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1 Corinthians 10:19 — Word Study

Depth

N1904Τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν ὅτι εἴδωλόν τί ἐστιν;

BSAWhattis thenoun do I mean?phēmi [as a consequence] Thathoti an idol-sacrificeeidōlon [offerings, sacrifices, a false god, image] anythingtis [of value, significant] iseimi orē thathoti an idoleidōlothutos [a mere image, false deity] anythingtis [real, of substance] is?eimi

Word
Listen & take away1 Corinthians 10
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 19 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 (eimi) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
1 Corinthians 10:19quick helps
In a sentencePaul questions the significance of food offered to idols and the idols themselves.
Who is speakingThe Apostle Paul, addressing the Corinthian church.
Where we areIn a discussion about the implications of eating food sacrificed to idols.
The hard wordεἰδωλόθυτος
Take awayPaul emphasizes that neither the food nor the idols have inherent value.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectεἰδωλόθυτος verbφημί 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 — 1 Corinthians 10:19

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 — Food Offered to Idolsgenerated

18Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar?
19Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
20No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.
21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.

1 Corinthians 10:19 addresses the issue of food sacrificed to idols, questioning whether such food or the idols themselves hold any real significance. Paul is concerned about the spiritual implications of participating in idol worship and the potential for misunderstanding among believers. This discussion is part of a broader context where Paul instructs the Corinthians on how to navigate their faith in a culture rife with pagan practices, as seen in 1 Corinthians 8:4.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
11 Corinthians 1:28He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,
21 Corinthians 3:7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
31 Corinthians 8:4So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.
41 Corinthians 13:2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
5Deuteronomy 32:21They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.

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


The Key Word εἰδωλόθυτος, eidōlongenerated

The term εἰδωλόθυτος refers specifically to food that has been sacrificed to idols. It is derived from εἴδωλον (idol) and θύω (to sacrifice), indicating meat offered in pagan rituals.

In this context, Paul is questioning the value of such sacrifices, implying that they do not hold any spiritual power or significance.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as: "Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?" This wording is consistent across several translations, including the KJV and ASV, which also emphasize the questioning of the significance of idols and their sacrifices.

However, some translations like the YLT and WEB phrase it slightly differently, using variations such as "What then do I say?" to introduce the inquiry.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main finite verb in this verse is φημι;, do I mean?, which governs a series of clauses. The structure consists of two primary clauses that present Paul's questions about the significance of idol sacrifices and the idols themselves.

The first clause introduces the question about food sacrificed to idols, while the second clause follows up with a similar question regarding the idols, demonstrating a parallel structure in Paul's reasoning.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

The term εἰδωλόθυτος does not appear in the Septuagint, but the concept of idol sacrifices is addressed in various contexts throughout the Old Testament. The Hebrew term גִּלּוּל (H1544), often translated as 'idol', captures a similar idea.

Paul's use of this term reflects a continuation of discussions found in the Septuagint regarding the futility of idol worship, emphasizing the lack of real substance in such practices.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

1 Corinthians 10:19 shows Paul questioning whether food offered to idols or the idols themselves have any true significance. He is addressing the Corinthian believers to clarify their understanding of idol worship and its implications for their faith.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does Paul mean by asking if food sacrificed to idols is anything?

Paul is questioning the inherent value of food offered to idols, suggesting that it holds no spiritual significance.

Why does Paul address the issue of idols in this verse?

He wants to clarify that idols, being mere images, do not possess any real power or substance.

How does this verse relate to the overall message of 1 Corinthians?

It highlights the tension between cultural practices and Christian faith, urging believers to discern the spiritual implications of their actions.

What can we learn from Paul's approach to discussing idols?

Paul encourages believers to critically evaluate their cultural practices and understand their faith in light of the truth of the Gospel.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways do I encounter cultural practices that may conflict with my faith?
  2. How can I discern the significance of actions or items in my life that may be seen as 'idols'?
  3. What steps can I take to ensure my worship is directed solely towards God?
  4. How can I share the message of freedom from idol worship with others in my community?

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

Early church Fathers comment on this verse to clarify the implications of idol worship and the nature of sacrifices.

TertullianA Treatise on the Soul c. 155–220
Would to God that no "heresies had been ever necessary, in order that they which are; approved may be made manifest!" We should then be never required to try our strength in contests about the soul with philosophers,
Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 10 →
John ChrysostomHomily on 1 Corinthians 24 c. 347–407
But having said that they have "communion with the altar," afterwards fearing lest he should seem to discourse as if the idols had any power and could do some injury, see again how he overthrows them, saying,
Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 10 →
Theodoret of CyrusCOMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 229 c. 393–460
Paul does not want anyone to think that sacrifices as such have any power or that they can corrupt the one who eats them afterward.
Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 10 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 1 Corinthians 10:19 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

What say I then?.... Or may be objected to, or inferred from, what I say; that an idol is anything, or that which is sacrificed to idols is anything?

Read John Gill on 1 Corinthians 10 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? What say I then?

Read Robert Jamieson on 1 Corinthians 10 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

I do not by this contradict what I before said, nor now affirm that an idol is any thing, or the sacrifices offered to it any thing. An idol hath nothing in it of a Deity, nor can it either sanctify or pollute any thing that is set before it; the error is in your action, as you communicate with such as are idolaters; it is your own action that polluteth you, not the idol, nor yet the meat set before it.

Read Matthew Poole on 1 Corinthians 10 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? Ver. 19. What say I then] He prevents a mistake. See 1 Corinthians 8:4. Ministers must in their discourses meet with all objections as much as may be.

Read John Trapp on 1 Corinthians 10 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(19) What say I then?—It might have been argued from the preceding verse that the Apostle admitted the heathen offerings and the idols to which they were offered to be as real as were the offerings and Being to whom the altar was erected by Israel, whereas in 1 Corinthians 8:4 he had asserted the contrary.

Read Charles John Ellicott on 1 Corinthians 10 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 19. What say I then?] A Jewish phrase for, I conclude; and this is his conclusion: that although an idol is nothing, has neither power nor influence, nor are things offered to idols any thing the worse for being thus offered; yet, as the things sacrificed by the Gentiles are sacrificed to demons and not to God, those who partake of them have fellowship with demons: those who profess Christianity cannot have fellowship both with Christ and the devil.

Read AdamClarke on 1 Corinthians 10 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

19. What say I then? that the idol is any thing] St Paul does not mean to say here, any more than in ch. 1 Corinthians 8:4, that an idol, or the god represented by it, has any real objective existence, or that the sacrifices offered to such idols are the property of any such being as that they are intended to represent. But for all that, it may stand as the representative of that which has a very real existence indeed; he kingdom of evil, and those beings which maintain it.

Read Cambridge on 1 Corinthians 10 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What say I then? - This is in the present tense; τίοὖνφημι ti oun phēmi, what do I say? What is my meaning? What follows from this? Do I mean to say that an idol is anything; that it has a real existence?

Read Albert Barnes on 1 Corinthians 10 →

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

Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?

WEBWorld English Bible2000

What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Am I suggesting, then, that an idol is anything, or that food sacrificed to an idol is anything?

NETBNew English Translation2006

Am I saying that idols or food sacrificed to them amount to anything?

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

What say I then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?

RVARevised Version, American1894

What say I then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?

NWBWebster's Bible1833

What then do I say? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?

GNVGeneva Bible1599

What say I then? that the idole is any thing? or that that which is sacrificed to idoles, is any thing?

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

What then do I say? that what is sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

what then do I say? that an idol is anything? or that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything? —

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

What do I say then? That an idol is anything? Or that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything?

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

What am I saying then? That an idol is anything? Or that food sacrificed to an idol is anything?

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

What then? Do I say, that what is offered in sacrifice to idols, is any thing? Or, that the idol is any thing?

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

What am I saying then? That anything sacrificed to idols means anything, or that an idol has any real existence? Of course not!

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Do I say, then, that what is offered to images is anything, or that the image is anything?

Word by word, the decisions they made

φημι;phēmi do I mean? G5346 2 different renderings
i sayBBE DBY DRA LSV NWB YLT
sayingFBV NETB ULB WEB
εἴδωλόνeidōlothutos an idol G1497 2 different renderings
an idolASV BSB DBY FBV LSV MSB RVA ULB WEB YLT
idolsDRA KJV NETB NWB

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.

clauseοὖνthenclauseobjectτίWhatverbφημιdo I meanclauseclauseὅτιThatclausesubjectεἰδωλόθυτόνwhat is sacrificed to an idolpredicateτίanythinglinking verbἐστινisorclauseὅτιthatclausesubjectεἴδωλόνan idolpredicateτίanythinglinking verbἐστινis

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

Quid ergo ? dico quod idolis immolatum sit aliquid ? aut quod idolum, sit aliquid ?

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

ܡܢܐ ܗܟܝܠ ܐܡܪ ܐܢܐ ܕܦܬܟܪܐ ܡܕܡ ܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܐܘ ܕܒܚܐ ܕܦܬܟܪܐ ܡܕܡ ܗܘ ܠܐ

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

Τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν ὅτι εἴδωλόν τί ἐστιν;

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

Τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν ὅτι εἴδωλόν τί ἐστιν;

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

Τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν ὅτι εἴδωλόν τί ἐστιν;

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

Τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν ὅτι εἴδωλόν τί ἐστιν;

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

Τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν ὅτι εἴδωλόν τί ἐστιν;

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

Τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν ὅτι εἴδωλόν τί ἐστιν;

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

Τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι τί ἐστιν ὅτι τί ἐστιν;

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

Τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι τί ἐστιν ὅτι τί ἐστιν;

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
εἰδωλόθυτόν an idol-sacrificeNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WH, TregTR, Byz
εἴδωλόν an idolNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WH, TregTR, Byz

The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Greek New Testament — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

1 Corinthians 10:19τίςWhatWhatτίςοὖνthenthenοὖνφημίdo I mean?do I mean?φημίὅτιThatThatὅτιεἰδωλόθυτοςan idol-sacan idol-sacrifiεἰδωλόθυτοςτὶςanythinganythingτὶςεἰμίisisεἰμίororὅτιthatthatὅτιεἴδωλονan idolan idolεἴδωλοντὶςanythinganythingτὶςεἰμίis?is?εἰμίὅστιςRel.pr. whRel.pr. whosoevὅστιςεἶδοςn.n. visibn.n. visible foεἶδοςτὶςIndef.pr. Indef.pr. any oτὶςφῶςn.n. lightn.n. light, a sφῶςφαίνωv. I shinev. I shine, appφαίνωεἴδωλονn.n. an idn.n. an idol, fεἴδωλονθύωv. I sacriv. I sacrifice,θύωἤδηAdv now, aAdv now, alreadἤδηἤπερDisj.prt. Disj.prt. thanἤπεροἶδαv. I know,v. I know, remeοἶδαγινώσκωv. I come v. I come to knγινώσκωτολμάωv. I dare,v. I dare, enduτολμάωδοκέωv. I thinkv. I think, seeδοκέωἄξιοςAdj worthyAdj worthy, worἄξιοςἆραIrg.prt. aIrg.prt. a partἆραεἶπονv. I say, v. I say, speakεἶπονἄραDisj.prt. Disj.prt. then,ἄραμένDisj.prt. Disj.prt. trulyμέν
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 1 Corinthians 10:19

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.

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
Τίtis What G5101 Interrogative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
562× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions like who, which, or what, as seen in Matthew 3:7 and Mark 11:28. It seeks information about a person or thing. This term is essential in direct and indirect questions.
Tyndale gloss
which?
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τίς is an interrogative pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' or 'what,' used in both direct and indirect questions. It can function as a substantive, adjective, or adverb, appearing in various contexts throughout the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:7 and John 18:23. The neuter form τί also means 'what' or 'which.' There are instances where τίς may be used interchangeably with other pronouns like ποῖος.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τίς, neut., τί, gen., τίνος, interrog. pron., [in LXX for מָה ,מִי ;] in masc. and fem.,

who, which, what?; in neut., which, what?, used both in direct and in indirect questions.

As subst.,

masc., fem.: τίς; who, what?, Mt 3:7 26:68; Mk 11:28, Lk 9:9, al. mult.; c. gen. partit., Ac 7:52, He 1:5, al; seq. ἐκ (= gen. partit.), Mt 6:27, Lk 14:28, Jo 8:46; = ποῖος, Mk 4:41 6:2, Lk 19:3,

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

τὶς, τὶ. ἘΣ what follows, εἰ καί lays less emphasis upon it; although it is evident that εἰ καί can often be substituted for καὶ ei.” Cf. Herm. Vig. p. 829 sq.; W. 444 (413); Ellic. on Phil. ii. 17; Schmalfeld, Griech. Syntax, § 41; Paley, Grk. Particles, p. 31]. 8. εἰ μή, a. in a conditional protasis, with the same sequence of moods and tenses as the simple εἰ, see 1. above, if not, unless, except, [W. 477 (444) sqq.; B. 345 (297)]: Mt. xxiv. 22; Jn. ix. 33; | xv. 22, 24; Ro. vii. 7, ete. b. it serves, with the entire. following sentence, to limit or correct what has just been said, only, save that, (Lat. nisi quod), [B. 359 (308) ]: Mk. vi. 5; 1 Co. vii. 17 (where Paul by the addition εἰ μὴ ἑκάστῳ κτλ. strives to prevent any one in applying what had been said a little while before, viz. οὐ δεδούλωται . . ἐν τοιούτοις to his own case, from going too far) ; in ironical answers, unless…

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

τις (indef. pron.), ‘* someone, something’’: P Vat ΑἸ (B.c. 168) (= UPZi. p. 303) πᾶς τις πειρᾶται. . ., P Lond 421° (B.C. 168) (= Selections, p. 10) εἰς πᾶν τι ἐληλυθυῖα διὰ, τὴν τοῦ σίτου τιμήν, ‘having come to the last extremity because of the high price of corn,’’ P Oxy IV. 7421° (B.c. 2) ἐάν τι δύνῃ... δὸς ἐργασίαν, “if you can, give your attention to it’’ (Edd.), 2d. I. 120% (iv/a.D.) τινα ὁρῶντα αἱαυτὸν (/. ἑαυτὸν) ἐν δυστυχίᾳ, ““α man finding himself in adversity,’ 13 ἀποστῖλόν pot τινα ἢ Γοῦνθον ἢ ᾿Αμμώνιον, “send someone to me, either Gunthus or Ammonius” (Edd.). P Oxy VI. 937°" (ili/A.D.) γ]ράψον ἐκεῖ TO kat’ εἶδος ὅτι τι kal τι εἴληφας is translated by the editors ‘* write the list there, that you have received so and so.” They 3) ες remark that it is simpler to take τι καί τι as analogous to τὸ καὶ τό than ‘‘to take τί kal τί as an indirect interrogative, ὅτι being…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τίς (tis) — which?.

τίς

__B Interrog. pronoun τίς, Elean and Laconian dialect τίρ (which see), τί:—genitive Epic dialect and Ionic dialect τέο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τοῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect, Trag., and Attic dialect τίνος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative Ionic dialect τέῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; no dative in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τῷ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίῳ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; τίνι first in [NT+8th c.BC+]; genitive Epic dialect τέων [Refs 8th c.BC+], and as monosyllable [Refs]; Trag. and Attic dialect τίνων [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative τίσι first in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect τέοισι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίοισι [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Megarian dialect σά [Refs 5th c.BC+]: of the plural [Refs 8th c.BC+] with genitive τέω; ποῖος (what? which?) is sometimes preferred (especially in neuter…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τίς

tis

probably emphatic of 5100; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or

what (in direct or indirect questions):--every man, how (much), +

no(-ne, thing), what (manner, thing), where (-by, -fore, -of, -unto, -

with, -withal), whether, which, who(-m, -se), why.

see GREEK for 5100

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τίς, τί

Irg.pr.

who, which, what

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Τίτιος Titios 1x

Titius, pr. name, Acts 18:7*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τίς in direct questions, who? which? neut. what? which? Lat. quis, quae, quid?, Hom., etc.: relating to other words in the same case, τίς δ᾽ οὗτος ἔρχεαι; who art thou that comest? Il.; τίν᾽ ὄψιν σὴν προσδέρκομαι; what face is this I see of thine? Eur.:— τίς ἄν or κεν, with the opt., expresses doubt, who could, who would do so? Hom.: —in double questions, τί λαβόντα τί δεῖ ποιεῖν; what has one received and what must one do? Dem.; so, τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; who and whence art thou? Od.

τίς with Particles: τίς γάρ; Lat. quisnam? why who? who possibly? Il., etc.; τίς δή; who then? Theogn.; τίς δῆτα; Soph.; τίς ποτε; who in the world? who ever? Xen.

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

I-ASN Part of Speech: Interrogative pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
48%what
what48% · 273×who21% · 117×why18% · 101×which5% · 29×whom5% · 29×other renderings3% · 19×

568 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 17 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object30%adverbial25%predicate24%subject21%

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakπρόςἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusκαίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existοὗτοςθεόςGod, a god
διά
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakεἶπονI say, speak
Disj
ἐσθίωI eatπῶςποιέωI do, make
τίςWhat562×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theοὗτοςκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spσημεῖονa sign, miracle,μαθητήςa learner, disci
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakδιώκωI pursue, persec
ποιέωI do, make
Article theἵναin order that, sὅτιthat, since, bec
οὖνtherefore, then
εἶπονI say, speakποιέωI do, makeεἰμίI am, exist

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

Concordanceτίς · 562× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Romans 1 Corinthians Revelation 2 Corinthians Hebrews Ephesians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament20 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 601 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

καὶ γὰρ λόγον καὶ ἀκοὴν ὑπερβάλλει μείζω καὶ σεμνότερα ὄντα ἢ ὡς θνητοῦ τινος ὀργάνοις ἐναρμοσθῆναι.

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

ὅτι λιμοῦ τὴν Χαναναίαν καταλαβόντος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀπῆρε καὶ διατρίψας ἐν αὐτῇ τινα χρόνον ὑπέστρεψεν ὀπίσω.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.5c. AD 100

πλήρης εἰμὶ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, καὶ στέαρ ἀρνῶν καὶ αἷμα ταύρων καὶ τράγων οὐ βούλομαι, οὐδ̓ ἂν ἔρχησθε ὀφθῆναί μοι, τίς γὰρ ἐξεζήτησεν ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν;

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

ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν· μὴ ἐξέστω δὲ τῷ καθόλου ἐπὶ τὴν διαθήκην ταύτην ἄλλῳ τινὶ ἐπέρχεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μὴ ἄκυρον ἔστω καὶ προσαποτεισάτω ὁ ἐπιφέρων ὕστερον … ἄλλον τῆς

P.Cair. Cat. 10364 descr.Pathyris126 BC–102 BC

προγεγραμμένου ἵππου, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαί σοι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν δὲ ἐπέλθωμεν ἢ ἄλλος τις ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἥ τʼ ἔφοδος ἄκυρος ἔσται καὶ προσαποτείσομέν σοι χαλκοῦ τάλαντα πέντε.

BGU 6 1260Pathyris102 BC

σημαινομένης ἀρούρης μιᾶς , καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσασθαι Νεχθανοῦπιν καὶ τοὺς τούτου υἱοὺς μηδʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Πετεαρσεμθεία μηδʼ ἐπʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῦ περὶ

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
οὖνoun then G3767 Conjunction
496× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means therefore or then, showing a consequence. It appears in Matthew 3:10 and Romans 5:9 to connect ideas and events.
Tyndale gloss
therefore/then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word οὖν (oun) is a particle used to express consequence, sequence, or to resume a narrative. It translates to 'therefore,' 'then,' or 'accordingly,' and appears frequently in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:10 and Romans 5:9. It can also serve in exhortations and questions, indicating what follows logically from previous statements.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὖν,

particle expressing consequence or simple sequence (never standing first in a sentence),

wherefore, therefore, then: Mt 3:10, Lk 3:9, Jo 8:38, Ac 1:21, Ro 5:9, al.; in exhortations, Mt 3:8, Lk 11:35, Ac 3:19, Ro 6:12, al.; in questions, Mt 13:28, Mk 15:12, Jo 8:[5], Ro 6:1, al.; continuing a…

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

οὖν ἃ conj. indicating that something follows from another necessarily; [al. regard the primary force of the particle as confirmatory or continuative, rather than illative; cf. Passow, or L.andS.s. v.; Kiihner § 508, 1 ii. p- 707 sqq.; Biiumlein p. 173 sqq.; Kriiger § 69, 52; Donaldson p. 571; Rost in a program “ Ueber Ableitung ” u.s.w. p.2; Klotz p. 717; Hartung ii. 4]. Hence it is used in drawing a conclusion and in connecting sentences together logically, then, therefore, accordingly, consequently, these things being so, [ (Klotz, Rost, al., have wished to derive the word fr. the neut. ptep. ὄν (cf. ὄντως) ; but see Baumlein or Kiihner u.s.); ef. W. § 53, 8]: Mt. iii. 10; x. 32 (since persecutions are not to be dreaded, and consequently furnish no excuse for denying me [οἵ. W. 455 (424)]); Mt. xviii. 4; Lk. iii.9; xvi. 27; In. viii. 38 (καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν, and ye accordingly, i. e.…

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

οὖν. This common particle, which occurs in the NT nearly 500 times, is used in our sources in a variety of connexions, the exact shade of meaning being determined by the context. (1) For the causal meaning ‘‘therefore” we may cite BGU II. 423" (ii/aA.p.) (= Sevectzons, p. 91) Kal καλῶς pol ἐστιν. ἐρωτῶ ce οὖν, κύριέ pou πατήρ, γράψον μοι ἐπιστόλιον πρῶτον μὲν περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας σου... , “it is well with me. I beg you, therefore, my lord father, write me a letter, first regarding your health ... ,” and P Oxy XIV. 16651 (iii/A.D.), where a son in urgent need of oil writes to his father—dvayxalws οὖν, ἐὰν ἔτι παρὰ σεαυτῷ χρ[ἴ]ον ἔχῃς, δήλωσον ἢ τῷ vie σου ἢ ᾧ ἐὰν σὺ βούλῃ τούτους μοι ἐν τάχει παρα[σ]χεῖν, ‘perforce, therefore, if you have still with you any unguent, instruct your son or any one else you wish to supply me with them speedily ” (Edd.). (2) Οὖν is very common in a looser…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὖν (oun) — therefore/then.

οὖν,

Ionic dialect and Doric dialect ὦν (the latter in [Refs 8th c.BC+], adverb certainly, in fact, confirming something, frequently in contrast with something which is not confirmed, in [Refs 8th c.BC+] only in combination with γε (see. γοῦν), γάρ, οὔτε or μήτε, ὡς, ἐπεί, μέν, etc.:

1. really, φημὶ γὰρ οὖν κατανεῦσαι.. Κρονίωνα for I declare that Zeus did really promise.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τόφρα γὰρ οὖν ἑπόμεσθα.., ὄφρ᾽ for we followed them up to the very point, where.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐλέχθησαν λόγοι ἄπιστοι μὲν ἐνίοισι Ἑλλήνων, ἐλέχθησαν δ᾽ ὦν but they really were spoken, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Θηβαῖοι μὲν ταῦτα λέγουσι.., Πλαταιῆς δ᾽ οὐχ ὁμολογοῦσι.., ἐκ δ᾽ οὖν τῆς γῆς ἀνεχώρησαν at all events they did return, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so δ᾽ οὖν after a parenthesis; εἰ δή τις ὑμῶν οὕτως ἔχει,—οὐκ ἀξιῶ μὲν γὰρ ἔγωγε,—εἰ…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὖν

oun

apparently a primary word; (adverbially) certainly, or

(conjunctionally) accordingly:--and (so, truly), but, now (then), so

(likewise then), then, therefore, verily, wherefore.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὖν

Cj.

therefore, then

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὖν oun 499x

then, now then, Mt. 13:18; Jn. 19:29; then, thereupon, Lk. 15:28; Jn. 6:14; therefore, consequently, Mt. 5:48: Mk. 10:9; it also serves to mark the resumption of discourse after an interruption by a parenthesis, 1 Cor. 8:4. Sometimes it is not translated.

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

οὖν really, at all events, used like γοῦν to dismiss a perplexing subject, οὔτ᾽ οὖν ἀγγελίῃς ἔτι πείθομαι, οὔτε θεοπροπίης ἐμπάζομαι Od.; ἐλέχθησαν λόγοι ἄπιστοι μὲν ἐνίοισι Ἑλλήνων, ἐλέχθησαν δ᾽ ὦν but they really were spoken, Hdt.; εἴτ᾽ οὖν, εἴτε μὴ γενήσεται whether it shall be really so, or no, Eur.; εἴτ᾽ οὖν ἀληθὲς εἴτ᾽ οὖν ψεῦδος Plat.; εἰ δ᾽ ἔστιν, ὥσπερ οὖν ἔστι, θεός if he is, as he surely is, a god, id. Plat.

added to indef. Pronouns and Advs., like Lat. cunque, ὅστις whoever, ὁστισοῦν whosoever; ὅπως how, ὁπωσοῦν howsoever; ἄλλος ὁστισοὖν another, be he who he may; so, ὁποιοσοῦν, ὁποσοσοῦν, ὁπωσοῦν, ὁποθενοῦν…

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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
79%therefore
therefore79% · 428×then19% · 104×other renderings1% · 7×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 496 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
διακονέωI wait at table,ἔχωI have, hold, poΣατανᾶςan adversary, Sa
μένDisj
Article theεἰCondπολύςmuch, many, ofte
τίςIrg
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakδιά
Article the
ἸακώβPropὕδωρwater
σύ
καίand, even, also,δεῖit is necessary,ἐρωτάωI ask, question,
οὖνthen496×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusἸουδαῖοςJewishμαθητήςa learner, disci
αὐτός
Article theτίςIrgἸησοῦςJesus
καίand, even, also, nam
νίπτωI washἕτεροςanother, differeὁράωI see, look upon
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theσύοὗτος
σύ
πονηρόςevil, bad, wickeτέλειοςperfect, full-grἨλίαςElijah

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

Concordanceοὖν · 496× in the New Testament
John Acts Matthew Romans Luke 1 Corinthians Hebrews 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 Peter Galatians Philippians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament23 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 110 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

τὸ μὲν οὖν κάλλος τῶν νοημάτων τῆς κοσμοποιίας οὐδεὶς οὔτε ποιητὴς οὔτε λογογράφος ἀξίως ἂν ὑμνῆσαι δύναιτο·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.6c. AD 75–95

ἤδη μὲν οὖν καὶ πρότερον διενοήθην, ὅτε τὸν πόλεμον συνέγραφον, δηλῶσαι τίνες ὄντες ἐξ ἀρχῆς Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ τίσι χρησάμενοι τύχαις ὑφʼ οἵῳ τε παιδευθέντες νομοθέτῃ τὰ πρὸς εὐσέβειαν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἄσκησιν ἀρετῆς πόσους τε πολέμους ἐν μακροῖς…

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Grenf. 2 23Latopolites109 BC

χαίρειν. τοῦ παρʼ Ἑρμώνακτος τῶν ὁμοτίμων τοῖς συγγενέσι καὶ ὑποδιοικητοῦ χρηματισμοῦ ἀντίγραφον ὑπόκειται. κατακολουθήσας οὖν τοῖς διʼ αὐτοῦ σημαινομένοις χρημάτισον ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν Παθύρει τραπέζης, συνυπογράφοντος Φίβιος τοῦ…

P.Grenf. 1 30Pathyris104 BC

δὲ καὶ αὐτοί. μεταλαβόντες τοὺς συντετελεσμένους πρὸς τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς Ἑρμωνθίτας ἀγῶνας μεγάλως ἐχάρημεν. ἐπεὶ οὖν προκεχειρίκαμεν προστάτην τοῦ μεγίστου θεοῦ Νεχθφαραῦτος βεα … ρων … δια … στρατιωτῶν

Chrest.Wilck. 12Pathyris89 BC

ἐπιβεβληκέναι εἰς Μέμφιν, Ἱέρακα δὲ προκεχειρίσθαι μετὰ δυνάμεων μυρίων ἐπὶ καταστολὴν τῆς Θηβαίδος. ὅπως οὖν εἰδότες εὐθαρσεῖς ὑπάρχητε ἐκρίναμεν σημῆναι. ἔρρωσθε ἔτους λ Φαῶφι ιθ

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
φημι;phēmi do I mean? G5346 Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · singular
66× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To assert or declare, meaning to speak or say something, as seen in Matthew 13:29 and John 1:23. It is often used to quote someone's words or make a statement.
Amplified meaning
as a consequence
Tyndale gloss
to assert
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

φημί (phēmi) means to declare or say, often used in quoting others. It can express affirmation or assertion, and is frequently found in the New Testament, particularly in dialogue. The verb can appear in various constructions, such as with an accusative or infinitive. Notably, there is a variant reading in 2 Corinthians 10:10, where some manuscripts use φασίν instead of φησί.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

φημί

[in LXX chiefly for נאם, also for אמר; freq. in II-IV Mac ;]

to declare, say: freq. in quoting the words of another, Mt 13:29 26:61, Lk 7:40 22:58, Jo 1:23, al.; interjected into the recorded words (cl.), Mt 14:8, Ac 23:35, al.; φησί, impersonal (Bl., § 30, 4), I Co 6:16 (Lft., Notes, 217; but cf. Bl., l.c.), II Co 10:10 (WH, mg., φασίν), He 8:5; joined with synon. verb (cf. LS, s.v., II, 2), ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτῷ ἔφη, Lk 23:3; seq. πρός, Read the full entry →

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

φημί; impf. ἔφην ; (fr. φάω, to bring forth into the light [cf. Curtius §407]); hence [fr. Hom. down] prop. to make known one’s thoughts, to declare; to say: ἔφη, he said (once on a time), Mt. xxvi. 61; historical writers, in quoting the words of any one, prefix φησίν, ἔφη, (Lat. ait, inquit): Lk. xxii. 58; Acts viii. 36, and often; φησίν and ἔφη are used of a person replying, Mt. xiii. 29; Lk. vii. 40; Jn. i. 23; ix. 38; Acts vii. 2, ete.; of one who asks a question, Mt. xxvii. 23; Acts xvi. 30; xxi. 37; ἔφη μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ, Acts xxvi. 24; ἀποκριθεὶς ἔφη, Mt. viii. 8; φησίν is interjected into the recorded speech of another [cf. W. § 61, 6], Mt. xiv.8; Acts xxv. 5, 22; xxvi. 25; also ἔφη, Acts xxiii. 35; φησίν, like the Lat. ait, inquit, is employed esp. in the later Grk. usage with an indefinite subject (‘impersonally’) [ef. man sagt, on dit, they say] (inserted in a sentence…

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

φημί. A few miscellaneous exx. will suffice for this common verb—P Lille I. 5? (B.c. 260-59) els σπέρμα, πρὸς ais φίησι]ν ἔχειν mup(od) wy, ‘pour semence, en plus des 83 artabes de blé qu’il dit avoir” (Ed.), P Tebt II. 2801} (B.c. 126) ὧν ἔφη ἠγορα(κέναι) κατὰ συ(γγραφήν), ‘ which (space) he stated he had bought by a contract,” P Amh II. 3014 (1i/B.C.) ἔφη ékx@phoecv> ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας ἐν ἡ[μ]έραις ἴ, Ρ Flor I. 495 (a.p. 209) Σαραπίωνος, ὥς φηίσιν), [ἀπὸ τῆἸς μητροπόλεως, and 76. 1275 (A.D. 256) σὺν θεῷ φάναι προσδόκα ἡμᾶς, “if God pleases, expect us.” For the part. we may cite P Petr III. 30° (iii/B.c.) φαμένη καταστήσεσθαι πρός [με, “though she said that she would appear against me” (Edd.), and its frequent occurrence in the subscriptions of letters in such phrases as— P Ryl II. 1558 (A.p. 138-61) ἔγραψα ὑ[πὲ]ρ αὐτῆς καῇ] Tov κυρίου φαμένων μὴ εἰδ[έν]αι γράμ[ματα, and 20. $827 (A.D. 156)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

φημί (phēmi) — to assert.

φημί, φῄς, φηις

[Refs 5th c.BC+], cf. Hdn.Gr.2.147, 419; φησί (apocopation φή [Refs 6th c.BC+]; plural φᾰμέν, φᾰτέ, φᾱσ; Doric dialect φᾱμί, φᾱσί or φᾱτί [Refs 5th c.BC+], 3rd.pers. plural φαντ; Aeolic dialect φᾶμι [Refs 7th c.BC+], 2nd pers. singular φαῖσθα [Refs 7th c.BC+], 3rd.pers. plural φαῖσι [Refs 7th c.BC+]aorist 2 ἔφην, Epic dialect φῆν [Refs 8th c.BC+], Epic dialect φῆσθα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἔφη, Epic dialect φῆ, Doric dialect φᾶ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; 1st pers. plural ἔφᾰμεν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; 2nd pers. plural ἔφᾰτε [Refs 5th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural ἔφασαν, Epic dialect φάσαν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; φάθι is found in codices of [Refs 5th c.BC+]; subjunctive φῶ, φῇς, φῇ, Epic dialect φῇσιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Doric dialect 3rd.pers. plural subjunctive φᾶντι [Refs]; optative φαίην, 1st pers. plural φαῖμεν [Refs 8th c.BC+], 3rd.pers. plural φαῖεν…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

φημί

phemi

properly, the same as the base of 5457 and 5316; to show or make known

one's thoughts, i.e. speak or say:--affirm, say. Compare 3004.

see GREEK for 5457

see GREEK for 5316

see GREEK for 3004

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

φημί

v.

I say

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

φημί phēmi 66x

to utter; to say, speak, Mt. 8:8; 14:8; 26:34, 61; to say, allege, affirm, Rom. 3:8

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

φημί Root ΦΑ, cf. φάω the imperf. act. should be ἔφην, like the aor2, but ἔφασκον was generally used instead. Radical sense: to declare, make known; and so, to say, affirm, assert, either absol., or foll. by inf. or by acc.; the inf. is often omitted, σὲ κακὸν καὶ ἀνάλκιδα φήσει (sc. εἶναι) Il.; but also, Κορινθίους τί φῶμεν; what shall we say of them? Xen.:—then, since what one says commonly expresses a belief or opinion, to think, deem, suppose, Il.; φαίης κε ζάκοτόν τέ τιν᾽ ἔμμεναι ἄφρονά τε you would say, would think, he was . . , id. Il.; μὴ φαθὶ λεύσσειν think not that you see, Theocr.

Special Phrases:

φασί, they say, it is said, Hom., attic; but in Prose also φησί, like French on dit, Dem.; (so Lat. inquit, ait).

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-1S — Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · singular
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAI-1S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: first Number: Singular

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

men: The noun "meaning" (Da 8:15 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "I sought to understand"; and 1Co 14:11) is synonymous with "signification" but in 1 Macc 15:4 the King James Version it expresses "purpose" (the Revised Version (British and American) "I am minded to land"). The noun "mean" in Hebrew always occurs in the plural, and is generally used in the sense of "agency," "instrument" (compare 1Ki 10:29, etc.). the Revised Version (British and American) very frequently changes, King James Version: The Wisdom of Solomon 8:13, "because of her"; 2Th 2:3, "in any wise"; Lu 8:36, "how";

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
38%saying
saying38% · 26×he was saying22% · 15×he says12% · 8×says4% · 3×said4% · 3×i say4% · 3×speaking3% · 2×other renderings4% · 3×other renderings7% · 5×

68 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
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 66 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
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theοὗτος
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςὕδωρwaterἡσυχίαquietness, silen
αὐτός
ὁράωI see, look uponπρόςἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ΠαῦλοςPaul
δέbut, on the otheArticle the
ἑκατοντάρχηςa centurion
Article the
φημίdo I mean?66×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theἐχθρόςhated, hostile, καίand, even, also,
Article the
οὐNegἸησοῦςJesusεὐνοῦχοςa eunuch, keeper
σύ
λέγωI say, speak
ἀνήρa male human being,
ἀδελφόςa brotherἈθηναῖοςAthenianἘφέσιοςEphesian
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
οὐNegτίςIrg

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

Concordanceφημί · 66× in the New Testament
Acts Matthew Luke Mark 1 Corinthians John 2 Corinthians Hebrews Romans
Across the New Testament9 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 28 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 30c. AD 40

τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὠνόμασε θεοῦ, διότι ζωτικώτατον τὸ πνεῦμα, ζωῆς δὲ θεὸς αἴτιος, τὸ δὲ φῶς φησιν ὅτι ὑπερβαλλόντως καλόν (Gen.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.57c. AD 75–95

ὁ δὲ θεὸς τοὐντεῦθεν ἤλεγχεν ἤδη τὸν Κάιν φονέα τἀδελφοῦ γενόμενον καί θαυμάζω, φησίν, εἰ περὶ ἀνδρὸς ἀγνοεῖς εἰπεῖν τί γέγονεν, ὃν αὐτὸς ἀπολώλεκας.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.9c. AD 100

ἐλπίσατε, φησίν, ἐπὶ τὸν ἐν σαρκὶ μέλλοντα φανεροῦσθαι ὑμῖν Ἰησοῦν.

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

ἑαυτοῦ κατάγωσιν, καὶ τοῦτο προσδέξωνται. ἐπετίθουν δὲ καὶ Μητροδώρωι τὰ γνάφαλλα, ὁ δʼ οὐκ ἔφη λήψεσθαι. ἐπιμέλου δὲ καὶ σαυτοῦ ἵνα ὑγιαίνηις. ἔρρωσο. Φαρμοῦθι κα.

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59354Philadelphia (Arsinoites)245 BC

εὑρεῖν παρευρέσει ἡιτινιοῦν. περὶ τῶν σχαδόνων εἴπαμεν Νέστωι. ἀπέσταλκεν οὖν τῆι κϛ, ὡς αὐτὸς ἔφη. Πύρρος ὁ δεσμοφυλακήσας οὐχ ηὑρέθη ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀποσταλέντος ἐν Κροκοδίλων πόλει, ἐὰν δὲ μετὰ

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59368Memphis (?)242 BC

ἀντίγραφον τοῦ δοθέντος ἡμῖν παρὰ Κλέωνος τοῦ Ἰάσονος καὶ Σωστράτου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ περὶ ὧν φασιν ἀδικεῖσθαι ὑπʼ Ἀμμωνίου τοῦ οἰκονόμου. σπούδασον οὖν ὅπως τὰ δίκαια αὐτοῖς γένηται καθότι ἀξιοῦσιν

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
ὅτιhoti That G3754 Conjunction
1,293× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'that' or 'because', used to introduce a reason or explanation. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:9 and Romans 8:38. It helps to show cause and effect in sentences.
Tyndale gloss
that/since: that
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅτι,

conjc. (prop. neut. of ὅστις).

As conjc, introducing an objective clause, that;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅτι (hoti) — that/since: that.

ὅτῐ,

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

I. when ὅτι introduces a statement of fact:

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅτι

hoti

neuter of 3748 as conjunction; demonstrative, that (sometimes

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

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

see GREEK for 3748

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅτι

Cj.

that, since, because

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅτι hoti 1x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforδέbut, on the othe
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςσύδέbut, on the othe
οἶδαI know, remember
οὐNegκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakμαθητήςa learner, disciπερί
γινώσκωI come to know, lear
οὗτοςκαίand, even, also,αὐτός
ὅτιThat1293×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπατήρfather, Father,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existοἶδαI know, rememberδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐγώ
εἰμίI am, existοὐNegArticle the
οὗτος
εἰμίI am, existArticle theποιέωI do, make
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
Article theῥῆμαa thing spokenζητέωI seek, search f

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

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

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

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

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

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

ὅτι τῶν ἐθνῶν ἕκαστον ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκισάντων προσηγορεύθη.

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

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 10 p. 24Hermonthis149 BC

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

P.Bour. 10Pathyris89 BC

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

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
εἰδωλόθυτόνeidōlon an idol-sacrifice G1494 Noun · nominative · singular · neuter
10× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This term refers to food that has been sacrificed to idols, mentioned in Acts 15:29 and 1 Corinthians 8:1. It describes meat offered to idols. In the Bible, it is associated with pagan worship.
Amplified meaning
offerings, sacrifices, a false god, image
Tyndale gloss
sacrificed to idols
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

εἰδωλόθυτος refers to something that is sacrificed to idols, derived from the words for 'image' and 'to sacrifice.' It encompasses the flesh left over from such sacrifices, which could be eaten at feasts or sold in markets. The term appears in several New Testament passages, including Acts 15:29 and 1 Corinthians 8:1, 4, 7, 10.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

**† εἰδωλόθυτος, -ον,

(< εἴδωλον, θύω),

[in LXX: IV Mac 5:2 * ;]

sacrificed to idols: τὸ, τὰ εἰ, Ac 15:29 21:25, I Co 8:1, 4, 7, 10 10:19, Re 2:14, 20.†

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

εἰδωλόθυτος, -ov, (εἴδωλον and θύω), a bibl. and eccl. word [W. 26; 100 (94) ], sacrificed to idols; τὸ εἰδωλόθυτον and τὰ εἰδωλόθυτα denote the flesh left over from the heathen sacrifices ; it was either eaten at feasts, or sold (by the poor and the miserly) in the market: Acts xv. 29; xxi. 25; 1 Co. viii. 1, 4, 7,10; x.19, 28 (here L txt. T Tr WH read ἱερόθυτον, q. v.); Rev. ii. 14, 20. [CE. Bp. Lghtft. on Gal. p. 308 sq.]* ;

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

ἱερόθυτος. For this late word (for the class. ἱερεῖα θεόθυτα) see the citation from Sy/7 653 s.v. Seppativos. We hear of tepoθύται, ‘‘sacrificing priests,’ in connexion with the ceremonial at marriages, e.g. in P Fay 228 (i/A.D.): see further Schubart Archiv v. p. 77 ff. For ἱεροποιός, ‘‘a sacrificial magistrate,” cf. P Oxy XIV. 16647 (iii/A.D.) with the editors’ note.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰδωλόθυτος (eidōlothutos) — sacrificed to idols.

εἰδωλό-θῠτος, ον,

sacrificed to idols: substantive εἰδωλόθυτα, τά, meats offered to idols, [NT]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰδωλόθυτος

eidolothuton

neuter of a compound of 1497 and a presumed derivative of 2380; an

image-sacrifice, i.e. part of an idolatrous offering:--(meat, thing

that is) offered (in sacrifice, sacrificed) to (unto) idols.

see GREEK for 1497

see GREEK for 2380

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰδωλόθυτος, ον

Adj

sacrificed to an image

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἱερόθυτος hierothutos 1x

offered in sacrifice, 1 Cor. 10:28*

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sak'-ri-fis, sak'-ri-fiz:

IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

I. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

II. ORIGIN AND NATURE OF SACRIFICES

1. Theory of a Divine Revelation

2. Theories of a Human Origin

(1) The Gift-Theory

(2) The Magic Theory

(3) The Table-Bond Theory

(4) The Sacramental Communion Theory

(5) The Homage Theory

(6) The Piacular Theory

(7) Originating Religious Instincts

III. CLASSIFICATION OF SACRIFICES

1. Maimonides

2. W.R. Smith and Others

3. Oehler

4. Paterson and Others

5. H.M. Wiener

IV. SACRIFICES IN THE PRE-MOSAIC AGE

1. In Egypt

2. In Babylonia

3. Nomads and Tribes of Arabia and Syria

4. The Offerings of Cain and Abel

5. Of Noah

6. Of Abraham

7. Of Job

8. Of Isaac

9. Of Jacob

10. Of Israel in Egypt

11. Of Jethro

12. Summary and Conclusions

V. THE MOSAIC SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM

1. The Covenant Sacrifice

2. The Common Altars

3. The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

4. Sacrifices before the Golden Calf

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Sacrifice

The offering up of sacrifices is to be regarded as a divine institution. It did not originate with man. God himself appointed it as the mode in which acceptable worship was to be offered to him by guilty man. The language and the idea of sacrifice pervade the whole Bible.

Sacrifices were offered in the ante-diluvian age. The Lord clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of animals, which in all probability had been offered in sacrifice (Gen. 3:21). Abel offered a sacrifice “of the firstlings of his flock” (4:4; Heb. 11:4). A distinction also was made between clean and unclean animals, which there is every reason to believe had reference to the offering up of sacrifices (Gen. 7:2, 8), because animals were not given to man as…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

The peculiar features of each kind of sacrifice are referred to under their respective heads. I. (A) ORIGIN OF SACRIFICE. --The universal prevalence of sacrifice shows it to have been primeval, and deeply rooted in the instincts of humanity. Whether it was first enjoined by an external command, or whether it was based on that sense of sin and lost communion with God which is stamped by his hand on the heart of man, is a historical question which cannot be determined. (B) ANTE-MOSAIC HISTORY OF SACRIFICE. --In examining the various sacrifices recorded in Scripture before the establishment of the law, we find that the words specially denoting expiatory sacrifice are not applied to them. This fact does not at all show that they were not actually expiatory, but it justified the inference that this idea was not then the prominent one in the doctrine of sacrifice. The sacrifices of Cain and…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

An offering made to God on his altar, by the hand of a lawful minister. A sacrifice differed from an oblation; it was properly the offering up of a life; whereas an oblation was but a simple offering or gift. There is every reason to believe that sacrifices were from the first of divine appointment; otherwise they would have been a superstitious will-worship, which God could not have accepted as he did. See ABEL. Adam and his sons, Noah and his descendents, Abraham and his posterity, Job and Melchizedek, before the Mosaic law, offered to God real sacrifices. That law did but settle the quality, the number, and other circumstances of sacrifices. Every one was priest and minister of his own sacrifice; at least, he was at liberty to choose what priest he pleased in offering his victim. Generally, this honor belonged to the head of a family; hence it was the prerogative of the firstborn.…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
67%idol-sacrifices
idol-sacrifices67% · 6×idol-sacrifice22% · 2×from idol-sacrifices11% · 1×

9 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
object60%adverbial20%subject10%predicate10%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 10 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
δέbut, on the otheοὖνtherefore, thenArticle the
ἐσθίωI eat
ἸσραήλPropκαίand, even, also,
ἀπέχωI have in full, am f
τέDisj
Article the
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
εἴδωλονan idol, false g
εἰδωλόθυτοςan idol-sacrifice10×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
αἷμαbloodπορνεύωI fornicate, pra
οἶδαI know, remember
ὅτιthat, since, bec
ἐσθίωI eat
καίand, even, also,
τὶς
εἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
μήNeg

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

Concordanceεἰδωλόθυτος · 10× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians Acts Revelation
Across the New Testament3 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
τίtis anything G5100 Indefinite pronoun · nominative · singular · neuter
529× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This pronoun refers to a person or thing in a general sense, as seen in Luke 9:49 and John 11:1. It can mean someone, anyone, or anything. This term is often used to describe an unspecified individual or object.
Amplified meaning
of value, significant
Tyndale gloss
one
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τὶς is an enclitic indefinite pronoun meaning 'someone' or 'something.' It can refer to a certain person or object and appears in both singular and plural forms, such as τινός and τινες. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, including Luke 9:49 and Acts 5:25. It is related to the interrogative pronoun τίς, indicating its flexible use in questions and statements.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τις, neut., τι, gen., τινός,

enclitic indefinite pron., related to interrog. τίς as πού, πως, ποτέ to ποῦ, πῶς, πότε.

As subst.,

one, a certain one: Lk 9:49, Jo 11:1, Ac 5:25, al.; pl., τίνες, certain, some: Lk 13:1, Ac 15:1, Ro 3:8, al.

someone, anyone, something, anything: Mt 12:29, Mk 9:30, Lk 8:46, Jo 2:25, Ac 17:25, Ro…

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

τὶς, τὶ. ἘΣ what follows, εἰ καί lays less emphasis upon it; although it is evident that εἰ καί can often be substituted for καὶ ei.” Cf. Herm. Vig. p. 829 sq.; W. 444 (413); Ellic. on Phil. ii. 17; Schmalfeld, Griech. Syntax, § 41; Paley, Grk. Particles, p. 31]. 8. εἰ μή, a. in a conditional protasis, with the same sequence of moods and tenses as the simple εἰ, see 1. above, if not, unless, except, [W. 477 (444) sqq.; B. 345 (297)]: Mt. xxiv. 22; Jn. ix. 33; | xv. 22, 24; Ro. vii. 7, ete. b. it serves, with the entire. following sentence, to limit or correct what has just been said, only, save that, (Lat. nisi quod), [B. 359 (308) ]: Mk. vi. 5; 1 Co. vii. 17 (where Paul by the addition εἰ μὴ ἑκάστῳ κτλ. strives to prevent any one in applying what had been said a little while before, viz. οὐ δεδούλωται . . ἐν τοιούτοις to his own case, from going too far) ; in ironical answers, unless…

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

τις (indef. pron.), ‘* someone, something’’: P Vat ΑἸ (B.c. 168) (= UPZi. p. 303) πᾶς τις πειρᾶται. . ., P Lond 421° (B.C. 168) (= Selections, p. 10) εἰς πᾶν τι ἐληλυθυῖα διὰ, τὴν τοῦ σίτου τιμήν, ‘having come to the last extremity because of the high price of corn,’’ P Oxy IV. 7421° (B.c. 2) ἐάν τι δύνῃ... δὸς ἐργασίαν, “if you can, give your attention to it’’ (Edd.), 2d. I. 120% (iv/a.D.) τινα ὁρῶντα αἱαυτὸν (/. ἑαυτὸν) ἐν δυστυχίᾳ, ““α man finding himself in adversity,’ 13 ἀποστῖλόν pot τινα ἢ Γοῦνθον ἢ ᾿Αμμώνιον, “send someone to me, either Gunthus or Ammonius” (Edd.). P Oxy VI. 937°" (ili/A.D.) γ]ράψον ἐκεῖ TO kat’ εἶδος ὅτι τι kal τι εἴληφας is translated by the editors ‘* write the list there, that you have received so and so.” They 3) ες remark that it is simpler to take τι καί τι as analogous to τὸ καὶ τό than ‘‘to take τί kal τί as an indirect interrogative, ὅτι being…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τις (tis) — one.

τις,

τι, Indef. pronoun any one, any thing, enclitic through all cases (for exceptions see below):—but τί; τί; Interrog. pronoun who? what?, oxytone in the monosyllable cases, paroxytone in the others:—Dialectal forms: [Refs 5th c.AD+] σις (si se) [Refs 4th c.AD+] σις (with ?? for σ) [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Thess. κις [Refs], neuter κι in διεκί, ποκκί (which see); neuter plural Doric dialect σά, Boeotian dialect τά, Aeolic dialect dative τίω, τίοισι (see. infr. B). (I.-[Refs 5th c.BC+] q[uglide]i-, cf. Latin quis, quid, etc.; for σά, τά, see at {ἄσσα}, σά μά; with τέο (see. infr. B) cf. OSlav. genitive česo)

__A Indef. pronoun τις, τι, genitive Ionic dialect τεο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; more frequently τευ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect του [Refs 5th c.BC+]; του is rare after [NT+4th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τὶς

tis

an enclitic indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object:--a (kind

of), any (man, thing, thing at all), certain (thing), divers, he

(every) man, one (X thing), ought, + partly, some (man, -body, -

thing, -what), (+ that no-)thing, what(-soever), X wherewith,

whom(-soever), whose(-soever).

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τις, τι

Indef.pr.

any one, some one

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

τις tis 534x

enclitic, indefinite pronoun, a certain one, someone, Mt. 12:47; pl. some, certain, several, Lk. 8:2; Acts 9:19; 2 Pet. 3:16; one, a person, Mt. 12:29; Lk. 14:8; Jn. 6:50; combined with the name of an individual, one, Mk. 15:21; as it were in a manner, a kind of, Heb. 10:27; Jas. 1:18; any whatever, Read the full entry →

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

X-NSN Part of Speech: indefinite pronoun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
27%anyone
anyone27% · 144×some19% · 102×certain17% · 93×anything9% · 48×any9% · 47×one6% · 34×someone4% · 19×something3% · 18×other renderings7% · 37×

542 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 35 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
subject66%object20%adverbial9%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 530 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
εἰCond
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςὅτιthat, since, bec
δέbut, on the other ha
εἰCondεἰμίI am, existλέγωI say, speak
ἐάνCond
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakἐγώ
μήNeg
ἵναin order that, sἐάνCondβλέπωI look, see
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςΦαρισαῖοςa Phariseeὁδόςa way, road, jou
τὶςanything529×
what comes after →
Article the
γραμματεύςa scribe, town-cμαθητήςa learner, disciἀπό
σύ
λέγωI say, speakπλανάωI lead astray, dἐρωτάωI ask, question,
αὐτός
ἐκὁράωI see, look uponἀπό
ἐκ
αὐτόςArticle theἐγώ
εἰμίI am, exist
ἐνπλούσιοςrichὑδρωπικόςafflicted with d

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

Concordanceτὶς · 529× in the New Testament
Acts Luke John 1 Corinthians Mark 2 Corinthians Hebrews Matthew 1 Timothy Romans James Revelation

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 121 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

καὶ γὰρ λόγον καὶ ἀκοὴν ὑπερβάλλει μείζω καὶ σεμνότερα ὄντα ἢ ὡς θνητοῦ τινος ὀργάνοις ἐναρμοσθῆναι.

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

ὅτι λιμοῦ τὴν Χαναναίαν καταλαβόντος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀπῆρε καὶ διατρίψας ἐν αὐτῇ τινα χρόνον ὑπέστρεψεν ὀπίσω.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.5c. AD 100

πλήρης εἰμὶ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, καὶ στέαρ ἀρνῶν καὶ αἷμα ταύρων καὶ τράγων οὐ βούλομαι, οὐδ̓ ἂν ἔρχησθε ὀφθῆναί μοι, τίς γὰρ ἐξεζήτησεν ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν;

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

ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν· μὴ ἐξέστω δὲ τῷ καθόλου ἐπὶ τὴν διαθήκην ταύτην ἄλλῳ τινὶ ἐπέρχεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μὴ ἄκυρον ἔστω καὶ προσαποτεισάτω ὁ ἐπιφέρων ὕστερον … ἄλλον τῆς

P.Cair. Cat. 10364 descr.Pathyris126 BC–102 BC

προγεγραμμένου ἵππου, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαί σοι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν δὲ ἐπέλθωμεν ἢ ἄλλος τις ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἥ τʼ ἔφοδος ἄκυρος ἔσται καὶ προσαποτείσομέν σοι χαλκοῦ τάλαντα πέντε.

BGU 6 1260Pathyris102 BC

σημαινομένης ἀρούρης μιᾶς , καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσασθαι Νεχθανοῦπιν καὶ τοὺς τούτου υἱοὺς μηδʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Πετεαρσεμθεία μηδʼ ἐπʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῦ περὶ

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
ἐστινeimi is G1510 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
2,457× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To be or exist, a basic verb used to describe something or someone, like God saying 'I am' in John 8:58.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

εἰμί is a Greek verb meaning 'to be' or 'to exist.' It serves various functions, such as a substantive verb for persons and things, and as a copula linking subjects and predicates. The New Testament frequently uses it in passages like John 1:1 and Matthew 24:3. Notably, it can also express possibility, as seen in Hebrews 9:5.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰμί,

with various uses and significations, like the English verb to be.

As substantive verb.

Of persons and things, to be, exist: Ac 17:28, Jo 1:1 8:58 17:5, al; ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν (for past ptcp.), Re 1:4, 8 4:8 11:17 16:5 (v. Swete, Ap., 5; M, Pr., 228); τὰ (μὴ) ὄντα, Ro 4:17, I Co 1:28.

Of times, events, etc., to be, happen, take place: Mt 24:3, Mk 14:2 15:42, Lk 21:23, Jo 4:6, 23 5:10, al.

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

εἰμί (fr. ἔω, whence ἐμέ in inscriptions [7]; Aeol. ἐμμὲ (Curtius (yet ἔμμε, so G. Meyer) 8 564; Veitch p. 2287), impv. ἴσθι, ἔστω, less usual ἤτω, 1 Co. xvi. 22; Jas. v.12; Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 48,5; [1 Mace. x. 31; Ps. ciii. (civ.) 31]; Plat. rep. 2 p. 361 ¢. [here it has given place to ἔστω (or ἴτω), see Stallb. ad loc.; Veitch p. 200 sq.; 3 pers. plur. ἔστωσαν, Lk. xii. 35; 1 Tim. iii. 12], inf. εἶναι ; impf. —ace. to the more ancient and elegant form, ἦν, 2 pers. ἦσθα (Mt. xxvi. 69; Mk. xiv. 67), rarer form ἧς (Mt. RKV. 1235 dn ΧΙ: 9]. 92); xxI LS. Reyna 15 G@ ΕΣ Tr WH), 3 pers. ἦν, 1 pers. plur. jer, — ace. to the mid. form, com. in later Grk. [ef. Veitch p. 226], ἤμην (Mt. xxv. 35sq.; [on Acts xi. 11 ef. WH. Intr. § 404]; Gal.i.10, etc.), plur. ἤμεθα (Mt. xxiii. 30 G L T Tr WH; Acts xxvii. 37 L T Tr WH; [Gal. iv. 3 TWH Tr mrg.; Eph. ii. 3 T Tr WH; Bar. i. 19]); cf. Lob. ad Phryn.…

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

εἰμί. Middle forms in the flexion of εἰμί other than the present tense (cf. however MGr εἶμαι, -σαι, etc.) begin to appear very early in the dialects and are well established in the papyri. Thus the Ist sing. impf. ἤμην, which always takes the place of the class. ἢ in the NT (but see Ac 2018 D) may be illustrated from PSI IV. 36274 (B.c. 251-0) ἤμην δὲ πρὸς τῶι λαμβάνειν τὸν χαλκόν, P Magd 65 (B.c. 221) ἤμην γυμνός, P Par 57 (B.c. 129) ὧν ἤμην δι᾽ αὐτῶν [π]αραμε[μετ]ρηκ[υῖα, P Oxy IIT. 526% (ii/A.p.) οὐκ ἤμην ἀπαθὴς ἀλόγως σε καταλείπιν. For ist plur. ἤμεθα see P Petr IT. 4 (7)° (B.C. 255-4) τεθλιμμένοι ἤμεθα : cf. Ac 2737, Eph 23, as contrasted with the act. ἦμεν in Ac 111 (NB), 1612, Rom 7° a/.: the two forms are found together in Gal 4% (SDFG). The non-classical ἧς (Lob. Phryx. p. 149) is found sefzes in the NT as compared with ἦσθα (from an old perf. form ἤησθα), which is confined…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰμί (eimi) — to be.

εἰμί

(sum), Aeolic dialect ἔμμι [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Cretan dialect ἠμί [Refs]; 2nd pers. singular εἶ, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect εἰς [Refs 8th c.BC+], Epic dialect and Doric dialect ἐσσί [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἐστί, Doric dialect ἐντί [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. dual ἐστόν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; 1st pers. plural ἐσμέν, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect εἰμέν (also in [Refs 5th c.BC+], Doric dialect εἰμές [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural εἰσί (-ίν), Epic dialect and Ionic dialect ἔασι (-ιν) [Refs 8th c.BC+], Doric dialect ἐντί [Refs 5th c.BC+], Epic dialect and Lyric poetry also in middle form ἔσσο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἔστω (ἤτω [LXX+5th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural ἔστωσαν, but ἔστων [Refs 8th c.BC+], and early Attic dialect Inscrr., [Refs 2nd c.BC+]subjunctive ὦ, ᾖς, ᾖ, Epic dialect ἔω [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἔῃ [Refs…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί

eimi

the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a

primary and defective verb; I exist (used only when emphatic):--am,

have been, X it is I, was. See also 1488, 1498, 1511, 1527, 2258,

2071, 2070, 2075, 2076, 2771, 2468, 5600.

see GREEK for 1488

see GREEK for 1498

see GREEK for 1511

see GREEK for 1527

see GREEK for 2258

see GREEK for 2071

see GREEK for 2070

see GREEK for 2075

see GREEK for 2076

see GREEK for 2771

see GREEK for 2468

see GREEK for 5600

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰμί

v.

I am, exist

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰμί eimi 2x

to be, to exist, Jn. 1:1; 17:5; Mt. 6:30; Lk. 4:25, freq.; ἐστί[ν], it is possible, proper, Heb. 9:5; a simple linking verb (“copula”) to the subject and predicate, and therefore in itself affecting the force of the sentence only by its tense, mood, etc., Jn. 1:1; 15:1, freq.; it also forms a frequent circumlocution with the participles of the present and perfect of other verbs, Mt. 19:22; Mk. 2:6

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εἰμί The whole of the pres. ind. (except 2nd sg. εἶ) may be enclitic when εἰμί is the Copula; but the 3rd sg. is written ἔστι in certain cases of emphasis, e. g. ἔστι μοι, I have: when used as Verb Subst., it retains the accent in all persons. as Substantive Verb, to be, to exist, οὐκ ἔσθ᾽ οὗτος ἀνήρ, οὐδ᾽ ἔσσεται Od.; τεθνηῶτος, μηδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἐόντος id. Od.; οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστι he is no more, Eur.; θεοὶ αἰὲν ἐόντες Il.; ἐσσόμενοι posterity, id. Il.; ζώντων καὶ ὄντων Ἀθηναίων Dem.:—so of cities, etc., ὄλωλεν, οὐδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἔστι Τροία (cf. Troja fuit), Eur.

of things, to be, exist, εἰ ἔστιν ἀληθέως [ἡ τράπεζα] Hdt.; ἕως ἂν ὁ πόλεμος ἦι so long as it last, Thuc.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
26%is
is26% · 619×are9% · 228×was7% · 176×being6% · 138×it is5% · 112×will be4% · 87×am3% · 80×were3% · 67×other renderings37% · 901×

2,408 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 139 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
linking verb87%verb13%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,457 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, becκαίand, even, also,ὅς
οὗτος
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
ἐνἄνθρωποςa man, one of thθεόςGod, a god
ἐγώ
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakμετά
σύ
ἐνλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
εἰμίis2457×
what comes after →
Article the
υἱόςa son, descendenΧριστόςanointed, the Meβασιλείαkingship, sovere
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegγάρfor
ἐν
Article theσύαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theτὶςἐκεῖthere, yonder, t
ἐγώ
εἰςἄξιοςworthy, worthy oὧδεhere

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

Concordanceεἰμί · 2,457× in the New Testament
John Luke Matthew Acts Mark 1 Corinthians Romans Revelation 1 John 2 Corinthians Hebrews Galatians

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
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 1.2c. AD 75–95

τινὲς μὲν γὰρ ἐπιδεικνύμενοι λόγων δεινότητα καὶ τὴν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς θηρευόμενοι δόξαν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τῆς παιδείας τὸ μέρος ὁρμῶσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ χάριν ἐκείνοις φέροντες, περὶ ὧν τὴν ἀναγραφὴν εἶναι συμβέβηκε, τὸν εἰς αὐτὴν πόνον καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν ὑπέστησαν·

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 3rd c. BC 4th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν, μηνὸς Ἐπεὶφ κε. ἐν Παθύρει, ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν, μηνὸς Τῦβι ιη ἐν Παθύρει ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
ē or G2228 Particle
343× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Or is a word used to show a choice between two things, like in Matthew 5:17 where it's either obey God's law or not. It's also used to compare things, like in Romans 1:21 where it's one thing or another.
Tyndale gloss
or
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word (ē) is a particle used to indicate distinction, functioning as a disjunctive 'or' and a comparative 'than.' It appears frequently in the New Testament, often in phrases like 'either...or' and in disjunctive questions. Notably, it can also express comparisons after comparative terms, such as in Matthew 10:15. The entries do not show any significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἤ, disjunctive and comparative particle (Bl., §36, 12; 77, 11);

disjunctive, or;

between single words: Mt 5:17, Mk 6:56, Lk 2:24, Jo 6:19, Ro 1:21, al.;

before a sentence expressing a variation, denial or refutation of a previous statement, freq. in interrog. form: Mt 7:4, 9, Mk 12:14, Lk 13:4, Ro 3:29 6:3 9:21, I Co 6:9, 16 9:6, II Co 11:7; ἢ . . . ἤ…

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

ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Χριστοῦ (NVWT ΒΗ Targ. Jonath. ad ᾿ς lili. 10), the kingdom of the Messiah, which will be founded by God through the Messiah and over which the Messiah will preside as God’s vicegerent; ἡ Bac. τῶν οὐρανῶν, only in Matthew, but very frequently [some 33 times], the kingdom of heaven, i. e. the kingdom which is of heavenly or divine origin and nature (in rabbin. writ. nown mao is the rule of God, the theocracy viewed universally, not the Messianic kingdom); sometimes simply ἡ βασιλεία : Mt. iv. 23, ete.; Jas. ii. 5; once ἡ Bac. τοῦ Δαυείδ, because it was supposed the Messiah would be one of David’s descendants and a king very like David, Mk. xi. 10; once also ἡ Bac. τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ θεοῦ, Eph. ν. 5. Relying principally on the prophecies of Daniel — who had declared it to be the purpose of God that, after four vast and mighty kingdoms had succeeded one another and the last of…

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

ἢ μή. The general distinction between οὐ and μή is that οὐ is objective, dealing only with facts, while μή is sudjectize, involving will and thought. But in late Greek μή has encroached very largely upon οὐ, with the result that in the NT οὐ is almost entirely confined to the indicative, while μή monopolizes the other moods (but see I. 5). A few exx. of some of the many uses of μή will make this clear. I. Μή negatives (1) the conjunctive (a) after ἐάν (4v)—P Oxy II. 294%? (A.D. 22) (= Selections, p. 36), where certain men are confined to prison, ἐὰν μή τι πίσωσι τὸν ἀρχιστάτορα δο[ῦν]αι etk(= ἱκ)ανόν, ‘* unless indeed they shall persuade the chief usher to give security,’’ BGU II. 5301” \i/a.D.) (= Selections, p. 61) alav (/. ἐὰν) μὴ ἔλθῃς, κινδυνεύω ἐκστῆvat od ἔχω [κλή]ρου, “if you do not come I run the risk of losing the lot (of land) which I possess ”—a father writes to Selections…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἤ (ē) — or.

ἤ,

Epic dialect also ἠέ (in signification [Refs 4th c.BC+], conjunction with two chief senses, Disj. (or) and comparative (than).

__A DISJUNCTIVE, or, ἐγὼ.. ἢ ἄλλος Ἀχαιῶν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; θεόσυτος ἢ βρότειος ἢ κεκραμένη [Refs 4th c.BC+]

__A.2 ἢ.. ἤ either.. or, ἢ νῦν δηθύνοντ᾽ ἢ ὕστερον αὖτις ἰόντα [Refs 8th c.BC+], etc.; so ἢ.. ἤτοι.. [Refs 5th c.BC+] is emphasized, later no distinction is implied, [NT+2nd c.BC+]; ἤ repeated any number of times, ἐγὼ δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕλωμαι ἢ τεὸν ἢ Αἴαντος ἰὼν γέρας ἢ Ὀδυσῆος [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἤ is probably wrongly accented in codices of [Refs 8th c.BC+] adverb [Refs 4th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

e

a primary particle of distinction between two connected terms;

disjunctive, or; comparative, than:--and, but (either), (n-)either,

except it be, (n-)or (else), rather, save, than, that, what, yea.

Often used in connection with other particles. Compare especially

2235, 2260, 2273.

see GREEK for 2235

see GREEK for 2260

see GREEK for 2273

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Disj.prt.

or, than

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἤ ē 343x

can function as a conj (298x), either, or, Mt. 6:24; after comparatives, and ἄλλος, ἕτερος, expressed or implied, than, Mt. 10:15; 18:8; Acts 17:21; 24:21; intensive after ἀλλά and πρίν, Lk. 12:51; Mt. 1:18; it also serves to point an interrogation, Rom. 3:29

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

PRT PaRTicle, disjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

or: The word is used once for either (1Sa 26:10), and is still in poetic use in this sense; as in, "Without or wave or wind" (Coleridge); "Or the bakke or some bone he breketh in his dzouthe" (Piers Plowman (B), VII, 93; compare Merchant of Venice, III, ii, 65). It is also used with "ever" for before (Ps 90:2; Ecclesiasticus 18:19), which the American Standard Revised Version substitutes in Ec 12:6 (compare 12:1,2); So 6:12; Da 6:24.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
84%or
or84% · 304×than13% · 47×other renderings4% · 13×

364 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 9 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
adverbial20%object18%subject12%predicate7%verb4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 343 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
σύ
πρόςχείρa handἁμαρτίαa sin
πατήρfather, Father, ance
Article theκακολογέωI speak evil of,Disj
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaἀνεκτόςendurable, tolerθεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
πατήρfather, Father, υἱόςa son, descendenβοῦςan ox
ἀδελφόςa brother
DisjArticle theἐάνCond
or343×
what comes after →
Article the
μήτηρa motherπόλιςa cityδύο
τίςIrg
πίνωI drink, imbibeεἰμίI am, existλαλέωI speak, say
οὐNeg
οἶδαI know, rememberἀναγινώσκωI readδίδωμιI offer, give
ἐν
φυλακήa watching, guarτίςIrgποῖοςIrg
καίand, even, also, nam
ἰχθύςa fishαἰτέωI ask, request, πρός

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 · 343× in the New Testament
Matthew 1 Corinthians Luke Acts Mark Romans 2 Corinthians John 1 Peter Galatians James Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament24 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 457 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.

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
ὅτιhoti that G3754 Conjunction
1,293× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'that' or 'because', used to introduce a reason or explanation. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:9 and Romans 8:38. It helps to show cause and effect in sentences.
Tyndale gloss
that/since: that
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅτι,

conjc. (prop. neut. of ὅστις).

As conjc, introducing an objective clause, that;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅτι (hoti) — that/since: that.

ὅτῐ,

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

I. when ὅτι introduces a statement of fact:

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅτι

hoti

neuter of 3748 as conjunction; demonstrative, that (sometimes

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

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

see GREEK for 3748

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅτι

Cj.

that, since, because

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅτι hoti 1x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforδέbut, on the othe
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςσύδέbut, on the othe
οἶδαI know, remember
οὐNegκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakμαθητήςa learner, disciπερί
γινώσκωI come to know, lear
οὗτοςκαίand, even, also,αὐτός
ὅτιthat1293×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπατήρfather, Father,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existοἶδαI know, rememberδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐγώ
εἰμίI am, existοὐNegArticle the
οὗτος
εἰμίI am, existArticle theποιέωI do, make
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
Article theῥῆμαa thing spokenζητέωI seek, search f

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

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

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

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

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

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

ὅτι τῶν ἐθνῶν ἕκαστον ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκισάντων προσηγορεύθη.

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

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 10 p. 24Hermonthis149 BC

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

P.Bour. 10Pathyris89 BC

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

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
εἴδωλόνeidōlothutos an idol G1497 Adjective · nominative · singular · neuter
11× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
An idol is a false god or image, as seen in Acts 7:41 and 1 Corinthians 12:2. It can also refer to the worship of such images, as mentioned in Revelation 9:20.
Amplified meaning
a mere image, false deity
Tyndale gloss
idol
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word εἴδωλον (eidolon) means an image or idol, often referring to representations of gods or false deities. It is derived from εἶδος and encompasses concepts like phantoms or ideas in the mind. The New Testament uses it in contexts related to idol worship, notably in Acts and Corinthians, highlighting its significance in discussions about false gods.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἴδωλον, -ου, τό

(< εἶδος),

[in LXX for אֱלֹוהָּ, גְּלוּלִים, etc. ;]

in cl.

a phantom, image, likeness;

an image in the mind, an idea, fancy.

In LXX and NT,

an image of a god, an idol (cf. Polyb., xxxi, 3, 13): Ac 7:41, I Co 12:2, Re 9:20;

the false god or idol worshipped in an image (ICC, on I Th, l.c.): Ac 15:20, Ro 2:22, I Co 8:4, 7 10:19 II Co 6:18, I Th 1:9, I Jo 5:21.†

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

εἴδωλον, -ov, τό, (εἶδος [cf. W. 96 (91); Etym. Magn. 296, 97), in Grk. writ. fr. Hom. down, an image, likeness, i. e. whatever represents the form of an object, either real or imaginary; used of the shades of the departed (in Hom.), of apparitions, spectres, phantoms of the mind, ete.; in bibl. writ. [an idol, i. e.] 1. the image of a heathen god: Acts νἱϊ. 41; 1 Co. xii. 2; Rey. ix. 20, (Is. xxx. 22; 2 Chr. xxiii. 17, ete.; θεῶν ἢ δαιμόνων εἴδωλα, Polyb. 31, 3, 13); 2. a false god: Acts xv. 20 (on which see ἀλίσγημα) ; Ro. ii. 22; 1 Co. viii. 4, 7 ; x. 19; 2 Co. vi. 16; 1 Th.i. 9, (often in Sept.) ; φυλάσσειν ἑαυτὸν ἀπὸ τ. εἰδώλων, to guard one’s self from all manner of fellowship with heathen worship, 1 Jn. v. 21.

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

εἴδωλον. In P Leid W**- (ii/iii a.p.) εἴδωλα 8 are the ‘nine constellations,” but in the astrological P Ryl II. 63% (iti/a.p.) the word is used in the more general sense of ‘‘ image,” **phenomenon,’’ when Plato asks an Egyptian, τίς δὲ ἡ αἰτία τούτων [τ]ῶ[ν εἰἸδώλων ; “ what is the cause of these phenomena?’’ (Edd.), and receives a reply connecting various parts of the body with the sun, moon, etc. Cf. also the horoscope, P Lond 130185 (i/ii a.p.) (=I. p. 137) ἀστέρα τὸν ἐν τῆι χλαμύδι καλούμενον Γανυμήδην ὁμωνύμως τῶι ὅλωι εἰδώλωι, and 7. 122° (iv/a.p.) (=I. p. 117) ἐγὼ yap εἶμι τὸ εἴδωλόν σον. The word is used of the images of heathen gods in the vi/A.p. Silco inscr., OG/ZS 2018 ἐποίησα εἰρήνην pet αὐτῶν καὶ ὥμοσάν μοι τὰ εἴδωλα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπίστευσα τὸν ὅρκον αὐτῶν. Vett. Val. pp. 67° ὑπὸ δαιμονίων καὶ φαντασίας εἰδώλων χρηματισθήσονται, 1137 τοῦ δὲ Κρόνου ἐν τῷ ὑπογείῳ εὑρεθέντος θεῶν…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἴδωλον (eidōlon) — idol.

εἴδωλον, τό,

(εἶδος) phantom, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; βροτῶν εἴδωλα καμόντων, of ghosts, [Refs 8th c.BC+]

2. any unsubstantial form, εἴδωλον σκιᾶς [Refs 5th c.BC+]; εἴ. ἄλλως a mere form, [Refs]; αἰῶνος εἴ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. image reflected in a mirror or in water, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

4. in the system of Epicurus, film given off by any object and conveying an impression to the eye, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II. image in the mind, idea, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; phantom of the mind, fancy, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III. image, likeness, γυναικὸς εἴ. χρύσεον [Refs 5th c.BC+]

IV. later, image of a god, idol, [LXX+NT+6th c.AD+]

V. εἴ. οὐράνια constellations, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἴδωλον

eidolon

from 1491; an image (i.e. for worship); by implication, a heathen god,

or (plural) the worship of such:--idol.

see GREEK for 1491

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἴδωλον, ου, τό

n.n.

an idol, false god

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἴδωλον eidōlon 11x

pr. a form, shape, figure; image or statue; hence, an idol, image of a god, Acts 7:41; a heathen god, 1 Cor. 8:4, 7; for εἰδωλόθυτον, the flesh of victims sacrificed to idols, Acts 15:20; Rom. 2:22; 1 Cor. 10:19; 12:12; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Thess. 1:9; 1 Jn. 5:21; Rev. 9:20*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εἴδωλον εἴδωλον, ου, τό, εἶδος an image, a phantom, Hom., Hdt.; βροτῶν εἴδωλα καμόντων phantoms of dead men, Od.; of any unsubstantial form, σκιᾶς εἴδωλον Aesch.; οὐδὲν ἄλλο πλὴν εἴδωλα Soph.

an image in the mind, idea, Xen.:—also a fancy, Plat.

an image, likeness, Hdt.

an image, idol, NTest.

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

A-NSN Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Idol

(1.) Heb. aven, “nothingness;” “vanity” (Isa. 66:3; 41:29; Deut. 32:21; 1 Kings 16:13; Ps. 31:6; Jer. 8:19, etc.).

(2.) ‘Elil, “a thing of naught” (Ps. 97:7; Isa. 19:3); a word of contempt, used of the gods of Noph (Ezek. 30:13).

(3.) ‘Emah, “terror,” in allusion to the hideous form of idols (Jer. 50:38).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

An image or anything used as an object of worship in place of the true God. Among the earliest objects of worship, regarded as symbols of deity, were the meteoric stones,which the ancients believed to have been images of the Gods sent down from heaven. From these they transferred their regard to rough unhewn blocks, to stone columns or pillars of wood, in which the divinity worshipped was supposed to dwell, and which were connected, like the sacred stone at Delphi, by being anointed with oil and crowned with wool on solemn days. Of the forms assumed by the idolatrous images we have not many traces in the Bible. Dagon, the fish-god of the Philistines, was a human figure terminating in a fish; and that the Syrian deities were represented in later times in a symbolical human shape we know for certainty. When the process of adorning the image was completed, it was placed in a temple or…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ Manufacture of Ex 20:4; 32:4,20; De 4:23; Isa 40:19,20; 44:9-12,17; Hab 2:18; Ac 19:24,25

→ Manufacture of, forbidden Ex 20:4; 34:17

→ Made of

Gold Ex 32:3,4; Ps 115:4-7; 135:15-17; Isa 2:20; 30:22; 31:7; Ho 8:4

Silver Isa 2:20; 30:22; 31:7; Ho…

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

Counted over the 56 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 18c. AD 40

εἶθ’ ὥσπερ ἐν κηρῷ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῇ τοὺς ἑκάστων δεξάμενος τύπους ἀγαλματοφορεῖ νοητὴν πόλιν, ἧς ἀνακινήσας τὰ εἴδωλα μνήμῃ τῇ συμφύτῳ καὶ τοὺς χαρακτῆρας ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐνσφραγισάμενος, οἷα δημιουργὸς ἀγαθός, ἀποβλέπων εἰς τὸ παράδειγμα τὴν ἐκ λίθων καὶ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 9.205c. AD 75–95

οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰ μὲν εἰς τὸν θεὸν ὑβριστὴς καὶ παράνομος δεινῶς ἐγένετο εἴδωλά τε σεβόμενος καὶ πολλοῖς ἀτόποις καὶ ξένοις ἐγχειρῶν ἔργοις, τῷ δὲ λαῷ τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν μυρίων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιος ὑπῆρχε.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.8c. AD 100

ἀλλὰ ἐπιστραφέντες ἐπὶ τὰ εἴδωλα ἀπώλεσαν αὐτήν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
1st c. AD 1st c. BC 2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 91Tebtynis (Arsinoites)87 BC

λα ἔτους τοῦ ἑνὸς ἡμῶν Ἁρμιύσιος πλύνοντος τὰ βύσσινα περιβόλαια τῶν ἐν τῶι ἱερῶι εἰδώλων ἰβίων καὶ ἱεράκων ἐπιπαραγενόμενοι ὁ τοῦ Φανήσιος υἱὸς καὶ Σιουῆρις Σιουήριος καὶ ὁ τούτου

PSI 8 901Tebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 46

Αὐτοκράτορα ἦ μὴν μηδὲ ἓν συνιστορηκέναι μηδὲ συνιστορήσειν ἁλιεύουσι μηδὲ σαγηνεύουσι μηδὲ ἀμφιβολεύουσι κυνηγοῦσι εἴδωλα θεῶν ὀξυρύγχων καὶ λεπιδωτῶν ἀκολούθως τῇ γεγενημένηι ὑφʼ ἡμῶν τε καὶ τῶν ἑτέρων ἁλιέων

P.Worp 7LatopolisAD 1–AD 200

καὶ Πετήσιος παντοπώλου· ἀξιοῦμεν ἡμᾶς κρίνεσθαι μετ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ βοηθεῖσθαι ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν τῶν κυρίων εἰδώλων καὶ τῶν σὺν ὑμῖν ἁπάντων θεῶν· ἐγκαλούμεθα ὑπὸ τούτων τῶν καταράτων καθ᾽ ἡμέραν ὑμῶν

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
τίtis anything G5100 Indefinite pronoun · nominative · singular · neuter
529× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This pronoun refers to a person or thing in a general sense, as seen in Luke 9:49 and John 11:1. It can mean someone, anyone, or anything. This term is often used to describe an unspecified individual or object.
Amplified meaning
real, of substance
Tyndale gloss
one
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τὶς is an enclitic indefinite pronoun meaning 'someone' or 'something.' It can refer to a certain person or object and appears in both singular and plural forms, such as τινός and τινες. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, including Luke 9:49 and Acts 5:25. It is related to the interrogative pronoun τίς, indicating its flexible use in questions and statements.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τις, neut., τι, gen., τινός,

enclitic indefinite pron., related to interrog. τίς as πού, πως, ποτέ to ποῦ, πῶς, πότε.

As subst.,

one, a certain one: Lk 9:49, Jo 11:1, Ac 5:25, al.; pl., τίνες, certain, some: Lk 13:1, Ac 15:1, Ro 3:8, al.

someone, anyone, something, anything: Mt 12:29, Mk 9:30, Lk 8:46, Jo 2:25, Ac 17:25, Ro…

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

τὶς, τὶ. ἘΣ what follows, εἰ καί lays less emphasis upon it; although it is evident that εἰ καί can often be substituted for καὶ ei.” Cf. Herm. Vig. p. 829 sq.; W. 444 (413); Ellic. on Phil. ii. 17; Schmalfeld, Griech. Syntax, § 41; Paley, Grk. Particles, p. 31]. 8. εἰ μή, a. in a conditional protasis, with the same sequence of moods and tenses as the simple εἰ, see 1. above, if not, unless, except, [W. 477 (444) sqq.; B. 345 (297)]: Mt. xxiv. 22; Jn. ix. 33; | xv. 22, 24; Ro. vii. 7, ete. b. it serves, with the entire. following sentence, to limit or correct what has just been said, only, save that, (Lat. nisi quod), [B. 359 (308) ]: Mk. vi. 5; 1 Co. vii. 17 (where Paul by the addition εἰ μὴ ἑκάστῳ κτλ. strives to prevent any one in applying what had been said a little while before, viz. οὐ δεδούλωται . . ἐν τοιούτοις to his own case, from going too far) ; in ironical answers, unless…

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

τις (indef. pron.), ‘* someone, something’’: P Vat ΑἸ (B.c. 168) (= UPZi. p. 303) πᾶς τις πειρᾶται. . ., P Lond 421° (B.C. 168) (= Selections, p. 10) εἰς πᾶν τι ἐληλυθυῖα διὰ, τὴν τοῦ σίτου τιμήν, ‘having come to the last extremity because of the high price of corn,’’ P Oxy IV. 7421° (B.c. 2) ἐάν τι δύνῃ... δὸς ἐργασίαν, “if you can, give your attention to it’’ (Edd.), 2d. I. 120% (iv/a.D.) τινα ὁρῶντα αἱαυτὸν (/. ἑαυτὸν) ἐν δυστυχίᾳ, ““α man finding himself in adversity,’ 13 ἀποστῖλόν pot τινα ἢ Γοῦνθον ἢ ᾿Αμμώνιον, “send someone to me, either Gunthus or Ammonius” (Edd.). P Oxy VI. 937°" (ili/A.D.) γ]ράψον ἐκεῖ TO kat’ εἶδος ὅτι τι kal τι εἴληφας is translated by the editors ‘* write the list there, that you have received so and so.” They 3) ες remark that it is simpler to take τι καί τι as analogous to τὸ καὶ τό than ‘‘to take τί kal τί as an indirect interrogative, ὅτι being…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τις (tis) — one.

τις,

τι, Indef. pronoun any one, any thing, enclitic through all cases (for exceptions see below):—but τί; τί; Interrog. pronoun who? what?, oxytone in the monosyllable cases, paroxytone in the others:—Dialectal forms: [Refs 5th c.AD+] σις (si se) [Refs 4th c.AD+] σις (with ?? for σ) [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Thess. κις [Refs], neuter κι in διεκί, ποκκί (which see); neuter plural Doric dialect σά, Boeotian dialect τά, Aeolic dialect dative τίω, τίοισι (see. infr. B). (I.-[Refs 5th c.BC+] q[uglide]i-, cf. Latin quis, quid, etc.; for σά, τά, see at {ἄσσα}, σά μά; with τέο (see. infr. B) cf. OSlav. genitive česo)

__A Indef. pronoun τις, τι, genitive Ionic dialect τεο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; more frequently τευ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect του [Refs 5th c.BC+]; του is rare after [NT+4th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τὶς

tis

an enclitic indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object:--a (kind

of), any (man, thing, thing at all), certain (thing), divers, he

(every) man, one (X thing), ought, + partly, some (man, -body, -

thing, -what), (+ that no-)thing, what(-soever), X wherewith,

whom(-soever), whose(-soever).

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τις, τι

Indef.pr.

any one, some one

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

τις tis 534x

enclitic, indefinite pronoun, a certain one, someone, Mt. 12:47; pl. some, certain, several, Lk. 8:2; Acts 9:19; 2 Pet. 3:16; one, a person, Mt. 12:29; Lk. 14:8; Jn. 6:50; combined with the name of an individual, one, Mk. 15:21; as it were in a manner, a kind of, Heb. 10:27; Jas. 1:18; any whatever, Read the full entry →

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

X-NSN Part of Speech: indefinite pronoun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
27%anyone
anyone27% · 144×some19% · 102×certain17% · 93×anything9% · 48×any9% · 47×one6% · 34×someone4% · 19×something3% · 18×other renderings7% · 37×

542 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 35 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
subject66%object20%adverbial9%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 530 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
εἰCond
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςὅτιthat, since, bec
δέbut, on the other ha
εἰCondεἰμίI am, existλέγωI say, speak
ἐάνCond
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakἐγώ
μήNeg
ἵναin order that, sἐάνCondβλέπωI look, see
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςΦαρισαῖοςa Phariseeὁδόςa way, road, jou
τὶςanything529×
what comes after →
Article the
γραμματεύςa scribe, town-cμαθητήςa learner, disciἀπό
σύ
λέγωI say, speakπλανάωI lead astray, dἐρωτάωI ask, question,
αὐτός
ἐκὁράωI see, look uponἀπό
ἐκ
αὐτόςArticle theἐγώ
εἰμίI am, exist
ἐνπλούσιοςrichὑδρωπικόςafflicted with d

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

Concordanceτὶς · 529× in the New Testament
Acts Luke John 1 Corinthians Mark 2 Corinthians Hebrews Matthew 1 Timothy Romans James Revelation

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 121 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

καὶ γὰρ λόγον καὶ ἀκοὴν ὑπερβάλλει μείζω καὶ σεμνότερα ὄντα ἢ ὡς θνητοῦ τινος ὀργάνοις ἐναρμοσθῆναι.

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

ὅτι λιμοῦ τὴν Χαναναίαν καταλαβόντος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀπῆρε καὶ διατρίψας ἐν αὐτῇ τινα χρόνον ὑπέστρεψεν ὀπίσω.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.5c. AD 100

πλήρης εἰμὶ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, καὶ στέαρ ἀρνῶν καὶ αἷμα ταύρων καὶ τράγων οὐ βούλομαι, οὐδ̓ ἂν ἔρχησθε ὀφθῆναί μοι, τίς γὰρ ἐξεζήτησεν ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν;

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

ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν· μὴ ἐξέστω δὲ τῷ καθόλου ἐπὶ τὴν διαθήκην ταύτην ἄλλῳ τινὶ ἐπέρχεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μὴ ἄκυρον ἔστω καὶ προσαποτεισάτω ὁ ἐπιφέρων ὕστερον … ἄλλον τῆς

P.Cair. Cat. 10364 descr.Pathyris126 BC–102 BC

προγεγραμμένου ἵππου, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαί σοι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν δὲ ἐπέλθωμεν ἢ ἄλλος τις ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἥ τʼ ἔφοδος ἄκυρος ἔσται καὶ προσαποτείσομέν σοι χαλκοῦ τάλαντα πέντε.

BGU 6 1260Pathyris102 BC

σημαινομένης ἀρούρης μιᾶς , καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσασθαι Νεχθανοῦπιν καὶ τοὺς τούτου υἱοὺς μηδʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Πετεαρσεμθεία μηδʼ ἐπʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῦ περὶ

What then do I mean? That an idol-sacrifice anything is or that an idol anything is?
ἐστιν;eimi is? G1510 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
2,457× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To be or exist, a basic verb used to describe something or someone, like God saying 'I am' in John 8:58.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

εἰμί is a Greek verb meaning 'to be' or 'to exist.' It serves various functions, such as a substantive verb for persons and things, and as a copula linking subjects and predicates. The New Testament frequently uses it in passages like John 1:1 and Matthew 24:3. Notably, it can also express possibility, as seen in Hebrews 9:5.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰμί,

with various uses and significations, like the English verb to be.

As substantive verb.

Of persons and things, to be, exist: Ac 17:28, Jo 1:1 8:58 17:5, al; ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν (for past ptcp.), Re 1:4, 8 4:8 11:17 16:5 (v. Swete, Ap., 5; M, Pr., 228); τὰ (μὴ) ὄντα, Ro 4:17, I Co 1:28.

Of times, events, etc., to be, happen, take place: Mt 24:3, Mk 14:2 15:42, Lk 21:23, Jo 4:6, 23 5:10, al.

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

εἰμί (fr. ἔω, whence ἐμέ in inscriptions [7]; Aeol. ἐμμὲ (Curtius (yet ἔμμε, so G. Meyer) 8 564; Veitch p. 2287), impv. ἴσθι, ἔστω, less usual ἤτω, 1 Co. xvi. 22; Jas. v.12; Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 48,5; [1 Mace. x. 31; Ps. ciii. (civ.) 31]; Plat. rep. 2 p. 361 ¢. [here it has given place to ἔστω (or ἴτω), see Stallb. ad loc.; Veitch p. 200 sq.; 3 pers. plur. ἔστωσαν, Lk. xii. 35; 1 Tim. iii. 12], inf. εἶναι ; impf. —ace. to the more ancient and elegant form, ἦν, 2 pers. ἦσθα (Mt. xxvi. 69; Mk. xiv. 67), rarer form ἧς (Mt. RKV. 1235 dn ΧΙ: 9]. 92); xxI LS. Reyna 15 G@ ΕΣ Tr WH), 3 pers. ἦν, 1 pers. plur. jer, — ace. to the mid. form, com. in later Grk. [ef. Veitch p. 226], ἤμην (Mt. xxv. 35sq.; [on Acts xi. 11 ef. WH. Intr. § 404]; Gal.i.10, etc.), plur. ἤμεθα (Mt. xxiii. 30 G L T Tr WH; Acts xxvii. 37 L T Tr WH; [Gal. iv. 3 TWH Tr mrg.; Eph. ii. 3 T Tr WH; Bar. i. 19]); cf. Lob. ad Phryn.…

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

εἰμί. Middle forms in the flexion of εἰμί other than the present tense (cf. however MGr εἶμαι, -σαι, etc.) begin to appear very early in the dialects and are well established in the papyri. Thus the Ist sing. impf. ἤμην, which always takes the place of the class. ἢ in the NT (but see Ac 2018 D) may be illustrated from PSI IV. 36274 (B.c. 251-0) ἤμην δὲ πρὸς τῶι λαμβάνειν τὸν χαλκόν, P Magd 65 (B.c. 221) ἤμην γυμνός, P Par 57 (B.c. 129) ὧν ἤμην δι᾽ αὐτῶν [π]αραμε[μετ]ρηκ[υῖα, P Oxy IIT. 526% (ii/A.p.) οὐκ ἤμην ἀπαθὴς ἀλόγως σε καταλείπιν. For ist plur. ἤμεθα see P Petr IT. 4 (7)° (B.C. 255-4) τεθλιμμένοι ἤμεθα : cf. Ac 2737, Eph 23, as contrasted with the act. ἦμεν in Ac 111 (NB), 1612, Rom 7° a/.: the two forms are found together in Gal 4% (SDFG). The non-classical ἧς (Lob. Phryx. p. 149) is found sefzes in the NT as compared with ἦσθα (from an old perf. form ἤησθα), which is confined…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰμί (eimi) — to be.

εἰμί

(sum), Aeolic dialect ἔμμι [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Cretan dialect ἠμί [Refs]; 2nd pers. singular εἶ, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect εἰς [Refs 8th c.BC+], Epic dialect and Doric dialect ἐσσί [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἐστί, Doric dialect ἐντί [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. dual ἐστόν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; 1st pers. plural ἐσμέν, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect εἰμέν (also in [Refs 5th c.BC+], Doric dialect εἰμές [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural εἰσί (-ίν), Epic dialect and Ionic dialect ἔασι (-ιν) [Refs 8th c.BC+], Doric dialect ἐντί [Refs 5th c.BC+], Epic dialect and Lyric poetry also in middle form ἔσσο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἔστω (ἤτω [LXX+5th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural ἔστωσαν, but ἔστων [Refs 8th c.BC+], and early Attic dialect Inscrr., [Refs 2nd c.BC+]subjunctive ὦ, ᾖς, ᾖ, Epic dialect ἔω [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἔῃ [Refs…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί

eimi

the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a

primary and defective verb; I exist (used only when emphatic):--am,

have been, X it is I, was. See also 1488, 1498, 1511, 1527, 2258,

2071, 2070, 2075, 2076, 2771, 2468, 5600.

see GREEK for 1488

see GREEK for 1498

see GREEK for 1511

see GREEK for 1527

see GREEK for 2258

see GREEK for 2071

see GREEK for 2070

see GREEK for 2075

see GREEK for 2076

see GREEK for 2771

see GREEK for 2468

see GREEK for 5600

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰμί

v.

I am, exist

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰμί eimi 2x

to be, to exist, Jn. 1:1; 17:5; Mt. 6:30; Lk. 4:25, freq.; ἐστί[ν], it is possible, proper, Heb. 9:5; a simple linking verb (“copula”) to the subject and predicate, and therefore in itself affecting the force of the sentence only by its tense, mood, etc., Jn. 1:1; 15:1, freq.; it also forms a frequent circumlocution with the participles of the present and perfect of other verbs, Mt. 19:22; Mk. 2:6

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εἰμί The whole of the pres. ind. (except 2nd sg. εἶ) may be enclitic when εἰμί is the Copula; but the 3rd sg. is written ἔστι in certain cases of emphasis, e. g. ἔστι μοι, I have: when used as Verb Subst., it retains the accent in all persons. as Substantive Verb, to be, to exist, οὐκ ἔσθ᾽ οὗτος ἀνήρ, οὐδ᾽ ἔσσεται Od.; τεθνηῶτος, μηδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἐόντος id. Od.; οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστι he is no more, Eur.; θεοὶ αἰὲν ἐόντες Il.; ἐσσόμενοι posterity, id. Il.; ζώντων καὶ ὄντων Ἀθηναίων Dem.:—so of cities, etc., ὄλωλεν, οὐδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἔστι Τροία (cf. Troja fuit), Eur.

of things, to be, exist, εἰ ἔστιν ἀληθέως [ἡ τράπεζα] Hdt.; ἕως ἂν ὁ πόλεμος ἦι so long as it last, Thuc.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
26%is
is26% · 619×are9% · 228×was7% · 176×being6% · 138×it is5% · 112×will be4% · 87×am3% · 80×were3% · 67×other renderings37% · 901×

2,408 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 139 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
linking verb87%verb13%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,457 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, becκαίand, even, also,ὅς
οὗτος
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
ἐνἄνθρωποςa man, one of thθεόςGod, a god
ἐγώ
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakμετά
σύ
ἐνλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
εἰμίis?2457×
what comes after →
Article the
υἱόςa son, descendenΧριστόςanointed, the Meβασιλείαkingship, sovere
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegγάρfor
ἐν
Article theσύαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theτὶςἐκεῖthere, yonder, t
ἐγώ
εἰςἄξιοςworthy, worthy oὧδεhere

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

Concordanceεἰμί · 2,457× in the New Testament
John Luke Matthew Acts Mark 1 Corinthians Romans Revelation 1 John 2 Corinthians Hebrews Galatians

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
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 1.2c. AD 75–95

τινὲς μὲν γὰρ ἐπιδεικνύμενοι λόγων δεινότητα καὶ τὴν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς θηρευόμενοι δόξαν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τῆς παιδείας τὸ μέρος ὁρμῶσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ χάριν ἐκείνοις φέροντες, περὶ ὧν τὴν ἀναγραφὴν εἶναι συμβέβηκε, τὸν εἰς αὐτὴν πόνον καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν ὑπέστησαν·

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 3rd c. BC 4th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν, μηνὸς Ἐπεὶφ κε. ἐν Παθύρει, ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν, μηνὸς Τῦβι ιη ἐν Παθύρει ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο

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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