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Matthew 14:10 — Word Study

Depth

N1904καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.

BSAAndkai [subsequently, as a result] he having sentpempō [dispatched an order, commanded] beheadedapokephalizō [executed by cutting off his head, decapitated] <the>ho JohnIōannēs [the Baptist, a prophet] inen [within, inside] theho prison.phulakē [a place of confinement, a jail]

Word
Listen & take awayMatthew 14
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 10 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 (phulakē) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Matthew 14:10quick helps
In a sentenceHerod ordered the execution of John the Baptist.
Who is speakingHerod, the king, is the one giving the order.
Where we areThis event occurs in the context of Herod's banquet, where he is pressured to fulfill a promise.
The hard wordἀπεκεφάλισεν
Take awayThe act of beheading signifies a brutal and decisive end.
6 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Ellicott & more — read them › clause subjectπέμπω verbπέμπω 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 14:10

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

Context — The Execution of John the Baptistgenerated

9The king was grieved, but because of his oaths and his guests, he ordered that her wish be granted
10and sent to have John beheaded in the prison.
11John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.
12Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. And they went and informed Jesus.

Matthew 14:10 describes how Herod, under pressure from his guests, commanded that John the Baptist be executed. This decision was made following a promise he had made during a banquet, highlighting the influence of public opinion on his actions. The narrative illustrates the tragic fate of John, a prophet who boldly spoke the truth, and sets the stage for the consequences of Herod's choices.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Matthew 17:12But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”
2Matthew 21:35–36But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
3Matthew 22:3–6He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.
4Matthew 23:34–36Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town.
52 Chronicles 36:16But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 10 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word ἀπεκεφάλισεν, apokephalizōgenerated

The verb ἀποκεφαλίζω (apokephalizō) means 'to behead' and is derived from the prefix ἀπό meaning 'from' and κεφαλή meaning 'head.' This term specifically refers to the act of decapitation, a violent method of execution.

In this context, it indicates the brutal nature of John's death, emphasizing the severity of Herod's command. The use of this word reflects the finality and horror of the act, which was a common punishment for those deemed a threat to authority.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is presented in the Berean Standard Bible, which has sent to have John beheaded in the prison. This wording is consistent across several translations, including the KJV and ASV.

However, some translations differ in their phrasing. For example, the YLT uses having sent, he beheaded, while the BBE states had John's head cut off, reflecting variations in how the action is described.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the sentence is ἀπεκεφάλισεν, he beheaded, which is the action taken by Herod. This verb is supported by a participial phrase πέμψας, having sent, indicating the sequence of actions.

The structure includes a noun phrase Ἰωάννην, John, as the object of the verb, and a prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ, in the prison, providing context for where the action took place.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In Matthew 14:10, the Greek word φυλακῇ (phulakē), meaning "prison," is used to describe the location where John the Baptist was beheaded. This term appears in the Septuagint 71 times and is chosen to render Hebrew words that convey the idea of guarding or watching, such as מִשְׁמֶ֫רֶת (mishmeret) meaning "guard" and שָׁמַר (shamar) meaning "to keep" or "to watch.

The choice of φυλακῇ in this context carries the connotation of imprisonment and oversight, suggesting not only the physical confinement of John but also the authority and control exercised over him in that setting.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Matthew 14:10 tells us that Herod sent an order to have John the Baptist executed in prison. This act highlights the consequences of Herod's promise made during a banquet, showing the tragic end of a prophet who spoke the truth.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

Why did Herod order John to be beheaded?

Herod ordered John's execution due to pressure from his guests after making a promise during a banquet, demonstrating how public opinion influenced his decision.

What does the act of beheading signify?

Beheading signifies a brutal and final act of execution, often used as a punishment for those who challenge authority, as seen in the case of John the Baptist.

How does this event relate to the broader narrative of John's ministry?

This event marks the culmination of John's ministry, which involved calling people to repentance and speaking against the moral failings of leaders, ultimately leading to his martyrdom.

What can we learn from John's fate?

John's fate serves as a reminder of the cost of speaking truth to power and the potential consequences faced by those who uphold their convictions.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What does John's execution teach us about the cost of discipleship?
  2. How can we stand firm in our beliefs even when faced with opposition?
  3. In what ways can we support those who speak truth in difficult situations?
  4. How does this event reflect the challenges faced by prophets and leaders throughout history?

Commentators on this verse — 6 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Matthew 14:10 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

And he sent,.... "An executioner", as in Mr 6:27 where the Latin word "speculator", or as it is sometimes written "spiculator", is used; and is the name of an officer concerned in executions, and

Read John Gill on Matthew 14 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. No JFB commentary on these verses.

Read Robert Jamieson on Matthew 14 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. Ver. 10. And he sent and beheaded John] Put him to death secrecy, as the Papists did and do still (in the bloody Inquisition house especially) many of the martyrs. Stokesby, bishop of London, caused Mr John Hunne to be thrust in at the nose with hot burning needles, while he was in the prison, and then to be hanged there; and said he had hanged himself. Another bishop having in his prison an innocent man, because he could not overcome him by Scripture, caused him privily to be snarled, and his flesh to be torn and plucked away with pincers; and bringing him before the people, said the rats had eaten him. And I have heard of a certain bishop…

Read John Trapp on Matthew 14 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(10) He sent, and beheaded John in the prison.—Measured by the standard of earthly greatness, it seems almost like a paradox to say of one who had only been for a few short months a preacher of righteousness in the wilderness of Judæa, as men have said of the kings and conquerors of the world, “So passed from the earth one of the greatest of her sons;” and yet this, and nothing less than this, if we accept our Lord’s words, must be our estimate of the Baptist’s character. Intensity of purpose, dauntless courage, profound humility, self-denial carried to its highest point, a burning love that passed beyond the limits of race and nation, tenderness of sympathy for the toilers of the world…

Read Charles John Ellicott on Matthew 14 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Ch. Matthew 14:1-12. Herod the Tetrarch puts to death John the Baptist Mark 6:14-29, where the further conjectures as to the personality of Jesus are given, “Elias, a [or the] prophet, or as one of the prophets,” and the whole account is narrated in the vivid dramatic manner of St Mark. St Luke relates the cause of the imprisonment, Mark 3:19-20; the conjectures as to Jesus, Matthew 9:7-9.

Read Cambridge on Matthew 14 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

10. Beheaded John in the prison — From the banquet of dissolute royalty the executioner goes, probably by night, to the prophet’s dungeon.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Matthew 14 →

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

and sent to have John beheaded in the prison.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

and sent to have John beheaded in the prison.

NETBNew English Translation2006

So he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.

RVARevised Version, American1894

and he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

And sent, and beheaded Iohn in the prison.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

And he sent and beheaded John in the prison;

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and having sent, he beheaded John in the prison,

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

and having sent, he beheaded John in the prison,

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

He sent and beheaded John in the prison.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

The order was passed on and John was beheaded in prison.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

And he sent and had John's head cut off in the prison.

Word by word, the decisions they made

πέμψαςpempō he having sent G3992 2 different renderings
sentASV BBE BSB DBY DRA GNV KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
having sentLSV YLT
ἀπεκεφάλισενapokephalizō beheaded G607 2 different renderings
beheadedASV BSB DBY DRA FBV GNV KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
he beheadedLSV YLT

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.

clauseκαὶAndclauseclauseadverbialλυπηθεὶςhaving been grievednoun phrase · subjecttheβασιλεὺςkingprepositional phrase · adverbialδιὰon account ofnoun phrasenoun phraseτοὺςtheὅρκουςoathsκαὶandnoun phraseτοὺςthoseclauseverbσυνανακειμένουςreclining with [him]verbἐκέλευσενhe commanded [it]objectδοθῆναιto be givenκαὶAndclauseadverbialπέμψαςhe having sentverbἀπεκεφάλισενbeheadedobjectἸωάνηνJohnprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνinnoun phraseτῇtheφυλακῇprison

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

Misitque et decollavit Joannem in carcere.

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

ܘܫܕܪ ܦܣܩܗ ܪܫܗ ܕܝܘܚܢܢ ܒܝܬ ܐܣܝܪܐ

The Bible of the Syriac-speaking church, in the language nearest to the Aramaic Jesus spoke.

Shown verse by verse rather than word by word: aligning a Greek word to its Latin or Syriac counterpart automatically would be guesswork, and a wrong alignment is worse than none.


The Greek editions compared — what the manuscripts actually say

Eight printed editions of the Greek New Testament, side by side. Where they agree the wording is settled; where a word is missing from an edition it is marked, so you can see the difference rather than take it on trust.

Nestle-Aland 28th edition2012 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

Every witness on this verse they differ
Critical editions
Nestle-Aland 28th edition2012Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993SBL Greek New Testament2010Westcott–Hort1881Tregelles1857–1879Tyndale House Greek NT2017
Byzantine / Majority
Byzantine majority text2018
Received Text
Textus Receptus1550/1894

A witness that read differently would show its variant word here, marked.

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
τὸν <the>NA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, TR, ByzWH, Treg

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 14:10καίAndAndκαίπέμπωhe having she having sentπέμπωἀποκεφαλίζωbeheadedbeheadedἀποκεφαλίζω<the><the>ἸωάννηςJohnJohnἸωάννηςἐνininἐνthetheφυλακήprison.prison.φυλακήἀπόPrep. fromPrep. from, awaἀπόφυλάσσωv. I keep,v. I keep, guarφυλάσσωστέλλωv. I arranv. I arrange, tστέλλωεἰςPrep. intoPrep. into, in,εἰςἐκPrep. fromPrep. from out,ἐκΤιμόθεοςn.m. Timotn.m. TimothyΤιμόθεοςθέλημαn.n. will,n.n. will, wishθέλημαἸωάννηςn.m. Johnn.m. JohnἸωάννηςἐγώPers.pr. IPers.pr. Iἐγώβαπτιστήςn.m. the bn.m. the baptizβαπτιστήςΖεβεδαῖοςn.m. Zebedn.m. ZebedeeΖεβεδαῖοςσυναγωγήn.f. an asn.f. an assemblσυναγωγήἔρημοςAdj desertAdj deserted, dἔρημοςθύραn.f. a doon.f. a door, opθύραβάλλωv. I cast,v. I cast, throβάλλω
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 14:10

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Greek lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. Imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, the full Liddell-Scott-Jones, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate LSJ, Robinson and Packard on the Greek, Webster and Cawdrey on the English the translators were using. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

And he having sent beheaded <the> John in the prison.
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
subsequently, as a result
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

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

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

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

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

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

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

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

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
ἐνἐπίπρός
σύ
χάριςgrace, favor, kiπρόςπατήρfather, Father,
ἐγώ
πατήρfather, Father, πρόςθεόςGod, a god
εἰμίI am, exist
αὐτόςArticle theἐγώ
θεόςGod, a god
Article theθέλημαwill, wish, desiδέbut, on the othe
καίAnd8978×
what comes after →
Article the
ἀδελφόςa brotherπατήρfather, Father, μήτηρa mother
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theπρός
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existμήNegδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
Article theαὐτόςἀνήρa male human bei
ἐν
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ὅλοςall, the whole,

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

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

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

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

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

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

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

And he having sent beheaded <the> John in the prison.
πέμψαςpempō he having sent G3992 Verb · aorist · active · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
79× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Matthew than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To send someone or something from one place to another, used in Matthew 22:7 to describe sending an invitation. It can also mean to dispatch someone on a mission or task.
Amplified meaning
dispatched an order, commanded
Tyndale gloss
to send
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πέμπω, transliterated as pempō, means 'to send' and is used in various contexts, such as sending people, messages, or things. It appears in the New Testament to describe actions like sending messengers (e.g., Matthew 22:7) and is often associated with divine sending, as seen with figures like John the Baptist. The word has nuances of dispatching and conducting, and it can also imply sending with a purpose.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πέμπω,

[in LXX chiefly for שׁלח;]

to send;

of persons: c. acc., absol., Mt 22:7, Lk 7:19, Jo 1:22, II Co 9:3, al.; ptcp. seq. verb., Mt 14:10, Ac 19:31, al.; ptcp. seq. διά (= Heb. בְּיוֹד, I Ki 16:20, al.), Mt 11:2 (cf. Re 1:1); of teachers sent by God, Jo 1:33 4:34, Ro 8:3, al.; c. acc. et dat., I Co 4:17, Phl 2:19; seq. πρός, c. acc.,

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

πέμπω ; fut. πέμψω; 1 aor. ἔπεμψα [on its epistolary use (for the pres. or the pf.) see W. 278 (261); B. 198 (172): Bp. Lehtft. on Phil. ii. (25), 28; Philem. 11]; Pass., pres. πέμπομαι; 1 aor. ἐπέμφθην (Lk. vii. 10) ; fr. Hom. down; Sept. for nw; to send: twa, absol., one to do something, Mt. xxii. 7; Lk. vii. 19; xvi. 24; Jn.i. 22; vii. 18; xiii. 16,20; xx. 21 [Treg. mrg. amooréAX.]; 2 Co. ix. 3; Phil. ii. 23, 28, ete.; τινά or τινάς is omitted where the ptep. is joined to another finite verb, as πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισε τὸν ᾿Ιωάννην, he sent (a deputy) and beheaded John, Mt. xiv. 10; add, Acts xix. 31; xxiii. 30, (for other exx. see ἀποστέλλω, 1 d.); in imitation of the Hebr. 79 V3 Now (1S. xvi. 20; 2S. xi. 14; xii. 25; 1K. ii. 25) we find πέμψας διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, he sent by his disciples (unless with Fritzsche, and Bornemann, Schol. in Lue. p. lxv., one prefer to take πέμψας absol.…

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

πέμπω. It is not necessary to do more than cite a few exx. of this common verb—P Hib I. 5415 (c. B.c. 245) (= Chrest. I. Ῥ. 563) κόμισαι δὲ Kal τὸν ἔριφον παρὰ ᾿Αριστίωνος καὶ πέμψον ἡμῖν, ‘get the kid also from Aristion and send it to me,’ P Par 63: 17(B.c. 164) (=P Petr III. p. 18) a 2 πενθέω ἐν τῶι πεμφθέντι σοι Tap ἡμῶν ὑπομνήματι, “in the minute sent to you by us,” P Tebt I. 225 (B.c. 112) πεπομφότες τῆι κα ἐπὶ τὰ σπέρματα, “having sent on the 2151 for the seed,” 26. II. 414° (ii/A.D.) t μὴ ὅτι ἠσθένηκα, πάλαι πεπόνφην cot, “had it not been for the fact that I was ill, I would have sent them to you long ago’’ (Edd.), and P Iand 108f. (iii/A.D.) ἐπένσαμέν σοι ταύτην τὴν ἐπ]ιστολὴν διὰ τῶν φυλάκων [ἐκπορευομένων, ἐπειδὴ δι᾿ ἄλλ]ου οὐ δυνάμεθα πένσαι σοι, with the editor’s note, where there are also collected a number of instances of the dropping of the 24 π, e.g. P Oxy III. 5281…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πέμπω (pempō) — to send.

πέμπω,

Epic dialect infinitive -έμεναι, -έμεν, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: Ionic dialect imperfect πέμπεσκε [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future πέμψω [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Doric dialect πεμψῶ [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; Epic dialect infinitive πεμψέμεναι [Refs 8th c.BC+]aorist ἔπεμψα, Epic dialect πέμψα [Refs 8th c.BC+]: perfect πέπομφα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: pluperfect ἐπεμπόμφει, Ionic dialect -εε, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle (not in early Prose, except in compounds ἀπο-, μετα-, προ-πέμπομαι), future πέμψομαι only falsa lectio in [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist ἐπεμψάμην [Refs]:—passive, future πεμφθήσομαι [Refs 1st c.BC+]: aorist ἐπέμφθην [Refs 5th c.BC+]: 3rd.pers. singular perfect πέπεμπται [Refs 5th c.BC+]; participle πεπεμμένος [Refs 4th c.BC+]: pluperfect ἐπέπεμπτο [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—send, frequently of persons, as messengers, spies, etc., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of troops, [Refs 4th c.BC+] send…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πέμπω

pempo

apparently a primary verb; to dispatch (from the subjective view or

point of departure, whereas hiemi (as a stronger form of eimi) refers

rather to the objective point or terminus ad quem, and 4724 denotes

properly, the orderly motion involved), especially on a temporary

errand; also to transmit, bestow, or wield:--send, thrust in.

see GREEK for 4724

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πέμπω

v.

I send

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πέμπω pempō 79x

to send, to despatch on any message, embassy, business, etc., Mt. 2:8; 11:2; 14:10; to transmit, Acts 11:29; Rev. 1:11; to dismiss, permit to go, Mk. 5:12; to send in or among, 2 Thess. 2:11; to thrust in, or put forth, Rev. 14:15, 18

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πέμπω to send, despatch, Il., etc.; of a ship, to convey, carry, Od.; c. dupl. acc., ὁδὸν π. τινά to conduct one on his way Soph.

to send forth or away, dismiss, like ἀποπέμπω, to send home, Hom.; χρὴ ξεῖνον παρεόντα φιλεῖν, ἐθέλοντα δὲ πέμπειν, "welcome the coming, speed the parting guest, " Od.

of missiles, to discharge, shoot forth, Hes.

of words, to send forth, utter, Aesch., Soph.

to conduct, convoy, escort, Lat. deduco, Hom., etc.; ὁ πέμπων absol., of Hermes, Soph.:— πομπὴν πέμπειν to conduct a procession, Hdt., Thuc.; π. χορούς Eur., Xen.: in Pass., πέμπεσθαι Διονύσωι to be carried in procession in his honour, Hdt.

to send with one, give as provision for a journey, Od., Hdt., etc.

like ἀναπέμπω, to send up, produce, Soph.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(shalach; apostello): "Sent" in the Old Testament is the translation of shalach, "to send" (of presents, messengers, etc., Ge 32:18; 44:3; Jud 6:14; 1Ki 14:6; Es 3:13; Pr 17:11; Jer 49:14; Eze 3:5; 23:40; Da 10:11; Ob 1:1); of shelach, Aramaic (Ezr 7:14; Da 5:24); of shilluchim, "sending" (

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
42%having sent
having sent42% · 33×send13% · 10×do send6% · 5×i sent6% · 5×sent5% · 4×i will send4% · 3×i have sent4% · 3×will send4% · 3×other renderings16% · 13×

79 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 20 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
verb98%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 79 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
ἀλλάbut, exceptθέλημαwill, wish, desiκαίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
ὀργίζωI irritate, provἐκεῖνοςἐγώ
αὐτός
οὐδείςno one, none, noἐκοὗτος
ὅς
ἅγιοςset apart, holy,
ἐγώ
χρείαneed, necessity,ὅς
πέμπωhe having sent79×
what comes after →
ἐγώ
πατήρfather, Father, καίand, even, also,εἰς
αὐτός
εἰςοὗτοςπρός
Article the
στράτευμαan armyδέbut, on the otheυἱόςa son, descenden
πρός
σύArticle theαὐτός
σύ
παράΤιμόθεοςTimothyἵναin order that, s

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

Concordanceπέμπω · 79× in the New Testament
John Acts Luke Philippians Revelation Matthew 1 Corinthians 1 Thessalonians 1 Peter 2 Corinthians 2 Thessalonians Colossians
Across the New Testament16 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Ignatius of Antioch The Shepherd of Hermas Polycarp
Philo of AlexandriaThat the Worse Attacks the Better 14c. AD 40

οὐκ ἂν οὖν ἀφθόνου θεραπείας ὑπαρχούσης υἱὸν ἠξίου πέμπειν, οὗ μάλιστα ἐκήδετο, ἐπὶ πρᾶξιν, ἣν καὶ τῶν εὐτελεστάτων ἄν τις ῥᾳδίως κατώρθωσεν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.12c. AD 75–95

οὐδὲ γὰρ πᾶσαν ἐκεῖνος ἔφθη λαβεῖν τὴν ἀναγραφήν, ἀλλὰ μόνα τὰ τοῦ νόμου παρέδοσαν οἱ πεμφθέντες ἐπὶ τὴν ἐξήγησιν εἰς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν·

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Fay. 110Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 94

τόν ποτε ἡγούμενον τόκους ἐτῶν β δραχμὰς ρκ. καὶ τὰς θύρας ἐπιστησάτωσαν οἱ τέκτονες· πέμπω δέ σοι τὰ σχοινία. τὰς δὲ ὠλένας τοῦ ἐλαιουργίου διπλᾶς ποίησον, τὰς δὲ τῶν

P.Fay. 116Euhemeria (ArsinoitesAD 104

ἐκείνου τοῦ μετεώρου ἕως πεντεκαιδεκάτης τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος μηνὸς Χύακ, καὶ ἐὰν δύνῃ ἀρτάβην ἐλᾶς πέμψαι α… πέμψεις ἵνα τῶι ἀδελφῶι πέμψωμεν. μὴ οὖν ἄλλως ποιήσῃς. ἐὰν ἀποχωρῶ πέμψω πρὸς

P.Fay. 117Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 108

τὸν βασιλικὸν διαδέχεσθαι τὴν στρατηγείαν Ἐράσου ἐξ ἐπιστολῆς τοῦ κρατίστου ἡγεμόνος. ἐάν συ δόξῃ πέμψαι αὐτῷ ἐλᾶς ἀρτάβην α καὶ ἰχθύδιον ἐπεὶ χρείαν αὐτοῦ ἔχομεν. πέμψεις ἡμῖν εἰς οἶκον

And he having sent beheaded <the> John in the prison.
ἀπεκεφάλισενapokephalizō beheaded G607 Verb · aorist · active · indicative · third person · singular
4× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means to behead or decapitate, as in Matthew 14:10, where John the Baptist is beheaded. It is a violent and severe act, often used as a form of punishment or execution.
Amplified meaning
executed by cutting off his head, decapitated
Tyndale gloss
to behead
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀποκεφαλίζω (apokephalizō) is built from the prefix ἀπό meaning 'from' and κεφαλή meaning 'head.' It means to behead or decapitate and appears in the New Testament in Matthew 14:10, Mark 6:16, 28, and Luke 9:9. The entries indicate it is a later Greek term.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

† ἀπο-κεφαλίζω

(< ἀπό, κεφαλή),

[in LXX: Ps 151:7*;]

to behead: Mt 14:10, Mk 6:16, 28, Lk 9:9.†

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

ἀποκεφαλίζω: 1 aor. ἀπεκεφάλισα; (κεφαλή); to cut off the head, behead, decapitate: Mt. xiv. 10; Mk. vi. 16, 27 (28); Lk. ix. 9. A later Grk. word: [Sept. Ps. fin.] ; Epict. diss. 1, 1, 19; 24; 29; Artem. oneir. 1, 35; ef. Fischer, De vitiis lexx. N. T. p. 690 sqq. ; Lob. ad Phryn. p- 341.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀποκεφαλίζω (apokephalizō) — to behead.

ἀποκεφᾰλ-ίζω,

behead, [LXX+2nd c.AD+]; of a fish, Dorioap.[Refs 2nd c.AD+]:—passive, [Refs 1st c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀποκεφαλίζω

apokephalizo

from 575 and 2776; to decapitate:--behead.

see GREEK for 575

see GREEK for 2776

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀποκεφαλίζω

v.

I behead

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀποκεφαλίζω apokephalizō 4x

to behead, Mt. 14:10; Mk. 6:16, 28; Lk. 9:9

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
75%beheaded
beheaded75% · 3×he beheaded25% · 1×

4 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
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 4 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
ἐγώ
ὅςἸωάννηςJohn
πέμπωI send
καίand, even, also,
ἀπέρχομαιI come or go away fr
καίand, even, also,
ἀποκεφαλίζωbeheaded
what comes after →
ἸωάννηςJohn
ἐνοὗτος
αὐτός
ἐν
τίςIrg
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

Concordanceἀποκεφαλίζω · 4× in the New Testament
Mark Luke Matthew
Across the New Testament3 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
And he having sent beheaded <the> John in the prison.
τὸνho <the> G3588 Article · accusative · singular · masculine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

T-ASM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative 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

And he having sent beheaded <the> John in the prison.
ἸωάννηνIōannēs John G2491 Noun · accusative · singular · masculine
134× 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
John refers to several important figures in the Bible, including John the Baptist and John the Apostle, one of Jesus' twelve apostles. John the Baptist is mentioned in Matthew 3:1 and John the Apostle in Matthew 4:21.
Amplified meaning
the Baptist, a prophet
Tyndale gloss
John
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word Ἰωάννης (transliterated as Ioannes) is a proper noun meaning "John." It is derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) and refers to several biblical figures, including John the Baptist, John the Apostle, John the father of Peter, and John Mark. The New Testament frequently uses this name, appearing in various forms across different verses.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Ἰωάνης (Rec. -ννης, q.v.; cf. Dalman, Gr., 142; Tdf., Pr., 79; WH, App., 159; Bl., § 3, 10; 10, 2), -ου, dat., -ῃ (but in Mt 11:4, Lk 7:18, 22, Re 1:1, -ει), acc., -ην, ὁ (Heb. יוֹחָנָן, LXX: Ἰωανάν, II Ch 23:1, al.; -ννάν, Je 47 (40):8, al., Aq.), Hellenized form of Ἰωανάν,

John (I Es 8:38(41)*), viz.,

John the Baptist: Mt 3:1, al.

John the Apostle, son of Zebedee: Mt 4:21, Mk 1:19,

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

Ἰωάννης (Iōannēs) — John.

Ἰωάνης (Rec. ννης, which see; cf. Dalman, Gr., 142; Tdf., Pr., 79; WH, App., 159; Bl., §3, 10; 10, 2), -ου, dative, -ῃ (but in Mat.11:4. Luk.7:18, 22 Rev.1:1, ει), accusative, -ην, ὁ (Heb. יוֹחָנָן, LXX: Ἰωανάν, 2Ch.23:1, al.; -ννάν, Je 47 (40):8, al., Aq.), Hellenized form of Ἰωανάν,

John ( I Est.8:38(41)*), viz.,

1. John the Baptist: Mat.3:1, al.

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

Ἰωάννης

Ioannes

of Hebrew origin (3110); Joannes (i.e. Jochanan), the name of four

Israelites:--John.

see HEBREW for 03110

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Ἰωάννης, ου, ὁ

n.m.

John

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Ἰωάννης Iōannēs 135x

also spelled Ἰωάνης, Joannes, John, pr. name (1) John the Baptist, Mt. 3:1, et al. (2) John, son of Zebedee, the apostle, Mt. 4:21, et al. (3) John, surnamed Mark, Acts 12:12, et al. (4) John, the high-priest, Acts 4:6

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

N-ASM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

John

(1.) One who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment on the apostles Peter and John (Acts 4:6). He was of the kindred of the high priest; otherwise unknown.

(2.) The Hebrew name of Mark (q.v.). He is designated by this name in the acts of the Apostles (12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37).

(3.) THE APOSTLE, brother of James the “Greater” (Matt. 4:21; 10:2; Mark 1:19; 3:17; 10:35). He was one, probably the younger, of the sons of Zebedee (Matt. 4:21) and Salome (Matt. 27:56; comp. Mark 15:40), and was born at Bethsaida. His father was apparently a man of some wealth (comp.…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

the same name as Johanan, a contraction of Jehoanan, Jehovah’s gift . One of the high priest’s family, who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment upon the apostles Peter and John. (Acts 6:6) The Hebrew name of the evangelist Mark. (Acts 12:12,25; 13:5,13; 15:37)

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

1. THE BAPTIST, the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ, was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, and was born about six months before Christ, as Reland and Robinson suppose at Juttah, Jos 21:16 Lu 1:29, a town some five miles south of Hebron, but according to tradition at a place about four miles west of Jerusalem. Several Old Testament predictions found their fulfillment in him. See Isa 40:3 Mt 3:3 Mal 3:1 4:5 Mt 11:14. His birth, name, and office were also foretold by the angel Gabriel to his father Zacharias while ministering at the temple altar. Several other…

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

the grace or mercy of the Lord

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
98%john
john98% · 133×other renderings2% · 3×

136 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
subject48%object25%adverbial16%predicate5%indirect object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 134 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
αὐτόςκαίand, even, also,δέbut, on the othe
καίand, even, also, nam
ἸάκωβοςJamesΠέτροςPeterΖεβεδαῖοςZebedee
ὅτιthat, since, because
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheτὶς
μαθητήςa learner, disciple,
Article the
λέγωI say, speak
γράφωI writeἀνήρa male human beiἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸωάννηςJohn134×
what comes after →
Article the
βαπτιστήςthe baptizer, thἀδελφόςa brotherβαπτίζωI dip, submerge,
καίand, even, also, nam
ἸάκωβοςJamesArticle theλέγωI say, speak
λέγωI say, speak
διάἐπιστάτηςmaster, teacherκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
βαπτίζωI dip, submerge, bap
ἐνβάπτισμαthe rite or cere
μένDisj
βαπτίζωI dip, submerge,σημεῖονa sign, miracle,

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

ConcordanceἸωάννης · 134× in the New Testament
Luke Mark Matthew Acts John Revelation Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament7 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 8.305c. AD 75–95

οἱ δὲ τὰς μὲν ἐνεπίμπρασαν τὰς δὲ διήρπασαν πορευθέντες, τήν τε Ἰωάνου λεγομένην καὶ Δάνα καὶ Ἀβελάνην καὶ ἄλλας πολλάς.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 7th c. AD 5th c. AD 4th c. AD 8th c. AD
P.Jud.Des.Misc. p. 103-105 no. 19Jericho (Judaea)AD 101–AD 200

FrA αλλα … Ἰωάνης … πο επι … … τοῦ ε … … ἕπτα καί … ιου ν

ÉdP 5 (1939), p. 108Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 304

τοῦ λόγου περὶ τοῦ προτέρου ιθ ἔτους καὶ ιη ἔτους καὶ ια ἔτους. Αὐρήλιος Ἰωάννης ἔγραψα τὰ ὅλα. ἔτους κα καὶ ιγ Ἁθὺρ ιζ.

P.Cair. Isid. 115Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 306

μου ἀρουρῶν περὶ κώμην Καρανίδα πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τέσσαρας ἥμισυ, γίνονται ἀρτάβαι δ 𐅵. Αὐρήλιος Ἰωάννης ἔγραψα τὰ ὅλα. ἔτους ιε καὶ γ Ἁθὺρ κα.

And he having sent beheaded <the> John in the prison.
ἐνen in G1722 Preposition
2,743× 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 is a preposition that means in, on, or among something. It's used in many places, like Matthew 7:3 and Luke 7:37, to describe a location or relationship. It can also mean by, with, or during.
Amplified meaning
within, inside
Tyndale gloss
in/on/among
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐν,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐν (en) — in/on/among.

ἐν,

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

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

__A WITH DAT.

__A.I OF PLACE,

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

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

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐν

en

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

one, X quickly,

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

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

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

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

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

preposition.

see GREEK for 1519

see GREEK for 1537

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐν

Prep.

in, on, among

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐν en 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐν

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

Lat. in.

PREP. WITH DAT.:

OF PLACE

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

in, upon, ἐν οὔρεσι Hom., etc.

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

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

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

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

PREP PREPosition

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
And he having sent beheaded <the> John in the prison.
τῇho the G3588 Article · dative · singular · feminine
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-DSF — Article · 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

T-DSF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

And he having sent beheaded <the> John in the prison.
φυλακῇ.phulakē prison. G5438 Noun · dative · singular · feminine
46× 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 refers to a prison, guard, or watch, like in Acts 12:10 where Peter was held in prison by King Herod's guards. It can also mean a place of protection or a time of vigilance, as in Luke 2:8 where shepherds kept watch over their flocks.
Amplified meaning
a place of confinement, a jail
Tyndale gloss
prison/watch: prison
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

φυλακή (phulakē) refers to a guarding or watch, often associated with the act of keeping watch or the place where individuals are held, such as a prison. It encompasses meanings related to security, custody, and the time divisions of night. The New Testament uses it in contexts of imprisonment (e.g., Mt 14:10) and as a watch during the night (e.g., Lk 12:38).

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

φυλακή, -ῆς, ἡ

(< φυλάσσω)

[in LXX chiefly for מִשְׁמֶרֶת and cogn. forms, also for כֶּלֶא etc. ;]

actively, a guarding, guard, watch (Hom., Plat., Xen., al.): cogn. acc., φυλάσσειν φυλακάς, to keep watch, Lk 2:8;

of those who keep watch (as also Lat. custodia), a guard; pl., sentinels, a guard (Hom., al.): Ac 12:10;

of the place where persons are kept under guard, a prison (Hdt., Thuc., al.): Mt 14:10, Mk 6:17, Lk 3:20, Ac 5:19, II Co 6:5,

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

φυλακή, -js, ἡ, (φυλάσσω), fr. Hom. down, Sept. for NNW, Ww, 71D (a prison), x52 (enclosure, confinement), guard, watch, i. e. a. in an act. sense, a watching, keeping watch: φυλάσσειν φυλακάς, to keep watch, Lk. ii. 8 (often in the Grk. writ. fr. Xen. an. 2, 6, 10, etc.; Plat. lege. 6 p. 758 ἃ. down; [οἵ. φυλακὰς ἔχειν, ete. fr. Hom. (Il. 9, 1 ete.) on]; often also in Sept. for Το Ww). b. like the Lat. custodia and more freq. the plur. custodiae (see Klotz, Hdwrbch. [or Harpers’ Lat. Dict.] s.v.), iq. persons keeping watch, a guard, sentinels: Acts xii. 10 [here A. V. ward] (and very often in prof. auth. fr. Hom. down). c. of the place where captives are kept, a prison: Mt. xiv. 10; xxy. 36, [39], 43 sq.; Mk. vi. 17, 27 (28); Lk. iii. 20; xxi. 12; xxii.33; Actsv.19, 22; vili.3; xii. ὅ 5α. 17; xvi. 27,40; xxii.4; xxvi. 10; 2 Co. vi. 5 [here, as in ΗΘ}. xi. 36, A. V. imprisonment]; 2 Co.…

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

φυλακή. (1) For φυλακή in the general sense of ‘‘ care,” “charge,” of a thing: P Lille I. 78 (iii/B.c.) ἐπιζητήσαντος αὐτοῦ βυβλάριά τινα, ἃ ἐδεδώκειν ἐν φυ(λακῆι) ““1] me réclama de petits livres qu’il m’avait donnés en garde.” (2) ‘‘ watch,” “‘guard”’: P Tebt II. 2827 (late ii/B.c.) a guard declares that he will keep the best watch possible upon other people’s holdings—ov(Aakiv) ἀλ[λο]τρ[{1ὧν κλή(ρων) συντηιρήσιν ἀπὸ τίο]ῦ BeAtirov, /vene 254 (soon after B.C. 200) ὅπως δὲ ἡ χ]ώρα ἡ Μιλησίων καὶ ἸΠριηνέων ἐμ. φυλ[ακῆι καὶ σωτηρίαι ὑπάρχηι. (3) = ‘‘a guard,” i.e. ‘‘persons keeping guard” (Lat. custodia), as in Ac 12: P Giss I. 1915 (ii/A.D.), a sister begs her brother not to face some danger (perhaps connected with the Jewish war) without a guard—pi μόνος τὸν κίνδυνον [ἄνευ] φυλακῆς ὑπόμεινε (/. ὑπόμενε). (4) = “« prison” (Mt 1419, a/.): BGU IV. 1138'8 (B.c. 18) ἀπολείίψ)ομαι τὸν…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

φυλακή (phulakē) — prison/watch: prison.

φῠλᾰκ-ή, ἡ,

(φύλαξ) watching or guarding, especially by night, φυλακῆς μνήσασθε [Refs 8th c.BC+]; φυλακὰς ἔχειν keep watch and ward, [Refs]; φ. κατέχειν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; φυλακὴ ἔχει αὐτόν watching engages him, variant in [Refs 8th c.BC+] tell an unarmed man to stand on the defensive, i.e. to give commands that cannot be obeyed, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὅπως ἀφανὴς εἴη ἡ φ. that there might be nothing visible to watch, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; φυλακὰς φυλάξειν keep watch and ward, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; φυλακὰς καταστήσασθαι, κατασκευάσασθαι, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. watch or guard, of persons, [NT+5th c.BC+]; φ. τοῦ σώματος a body guard, [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc.; garrison of a place or fortress, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἡ…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

φυλακή

phulake

from 5442; a guarding or (concretely, guard), the act, the person;

figuratively, the place, the condition, or (specially), the time (as a

division of day or night), literally or figuratively:--cage, hold,

(im-)prison(-ment), ward, watch.

see GREEK for 5442

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

φυλακή, ῆς, ἡ

n.f.

a watching, guard, prison, imprisonment

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

φυλακή phylakē 47x

a keeping watch, ward, guard, Lk. 2:8; a place of watch, Rev. 18:2; a watch, guard, body of guards, Acts 12:10; ward, custody, imprisonment, 2 Cor. 6:5; 11:23; Heb. 11:36; prison, 1 Pet. 3:19; a place of custody, prison, Mt. 14:10; 25:39, 44; a watch or division, of the night, which in the time of our Savior was divided into watches of three hours each, called ὀψέ, μεσονύκτιον, ἀλεκτοροψωνία and πρωία, or πρωί, Mt. 14:25; 24:43; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

φυλακή φυ^λα^κή, ἡ, φυλάσσω a watching or guarding, watch, guard, ward, esp. by night, φυλακῆς μνήσασθε keep watch and ward, Il.; so, φυλακὰς ἔχειν id. Il.; ὅπως ἀφανὴς εἴη ἡ φ. that there might be nothing visible to watch, Thuc.; φυλακὴν φυλάττειν to keep watch, Xen.; τὰς φ. ποιεῖσθαι id. Xen.; φυλακὰς καταστήσασθαι to set watches, Ar.

a watch or guard, of persons, Plat., Xen., etc.; ἡ τοῦ σώματος φ. a body guard, Dem.:— a guard or garrison, Hdt.; ἡ ἐν τῇ Ναυπάκτῳ φ., of a squadron of ships, Thuc.

of place, a watch, station, post, Il., Xen.

of time, a watch of the night, Hdt., Eur., etc.

a place for keeping others in, a ward, prison, Anth., NTest.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-DSF — Noun · 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

N-DSF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Prison

The first occasion on which we read of a prison is in the history of Joseph in Egypt. Then Potiphar, “Joseph’s master, took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound” (Gen. 39:20-23). The Heb. word here used (sohar) means properly a round tower or fortress. It seems to have been a part of Potiphar’s house, a place in which state prisoners were kept.

The Mosaic law made no provision for imprisonment as a punishment. In the wilderness two persons were “put in ward” (Lev. 24:12; Num. 15:34), but it was only till the mind of God concerning them should be ascertained. Prisons and prisoners are mentioned in the book of Psalms (69:33; 79:11; 142:7). Samson was confined in a…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

[For imprisonment as a punishment, see PUNISHMENTS] It is plain that in Egypt special places were used as prisons, and that they were under the custody of a military officer. (Genesis 40:3; 42:17) During the wandering in the desert we read on two occasions of confinement "in ward" -- (Leviticus 24:12; Numbers 15:34) but as imprisonment was not directed by the law, so we hear of none till the time of the kings, when the prison appears as an appendage to the palace, or a special part of it. (1 Kings 22:27) Private houses were sometimes used as places of confinement. By the Romans the tower of Antoni, was used as a prison at Jerusalem, (

→ Public ward of Ac 5:18

→ Cells of Ac 16:24

→ Court of Jer 33:1

→ Dungeon in

See DUNGEON

→ See IMPRISONMENT

→ See PRISONERS

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
73%prison
prison73% · 35×watch10% · 5×prisons6% · 3×imprisonments4% · 2×guard2% · 1×imprisonment2% · 1×time of night2% · 1×

48 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 7 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
adverbial74%predicate13%object9%subject2%indirect object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 46 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
ἐνθύραa door, opportunἐκ
εἰς
βάλλωI cast, throw, rκαίand, even, also,παραδίδωμιI hand over, del
ἐν
καίand, even, also,ἐγώDisj
καίand, even, also, nam
συναγωγήan assembly, conδεσμόςa bond, chainδαιμόνιονan evil-spirit,
δέbut, on the other ha
τέταρτοςfourth
φυλακήprison.46×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
οὐNegἔρχομαιI come, goφέρωI carry, bear, b
Article the
νύξthe night, nightκλέπτηςa thief
εἰμίI am, exist
καίand, even, also,ἐν
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spὄρνεονa bird
βάλλωI cast, throw, rush,

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

Concordanceφυλακή · 46× in the New Testament
Acts Matthew Luke Revelation Mark 2 Corinthians 1 Peter Hebrews John
Across the New Testament9 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 71 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 Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.55c. AD 40

ἡ μὲν οὖν εὐθιξία θέσις ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ, ἡ δὲ ἐπιμονὴ πρᾶξις τῶν καλῶν [τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ καλά], ἡ δὲ μνήμη φυλακὴ καὶ διατήρησις τῶν ἁγίων δογμάτων.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.136c. AD 75–95

Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἱππεῖς παραλαβόντες τὸν Βενιαμὶν ἦγον πρὸς Ἰώσηπον καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἑπομένων, ὁ δὲ τὸν μὲν ἰδὼν ἐν φυλακῇ, τοὺς δʼ ἐν πενθίμοις σχήμασι, τί δή, φησίν, ὦ κάκιστοι, φρονήσαντες ἢ περὶ τῆς ἐμῆς φιλανθρωπίας ἢ περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς προνοίας…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 14.7c. AD 100

λέγει οὖν ὁ προφήτης: Ἐγὼ κύριος, ὁ θεός σου, ἐκάλεσά σε ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ κρατήσω τῆς χειρός σου καὶ ἐνισχύσω σε, καὶ ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους, εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν ἀνοῖξαι ὀφθαλμοὺς τυφλῶν καὶ ἐξαγαγεῖν ἐκ δεσμῶν πεπεδημένους καὶ ἐξ οἴκου φυλακῆς…

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

τῆς τούτων ἀπαιτήσεως οὐ μετρίως ἐσκυλμένος ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ, ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου συνόδου … μετὰ φυλακῆς τόπον ἐκ τόπου μεταγειοχότων καὶ ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου πρα … ησων ἀπʼ ὀλίγων

P.Lond. 2 p. 163-165 no. 354Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites8 BC–5 BC

τας φάσκοντες τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν ἐκ τοῦ ζῆν μεθεστακέναι πρὸς … λο … κατὰ φυλακὴν. καταστάντες δὲ καὶ ἀπολογησάμενοι ἐφάνημεν τῶι Κόρδωι ἀθῶιοι τῆς συκοφαντίας, ὥστε εἰ μὴ ἐξ

P.Fay. 53Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 111

ἄλλος μητρὸς τῆς αὐτῆς συντάξιμον τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους Θεαδελφίας δραχμὰς ὀκτώ, γίνονται δραχμαὶ η, φυλακῆς δραχμὴν μίαν διώβολον, ἐπιμερισμοῦ ἀπόρων τρεισκαιδεκάτου ἔτους δραχμὰς δύο ἡμιώβολον δεσμοφυλάκων ἡμιώβολον χαλκοῦς β,

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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