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Matthew 4:20 — Word Study

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N1904οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.¶

BSA<the>ho Andde immediatelyeutheōs [immediately, without delay] having leftaphiēmi [released, abandoned] theho netsdiktuon [fishing tools, equipment] they followedakoloutheō [accompanied, obeyed] Him.autos [Jesus, their Master]

Word
Listen & take awayMatthew 4
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 20 is in this chapter.
Greek ↓ Download MP3 Nestle 1904 — the very text on this page — read by Andy Martin in Erasmian pronunciation.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (autos) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Matthew 4:20quick helps
In a sentenceThe disciples immediately left their fishing nets to follow Jesus.
Who is speakingJesus, calling His first disciples.
Where we areThe moment of calling in the early ministry of Jesus.
The hard wordἀφέντες
Take awayThe disciples' prompt response shows their commitment to Jesus.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subject verbἀφίημι 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 4:20

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 Calling of the First Disciplesgenerated

19“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
20And at once they left their nets and followed Him.
21Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them,
22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

Matthew 4:20 describes the moment when Jesus called His first disciples, Peter and Andrew, to follow Him. They were fishermen, and upon hearing His call, they immediately left their nets. This act of leaving their livelihood signifies a profound commitment to Jesus and His mission. The context shows Jesus actively recruiting His followers as He begins His public ministry.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Matthew 10:37Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
2Matthew 19:27“Look,” Peter replied, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?”
31 Kings 19:21So Elisha turned back from him, took his pair of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s equipment, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow and serve Elijah.
4Psalm 119:60I hurried without hesitating to keep Your commandments.
5Mark 10:28–31Peter began to say to Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.”

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 7 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word ἀφέντες, aphiēmigenerated

The word ἀφίημι (aphiēmi) is a second aorist active participle meaning 'having left'. It conveys the idea of releasing or abandoning something, in this case, their fishing nets. The action is decisive, indicating a complete departure from their previous way of life.

This participle emphasizes the immediacy of their response to Jesus' call. They did not hesitate or deliberate; they left their nets without delay, indicating their readiness to embrace a new purpose.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

In the Berean Standard Bible, the phrase is rendered as left, which is also the choice of the KJV and ASV. These versions maintain the straightforward meaning of the Greek verb.

The Young's Literal Translation offers having left, which emphasizes the action as a completed event, while the WEB and other translations use followed to convey the disciples' action in response to Jesus.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb in this verse is ἠκολούθησαν, they followed, with two phrases connected to it: an adverbial phrase indicating immediacy and a participial phrase describing their action of leaving. This structure shows the disciples' quick response to Jesus' call.

The subject of the sentence is οἱ, the, referring to the disciples, while the object is αὐτῷ, Him, referring to Jesus. The adverb εὐθέως modifies the verb, indicating the promptness of their action.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

δίκτυα is the Greek word for nets, which appears in the Septuagint as רֶ֫שֶׁת (H7568), meaning 'net' in Hebrew. This connection highlights the continuity of fishing imagery in both the Old and New Testaments.

The verb ἀφίημι also appears in the Septuagint, where it translates various Hebrew terms related to release and forgiveness, showing a broader semantic range that includes letting go of past burdens.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Matthew 4:20 tells us that Peter and Andrew immediately left their fishing nets to follow Jesus. This shows their willingness to leave behind their old lives and embrace a new purpose as disciples.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that they left their nets?

Leaving their nets signifies a complete commitment to following Jesus, prioritizing His call over their previous livelihood.

Why did they follow Jesus immediately?

Their immediate response indicates their faith and readiness to embrace the new mission that Jesus presented to them.

What can we learn from their response?

The disciples' prompt action teaches us about the importance of responding quickly and wholeheartedly to God's call in our lives.

How does this verse connect to the theme of discipleship?

This verse illustrates the essence of discipleship: leaving behind former ways to follow Jesus and participate in His mission.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What are some things in my life that I need to leave behind to follow Jesus more closely?
  2. How can I cultivate a readiness to respond to God's call in my life?
  3. In what ways can I support others in their journey of discipleship?
  4. What does it mean for me to follow Jesus today in my daily life?

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

Gregory the Dialogist reflects on the immediate response of the disciples to Jesus' call in his homilies, emphasizing their commitment to follow Him.

Gregory the DialogistForty Gospel Homilies, Homily 5 c. 540–604
You have heard, dearest brothers, that at the voice of a single command, Peter and Andrew, leaving their nets, followed the Redeemer.

Gregory highlights the significance of the disciples' quick response to Jesus' command, illustrating their dedication and readiness to follow.

Early Church Fathers on Matthew 4 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Matthew 4:20 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

And they straightway left their nets,.... That is, as soon as he had called them, they left their worldly employment, and followed him; they gave up themselves to his service, and became his

Read John Gill on Matthew 4 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

Read Robert Jamieson on Matthew 4 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

When Christ calls, men shall obey; when he calls, he draweth. It is not of indispensable necessity that men who exercise the ministry should have nothing else to do, Paul’ s hands ministered to his necessities; but nothing but a providing for ourselves and households can excuse ministers in entangling themselves with the things of this life. Churches that are able ought better to provide for their ministers, and ministers so provided for sin if they do not wholly give up themselves to their work, .

Read Matthew Poole on Matthew 4 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. Ver. 20. And they straightway left their nets] As the woman of Samaria did her pitcher, Matthew his toll book, and blind Bartimeus his cloak when Christ called for him. Look we likewise to this "author and finisher of our faith;" and for love of him cast away every clog, and the sin that doth so easily beset or surround us. Divorce the flesh from the world, and there is no great danger. Admire not overmuch, rest not in, dote not on, cleave not to, the things of this life (those nets and snares of Satan, whereby he entangleth and encumbereth us), that we may attend upon the Lord (or sit close to him) without being haled away or…

Read John Trapp on Matthew 4 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 20. They straightway left their nets] A change, as far as it respected secular things, every way to their disadvantage. The proud and the profane may exult and say, "Such preachers as these cannot be much injured by their sacrifices of secular property - they have nothing but nets, c., to leave." Let such carpers at the institution of Christ know, that he who has nothing but a net, and leaves that for the sake of doing good to the souls of men, leaves his ALL: besides, he lived comfortably by his net before but, in becoming the servant of all for Christ's sake, he often exposes himself to the want of even a morsel of bread. See on Matthew 19:27.

Read AdamClarke on Matthew 4 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

17–22. The Call of Peter and Andrew and of the sons of Zebedee. See Mark 1:16-20 In Luke Simon is mentioned without any introduction, ch. Luke 4:38. The narrative of Luk 5:3-11 must be referred to a different occasion, though Luke 5:11 corresponds with Matthew 4:22 of this chapter. St Luke adds that the sons of Zebedee were partners with Simon. John, Luke 1:35-42, refers to a previous summons. We learn there that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, and that Bethsaida was the city of Andrew and Peter.

Read Cambridge on Matthew 4 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Straightway - Immediately - as all should do when the Lord Jesus calls them. Left their nets - Their nets were the means of their living, perhaps all their property.

Read Albert Barnes on Matthew 4 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

20. Straightway left their nets — They had been previously disciples of John. The preaching of Jesus had divinely impressed their hearts.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Matthew 4 →

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 at once they left their nets and followed Him.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

They immediately left their nets and followed him.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

And at once they left their nets and followed Him.

NETBNew English Translation2006

They left their nets immediately and followed him.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

And they straightway left the nets, and followed him.

RVARevised Version, American1894

And they straightway left the nets, and followed him.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

And they immediately left their nets, and followed him.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

And they straightway leauing the nets, folowed him.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

And they, having left their trawl-nets, immediately followed him.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and they, immediately, having left the nets, did follow him.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

and they, immediately, having left the nets, followed Him.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Immediately they left the nets and followed him.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

And they immediately leaving their nets, followed him.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

They left their nets immediately and followed him.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

And straight away they let go the nets and went after him.

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἀφέντεςaphiēmi having left G863 2 different renderings
leftASV BSB FBV KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
having leftDBY LSV YLT
ἠκολούθησανakoloutheō they followed G190 2 different renderings
followedASV BSB DBY DRA FBV KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
followYLT

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.

clauseδὲAndclausesubjectοἱ-adverbialεὐθέωςimmediatelyclause · adverbialverbἀφέντεςhaving leftnoun phrase · objectτὰtheδίκτυαnetsverbἠκολούθησανthey followedobjectαὐτῷHim

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

At illi continuo relictis retibus secuti sunt eum.

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

Syriac Peshittaby AD 400

ܗܢܘܢ ܕܝܢ ܡܚܕܐ ܫܒܩܘ ܡܨܝܕܬܗܘܢ ܘܐܙܠܘ ܒܬܪܗ

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

οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.¶

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 4:20<the><the>δέAndAndδέεὐθέωςimmediatelyimmediatelyεὐθέωςἀφίημιhaving lefthaving leftἀφίημιthetheδίκτυονnetsnetsδίκτυονἀκολουθέωthey followthey followedἀκολουθέωαὐτόςHim.Him.αὐτόςεὐθύςAdj straigAdj straight, iεὐθύςἀπόPrep. fromPrep. from, awaἀπόἄλφαletter theletter the firsἄλφαἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦἀλέκτωρn.m. a cocn.m. a cock, roἀλέκτωρκαθαρίζωv. I make v. I make cleanκαθαρίζωπυρετόςn.m. a fevn.m. a feverπυρετόςἁμαρτίαn.f. a sinn.f. a sinἁμαρτίαχαλάωv. I let dv. I let down, χαλάωκαταρτίζωv. I fit tv. I fit togethκαταρτίζωμακρόθενAdv from aAdv from a distμακρόθενἀνίστημιv. I raisev. I raise up, ἀνίστημιἐπερωτάωv. I interv. I interrogatἐπερωτάω
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 4:20

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 immediately having left the nets they followed Him.
οἱho <the> G3588 Article · nominative · plural · 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-NPM — Article · nominative · plural · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-NPM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Plural 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 immediately having left the nets they followed Him.
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 immediately having left the nets they followed Him.
εὐθέωςeutheōs immediately G2112 Adverb
87× 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
Immediately means doing something right away, as seen in Galatians 1:16 where Paul says God revealed Jesus to him at once.
Amplified meaning
immediately, without delay
Tyndale gloss
immediately
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word εὐθέως (i.e. *eutheōs*) is an adverb meaning 'immediately' or 'at once.' It is derived from εὐθύς and is used frequently in the New Testament, particularly in the Gospels. Notably, some lexicons indicate that εὐθέως appears in various contexts, while others mention its interchangeability with εὐθύς in certain verses, particularly in Mark.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εὐθέως

adv.

(< εὐθύς),

[in LXX: Jb 5:3 (פִּתְאֹם), Wi 5:12, I Mac 11:12, al. ;]

straightway, at once, directly: Ga 1:16, Ja 1:24, III Jo 14 (cf. Dalman, Words, 28 f.), Re 4:2, and freq. in Mt, Lk, Jo, Ac (in Mk, εὐθύς), q.v.)

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

εὐθέως, adv., (fr. εὐθύς. straightway, immediately, forthwith: Mt. iv. 20, 22; viii. 3, and often in the histor. bks., esp. Mark’s Gospel [where, however, T Tr WH have substituted εὐθύς in some 35 out of 41 cases]; elsewhere only in Gal. i. 16 ; Jas. i. 24; Rev. iv. 2, (for o8nd, Job ν. 3). shortly, soon: 8 Jn. 14. [From Soph. down. ]

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

εὐθέως, the more common Hellenistic form for εὐθύς and εὐθύ, is found before both vowels and consonants: cf. Schmid A/éé2cismus ill. p. 126 and Mayser G7. p. 245. The following may serve as exx. of its use—P Par 635+ (B.c. 165) ἠβου[λόμ]ην μὲν εὐθέως καταπλεύσας ὀφθη[ν]αί σοι κατὰ τὸ ἐπιβάλλον, Ῥ Tebt I. 3010 (Β.6. 114) εὐθέως παραλαβὼν Τρύχαμβον, P Ryl II. 229% (A.p. 38) ἐρωτῶ σε ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου εὐθέως μοι πέϊμ͵)ψαι τὰς ἄλλας (ἀρτάβας) Ὑ, 1). 23019 (A.D. 40) μὴ [ο]ὖν ἄλλως ποιή[σ]ῃ(9) μὴ ἵνα δόξωμέν σε εὐθέως ἠλλάχθαι τὰ πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ‘‘do not neglect this, lest we think you to have become all at once estranged towards us” (Edd.), P Fay 119% (c. A.D. 100) εὐθέος πέμσις τὰ κτήνη, ‘‘send the animals at once,’ and BGU II. 4238 (ii/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 91) εὐθέως ὅτε εἰσῆλθον εἰς Μησηγούς, ἔλαβα βιάτικον παρὰ Καίσαρος χρυσοῦς τρεῖς, ““straightway when I entered Misenum, I received my…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εὐθέως (eutheōs) — immediately.

Included with: εὐθύς, εῖα, ύ,

Ionic dialect and Epic dialect ἰθύς (which see: so always in Hom.and [Refs 5th c.BC+],

__A straight, direct, whether vertically or horizontally, opposed to σκολιός, καμπύλος, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κατὰ τὸ εὐθὺ ἑστάναι stands still with reference to the vertical, of a spinning top, [Refs]; εὐ. πλόος, ὁδοί, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; εὐθείᾳ (i.e. ὁδῷ) by the straight road, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὴν εὐ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πλήρης τοῦ εὐθέος tired of going straight forward, [Refs]; ἡ ἐς τὸ εὐ. τῆς ῥητορικῆς ὁδός the direct road to.., [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; κατ᾽ εὐθύ on level ground, [LXX]; but ἡ κατ᾽ εὐ. τάσις in the direct line, [Refs 1st c.BC+]; on the same side, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; also, opposed to εἰς τὸ ἐντός, [Refs 3rd…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εὐθέως

eutheos

adverb from 2117; directly, i.e. at once or soon:--anon, as soon as,

forthwith, immediately, shortly, straightway.

see GREEK for 2117

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εὐθέως

Adv

immediately, soon

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εὐθέως eutheōs 36x

immediately, instantly, at once, Mt. 8:3; 13:5

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εὐθέως adverb of εὐθύς, q. v.

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

ADV ADVerb or adverb and particle combined

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
97%immediately
immediately97% · 90×soon2% · 2×other renderings1% · 1×

93 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
adverbial100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 33 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
σύκαθαρίζωI make cleanπολύςmuch, many, ofte
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theἐλπίζωI hope, hope for
λόγοςa word, speech, divi
Article the
αὐτός
ἀκοήhearing, facultyἐμβριμάομαιI snort, expressεἶπονI say, speak
πλοῖονa ship, vessel
Article the
εὐθέωςimmediately87×
what comes after →
δέbut, on the other ha
λαλέωI speak, sayArticle theἀποστέλλωI send forth, se
Article the
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spσάββατονthe Sabbath, a wἸησοῦςJesus
μετά
χαράjoy, gladnessArticle theσπουδήhaste, diligence
ἀφίημιI send away, release
Article the
γίνομαιI come into being, a
ὑγιήςsound, whole, whArticle theἐν

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

Concordanceεὐθέως · 87× in the New Testament
Mark Matthew Acts Luke John 3 John Galatians James Revelation
Across the New Testament9 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 2c. AD 40

Μωυσῆς δ’ ἑκάτερον ὑπερβάς, τὸ μὲν ὡς ἄσκεπτον καὶ ἀταλαίπωρον καὶ ἀφιλόσοφον, τὸ δ’ ὡς κατεψευσμένον καὶ μεστὸν γοητείας, παγκάλην καὶ σεμνοτάτην ἀρχὴν ἐποιήσατο τῶν νόμων, μήτ’ εὐθὺς ἃ χρὴ πράττειν ἢ τοὐναντίον ὑπειπὼν μήτ’, ἐπειδὴ προτυπῶσαι τὰς…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.31c. AD 75–95

κατʼ αὐτὴν δὲ ταύτην τὴν ἡμέραν εὐθὺς φυτά τε καὶ σπέρματα γῆθεν ἀνέτειλε.

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 6th c. AD 7th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Fay. 109Euhemeria (Arsinoites)11 BC

r Πισάις Ἡρακλήῳ χαίρειν. ὅταν πρὸς ἀνάγκην θέλῃς παρʼ ἐμοῦ χρήσασθαί τι, εὐθύς σε οὐ κρατῶ, καὶ νῦν παρακληθεὶς τοὺς τρεῖς στατῆρας οὓς εἴρηκέ σοι Σέλευκος δοῦναί

P.Fay. 120Euhemeria (ArsinoitesAD 100

ἐπεὶ κολάζομαι αὐτῶν εἰς Ἀφροδίτην πόλιν, καὶ θέρισον τὸν ὄγμον τῆς Ἀπιάδος καὶ λύσεις εὐθέως εἰς Ἀ … … τὰ δράγματα, καὶ τοὺς ἐλαιῶνας τοὺς ἐν τῇ Ἀπιάδι σκάψον.

P.Lond. 2 p. 305 no. 404Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)AD 346

ὅτι καταλαμβάνω σε, καὶ ποιῶ. ἐάν σοι οὖν δοκεῖ, κύριε, ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ἡμᾶς, καὶ εὐθέως γείνεται τὸ ἔργον· ἐξήτακα γὰρ, καὶ λέγουσιν ὅτι δυνατόν ἐστιν. ἀσπάζομαι τὴν Νόνναν καὶ

<the> And immediately having left the nets they followed Him.
ἀφέντεςaphiēmi having left G863 Verb · second aorist · active · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
143× 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 release or leave something means to let it go or send it away, as seen in Matthew 27:50 and 1 Corinthians 7:11-13. It can also mean to forgive or remit debts and sins.
Amplified meaning
released, abandoned
Tyndale gloss
to release: leave
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἀφίημι (aphiemi) means to send away or release, encompassing a range of actions such as forgiving debts or sins, allowing someone to depart, and neglecting something. It appears in various contexts in the New Testament, including forgiveness in Matthew 9:2 and the release of the spirit in Matthew 27:50. The word is built from the prefix ἀπ- (away) and ἵημι (to send).

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀφ-ίημι,

[in LXX for נשׂא, נוח hi., נתן, סלח ni., עזב, etc.;]

to send forth, send away, let go: of divorce (DB, iii, 274a), τ. γυναῖκα (Hdt.), I Co 7:11-13; of death, τ. πνεῦμα (Ge 35:18, Hdt., al.), Mt 27:50; (φωνήν, to utter a cry, Mk 15:37; of debts, to remit, forgive (cl.), τ. δανεῖον, Mt 18:27; τ. ὀφειλήν, Mt 18:32; esp. of sins (Cremer 296 f.), τ. ἁμαρτίας, ἁμαρτήματα, ἀνομίας, Mt 9:2, Ro 4:7(LXX), I Jo 1:9, al.; punctiliar and…

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

ἀφ-ίημι ; pres. 2 pers. sing. ἀφεῖς (fr. the form apéw, Rev. ii. 20 for Ree. ἐᾷς), [3 pers. plur. ἀφιοῦσιν Rev. xi. 9 Tdf. edd. 2, 7, ἔν. a form ἀφιέω ; cf. B. 48 (42)]; impf. 3 pers. sing. ἤφιε, with the augm. before the prep., Mk. i. 34; xi. 16, fr. the form apiw; whence also pres. 1 pers. plur. ἀφίομεν Lk. xi. 4 L T Tr WH for ἀφίεμεν Ree. and 3 pers. apiovow Rev. xi. 9 L T Tr WH; [see WH. App. p-: 167]; fut. ἀφήσω; 1 aor. ἀφῆκα, 2 pers. sing. -xes Rev. ii. 4 T Tr WH (cf. κοπιάω] ; 2 aor. impv. ἄφες, ἄφετε, subj. 8 pers. sing. ἀφῇ, 2 pers. plur. ἀφῆτε, [inf. ἀφεῖναι (Mt. xxiii. 23 L T Tr WH; LK. v. 21 L txt. T Tr WH)], ptep. ἀφείς, ἀφέντες ; Pass., pres. ἀφίεμαι, [yet 3 pers. plur. apiovra Jn. xx. 23 WH mrg. ete.; cf. ἀφίω above]; pf. 3 pers. plur. ἀφέωνται (a Doric form [ef. W. § 14, 3 a.; B 49 (42); Kiihner § 285, 4], Mt. ix. 2,5; Mk. ii. 5, [9] —in both these Gospels L [exe. in Mk.…

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

ἀφίημι. Some abnormal NT forms of this very “irregular ’’ verb may be illustrated: cf. Moulton, Ainéectung, p. 82f. The unaugmented aor. pass. ἀφέθησαν in Rom 47 (from Ps 311) where δὲ has ἀφείθησαν) is matched by OG/S 435° (ii/B.c.) ἀφέθη; but BGU IV. 10228 (a.p. 196) ἀφθείθημεν (zc. ἀφειθ.). ᾿Αφέωνται is to be compared with the imper. ἀφεώσθω in Michel §85'4 (Arcadian ?iii/B.C.), as well as with the Herodotean ἀνέωται : see Pro/eg. p. 38 2. Against this note imper. ἀφείσθω in CPHerm 119 verso lii- 14 (Gallienus). The pres. ἀφεῖς in Rev 27° and Ex 32%? is best taken as a regular contraction of doles, from ἀφίω (not a contract verb), which is the normal conjugation into which the -μι verb tends here to merge itself: evidence for ἀφιέω seems to be wanting. The assumption of an ἀφέω, formed by proportion from ἀφήσω, is insufficiently supported by the barbarous Silco inscr., OG/7S 20118…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀφίημι (aphiēmi) — to release: leave.

ἀφίημι,

2nd pers.singular ἀφίης[Refs 5th c.BC+] Ionic dialect ἀπίει[Refs 5th c.BC+], 1st pers.plural ἀφίεμεν[Refs 5th c.BC+]imperfect ἀφίειν, with double augment ἠφίειν[Refs 5th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers.singular ἀφίει[Refs 8th c.BC+], Ionic dialect ἀπίει[NT+5th c.BC+]; 2nd pers.plural ἀφίετε[Refs 4th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers.plural ἀφίεσαν [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future ἀφήσω[Refs 8th c.BC+], Ionic dialect ἀπ-[Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἀφεῖκα[Refs 5th c.BC+]aorist I ἀφῆκα, Ionic dialectἀπ-, Epic dialect ἀφέηκα, used in indicative only, [Refs 8th c.BC+]aorist 2 indicative only in dual and plural, ἀφέτην, ἀφεῖμεν, ἀφεῖτε or ἄφετε, ἀφεῖσαν or ἄφεσα; imperative ἄφες, subjunctive ἀφῶ, optative αφείην (2nd pers.plural ἀφεῖτε[Refs 5th c.BC+]infinitive ἀφεῖναι, participle ἀφείς:—middle, ἀφίεμαι, Ionic dialect ἀπίεμαι, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: imperfect 3rd.pers.singular…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀφίημι

aphiemi

from 575 and hiemi (to send; an intensive form of eimi, to go); to

send forth, in various applications (as follow):--cry, forgive,

forsake, lay aside, leave, let (alone, be, go, have), omit, put (send)

away, remit, suffer, yield up.

see GREEK for 575

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀφίημι

v.

I send away, release, remit, forgive, permit

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀφίημι aphiēmi 143x

to send away, dismiss, suffer to depart; to emit, send forth; τὴν φωνήν, the voice, to cry out, utter an exclamation, Mk. 15:37; τὸ πνεῦμα, the spirit, to expire, Mt. 27:50; to omit, pass over or by; to let alone, care not for, Mt. 15:14; 23:23; Heb. 6:1; to permit, suffer, let, forbid not; to give up, yield, resign, Mt. 5:40; to remit, forgive, pardon; to relax, suffer to become less intense, Rev. 2:4; to leave, depart from; to desert, forsake; to leave remaining or alone; to leave behind, i.e. at one’s death, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀφίημι ι short in epic, except in augm. tenses: ι_ attic to send forth, discharge, Lat. emittere, of missiles, Hom., etc.:—hence to let loose, utter, give vent to words, Hdt., Trag.

to let fall, Il.

to send forth an expedition, dispatch it, Hdt.: Pass., of troops, id. Hdt.

to give up or hand over to, τινι τί id. Hdt., attic:—Pass., ἡ Ἀττικὴ ἀπεῖτο ἤδη Hdt.

to send away, let go, loose, set free, Il., attic:—c. acc. pers. et gen. rei, to set free from a thing, let off from, Hdt.: in legal sense to release from an engagement, accusation, etc., ἀφ. τινὰ φόνου Dem.

to dissolve, disband, break up an army, Hdt.:— to dismiss the council or law-courts, Ar.

to put away, divorce, Hdt.

to let go as an ἄφετος, consecrate, Xen.

of things, to get rid of, δίψαν Il.; to shed its blossoms, of plants, Od.; to slacken its force, of a dart, Il.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

left (sama'l, "to go to the left," "to turn to the left," semo'l, "the left hand," sema'li, "belonging to the left," "situated on the left"; aristeros, and euphemistically euonumos, literally, "having a good name," "of good omen"): The words are chiefly used in orientation with or without the addition of the word "hand." So Abraham says to Lot: "If thou wilt take the left hand (semo'l), then I will go to the right; or if thou take the right hand, then I will go to the left (sama'l)" (Ge 13:9). Frequently in Hebrew idiom the right hand and the left are mentioned together in order to express the idea "everywhere," "anywhere," "altogether" (Ge 24:49; Ex 14:22,29; Nu 22:26

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
10%having left
having left10% · 14×left8% · 11×forgiven4% · 6×forgive4% · 6×will be forgiven3% · 5×have been forgiven3% · 5×do permit3% · 5×do leave3% · 5×other renderings61% · 89×

146 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 69 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 143 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
αὐτόςἐγώθαυμάζωI wonder, admire
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,βλασφημίαabusive or scurrἅγιοςset apart, holy,
μήNeg
οὐNegαὐτόςδέbut, on the othe
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπαράπτωμαa falling away,
λέγωI say, speak
εὔκοποςeasierἸησοῦςJesusαὐτός
ἀφίημιhaving left143×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἀπέρχομαιI come or go awa
Article the
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of thπαιδίονa little child, δίκτυονa fishing-net
σύ
Article theἐπείafter, for, sincὀρφανόςbereaved, an orp
ἐγώ
Article theμόνοςonly, solitary,
ἁμαρτίαa sin
τότεthenεἰCondἐπί

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

Concordanceἀφίημι · 143× in the New Testament
Matthew Mark Luke John 1 Corinthians Acts Revelation 1 John Hebrews Romans James

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 48 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 Polycarp
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 62c. AD 40

χρώματα μὲν [ἡ] ὅρασις, φωνὰς δὲ ἀκοή, χυλοὺς δὲ γεῦσις, καὶ ὄσφρησις ἀτμούς, μαλακότητας δὲ καὶ σκληρότητας καὶ ὅσα θερμὰ ἢ ψυχρὰ λειότητάς τε καὶ τραχύτητας ἁφή.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.218c. AD 75–95

ὡς δʼ ἀπιοῦσαν ἐπιλελοίπει τὰ ἀναγκαῖα, ἐν κακοῖς ἦν, ὕδατος δὲ σπανίζοντος ὑπʼ ἐλάτῃ τινὶ θεῖσα τὸ παιδίον ψυχορραγοῦν, ὡς μὴ παρούσης τὴν ψυχὴν ἀφῇ, προῄει πορρωτέρω.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 13.2c. AD 96

οὕτως γὰρ εἶπεν: Ἐλεᾶτε, ἵνα ἐλεηθῆτε: ἀφίετε, ἵνα ἀφεθῇ ὑμῖν: ὡς ποιεῖτε, οὕτω ποιηθήσεται ὑμῖν: ὡς δίδοτε, οὕτως δοθήσεται ὑμῖν: ὡς κρίνετε, οὕτως κριθήσεσθε: ὡς χρηστεύεσθε, οὕτως χρηστευθήσεται ὑμῖν: ᾧ μέτρῳ μετρεῖτε, ἐν αὐτῷ μετρηθήσεται ὑμῖν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Lond. 7 2008Philadelphia (Arsinoites)248 BC

κομίσωμαι, ἔφη, τό τε ἐκφόριον καὶ τὸ ἀνήλωμα, ἐάν τι καταλείπεται κομίσασθε. καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν οὖν αὐτούς. τὸν σπόρον τοῦ σησάμου ἐφώδευσα τῆι θ τοῦ Φαμενώθ, καὶ ἐνῆν ἀνατολὴ

Ζήνων ὑπὲρ στρ … … παραλάβετε Κλέαρχον … τὸ φόρετρον καὶ συντ … αὐτὸν ἄφετε ἔρρωσο. ε ἔτους … Μεσορὴ β

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59374Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)208 BC–207 BC

ἔτους ιϛ, Πανήμου ἐμβολίμου. ἄφες ἐκ καταπλοῦ ἐν βασιλικῆι εἰκοσόρωι εἰς Φιλάμμονα Θεσσαλὸν τῶν Νικοφίλου ξεναγὸν σχιζίαν πυρράκη κλαστὸν

<the> And immediately having left the nets they followed Him.
τὰho the G3588 Article · accusative · plural · 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-APN — Article · accusative · plural · neuter
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked plural neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-APN Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative Number: Plural 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 immediately having left the nets they followed Him.
δίκτυαdiktuon nets G1350 Noun · accusative · plural · neuter
12× 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 net is a fishing tool, like a seine. Jesus called his disciples while they were fishing with nets in Matthew 4:20-21 and Mark 1:18-19.
Amplified meaning
fishing tools, equipment
Tyndale gloss
net
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δίκτυον is a neuter noun meaning 'net,' particularly a fishing net. It is derived from a verb meaning 'to cast.' The term appears in several New Testament passages, including Matthew 4:20 and John 21:6. Lexicons note that it can refer to various types of nets, including hunting nets, and is often used metaphorically. There is some discussion about its specific types compared to related words like ἀμφίβληστρον and σαγήνη, which denote specific fishing nets.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — δίκτυον, ἀμφίβληστρον, σαγήνη from a scan

Ovr English word ‘net’ will, in a general way, cover all these three, which yet are capable of a more accurate discrimination one from the other. Aixrvov (=‘rete,’ “ retia’), from the old δικεῖν, to cast, which appears again in δίσκος, a quoit, is the more general name for all nets, and would include the hunting net, and the net with which birds are taken (Prov. i. 17), as well as the fishing, although used only of the latter in the Ν, T. (Matt. iv. 20; John xxi. 6). It is often in the Septuagint employed in that figurative sense in which St. Paul uses παγίς (Rom. xi. 9; 1 Tim. iii. 7), and is indeed associated with it (Job xviii. 8; Prov. xxix. 5). ᾿Αμφίβληστρον and σαγήνη are varieties of fishing nets ; they are named together, Hab. i. 15; and in Plutarch (De Soler. Anim. 26), who joins γρῖπος with σαγήνη, ὑποχή with ἀμφίβληστρον. ᾿Αμφίβληστρον--- οὐ only in the N. T. at Matt. iv. 18…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δίκτυον, -ον, τό

[in LXX chiefly for רֶשֶׁת, שְׂבָכָה ;]

general term for a net: Mt 4:20, 21, Mk 1:18, 19, Lk 5:2, 4-6, Jo 21:6, 8, 11.†

SYN.: ἀμφίβληστρον (q.v.), σαγήνη.

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

δίκτυον, -ov, τό, [perhaps fr. AIKEIN to cast, cf. Etym. Maen. col. 275, 21], a net: Mt. iv. 20 sq.; Mk. i. 18 sq. ; Lk. ν. 2, 4-6; Jn. xxi. 6, 8,11. (Hom. et sqq.) ἢ" [Syn. δίκτυον, ἀμφίβληστρον, caynv7: δ. seems to be the general name for nets of all kinds; whereas aug. and cay. designate specifically nets for fishing: — the former a casting-net, generally pear-shaped ; the latter a seine or drag-net. Cf. Trench § lxiv.; B.D. 5. v. Net.]

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

δίκτυον. A Christian epitaph from Aegina, makes the departed rejoice because Kaibel 421 (2?v/a.p.) δίκτυα λυγρὰ καὶ γοερὰς παγίδας προὔφυγον ἀμπλακίης. This is of course purely literary, but between Epictetus and the Gospels we may be sure of vernacular warranty. Moreover it survives in MGr δίχτυ.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δίκτυον (diktuon) — net.

δίκτῠον, τό,

(δικεῖν) net:

1. fishing-net, δικτύῳ ἐξέρυσαν πολυωπῷ (i.e. ἰχθύας) [Refs 8th c.BC+]; δ. καθιέναι, ἀναιρεῖσθαι, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

2. hunting-net, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; larger than ἄρκυς, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. metaphorically, δ. ἄτης, Ἅιδου, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

4. lattice-work, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]

5. bottom of a sieve, [Refs 5th c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

δίκτυον

diktuon

probably from a primary verb diko (to cast); a seine (for

fishing):--net.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δίκτυον, ου, τό

n.n.

a fishing-net

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δίκτυον diktyon 12x

a net, fishing-net, Mt. 4:20, 21

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δίκτυον δίκτυον, ου, τό, ndiktu os_ou neut δικεῖν a casting-net, a net, Od., Aesch.: a hunting-net, Hdt., Ar.:—metaph., δ. ἄτης, Ἅιδου Aesch.

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

N-APN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Are often referred to in Scripture, Pr 1:17 Ec 7:26 Isa 19:8,9 Hab 1:15,16, particularly in connection with the first disciples of Christ, Mt 4:18 13:47-50 Lu 5:1-10. Before the invention of fire-arms, nets were much used in hunting and fowling, and possible in catching men, as robbers, etc., Job 19:6 Ps 140:5 Mic 7:2. Among the ancient Romans there was a gladiatorial game, in which one man was armed with sword…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
67%nets
nets67% · 8×net33% · 4×

12 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
object83%subject17%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 12 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
ἀφίημιI send away, relκαταρτίζωI fit together, χαλάωI let down, lowe
δίκτυονnets12×
what comes after →
ἀκολουθέωI accompany, attend,
αὐτός
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,
σύ
εἰς
καίand, even, also, nam
εὑρίσκωI find
Article the
ἰχθύςa fish

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

Concordanceδίκτυον · 12× in the New Testament
John Luke Matthew Mark
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 14 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Sacrifices of Abel and Cain 29c. AD 40

τῶν γὰρ εἰς γνήσιον κάλλος οὐδὲν οἰκεῖον ἐξ ἑαυτῆς ἐπιφέρεται, περιῆπται δὲ δίκτυα καὶ πάγας ἐπὶ τῇ σῇ θήρᾳ, νόθην καὶ κίβδηλον εὐμορφίαν, ἃ προϊδόμενος, ἢν εὖ φρονήσῃς, ἀτελῆ τὴν ἄγραν αὐτῇ παρασκευάσεις·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 8.77c. AD 75–95

χωνευτὸν δʼ ἐφʼ ἑκατέρᾳ κεφαλῇ κρίνον ἐφειστήκει τὸ ὕψος ἐπὶ πέντε πήχεις ἐγηγερμένον, ᾧ περιέκειτο δίκτυον ἐλάτῃ χαλκέᾳ περιπεπλεγμένον καλύπτον τὰ κρίνα.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 5.4c. AD 100

λέγει δὲ ἡ γραφή: Οὐκ ἀδίκως ἐκτείνεται δίκτυα πτερωτοῖς.

<the> And immediately having left the nets they followed Him.
ἠκολούθησανakoloutheō they followed G190 Verb · aorist · active · indicative · third person · plural
90× 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 follow means to accompany someone, like a disciple following Jesus, as seen in Matthew 4:25 and John 12:26.
Amplified meaning
accompanied, obeyed
Tyndale gloss
to follow
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἀκολουθέω (akoloutheo) means to follow or accompany, particularly in the context of discipleship. It is derived from the word for 'following' and is often used in the New Testament to describe the act of following Jesus (e.g., Matthew 4:25). The verb typically takes a dative object, indicating the person being followed. There is a note of distinction in usage, as it replaces the verb ἕπομαι in later Greek.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀκολουθέω, -ῶ

(< ἀκόλουθος, following; < ἀ- cop., κέλευθος, poët., away),

[in LXX chiefly for הָלַךְ;]

to accompany, follow: Mt 4:25, al. Metaph., of discipleship: Mt 9:9, Mk 9:38, Jo 12:26, al. Absol.: Mt 18:10; more freq., c. dat. (cl.), Mt 8:1, al.; seq. μετά, c. gen, (cl.; Eutherford, N.Phr., 458 f.), Lk 9:49; ὀπίσω, c. gen. (Heb. הָלַךְ אחֲֲרֵי), Mt 10:38 (cf. ἐξ-, ἐπ-, κατ-, παρ-, συν-ἀκολουθέω).

SYN.: (cl.) ἕπομαι, not in NT (v. Cremer, 80; MM, VGT, s.v.).

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

ἀκολουθέω, -@; fut. ἀκολουθήσω; impf. ἠκολούθουν ; 1 aor. ἠκολούθησα; pf. ἠκολούθηκα (Mk. x. 28 1, Τ Tr WH); (fr. ἀκόλουθος, and this fr. a copulative and κέλευθοὸς road, prop. walking the same road) ; 1. to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him: Mtsiv. 25; viii. 19; ix. 19; xxvii. 55; Mk. iii. 7; “ὦ ν. 24, [37 Lehm.]; xiv. δ1 [ἢ G]; Lk. xxii. 39,54; xxiii. 27; Jn. i. 37 sq. 43 (44); vi. 2; xviii. 15; xx. 6, ete.; Acts xii. 8; xiii. 43; xxi. 36; 1 Co. x. 4; distinguished fr. προάγειν in Mt. xxi. 9; Mk. xi. 9; trop. τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν ἀκολουθεῖ per’ αὐτῶν, their good deeds will accompany them to the presence of God the judge to be rewarded by him, Rev. xiv. 13; on the other hand, ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῆς ai ἁμαρτίαι ἄχρι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, Rev. xviii. 5, but here for ἠκολούθησαν (ἃ 1, Τ Tr WH have restored ἐκολλήθησαν; [σημεῖα τοῖς πιστεύσασιν ἀκολουθήσει ταῦτα, Mk. xvi. 17 Tr…

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

ἀκολουθέω is still the word for ‘‘ following,” in MGr (ἀκλουθῶ) : it is noteworthy that in a large batch of petitions in P Ryl II. 124-152, from Euhemeria (A.D. 28-42) we find the MGr form anticipated four times (ἐπηκλούθησε or -ηκότος). In the papyri the verb takes the place of ἕπομαι, which is also wanting in the NT, and in the LXX is confined to 3 In the most literal sense we have such passages as P Lond 131 recfo®® (a.p. 78-9) (=I. p. 171) παιδ(ῶν) B ἀκολουθούντων τοῖς ὄνοις. P Lille I. 1 verso™8 (B.C. 259) has an inanimate object: ἀκολουθήσουσι δὲ τοῖς προὐπάρχουσι χώμασι, “they will follow up, continue, the existing banks.” For the thought of “ following” to get a favour see BGU IV. 1079*° (A.D. 41) (= Selections, Ρ. 39), ἀκολούθει δὲ Ττολλαρίωνι πᾶσαν ὥραν, “stick to Ptollarion constantly”: cf. 1. 38 μᾶλλον ἀκολουθῶν αὐτῷ δύνῃ φιλιάσαι αὐτῷ, “rather stick to him, and so you may…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀκολουθέω (akoloutheō) — to follow.

ἀκολουθ-έω,

follow one, go after or with him, frequently of soldiers and slaves:—mostly with dative person, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀ. ἐφ᾽ ἁρπαγήν, of soldiers, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀκολουθῶν, ὁ, as substantive, ={ἀκόλουθος}[Refs 4th c.BC+]

2. of stars, follow in the diurnal rotation, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II. metaphorically, follow, be guided by, τῇ γνώμῃ τινός[Refs 5th c.BC+]; τοῖς πράγμασιν, τοῖς τοῦ πολέμου καιροῖς, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; obey, τοῖς νόμοις[Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. follow the thread of a discourse, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.3. of things, follow upon, to be consequent upon, consistent with, εὐλογία.. εὐηθείᾳ ἀ.[Refs]; follow analogy of, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀκολουθέω

akoloutheo

from 1 (as a particle of union) and keleuthos (a road); properly, to

be in the same way with, i.e. to accompany (specially, as a

disciple):--follow, reach.

see GREEK for 1

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀκολουθέω

v.

I accompany, attend, follow

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀκολουθέω akoloutheō 90x

to follow; follow as a disciple; imitate

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀκολουθέω ἀκόλουθος to follow one, go after or with him, c. dat. pers., Ar., etc.; also, ἀκ. μετά τινος Plat.; σύν τινι Xen.; κατόπιν τινός Ar.:— absol., Plat., etc.

metaph. to follow, obey, τινι Thuc., etc.; ἀκ. τοῖς πράγμασιν to follow circumstances, Dem.

to follow the thread of a discourse, Plat.

of things, to follow upon, be consequent upon, τοῖς εἰρημένοις id. Plat.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
23%following
following23% · 21×followed20% · 18×do follow15% · 14×they followed8% · 7×follow7% · 6×he was following4% · 4×he should follow4% · 4×i will follow3% · 3×other renderings15% · 14×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb99%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 90 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
αὐτόςἀναβλέπωI look up, recovπᾶςall, the whole,
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakπατήρfather, Father, πρός
Article the
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakσύ
ἸησοῦςJesus
Article the
ἀνίστημιI raise up, set up,
καίand, even, also,πᾶςall, the whole,
ἀκολουθέωthey followed90×
what comes after →
αὐτός
ὄχλοςa crowdκαίand, even, also,Article the
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,ἐνArticle the
σύ
ὅπουwhere, whitherτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
δέbut, on the other ha
αὐτόςὕστεροςlastly, afterwarArticle the
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusἀρνίονa lamb

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

Concordanceἀκολουθέω · 90× in the New Testament
Matthew John Mark Luke Revelation Acts 1 Corinthians
Across the New Testament7 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 Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.197c. AD 40

οὗ χάριν καὶ Ἀβραὰμ ἀκολουθῶν τῷ θεοῦ θελήματι τὰ μὲν ὑπάρχοντα, ἅπερ ἦν αὐτῷ ἐκ θεοῦ, κατέχει, ἀποπέμπεται δὲ τὴν ἵππον τοῦ βασιλέως Σοδόμων (Gen.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 5.127c. AD 75–95

τὴν γὰρ πατρίδα καταλιπόντες ἠκολούθησαν ἐκείνοις καὶ συνῆσαν αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρήμου.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 40.4c. AD 96

οἱ οὖν τοῖς προστεταγμένοις καιροῖς ποιοῦντες τὰς προσφορὰς αὐτῶν εὐπρόσδεκτοί τε καὶ μακάριοι: τοῖς γὰρ νομίμοις τοῦ δεσπότου ἀκολουθοῦντες οὐ διαμαρτάνουσιν.

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. BC 1st c. AD 6th c. AD 2nd c. BC
PSI 15 1517Psenamosis (Hermopolites ?)AD 32–AD 33

δεδομένου παρὰ Ζωίλου … … ν περὶ τὴν κωμογραμματείαν κώμης Ποιμένων ὑπομνήματος ἀντίγραφον συνεσφράγισται· ἀκολουθήσαντες οὖν τοῖς δι’ αὐτοῦ σημαινομένοις καὶ μετα … … δηλουμένοις τἄλλα ἐπισκέψασθε ὡς καθήκει

P.Fouad 1 28OxyrhynchosAD 59

μηνὸς Φαρμοῦθι τοῦ ε ἔτους Νέρωνος Κλαυδίου Καίσαρος Σεβαστοῦ Γερμανικοῦ Αὐτοκράτορος, δοῦλος Σαραπίωνος Δόρκωνος ἀκολουθῶν λουθωνὄνοις αἰροῦσι λίθους περιτυχών μοι πλησίον … δεκατης, εἷς τῶν ὄνων ἐνετίναξεν ἐπὶ τὸ

P.Stras. 6 508HermopolitesAD 156

σαν τὴν γῆν α … τῷ κυρίῳ αλε … τόπων … … μοι ἀκολουθῶν … … καὶ ἀπομ … λας. ὁ δὲ λαβὼν α … ἀπέδειξεν π

<the> And immediately having left the nets they followed Him.
αὐτῷ.¶autos Him. G846 Personal pronoun · dative · singular · masculine
5,550× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 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'.
Amplified meaning
Jesus, their Master
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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