries, (Genesis 6:9; Isaiah 53:8) posterity , especially in legal formulae, (Leviticus 3:17) etc.; fathers, or ancestors. (Psalms 49:19)

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Besides the common acceptation of this word, as signifying race, descent, lineage, it is used for the history and genealogy of a person, as in Ge 5:1, "the book of the generations of Adam," that is, the history of Adam’s creation and of his posterity. So in Ge 2:4, "The generations of the heavens and of the earth," that is, their genealogy, so to speak, the history of the creation of heaven and earth; also in Mt 1:1, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ," that is, the genealogy of Jesus Christ," that is, the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the history of his descent and life. "The present generation" comprises all those who are now alive; "This generation shall not pass till all be fulfilled," some now living shall witness the…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
70%generation
generation70% · 30×generations28% · 12×a generation2% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial51%subject21%predicate9%object9%indirect object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 43 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
ἀπόμετάπαρέρχομαιI pass by
O, an exclamation
λέγωI say, speak
ΔαυίδProp
ἕωςuntil, as far as
ΒαβυλώνBabylon
μετοικεσίαchange of abode,
Χριστόςanointed, the Messia
Article the
γενεάA generation43×
what comes after →
οὗτος
καίand, even, also,Article theἕωςuntil, as far as
Article the
φοβέωI fear, am terriἑαυτοῦσκολιόςcrooked, pervers
δεκατέσσαρεςfourteen
καίand, even, also,
πονηρόςevil, bad, wicked
καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, exist
ἄπιστοςunbelieving, incredu
καίand, even, also,ἕωςuntil, as far as

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

Concordanceγενεά · 43× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Acts Mark Ephesians Colossians Hebrews Philippians
Across the New Testament8 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 106 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 140c. AD 40

ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ ἀκμάζον αἰεὶ τοῦ παρηβηκότος βέλτιόν ἐστιν, εἴτε ζῷον εἴτε φυτὸν εἴτε καρπὸς εἴτ’ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἐν τῇ φύσει τυγχάνοι, οὕτως ἔοικεν ὁ μὲν πρῶτος διαπλασθεὶς ἄνθρωπος ἀκμὴ τοῦ ἡμετέρου παντὸς ὑπάρξαι γένους, οἱ δ’ ἔπειτα μηκέθ’ ὁμοίως…

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

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

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 5.1c. AD 96

Ἀλλ̓ ἵνα τῶν ἀρχαίων ὑποδειγμάτων παυσώμεθα, ἔλθωμεν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἔγγιστα γενομένους ἀθλητάς: λάβωμεν τῆς γενεᾶς ἡμῶν τὰ γενναῖα ὑποδείγματα.

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 3rd c. BC
P.Oxy. 1 104OxyrhynchosAD 96

μου Ἀρεώτου χρηματίζοντος μητρὸς ἐμαυτῆς τῆς Σοήριος, ἐὰν ζῇ, εἰ δὲ μή, τῆς τούτου γενεᾶς, τὴν ὑπάρχουσάν μοι ἐπὶ τοῦ πρὸς Ὀξυρύγχων πόλει Σαραπείου ἐπʼ ἀμφόδου πρότερον Ἱππέων παρεμβολῆς

P.Oxy. 4 713OxyrhynchosAD 97

Ὀξυρύγχων πόλει ἀγορανομείου τῷ δωδεκάτῳ ἔτει θεοῦ Κλαυδίου μηνὶ Σεβαστῷ κατέσχον τῇ ἐξ ἀλλήλων γενεᾷ τὰ ἑαυτῶν πάντα πρὸς τὸ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν αὐτῶν βεβαίως καὶ ἀναφαιρέτως εἶναι τῶν

P.Oxy. 3 489OxyrhynchosAD 116

ἐξέσται τὰ ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐλευσόμενα ἑτέροις μερίζειν εἰ μὴ μόνῃ ἑκάστῃ αὐτῶν γενεᾷ καὶ μηδενὶ ἐξέστω τῷ καθόλου ἐπέρχεσθαι τῇ γυναικί μου Διογενίδι περὶ μηδενὸς τῶν ἐν

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
πονηρὰponēros evil G4190 Adjective · nominative · singular · feminine
78× 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
The Greek word for evil or bad, describing something that causes harm or is morally wrong, used in the New Testament to describe people and things, like in Matthew 7:11 and Ephesians 5:16.
Amplified meaning
evil and false
Tyndale gloss
evil/bad
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πονηρός (poneros) means bad or evil, often in a moral sense, and is derived from the verb πονέω meaning to toil. It describes things that are toilsome or painful and can refer to people, actions, or even spirits, particularly in the context of wickedness or malice. The New Testament frequently uses it to describe the devil or evil individuals, as seen in verses like Matthew 5:37 and 13:19.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — κακός, πονηρός from a scan

Taat which is morally evil may be contemplated on various sides and from various points of view; the several epithets which it will thus obtain bringing out the several aspects under which it will have presented itself to us. Kaxos and πονηρός occur together, Rev. xvi. 2; as «axia and πονηρία at I Cor. v. 8; the διαλογισμοὶ κακοί of St. Mark vii. 21 are διαλογισμοὶ πονηροί in the parallel passage of St. Matthew (xv. 19). The distinction between these will best be considered when we come to deal with πονηρός. Kaxos, the constant antithesis to ἀγαθός (Deut. eens 06¢) Ps; xxiii; 15; Rom. xii. 21; 2 Cor. v. 10; of. Plato, Rep. x. 608 e), and though not quite so frequently to καλός (Gen. xxiv. 50; xliv. 4; Heb. v. 14; Plutarch, Reg. et Imp. Apoph. Epam. 20), affirms of that which it 316 SYNONYMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. § τχχχιν. characterizes that qualities and conditions are wanting there…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πονηρός, -ά, -όν

(< πονέω, to toil),

[in LXX chiefly for רַע;]

of persons, oppressed by toils (Hes.);

of things, toilsome, painful (καιρός, Si 51:12): Eph 5:16 6:13, Re 16:2.

bad, worthless;

in physical sense: καρπός, Mt 7:17, 18;

in ethical sense, bad, evil, wicked;

of persons: Mt 7:11 12:34, 35 18:32 25:26, Lk 6:45 11:13 19:22, Ac 17:5, II Th 3:2, II Ti 3:13; γενεά, Mt 12:39, 45 16:4…

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

πονηρός (on the accent ef. Lob. ad Phryn. p. 389; Gottling, Lehre v. Accent, p. 304 sq.; [Chandler §§ 404, 405]; Lipsius, Grammat. Untersuch. p. 26), -d, τόν ; compar. πονηρότερος (Mt. xii. 45; Lk. xi. 26); (πονέω, πόνος) ; fr. Hes., [Hom. (ep. 15, 20), Theog.] down; Sept. often for 1; 1. full of labors, annoyances, hardships ; a. pressed and harassed by labors ; thus Hercules is called πονηρότατος καὶ ἄριστος, Hes. frag. 43, 5. b. bringing toils, annoyances, perils: (καιρός, Sir. li. 12); ἡμέρα πονηρά, of a time full of peril to Christian faith and steadfastness, Eph. v. 16; vi. 13, (so in the plur. ἡμέραι πον. Barn. ep. 2, 1); causing pain and trouble [A. V. grievous], ἕλκος, Rev. xvi. 2. 2. bad, of a bad nature or condition ; a. in a physical sense: ὀφθαλμός, diseased or blind, Mt. vi. 23; Lk. xi. 34, (πονηρία ὀφθαλμῶν, Plat. Hipp. min. p. 3874 ἃ. ; the Greeks use πονηρῶς ἔχειν or…

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

πονηρός. This adj. denoting the active exercise of evil is seen in BGU 11. 372%) (a.p. 154) πονηρ[ὃν K]g[l] λῃσίτ]ρικὸν β[(ον, PSI V. 4521 (iv/A.D.) πονηρὰ βουλευσαμέν[ ου]ς, and Syil 809 (= *1175)'® (iv/iii B.C.) ῥῆμα μοχθηρὸν ἢ πονηρὸν φθένγεσθαι. With the Lat. sepulchral formula ad hoc monumento dolus malus abesto, cf. BGU I. 3261-3 (a.nd. 194) ταύτῃ TH διαθήκῃ δόλος πονηρὸς ἀπέστηί( --ω)Ἱ. In the deed of divorce P Grenf II. 76° (A.D. 305-306) a couple are stated to have renounced their married life ἐκ τινὸς πονηροῦ δαίμονος, ‘‘owing to some evil deity,” and similarly P Lips I. 345 (ες A.D. 375). The word is joined with ἀσεβεῖς in Jos. Anét. xii. 252, xiii. 34. For the original meaning of πονηρός, ‘ toilworn,” ‘“laborious ’’ we may cite the description of Heracles, the type of the strenuous life—ovypdtatos καὶ ἄριστος (Hes. Fr. 43.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πονηρός (ponēros) — evil/bad.

πονηρός, ά, όν,

in physical sense, oppressed by toils, πονηρότατος καὶ ἄριστος, of Heracles, [Refs 8th c.BC+]

2. of things, toilsome, painful, grievous, ἔργα [Refs 8th c.BC+]

II. in bad case, in sorry plight, useless, good-for-nothing, σύμμαχοι[Refs 5th c.BC+]; κύων, ἱππάριον, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; δίαιτα, τροφή, σιτία, injurious, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. σῶμα, opposed to χρηστόν, [Refs]; π. σκώμματα sorry jests, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. πράγματα a bad state of things, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. ἀρχὴ τῆς παιδείας a bad beginning, [Refs 5th c.BC+] adverb, -ρῶς ἔχειν to be in bad case, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. διακεῖσθαι, διατεθῆναι, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πονηρός

poneros

from a derivative of 4192; hurtful, i.e. evil (properly, in effect or

influence, and thus differing from 2556, which refers rather to

essential character, as well as from 4550, which indicates degeneracy

from original virtue); figuratively, calamitous; also (passively) ill,

i.e. diseased; but especially (morally) culpable, i.e. derelict,

vicious, facinorous; neuter (singular) mischief, malice, or (plural)

guilt; masculine (singular) the devil, or (plural) sinners:--bad,

evil, grievous, harm, lewd, malicious, wicked(-ness). See also 4191.

see GREEK for 4192

see GREEK for 2556

see GREEK for 4550

see GREEK for 4191

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πονηρός, ά, όν

Adj

evil, bad, wicked

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πονηρός ponēros 78x

bad, unsound, Mt. 6:23; 7:17, 18; evil, afflictive, Eph. 5:16; 6:13; Rev. 16:2; evil, wrongful, malignant, malevolent, Mt. 5:11, 39; Acts 28:21; evil, wicked, impious, and τὸ πονηρόν, evil, wrong, wickedness, Mt. 5:37, 45; 9:4; slothful, inactive, Mt. 25:26; Lk. 19:22; ὁ πονηρός, the evil one, the devil, Mt. 13:19, 38; Jn.…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πονηρός πονηρός, ή, όν πονέω toilsome, painful, grievous, Theogn., Ar.

in bad case, in sorry plight, useless, good-for-nothing, Ar., Plat., etc.:—adv., πονηρῶς ἔχειν to be in bad case, Thuc.

in moral sense, bad, worthless, knavish, Lat. pravus, improbus, Aesch., Eur.; πονηρὸς κἀκ πονηρῶν rogue and son of rogues, Ar.; πόνῳ πονηρός laboriously wicked, id. Ar.:— ὁ π. the evil one, NTest.

base, cowardly, Soph.; π. χρώματα the coward's hue, Xen.

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

A-NSF Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ev'-'-l, e'-vil ra`; poneros, @kakos, @kakon:

In the Bible it is represented as moral and physical. We choose to discuss the subject under these heads. Many of the evils that come upon men have not been intended by those who suffer for them. Disease, individual and national calamity, drought, scarcity of food, may not always be charged to the account of intentional wrong. Many times the innocent suffer with, and even for, the guilty. In such cases, only physical evil is apparent. Even when the suffering has been occasioned by sin or dereliction of duty, whether the wrong is active or passive, many, perhaps the majority of those who are injured, are not accountable in any way for the ills which come upon them. Neither is God the author of moral evil. "God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man" (Jas 1:13).

Nave's Topical Bible

→ APPEARANCE OF, TO BE AVOIDED Ro 14:1-23; 1Co 8:7-13; 10:28-33; 1Th 4:11,12; 5:22

→ INSTANCES OF

Paul, in refusing to eat what had been offered to idols 1Co 8:13

In supporting himself 1Co 9:7-23

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
78%evil
evil78% · 62×wicked4% · 3×evil one3% · 2×bad3% · 2×more evil3% · 2×evils3% · 2×other renderings8% · 6×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object28%adverbial26%predicate22%subject19%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 78 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
ἐκπνεῦμαwind, breath, spκαίand, even, also,
σύ
ὀφθαλμόςthe eyeοὖνtherefore, thenκρίνωI judge, decide,
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spirit
ἕτεροςanother, differeκαίand, even, also,ἀπό
αὐτός
ἔργονwork, labor, actλέγωI say, speakγάρfor
γενεάa generation
αὐτόςοὗτος
πονηρόςevil78×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
καίand, even, also,ὅλοςall, the whole, οἶδαI know, remember
καίand, even, also, nam
μοιχαλίςan adulteressἀγαθόςgoodἁρπάζωI seize, snatch,
ἐκ
μέσοςmiddle, in the mArticle theγάρfor
Article the
ἩρῴδηςHerodἔργονwork, labor, actὄνομαname, character,
κατά
σύArticle the

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

Concordanceπονηρός · 78× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke Acts 1 John Ephesians John 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy Hebrews James Mark 1 Corinthians
Across the New Testament20 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 172 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Philo of Alexandria The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 154c. AD 40

ἀλλ’ ὡς ἔοικεν αἰνίττεται διὰ μὲν τοῦ παραδείσου τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἡγεμονικόν, ὅπερ ἐστὶ κατάπλεων οἷα φυτῶν μυρίων ὅσων δοξῶν, διὰ δὲ τοῦ δένδρου τῆς ζωῆς τὴν μεγίστην τῶν ἀρετῶν θεοσέβειαν, δι’ ἧς ἀθανατίζεται ἡ ψυχή, διὰ δὲ τοῦ καλῶν καὶ πονηρῶν…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.22c. AD 75–95

οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλοι νομοθέται τοῖς μύθοις ἐξακολουθήσαντες τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἁμαρτημάτων εἰς τοὺς θεοὺς τῷ λόγῳ τὴν αἰσχύνην μετέθεσαν καὶ πολλὴν ὑποτίμησιν τοῖς πονηροῖς ἔδωκαν·

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 2nd c. BC 3rd c. BC
P.Lond. 2 p. 163-165 no. 354Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites8 BC–5 BC

ἡμῶν περὶ τὴν τῶν ἐδαφῶν γεωργίαν μηδὲν τοῖς δημοσίοις ἔλαττον ἐπακολουθήσῃ, διαλάβη δὲ … πονηρὸν περιπεσόντων αὐτῶν τῇ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους κολάσει, ἵνʼ ὦμεν εὐεργετημένοι. διευτύχει.

P.Mil.Vogl. 1 24Tebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 117

κλαίοντα πλείστοις δάκρυσιν. τί οὖν ἐστιν; ἐγὼ πεπεισμένος μου τῇ διανοίᾳ μηθὲν κακῷ ἢ πονηρῷ συνειδώς, δοκῶ μηδὲν παθεῖν· ὃ ἐὰν οὖν ἐφίδω πῶς μου τὰ πραγμάτια χωρεῖ πάλιν

JJP 18 (1974), p. 181 no. 3Bakchias (Arsinoites)AD 137

πρὸ σοῦ καὶ ὑπέσχε διατυπώσασθαι π … … α … α καὶ ὅτι πονηροῦ … … … … η … δοκεῖ δέ μοι παραμ … … … ολης

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× 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
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Amplified meaning
morally unfaithful, spiritually adulterous
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

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

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

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

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

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
μοιχαλὶςmoichalis adulterous G3428 Noun · nominative · singular · feminine
7× 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 describes someone who is adulterous, either literally or figuratively. It is used in the New Testament to describe unfaithfulness, like in Romans and James.
Tyndale gloss
adulterous
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μοιχαλίς (moichalis) means 'an adulteress' and can also refer to someone unfaithful to God, particularly in a figurative sense. It appears in the New Testament in various contexts, including Romans 7:3 and James 4:4, often highlighting spiritual unfaithfulness. The term is derived from a feminine form related to μοιχάω and is used both literally and metaphorically.

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

μοιχαλίς, -ίδος, ἡ, (μοιχός), a word unknown to the earlier writ. but found in Plut., Heliod., al.; see Lob. ad Phryn. p. 452; [W. 24]; Sept. for nd8i (Ezek. xvi. 38; xxiii. 45) and ngNj0 (Hos. iii. 1; Prov. xxiv. 55 (xxx 20)); an adulteress ; a. prop.: Ro. vii. 3; ὀφθαλμοὶ μεστοὶ μοιχαλίδος, eyes always on the watch for an adulμοιχάω Ξ teress, or from which adulterous desire beams forth, 2 [ arms. It was heated red-hot by fire from within, and the Pet. ii. 14. b. As the intimate alliance of God with the people of Israel was likened to a marriage, those who relapse into idolatry are said to commit adultery or play the harlot (Ezek. xvi. 15 sqq.; xxiii. 43 sqq., etc.) ; hence μοιχαλίς is fig. equiv. to faithless to God, unclean, apostate : Jas. iv.4 [where cf. Alford]; as an adj. (cf. Matthiae § 429, 4), γενεὰ μοιχ. : Mt. xii. 39; χνὶ. 4; Mk. viii. 38. (Cf. Clem. Alex. strom. vi. c. 16 §…

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

μοιχαλίς. To the examples of this late word, = ‘‘a married woman who commits adultery” (Rom 7%), given by Lob. Phryz. Ρ- 452, we may add Zest. xzz. patr. Levi xiv. 6, where the high priests are charged with having intercourse both with unmarried and with married woien—7rdépvats καὶ pot᾿ χαλίσιν συναφθήσεσθε.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μοιχαλίς (moichalis) — adulterous.

μοιχ-ᾰλίς, ίδος

(also accusative μοιχαλίν [LXX+NT+3rd c.AD+]; in religious sense, unfaithful to God, [NT]: so as adjective, adulterous, γενεά [NT]

II. ={μοιχεία}, [NT]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

μοιχαλίς

moichalis

a prolonged form of the feminine of 3432; an adulteress (literally or

figuratively):--adulteress(-ous, -y).

see GREEK for 3432

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μοιχαλίς, ίδος, ἡ

n.f.

an adulteress

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μοιχαλίς moichalis 7x

an adulteress, Rom. 7:3; Jas. 4:4; by meton., an adulterous appearance, lustful significance, 2 Pet. 2:14; from the Hebrew, spiritually adulterous, faithless, ungodly, Mt. 12:39; 16:4; Mk. 8:38*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μοιχαλίς μοιχα^λίς, ίδος, ἡ, = μοιχάω an adulteress, NTest.:as adj. adulterous, id. NTest.

as Subst. = μοιχεία, id. 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
43%adulterous
adulterous43% · 3×adulteress29% · 2×adulteresses!14% · 1×adultery14% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject29%predicate29%adverbial14%object14%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 7 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
πονηρόςevil, bad, wicke
Article the
οὗτος
ἀνήρa male human being,
Article the
αὐτός
εἰμίI am, exist
μεστόςfull
ἔχωI have, hold, po
μοιχαλίςadulterous
what comes after →
σημεῖονa sign, miracle, ind
ἐπιζητέωI seek after, de
καίand, even, also, nam
ἁμαρτωλόςsinning, sinful,ἀκατάπαυστοςnot ceasing from
χρηματίζωI warn, am publicly
ἐάνCond
γίνομαιI come into being, a
ἀνήρa male human bei
οὐNeg
οἶδαI know, remember

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

Concordanceμοιχαλίς · 7× in the New Testament
Matthew Romans 2 Peter James Mark
Across the New Testament5 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 6 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
σημεῖονsēmeion a sign G4592 Noun · accusative · singular · neuter
77× 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 sign is an indication or token of something, often supernatural. In the Bible, it's used in Matthew 26:48 and Luke 2:12 to describe miracles or events that point to God.
Tyndale gloss
sign
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

σημεῖον (i.e., *semeion*) is a neuter noun meaning a sign, mark, or token. It encompasses various uses, including distinguishing features, omens, and miraculous signs, particularly in the context of divine authority. The New Testament frequently employs it to refer to miracles and wonders (e.g., Mt 12:38, 24:30). Notably, some lexicons suggest differing nuances regarding its use in relation to signs of divine intervention versus ordinary indications.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — τέρας, σημεῖον, δύναμις, μεγαλεῖον, ἔνδοξον, παράδοξον, θαυμάσιον from a scan

παράδοξον, θαυμάσιον. THESE words have this in common, that they are all used to characterize the supernatural works wrought by Christ in the days of his flesh; thus σημεῖον, John ii. 11; Acts ii. 19; τέρας, Acts ii. 22; John iv. 48; δύναμις, Mark vi. 2 ; Acts ii. 22; μεγαλεῖον, Luke i. 49; ἔνδοξον, Luke xiii. 17; παράδοξον, Luke v. 26; θαυμάσιον, Matt. xxi. 15 ; while the first three and the most usual are in like manner employed of the same supernatural works wrought in the power of Christ by his Apostles (2 Cor. xii. 12); and of the lying miracles of Antichrist no less (2 Thess. ii. 9). They will be found, on closer examination, not so much to represent different kinds of miracles, as miracles contemplated under different aspects and from different points of view. Tépas and σημεῖον are often linked together in the N. T. (John iv. 48; Acts ii. 22; iv. 30; 2 Cor. xii. 12); and times…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σημεῖον, -ου, τό

[in LXX chiefly for אוֹת ;]

a sign, mark, token;

of that which distinguishes a person or thing from others: Mt 26:48, Lk 2:12, II Th 3:17 (cf. Deiss., LAE, 1532); seq. gen. epexeg., Ro 4:11; c. gen. obj., Mt 24:8, 30, II Co 12:12; c. gen. subj., Mt 16:3;

a sign of warning or admonition: Mt 12:39 16:4, Lk 2:34 11:29, 30, I Co…

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

σημεῖον, -ov, τό, (σημαίνω [or σῆμα), ir. Aeschyl. and Hdt. down, Hebr. nix, @ sign, mark, token; aM uniy. that by which a pers. or a thing is distinguished from others and known: Mt. xxvi. 48; Lk. ii.12; 2 Th. iii. 17; σημεῖον περιτομῆς (explanatory gen. [ef. B. § 123, 4]), equiv. to σημεῖον, 6 ἐστι περιτομή, circumcision which should be a sign of the covenant formed with God, Ro. iv. 11; τὰ σημεῖα τοῦ ἀποστόλου, the tokens by which one is proved to be an apostle, 2 Co. xii. 12; a sign by which anything future is pre-announced, Mk. xiii. 4; Lk. xxi. 73 TO σημ. τῆς σῆς παρουσίας, gen. of the obj., Mt. xxiv. 35 Tov υἱοῦ Tov ἀνθρώπου, the sign which indicates that the Messiah will shortly, or forthwith, come from heaven in visible manifestation, ibid. 30; with a gen. of the subj. τὰ σημεῖα τῶν καιρῶν, i.e. the indications of future events which of καιροί furnish, what of καιροί portend…

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

σημεῖον (ii/B.c.) (= Witkowski®, p. 111) περὶ μὲν [ο]Ἱῦν τῶν ἄλλων [οὔ σοι γέγραφα, Μ΄. . .o]s γάρ σοι σημα[ν]εῖ ἕκαστα, 20. IV. 12069 (B.c. 28) οὔπωι σεσήμαγκε τί ἐκβέβη[κ]ε, and τὸ. 10784 (A.D. 39) (= Chest. L. p. 83) οὐ καλῶς δὲ ἐπόησας ἐκπορευομένων πολλῶν φίλων μὴ σημᾶναί por μηδὲ ἕν. For the two forms σημᾶναι and σημῆναι, see Mayser Gr. i. p- 360, Psaltes Gr. p. 223. The pass. is seen in such passages as P Rein 71" (B.C. 141?) ἐν τῶν σημανθέντι χρόνωι, ‘ within the stipulated time,’ P Amh II. 318 (8.6. 112) σημανθέντος, ‘it having been reported,” P Oxy 11. 2831 (A.D. 45) τὸν σημαινόμένον δοῦλον, ‘the above-mentioned slave,” P Tebt II. 2782 (nursery acrostic—early i/A.D.) onpe(= at)veral μοι, τηρῖ ple] γάρ, “he is indicated to me, for he watches me (Ὁ) ᾿᾿ (Edd.), P Oxy I. 768 (A.D. 179) ὃ σημαινόμενός μου πατήρ, ‘‘my above-mentioned father,’’ 74. 79* (notice of death—A.p. 181-192)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σημεῖον (sēmeion) — sign.

σημεῖον, τό,

Ionic dialect σημήϊον, Doric dialect σᾱμήϊον [Refs 4th c.BC+], σᾱμεῖον [Refs 2nd c.BC+], σᾱμᾶον [Refs] —= σῆμα in all senses, and more common in Prose, but never in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: mark by which a thing is known, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; sign of the future, τυραννίδος σ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; trace, track, σημεῖα δ᾽ οὔτε θηρὸς οὔτε του κυνῶν.. ἐξεφαίνετο [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of a cork on a buoy, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

__b Doric dialect, tomb, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

2. sign from the gods, omen, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; wonder, portent, [LXX+2nd c.BC+]; especially of the constellations, regarded as signs, δύεται σημεῖα [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σημεῖον

semeion

neuter of a presumed derivative of the base of 4591; an indication,

especially ceremonially or supernaturally:--miracle, sign, token,

wonder.

see GREEK for 4591

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σημεῖον, ου, τό

n.n.

a sign, miracle, indication

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σημεῖον sēmeion 77x

a sign, a mark, token, by which anything is known or distinguished, Mt. 16:3; 24:3; 2 Thess. 3:17; a token, pledge, assurance, Lk. 2:12; a proof, evidence, convincing token, Mt. 12:38; 16:1; Jn. 2:18; in NT a sign, wonder, remarkable event, wonderful appearance, extraordinary phenomenon, 1 Cor. 14:22; Rev. 12:1, 3; 15:1; a portent, prodigy, Mt. 24:30; Acts 2:19; a wonderful…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

σημεῖον σημεῖον, ου, τό, σῆμα a sign, a mark, token, Hdt., attic

a sign from the gods, an omen, Soph., Plat.: esp. of the constellations, Eur.

a sign or signal to do a thing made by flags, Hdt.; αἴρειν, κατασπᾶν τὸ ς. to make or take down the signal for battle, Thuc.; τὰ σημεῖα ἤρθη the signals agreed upon were made, id. Thuc.

an ensign or flag, on the admiral's ship, Hdt.; on the general's tent, Xen.:—then, generally, a standard, ensign, Eur.: hence, a boundary, limit, Dem.

a device upon a shield, Hdt., Eur.; upon ships, a figure-head, Ar.

a signal, watchword, Thuc.

in reasoning, a sign or proof, Ar., Thuc., etc.:— σημεῖον δέ: or σημεῖον γάρ: (to introduce an argument) this is a proof of it, Dem., etc.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sin ('oth "a sign" "mark" mopheth, "wonder"' semeion, "a sign," "signal," "mark"): A mark by which persons or things are distinguished and made known. In Scripture used generally of an address to the senses to attest the existence of supersensible and therefore divine power. Thus the plagues of Egypt were "signs" of divine displeasure against the Egyptians (Ex 4:8 ff; Jos 24:17, and often); and the miracles of Jesus were "signs" to attest His unique relationship with God (Mt 12:38; Joh 2:18; Ac 2:22). Naturally, therefore, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, "signs" are assimilated to the miraculous, and…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A token, pledge, or proof, Ge 9:12,13 17:11 Ex 3:12 Isa 8:18. Also a supernatural portent, Lu 21:11; and a miracle, regarded as a token of the divine agency, Ex 4:7-9 Mr 8:11. The "signs of heaven" were the movements and aspects of the heavenly bodies, from which heathen astrologers pretended to obtain revelations, Isa 44:25 Jer 10:2. See SHIP.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ A miracle to confirm faith Mt 12:38; 16:4; 24:3,30; Mr 8:11,12; 13:4; Joh 2:11; 3:2; 4:48

→ Asked for by, and given to

Abraham Ge 15:8-17

Moses Ex 4:1-9

Gideon Jud 6:17,36-40

Hezekiah 2Ki 20:8

Zacharias Lu 1:18

→ Given to Jeroboam 1Ki 13:3-5

→ A token of coming events Mt 16:3,4; 24:3

→ See MIRACLES

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
49%signs
signs49% · 38×sign48% · 37×other renderings3% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object52%subject33%adverbial10%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 77 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
μήNegτίςIrgποιέωI do, make
καίand, even, also, nam
τέραςa wonder, portenἐπιζητέωI seek after, deζητέωI seek, search f
ποιέωI do, make
καίand, even, also,ὅςπολύςmuch, many, ofte
αὐτός
ἐπερωτάωI interrogate, qδίδωμιI offer, giveπαρά
σύ
ἀπόοὗτοςποιέωI do, make
σημεῖονa sign77×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
τέραςa wonder, portenδύναμιςmight, power, ma
ποιέωI do, make
ὅςArticle theκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
ποιέωI do, makeδίδωμιI offer, giveἐκπορεύομαιI journey out, c
Article the
καιρόςfitting season, σόςυἱόςa son, descenden
μέγας
καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, existἐν

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

Concordanceσημεῖον · 77× in the New Testament
John Acts Matthew Luke Mark Revelation 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 Thessalonians Romans Hebrews
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 72 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome The Didache The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 49c. AD 40

κατὰ μὲν γὰρ τὸ ἓν τάττεται τὸ λεγόμενον ἐν γεωμετρίᾳ σημεῖον, κατὰ δὲ τὰ δύο γραμμή, διότι ῥύσει μὲν ἑνὸς δυάς, ῥύσει δὲ σημείου συνίσταται γραμμή·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.59c. AD 75–95

καὶ σημεῖον ἐπιβαλών, ᾧ γνώριμος ἂν εἴη, προσέταξεν ἀπιέναι.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.14c. AD 100

ἔτι δὲ κἀκεῖνο, ἀδελφοί μου, νοεῖτε: ὅταν βλέπετε μετὰ τηλικαῦτα σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα γεγονότα ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ οὕτως ἐγκαταλελεῖφθαι αὐτούς: προσέχωμεν, μήποτε, ὡς γέγραπται, πολλοὶ κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοὶ εὑρεθῶμεν.

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 7th c. AD 4th c. AD
O.Did. 361DidymoiAD 77

τῷ κομίζοντί σοι τοῦτο τὸ ὄστρακον, ἄχρι οὗ ἀνακάμψῃ ἀπὸ Βερενίκης καὶ ἀπολάβῃς αὐτόν. σημεῖον ὅτι ἥκεις καλῶν με καὶ τὸν γαμβρὸν καὶ λέγω σοι ὅτι ὀφθαλμιᾷ. μὴ οὖν

C.Clergé 1 31ArsinoitesAD 155–AD 156

Αἰλίου Ἁδριανοῦ Ἀντωνείνου Σεβαστοῦ Εὐσεβοῦς … . μετὰ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν Ἀγαθοκλῆς ἐπύθετο, εἴ τινα σημεῖα ἔχουσιν οἱ παῖδες … ἱερογραμματέως εἰπόντος … ξα μὲν οὐλὰς τοῦ δ … τὸν

C.Clergé 1 33ArsinoitesAD 155–AD 156

Αἰλίου Ἁδριανοῦ Ἀντωνείνου Σεβαστοῦ Εὐσεβοῦς … . μετὰ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν Ἀγαθοκλῆς ἐπύθετο, εἴ τινα σημεῖα ἔχουσιν οἱ παῖδες ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος … δ … Ἀμούνιος ἱερογραμματέως εἰπόντος αὐτοὺς εἶναι

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
ἐπιζητεῖ·epizēteō seeks for; G1934 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
13× 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
To seek after or search for something, as seen in Matthew 6:32, where Jesus teaches that God will provide for our needs if we seek after Him.
Amplified meaning
seeks after, looks for
Tyndale gloss
to seek after
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐπιζητέω (i.e., *epizeteo*) is built from the prefix ἐπι- and the root ζητέω. It encompasses meanings such as to seek after, inquire for, and desire. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts involving searching for or craving something, as noted in passages like Matthew 6:32 and Acts 12:19. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐπι-ζητέω, -ῶ

[in LXX chiefly for דָּרַשׁ, IV Ki 8:8, Is 62:12, al.; also for בָּקַשׁ, I Ki 20:1, Ec 7:29(28)), Ho 3:5; פָּקַד, IV Ki 3:8 ;]

"directive" of ζητέω (MM, Exp., xiv),

to inquire for, seek after, wish for: c. acc rei, Mt 6:32 12:39 16:4, Lk 12:30, Ac 19:39, Ro 11:7, Phl 4:17, He 11:14 13:14; c. acc pers., Lk…

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

ἐπι-ζητέω, -ῶ ; impf. ἐπεζήτουν ; 1 aor. ἐπεζήτησα ; fr. Ildt. down ; Sept. for wy and in 1S. xx.1; Ecel. vii. 29 (28) for wpa; to inquire for, seek for, search for, seek diligently, (Germ. herbeisuchen [the ém- seems to be directive rather than intensive]): τινά, Lk. iv. 42 (for Ree. ἐζήτουν) ; Acts xii. 19; i. q. to desire, wish for, crave: τί, Mt. vi. 32; Lk. xii. 30; Ro. xi. 7; Phil. iv.17; Heb. xi. 14; ΧΙ. 14; περί τινος, Acts xix. 39 [RG ΤΊ (but if your inquiry or desire has reference to other matters) ; with the inf. Acts xiii. 7 (as in Polyb. 3, 57, 7; Diod. 19, 8); 1. q. to demand, clamor for: σημεῖον, Mt. xii. 39; xvi. 4; Mk. viii. 12 RG; Lk. xi. 29 (where T Tr WH (pret {as L T Tr WH in Mk. 1. c.]).

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

ἐπιζητέω. A few exx. may be quoted to illustrate the varying shades of meaning of this verb in the NT. Thus for the sense “seek for,” as in Lk 4?, cf. P Hamb I. 274(B.c. 250) τῆι δὲ ἐφαύριον αὐτὸν ἐπεζήτουν καὶ οὐχ nipio[kov ἐμ Φιλαδεῖλφείαι, and for ‘‘inquire,”’ cf. P Fay 391: (A.p. 183) ἐπιζητotytl σοι, ‘in answer to your inquiry,” and so P Oxy I. 77§ (A.D. 223): the directive rather than the intensive force of the compound is well seen in P Tebt II. 4117 (ii/a..) ὃ yap κράτιστος ἐπιστράτηγος ἱκανῶς oe ἐπεζήτησε, ‘“has made several inquiries about you.” Similarly for ‘‘ desire,” cf. P Tebt 11. 3145 (ii/A.D.) ἐπιζητοῦντος τοῦ [ἀ]ρχιερέως τὸν παῖδα ε[ἰ]δῖν, and for the stronger “" demand,” P Lille I. 7® (iii/B.C.) καὶ ἐπιζητήσαντος αὐτοῦ βυβλάριά τινα, ἃ ἐδεδώκειν ἐν φυίλακῆι), P Tebt IT. 416%° (iii/a-p.) “Jet her want for nothing” (Edd.). P Oxy I. 80'S (A.p. 238-44) τοὺς…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐπιζητέω (epizēteō) — to seek after.

ἐπιζητ-έω,

seek after, wish for, miss, τινά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μηδὲν ἐπιζητείτω let her lack nothing, [Refs 3rd c.AD+]; ἐ. τὸν ἄν θρωπονmake further search for.. , [Refs 4th c.BC+]; τῆς αἰτίας αἰτίαν ἐπι ζητούσηςrequiring, [Refs 2nd c.BC+] the beaters (for game), [Refs 5th c.BC+] —passive, τὰ ἐπιζητούμενα περὶ τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν [Refs 4th c.BC+]; οἱ -ούμενοι criminals `wanted', [Refs 3rd c.AD+]

__b. request, πρός τινας ὁμολογίαν [Refs 6th c.AD+]

2. seek for besides, μηδ᾽ ἕτερ᾽ ἐπιζήτει καλά [Refs 4th c.BC+]; inquire further, περὶ.. [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

3. passive, ἐπιζητεῖται is matter of question, ἐ. πότερον.. [Refs 4th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐπιζητέω

epizeteo

from 1909 and 2212; to search (inquire) for; intensively, to demand,

to crave:--desire, enquire, seek (after, for).

see GREEK for 1909

see GREEK for 2212

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐπιζητέω

v.

I seek after, desire, search for

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐπιζητέω epizēteō 13x

to seek for, make search for, Acts 12:19; to require, demand, Mt. 12:39; 16:4; Acts 19:39; to desire, endeavor to obtain, Rom. 11:7; Heb. 11:14; to seek with care and anxiety, Mt. 6:32

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐπιζητέω fut. ήσω to seek after, wish for, miss, Lat. desiderare, τινά Hdt.; ἐπ. τινά to make further search for him, Dem.:—absol., οἱ ἐπιζητοῦντες the beaters for game, Xen.

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

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

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
15%i seek after
i seek after15% · 2×having sought after8% · 1×desired8% · 1×you inquire8% · 1×seeking8% · 1×they are seeking8% · 1×we are seeking for8% · 1×seek after8% · 1×other renderings31% · 4×

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
σημεῖονa sign, miracle, ind
μοιχαλίςan adulteress
ἔθνοςa race, people, the
Article the
ὄχλοςa crowd
Article the
κόσμοςthe world, universe
Article the
δέbut, on the other ha
ἩρῴδηςHerod
ἐπιζητέωseeks for;13×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
σημεῖονa sign, miracle,
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,
Article the
δόμαa giftκαρπόςfruit, result, g
οἶδαI know, remember
γάρfor
σύ
δέbut, on the othe

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

Concordanceἐπιζητέω · 13× in the New Testament
Acts Matthew Hebrews Luke Philippians Romans
Across the New Testament6 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus
Philo of AlexandriaWho is the Heir of Divine Things 33c. AD 40

ὃ γὰρ λοιπὸν ἐπιζητῶ μαθεῖν τε καὶ κτήσασθαι, τοῦτ’ ἐστίν, τίς ἂν γένοιτο ἄξιος τῶν σῶν εὐεργεσιῶν [καὶ] κληρονόμος.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4.274c. AD 75–95

Ἐὰν δέ τις ἢ χρυσίον ἢ ἀργύριον εὕρῃ καθʼ ὁδόν, ἐπιζητήσας τὸν ἀπολωλεκότα καὶ κηρύξας τὸν τόπον ἐν ᾧ εὗρεν ἀποδότω, τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἑτέρου ζημίας ὠφέλειαν οὐκ ἀγαθὴν ὑπολαμβάνων.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD 4th c. AD
PSI 10 1109OxyrhynchosAD 93–AD 94

ἐγλογιστοῦ εἰς ἐξέτασιν εἶδος τῶι ια ἔτει ἐν β τόμῳ κολλήματι ν διʼ οὗ ἐπεζήτησεν εἰ ὁ προγεγραμμένος Διονύσιός ἐστιν ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων γονέων δωδεκάδραχμος ἀποφαίνομαι εἶναι αὐτὸν δωδεκάδραχμον ἀναγραφόμενον

P.Oxy. 18 2190OxyrhynchosAD 100

τοῦ Ἡρώδου παραβαλεῖν ἔπειθεν αὐτῶι. καὐτοὶ γὰρ μετὰ τούτου δεινότερον καθηγητὴν ἕως τοῦ νῦν ἐπιζητοῦσιν, ἀποθανόντος φιλολόγου ὧι παρέβαλλον. εὐξάμενος δʼ ἂν ἔγωγε, εἴπερ ἀξίους λόγου καθηγητὰς εὗρον, μηδὲ

P.Flor. 3 332Apollonopolites HeptakomiasAD 114–AD 119

σε ὅτι δίμηνος σήμερον ἐστάλην τὸν ἄτακτον Δισκᾶν μὴ ἐκδεχόμενόν σου τὴν παρουσίαν. ἀλλʼ ἐπιζητεῖ νῦν μετὰ καὶ ἄλλων γυμναστικῶν φίλων πῶς ἐπιθῆταί μοι ἀπόντος σου, οἰόμενος δύνασθαι τυχεῖν

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× 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
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

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

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

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

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

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
σημεῖονsēmeion a sign G4592 Noun · nominative · singular · neuter
77× 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 sign is an indication or token of something, often supernatural. In the Bible, it's used in Matthew 26:48 and Luke 2:12 to describe miracles or events that point to God.
Amplified meaning
token, indication
Tyndale gloss
sign
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

σημεῖον (i.e., *semeion*) is a neuter noun meaning a sign, mark, or token. It encompasses various uses, including distinguishing features, omens, and miraculous signs, particularly in the context of divine authority. The New Testament frequently employs it to refer to miracles and wonders (e.g., Mt 12:38, 24:30). Notably, some lexicons suggest differing nuances regarding its use in relation to signs of divine intervention versus ordinary indications.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — τέρας, σημεῖον, δύναμις, μεγαλεῖον, ἔνδοξον, παράδοξον, θαυμάσιον from a scan

παράδοξον, θαυμάσιον. THESE words have this in common, that they are all used to characterize the supernatural works wrought by Christ in the days of his flesh; thus σημεῖον, John ii. 11; Acts ii. 19; τέρας, Acts ii. 22; John iv. 48; δύναμις, Mark vi. 2 ; Acts ii. 22; μεγαλεῖον, Luke i. 49; ἔνδοξον, Luke xiii. 17; παράδοξον, Luke v. 26; θαυμάσιον, Matt. xxi. 15 ; while the first three and the most usual are in like manner employed of the same supernatural works wrought in the power of Christ by his Apostles (2 Cor. xii. 12); and of the lying miracles of Antichrist no less (2 Thess. ii. 9). They will be found, on closer examination, not so much to represent different kinds of miracles, as miracles contemplated under different aspects and from different points of view. Tépas and σημεῖον are often linked together in the N. T. (John iv. 48; Acts ii. 22; iv. 30; 2 Cor. xii. 12); and times…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σημεῖον, -ου, τό

[in LXX chiefly for אוֹת ;]

a sign, mark, token;

of that which distinguishes a person or thing from others: Mt 26:48, Lk 2:12, II Th 3:17 (cf. Deiss., LAE, 1532); seq. gen. epexeg., Ro 4:11; c. gen. obj., Mt 24:8, 30, II Co 12:12; c. gen. subj., Mt 16:3;

a sign of warning or admonition: Mt 12:39 16:4, Lk 2:34 11:29, 30, I Co…

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

σημεῖον, -ov, τό, (σημαίνω [or σῆμα), ir. Aeschyl. and Hdt. down, Hebr. nix, @ sign, mark, token; aM uniy. that by which a pers. or a thing is distinguished from others and known: Mt. xxvi. 48; Lk. ii.12; 2 Th. iii. 17; σημεῖον περιτομῆς (explanatory gen. [ef. B. § 123, 4]), equiv. to σημεῖον, 6 ἐστι περιτομή, circumcision which should be a sign of the covenant formed with God, Ro. iv. 11; τὰ σημεῖα τοῦ ἀποστόλου, the tokens by which one is proved to be an apostle, 2 Co. xii. 12; a sign by which anything future is pre-announced, Mk. xiii. 4; Lk. xxi. 73 TO σημ. τῆς σῆς παρουσίας, gen. of the obj., Mt. xxiv. 35 Tov υἱοῦ Tov ἀνθρώπου, the sign which indicates that the Messiah will shortly, or forthwith, come from heaven in visible manifestation, ibid. 30; with a gen. of the subj. τὰ σημεῖα τῶν καιρῶν, i.e. the indications of future events which of καιροί furnish, what of καιροί portend…

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

σημεῖον (ii/B.c.) (= Witkowski®, p. 111) περὶ μὲν [ο]Ἱῦν τῶν ἄλλων [οὔ σοι γέγραφα, Μ΄. . .o]s γάρ σοι σημα[ν]εῖ ἕκαστα, 20. IV. 12069 (B.c. 28) οὔπωι σεσήμαγκε τί ἐκβέβη[κ]ε, and τὸ. 10784 (A.D. 39) (= Chest. L. p. 83) οὐ καλῶς δὲ ἐπόησας ἐκπορευομένων πολλῶν φίλων μὴ σημᾶναί por μηδὲ ἕν. For the two forms σημᾶναι and σημῆναι, see Mayser Gr. i. p- 360, Psaltes Gr. p. 223. The pass. is seen in such passages as P Rein 71" (B.C. 141?) ἐν τῶν σημανθέντι χρόνωι, ‘ within the stipulated time,’ P Amh II. 318 (8.6. 112) σημανθέντος, ‘it having been reported,” P Oxy 11. 2831 (A.D. 45) τὸν σημαινόμένον δοῦλον, ‘the above-mentioned slave,” P Tebt II. 2782 (nursery acrostic—early i/A.D.) onpe(= at)veral μοι, τηρῖ ple] γάρ, “he is indicated to me, for he watches me (Ὁ) ᾿᾿ (Edd.), P Oxy I. 768 (A.D. 179) ὃ σημαινόμενός μου πατήρ, ‘‘my above-mentioned father,’’ 74. 79* (notice of death—A.p. 181-192)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σημεῖον (sēmeion) — sign.

σημεῖον, τό,

Ionic dialect σημήϊον, Doric dialect σᾱμήϊον [Refs 4th c.BC+], σᾱμεῖον [Refs 2nd c.BC+], σᾱμᾶον [Refs] —= σῆμα in all senses, and more common in Prose, but never in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: mark by which a thing is known, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; sign of the future, τυραννίδος σ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; trace, track, σημεῖα δ᾽ οὔτε θηρὸς οὔτε του κυνῶν.. ἐξεφαίνετο [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of a cork on a buoy, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

__b Doric dialect, tomb, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

2. sign from the gods, omen, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; wonder, portent, [LXX+2nd c.BC+]; especially of the constellations, regarded as signs, δύεται σημεῖα [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σημεῖον

semeion

neuter of a presumed derivative of the base of 4591; an indication,

especially ceremonially or supernaturally:--miracle, sign, token,

wonder.

see GREEK for 4591

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σημεῖον, ου, τό

n.n.

a sign, miracle, indication

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σημεῖον sēmeion 77x

a sign, a mark, token, by which anything is known or distinguished, Mt. 16:3; 24:3; 2 Thess. 3:17; a token, pledge, assurance, Lk. 2:12; a proof, evidence, convincing token, Mt. 12:38; 16:1; Jn. 2:18; in NT a sign, wonder, remarkable event, wonderful appearance, extraordinary phenomenon, 1 Cor. 14:22; Rev. 12:1, 3; 15:1; a portent, prodigy, Mt. 24:30; Acts 2:19; a wonderful…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

σημεῖον σημεῖον, ου, τό, σῆμα a sign, a mark, token, Hdt., attic

a sign from the gods, an omen, Soph., Plat.: esp. of the constellations, Eur.

a sign or signal to do a thing made by flags, Hdt.; αἴρειν, κατασπᾶν τὸ ς. to make or take down the signal for battle, Thuc.; τὰ σημεῖα ἤρθη the signals agreed upon were made, id. Thuc.

an ensign or flag, on the admiral's ship, Hdt.; on the general's tent, Xen.:—then, generally, a standard, ensign, Eur.: hence, a boundary, limit, Dem.

a device upon a shield, Hdt., Eur.; upon ships, a figure-head, Ar.

a signal, watchword, Thuc.

in reasoning, a sign or proof, Ar., Thuc., etc.:— σημεῖον δέ: or σημεῖον γάρ: (to introduce an argument) this is a proof of it, Dem., etc.

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

N-NSN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sin ('oth "a sign" "mark" mopheth, "wonder"' semeion, "a sign," "signal," "mark"): A mark by which persons or things are distinguished and made known. In Scripture used generally of an address to the senses to attest the existence of supersensible and therefore divine power. Thus the plagues of Egypt were "signs" of divine displeasure against the Egyptians (Ex 4:8 ff; Jos 24:17, and often); and the miracles of Jesus were "signs" to attest His unique relationship with God (Mt 12:38; Joh 2:18; Ac 2:22). Naturally, therefore, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, "signs" are assimilated to the miraculous, and…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A token, pledge, or proof, Ge 9:12,13 17:11 Ex 3:12 Isa 8:18. Also a supernatural portent, Lu 21:11; and a miracle, regarded as a token of the divine agency, Ex 4:7-9 Mr 8:11. The "signs of heaven" were the movements and aspects of the heavenly bodies, from which heathen astrologers pretended to obtain revelations, Isa 44:25 Jer 10:2. See SHIP.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ A miracle to confirm faith Mt 12:38; 16:4; 24:3,30; Mr 8:11,12; 13:4; Joh 2:11; 3:2; 4:48

→ Asked for by, and given to

Abraham Ge 15:8-17

Moses Ex 4:1-9

Gideon Jud 6:17,36-40

Hezekiah 2Ki 20:8

Zacharias Lu 1:18

→ Given to Jeroboam 1Ki 13:3-5

→ A token of coming events Mt 16:3,4; 24:3

→ See MIRACLES

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
49%signs
signs49% · 38×sign48% · 37×other renderings3% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object52%subject33%adverbial10%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 77 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
μήNegτίςIrgποιέωI do, make
καίand, even, also, nam
τέραςa wonder, portenἐπιζητέωI seek after, deζητέωI seek, search f
ποιέωI do, make
καίand, even, also,ὅςπολύςmuch, many, ofte
αὐτός
ἐπερωτάωI interrogate, qδίδωμιI offer, giveπαρά
σύ
ἀπόοὗτοςποιέωI do, make
σημεῖονa sign77×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
τέραςa wonder, portenδύναμιςmight, power, ma
ποιέωI do, make
ὅςArticle theκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
ποιέωI do, makeδίδωμιI offer, giveἐκπορεύομαιI journey out, c
Article the
καιρόςfitting season, σόςυἱόςa son, descenden
μέγας
καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, existἐν

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

Concordanceσημεῖον · 77× in the New Testament
John Acts Matthew Luke Mark Revelation 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 Thessalonians Romans Hebrews
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 72 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome The Didache The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 49c. AD 40

κατὰ μὲν γὰρ τὸ ἓν τάττεται τὸ λεγόμενον ἐν γεωμετρίᾳ σημεῖον, κατὰ δὲ τὰ δύο γραμμή, διότι ῥύσει μὲν ἑνὸς δυάς, ῥύσει δὲ σημείου συνίσταται γραμμή·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.59c. AD 75–95

καὶ σημεῖον ἐπιβαλών, ᾧ γνώριμος ἂν εἴη, προσέταξεν ἀπιέναι.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.14c. AD 100

ἔτι δὲ κἀκεῖνο, ἀδελφοί μου, νοεῖτε: ὅταν βλέπετε μετὰ τηλικαῦτα σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα γεγονότα ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ οὕτως ἐγκαταλελεῖφθαι αὐτούς: προσέχωμεν, μήποτε, ὡς γέγραπται, πολλοὶ κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοὶ εὑρεθῶμεν.

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 7th c. AD 4th c. AD
O.Did. 361DidymoiAD 77

τῷ κομίζοντί σοι τοῦτο τὸ ὄστρακον, ἄχρι οὗ ἀνακάμψῃ ἀπὸ Βερενίκης καὶ ἀπολάβῃς αὐτόν. σημεῖον ὅτι ἥκεις καλῶν με καὶ τὸν γαμβρὸν καὶ λέγω σοι ὅτι ὀφθαλμιᾷ. μὴ οὖν

C.Clergé 1 31ArsinoitesAD 155–AD 156

Αἰλίου Ἁδριανοῦ Ἀντωνείνου Σεβαστοῦ Εὐσεβοῦς … . μετὰ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν Ἀγαθοκλῆς ἐπύθετο, εἴ τινα σημεῖα ἔχουσιν οἱ παῖδες … ἱερογραμματέως εἰπόντος … ξα μὲν οὐλὰς τοῦ δ … τὸν

C.Clergé 1 33ArsinoitesAD 155–AD 156

Αἰλίου Ἁδριανοῦ Ἀντωνείνου Σεβαστοῦ Εὐσεβοῦς … . μετὰ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν Ἀγαθοκλῆς ἐπύθετο, εἴ τινα σημεῖα ἔχουσιν οἱ παῖδες ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος … δ … Ἀμούνιος ἱερογραμματέως εἰπόντος αὐτοὺς εἶναι

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
οὐou not G3756 Particle · negative
1,622× 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 is a strong 'no', used to deny something completely. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 13:29 and John 1:21. It is a negative answer to a question.
Tyndale gloss
no
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word οὐ (transliterated as ou) is a primary negative particle meaning 'not' or 'no.' It is used to negate verbs or statements, often appearing in various forms depending on the following sound. In the New Testament, it frequently serves to deny facts and is distinct from another negative particle, μή (transliterated as ), which is used for prohibitions or wishes.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὐ, before a vowel with smooth breathing οὐκ, before one with rough breathing οὐχ (but improperly οὐχ ἰδού, Ac 2:7, WH, mg.; cf. WH, Intr., § 409; M, Pr., 44, 244),

[in LXX for לֹא, אַיִן, אֵין;]

neg. particle,

not, no, used generally c. indic. and for a denial of fact (cf . μή);

absol. (accented), οὔ, no: Mt 13:29, Jo 1:21 21:5; οὒ οὔ, Mt 5:37, Ja 5:12.

Most freq. negativing a verb or other word, Mt 1:25 10:26, 38, Mk 3:25 9:37, Jo 8:29, Ac 7:5, Ro 1:16, Phl 3:3, al.; in…

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

οὐ before a consonant, οὐκ before a vowel with a smooth breathing, and ody before an aspirated vowel ; but sometimes in the best codd. οὐχ occurs even before a smooth breathing; accordingly LT WH mrg. have adopted οὐχ ἰδού, Acts ii. 7; LT οὐχ ᾿Ιουδαϊκῶς, Gal. ii. 14 (see WH. Introd. § 409); L οὐχ ὀλίγος, Acts xix. 23; οὐχ ἠγάπησαν, Rev. xii. 11; and contrariwise οὐκ before an aspirate, as οὐκ ἕστηκεν, Jn. viii. 44 T; [οὐκ ἕνεκεν, 2 Co. vii. 12 T]; (οὐκ εὗρον, Lk. xxiv. 3; [οὐκ ὑπάρχει, Acts iii. 6] in cod. x [alsoC*; ef. cod. Alex. in 1 ἔβαν. iv. 2,12; Job xix. 16; xxxviiil. 11, 26]); cf. W. $5, 14d. 14; Β. τ; [A. v. Schiitz, Hist. Alphab. Att., Berol. 1875, pp: 54-58 ; Sophocles, Hist. of Grk. Alphab., 1st ed. 1848, p- 64 sq. (on the breathing); Tdf Sept., ed. 4, Proleg. pp: Xxxiii. xxxiv.; Scrivener, Collation ete., 2d ed., p. lv. no. 9; id. cod. Bezae p. xlvii. no. 11 (ef. p. xlii.…

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

ου to make the voyage” (Edd.), and P Amh II. 78?! (a.p. 184) τοιαύτης ο[ὖ]ν αὐθαδίας ἐν αὐτῷ οὔσης οὐ δυνάμενος [ἐν]καρτερεῖν ἐπιδίδωμι, ‘“ his audacity having reached this pitch I can endure no longer and present this petition.” See further Proleg. p. 231 f. In support of the translation ‘‘ I determined not to know” in 1 Cor 2, we may cite P Par 2657 (B.c. 163) (= UPZi. Ρ-. 248) οὐκ ἐκρίναμεν καταχωρῆσαι, ‘we determined not to record,” P Tebt I. 124° (c. B.c. 118) οὐκ (ἐκδρίναμεν ἐξαρ[ιθ]μεῖ[σθαι, “we determined not to be counted,” and the classical formula in P Hamb I. 27° (B.c. 250 (249)) οὐκ ἔφη εἰδέναι, ‘he said that he did not know.” The origin of the double negative οὐ μή is fully discussed by Moulton Pro/eg. p. 187 ff. When we pass to its actual occurrences in the NT, we find that these for the most part are found in passages derived from the OT and in the Sayings of our Lord…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὐ (ou) — no.

οὐ,

the negative of fact and statement, as μή of will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective. —The same differences hold for all compounds of οὐ and μή, and some examples of οὐδέ and οὐδείς are included below.—As to the Form, see infr. G. USAG[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I. as the negative of single words,

II. as the negative of the sentence.

I. οὐ adhering to single words so as to form a quasi-compound with them:—with Verbs: οὐ δίδωμι withhold, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐκ εἰῶ prevent, [Refs]; οὐκ ἐθέλω refuse, [Refs]; οὔ φημι deny, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; but sometimes οὐ is retained, εἰ δ᾽ ἂν.. οὐκ ἐθέλωσιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐάντε.. οὐ (variant{μή}) φῆτε ἐάντε φῆτε [Refs 8th c.BC+] —On the use of οὐ in contrasts, see below [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὐ

ou

ouk ook, and (before an aspirate)

ouch ookh

a primary word; the absolute negative (compare 3361) adverb; no or

not:--+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, +

nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but. See also

3364, 3372.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὐ

Neg.prt.

no, not

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὐ ou 1x

negative adverb, originally the gen. of ὅς, spelled οὐκ if followed by a word beginning with a vowel and a smooth breathing, οὐχ if followed by a vowel and rough breathing, not, no, Mt. 5:37; 12:43; 23:37; for the peculiarities of its usage (especially as distinct from μή) consult a grammar

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

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
82%not
not82% · 1383×certainly6% · 96×surely4% · 70×no longer3% · 50×no2% · 39×other renderings3% · 51×

1,689 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 17 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
adverbial82%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,622 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
εἰμίI am, existἐγώαὐτός
ὅς
ἐγώθερίζωI reap, gatherδέbut, on the othe
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύαὐτόςἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἐνἐπί
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforὅς
οὐnot1622×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
ἐκArticle theἐγώ
μήNeg
παρέρχομαιI pass byεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inπίνωI drink, imbibe
οἶδαI know, remember
ὅτιthat, since, becArticle theτίςIrg
γάρfor
εἰμίI am, existθέλωI will, wish, deArticle the
δύναμαιI am powerful, am ab
ἔρχομαιI come, goσῴζωI save, healArticle the

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

Concordanceοὐ · 1,622× in the New Testament
John Matthew Luke 1 Corinthians Romans Mark Acts 2 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews 1 John Galatians

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

Across the New Testament26 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 Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
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 1.11c. AD 75–95

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.8c. AD 100

ἐγὼ δὲ οὐχ ὡς διδάσκαλος, ἀλλ̓ ὧς εἰς ἐξ ὑμῶν ὑποδείξω ὀλίγα, δἰ ὧν ἐν τοῖς παροῦσιν εὐφρανθήσεσθε.

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

δὲ γενόμεναι κατὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον κληρονομήσασαι ταξάμεναι τὰ καθήκοντα τέλη θεᾶι Βερενίκηι κυριεύομεν. ὅθεν οὐκ ἀποδιδόντων τὰ ἡμέτερα ἐπεδώκαμεν ἐν τῶι λ ἔτει προσανγελίαν Ἡρακλείδει γενομένωι ἀρχιφυλακίτηι τοῦ Παθυρίτου

C.Erbstreit16Diospolis Magna (Theben)135 BC

ι ἀρουρῶν πρόκτησιν … ένου αὐτὸν ἐν συνεδρίωι καὶ συγχώρησιν … ειν, ἐν ἧι οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ὁ πατήρ. ὅθεν καταβεβραβευμένοι … ήρου συνεριου ἀξιοῦμεν, ἐὰν φαίνηται, συντάξαι γράψαι, οἷς

P.Adl. 2Pathyris125 BC

ὠνῆς ἐν πίστει διὰ τῶν περὶ τὸν Πανεβχοῦνιν ἐκτελειωθεῖσαν τῶι … ἔτει ἀντὶ ὀφειλημάτων, οὐκ ἐπελευσομένους τὸν Πανερέα καὶ τὴν Σενενοῦπιν περὶ ὀφειλημάτων μηδὲ περὶ ἄλλου μηδενός. ταῦτα δὲ

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
δοθήσεταιdidōmi will be given G1325 Verb · future · passive · indicative · third person · singular
414× 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
To give, as seen in Matthew 4:9 and John 1:12, means to bestow or grant something to someone, often with a sense of generosity or sacrifice, like God giving his only son in John 3:16
Tyndale gloss
to give
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δίδωμι, transliterated as didōmi, means 'to give' and is used in a wide range of contexts, including bestowing, granting, and delivering. It appears frequently in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 4:9 and John 3:16. The word is built from a primary verb and has various forms and constructions, indicating its flexibility in usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δίδωμι,

[in LXX chiefly for נתן (53 words in all) ;]

to give—in various senses, acc. to context—bestow, grant, supply, deliver, commit, yield: absol., Ac 20:35; c. acc. rei et dat. pers., Mt 4:9 5:31, Jo 1:12, al. mult.; c. dat. pers., seq. ἐκ, Mt 25:8; id. c. gen. part.. Re 2:17; c. acc. pers., Jo 3:16, Re 20:13, al.; δεξιάς, Ga 2:9; φίλημα, Lk 7:45; γνῶσιν, Lk 1:77; κρίσιν, Jo 5:22; of seed yielding fruit, Read the full entry →

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

δίδωμι (διδῶ, Rev. iii. 9 LT WH; [δίδω Tr, yet see WH. App. p. 167]), 3 pers. plur. διδόασι (Rev. xvii. 13 [not Rec.]), impv. δίδου (Mt. v. 42 RG); impf. 3 pers. sing. ἐδίδου, 3 pers. plur. ἐδίδουν (ἐδίδοσαν, Jn. xix. 3 LT Tr WH [see ἔχω); fut. δώσω; 1 aor. ἔδωκα [2 pers. sing. -xes, Jn. xvii. 7 Trmrg., 8 Trmrg.; cf. reff. s. v. κοπιάω)], subjunc. δώσῃ [and δώσωμεν] fr. an imaginary indic. form ἔδωσα, [ Mk. vi. 37 T Trmrg.]; Jn. xvii. 2 (Tr mrg. WH δώσει) ; Rev. viii. 3 (LT Tr WH δώσει; cf. Lob. ad Phryn. p. 720 sq.; B. 36 (31); W. 79 (76); [Veitch s. v. 618. fin., also Soph. Lex. s. v. and esp. Intr. p. 40; WH. App. p. 172]); pf. δέδωκα [on the interchange between the forms of the pf. and of the aor. in this verb ef. B. 199 (172)]; plpf. ἐδεδώκειν and without augm. [W. § 12, 9; B. 33 (29)] dedaxew, Mk. xiv. 44; and L txt. T Tr WH in Lk. xix. 15; 3 pers. plur. δεδώκεισαν, Jn. xi. 57; 2…

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

δίδωμι structed by Kenyon, P Lond I. p. 2ff. For a specimen of their petitions see P Par 26 (B.C. 163-2), reproduced in Selections, p. 12 ff. It opens—Baordret Πτολεμαίῳ καὶ Βασιλίσσῃ Κλεοπάτρᾳ τῇ ἀδελφῇ, θεοῖς Φιλομήτορσι, χαίρειν. Θανὴς καὶ Taods δίδυμαι, αἱ λειτουργοῦσαι ἐν τῷ πρὸς Μέμφει μεγάλῳ Σαραπιείῳ κτὰ. From 20.15 Kal ἐκ τούτων καὶ τῶν προτοῦ γενηθεισῶν δ[ι]δύμων κομισαμένων τὰ ἑαυτῶν καθ᾽ ἡμέραν δέοντα, we learn that the Twins were there ex officio as twins, in connexion with some Dioscuric cultus: see Rendel Harris Soanerges, p. 272. From later documents it will be enough to quote P Oxy IIT. 533%® (ii/ili A.p.) εὔπατε Kal τοῖς διδύμοις ὅτι προνοήσζα]τε τοῦ κερματίου, “Ὑ16}1 the twins also to be careful about the small change” (Edd.). The frequency of Didymus as a proper name we compare the Latin Geminus and Gemellus (cf. for the latter the farmer whose correspondence at end…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δίδωμι (didōmi) — to give.

δίδωμι,

[Refs 8th c.BC+] (late δίδω [Refs 3rd c.AD+]; late forms, 1st pers. plural διδόαμεν see reading in [Refs 1st c.AD+]; but thematic forms are frequently used, especially in Epic dialect and Ionic dialect, διδοῖς, διδοῖσθα, [Refs 8th c.BC+], διδοῖ [Refs 8th c.BC+], uncertain in Attic dialect, [Refs 6th c.BC+], Epic dialect δίδωθι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; infinitive διδόναι, also διδοῦν [Refs 6th c.BC+], Epic dialect διδοῦναι [Refs 8th c.BC+], Aeolic dialect δίδων [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; participle διδούς, Aeolic dialect δίδοις [Refs 7th c.BC+]imperfect ἐδίδουν -ους -ου, [Refs 8th c.BC+] (Epic dialect δίδου [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural ἐδίδοσαν [Refs 8th c.BC+] codices (ἀπ-), also ἔδιδον probably in [Refs]; Epic dialect iterative δόσκον [Refs 8th c.BC+]: future δώσω [Refs], Epic dialect διδώσω [Refs 8th c.BC+]; infinitive δωσέμεναι [Refs 8th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δίδωμι

didomi

a prolonged form of a primary verb (which is used as an alternative in

most of the tenses); to give (used in a very wide application,

properly, or by implication, literally or figuratively; greatly

modified by the connection):--adventure, bestow, bring forth, commit,

deliver (up), give, grant, hinder, make, minister, number, offer, have

power, put, receive, set, shew, smite (+ with the hand), strike (+

with the palm of the hand), suffer, take, utter, yield.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δίδωμι

v.

I offer, give

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δίδωμι didōmi 415x

pluperfect, ἐδεδώκειν, to give, bestow, present, Mt. 4:9; 6:11; Jn. 3:16; 17:2, et al. freq.; to give, cast, throw, Mt. 7:6; to supply, suggest, Mt. 10:19; Mk. 13:11; to distribute alms, Mt. 19:21; Lk. 11:41; to pay tribute, etc., Mt. 22:17; Mk. 12:14; Lk. 20:22; to be the author or source of a thing, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δίδωμι Redupl. from Root ΔΟ, Lat. do, dare. Orig. sense, to give, τί τινι Hom., etc.; in pres. and imperf. to be ready to give, to offer, id. Hom.

of the gods, to grant, κῦδος, νίκην, and of evils, δ. ἄλγεα, ἄτας, κήδεα id. Hom.; later, εὖ διδόναι τινί to provide well for . . , Soph., Eur.

to offer to the gods, Hom., etc.

with an inf. added, δῶκε τεύχεα θεράποντι φορῆναι gave him the arms to carry, Il.; διδοῖ πιεῖν gives to drink, Hdt., etc.

Prose phrases, δ. ὅρκον, opp. to λαμβάνειν, to tender an oath; δ. χάριν, ῀ χαρίζεσθαι, as ὀργῆι χάριν δούς having indulged his anger, Soph.;— λόγον τινὶ δ. to give one leave to speak, Xen.; but, δ. λόγον ἑαυτῶι to deliberate, Hdt.

c. acc. pers. to give over, deliver up, Hom., etc.

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-FPI-3S — Verb · future · passive · indicative · third person · singular
future passive indicative — an action still to come.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
9%give
give9% · 37×do give7% · 31×given7% · 30×gave6% · 25×he gave6% · 23×has given5% · 22×will give4% · 18×i will give4% · 16×other renderings51% · 212×

414 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 86 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

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

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 414 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
αὐτόςκλάωI breakαἰτέωI ask, request,
Article the
θεόςGod, a godχάριςgrace, favor, kiαὐτός
ὅς
πᾶςall, the whole, ἐγώσύ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδίδωμιI offer, giveκαίand, even, also,
οὐNeg
σημεῖονa sign, miracle,καίand, even, also,σελήνηthe moon
δίδωμιwill be given414×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theἐξουσίαpower, authorityκαίand, even, also,
Article the
μαθητήςa learner, disciἐξουσίαpower, authorityπνεῦμαwind, breath, sp
ἐγώ
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ἵναin order that, s
σύ
Article theἐνἵναin order that, s
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theπερισσεύωI exceed, am lefζητέωI 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

Concordanceδίδωμι · 414× in the New Testament
John Luke Revelation Matthew Mark Acts 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Ephesians Romans 1 John 2 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 985 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 45c. AD 40

Τῇ δὲ τετάρτῃ ἡμέρᾳ μετὰ τὴν γῆν τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐποίκιλλε διακοσμῶν, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ τοῦτον ἐν ὑστέρῳ γῆς ἔταττε, τῇ μὲν ἐλάττονι φύσει προνομίαν διδούς, τὴν δὲ κρείττονα καὶ θειοτέραν δευτερείων ἀξιῶν, ἀλλ’ εἰς ἔνδειξιν ἐναργεστάτην κράτους ἀρχῆς.

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 1.7c. AD 100

ἐγνώρισεν γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ δεσπότης διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τὰ παρεληλυθότα καὶ τὰ ἐνεστῶτα, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων δοὺς ἀπαρχὰς ἡμῖν γεύσεως, ὧν τὰ καθ̓ ἕκαστα βλέποντες ἐνεργούμενα, καθὼς ἐλάλησεν, ὀφείλομεν πλουσιώτερον καὶ ὑψηλότερον προσάγειν τῷ φόβῳ αὐτοῦ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
4th c. AD 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
P. Grenf. 1 21Pathyris127 BC

μέμ μοι ὑγιαίνοντι τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ κύριον εἶναι· ἐὰν δέ τι ἀνθρώπινον πάθω, καταλείπω καὶ δίδωμι τὰ ὑπάρχοντά μοι ἔγγαιά τε καὶ ἔπιπλα καὶ κτήνη καὶ ὅσα ἂν προσεπικτήσωμαι, τὸν

P.Grenf. 1 44Pathyris127 BC

μέμ μοι ὑγιαίνοντι τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ κύριον εἶναι. ἐὰν δέ τι ἀνθρώπινον πάθω, καταλείπω καὶ δίδωμι τὰ ὑπάρχοντά μοι ἔγγαιά τε καὶ ἔπιπλα καὶ κτήνη καὶ ὅσα ἂν προσεπικτήσωμαι, τὸν

μέν μοι ὑγιαίνοντι τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ κύριον εἶναι, ἐὰν δέ τι ἀνθρώπινον πάθω, καταλείπω καὶ δίδωμι τὰ ὑπάρχοντά μοι ἔγγαιά τε καὶ ἔπιπλα καὶ κτήνη καὶ ὅσα ἂν προσεπικτήσωμαι Ταθώτηι

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
αὐτῇautos to it G846 Personal pronoun · dative · singular · feminine
5,550× 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 pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P-DSF Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςto it5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
εἰei only G1487 Conditional particle
501× 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 word means 'if' and is used to express conditions or questions. It appears in many Bible verses, such as Matthew 11:14 and Romans 8:25, introducing a condition or hypothesis.
Tyndale gloss
if
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰ,

conjunctive particle, used in conditions and in indirect questions.

Conditional, if;

c. indic., expressing a general assumption;

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰ (ei) — if.

εἰ,

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰ

ei

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

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

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

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

see GREEK for 1489

see GREEK for 1490

see GREEK for 1499

see GREEK for 1508

see GREEK for 1509

see GREEK for 1512

see GREEK for 1513

see GREEK for 1536

see GREEK for 1537

see GREEK for 1437

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰ

Cond.

if

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰ ei 502x

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

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

COND CONDitional particle or conjunction

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδίδωμιI offer, giveἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἄρτοςbread, a loaf, fδίδωμιI offer, give
ὅτιthat, since, because
ΒηθσαϊδάPropγινώσκωI come to know, σύ
σύ
ἐνλέγωI say, speakἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςἐγώ
εἰonly501×
what comes after →
δέbut, on the other ha
τὶςArticle theεἰ δὲ μήNeg
μήNeg
Article theἐνεἷςone
τὶς
θέλωI will, wish, deδοκέωI think, seem, aἔχωI have, hold, po
γάρfor
Article theπιστεύωI believe, have διά
Article the
θεόςGod, a godΣατανᾶςan adversary, Saδεξιόςon the right han

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

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

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 307 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
μὴ except G3361 Particle · negative
1,060× 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
Not is a word used to show that something is not true or is not happening, like in phrases that say 'lest' or 'God forbid', as seen in various parts of the New Testament.
Tyndale gloss
not
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μή,

subjective negative particle,

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

As a neg. adv., not;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μή (mē) — not.

μή,

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

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

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

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

μή

me

a primary particle of qualified negation (whereas 3756 expresses an

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

interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas 3756 expects an

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

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

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

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

3373, 3375, 3378.

see GREEK for 3756

see GREEK for 3362

see GREEK for 3363

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

see GREEK for 3373

see GREEK for 3375

see GREEK for 3378

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μή

Neg.prt.

not, lest

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μή mē 1x

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

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

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,σύἐγώ
ἵναin order that, so th
αὐτόςσύπροσεύχομαιI pray, pray for
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώαὐτόςεἰμίI am, exist
εἰCond
αὐτόςυἱόςa son, descendenκαίand, even, also,
Article the
καίand, even, also,εἰςδιά
μήexcept1060×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, υἱόςa son, descendenσημεῖονa sign, miracle,
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
καίand, even, also,ποιμήνa shepherdβάθοςdepth, a depth,
εἰμίI am, exist
δίδωμιI offer, giveἐνμετά
τὶς
σύὑστερέωI am lacking, faγεννάωI beget, bring f
φοβέωI fear, am terrified
ἀπόArticle theμόνοςalone, but, only

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

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

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

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

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

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
τὸho the G3588 Article · nominative · singular · neuter
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-NSN — Article · nominative · singular · neuter
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-NSN Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

1. This adjective is used as a definitive, that is, before nouns which are specific or understood; or it is used to limit their signification to a specific thing or things, or to describe them; as the laws of the twelve tables. the independent tribunals of justice in our country, are the security or private rights, and the best bulwark against arbitrary power. the sun is the source of light and heat.

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

2. the is also used rhetorically before a noun in the singular number, to denote a species by way of distinction; a single thing representing the whole. the fig tree putteth forth her green figs; the almond tree shall flourish; the grasshopper shall be a burden.

3. In poetry, the sometimes loses the final vowel before another vowel.

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
σημεῖονsēmeion sign G4592 Noun · nominative · singular · neuter
77× 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 sign is an indication or token of something, often supernatural. In the Bible, it's used in Matthew 26:48 and Luke 2:12 to describe miracles or events that point to God.
Tyndale gloss
sign
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

σημεῖον (i.e., *semeion*) is a neuter noun meaning a sign, mark, or token. It encompasses various uses, including distinguishing features, omens, and miraculous signs, particularly in the context of divine authority. The New Testament frequently employs it to refer to miracles and wonders (e.g., Mt 12:38, 24:30). Notably, some lexicons suggest differing nuances regarding its use in relation to signs of divine intervention versus ordinary indications.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — τέρας, σημεῖον, δύναμις, μεγαλεῖον, ἔνδοξον, παράδοξον, θαυμάσιον from a scan

παράδοξον, θαυμάσιον. THESE words have this in common, that they are all used to characterize the supernatural works wrought by Christ in the days of his flesh; thus σημεῖον, John ii. 11; Acts ii. 19; τέρας, Acts ii. 22; John iv. 48; δύναμις, Mark vi. 2 ; Acts ii. 22; μεγαλεῖον, Luke i. 49; ἔνδοξον, Luke xiii. 17; παράδοξον, Luke v. 26; θαυμάσιον, Matt. xxi. 15 ; while the first three and the most usual are in like manner employed of the same supernatural works wrought in the power of Christ by his Apostles (2 Cor. xii. 12); and of the lying miracles of Antichrist no less (2 Thess. ii. 9). They will be found, on closer examination, not so much to represent different kinds of miracles, as miracles contemplated under different aspects and from different points of view. Tépas and σημεῖον are often linked together in the N. T. (John iv. 48; Acts ii. 22; iv. 30; 2 Cor. xii. 12); and times…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σημεῖον, -ου, τό

[in LXX chiefly for אוֹת ;]

a sign, mark, token;

of that which distinguishes a person or thing from others: Mt 26:48, Lk 2:12, II Th 3:17 (cf. Deiss., LAE, 1532); seq. gen. epexeg., Ro 4:11; c. gen. obj., Mt 24:8, 30, II Co 12:12; c. gen. subj., Mt 16:3;

a sign of warning or admonition: Mt 12:39 16:4, Lk 2:34 11:29, 30, I Co…

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

σημεῖον, -ov, τό, (σημαίνω [or σῆμα), ir. Aeschyl. and Hdt. down, Hebr. nix, @ sign, mark, token; aM uniy. that by which a pers. or a thing is distinguished from others and known: Mt. xxvi. 48; Lk. ii.12; 2 Th. iii. 17; σημεῖον περιτομῆς (explanatory gen. [ef. B. § 123, 4]), equiv. to σημεῖον, 6 ἐστι περιτομή, circumcision which should be a sign of the covenant formed with God, Ro. iv. 11; τὰ σημεῖα τοῦ ἀποστόλου, the tokens by which one is proved to be an apostle, 2 Co. xii. 12; a sign by which anything future is pre-announced, Mk. xiii. 4; Lk. xxi. 73 TO σημ. τῆς σῆς παρουσίας, gen. of the obj., Mt. xxiv. 35 Tov υἱοῦ Tov ἀνθρώπου, the sign which indicates that the Messiah will shortly, or forthwith, come from heaven in visible manifestation, ibid. 30; with a gen. of the subj. τὰ σημεῖα τῶν καιρῶν, i.e. the indications of future events which of καιροί furnish, what of καιροί portend…

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

σημεῖον (ii/B.c.) (= Witkowski®, p. 111) περὶ μὲν [ο]Ἱῦν τῶν ἄλλων [οὔ σοι γέγραφα, Μ΄. . .o]s γάρ σοι σημα[ν]εῖ ἕκαστα, 20. IV. 12069 (B.c. 28) οὔπωι σεσήμαγκε τί ἐκβέβη[κ]ε, and τὸ. 10784 (A.D. 39) (= Chest. L. p. 83) οὐ καλῶς δὲ ἐπόησας ἐκπορευομένων πολλῶν φίλων μὴ σημᾶναί por μηδὲ ἕν. For the two forms σημᾶναι and σημῆναι, see Mayser Gr. i. p- 360, Psaltes Gr. p. 223. The pass. is seen in such passages as P Rein 71" (B.C. 141?) ἐν τῶν σημανθέντι χρόνωι, ‘ within the stipulated time,’ P Amh II. 318 (8.6. 112) σημανθέντος, ‘it having been reported,” P Oxy 11. 2831 (A.D. 45) τὸν σημαινόμένον δοῦλον, ‘the above-mentioned slave,” P Tebt II. 2782 (nursery acrostic—early i/A.D.) onpe(= at)veral μοι, τηρῖ ple] γάρ, “he is indicated to me, for he watches me (Ὁ) ᾿᾿ (Edd.), P Oxy I. 768 (A.D. 179) ὃ σημαινόμενός μου πατήρ, ‘‘my above-mentioned father,’’ 74. 79* (notice of death—A.p. 181-192)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σημεῖον (sēmeion) — sign.

σημεῖον, τό,

Ionic dialect σημήϊον, Doric dialect σᾱμήϊον [Refs 4th c.BC+], σᾱμεῖον [Refs 2nd c.BC+], σᾱμᾶον [Refs] —= σῆμα in all senses, and more common in Prose, but never in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: mark by which a thing is known, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; sign of the future, τυραννίδος σ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; trace, track, σημεῖα δ᾽ οὔτε θηρὸς οὔτε του κυνῶν.. ἐξεφαίνετο [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of a cork on a buoy, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

__b Doric dialect, tomb, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

2. sign from the gods, omen, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; wonder, portent, [LXX+2nd c.BC+]; especially of the constellations, regarded as signs, δύεται σημεῖα [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σημεῖον

semeion

neuter of a presumed derivative of the base of 4591; an indication,

especially ceremonially or supernaturally:--miracle, sign, token,

wonder.

see GREEK for 4591

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σημεῖον, ου, τό

n.n.

a sign, miracle, indication

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σημεῖον sēmeion 77x

a sign, a mark, token, by which anything is known or distinguished, Mt. 16:3; 24:3; 2 Thess. 3:17; a token, pledge, assurance, Lk. 2:12; a proof, evidence, convincing token, Mt. 12:38; 16:1; Jn. 2:18; in NT a sign, wonder, remarkable event, wonderful appearance, extraordinary phenomenon, 1 Cor. 14:22; Rev. 12:1, 3; 15:1; a portent, prodigy, Mt. 24:30; Acts 2:19; a wonderful…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

σημεῖον σημεῖον, ου, τό, σῆμα a sign, a mark, token, Hdt., attic

a sign from the gods, an omen, Soph., Plat.: esp. of the constellations, Eur.

a sign or signal to do a thing made by flags, Hdt.; αἴρειν, κατασπᾶν τὸ ς. to make or take down the signal for battle, Thuc.; τὰ σημεῖα ἤρθη the signals agreed upon were made, id. Thuc.

an ensign or flag, on the admiral's ship, Hdt.; on the general's tent, Xen.:—then, generally, a standard, ensign, Eur.: hence, a boundary, limit, Dem.

a device upon a shield, Hdt., Eur.; upon ships, a figure-head, Ar.

a signal, watchword, Thuc.

in reasoning, a sign or proof, Ar., Thuc., etc.:— σημεῖον δέ: or σημεῖον γάρ: (to introduce an argument) this is a proof of it, Dem., etc.

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

N-NSN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sin ('oth "a sign" "mark" mopheth, "wonder"' semeion, "a sign," "signal," "mark"): A mark by which persons or things are distinguished and made known. In Scripture used generally of an address to the senses to attest the existence of supersensible and therefore divine power. Thus the plagues of Egypt were "signs" of divine displeasure against the Egyptians (Ex 4:8 ff; Jos 24:17, and often); and the miracles of Jesus were "signs" to attest His unique relationship with God (Mt 12:38; Joh 2:18; Ac 2:22). Naturally, therefore, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, "signs" are assimilated to the miraculous, and…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A token, pledge, or proof, Ge 9:12,13 17:11 Ex 3:12 Isa 8:18. Also a supernatural portent, Lu 21:11; and a miracle, regarded as a token of the divine agency, Ex 4:7-9 Mr 8:11. The "signs of heaven" were the movements and aspects of the heavenly bodies, from which heathen astrologers pretended to obtain revelations, Isa 44:25 Jer 10:2. See SHIP.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ A miracle to confirm faith Mt 12:38; 16:4; 24:3,30; Mr 8:11,12; 13:4; Joh 2:11; 3:2; 4:48

→ Asked for by, and given to

Abraham Ge 15:8-17

Moses Ex 4:1-9

Gideon Jud 6:17,36-40

Hezekiah 2Ki 20:8

Zacharias Lu 1:18

→ Given to Jeroboam 1Ki 13:3-5

→ A token of coming events Mt 16:3,4; 24:3

→ See MIRACLES

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
49%signs
signs49% · 38×sign48% · 37×other renderings3% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object52%subject33%adverbial10%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 77 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
μήNegτίςIrgποιέωI do, make
καίand, even, also, nam
τέραςa wonder, portenἐπιζητέωI seek after, deζητέωI seek, search f
ποιέωI do, make
καίand, even, also,ὅςπολύςmuch, many, ofte
αὐτός
ἐπερωτάωI interrogate, qδίδωμιI offer, giveπαρά
σύ
ἀπόοὗτοςποιέωI do, make
σημεῖονsign77×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
τέραςa wonder, portenδύναμιςmight, power, ma
ποιέωI do, make
ὅςArticle theκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
ποιέωI do, makeδίδωμιI offer, giveἐκπορεύομαιI journey out, c
Article the
καιρόςfitting season, σόςυἱόςa son, descenden
μέγας
καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, existἐν

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

Concordanceσημεῖον · 77× in the New Testament
John Acts Matthew Luke Mark Revelation 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 Thessalonians Romans Hebrews
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 72 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome The Didache The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 49c. AD 40

κατὰ μὲν γὰρ τὸ ἓν τάττεται τὸ λεγόμενον ἐν γεωμετρίᾳ σημεῖον, κατὰ δὲ τὰ δύο γραμμή, διότι ῥύσει μὲν ἑνὸς δυάς, ῥύσει δὲ σημείου συνίσταται γραμμή·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.59c. AD 75–95

καὶ σημεῖον ἐπιβαλών, ᾧ γνώριμος ἂν εἴη, προσέταξεν ἀπιέναι.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.14c. AD 100

ἔτι δὲ κἀκεῖνο, ἀδελφοί μου, νοεῖτε: ὅταν βλέπετε μετὰ τηλικαῦτα σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα γεγονότα ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ οὕτως ἐγκαταλελεῖφθαι αὐτούς: προσέχωμεν, μήποτε, ὡς γέγραπται, πολλοὶ κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοὶ εὑρεθῶμεν.

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 7th c. AD 4th c. AD
O.Did. 361DidymoiAD 77

τῷ κομίζοντί σοι τοῦτο τὸ ὄστρακον, ἄχρι οὗ ἀνακάμψῃ ἀπὸ Βερενίκης καὶ ἀπολάβῃς αὐτόν. σημεῖον ὅτι ἥκεις καλῶν με καὶ τὸν γαμβρὸν καὶ λέγω σοι ὅτι ὀφθαλμιᾷ. μὴ οὖν

C.Clergé 1 31ArsinoitesAD 155–AD 156

Αἰλίου Ἁδριανοῦ Ἀντωνείνου Σεβαστοῦ Εὐσεβοῦς … . μετὰ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν Ἀγαθοκλῆς ἐπύθετο, εἴ τινα σημεῖα ἔχουσιν οἱ παῖδες … ἱερογραμματέως εἰπόντος … ξα μὲν οὐλὰς τοῦ δ … τὸν

C.Clergé 1 33ArsinoitesAD 155–AD 156

Αἰλίου Ἁδριανοῦ Ἀντωνείνου Σεβαστοῦ Εὐσεβοῦς … . μετὰ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν Ἀγαθοκλῆς ἐπύθετο, εἴ τινα σημεῖα ἔχουσιν οἱ παῖδες ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος … δ … Ἀμούνιος ἱερογραμματέως εἰπόντος αὐτοὺς εἶναι

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
ἸωνᾶIōnas of Jonah G2495 Noun · genitive · singular · masculine
9× 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
Jonah was a prophet who appeared in Matthew 12:39-41 and Luke 11:29-30, known for being swallowed by a whale.
Amplified meaning
who was swallowed by a whale
Tyndale gloss
Jonah
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word Ἰωνᾶς refers to Jonah, a prophet from the Old Testament, and is derived from Hebrew. It is used in the New Testament to reference both the prophet and Jonah, the father of the apostle Peter. Key verses include Matthew 12:39-41 and Luke 11:29-32, where Jonah's story is mentioned.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Ἰωνᾶς, -ᾶ, ὁ (Heb. יוֹנָה),

Jonah, the prophet: Mt 12:39-41 16:4, Lk 11:29, 30, 32.†

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

Ἰωνάς, -ἃ [B. 20 (17 sq.)], 6, (737 a dove), Jonah (or Jonas) ; 1. Jonah, the O. T. prophet, a native of Gath-hepher in the tribe of Zebulun. He lived during the reign of Jeroboam II., king of Israel (2 K. xiv. 25). The narrative of his miraculous experiences, constructed for a didactic purpose, is given in the book which bears his name [on the historic character of which ef. B.D. (esp. Am. ed.) or McC. and 5. 5. v.; also Ladd, Doctr. of Sacr. Script. i. 65 sqq.]: Mt. xii. 39-41; xvi. 4; Lk. xi. 29 sq. 32. 2. Jonah (or Jonas), a fisherman, father of the apostle Peter: Mt. xvi. 17 [LT WH here Βαριωνᾶ, see Bapiavas]; Jn. i. 42 (43) [RGLmrg. Tr mrg., and RG in] xxi. 15, [16, 17], (see Ἰωάννης, 3).

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

Ἰωνᾶς (Iōnas) — John.

Ἰωνᾶς, -ᾶ, ὁ (Heb. יוֹנָה),

Jonah, the prophet: Mat.12:39-41 16:4, Luk.11:29-30, 32.†

(From Abbott-Smith. LSJ has no entry)

Ἰωνᾶς (Iōnas) — John.

Ἰωνᾶς, -ᾶ, ὁ (Heb. יוֹנָה),

Jonah, the prophet: Mat.12:39-41 16:4, Luk.11:29-30, 32.†

(From Abbott-Smith. LSJ has no entry)

Ἰωνᾶς (Iōnas) — Jonah.

Ἰωνᾶς, -ᾶ, ὁ (Heb. יוֹנָה),

Jonah, the prophet: Mat.12:39-41 16:4, Luk.11:29-30, 32.†

(From Abbott-Smith. LSJ has no entry)

Strong's Greek Dictionary

Ἰωνᾶς

Ionas

of Hebrew origin (3124); Jonas (i.e. Jonah), the name of two

Israelites:--Jonas.

see HEBREW for 03124

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Ἰωνᾶς, ᾶ, ὁ

n.m.

Jonah

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Ἰωνᾶς Iōnas 9x

Jonas, pr. name Jonah, the prophet, Mt. 12:39; Lk. 11:29

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

N-GSM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

jo'-na (yonah, "dove"; 'Ionas):

(1) According to 2Ki 14:25, Jonah, the son of Amittai, of Gath-hepher, a prophet and servant of Yahweh, predicted the restoration of the land of Israel to its ancient boundaries through the efforts of Jeroboam II. The prophet lived and labored either in the early part of the reign of Jeroboam (790-750 BC), or during the preceding generation. He may with great probability be placed at 800-780 BC. His early ministry must have made him popular in Israel; for he prophesied of victory and expansion of territory. His native village of Gath-hepher was located in the territory of Zebulun (Jos 19:13).

(2) According to the book bearing his name, Jonah the son of Amittai received a command to preach to Nineveh; but he fled in the opposite direction to escape…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Jonah

A dove, the son of Amittai of Gath-hepher. He was a prophet of Israel, and predicted the restoration of the ancient boundaries (2 Kings 14:25-27) of the kingdom. He exercised his ministry very early in the reign of Jeroboam II., and thus was contemporary with Hosea and Amos; or possibly he preceded them, and consequently may have been the very oldest of all the prophets whose writings we possess. His personal history is mainly to be gathered from the book which bears his name. It is chiefly interesting from the two-fold character in which he appears, (1) as a missionary to heathen Nineveh, and (2) as a type of the “Son of man.”

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(dove), the fifth of the minor prophets, was the son of Amittai, and a native of Gath-hepher. (2 Kings 14:25) He flourished in or before the reign of Jeroboam II., about B.C. 820. Having already, as it seems, prophesied to Israel, he was sent to Nineveh. The time was one of political revival in Israel; but ere long the Assyrians were to be employed by God as a scourge upon them. The prophet shrank from a commission which he felt sure would result, (Jonah 4:2) in the sparing of a hostile city. He attempted therefore to escape to Tarshish. The providence of God, however, watched over him, first in a storm, and then in his being swallowed by a large fish (a sea monster, probably the white shark) for the space of three days and three nights. [On this subject see article WHALE] After…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

One of the minor prophets, was a native of Gath-hepher, in Zebulun, 2Ki 14:25. Being ordered of God to prophesy against Ninevah, probably in or before the reign of Jeroboam 2, which begun 825 B. C., he endeavored to avoid the command by embarking at Joppa for Tarshish, in order to fly as far as possible in the opposite direction. But being overtaken by a storm, he was thrown overboard at his own request, and miraculously preserved by being swallowed by a large fish. See WHALE. Several Greek and Roman legends seem to have been borrowed from this source. After three days, typical of our Savior’s stay in the tomb, the fish cast Jonah out upon the shore; the word of the Lord a second time directed him to go to Nineveh, and he obeyed. The allusions of the narrative to the vast extent and population of this city, are confirmed by other…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
78%jonah
jonah78% · 7×than jonah22% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject78%adverbial22%

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
σημεῖονa sign, miracle, ind
Article the
κήρυγμαa proclamation, prea
Article the
πολύςmuch, many, often
ὁράωI see, look upon
εἰμίI am, exist
γάρfor
γίνομαιI come into being, a
γάρfor
Ἰωνᾶςof Jonah
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
ὁράωI see, look uponκαταλείπωI leave behind,
Article the
προφήτηςa prophet, poetΝινευίτηςa Ninevite
ὧδεhere
ἐν
Article the

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

ConcordanceἸωνᾶς · 9× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke
Across the New Testament2 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 15 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 Clement of Rome
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 9.206c. AD 75–95

τούτῳ προεφήτευσέ τις Ἰωνᾶς, ὡς δεῖ πολεμήσαντα τοῖς Σύροις αὐτὸν κρατῆσαι τῆς ἐκείνων δυνάμεως καὶ πλατῦναι τὴν αὑτοῦ βασιλείαν τοῖς μὲν κατὰ τὴν ἄρκτον μέρεσιν ἕως Ἀμάθου πόλεως, τοῖς δὲ κατὰ τὴν μεσημβρίαν ἕως τῆς Ἀσφαλτίδος λίμνης·

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 7.7c. AD 96

Ἰωνᾶς Νινευΐταις καταστροφὴν ἐκήρυξεν: οἱ δὲ μετανοήσαντες ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν αὐτῶν ἐξιλάσαντο τὸν θεὸν ἱκετεύσαντες καὶ ἔλαβον σωτηρίαν, καίπερ ἀλλότριοι τοῦ θεοῦ ὄντες.

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 2nd c. AD 8th c. AD 4th c. AD
PSI 9 1062Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 104–AD 105

ἰδιῶτιν ἐτῶν κϛ ἄσημον, καὶ ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων τέκνα τὸν δεῖνα ἐτῶν … καὶ … ιωνα ἐτῶν … καὶ Δίδυμον ἔτους α μὴ ἀναγεγραμμένους ἐν τοῖς ἐπιγεγενημένοις καὶ Τασουχάριον ἐτῶν

P.Stras. 1 76HermopolitesAD 128

ἔτος Ἁδριανοῦ Καίσαρος τοῦ κυρίου τὰς ὑπαρχούσας σοι ἐν τῶι Πατεμίτῃ ἄνω περὶ … ιωνα Σομομπαὼ ἀρούρας δύο ἥμισυ εἰς σπορὰν πυροῦ ἐκφορίου ἀποτάκτου πυροῦ ἀρταβῶν εἴκοσι πέντε ἡμίσους

ZPE 81 (1990), p. 249 no. 4Philadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 126–AD 175

vestiges … vestiges … Κάστορα Ἀνίκητος … … Ἰουλιανῷ Οὐιβίου πράκτορι … ίωνα Λεῦτος … μιπλε … ενκες

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
τοῦho the G3588 Article · genitive · 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.

Read the full entry →
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-GSM — Article · genitive · singular · masculine
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-GSM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

1. This adjective is used as a definitive, that is, before nouns which are specific or understood; or it is used to limit their signification to a specific thing or things, or to describe them; as the laws of the twelve tables. the independent tribunals of justice in our country, are the security or private rights, and the best bulwark against arbitrary power. the sun is the source of light and heat.

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

2. the is also used rhetorically before a noun in the singular number, to denote a species by way of distinction; a single thing representing the whole. the fig tree putteth forth her green figs; the almond tree shall flourish; the grasshopper shall be a burden.

3. In poetry, the sometimes loses the final vowel before another vowel.

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

<the> And answering He said to them; A generation evil and adulterous a sign seeks for; and a sign not will be given to it only except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
προφήτου.prophētēs prophet. G4396 Noun · genitive · singular · masculine
144× 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
A prophet is someone who acts as an interpreter of God's will, as seen in Matthew 5:12 and Romans 11:3. They speak forth God's message to others.
Amplified meaning
one who speaks forth God's will, messenger
Tyndale gloss
prophet
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word προφήτης (i.e., *prophētēs*) means 'prophet' and is derived from roots meaning 'to speak forth.' It refers to someone who interprets the divine will, often predicting future events. In the New Testament, it encompasses Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, and Christian prophets, highlighting their role as inspired teachers and speakers of God's messages.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

προφήτης, -ου, ὁ [< πρόφημι, to speak forth),

[in LXX chiefly for נָבִיא;]

one who acts as an interpreter or forth-teller of the Divine will (v. Lft., Notes, 83 f.; Tr., Syn., § vi), a prophet;

in cl. (Æsch., Hdt., Plat., al.), of the interpreters of oracles.

In NT,

of the OT prophets: Mt 5:12, Mk 6:15, Lk 4:27, Jo 8:52, Ro 11:3, al.;

of prophets in general: Mt 10:41 13:57 21:46, Mk 6:4, Lk 13:33, al.;

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

προφήτης, -ov, 6, (πρόφημι, to speak forth, speak out; hence prop. ‘one who speaks forth’; see πρό, ἃ. a.), Sept. - = . for w2) (which comes fr. the same root as (Gs: ‘to divulge,’ ‘make known,’ ‘announce’ [ef. Fleischer in Delitzsch, Com. τι. d. Gen., 4te Aufl. p. 551 sq.], therefore prop. i. q. interpreter, Ex. vii. 1, ef. iv. 16; hence an inlerpreter or spokesman for God; one through whom God speaks; cf. esp. Bleek, Einl. in ἃ. A. T. 4te Aufl. p. 309 [Β. Ὁ. s. v. Prophet and reff. there; esp. also Day’s note on Oehler’s O. T. Theol. § 161, and W. Robertson Smith, Prophets of Israel, p. 389 (note on Lect. ii.)]), one who speaks forth by divine inspiration; I. In Grk. writ. fr. Aeschyl., Hdt., and Pind. down 1. an interpreter of oracles (whether uttered by the gods or the μάντεις), or of other hidden things. 2. a foreteller, soothsayer, seer. II. In the N. T. 1. one who, moved by the…

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

προφήτης. OGIS 11118 shows us a προφήτης in Upper Egypt in ii/B.c. ; and in Sy/J 790 (=*1157)* (c. B.C. 100?), a procession is ordered in honour of the oracle of Apollo Coropaeus (Corope in the Pagasaean Gulf). The procession is formed of an elected ἱερεύς of Apollo, one each from the colleges of στρατηγοί and νομοφύλακες, one of the πρυτάνεις and a ταμίας, preceding τὸν γραμματέα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὸν προφήτην. The prophet is the interpreter of the oracle—‘‘ the composer’’ would come nearer to fact—and the γραμματεύς takes down the response he dictates. See also the list of religious officials in the Canopic Decree OGIS 56% (B.c. 238) (cf. the Rosetta stone 72. 90°—B.c. 196) οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς Kal προφῆται καὶ οἱ εἰς τὸ ἄδυτον εἰσπορευόμένοι πρὸς τὸν στολισμὸν τῶν θεῶν καὶ οἱ πτεροφόραι καὶ ἱερογραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι ἱερεῖς. Dittenberger notes adl. that the προφῆται are ‘‘interpretes oraculorum…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

προφήτης (prophētēs) — prophet.

προφήτ-ης, ου,

Doric dialect and Boeotian dialect προφάτας [ᾱ], α, [Refs 6th c.BC+] (πρό, φημί):— properly one who speaks for a god and interprets his will to man, Διὸς π. interpreter, expounder of the will of Zeus, of Tiresias, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Βάκχου π., perhaps of Orpheus, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; [Διονύσου] π., of the Bacchae, [Refs]; Νηρέως π., of Glaucus, [Refs]; especially of the Delphic Apollo, Διὸς π. ἐστὶ Λοξίας πατρός [Refs 4th c.BC+]; of the minister and interpreter at Delphi, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; at the Ptoön,[Refs 2nd c.BC+]; compare προφῆτις.

2. title of official keepers of the oracle at Branchidae, [Refs 1st c.AD+]; elsewhere, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

προφήτης

prophetes

from a compound of 4253 and 5346; a foreteller ("prophet"); by

analogy, an inspired speaker; by extension, a poet:--prophet.

see GREEK for 4253

see GREEK for 5346

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

προφήτης, ου, ὁ

n.m.

a prophet, poet

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

προφήτης prophētēs 144x

pr. a spokesman for another; spc. a spokesman or interpreter for a deity; a prophet, seer, Tit. 1:12; in NT a prophet, a divinely commissioned and inspired person, Mt. 14:5; Lk. 7:16, 39; Jn. 9:17; a prophet in the Christian church, a person gifted for the exposition of divine truth, 1 Cor. 12:28, 29; a prophet, a foreteller of the future, Mt. 1:22, et al. freq.; οἱ προφῆται, the prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament, Lk. 16:29

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

προφήτης πρόφημι one who speaks for a God and interprets his will to man, a prophet; so Teiresias is πρ. Διός, Jove's interpreter, Pind.; and of Apollo, Διὸς προφήτης ἐστὶ Λοξίας πατρός Aesch.; while the Pythia, in turn, became the προφῆτις of Apollo, Hdt.; so Poets are called οἱ τῶν Μουσῶν προφῆται interpreters of the Muses, Plat.

generally, an interpreter, declarer, ἐγὼ πρ. σοι λόγων γενήσομαι Eur.; so, the bowl is called κώμου προφάτης, Pind.

in NTest.,

one who possesses the gift of προφητεία, an inspired preacher and teacher.

the revealer of God's counsel for the future, a prophet (in the modern sense of the word), a predicter of future events.

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

N-GSM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Prophet

(Heb. nabi, from a root meaning “to bubble forth, as from a fountain,” hence “to utter”, comp. Ps. 45:1). This Hebrew word is the first and the most generally used for a prophet. In the time of Samuel another word, ro’eh, “seer”, began to be used (1 Sam. 9:9). It occurs seven times in reference to Samuel. Afterwards another word, hozeh, “seer” (2 Sam. 24:11), was employed. In 1 Ch. 29:29 all these three words are used: “Samuel the seer (ro’eh), Nathan the prophet (nabi’), Gad the seer” (hozeh). In Josh. 13:22 Balaam is called (Heb.) a kosem “diviner,” a word used only of a false…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

The ordinary Hebrew word for prophet is nabi , derived from a verb signifying "to bubble forth" like a fountain; hence the word means one who announces or pours forth the declarations of God. The English word comes from the Greek prophetes (profetes), which signifies in classical Greek one who speaks for another , especially one who speaks for a god , and so interprets his will to man; hence its essential meaning is "an interpreter." The use of the word in its modern sense as "one who predicts" is post-classical. The larger sense of interpretation has not, however, been lost. In fact the English word ways been used in a closer sense. The different meanings or shades of meanings in which the abstract noun is employed in Scripture have been drawn out by Locke as follows: "Prophecy comprehends three things: prediction; singing by the dictate of the Spirit; and understanding and explaining…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
51%prophets
prophets51% · 76×prophet43% · 64×prophet?2% · 3×other renderings4% · 6×

149 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
adverbial28%subject28%object24%predicate16%indirect object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 144 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,ἨσαΐαςIsaiahδιά
ὅτιthat, since, because
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheὄντωςreally, truly
αὐτός
εἰςαἰώνan age, a cycle καίand, even, also,
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegεἰCond
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀπόστολοςan apostle, a meαὐτόςἅγιοςset apart, holy,
προφήτηςprophet.144×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλιθοβολέωI stone, cast stδίκαιοςjust, righteous,
λέγωI say, speak
ἐκφωνήa sound, noise, αὐτός
Article the
δέbut, on the otheπρόπατήρfather, Father,
εἰμίI am, exist
σύδιάDisj
οὐNeg
ἔρχομαιI come, goἀκούωI hear, listenἐγείρωI wake, arouse,

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

Concordanceπροφήτης · 144× in the New Testament
Matthew Acts Luke John Revelation 1 Corinthians Mark Ephesians Romans 2 Peter Hebrews 1 Peter

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament15 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 155 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 Epistle of Barnabas The Didache The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.103c. AD 40

καὶ γὰρ ὅτε Ἀαρὼν ὁ λόγος καὶ Μαριὰμ ἡ αἴσθησις ἐπανίστανται, ῥητῶς ἀκούουσιν ὅτι, „ἐὰν γένηται προφήτης κυρίῳ, ἐν ὁράματι αὐτῷ γνωσθήσεται“ καὶ ἐν σκιᾷ ὁ θεός, οὐκ ἐναργῶς, Μωυσεῖ δέ, ὅστις „πιστὸς ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ, στόμα κατὰ στόμα λαλήσει, ἐν εἴδει…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.240c. AD 75–95

Κλεόδημος δέ φησιν ὁ προφήτης ὁ καὶ Μάλχος ἱστορῶν τὰ περὶ Ἰουδαίων, καθὼς καὶ Μωυσῆς ἱστόρησεν ὁ νομοθέτης αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἐκ τῆς Κατούρας Ἁβράμῳ ἐγένοντο παῖδες ἱκανοί.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.7c. AD 100

ἐγνώρισεν γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ δεσπότης διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τὰ παρεληλυθότα καὶ τὰ ἐνεστῶτα, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων δοὺς ἀπαρχὰς ἡμῖν γεύσεως, ὧν τὰ καθ̓ ἕκαστα βλέποντες ἐνεργούμενα, καθὼς ἐλάλησεν, ὀφείλομεν πλουσιώτερον καὶ ὑψηλότερον προσάγειν τῷ φόβῳ αὐτοῦ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. BC 2nd c. BC
SB 1 5232Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 15

αἴθριον καὶ τόπους ψιλοὺς ἀπὸ νότου τῆς οἰκίας πατρικοὺς αὐτοῦ παρὰ Χαιρήμονος τοῦ Ἡρώδου προφήτου Σούχου θεοῦ μεγάλου Ἀρσινοείτου νομοῦ εὐδοκούσης τῆς τούτου γυναικὸς Τομσάιος, καὶ ἐθέμην διὰ Σωκράτους

P.Lond. 2 p. 178 no. 355Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 16

ψιλῶν τόπων τοῦ προφήτου καθοριζομένου τοὺς πεπραμένους ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τόπους ἐπικεκρατῆσθαι ὑπὸ τε τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν

SB 1 5240Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 17

νεωτέρου τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Σοκνοπαίου Νήσου ἀγοράσαντα τῶι μα ἔτει οἰκίαν ἀδέσποτον παρὰ τοῦ προφήτου προσανειληφέναι τῶι μγ ἔτει Καίσαρος ἑτέρους ψιλοὺς τόπους ἀδεσπότους. τὸν αὐτὸν εἰσέδωκεν Νεστνῆφις. σημανθέντος

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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