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Matthew 6:17 — Word Study

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N1904σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι

BSAYou yourselfsu [as an individual, personally] howeverde fastingnēsteuō [abstain from food, go without eating] do anoint yourselfaleiphō [put oil on, show respect to] yoursu <the>ho headkephalē [the upper part of the body, the source of thoughts] andkai theho faceprosōpon [the countenance, the presence] of yousu do wash, yourselfniptō [cleanse, purify]

Word
Listen & take awayMatthew 6
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 17 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 (niptō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Matthew 6:17quick helps
In a sentenceJesus instructs His followers on how to fast properly, emphasizing personal conduct over public display.
Who is speakingJesus, addressing His disciples directly.
Where we areIn the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus teaches about various aspects of righteous living.
The hard wordνηστεύω
Take awayFasting should be a private matter between the individual and God.
7 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Ellicott & more — read them › clause subjectσύ verbνηστεύω 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 6:17

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 — Instructions on Fastinggenerated

16When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
19Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

Matthew 6:17 is part of Jesus' teaching on fasting, where He contrasts true fasting with the hypocritical practices of some religious leaders. He emphasizes that fasting should not be a display for others to see, but rather an act of devotion to God. This teaching is situated within a broader discourse on righteousness and proper conduct in spiritual practices, as seen in the surrounding verses.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Ruth 3:3Therefore wash yourself, put on perfume, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but do not let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.
22 Samuel 14:2So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.
3Ecclesiastes 9:8Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head.
4Daniel 10:2–3In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 4 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word νηστεύω, nēsteuōgenerated

The word νηστεύων is a present active participle derived from the verb νηστεύω, meaning 'to fast' or 'to abstain from food.' It indicates an ongoing action, suggesting that fasting is not just a one-time event but a practice that can be regularly observed.

In this context, it emphasizes the personal aspect of fasting, highlighting that it should be a sincere act rather than a public display. The participle form suggests that the act of fasting is to be done continually and with the right heart attitude.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The Berean Standard Bible translates the verse as fast, while the King James Version and American Standard Version use fastest, reflecting the same Greek word νηστεύων.

The Young's Literal Translation also uses fasting, while the Webster Bible and Basic English Bible opt for fast. This shows a clear agreement on the concept of fasting, though some versions choose different grammatical forms.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The verse consists of a main clause introduced by the conjunction δὲ, followed by two imperative verbs: ἄλειψαί and νίψαι, which are actions that the subject σὺ (you) is instructed to perform. This structure emphasizes the direct commands given to the individual.

The commands are accompanied by the nouns κεφαλὴν (head) and πρόσωπον (face), which serve as the objects of the verbs, indicating what should be anointed and washed, respectively.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

νηστεύω is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word for fasting, often associated with mourning or seeking God’s favor, as seen in Isaiah 58:3.

ἄλειφω also appears in the Septuagint, where it is used in contexts of anointing, such as in 1 Samuel 10:1, indicating its ceremonial significance.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Matthew 6:17 teaches that when you fast, you should anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting is not obvious to others. This highlights the importance of sincerity in your spiritual practices.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to fast in this context?

Fasting here refers to abstaining from food as a spiritual discipline, meant to draw closer to God rather than to show off to others.

Why does Jesus emphasize anointing the head and washing the face?

These actions symbolize maintaining a joyful appearance, contrasting with the somberness often associated with fasting, to ensure that the focus remains on God rather than on public perception.

How can I apply this teaching on fasting today?

You can apply this by ensuring that your fasting is a private act of devotion, focusing on your relationship with God rather than seeking recognition from others.

What is the significance of fasting in the Bible?

Fasting is often associated with prayer, repentance, and seeking God's guidance, as seen throughout both the Old and New Testaments.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. How can I ensure that my spiritual practices are sincere and not for show?
  2. What are some personal motivations for fasting that I can reflect on?
  3. In what ways can I practice fasting while maintaining a joyful demeanor?
  4. How does this teaching challenge my understanding of public versus private acts of faith?

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

Early Church Fathers comment on Jesus' instructions regarding fasting, emphasizing the importance of sincerity in spiritual practices.

Glossa Ordinariaap. Anselm. 12th c.
The Lord having taught us what we ought not to do, now proceeds to teach us what we ought to do, saying, When thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face.
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 6 →
JeromeCatena Aurea by Aquinas c. 347–420
But He speaks in accordance with the manners of the province of Palestine, where it is the custom on festival days to anoint the head. What He enjoins then is, that when we are fasting we should wear the appearance of joy and gladness.
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 6 →
JeromeVerse 17 and following c. 347–420
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting to men, but to your Father who is in secret: and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 6 →

Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Matthew 6:17 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

But thou, when thou fastest,.... Christ allows of fasting, but what is of a quite different kind from that of the Jews; which lay not in an outward abstinence from food, and other conveniences of

Read John Gill on Matthew 6 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face - as the Jews did, except when mourning (Daniel 10:3); so that the

Read Robert Jamieson on Matthew 6 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; Ver. 17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, &c.] Not but that a man is bound at such a time to abridge himself of the comforts and delights of life, whence it is called a day of restraint, Joe 2:15, and of afflicting the soul. The Ninevites sat in sackcloth, as unworthy of any covering. Others put ashes on their heads, in token that they deserved to be as far under as now they were above ground. David lay on the earth, 2 Samuel 12:16. Daniel laid aside all delights of sense, as music, mirth, perfumes, ointments, &c. Our Saviour fasted to the humbling of his soul, Psalms 35:13, weakening of his knees, Psalms…

Read John Trapp on Matthew 6 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(17) Anoint thine head, and wash thy face.—Both these acts were rigidly prohibited by the traditions of the Elders on the Day of Atonement, and by implication on other fast days also. They were the outward signs of joy (Ecclesiastes 9:8), and were therefore looked on as unsuitable for a time of mourning. The disciples of Christ were to hide their contrition and self-discipline, and even when the heart knew its own bitterness were to be blithe and cheerful, opening their griefs only to their Father in heaven. Openly.—Here again the artificial antithesis is to be rejected as an interpolation.

Read Charles John Ellicott on Matthew 6 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 17. Anoint thine head and wash thy face] These were forbidden in the Jewish canon on days of fasting and humiliation; and hypocrites availed themselves of this ordinance, that they might appear to fast. Our Lord, therefore, cautions us against this: as if he had said, Affect nothing - dress in thy ordinary manner, and let the whole of thy deportment prove that thou desirest to recommend my soul to God, and not thy face to men. That factitious mourning, which consists in putting on black clothes, crapes, c., is utterly inconsistent with the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ and if practised in reference to spiritual matters, is certainly forbidden here: but sin is so common, and so…

Read AdamClarke on Matthew 6 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But thou when thou fastest, anoint ... - That is, appear as you do daily. Do not assume any new appearance, or change your visage or dress.

Read Albert Barnes on Matthew 6 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

17. Anoint thine head, and wash thy face — As these were the customary daily dressings of the Jews, our Lord, in the words, directs them to use their ordinary modes when fasting.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Matthew 6 →

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

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

WEBWorld English Bible2000

But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

NETBNew English Translation2006

When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;

RVARevised Version, American1894

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;

NWBWebster's Bible1833

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;

GNVGeneva Bible1599

But when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face,

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

But thou, [when] fasting, anoint thy head and wash thy face,

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

'But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

But you, fasting, anoint your head, and wash your face,

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face;

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Instead, when you fast, wash your face and look smart,

BBEBible in Basic English1949

But when you go without food, put oil on your head and make your face clean;

Word by word, the decisions they made

νηστεύωνnēsteuō fasting G3522 2 different renderings
fastBSB FBV MSB NETB ULB WEB
fastingDBY LSV YLT

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the Nestle 1904 treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

clauseδὲhoweverclauseclausesubjectσὺYouadverbialνηστεύωνfastingverbἄλειψαίanointnoun phrase · objectσουyournoun phraseτὴν-κεφαλὴνheadκαὶandclausenoun phrase · objectτὸthenoun phraseπρόσωπόνfaceσουof youverbνίψαιwashclauseὅπωςso thatclauseμὴnotclauseverbφανῇςyou might appearnoun phrase · indirect objectτοῖς-ἀνθρώποιςto menobjectνηστεύων[as] fastingἀλλὰbutclausenoun phrase · indirect objectnoun phraseτῷ-noun phraseΠατρίto Fatherσουyournoun phraseτῷthe [One]prepositional phraseἐνinnoun phraseτῷ-κρυφαίῳsecret

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

Tu autem, cum jejunas, unge caput tuum, et faciem tuam lava,

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

ܐܢܬ ܕܝܢ ܡܐ ܕܨܐܡ ܐܢܬ ܐܫܝܓ ܐܦܝܟ ܘܡܫܘܚ ܪܫܟ

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

σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι

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 6:17σύYou yourselYou yourselfσύδέhoweverhoweverδένηστεύωfastingfastingνηστεύωἀλείφωdo anoint ydo anoint yoursἀλείφωσύyouryourσύ<the><the>κεφαλήheadheadκεφαλήκαίandandκαίthetheπρόσωπονfacefaceπρόσωπονσύof youof youσύνίπτωdo wash, yodo wash, yourseνίπτωνῆστιςAdj fastinAdj fasting, wiνῆστιςἄλφαletter theletter the firsἄλφαπρόςPrep. to, Prep. to, towarπρόςὀπτάνομαιv. I appeav. I appear, amὀπτάνομαιλούωv. I wash,v. I wash, bathλούωἀμήνHebr. veriHebr. verily, tἀμήννυμφίοςn.m. a brin.m. a bridegroνυμφίοςσόςPoss.pr. yPoss.pr. yours,σόςμύρονn.n. anoinn.n. anointing-μύρονἔλαιονn.n. oliven.n. olive oilἔλαιονπίναξn.m. a plan.m. a plate, pπίναξγωνίαn.f. a corn.f. a corner, γωνίαπρόPrep. befoPrep. beforeπρόπούςn.m. the fn.m. the footπούςἀπέρχομαιv. I come v. I come or goἀπέρχομαι
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 6:17

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.

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
σὺsu You yourself G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · nominative · singular
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Amplified meaning
as an individual, personally
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

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

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

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

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

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

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

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

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-2NS — Personal pronoun · second person · nominative · singular
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-2NS Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: second Case: Nominative Number: Singular

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

3,073 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 37 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject28%object24%adverbial23%indirect object20%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,892 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύYou yourself2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

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

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 450 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.48c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 35Ptolemais - Akko (Syrien)103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

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

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
δὲde however 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
δέhowever2787×
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
You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
νηστεύωνnēsteuō fasting G3522 Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
20× 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 fast or abstain from food for religious reasons, as Jesus did in Matthew 4:2 and as the disciples did in Matthew 6:16-18. Fasting was a common practice in the New Testament, as seen in Mark 2:18-20.
Amplified meaning
abstain from food, go without eating
Tyndale gloss
to fast
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word νηστεύω (nēsteuō) means 'to fast' and is derived from the root for 'hunger.' It covers the act of abstaining from food, often for religious reasons, and appears in several New Testament passages, including Matthew 4:2 and 6:16-18. Thayer notes that fasting can vary in duration and strictness.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

νηστεύω

(< νῆστις),

[in LXX for צוּם;]

to fast (Arist., Aristoph., al.): Mt 4:2 6:16-18 9:14, 15, Mk 2:18-20, Lk 5:33-35 18:12, Ac 13:2, 3.†

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

νηστεύω ; fut. νηστεύσω ; 1 aor. [inf. νηστεῦσαι (LK. v. 34 T WH Trtxt.)], ptep. νηστεύσας ; (fr. νῆστις, 4- V-) 5 to fast (Vulg. and eccles. writ. jejuno), i. 6. to abstain as a religious exercise from food and drink: either entirely, if the fast lasted but a single day, Mt. vi. 16-18; ix. 14sq.; Mk. ii. 18-20; Lk. v. 33, [34, 35]; xviii. 12; Acts x.30 RG; xiii. 2,[3]; or from customary and choice nourishment, if it continued several days, Mt. iv. 2, ef. xi. 18; νηστεύει συνεχῶς καὶ ἄρτον ἐσθίει μόνον μετὰ ἅλαTos καὶ τὸ ποτὸν αὐτοῦ ὕδωρ, Acta Thom. § 20. (Arstph., Plut. mor. p. 626 sq.; Ael. v. h. 5, 20; [Joseph. ec. Ap. 1, 34, 5 (where see Miiller)]; Sept. for sy.)

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

νηστεύω (nēsteuō) — to fast.

νηστ-εύω,

fast, [NT+5th c.BC+]; νηστεύσαντες, opposed to ἐδηδοκότες, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

2. with genitive, abstain from, κακότητος [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

νηστεύω

nesteuo

from 3523; to abstain from food (religiously):--fast.

see GREEK for 3523

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

νηστεύω

v.

I fast

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

νηστεύω nēsteuō 20x

to fast, Mt. 4:2; 6:16, 17, 18; 9:15

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

νηστεύω νηστεύω, φυτ. -σω to fast, Ar.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

In all ages, and among all nations, fasting has been practiced in times of sorrow, and affliction, Jon 3:5. It may be regarded as a dictate of nature, which under these circumstances refuses nourishment, and suspends the cravings of hunger. In the Bible no example is mentioned of fasting, properly so-called, before Moses. His forty days’ fast, like that of Elijah and of our Lord, was miraculous, De 9:9 1Ki 19:8 Mt 4:2. The Jews often had recourse to this practice, when they had occasion to humble themselves before God, to confess their sins and deprecate his displeasure, Jud 20:26

→ Observed on occasions of public calamities 2Sa 1:12

→ Afflictions Ps 35:13; Da 6:18

→ Private afflictions 2Sa 12:16

→ Approaching danger Es 4:16

→ Ordination of ministers Ac 13:3; 14:23

→ Accompanied by prayer Da 9:3

→ Confession of sin 1Sa 7:6; Ne 9:1,2

→ Humiliation De 9:18; Ne 9:1

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- Spirit of, explained

Isa 58:6,7

- Not to be made a subject of display

Mt 6:16-18

- Should be to God

Zec 7:5; Mt 6:18

- For the chastening of the soul

Ps 69:10

- For the humbling of the soul

Ps 35:13

- OBSERVED ON OCCASIONS OF

. Judgments of God

Joe 1:14; 2:12

. Public calamities

2Sa 1:12

. Afflictions of the Church

Lu 5:33-35

. Afflictions of others

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
29%fasting
fasting29% · 6×fast?19% · 4×they will fast14% · 3×fast14% · 3×having fasted10% · 2×you may fast5% · 1×do fast5% · 1×i fast5% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb75%object20%adverbial5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 20 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
τότεthen
καίand, even, also,νυμφίοςa bridegroom
Φαρισαῖοςa Pharisee
Article the
καίand, even, also, nam
κύριοςlord, Lord, mast
δέbut, on the other ha
ὅτανwhen, whensoeverσύ
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of the hu
Article the
νηστεύωfasting20×
what comes after →
Article the
δέbut, on the othe
καίand, even, also, nam
ἔρχομαιI come, goπροσεύχομαιI pray, pray for
ἐν
ἐκεῖνος
ἡμέραa day
τεσσεράκονταIndec
μήNeg
γίνομαιI come into bein

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

Concordanceνηστεύω · 20× in the New Testament
Matthew Mark Luke Acts
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 8 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
The Shepherd of Hermas Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas Philo of Alexandria The Didache
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Special Laws 2.197c. AD 40

τὸ μὲν οὖν εὐθὺς ἐμφορεῖσθαι τῶν γεγονότων ἀπληστίας ὑπέλαβεν ἔργον εἶναι, τὸ δὲ νηστεῦσαι καὶ τροφῆς μὴ προσάψασθαι παντελοῦς εὐσεβείας, ἥτις ἀναδιδάσκει τὴν διάνοιαν μὴ πεποιθέναι τοῖς εὐτρεπισθεῖσι καὶ παρεσκευασμένοις ὡς ὑγείας ἢ ζωῆς αἰτίοις·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 5.159c. AD 75–95

παραγενόμενοι δὲ εἰς Βέθηλα πόλιν ἔγγιστα κειμένην καὶ νηστεύσαντες κατὰ τὴν ὑστεραίαν τὸν θεὸν ἱκέτευον διὰ Φινεέσου τοῦ ἀρχιερέως παύσασθαι τῆς ὀργῆς τῆς πρὸς αὐτοὺς καὶ ταῖς δυσὶν αὐτῶν ἥτταις ἀρκεσθέντα δοῦναι νίκην καὶ κράτος κατὰ τῶν πολεμίων.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.7c. AD 100

λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή: Καὶ ἦν Μωϋσῆς ἐν τῷ ὄρει νηστεύων ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα καὶ νύκτας τεσσαράκοντα, καὶ ἔλαβεν τὴν διαθήκην ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου, πλάκας λιθίνας γεγραμμένας τῷ δακτύλῳ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ κυρίου.

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
ἄλειψαίaleiphō do anoint yourself G218 Verb · aorist · middle · imperative · second person · singular
9× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To anoint means to put oil or perfume on someone, like in Matthew 6:17 and Mark 6:13. It's used to show respect or honor, and is also used in religious rituals. The KJV translates it as 'anoint'.
Amplified meaning
put oil on, show respect to
Tyndale gloss
to anoint
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀλείφω (*aleipho*) means 'to anoint' and is derived from a root related to oil. It covers the act of anointing with oil or ointment, often in a ceremonial context, as seen in various New Testament passages like Matthew 6:17 and John 12:3. Some lexicons note a distinction between ἀλείφω and similar terms like χρίω, suggesting different connotations in sacred versus mundane contexts.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — ἔλαιον, μύρον, ἀλείφω from a scan

Some have denied that the O. T. knows of any distinction between ‘oil’ and ‘ointment;’ and this on the very insufficient grounds that the Septuagint renders }2W sometimes by μύρον (Prov. xxvii. 9; Cant. i.3; Isai. xxxix. 2; Am. vi. 6); though more frequently, indeed times out of number, by ἔλαιον. But how often in a single word of one language are latent two of another; especially when that other abounds, as does Greek compared with Hebrew, in finer distinctions, in a more subtle notation of meanings ; παροιμία and παραβολή furnish a well-known example of this, both lying in the Hebrew Syn ; and this duplicity of meaning it is the part of a well-skilled translator to evoke. Nay the thing itself, the μύρον (=‘ unguentum’), so naturally grew out of the ἔλαιον (=‘oleum’), having oil for its base, with only the addition of spice or scent or other aromatic ingredients,—Clement of Alexandria…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀλείφω

(cf. λίπος, oil),

[in LXX: Ge 31:13, Ex 40:15, Nu 3:3 (משׁח), Ez 13:10 ff. (טוח), Ru 3:3, II Ki 12:20 14:2, IV Ki 4:2, II Ch 28:15, Mi 6:15, Da LXX TH 10:3 (סוךְ), Es 2:12, Jth 16:8*;]

to anoint, festally or in homage: c. acc rei or pers., Mt 6:17, Jo 12:3, Mk 16:1; seq. dat., ἐλαίῳ, Mk 6:13, Ja 5:14; μύρῳ,

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

ἀλείφω : impf. ἤλειφον; 1 aor. ἤλειψα; 1 aor. mid. impv. ἄλειψαι; [allied with λίπτος grease; cf. Curtius § 340; Vanicek p. 811; Peile p. 407; fr. Hom. down]; to anoint: twa or τί, Mk. xvi. 1; Jn. xii. 3; τινά or τί τινι [W. 227 (213)], as ἐλαίῳ, Lk. vii. 46"; Mk. vi. 13; Jas. v. 14; μύρῳ, Jn. xi. 2; Lk. vii. 38, 46%; Mid.: Mt. vi. 17 (lit. ‘anoint for thyself thy head,’ unge tibi caput tuum; cf. W. 257 (242); B. 192 (166 sq.)). Cf. Win. RWB. 5. v. Salbe; [B.D. or McC. and S. 5. v. Anoint, ete. SYN. : “ ἀλείφειν 151}16 mundane and profane, χρίειν the sacred and religious, word.” Trench ὃ xxxviii. Comp. : ἐξεαλείφω }.

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

ἀλείφω. Passim in papyri, e.g. P Fay 1215 (c. A.D. 100) ὃ καὶ ἀλείψεις ἐπιμελῶς, “ which you will carefully grease,” of a yoke-band. We find statues (ἀνδριάντες) the objects in BGU 11. 362% 16 x 17 (Α.1). 215). In P Oxy III. 52810 t (ii/A.D.) a man, whose wife had gone away, writes to her that since they had bathed together a month before, he had never bathed nor anointed himself—otK ἐλουσάμην οὐκ ἤλιμε (Δ ἤλειμμαι). A curiously spelt perfect ἐνήλεπα from ἐναλείφω is found in a somewhat similar connexion in P Oxy II. 29415 (A.D. 22). Cf. also a third-century inscription in honour of a gymnasiarch, φιλοτίμως ἀλείφοντι (Milne /#S 1901, p. 284), noted by the editors on P Oxy III. 473° (A.D. 138-60), where we find the substantive ἄλειμμα. Cf. also OG/S 591° (iii/B.c.) ὅπως ἔχωσιν els τε τὰς θυσίας kal τὸ ἄλειμμα δαπανᾶν. For the phrase “‘ free from erasure” cf. BGU II. 6662 (a.p. 177) ἐστὶν…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀλείφω (aleiphō) — to anoint.

ἀλείφω,

[Refs 5th c.BC+]: future -ψω[LXX], (ἐξ-) [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist ἤλειψα[Refs 8th c.BC+], Attic dialect, Epic dialect ἄλειψα[Refs 8th c.BC+]perfect ἀλήλῐφα (ἀπ-) [Refs 4th c.BC+]:—middle, future -ψομαι[Refs 5th c.BC+]aorist ἠλειψάμην Attic dialect, Epic dialect ἀλ-[Refs 8th c.BC+] —passive, future ἀλειφθήσομαι (ἐξ-) [Refs 4th c.BC+]: aorist 1 ἠλείφθην[Refs 5th c.BC+]aorist 2 ἐξ-ηλίφην variant in [Refs 5th c.BC+], (ἀπ-) [Refs 5th c.BC+], (ἐξ-, ὑπ-) [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—anoint the skin with oil, as was done after bathing, active referring to another, middle to oneself, λοῦσαι κέλετ᾽ ἀμφί τ᾽ ἀλεῖψαι[Refs 8th c.BC+]: later of anointing for gymnastic exercises, λίπα μετὰ τοῦ γυμνάζεσθαι ἠλείψαντο[Refs 6th c.BC+]; of anointing the sick, [NT+4th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀλείφω

aleipho

from 1 (as particle of union) and the base of 3045; to oil (with

perfume):--anoint.

see GREEK for 1

see GREEK for 3045

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀλείφω

v.

I anoint

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀλείφω aleiphō 9x

to anoint with oil or ointment

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀλείφω From Root !lip, with α prefixed, v. λίπος to anoint with oil, oil the skin, as was done after bathing, or before gymnastic exercises, the Act. referring to the act of another, Mid. to oneself, Il.; often with λίπα added (v. λίπα):— metaph. to prepare as if for gymnastics, to stimulate, Plat., etc.

like ἐπαλείφω, to plaster, οὔατα ἀλεῖψαι to stop up the ears, Od.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-AMM-2S — Verb · aorist · middle · imperative · second person · singular
aorist middle imperative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-AMM-2S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: Middle Mood: iMperative Person: second Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
22%having anointed
having anointed22% · 2×anointing22% · 2×anointed22% · 2×do anoint yourself11% · 1×they may anoint11% · 1×you did anoint11% · 1×

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐκβάλλωI throw, cast, pαὐτός
νηστεύωI fast
δέbut, on the othe
ἔρχομαιI come, go
ἵναin order that, s
οὐNeg
ἐγώ
μύρονanointing-oil, ointm
δέbut, on the othe
ἀλείφωdo anoint yourself
what comes after →
Article the
πούςthe footμύρονanointing-oil, oκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἔλαιονolive oil
πολύςmuch, many, ofteἐν
σύ
Article the
αὐτός
οὗτος
δέbut, on the othe

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

Concordanceἀλείφω · 9× in the New Testament
Luke John Mark James Matthew
Across the New Testament5 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 15 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaWho is the Heir of Divine Things 123c. AD 40

25, 2) φησὶ διδοὺς τὰ πρέπονθ’ ἑαυτῷ καὶ προτρέπων τὰ δοθέντα μὴ κιβδηλεύειν, ἀλλ’ ἀξίως τοῦ δόντος φυλάττειν, αὖθις δ’ ἐν ἑτέροις ὁ μηδενὸς χρεῖος ὢν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο λαμβάνων μηδὲν ὁμολογήσει λαμβάνειν, ἕνεκα τοῦ πρὸς εὐσέβειαν ἀλεῖψαι καὶ προθυμίαν…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 8th c. AD
P.Iand. Zen. 19Philadelphia (Arsinoites)255 BC

κλεῖν α δραχμ β τετρώβολ … … τηιεις τὸν βῶλον τοῦ … οἰκοδομῆσαι καὶ ἀλεῖψαι καὶ … δραχμ α … ἔρρωσο. ἔτους λα Χοιὰχ ι

P.Lond. 4 1394Aphrodites Kome (Antaiopolites)AD 708–AD 709

τι δʼ ἂν ἀνύεις ἐξ αὐτῶν κατὰ πρόσβασιν ἀμελλητὶ ὅπως μὴ ἀναγκασθῶμεν ἀποστεῖλαι … ἀλεῖψαί σε περὶ τούτου … … … … … διὰ τῆς διοικήσεώς σου τ

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
σουsu your G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · genitive · singular
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

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

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

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

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

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

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

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

3,073 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 37 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject28%object24%adverbial23%indirect object20%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,892 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύyour2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

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

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 450 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.48c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 35Ptolemais - Akko (Syrien)103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

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

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
τὴνho <the> G3588 Article · accusative · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

T-ASF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
<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

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
κεφαλὴνkephalē head G2776 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
75× 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 head is the upper part of the body, but it can also mean a leader or a source, like Christ being the head of the church in 1 Corinthians 11:3. It's about control or authority.
Amplified meaning
the upper part of the body, the source of thoughts
Tyndale gloss
head
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

κεφαλή (kephalē) means 'head' and can refer to the literal head of a person or animal, as well as metaphorically to denote authority or superiority, such as in the context of a husband or Christ. It appears in various New Testament verses, including Matthew 5:36 and 1 Corinthians 11:3. The term also encompasses meanings related to the top or extremity of objects, like a corner-stone.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

κεφαλή, -ῆς, ἡ,

[in LXX nearly always for רֹאשׁ;]

the head: Mt 5:36, Mk 6:24, Re 1:14 9:7, al. mult.; fig., ἄνθρακες ἐπὶ τὴν κ., Ro 12:20(LXX); αἷμα, Ac 18:6; metaph., of a husband, c. gen., I Co 11:3, Eph 5:23; of Christ, I Co 11:3, Eph 4:15 5:23, Col 1:18 2:10, 19; of things, κ. γωνίας, Mt…

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

κεφαλή, -ῆς, ἡ, Sept. for wN 1; the head, both of men: Mt. v. 36; Mk. vi. 24; Lk. vii. 38, 44 [Rec.], 46; Jn. xiii. 9; Acts xviii. 18; 1 Co. xi. 4; Rev. i. 14; iv. 4, and often; and of animals: Rev. ix. 7, 17, 19, etc.; on the phrases κλίνειν THY κ-» ἐπαίρειν THY K., See κλίνω, 1 and ἐπαίρω; on the saying in Ro. xii. 20, see under ἄνθραξ. Since the loss of the head destroys the life, κεφαλή is used in phrases relating to capital and extreme punishments: 80 in τὸ αἷμα ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τὴν k. ὑμῶν (see αἷμα, 2 a. p. 15°), Acts xviii. 6, and similar phrases in class. Grk.; see Passow 8. v. p. 1717*; Pape s. v.3; [L. and S.s. ν. 1. 3 and 4]. Metaph. anything supreme, chief, prominent; of persons, master, lord: τινός, of a husband in relation to his wife, 1 Co. xi. 3; Eph. v. 23; of Christ, the lord of the husband, 1 Co. xi. 3 [ef. B. 124. 54. (109)]; of the church, Eph. iv. 15; v. 23; Col. ii. 19…

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

κεφαλή. For the literal sense of κεφαλή it is sufficient to quote PSI V. 455" (A.D. 178) ἐφῖδον τοῦτον... ἔχοντα ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς τραύματα τρία, and P Lond 478 (ii/A.p.) (=I. p- 81) κεφαλὴν κομόωσαν ἐθείραις. Cf. also P Par 5741*28 (iii/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 113) λόγος λεγόμενος ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ, ‘an invocation to be uttered over the head (of the possessed one),” and the Christian amulet BGU III. 954° (vi/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 133) κλίνω τὴν κεφαλήν [μο]υ κα «τ: ἐνώπιόν σου. With Ac 18° we may compare BGU IV. 1024'"-17 (end of iv/A.D.) ἐκδέξι το[ίνυν] τὴην (Δ. τὴν) ἕως κεφ[αλῆ]ς τ[ι]Ἱμωρίαν, and to McNeile’s rendering of Mt 214 κεφαλὴν γωνίας, ‘‘the furthest extremity (not ‘the top’) of the corner,” a certain support is given by P Flor I. 508% (A.D. 268) ἐπ᾽ ἀπηλιωτικῆ[ς Ke]padis πρώτης μερίδος, apparently = ‘‘at the eastern extremity of the first division.’” In P Oxy II. 273!8…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

κεφαλή (kephalē) — head.

κεφᾰλή, ἡ,

head of man or beast, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; κεφαλῇ.. μείζονες taller in stature, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; so μείων.. κεφαλήν[Refs 3rd c.BC+]

__a κατὰ κεφαλῆς, Epic dialect κὰκ κεφαλῆς, down over the head, κόνιν.. χεύατο κὰκ κεφαλῆς [Refs 8th c.BC+]

__b κατὰ κεφαλήν, Epic dialect κὰκ κεφαλήν on the head, Ἐρύλαον.. βάλε πέτρῳ μέσσην κὰκ κεφαλήν [Refs 8th c.BC+]: in Prose, from above, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: c.genitive, above, κ. κ. τινῶν γενέσθαι [Refs]; τὸ κ. κ. ὕδωρ, of rain water, [Refs 4th c.BC+] (-ῆς): in Architecture texts, upright, [Refs]; also, per head, each person (compare below 1.2), [LXX+4th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

κεφαλή

kephale

from the primary kapto (in the sense of seizing); the head (as the

part most readily taken hold of), literally or figuratively:--head.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

κεφαλή, ῆς, ἡ

n.f.

the head

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

κεφαλή kephalē 75x

the head, Mt. 5:36; 6:17; the head, top; κεφαλὴ γωνίας, the head of the corner, the chief corner-stone, Mt. 21:42; Lk. 20:17; met. the head, superior, chief, principal, one to whom others are subordinate, 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

κεφαλή the head of man or beast, Hom., etc.; κατὰ κεφαλῆς, epic κὰκ κεφαλῆς, over the head, id. Hom.; κὰκ κεφαλήν on the head, Il.:— ἐς πόδας ἐκ κεφαλῆς from head to foot, id. Il.:— ἐπὶ κεφαλήν head foremost, head downwards, headlong, Hdt., Plat., etc.

the head, put for the whole person, Hom.; ἶσον ἐμῇ κεφαλῇ like myself, Il.; φίλη κ., Lat. carum caput, id. Il.: in bad sense, ὦ κακαὶ κεφαλαί Hdt.; ὦ μιαρὰ κ. Ar.

the head, i. e. the life, παρθέμενοι κεφαλάς setting their heads on the cast, Od.:—in imprecations, ἐς κεφαλὴν τρέποιτ᾽ ἐμοί on my head be it! Ar., etc.

generally, κ. σκορόδου a head of garlic, id. Ar.: the top or brim of a vessel, Theocr.: the coping of a wall, Xen.:—in pl. the head or source of a river…

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

N-ASF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hed (ro'-sh, Aramaic re'sh, and in special sense gulgoleth, literally, "skull," "cut-off head" (1Ch 10:10), whence Golgotha (Mt 27:33; Mr 15:22; Joh 19:17); mera'ashah, literally, "head-rest," "pillow," "bolster" (1Ki 19:6); qodhqodh, literally, crown of the head (De 28:35; 33:16,20; 2Sa 14:25; Isa 3:17; Jer 48:45); barzel, "the head of an axe" (De…

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- The uppermost and chief member of the body

Isa 1:6; 2Ki 6:31

- All the other members necessary to

1Co 12:21

- The body supported and supplied by

Eph 4:16

- Put for the whole person

Ge 49:26; Pr 10:6

- Put for the life

Da 1:10; 1Sa 28:2

- PARTS OF MENTIONED

. The skull

2Ki 9:35; Mt 27:33

. The crown

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
75%head
head75% · 57×heads22% · 17×chief3% · 2×

76 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
object36%adverbial27%predicate27%subject9%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 75 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
ἐπίθρίξa hairφέρωI carry, bear, b
εἰς
γίνομαιI come into bein
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
ὄφιςa serpentμέγαςβλασφημίαabusive or scurr
εἰμίI am, exist
Χριστόςanointed, the Meἀνήρa male human bei
ἑπτάIndec
Article the
κεφαλήhead75×
what comes after →
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,στέφανοςa crown, garlandἐπί
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἱμάτιονouter garmentεἷςone
Article the
Χριστόςanointed, the Meπούςthe footγυνήa woman, wife, m
σύ
ὀμνύωI swear, take anπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
γωνίαa corner, a secret p
παρά

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

Concordanceκεφαλή · 75× in the New Testament
Revelation Matthew 1 Corinthians Mark Luke Acts John Ephesians Colossians 1 Peter Romans
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 196 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 100c. AD 40

δι’ ἣν αἰτίαν οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι φιλόσοφοι τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦτον ἐξομοιοῦσι τῇ ἀμήτορι Νίκῃ καὶ Παρθένῳ, ἣν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Διὸς κεφαλῆς ἀναφανῆναι λόγος ἔχει, οἱ δὲ Πυθαγόρειοι τῷ ἡγεμόνι τῶν συμπάντων·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.50c. AD 75–95

ἀφείλετο δὲ καὶ τὸν ὄφιν τὴν φωνὴν ὀργισθεὶς ἐπὶ τῇ κακοηθείᾳ τῇ πρὸς τὸν Ἄδαμον καὶ ἰὸν ἐντίθησιν ὑπὸ τὴν γλῶτταν αὐτῷ πολέμιον ἀποδείξας ἀνθρώποις καὶ ὑποθέμενος κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς φέρειν τὰς πληγάς, ὡς ἐν ἐκείνῃ τοῦ τε κακοῦ τοῦ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.4c. AD 100

λέγει δὲ πάλιν ὁ προφήτης: Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 2nd c. BC
ZPE 156 (2006), p. 199-216Soknopaiu Nesos (ArsinoitesAD 50

ἡμέρας ἐπὶ τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ποιήσω καθότι προγέγραπται. ἔγραψεν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ Κεφαλᾶς Στοτοήτιος διὰ τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι αὐτὸν γράμματα. Στοτοῆτις Σαταβοῦτος μητρὸς Θαήσιος ἠγόρακα καθὼς πρόκειται.

P.Sijp. 26Philadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 51

Πτολεμαῖος Φίλωνος, ἀπὸ ὑπερετῶν Χαιρήμων Καλλιστράτου, γίνονται γ Νέου Σεβαστοῦ Νεμεσίων Πτολεμαίου, Πεβῶς Ἁρυώτου, Κεφάλων ὁμοίως, γίνονται γ, γίνονται η, τὸ ἥμισυ δ

P. Princ. 1 1Philadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 51

α ὀβολὸν Ἡρακλῆς ὁμοίως Λεύκου … ἡμιωβέλιον χαλκοῦς 2 α ὀβολὸν Ἰσχυρίων Πανετβύιος … Κεφάλων Πανετβύιος

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

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

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

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

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

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
τὸho the G3588 Article · accusative · singular · neuter
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

T-ASN Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
πρόσωπόνprosōpon face G4383 Noun · accusative · singular · neuter
76× 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 face or countenance, as seen in Matthew 6:16-17 and 2 Corinthians 3:7, representing a person's presence or appearance. It can also refer to someone's presence or personality. In the Bible, the face is often used to describe a person's emotions or character.
Amplified meaning
the countenance, the presence
Tyndale gloss
face
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πρόσωπον (prosōpon) means 'face' or 'countenance,' and can also refer to a person's presence or outward appearance. It is derived from the components meaning 'toward' and 'view.' The term appears frequently in the New Testament, often in contexts relating to personal encounters or appearances, such as in Matthew 6:16 and 2 Corinthians 2:10. It can also imply judgment based on external conditions.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πρόσωπον, -ου, τό

(< πρός, ὤψ),

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

prop., of persons (so always in cl.);

the face, countenance: Mt 6:16, 17, Mk 14:65, Lk 9:29, II Co 3:7, Re 4:7, al.; τὸ π. τῆς γενέσεως (EV, natural face), Ja 1:23; πίπτειν ἐπὶ (τὰ) π., Mt 17:6, Lk 5:12, Re 7:11, al.; ἀγνοούμενος τῷ π., Ga 1:22; π., οὐ καρδίᾳ, I Th…

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

πρόσωπον, -ov, τό, (fr. πρός and ὦψ, cf. μέτωπον), fr. Hom. down; Sept. hundreds of times for 0°33, also for DDN, ete. ; 1. a. the face, i. 6. the anterior part of the human head: Mt. vi. 16, 17; xvii. 2; xxvi. 67; Mk. xiv. 65; Lk. [ix. 29]; xxii. 64 [Τ Tr WH om. Lehm. br. the cl.]; Acts vi. 15; 2 Co. iii. 7,13, 18; [xi. 20]; Rev. iv. 7; ix. 7; x.1; τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως, the face with which one is born [A. V. his natural face], Jas. i. 23; πίπτειν emt πρόσ. [cf. W. § 27, 1n.; 122 (116)]and ἐπὶ τὸ mpoo., Mt. xvii. 6; xxvi. 39; Lk. v. 12; xvii. 16; 1 Co. xiv. 25; [Rev. vii. 11 Rec.; πίπτ. ἐπὶ τὰ πρόσ., Rev. xi. 16; vii. 11GLT Tr WH]; ἀγνοούμενός τινι τῷ προσώπῳ, unknown to one by face, i.e. personally unknown, Gal. i. 22; bereaved of one προσώπῳ, οὐ καρδίᾳ [ A. V. in presence, not in heart], 1 Th. ii. 17; κατὰ πρόσωπον, in or towards (i. e. so as to look into) the face, i.e. before…

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

πρόσωπον, *“facew:)cl. ΒΒ Εν 47 (5.6: 052-1) (ΞΞ GPZ 1. p. 332, Selections p. 22) lt μὴ μικρόν τι ἐντρέπομαι, οὐκ ἄν pe ἴδες τὸ πόρσωπον, ‘but for the fact that I am a little ashamed, Part VI. 3 , Tpo Τασσω you would never again have seen my face,” and 7. 51906 (B.C. 159) (= UPZ i. p. 360) εἶχον πρόσοπον καλὸν «εἶχον ) καὶ οὐκ ἤθελον οὐθενεὶ δῖξαί μου τὸ πόρσωπον διὰ τὸ καλὸν αὐτὸν ely[a]t, where also note the form πόρσωπον by melathests (Mayser Gr. p. 189). From this literal meaning it is an easy transition to the more general sense of *‘outward appearance,” and thence to the frequent use of the word in the Kow# as practically equivalent to our “person "᾿ξ see e.g. P Oxy XIV. 16724 (a.D. 37-41) ξένοις προσώποις, “‘to strangers,” 76. II. 237vii3 (ap. 186) ὁμοίας ὑποθέσεως :ἀκούσαντα [ἐξ] Αἰγυπτιακῶν προσώπων, ““having heard a similar plea advanced by Egyptian witnesses ” (Edd.), P Ryl…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πρόσωπον (prosōpon) — face.

πρόσωπον, τό:

plural πρόσωπα, Epic dialect (Aeolic dialect accusative to [Refs 8th c.BC+] προσώπατα [Refs 8th c.BC+]:— face, countenance (compare μέτωπον), [Refs 8th c.BC+] always in plural, even of a single person, [Refs 8th c.BC+], and usually in later writers; π. κλιθὲν προσώπῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐς π. τινὸς ἀφικέσθαι come before him,[LXX+2nd c.BC+]; κατὰ πρόσωπον in front, facing, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κατὰ π. Αἰγύπτου facing, fronting Egypt, [LXX]; opposed to κατὰ νώτου, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; κατὰ π. ἄγειν, opposed to κατὰ κέρας ὑπεραίρειν, [Refs]; κατὰ π. in person, ἡ κατὰ π. ἔντευξις [Refs 1st c.AD+]; κατὰ π. παραμυθήσασθαι, opposed to διὰ τοῦ ψαφίσματος, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; also πρὸς τὸ π. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐπὶ προσώπου Ἰεριχώ in front of Jericho, [LXX+3rd c.BC+]; βλέπειν εἰς π. τινός regard his countenance, [LXX+NT]: of the ibis, [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πρόσωπον

prosopon

from 4314 and ops (the visage, from 3700); the front (as being towards

view), i.e. the countenance, aspect, appearance, surface; by

implication, presence, person:--(outward) appearance, X before,

countenance, face, fashion, (men's) person, presence.

see GREEK for 4314

see GREEK for 3700

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πρόσωπον, ου, τό

n.n.

the face, countenance, surface

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πρόσωπον prosōpon 76x

the face, countenance, visage, Mt. 6:16, 17; 17:2, 6; according to late usage, a person, individual, 2 Cor. 1:11; hence, a personal presence, 1 Thess. 2:17; from the Hebrew, πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον, face to face, clearly, perfectly, 1 Cor. 13:12; face, surface, external form, figure, appearance, Mt. 16:3; Lk. 12:56; external circumstances, or condition of any one, Mt. 22:16; Mk. 12:14; πρόσωπον λαμβάνειν, to have respect to the…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πρόσωπον ὤψ the face, visage, countenance, mostly in pl., even of a single person, Hom., Soph., etc.; βλέπειν τινὰ εἰς πρ. Eur.; ἐς πρ. τινὸς ἀφικέσθαι to come before him, id. Eur.:— κατὰ πρ. in front, facing, Thuc., etc.; ἡ κατὰ πρ. ἔντευξις a tete-a-tete, Plut.; also, πρὸς τὸ πρ. Xen.; λαμβάνειν πρ. τινος, ῀ προσωποληπτεῖν τινα, NTest.:—metaph., ἀρχομένου πρ. ἔργου Pind.

one's look, countenance, Lat. vultus Aesch., etc.; οὐ τὸ σὸν δείσας πρ., cf. Hor. vultus instantis tyranni, Soph.

= προσωπεῖον, a mask, Dem., Arist.

outward appearance, beauty, Pind.

a person, NTest., etc.; πρόσωπον in bodily presence, id. NTest.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fas: In Hebrew the translation of three expressions:

(1) panim

(2) `ayin, literally, "eye" and

(3) 'aph, literally, "nose," "nostril," already noted under the word COUNTENANCE, which see.

The first and second of these words are used synonymously, even in metaphorical expressions, as, for example in the phrase "the face of the earth," where panim is used (De 6:15 et passim) and `ayin (Nu 22:5 et passim). The third expression preserves more clearly its original meaning. It is generally used in the phrases "to bow one's self to the earth," "to fall on one's face," where the nose actually touched the ground. Often "my face," "thy face" is mere oriental circumlocution for the personal pronoun "I," "me," "thou," "thee." "In thy face" means "in thy presence;" and is often so translated. A…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Face

Means simply presence, as when it is recorded that Adam and Eve hid themselves from the “face [R.V., ‘presence’] of the Lord God” (Gen. 3:8; comp. Ex. 33:14, 15, where the same Hebrew word is rendered “presence”). The “light of God’s countenance” is his favour (Ps. 44:3; Dan. 9:17). “Face” signifies also anger, justice, severity (Gen. 16:6, 8; Ex. 2:15; Ps. 68:1; Rev. 6:16). To “provoke God to his face” (Isa.…

Face and presence, expressed by the same word in Hebrew, are often put for the person himself, Ge 48:11 Ex 33:14 Isa 63:9. No man has seen the face of God, that is, had a full revelation of his glory, Ex 33:20 Joh 1:18 1Ti 6:16. To see him "face to face," is to enjoy his presence, Ge 32:30 Nu 14:14 De 5:4, and have a clear manifestation of his nature and grace,

→ Covering of Isa 6:2

→ Disfiguring of, in fasting Mt 6:16

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
69%face
face69% · 53×appearance12% · 9×presence8% · 6×faces8% · 6×other renderings4% · 3×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial59%object30%subject9%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 76 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
ὁράωI see, look uponκαίand, even, also,ἐπί
πρό
ἐγώἄγγελοςan angel, messenδύο
ἐπί
πίπτωI fall, fall undκάθημαιI sit, am seated
κατά
ἑτοιμάζωI make ready, prἀρνέομαιI deny, repudiatκατηγορέωI accuse, charge
ἀπό
ἀνάψυξιςrefreshing, refrχαίρωI rejoice, am glθεόςGod, a god
πρόσωπονface76×
what comes after →
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ὡςas, like as, howὅπωςhow, in order th
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, γῆthe earth, soil,κύριοςlord, Lord, mast
σύ
ὅςνίπτωI washδέρωI flay, flog, sc
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of the hu
ἀλλάbut, except
καίand, even, also, nam
κολαφίζωI strike with thκαταρτίζωI fit together,

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

Concordanceπρόσωπον · 76× in the New Testament
Luke 2 Corinthians Acts Matthew Revelation 1 Corinthians 1 Thessalonians Galatians Mark James 1 Peter 2 Thessalonians
Across the New Testament15 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 614 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 Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 131c. AD 40

"πηγὴ δ’ ἀνέβαινεν ἐκ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπότιζε πᾶν τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς“ (Gen.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.334c. AD 75–95

ἡσθεὶς δὲ τούτοις Ἰάκωβος Φανουῆλον ὀνομάζει τὸν τόπον, ὃ σημαίνει θεοῦ πρόσωπον.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 5.14c. AD 100

τὸ δὲ πρόσωπόν μου ἔθηκα ὡς στερεὰν πέτραν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 7th c. AD 4th c. AD 5th c. AD 2nd c. AD
P.Mich. 5 241Tebtynis (ArsinoitesAD 16

ἐπελεύσεσθαι ἐπὶ τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον. ὑπογραφεῖς τῶν ὁμολογούντων Λυσίμαχος Λυσιμάχου ὡς ἐτῶν κβ οὐλὴ προσώπῳ ἐξ ἀριστερῶν καὶ τῆς Τατιθίγξιος Διόδωρος Ψενοβάστεως ὡς ἐτῶν κζ οὐλὴ δακτύλῳ πρώτῳ ἀριστερᾶς

P.Mich. 5 243ArsinoitesAD 14–AD 37

μεσόφρυον. Ὀρσῆς Κρονίδου ὡς ἐτῶν με οὐλὴ ὀφρύει. Μιεῦς Ἁρμιύσιος ὡς ἐτῶν μϛ οὐλὴ προσώπῳ ἐξ ἀριστερῶν Ἁρμιῦσις Φασῶτος ὡς ἐτῶν νε οὐλὴ … δεξι . Ἥρων Ὀρσεῦτος εὐδοκῶ

P.Berl.Leihg. 2 44Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 157–AD 158

κυριακὰς ψήφους. Ἡρακλείδης ὡς ἐτῶν μ οὐλὴ ἀστραγάλῳ δεξιῷ Ὡρίων ὡς ἐτῶν λε οὐλὴ προσώπῳ μέσῳ Ἀρητίων ὡς ἐτῶν λε οὐλὴ δακτύλῳ χειρὸς ἀριστερᾶς Ἥρων ὡς ἐτῶν ν οὐλὴ

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
σουsu of you G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · genitive · singular
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

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

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

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

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

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

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

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

3,073 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 37 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject28%object24%adverbial23%indirect object20%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,892 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύof you2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

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

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 450 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.48c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 35Ptolemais - Akko (Syrien)103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

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

You yourself however fasting do anoint yourself your <the> head and the face of you do wash, yourself
νίψαιniptō do wash, yourself G3538 Verb · aorist · middle · imperative · second person · singular
17× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To wash, especially hands or feet, like Jesus washing his disciples' feet in John 13:5-6. It can also mean to cleanse oneself, as in Matthew 6:17. This word is used to describe ceremonial washing.
Amplified meaning
cleanse, purify
Tyndale gloss
to wash
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

νίπτω is a Greek verb meaning 'to wash,' particularly parts of the body like hands, feet, or face. It is often used in a ceremonial context, distinguishing it from other words for washing. The New Testament references include John 13, where Jesus washes His disciples' feet. Lexicons note that νίπτω is typically used for washing living beings, unlike πλύνω, which refers to washing inanimate objects.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — πλύνω, νίπτω from a scan

THERE is a certain poverty in English, which has one only word, ‘to wash,’ with which to render these three Greek ; seeing that the three have each a propriety of its own, and one which the inspired writers always observe. Thus πλύνειν is always to wash inanimate things, as distinguished from living objects or persons ; oftenest garments (εἵματα, Homer, Il, xxii. Sxtv- SVVONVMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. τοὶ 155; ἱμάτιον, Plato, Charm. 161 e; and in the Septuagint ᾿ continually ; so στολάς, Rev. vii. 14); but not exclusively garments, as some affirm, for see Luke v. 2, where it expresses the washing or cleansing of nets (δίκτυα : cf. Polybius ix. 6, 8). When David exclaims Πλῦνόν pe ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνομίας Ps. 1. 8 [li. 2, A. V.]), this is no exception to the rule; forthe mention of hyssop, which follows, shows plainly that the royal penitent had the ceremonial aspersions of the Levitical law…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

νίπτω, late form of νίζω,

[in LXX chiefly for רחץ;]

to wash, usually of a part of the body: c. acc. pers., Jo 13:8; τ. πόδας, Jo 13:5, 6, 8, 12, 14, I Ti 5:10; mid., reflexive, to wash oneself: Jo 9:7, 11, 15; τ. χεῖρας, Mt 15:2, Mk 7:3; τ. πόδας, Jo 13:10; τ. πρόσωπον, Mt 6:17 (in cl. Att. prose, used only in compounds; cf. ἀπο-νίπτω).†

SYN.: λούω (q.v.), πλύνω.

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

νίπτω. See Ev. Petr. 1 τῶν δὲ ᾿Ιουδαίων οὐδεὶς ἐνίψατο τὰς χεῖρας : ‘‘the callousness of the Jewish leaders is sharply contrasted with the scruples of the Gentile Procurator” (Swete ad 1). MGr νίβω (νίβγω).

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

νίπτω (niptō) — to wash.

Included with: νίζω,

[Refs 5th c.BC+]; imperative νίζε [Refs 8th c.BC+]; infinitive νίζειν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; participle νίζων [Refs 8th c.BC+]: Epic dialect imperfect νίζον [Refs 8th c.BC+]:— the present νίπτω, analogically formed from νίψω ἔνιψα, first in [NT+5th c.BC+] uses middle νίπτομαι [Refs]: future νίψω [Refs 8th c.BC+]: aorist ἔνιψα [Refs]; Epic dialect νίψα [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—middle, νίζομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]: imperfect νίζετο [Refs 8th c.BC+]future νίψομαι (see. ἀπο-, ἐκ-νίζω)[LXX]aorist ἐνιψάμη; Epic dialect 3rd.pers. singular νίψατο [Refs 8th c.BC+]perfect νένιμμαι (see. below): aorist passive ἐνίφθην (κατ-) [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—wash the hands or feet (see. entry near the end), νίζε δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἆσσον ἰοῦσα ἄναχθ᾽ ἑόν [Refs 8th c.BC+], cf. Oracle texts cited in [Refs 5th c.BC+] [same place]:—middle, νίψατο δ᾽ αὐτὸς χεῖρας [Refs 8th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

νίπτω

nipto

to cleanse (especially the hands or the feet or the face);

ceremonially, to perform ablution:--wash. Compare 3068.

see GREEK for 3068

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

νίπτω

v.

I wash

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

νίπτω niptō 17x

to wash; spc. to wash some part of the person, as distinguished from λούω, Mt. 6:17; Jn. 13:8

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-AMM-2S — Verb · aorist · middle · imperative · second person · singular
aorist middle imperative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-AMM-2S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: Middle Mood: iMperative Person: second Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
18%wash
wash18% · 3×washed12% · 2×she has washed6% · 1×do wash, yourself6% · 1×they wash6% · 1×they shall wash6% · 1×do wash yourself6% · 1×do wash. yourself6% · 1×other renderings35% · 6×

17 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 14 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 17 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
οὖνtherefore, thenΣιλωάμPropὀφθαλμόςthe eye
ἐγώ
σύοὖνtherefore, then
μήNeg
οὐNegἐάνCond
πούςthe foot
Article theἅγιοςset apart, holy,
σύ
πρόσωπονthe face, counte
νίπτωdo wash, yourself17×
what comes after →
Article the
πούςthe footχείρa hand
καίand, even, also, nam
ἔρχομαιI come, goβλέπωI look, see
σύ
οὐNegArticle the
εἰς
Article the
ἀπέρχομαιI come or go away fr
οὖνtherefore, then

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

Concordanceνίπτω · 17× in the New Testament
John Matthew 1 Timothy Mark
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 18 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
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 8.87c. AD 75–95

πληρώσας δὲ ὕδατος τὴν μὲν θάλασσαν ἀπέδειξεν εἰς τὸ νίπτειν τοὺς εἰς τὸν ναὸν εἰσιόντας ἱερεῖς ἐν αὐτῇ τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τοὺς πόδας μέλλοντας ἀναβαίνειν ἐπὶ τὸν βωμόν, τοὺς δὲ λουτῆρας εἰς τὸ καθαίρειν τὰ ἐντὸς τῶν ὁλοκαυτουμένων ζῴων καὶ τοὺς πόδας…

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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