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1 Timothy 3:15 — Word Study

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N1904ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας.¶

BSAifean howeverde I shall delay,bradunō [tarry long, slow to arrive] so thathina you may knoweidō howpōs it behooves [one]dei inen [the] householdoikos [family, church] of Godtheos [the supreme Deity] to conduct oneself,anastrephō [behave, live] whichhostis, hētis iseimi [the] churchekklēsia [assembly, congregation] of Godtheos [the all-powerful, supreme Creator] [the] living,zaō [always alive, having life] [the] pillarstulos [support, column] andkai basehedraiōma [base, support] of theho truth.alētheia [reality, divine message]

Word
Listen & take away1 Timothy 3
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 15 is in this chapter.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (alētheia) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
1 Timothy 3:15quick helps
In a sentencePaul explains the purpose of his letter — to guide Timothy on how to lead the church.
Who is speakingThe Apostle Paul, addressing Timothy with guidance.
Where we areIn a passage that instructs on church leadership and behavior.
The hard wordἀναστρέφεσθαι
Take awayThe church is foundational to truth and godliness.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectὅστις verbβραδύνω The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

1 of 21 occurs nowhere else in the New Testament — a word chosen on purpose.

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 Timothy 3:15

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

Context — Instructions for Church Conductgenerated

13For those who have served well as deacons acquire for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
14Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these things
15in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
16By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.

1 Timothy 3:15 outlines the behavior expected of individuals within the church, emphasizing its role as the household of God. Paul writes to Timothy to ensure he understands the importance of proper conduct in this sacred community, which is likened to a family. This instruction is vital for maintaining order and truth within the church, which is described as the assembly of the living God.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
11 Timothy 3:2An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
2Deuteronomy 31:23Then the LORD commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with you.”
31 Kings 2:2–4“I am about to go the way of all the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man.
41 Chronicles 22:13Then you will succeed, if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
51 Chronicles 28:9–21As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

The Key Word ἀναστρέφεσθαι, anastrephōgenerated

The verb ἀναστρέφεσθαι is a present passive infinitive meaning 'to conduct oneself' or 'to behave.' It suggests an ongoing action of living in accordance with certain standards.

This word is derived from the root meaning 'to turn' and indicates how one should live within the context of the church, highlighting the importance of behavior in a communal setting.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

In the Berean Standard Bible, the phrase is rendered as 'conduct himself,' which aligns with the KJV's 'behave thyself.' Other translations like the WEB and BBE use similar terms, emphasizing the expected behavior in the church.

Where differences arise, they often concern the choice of words for 'household' and 'church.' The ASV and others use 'house,' while the BSB and NETB opt for 'household,' reflecting slight variations in interpretation.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main clause is governed by the verb βραδύνω, I shall delay, which introduces a conditional situation. This clause leads into a purpose clause introduced by ἵνα, so that, indicating the intended outcome of the delay.

The structure includes noun phrases that describe the church as the household of God, with the predicate emphasizing its foundational role in truth.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

ἐκκλησία is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word for assembly, indicating a gathering of people for a common purpose. This term carries over into the New Testament to describe the Christian community.

The word ἀληθείας corresponds to the Hebrew for truth, emphasizing the reliability and integrity of the teachings within the church.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

1 Timothy 3:15 explains how Paul wants Timothy to know how to behave in the church, which is God’s household. This church is important as it serves as the foundation of truth, guiding how believers should live.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to conduct oneself in God's household?

It means to behave in a manner that reflects the values and teachings of the church, as it is a community of believers under God's guidance.

Why is the church referred to as the pillar and foundation of truth?

The church is seen as a support for the truth of God's message, providing stability and guidance to its members.

How does Paul’s instruction apply to modern church leadership?

Paul's guidance emphasizes the importance of integrity and proper conduct in leadership roles, which remains relevant for church leaders today.

What is the significance of the term 'living God' in this context?

The term 'living God' highlights the active and dynamic nature of God, contrasting with dead idols and affirming the church's relationship with a vibrant, personal deity.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. How can I ensure my behavior reflects the values of my church community?
  2. What role does the church play in supporting truth in our lives?
  3. In what ways can I contribute to the health and integrity of my church?
  4. How does understanding the church as God's household change my perspective on my responsibilities within it?

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

Early church writers like Irenaeus and Origen reference this verse to discuss the nature of salvation and the church's role in upholding truth.

IrenaeusAgainst Heresies Book III c. 130–202
WE have learned from none others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the Gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God,
Early Church Fathers on 1 Timothy 3 →
IrenaeusAGAINST HERESIES 3.11.7-8 c. 130–202
Such, then, are the first principles of the gospel. There is one God, the Maker of this universe; he who was also announced by the prophets and who by Moses set forth the dispensation of the law—principles which proclaim the Father of our…
Early Church Fathers on 1 Timothy 3 →
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 3.14 c. 185–253
The spiritual interpretation, however, is not so difficult and hard to come by. For the bride of the Word, the soul who abides in his royal house—that is, in the church—is taught by the Word of God, who is her Bridegroom,
Early Church Fathers on 1 Timothy 3 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 1 Timothy 3:15 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

But if I tarry long,.... Or should long delay coming, defer it longer than may be expected; let it be observed that these things are written, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself

Read John Gill on 1 Timothy 3 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. But if I tarry long - before coming.

Read Robert Jamieson on 1 Timothy 3 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

I do not know how God will dispose of me, though I hope shortly to see thee, and therefore I have written to direct thee how in the mean time thou shouldst carry thyself in the affairs of the church, which I have committed to thee, which is a matter of great moment; for the people which constitute the church of him who is not like the gods of the heathens, a dead man consecrated and made a god, nor a being without life, like their images, but one who hath life in himself and from himself, is the house of God, a people in and amongst whom he dwelleth, and amongst whom he is worshipped; and of whom he hath a great care, and for which he hath a great love, Christ having died for it, that he…

Read Matthew Poole on 1 Timothy 3 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. Ver. 15. In the house of God] See here the dignity of the Church, and the duty of ministers, which is to be faithful as stewards in all God’ s house. But what mean the Papists so to cry up the Church even above the Scriptures (as the Council of Basil did by their Cardinal Cusanus in answer to the Hussites), nay, above Christ himself, as Hosius and others. Can they mean honestly (quoth that martyr) that make so much of the wife and so little of the husband? Bastard children are all for their mother, and are called by…

Read John Trapp on 1 Timothy 3 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(15) But if I tarry long.—St. Paul felt that dangers were pressing closer and closer—that the hoped-for visit to his loved church at Ephesus might not, probably never would be, accomplished; so these foregoing solemn directions respecting the choice of colleagues in the ministry had been written to Timothy, that, in the event of St. Paul never coming to him again, men (especially the ministers of God) should know how to conduct themselves in the congregation. That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself.—The words refer here not to Timothy alone, but rather to Timothy and his colleagues in their church work, concerning whom such particular directions had just been given, and…

Read Charles John Ellicott on 1 Timothy 3 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 15. But if I tarry long] That is: Not withstanding I hope to come to thee shortly, and therefore do not feel the necessity of writing at large; yet, lest I should be delayed, I write what I judge necessary to direct thy conduct in the Church of God. The house of God] This is spoken in allusion to the ancient tabernacle; which was God's house, and in which the symbol of the Divine Majesty dwelt. So the Christian Church is God's house, and every believer is a habitation of God through the Spirit. The Church of the living God] The assembly in which God lives and works; each member of which is a living stone, all of whom, properly united among themselves, grow up unto a holy temple in the…

Read AdamClarke on 1 Timothy 3 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15. how thou oughtest to behave thyself] There is little in the Greek words and little in the context to decide us in translating either thus with A.V. and margin of R.V. or how men ought to behave themselves, with R.V. For (1), Timothy himself is in St Paul’s mind throughout; the directions are given for his guidance in seeing to a properly qualified ministry; for (2), presbyters and deacons have just had their proper equipment and behaviour fully detailed. Perhaps the latter is to be preferred from the long phrase (for so brief a style) ‘that thou mayest know how (one) ought to walk’ instead of ‘in order that thou mayest walk’; and from the brevity of the style solving by omission the…

Read Cambridge on 1 Timothy 3 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But if I tarry long - Paul appears to have been uncertain how long circumstances would require him to be absent. He expected to return, but it was possible that his hope of returning soon would be disappointed.

Read Albert Barnes on 1 Timothy 3 →

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

in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

but if I wait long, that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

NETBNew English Translation2006

in case I am delayed, to let you know how people ought to conduct themselves in the household of God, because it is the church of the living God, the support and bulwark of the truth.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

RVARevised Version, American1894

but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

But if I tary long, that thou maist yet know, how thou oughtest to behaue thy self in ye house of God, which is the Church of the liuing God, the pillar and ground of trueth.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

but if I delay, in order that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God's house, which is [the] assembly of [the] living God, [the] pillar and base of the truth.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and if I delay, that thou mayest know how it behoveth [thee] to conduct thyself in the house of God, which is an assembly of the living God — a pillar and foundation of the truth,

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

and if I delay, that you may know how it is required to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is an assembly of the living God—a pillar and foundation of the truth,

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

But if I delay, I am writing so that you may know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

if I'm delayed you'll know how people should behave themselves in God's house. This is the church of the living God, the support pillar and foundation of the truth.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

But if I am long in coming, this will make clear to you what behaviour is right for men in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of what is true.

Word by word, the decisions they made

εἰδῇςeidō you may know G6063 3 different renderings
knowASV BSB DBY DRA FBV GNV KJV MSB NWB RVA YLT
you may knowLSV ULB WEB
you knowNETB
οἴκῳoikos [the] household G3624 3 different renderings
churchASV BBE DRA FBV GNV KJV NWB RVA
houseDBY LSV WEB YLT
householdBSB MSB NETB ULB
θεοῦtheos of God G2316 2 different renderings
of godASV BBE DRA GNV KJV LSV NETB NWB RVA ULB YLT
godBSB DBY FBV MSB WEB
ἀναστρέφεσθαι,anastrephō to conduct oneself, G390 3 different renderings
behaveASV DRA FBV KJV NWB RVA ULB WEB
livingBBE BSB LSV MSB NETB YLT
conduct oneselfDBY
ἐστὶνeimi is G1510 2 different renderings
i amBBE BSB MSB ULB
it isLSV NETB
ἐκκλησίαekklēsia [the] church G1577 2 different renderings
churchASV BBE BSB DRA FBV GNV KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB
assemblyDBY LSV WEB YLT

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


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

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

clauseδὲhoweverclauseἐὰνifclauseverbβραδύνωI should delayclauseἵναso thatclauseverbεἰδῇςyou may knowclause · objectadverbialπῶςhowverbδεῖit behooves [one]noun phrase · subjectclauseverbἀναστρέφεσθαιto conduct oneselfprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνinnoun phrasenoun phraseοἴκῳ[the] householdΘεοῦof Godclausesubjectἥτιςwhichlinking verbἐστὶνisnoun phrase · predicatenoun phraseἐκκλησία[the] churchnoun phraseΘεοῦof Godζῶντος[the] livingnoun phrasenoun phraseστῦλος[the] pillarκαὶandἑδραίωμαbasenoun phraseτῆςof theἀληθείαςtruth

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

si autem tardavero, ut scias quomodo oporteat te in domo Dei conversari, quæ est ecclesia Dei vivi, columna et firmamentum veritatis.

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

ܘܐܢ ܗܘ ܕܝܢ ܕܡܘܚܪ ܐܢܐ ܕܬܕܥ ܐܝܟܢܐ ܘܠܐ ܠܡܬܗܦܟܘ ܒܒܝܬܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܕܐܝܬܝܗ ܥܕܬܐ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܚܝܐ ܥܡܘܕܐ ܘܫܬܐܣܬܐ ܕܫܪܪܐ

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

ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας.¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας.¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας.¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας.¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας.¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας.¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας.¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας.¶

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

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


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

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

1 Timothy 3:15ἐάνififἐάνδέhoweverhoweverδέβραδύνωI shall delI shall delay,βραδύνωἵναso thatso thatἵναειδηςyou may knoyou may knowειδηςπῶςhowhowπῶςδεῖit behoovesit behooves [onδεῖἐνininἐνοἶκος[the] house[the] householdοἶκοςθεόςof Godof Godθεόςἀναστρέφωto conduct to conduct onesἀναστρέφωὅστιςwhichwhichὅστιςεἰμίisisεἰμίἐκκλησία[the] churc[the] churchἐκκλησίαθεόςof Godof Godθεόςζάω[the] livin[the] living,ζάωστῦλος[the] pilla[the] pillarστῦλοςκαίandandκαίἑδραίωμαbasebaseἑδραίωμαof theof theἀλήθειαtruth.truth.ἀλήθειαArticle thArticle theεἰCond. ifCond. ifεἰβραδύςAdj slowAdj slowβραδύςἐκPrep. fromPrep. from out,ἐκἀνάPrep. and,Prep. and, apieἀνάὅςRel.pr. whRel.pr. who, whὅςἀληθήςAdj unconcAdj unconcealedἀληθήςἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦποῦIrg.adv. wIrg.adv. where,ποῦδέωv. I bindv. I bindδέωεἰςPrep. intoPrep. into, in,εἰςκαλέωv. I call,v. I call, inviκαλέωἵστημιv. I causev. I cause to sἵστημιἑδραῖοςAdj firm, Adj firm, steadἑδραῖοςεὐχαριστέωv. I thankv. I thank, givεὐχαριστέωβασιλείαn.f. kingsn.f. kingship, βασιλείααἰτέωv. I ask, v. I ask, requeαἰτέωμένωv. I remaiv. I remain, abμένω
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 Timothy 3:15

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.

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
ἐὰνean if G1437 Conditional particle
339× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'if' and is used to show uncertainty or possibility, as in Matthew 6:22 and Romans 2:25, to express conditions or circumstances.
Tyndale gloss
if
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἐάν is a conditional particle formed from εἰ (if) and ἄν. It indicates uncertainty or a hypothetical situation, often followed by the subjunctive mood. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, such as in Matthew 6:22 and Romans 2:25. It can also appear with other particles, enhancing its conditional meaning.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐάν, contr. fr. εἰ ἄν,

conditional particle,

representing something as "under certain circumstances actual or liable to happen," but not so definitely expected as in the case of εἰ c. ind. (Bl., §65, 4; cf. Jo 13:17, I Co 7:36), if haply, if;

c. subjc. (cl.);

pres.: Mt 6:22, Lk 10:6, Jo 7:17, Ro 2:25, 26 al.;

aor. (= Lat. fut. pf.): Mt 4:9 16:26 (cf. ptcp. in Lk 9:25; M, Pr., 230), Mk 3:24, Lk 14:34, Jo 5:43,

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

ἐάν ; I. aconditional particle (derived fr. εἰ ἄν), which makes reference to time and to experience, introducing something future, but not determining, before the event, whether it is certainly to take place; if, in case, (Lat. si; Germ. wenn; im Fall, dass; falls; wofern); οἴ.» among others, Hermann ad Viger. p.832; Klotz ad Devar. ii. 2 p- 450 sqq.; W. 291 (273) sq. It is connected 1. with the Subjunctive, according to the regular usage of the more ancient and elegant classic writers. a. with the subjunc. Present: Mt. vi. 22 (ἐὰν οὖν ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ἁπλοῦς 7, if it be the case, as to which I do not know, that thine eye etc.); ibid. 23; xvii. 20; Lk. x. 6; Jn. vii. 17; viii. 54 [RGL mrg.]; ix. 31; xi. 9,10; Acts v. 38; xiii. 41; Ro. ii. 25 sq.; 1 Co.ix.16; Gal. v. 2; 1 Tim. i. 8 [not Lehm.]; Heb. xiii. 23; 1 Jn. i. 9; ii. 3, 15 ete. Ὁ. with the subjunc. Aorist, corresponding to the Lat.…

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

ἐάν (ean) — if.

ἐάν

(so early Attic Inscrr., as [Refs 4th c.BC+], also contraction ἤν and ἄν, see at {ἤν},{ἄν} (B) [ᾱ], which by crasis with καί become κἄν:—if haply, if, regularly followed by subjunctive: for its use and for examples, see at {εἰ} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. in Hellenistic and late Greek, ={ἄν} after relative Pronouns and Conjunctions, as ὃς ἐάν whosoever, [LXX+5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐάν ἐάνπερ

ean

from 1487 and 302; a conditional particle; in case that, provided,

etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote

indefiniteness or uncertainty:--before, but, except, (and) if, (if)

so, (what-, whither-)soever, though, when (-soever), whether (or), to

whom, (who-)so(-ever). See 3361.

see GREEK for 1487

see GREEK for 302

see GREEK for 3361

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐάν

Cond.

if

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐάν ean 350x

if, ἐὰν μή, except, unless; also equivalent to ἀλλά, Gal. 2:16. Ἐάν, in NT as in the later Greek, is substituted for ἄν after relative words, Mt. 5:19. Tends to be an indicator for the subjunctive mood.

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐάν compounded of εἰ ἄν ἐα?ν contracts into ἤν and ἄν if haply, if, followed by subj. (whereas εἰ is foll. by ind. or opt.), epic εἴ κε, αἴ κε.

in NTest. ἐάν is used just like the adverb ἄν after relative Pronouns and Conjunctions, as ὃς ἐάν whosoever, ὅσος ἐάν, ὅστις ἐάν, ὅπου ἐάν, etc.

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

COND CONDitional particle or conjunction

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
74%if
if74% · 255×only14% · 49×maybe8% · 26×other renderings4% · 15×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial11%subject8%object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 339 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
ὅς
καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, existδῶρονa gift, present
καίand, even, also, nam
ἁμαρτάνωI sinεἷςoneαὐτός
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύαὐτόςγάρfor
σύ
λέγωI say, speakπρόςποιέωI do, make
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἐπίδέbut, on the othe
ἐάνif339×
what comes after →
μήNeg
μετανοέωI repent, changeτὶςεἰμίI am, exist
τὶς
σύἀδελφόςa brotherArticle the
δέbut, on the other ha
καίand, even, also,Article theμήNeg
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastφωνήa sound, noise, ἐντολήan ordinance, in
θέλωI will, wish, desire
δύναμαιI am powerful, aArticle theἵναin order that, s

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

Concordanceἐάν · 339× in the New Testament
Matthew John 1 Corinthians Mark Luke 1 John Romans Acts Revelation Hebrews 2 Corinthians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament21 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 746 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Josephus Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 79c. AD 40

τουτὶ δὲ συμβήσεται, ἐὰν μήτε αἱ ἄλογοι ἡδοναὶ ψυχῆς δυναστεύσωσι γαστριμαργίαν καὶ λαγνείαν ἐπιτειχίσασαι μήτε αἱ δόξης ἢ χρημάτων ἢ ἀρχῆς ἐπιθυμίαι τὸ τοῦ βίου κράτος ἀνάψωνται μήτε στείλωσι καὶ κάμψωσι διάνοιαν αἱ λῦπαι μήθ’ ὁ κακὸς σύμβουλος…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4.252c. AD 75–95

ἐὰν δέ που μόνῃ περιπεσὼν βιάσηται μηδενὸς βοηθοῦ παρόντος, μόνος ἀποθνησκέτω.

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 1st c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Adl. 10Pathyris102 BC

δεδανεισμένος Πανᾶς Ἀγαθίνωι καὶ Πατῆτι τοῖς δανείζουσιν ἐν μηνὶ Ἐπεὶφ εἰκάδος τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶι ἐν τῶι ὡρισμένωι χρόνωι ἀποτεισάτω καθὰ γέγραπται παραχρῆμα ἐπάναγκον· ἡ δὲ

P.Adl. 15Pathyris (?)101 BC

ποιησάτω ἐν μηνὶ Παχὼν τοῦ αὐτοῦ ιε ἔτους, καὶ ἀποτεισάτω ἑκάστης ἀρτάβης πυροῦ ἧς ἐὰν μὴ ἀποδῶι χαλκοῦ δραχμὰς δισχιλίας τετρακοσίας , κριθῆς χιλίας τετρακοσίας , καὶ ἑβδόμην μερίδα

P.Adl. 19Pathyris99 BC

τοῦτο ἀποδότω ὁ δεδανεισμένος τῶι δανείζοντι ἐν μηνὶ Μεσορὴ λ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ιϛ ἔτους· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶι ἐν τῶι ὡρισμένωι χρόνωι ἢ μὴ ποιήσηι καθὰ γέγραπται ἀποτεισάτω ἐν

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
δὲde however G1161 Conjunction
2,787× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a conjunction that means and, but, or then, used to connect ideas like in Matthew 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 6:15.
Tyndale gloss
then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

post-positive conjunctive particle;

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

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

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

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

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

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

δέ (de) — then.

δέ,

but: adversative and copulative Particle,

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

II. without preceding μέν,

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

II.2. copulative,

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

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

δέ

de

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

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

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δέ

Cj.

but, on the other hand, and

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δέ de 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

δέ is often redundant,

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

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

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

2,937 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 15 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,787 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existσύ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπεντακισχίλιοιfive thousand
εἰCond
παλαιόςold, ancient, woσύεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ἀναπίπτωI lie down, reclμνημεῖονa tomb, sepulche
οὗτος
δίδωμιI offer, giveθεόςGod, a godπίστιςfaith, belief, t
δέhowever2787×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusθεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐπί
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theσύ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὗτοςἸωάννηςJohn
τὶς
Article theαὐτόςὄνομαname, character,

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

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

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

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
βραδύνω,bradunō I shall delay, G1019 Verb · present · active · subjunctive · first person · singular
2× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To delay means to slow something down or make it late, as seen in 1 Timothy 3:15 and 2 Peter 3:9. It can also mean to tarry or be slow in taking action.
Amplified meaning
tarry long, slow to arrive
Tyndale gloss
to delay
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word βραδύνω (braduno) is built from the root meaning 'slow.' It primarily denotes the action of delaying or being slow, with both transitive and intransitive uses. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts suggesting a delay in action or response, notably in 1 Timothy 3:15 and 2 Peter 3:9. The lexicons do not present significant disagreement on its meaning.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

βραδύνω

(< βραδύς),

[in LXX: Ge 43:10 (מההּ hith.), De 7:10, Is 46:13 (אחר pi.), Si 32 (35):18 * ;]

trans., to retard (Soph., Is, l.c.).

More freq. intrans., to be slow, to tarry: I Ti 3:15, II Pe 3:9.†

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

βραδύνω. The intrans. use of this verb, which alone is found in the NT, may be illustrated from P Oxy I. 118% (late iii/a.p.) ἐπὶ οὖν Bpadivover, ‘since they are delaying,” and OG/S 515° (A.D. 209-11) καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ εὐϊπορία ἡ πρὸς τοὺς κυρίους αὐϊτοκράτορας τῶν φόρων βραδύνει. So ina papyrus of the second half of ii/a.p., edited by Comparetti in Jel. Nicole, p. 59 (col. ii.) ὡς ἂν βραδύνῃς καὶ ὑστερήσῃ ταῦτα τὰ [κτήνη] τῆς πορείας, οὐκ ἀγνοεῖς οὐδ᾽ αὐτὸς ζημίᾳ σε ὑποπί εἴπτειν μέλλοντα, ““1 you delay, and these animals are late for the expedition, you yourself know you will get into trouble.” (The document is given again in P Flor II. p- 258.) In the Christian letter, P Gen I. 51°, ἐβράδυνεν is without clear context, but certainly means ‘‘he delayed.” In MGr βραδυάζει or βραδύνει = ‘it is late,” ‘evening draws…

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

βραδύνω (bradunō) — to delay.

βρᾰδύνω,

future -ῠνῶ[LXX]: aorist ἐβράδῡνα [Refs 2nd c.AD+]: pluperfect ἐβεβραδύκειν [Refs 2nd c.AD+]: (βραδύς):

I. transitive, make slow, delay, [LXX]:—passive, to be delayed, τἀπὸ σοῦ βραδύνεται [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. intransitive, loiter, delay, εἰ βραδύνοιμεν βοῇ [Refs 4th c.BC+] (so in middle, χεῖρα δ᾽ οὐ βραδύνεται.. ἁρπάσαι δόρυ [Refs 5th c.BC+]: with infinitive, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; βραδύνει σοι τοῦτ; are you slow, slack in this ? [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

βραδύνω

braduno

from 1021; to delay:--be slack, tarry.

see GREEK for 1021

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

βραδύνω

v.

I am slow, I delay

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

βραδύνω bradynō 2x

to be slow, to delay, 1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Pet. 3:9*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

βραδύνω βραδύς trans. to make slow, delay:— Pass. to be delayed, Soph.

intr. to be long, to loiter, delay, id. Soph.: so in Mid., Aesch.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

de-la': The noun "delay" (Ac 25:17, "I made no delay"; the King James Version "without any delay") means "procrastination." The verb "to delay" (Ex 22:29; 'achar) involves the idea "to stop for a time," the people being admonished not to discontinue a custom. The Pil. perfect of bush (Ex 32:1), "Moses delayed to come," expresses not only the fact that he tarried, but also the disappointment on the part of the people, being under the impression that he possibly was put to shame and had failed in his mission, which also better explains the consequent action of the people. "To delay" (chronizo) is used transitively in Mt 24:48 (the Revised Version (British and American) "My…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%i shall delay
i shall delay50% · 1×does delay50% · 1×

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
δέbut, on the other ha
ἐάνCond
οὐNeg
βραδύνωI shall delay,
what comes after →
ἵναin order that, so th
οἶδαI know, remember
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
Article the

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

Concordanceβραδύνω · 2× in the New Testament
1 Timothy 2 Peter
Across the New Testament2 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Sacrifices of Abel and Cain 87c. AD 40

κἂν ἡμεῖς μέντοι βραδύνωμεν, αὐτὸς οὐ βραδύνει τοὺς ἐπιτηδείους πρὸς θεραπείαν λαβεῖν ἑαυτῷ·

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
7th c. AD 4th c. AD

ὅτι ἠμέλησα, ἐσπούδασα δηλῶσαι περὶ τούτου τὴν … … … ε … … … βραδύνει … ἐρρῶσθαί σε εὔχομαι πολλοῖς χρόνοις.

P.Louvre 3 237AD 601–AD 700

τούτου τὸν μισθὸν αὐτοῦ … … αὐτὴν καὶ συμπράξῃ εἰς πᾶν ἔργον. διότι, ἐὰν βραδύνω ἐνταῦθα ὤν, τί … … οὐ μικρὸν πρᾶγμα. οὐκ ἔστι καιρὸς ἕως ἄρτι ἀπαλλαγῆναι

P.Apoll. 37AD 651–AD 700

κοινῆς μητρός· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐποίησα αὐτὴν τὴν κοινὴν μητέρα ἀπολῦσαι τὸν διάκονον, καὶ οὐ βραδύνω σὺν θεῷ ἀπολῦσαι ὑμῖν αὐτὸν μετὰ τοῦ πρακτέου· καὶ ἐπειδὴ λόγον ἔδωκα αὐτῇ ὅτι

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
ἵναhina so that G2443 Conjunction
669× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'in order that' or 'to', showing purpose or result, as seen in Acts 19:4 and Romans 11:31. It's used to express a goal or outcome. In Ephesians 1:17, it's used to describe a purpose.
Tyndale gloss
in order that/to
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἵνα is primarily a conjunction meaning 'in order that' or 'that,' indicating purpose or intention. It can also function as an adverb of place, meaning 'where' or 'whither.' In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, often introducing clauses that express purpose, such as in Matthew 1:22. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings or usages.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἵνα,

adverb (poët., Hom., al.),

of place, where, whither.

of circumstance, when.

Conjunction,

prop., final, denoting purpose or end (cl.), that, in order that, usually the first word in the clause, but sometimes (cl. also) preceded by an emphatic word (Ac 19:4, Ro 11:31 (?), Ga 2:10, al.);

c. optat. (so in cl. after historic tenses): after a pres., Eph 1:17 (but WH, mg., subjc.; v. Burton, § 225, Rem., 2);

c. subjc.: after a pres., Mk 4:21, Lk 6:34, Jo 3:15, Ac 2:25,

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

ἵνα, I. an adv. of Place. fr. Hom. down, esp. in the poets; a. where; in what place. b. to what place; whither. Of the former signification C. F. A. Fritzsche (on Mt. p. 836; differently in Fritzschiorum Opusce. p. 186 sqq-.) thought he had found two examples in bibl. Greek, and H. A. W. Meyer agrees with him. The first viz. iva μὴ φυσιοῦσθε, 1 Co. iv. 6, they explain thus: where (i. e. in which state of things viz. when ye have leatned from my example to think humbly of yourselves) the one is not exalted to the other’s disadvantage; the second, iva αὐτοὺς ζηλοῦτε, Gal. iv. 17, thus: where ye zealously court them; but see II. 1 d. below. “ iva I. a final Conjunction (for from local direction, indicated by the adverb, the transition was easy te mental direction or intention) denoting pur pose and end: to the intent that; to the end that, in order that; ἵνα pn, that not, lest; it is used…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἵνα (hina) — in order that/to.

ἵνα,

adverb,

I. of Place,

I.1. in that place, there, once in [Refs 8th c.BC+]

I.2. elsewhere relative, in which place, where,[Refs 8th c.BC+]: rarely in Attic dialect Prose, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἵ. ἡ Νίκη (i.e. ἐστίν) [Refs 8th c.BC+] [same place]; ἵν᾽ ἄν with subjunctive, wherever, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; as indirect interrogative, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.2. b after [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἔμαθε ἵ. ἦν κακοῦ in what a calamity, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἵν᾽ ἕσταμεν χρείας[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.2. c with Verbs of motion, whither, [Refs 8th c.BC+]

II. of circumstance, γάμος.., ἵ. χρή at which, when, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἵ. μὲν ἐξῆν αὐτοῖς.., ἐνταῦθα.. when it was in their power, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. ={ἐάν}, uncertain in [Refs 8th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἵνα

hina

probably from the same as the former part of 1438 (through the

demonstrative idea; compare 3588); in order that (denoting the purpose

or the result):--albeit, because, to the intent (that), lest, so as,

(so) that, (for) to. Compare 3363.

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 3588

see GREEK for 3363

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἵνα

Cj.

in order that, so that

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἵνα hina 663x

that, in order that, Mt. 19:13; Mk. 1:38; Jn. 1:22; 3:15; 17:1; ἵνα μή, that not, lest, Mt. 7:1; in NT equivalent to ὥστε, so that, so as that, Jn. 9:2; also, marking a simple circumstance, the circumstance that, Mt. 10:25; Jn. 4:34; 6:29; 1 Jn. 4:17; 5:3

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἵνα Adverb,

of Place,

demonstr. in that place, there, only in Il. 10. 127.

relat., = ὅπου, in which place, where, Hdt., etc.;—so, ἵνα τε Il.; ἵνα περ Hom.:—c. gen., ἵνα γῆς in whatever part of the land, Hdt.; ἔμαθε ἵνα ἦν κακοῦ in what a calamity, id. Hdt.; οὐχ ὁρᾷς ἵν᾽ εἶ κακοῦ Soph.

= ὅποι, with Verbs of motion, whither, Od.; ὁρᾷς ἵν᾽ ἥκεις Soph.

of circumstance, when, at which, Od.

Final Conjunction, = ὅπως, that, in order that, Lat. ut, Hom.:

with subj.,

after principal tenses of ind., id. Hom., etc.

after historical tenses, in similes, where the aor. refers to any possible time, Od.

after opt. and ἄν, ἔδωκε μένος, ἵνα γένοιτο she gave him vigour, that he might become, Il.

with opt., after historical tenses, Hom., etc.

Read the full entry →
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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

so (co', although the Hebrew might be pointed cewe'; Assyrian Sib'u; Septuagint Segor, Soa; Manetho, Seuechos; Latin Sevechus; Herodotus (ii. 137 ff), Sabakon): In all probability the "Sabaeo" of Herodotus, the Shabaka, who founded the Ethiopian dynasty, the XXVth of Egyptian kings. His date is given as 715-707 BC (Flinders Petrie, History of Egypt, III, 281 ff), but we may suppose that before his accession to the throne he was entitled to be designated king, as being actually regent. To this So, Hoshea, king of Israel, made an appeal for assistance to enable him to throw off the yoke of the Assyrian Shalmaneser IV (2Ki 17:3). But Hoshea's submission to So brought him no advantage, for Shalmaneser came up throughout all the land and laid siege to Samaria. Not long after the fall of Samaria, So ventured upon an eastern campaign, and…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

So

(Nubian, Sabako), an Ethiopian king who brought Egypt under his sway. He was bribed by Hoshea to help him against the Assyrian monarch Shalmaneser (2 Kings 17:4). This was a return to the policy that had been successful in the reign of Jeroboam I.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

"So, king of Egypt," is once mentioned in the Bible -- (2 Kings 17:4) So has been identified by different writers with the first and second kings of the Ethiopian twenty-fifth dynasty, called by Manetho, Sabakon (Shebek) and Sebichos (Shebetek).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

King of Egypt, made an alliance with Hoshea king of Israel, and promised him assistance; but was unable to prevent Shalmaneser king of Assyria from taking Samaria and subverting the kingdom, B. C. 721, 2Ki 17:4. See PHARAOH.

So is believed to have been the Servetus or Sabaco II of secular history, the second king of the Ethiopian or twenty-fifth dynasty, and the predecessor of Trihakah. A singular fact has been brought to light by the recent explorations at Nineveh, corroborating the Scripture record the more forcibly, because unexpected and direct. The Bible shows that Egypt and Assyria, though remote, were often in conflict during the height of the Assyrian ruins power, and that So was at war with Shalmaneser. After war comes the treaty of peace; and as the Bible prepares us to suppose such treaties were made, the Assyrian ruins…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
56%that
that56% · 382×so that40% · 271×other renderings4% · 24×

677 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 10 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
adverbial8%object3%subject3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 669 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
παρακαλέωI summon, entreaἐπιτιμάωI rebuke, chide,δίδωμιI offer, give
σύ
λαλέωI speak, sayδιάδίδωμιI offer, give
ἐγώ
δίδωμιI offer, giveὑπέρπερί
ἀλλάbut, except
αὐτόςκόσμοςthe world, univeἐγώ
εἰμίI am, exist
τίςIrgἐγώἱκανόςsufficient, wort
ἵναso that669×
what comes after →
μήNeg
Article theτὶςεἰς
Article the
γραφήa writing, passaχαράjoy, gladnessλόγοςa word, speech,
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theσύαὐτός
ἐν
αὐτόςἐγώὅς
εἰμίI am, exist
μετάεἷςoneἅγιοςset apart, holy,

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

Concordanceἵνα · 669× in the New Testament
John Mark 1 Corinthians Luke 2 Corinthians Revelation Matthew Romans Ephesians Hebrews 1 John Acts

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 300 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 Ignatius of Antioch The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 15c. AD 40

ἑκάστῃ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν ἀπένειμεν ἔνια τῶν τοῦ παντὸς τμημάτων τὴν πρώτην ὑπεξελόμενος, ἣν αὐτὸς οὐδὲ πρώτην, ἵνα μὴ ταῖς ἄλλαις συγκαταριθμῆται, καλεῖ, μίαν δ’ ὀνομάσας ὀνόματι εὐθυβόλῳ προσαγορεύει, τὴν μονάδος φύσιν καὶ πρόσρησιν ἐνιδών τε καὶ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.71c. AD 75–95

ἵνα καὶ τῆς πλινθίνης ἀφανισθείσης ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπομβρίας ἡ λιθίνη μείνασα παράσχῃ μαθεῖν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ ἐγγεγραμμένα δηλοῦσα καὶ πλινθίνην ὑπʼ αὐτῶν ἀνατεθῆναι.

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. BC 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Edg. $1Alexandria259 BC–257 BC

καὶ θεῶν μὴ ὀκνήσῃς διελθὼν εἰς ἐμπόριον καὶ ἀγοράσας, οὐθὲν γὰρ ἄλλο ἡμᾶς ἐπικωλύει, ἵνα μὴ ὑστερήσωμεν τῆς ἐργασίας. τὰς δὲ τιμὰς τούτων λαβὲ παρὰ Ἀπολλοφάνους. τὸ γύναιον ἐπίτοκον

vestiges … ἵνα μηθὲν ἐν τούτοις ἀγνοηθῆι … … Ἑρμίαι τῶν διαδόχων καὶ ἐπιμελητῆι, παρὰ Δρύτωνος τοῦ

P.Bour. 11Pathyris89 BC

ἕκαστος τῶν παρὰ σοὶ σιτοποιησάμενος πυροῦ ἀρτάβην μίαν ἐν ἑτοίμωι ἔσται αὐτοῖς ὁ ἄρτος, ἵνα δὲ καὶ κριθὴ ὑπάρξηι ἐπιμε … … ηγησαιἐμμέτρως αἴτησαιἐμμε … … τησαι ἔρρωσο ἔτους

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
εἰδῇςeidō you may know G6063 Verb · perfect · active · subjunctive · second person · singular
295× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
to perceive: see
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-RAS-2S — Verb · perfect · active · subjunctive · second person · singular
perfect active subjunctive — a past action whose result still stands.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-RAS-2S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: peRfect Voice: Active Mood: Subjunctive Person: second Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
20%you know
you know20% · 58×knowing17% · 49×i know16% · 46×know14% · 39×we know12% · 34×knows6% · 18×know you2% · 6×other renderings7% · 21×other renderings5% · 14×

285 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 28 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
πῶςpōs how G4459 Adverb
118× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
How is a question about the way something is done, as in Matthew 12:29, or an exclamation of surprise, like how much something is.
Tyndale gloss
how?!
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word πῶς (transliterated as pōs) is an interrogative adverb meaning 'how' or 'in what manner.' It appears in direct questions, indirect discourse, and exclamations, often seeking clarification or expressing astonishment. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, including Matthew 12:29 and John 3:4. Notably, Liddell-Scott mentions its use to express displeasure or doubt.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πῶς, interrog. adv., correl. of ὅπως,

prop., in direct questions, how?: c. indic., Mt 12:29, Mk 3:23, Lk 11:18, Jo 3:4, al.; καὶ π., Mk 4:13, Lk 20:44; π. οὖν, Mt 12:26; π. οὐ, Mt 16:11, Lk 12:56; in deliberative questions (cf. Bl., § 64, 6), c. subjc., Mt 23:33 26:54; π. οὖν, Ro 10:14; π. δέ, Read the full entry →

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

πῶς, (fr. obsol. OS, whence ποῦ, ποῖ, etc. [ef. Curtius § 631]), adv., [fr. Hom. down] ; I. in interroga tion; how? in what way ?— in a direct question, foll. by a. the indicative, it is the expression a. of one seeking information and desiring to be taught: Lk. 1.84; x. 26; Jn.iii.9; ix. 26; 1 Co. xv. 35 [cf. W. 266 (250)]; πῶς οὖν, Jn. ix. 10 Tdf. (but L WH br. οὖν), 19; Ro. iv. 10. B. of one about to controvert another, and emphatically deny that the thing inquired about has happened or been done: Mt. xii. 29; Mk. iii. 23; Lk xi.18; Jn. iii. 4,12; v.44,47; vi.52; ix.16; 1 Jn. iii. 17; iv. 20; Ro. iii. 6; vi. 2; 1 Co. xiv. 7, 9,16; 1 Tim. iii. 5; Heb. ii. 3; καὶ πῶς, Mk. iv. 13; Jn. xiv. 5 [here L txt. Tr WHom. καί]; πῶς οὖν, Mt. xii. 26; Ro. x. 14 RG; mas δέ, Ro. x. 14

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

πῶς, “*how,” 2 “in what manner,” (a) in direct questions— P Oxy IV. 7441? (B.c. 1) (= Selections, Ὁ. 33) πῶς Sivapal oe ἐπιλαθεῖν : “how can I forget you?” Cf. Ac 85! πῶς yap ἂν δυναίμην; which Field (Vo/es, p. 117) renders, ““Why, how can I?” For the exclamatory πῶς, as in Mk 1074, cf. Philemon fy. 2 ὦ πῶς πονηρόν ἐστιν ἀνθρώπου φύσις | τὸ σύνολον, Epict. Aan. 24. 3 Opare ὑμεῖς, πῶς ἄνισοί ἐστε kal ἀγνώμονες ; see further K. Rupprecht in Philologus \xxx. (V. F. xxxiv.), 1924, p- 207. (6) in indirect discourse—P Oxy IV. 745° (c. A.D. 1) οὐκ οἶδας yap πῶς μοι ἐχρήσατο ἐν ᾿Οξυρύγχοις, ‘‘ you don't know how he treated me at Oxyrhynchus(?),” P Tebt II. 4o8* (A.D. 3) ἐπιστάμενος πῶς σε τίθεμαι Ke φιλῶ, “since you know how I esteem and love you”’ (Edd.) (cf. Ac 2018), P Oxy II. 29474 (A.p. 22) (= Selections, p. 36) γράψον μοι πῶς πάλιν ἄνω Aadaxeverat, “‘ write me how his hair is growing…

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

πῶς (pōs) — how?!.

πῶς,

Ionic dialect κῶς, interrogative adverb of Manner, how? [Refs 8th c.BC+]; sometimes to express displeasure, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; to express astonishment or doubt, π. εἶπα; [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. λέγει; [Refs]; π. φῄ; [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. τοῦτ᾽ ἔλεξα; [Refs 4th c.BC+]; π. τοῦτ᾽ εἶπες α; [Refs 5th c.BC+]; also π. μὴ φῶμεν..; surely we must, [Refs]

__b in dialogue, to ask explanation, with a repetition of a word used by the previous speaker, δίκαια— Answ. π. δίκαι; [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μὴ δίκαιος ὤν—Answ. π. μὴ δίκαιο; [Refs]; συμβολάς—Answ. π. συμβολά; [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; πῶς alone, how so, π., ὅς γε..; [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

πῶς πώς

pos

adverb from the base of 4226; an interrogative particle of manner; in

what way? (sometimes the question is indirect, how?); also as

exclamation, how much!:--how, after (by) what manner (means), that.

(Occasionally unexpressed in English).

see GREEK for 4226

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πῶς

Adv. & Irg.adv.

how, in what manner

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

ADV ADVerb or adverb and particle combined

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Represents various Hebrew and Greek words, interrogative, interjectional and relative. Its different uses refer to

(1) the manner or way, e.g. Ge 44:34, "How shall I go up to my father?" ('ekh); Mt 6:28, "how they grow" (pos); 1Co 15:35, "How are the dead raised?";

(2) degree, extent, frequently, "how great" (Da 4:3, mah; Mr 5:19, hosos, "how much"); "how many" (Mt 27:13, posos); "how much" (Ac 9:13, hosos); "how much more" (Mt 7:11, posos;

Across the New Testament18 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 65 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 68c. AD 40

ἡνίκα γὰρ ζῷα διαπλάττειν ἔδοξε τῷ δημιουργῷ, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα τῇ τάξει φαυλότερά πως ἦν, ἰχθύες, τὰ δ’ ὕστατα ἄριστα, ἄνθρωποι, τὰ δ’ ἄλλα μέσα τῶν ἄκρων, ἀμείνω μὲν τῶν προτέρων, χείρω δὲ τῶν ἑτέρων, χερσαῖα καὶ πτηνά.

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

πῶς τὸ Σοδομιτῶν ἔθνος θεὸς κατεστρέψατο χολωθεὶς αὐτοῖς ἐφ' οἷς ἡμάρτανον.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.9c. AD 100

αἰσθάνεσθαι οὖν ὀφείλομεν, μὴ ὄντες ἀσύνετοι, τὴν γνώμην τῆς ἀγαθωσύνης τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν, ὅτ̓ ἡμῖν λέγει, θέλων ἡμᾶς μὴ ὁμοίως πλανωμένους ἐκείνοις ζητεῖν, πῶς προσάγωμεν αὐτῷ.

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 1st c. AD

Ζήνωνι. νυκτὸς ἐκ τοῦ σιτοβολῶνος ἀπόλωλεν σήσαμον καὶ λελέανται τῆι χειρί. διὸ οὐ δυνάμεθά πως ἐπιμετρήσαντες ἰδεῖν τὸ ἀπολωλὸς ἕως ἂν ὑμεῖς ἴδητε καὶ ἐναντίον ὑμῶν ἐπιμετρηθῆι.

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59455Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)249 BC–248 BC

οὐκ ἔχομεν ὀψώνιον οὐδὲ διαλελογισμένοι εἰσὶν ἡμῖν, καὶ σιτομετρίαν διμήνου οὐκ ἔχομεν. συνεπισκέψει οὖν πῶς ζῶμεν. ἔδωκαν δὲ ἡμῖν ἑκάστωι κεράμιον οἴνου καὶ σίτου ἑκάστωι ἔδωκαν εἰς τὸ

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

ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, ὅπως μὴ ἐκεῖ καταστασιασθῶμεν ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐκ τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς αἰσθήσει πῶς τοὺς λοιποὺς τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ νομοῦ διατίθησιν.

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
δεῖdei it behooves [one] G1163 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
102× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This means it is necessary or must be done, like when Jesus said it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem in Matthew 16:21.
Tyndale gloss
be necessary
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δεῖ is an impersonal verb meaning 'it is necessary' or 'one must,' derived from δέω. It covers a range of uses, often indicating obligation or necessity, and appears in various constructions, such as with infinitives or accusatives. In the New Testament, it is used in verses like Matthew 26:54 and Acts 5:29. The lexicons note that it differs from similar terms like ὀφείλει, which expresses moral obligation.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δεῖ impersonal (δέω),

[in LXX chiefly for infin. with לְ ;]

one must, it is necessary: c. inf., Mt 26:54, Mk 13:7, Ac 5:29, al.; c. acc. et inf., Mt 16:21, Mk 8:31, Jo 3:7, Ac 25:10, al.; with ellipse of acc., Mt 23:23; of acc., and inf., Mk 13:14, Ro 1:27 8:26; οὐ (μὴ) δεῖ (non licet), ought not, must not: Ac 25:24, Read the full entry →

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δεῖ (dei) — be necessary.

δεῖ:

subjunctive δέη, sometimes contraction δῆ (in codices of Comedy texts, as [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὁπόσου κα δῆ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; infinitive δεῖ; participle δέον (see. infr. IV): imperfect ἔδει, Ionic dialect ἔδεε: future δεήσει [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist I ἐδέησε [Refs 5th c.BC+] —Impers. from δέω (A), there is need (the sense of moral obligation, properly belonging to χρή, is later, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

I. c.accusative person et infinitive, it is needful for one to do, one must, once in [Refs 8th c.BC+] why need the Argives fight? [Refs 8th c.BC+]: with nominative of the pronoun, ἡγούμην.. δεῖν.. μεγαλοψυχότερος φαίνεσθαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]: rarely with dative person, there is need of.. for.., θεοῖσι προσβαλεῖν χθονὶ ἄλλην δεήσει γαῖαν [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δεῖ

dei

3d person singular active present of 1210; also deon deh-on'; neuter

active participle of the same; both used impersonally; it is (was,

etc.) necessary (as binding):--behoved, be meet, must (needs), (be)

need(-ful), ought, should.

see GREEK for 1210

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δεῖ

v.

it is necessary, inevitable

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δεῖ dei 101x

it is binding, it is necessary, it is proper; it is inevitable, Acts 21:22

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δεῖ from δέω1, to bind c. acc. pers. et inf., δεῖ τινὰ ποιῆσαι it is binding on one to do a thing, one must, one ought, Lat. oportet, Hom., etc.:—rarely, δεῖ σε ὅπως δείξεις ῀ δεῖ σε δεῖξαι, Soph.: —rarely also c. dat. pers. et inf., there is need for one to do, δεῖ τινὶ ποιήσαι Eur., Xen.

c. acc. rei et inf., δεῖ τι γενέσθαι Thuc., etc.:—for the phrase οἴομαι δεῖν, v. οἴομαι:— when used absol., an inf. may be supplied, μὴ πεῖθ᾽ ἃ μὴ δεῖ (sc. πείθειν) Soph., etc.

(from δέω2, to want), c. gen. rei, there is need of, there is wanting, Lat. opus est re, οὐδὲν δεῖ τινός Hdt., attic:—phrases, πολλοῦ δεῖ there wants much, far from it; ὀλίγου δεῖ there wants little, all but:— in answers, πολλοῦ γε δεῖ, πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ far from it, Ar., Dem.; πλεῦνος δεῖ it…

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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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

wun.

See NUMBER.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
53%it behooves
it behooves53% · 56×it is necessary8% · 9×it was necessary for7% · 7×it is necessary for7% · 7×it was necessary6% · 6×necessary3% · 3×needing3% · 3×other renderings12% · 13×other renderings2% · 2×

106 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 21 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 102 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
ὅς
ἐναὐτόςὥραan hour, season
ὅτιthat, since, because
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakσύ
ἐγώ
πατήρfather, Father, εὐαγγελίζωI bring good newτίςIrg
σύ
οἶκοςa house, househoλέγωI say, speakτίςIrg
οὐNeg
ὅπουwhere, whitherἔτοςa yearκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
δεῖit behooves [one]102×
what comes after →
ἐγώ
λαλέωI speak, sayσύνσυναποθνῄσκωI die together w
αὐτός
εἰςπολύςmuch, many, ofteἐκ
Article the
υἱόςa son, descendenἀναγινώσκωI readβασιλείαkingship, sovere
γάρfor
Article theγίνομαιI come into beinοὗτος
σύ
οὖνtherefore, thenγεννάωI beget, bring fεἷςone

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

Concordanceδεῖ · 102× in the New Testament
Acts Luke John Matthew Revelation Mark 1 Corinthians 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians Hebrews Romans Titus

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament19 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 19 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 7c. AD 40

Τινὲς γὰρ τὸν κόσμον μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν κοσμοποιὸν θαυμάσαντες τὸν μὲν ἀγένητόν τε καὶ ἀίδιον ἀπεφήναντο, τοῦ δὲ θεοῦ πολλὴν ἀπραξίαν ἀνάγνως κατεψεύσαντο, δέον ἔμπαλιν τοῦ μὲν τὰς δυνάμεις ὡς ποιητοῦ καὶ πατρὸς καταπλαγῆναι, τὸν δὲ μὴ πλέον ἀποσεμνῦναι…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.23c. AD 75–95

ὁ δʼ ἡμέτερος νομοθέτης ἀκραιφνῆ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἔχοντα τὸν θεὸν ἀποφήνας ᾠήθη δεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐκείνης πειρᾶσθαι μεταλαμβάνειν καὶ τοὺς μὴ ταῦτα φρονοῦντας μηδὲ μὴν πιστεύοντας ἀπαραιτήτως ἐκόλασε.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.1c. AD 100

Δεῖ οὖν ἡμᾶς περὶ τῶν ἐνεστώτων ἐπιπολὺ ἐραυνῶντας ἐκζητεῖν τὰ δυνάμενα ἡμᾶς σώζειν.

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 2nd c. BC 4th c. AD
P.Edg. $1Syrien253 BC

λοιπὰ τὰ ἐνταῦθα ὡς ἂν ἐκποιῆι πειρῶ ἐπισκοπεῖν· οὕτως γὰρ ἡμῖν μᾶλλον ἔσται τὰ δέοντα. καὶ τὰ γενημάτια δὲ ἵνα τρόπωι τινὶ συγκομισθῆι ἐπιμελές σοι ἔστω. καὶ ἐάν τι

P.Grenf. 1 11Arsinoites182 BC

προσταχθέντος Ἑρμοκράτει τῶι ἀρχιφυλακίτηι, τὸν ὅρκον ἐπιτελεσθῆναι, τοῦ δὲ χρόνου ἐν ὧι τὸν ὅρκον ἔδει ἐπιτελεῖσθαι μήπω ἐνεστηκότος, ἐπέδωκάν σοι ἄλλο ὑπόμνημα κατʼ ἐμοῦ ἐπιβαλόντι ἐπὶ τοὺς τοπους

P.Dryton 43155 BC–143 BC

ἐδώκαμεν αὐτῶι γράστεως τοῖς κτήνεσι … ἐφʼ ἁμάξης εἰς δέοντα … … που πυροῦ ιθ 𐅵 … … αὐταὶ ἐν τῶι ἐπὶ κλίμακος

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
ἐνen in G1722 Preposition
2,743× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word is a preposition that means in, on, or among something. It's used in many places, like Matthew 7:3 and Luke 7:37, to describe a location or relationship. It can also mean by, with, or during.
Tyndale gloss
in/on/among
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐν,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐν (en) — in/on/among.

ἐν,

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

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

__A WITH DAT.

__A.I OF PLACE,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐν

en

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

one, X quickly,

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

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

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

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

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

preposition.

see GREEK for 1519

see GREEK for 1537

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐν

Prep.

in, on, among

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐν en 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐν

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

Lat. in.

PREP. WITH DAT.:

OF PLACE

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

in, upon, ἐν οὔρεσι Hom., etc.

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

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

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

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

PREP PREPosition

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
οἴκῳoikos [the] household G3624 Noun · dative · singular · masculine
114× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A house refers to a physical dwelling, like a home, as mentioned in Acts 2:2 and Matthew 9:6. It can also represent a family or a community, whether related by blood or not. The term is used to describe the temple in Matthew 21:13.
Amplified meaning
family, church
Tyndale gloss
house: home
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

οἶκος (oikos) primarily means a house or dwelling, but it also extends to refer to a household or family. In the New Testament, it is used in various contexts, including literal homes (Acts 2:2) and metaphorical uses such as the Church (1 Peter 2:5). The word can denote a sanctuary or temple, reflecting its broader significance in both Greek and Hebrew traditions.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οἶκος, -οῦ, ὁ,

[in LXX chiefly for בַּיִת, also for הֵיכָל, אֹהֶל, etc.;]

prop., a house, dwelling: Ac 2:2 19:16; c. gen. poss., Mt 9:6, 7, Mk 2:11, Lk 1:23, al.; c. gen. attrib., ἐμπορίου, Jo 2:16; προσευχῆς, Mt 21:13, al.; of a sanctuary (Hdt., Eur.): οἶ. τ. θεοῦ, of the tabernacle, Mt 12:4, al.; the temple, Mt 21:13, al.; metaph. of a city: Mt 23:38, Lk 13:35; of the body, Read the full entry →

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

οἶκος, -ου, ὁ, [ef. Lat. views, Eng. ending -wich; Curtius § 95], fr. Hom. down; Sept. in numberless places for 13, also for ‘on a palace, mk a tent, ete.; 1. a house; a. strictly, an inhabited house [differing thus fr. δόμος the building]: Acts ii. 2; xix. 16; τινός, Mt. ix. 6 sq.; Mk. ii. 11; v. 38; Lk. i. 23, 40, 56; viii. 39, 41, εἴς. ; ἔρχεσθαι eis οἶκον, to come into a house (domum venire), Mk. iii. 20 (19); εἰς τὸν οἶκον, into the (i. 6. his or their) house, home, Lk. vii. 10; xv. 6; ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ, in the (her) house, Jn. xi. 20; ἐν οἴκῳ, at home, 1 Co. xi. 34; xiv. 35; of εἰς τὸν οἶκον (see eis, C. 2), Lk. ix. 61; κατ᾽ οἶκον, opp. to ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, in a household assembly, in private, [R. V. at home; see κατά, II. 1 d.], Acts ii. 46; ν. 42; κατ᾽ οἴκους, opp. to δημοσίᾳ, in private houses, [A. V. from house to house; see κατά, II. 3 a.], Acts xx. 20; κατὰ τοὺς οἴκους εἰσπορευόμενος…

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

οἶκος. As illustrating the NT conception of the otkos πνευματukds and the οἶκος τοῦ θεοῦ Thieme (p. 31) refers not only to the place which ‘‘the house of God” had in Jewish religion, but also to the ‘‘holy houses” of Greek antiquity, as preparing the way for the Christian usage (1 Tim 3}°, 1 Pet 417): see e.g. Magn 945 (ii/B.c.), where a certain Εὔφημος ἸΤαυσανίου νεωκόρος is praised for his liberality— eis T]O[v olk]Jov τὸν ἱερόν, 2. 1177 (Ist half ii/A.p.) τῷ ἱερῷ οἴκῳ τῶν ἐν Κλίδωνι, and Sy// 571 (-- 8 987)% (iv/B.c.), where mention is made of an οἶκος τεμένιος ἱερός in Chios. In Herodas i. 26 οἶκος τῆς θεοῦ refers to Aphrodite. From the fact that a tomb was often dedicated to a local deity, and hence became his ‘‘temple” or ‘‘home,” it is natural that οἶκος should be used in inscrr. in the sense of ““tomb,”’ as at Cibyra BCH ii. (1878), p. 610 f., and Magnesia Ζό. xviii. (1894) p.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οἶκος (oikos) — house: home.

οἶκος, ὁ,

house, not only of built houses, but of any dwelling-place, as that of Achilles at Troy (see. κλισία), [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of the Cyclops' cave, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of a tent, [LXX]; οἶκον ἱκάνεται is coming home, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; εἰς or ἐς οἶκον [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οἱ κατ᾽ οἶκον[Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐπ᾽ οἴκου ἀποχωρῆσαι go home wards, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀπ᾽ οἴκου from home, [Refs]; compare οἰκία.

__b frequently omitted after εἰς or ἐν, see at {εἰς} [Refs 4th c.BC+]

2. room, chamber, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; dining-hall, ἑπτάκλινος οἶ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; room in a temple, [Refs] frequently, = a single house, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; κλαυθμῶν τῶν ἐξ οἴκων domestic griefs, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐς or πρὸς οἴκους, [Refs]; κατ᾽ οἴκους at home, within, [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οἶκος

oikos

of uncertain affinity; a dwelling (more or less extensive, literal or

figurative); by implication, a family (more or less related, literally

or figuratively):--home, house(-hold), temple.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οἶκος, ου, ὁ

n.m.

a house, household

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οἶκος oikos 114x

a house, dwelling, Mt. 9:6, 7; Mk. 2:1, 11; 3:20; place of abode, seat, site, Mt. 23:38; Lk. 13:35; met. a spiritual house or structure, 1 Pet. 2:5; meton. a household, family, Lk. 10:5; 11:17; a spiritual household, 1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 3:6; family, lineage, Lk. 1:27, 69; 2:4; from the Hebrew, a people, nation, Mt. 10:6; 15:24

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

οἶκος οἶκος, ὁ, a house, abode, dwelling, Hom., Hes., etc.:— acc. οἶκον, ῀ οἶκόνδε, οἴκαδε, homeward, home, Od.; κατ᾽ οἴκους at home, within, Hdt.; κατ᾽ οἶκον Soph., etc: —ἐπ᾽ οἴκου ἀποχωρεῖν to go home wards, Thuc., etc.: ἀπ᾽ οἴκου from home, id. Thuc.

part of a house, a room, chamber, Od.: pl. οἶκοι for a single house, Lat. aedes, tecta, id. Od., attic

the house of a god, a temple, Hdt., Eur.

one's house, household goods, substance, Hom., etc.

a house, household, family, Od., etc.

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

N-DSM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hous'-hold: Three words are usually found in the Bible where the family is indicated. These three are the Hebrew word bayith and the Greek words oikia and oikos. The unit of the national life of Israel, from the very beginning, was found in the family. In the old patriarchal days each family was complete within itself, the oldest living sire being the unquestioned head of the whole, possessed of almost arbitrary powers. The house and the household are practically synonymous. God had called Abraham "that he might command his children and household after him" (Ge 18:19). The Passover-lamb was to be eaten by the "household" (Ex 12:3). The "households" of the rebels in the camp of Israel shared their doom (Nu 16:31-33;

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
74%house
house74% · 84×household9% · 10×home9% · 10×other renderings3% · 3×other renderings5% · 6×

113 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
adverbial61%subject13%object12%predicate7%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 114 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
εἰςἐνἐπί
κατά
Article theκαίand, even, also,τέDisj
εἰς
αὐτόςἔρχομαιI come, goεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come in
ἐν
ὅτιthat, since, becἐγώπεινάωI am hungry, nee
ἐγώ
οἶκοςa house, househoπατήρfather, Father,
οἶκος[the] household114×
what comes after →
αὐτός
ἐκκλησίαan assembly, conκαίand, even, also,εὑρίσκωI find
Article the
θεόςGod, a godπατήρfather, Father, βασιλεύςa king, ruler, e
σύ
πρόςκαίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speak
ἐγώ
οἶκοςa house, househoἐπιστρέφωI turn back toὅθενwhence, wherefor
ἸσραήλProp
ὅτιthat, since, becκαίand, even, also,μετά

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

Concordanceοἶκος · 114× in the New Testament
Luke Acts Mark Hebrews Matthew 1 Timothy John 1 Corinthians 1 Peter 2 Timothy Colossians Philemon

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament14 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 890 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

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

καὶ γὰρ εὔλογον τῷ ὄντι πρῶτον αὐτὸν εἰς γένεσιν ἐλθεῖν, ἄριστόν τε ὄντα τῶν γεγονότων κἀκ τοῦ καθαρωτάτου τῆς οὐσίας παγέντα, διότι θεῶν ἐμφανῶν τε καὶ αἰσθητῶν ἔμελλεν οἶκος ἔσεσθαι ἱερώτατος.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.61c. AD 75–95

αὔξων δὲ τὸν οἶκον πλήθει χρημάτων ἐξ ἁρπαγῆς καὶ βίας πρὸς ἡδονὴν καὶ λῃστείαν τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας παρακαλῶν διδάσκαλος αὐτοῖς ὑπῆρχε πονηρῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων, καὶ τὴν ἀπραγμοσύνην, ᾗ πρότερον συνέζων οἱ ἄνθρωποι, μέτρων ἐπινοίᾳ καὶ σταθμῶν μετεστήσατο…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 3.3c. AD 100

διάθρυπτε πεινῶσιν τὸν ἄρτον σου, καὶ γυμνὸν ἐὰν ἴδῃς περίβαλε: ἀστέγους εἴσαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκον σου, καὶ ἐὰν ἴδῃς ταπεινόν, οὐχ ὑπερόψῃ αὐτόν, οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων τοῦ σπέρματός σου.

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

ἀποκαταστησάτωσαν εἰς οἶκον τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνηλώμασιν. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶσι καθότι πρόκειται ἀποτεισάτωσαν ἐν τῶι ἐχομένωι μηνὶ

P.Amh. 2 48Pathyris107 BC

καὶ παρεχέτω τὸν οἶνον μόνιμον ἕως Ἁθὺρ λ τοῦ δεκάτου ἔτους, καὶ ἀποκαταστησάτω εἰς οἶκον πρὸς αὐτὴν τοῖς ἰδίοις. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῷ ἐν τῷ ὡρισμένῳ χρόνῳ ἀποτεισάτω ἑκάστου

P.Adl. 15Pathyris (?)101 BC

δεδανεισμένος Ὥρωι ἐν μηνὶ Παχὼν τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους καθαρὸν ἀπὸ παντὸς καὶ ἀποκαθεσταμένον εἰς οἶκον ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις ἰδίοις ἀνηλώμασι μέτρῳ ᾧ καὶ παρείληφεν· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῷ ἐν

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
θεοῦtheos of God G2316 Noun · genitive · singular · masculine
1,311× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word simply means God, referring to the one true deity. It is used throughout the New Testament, including in Matthew 27:46 and Acts 14:11, to describe the supreme being and creator of the universe.
Amplified meaning
the supreme Deity
Tyndale gloss
God
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

θεός (theos) means 'God' or 'a god' and is used in both singular and plural forms. It refers to the supreme deity in monotheistic contexts, as well as to lesser deities in polytheistic settings. The New Testament frequently employs this term, notably in verses like Matthew 27:46 and Acts 19:37. Some lexicons note its use as a title for rulers or magistrates, reflecting its broader application in ancient texts.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

θεός, -οῦ, ὁ, ἡ (Ac 19:37 only; v. M, Pr., 60, 244), late voc., θεέ (Mt 27:46; cf. De 3:24, al.),

[in LXX chiefly for אֱלֹהִים, also for אֵל and other cognate forms, יהוה, etc.;]

a god or deity, God.

In polytheistic sense, a god or deity: Ac 28:6, I Co 8:4, II Th 2:4, al.; pl., Ac. 14:11 19:26, Ga 4:8, al.

Of the one true God;

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

θεός, -οὔ, ὁ and ἡ, voc. θεέ, once in the N. T., Mt. xxvii. 46; besides in Deut. iii. 24; Judg. [xvi. 28;] xxi. 3; [2 S. vii. 25; Is. xxxviii. 20]; Sir. xxiii. 4; Sap. ix. 1; 3 Mace. vi. 3; 4 Mace. vi. 27; Act. Thom. 44 sq. 57; Eus. h. 6. 2, 23,16; [5, 20,7; vit. Const. 2,55, 1.59]; ef. W. §8, 2 ο.; [B. 12 (11)]; ({on the eight or more proposed derivations see Vaniéek p. 386, who follows Curtius (after Doderlein) p. 513 sqq. in connecting it with a root meaning to supplicate, implore; hence the implored ; per contra cf. Max Miiller, Chips ete. iv. 227 sq.; L. and 8. s. v. fin.]); [fr. Hom. down]; Sept. for 58, ΟΝ and m7; a god, a goddess; 1. a general appellation of deities or divinities: Acts xxviii. 6; 1 Co. viii. 4; 2 Th. ii. 4; once ἡ θεός, Acts xix. 37 G LT Tr WH; θεοῦ φωνὴ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώπου, Acts xii. 22; ἄνθρωπος ὧν ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν θεόν, Jn. x. 33; plur., of the gods of the…

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

θεός. For the application of the title θεός to the Ptolemaic kings it is sufficient to recall Brit. Mus. Inscrr. IV. 1 No. 906% (B.C. 284-273) where a votive offering is dedicated in honour of Πτολεμαίου τοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ θεοῦ, and the description of Ptolemy V. (Epiphanes) on the Rosetta stone—OG/S gol? (B.C. 196) ὑπάρχων θεὸς ἐκ θεοῦ Kal θεᾶς : cf. Deissmann LAE, p. 348 and the full discussion by E. Kornemann ‘‘ Zur Geschichte der antiken Herrscherkulte” in Beztrdge zur alten Geschichte [Klio] i., p. 51 ff. (Leipzig, 1902). The same practice is still more strikingly illustrated in the Imperial period, as when in an inscr. from the Fayum district, dated March 17th, B.c. 24, Augustus is described as θεὸς ἐκ θεοῦ (OG/S 6557), or as when a votive inscr. is addressed to Nero—daya0a(t) θεῶ(ι) (Cos 927): see Deissmann 7s. p. 349. With this may be compared the frequent use for Augustus of the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

θεός (theos) — God.

θεός, ὁ,

Boeotian dialect θιός, Laconian dialect σιός (see. below), [Refs 5th c.AD+], Cretan dialect θιός [Refs], Doric dialect also θεύς [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; vocative (only late) θεός, also θεέ [LXX+NT]; but classical in compound names, Ἀμφίθεε, Τιμόθεε:—God, the Deity, in general sense, both singular and plural (εἰ καὶ ἐπὶ θεοὺς καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐπὶ θεὸν ἁρμόζει μεταφέρειν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; σὺν θ. εἰρημένον [Refs 5th c.BC+]: so in plural, σύν γε θεοῖσιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐ θεῶν ἄτερ pi.[Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὑπὲρ θεόν against his will,[Refs 4th c.BC+]; θεῶν συνεθελόντων, βουλομένων, [Refs 5th c.BC+]bless you! good heavens! for heaven's sake! [Refs 8th c.BC+]: doubled in poets, θεὸν θεόν τις ἀγλαϊζέτω [Refs 5th c.BC+]; θεοί (Cretan dialect θιοί) as an opening formula in Inscrr. (i.e. τύχην ἀγαθὴν διδοῖεν), [Refs].1, etc.: in Prose also with the Article, ὁ θ.…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

θεός

theos

of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with 3588) the supreme

Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very:--X exceeding,

God, god(-ly, -ward).

see GREEK for 3588

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

θεός, οῦ, ὁ

n.f. & n.m.

God, a god

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

θεός theos 1x

a deity, Acts 7:43; 1 Cor. 8:5; an idol, Acts 7:40; God, the true God, Mt. 3:9, et al. freq.; God, possessed of true godhead, Jn. 1:1; Rom. 9:5; from the Hebrew, applied to potentates, Jn. 10:34, 35; τῷ θεῷ, an intensive term, from the Hebrew, exceedingly, Acts 7:20, and, perhaps, 2 Cor. 10:4

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

θεός θεός, ὁ, God, Hom., both in general sense, Θεὸς δώσει God will grant, and in particular sense, θεός τις a god; πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε Hom.:—things are said to happen σὺν θεῷ, σύν γε θεοῖσιν by the will of God, id. Hom., etc.; οὐκ ἄνευ θεοῦ, Lat. non sine diis, Od.; οὐκ ἄνευθε θεοῦ Il.; οὐ θεῶν ἄτερ Pind.;— ἐκ θεόφι Il.;— ὑπὲρ θεόν against his will, id. Il.;— κατὰ θεόν τινα, Lat. divinitus, Eur.:—as an oath, πρὸς θεῶν by the gods, in God's name, Trag.; θεὸς ἴστω Soph., etc.

θεός as fem. for θεά, θέαινα, a goddess, Hom.; θήλεια θεός Il.; ἡ νερτέρα θ. Proserpine, Soph.; often in oaths, νὴ τὼ θεώ id. Soph.; ναὶ τὼ σιώ, with the Spartans, of Castor and Pollux, Xen.; with the Boeotians, of Amphion and Zethus, id.…

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

god ('Elohim, 'El, [`Elyon], Shadday, Yahweh; Theos):

I. INTRODUCTION TO THE GENERAL IDEA

1. The Idea in Experience and in Thought

2. Definition of the Idea

3. The Knowledge of God

4. Ethnic Ideas of God

(1) Animism

(2) Fetishism

(3) Idolatry

(4) Polytheism

(5) Henotheism

(6) Pantheism

(7) Deism

(8) Semitic Monolatry

(9) Monotheism

II. THE IDEA OF GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. The Course of Its Development

2. Forms of Its Manifestation

(1) The Face or Countenance of God

(2) The Voice and Word of God

(3) The Glory of God

(4) The Angel of God

(5) The Spirit of God

(6) The Name of God

(7) Occasional Forms

3. The Names of God

(1) Generic

(2) Attributive

(3) Yahweh

4. Pre-prophetic Conceptions of God

(1) Yahweh Alone Is the God of Israel

(a) His Early Worship

(b) Popular Religion

(c) Polytheistic Tendencies

(i) Coordination

(ii) Assimilation

(iii) Disintegration

(d) No Hebrew Goddesses

(e) Human Sacrifices

Easton's Bible Dictionary

God

(A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew ’El, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of ’Eloah_, plural _’Elohim. The singular form, Eloah, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by “LORD,” printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is spoken of as one devoid of understanding (Ps. 14:1).

The arguments generally adduced by theologians in proof of the being of God are:

(1.) The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by reason.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(good). Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures two chief names are used for the one true divine Being--ELOHIM, commonly translated God in our version, and JEHOVAH, translated Lord . Elohim is the plural of Eloah (in Arabic Allah); it is often used in the short form EL (a word signifying strength , as in EL-SHADDAI, God Almighty, the name by which God was specially known to the patriarchs. (Genesis 17:1; 28:3; Exodus 6:3) The etymology is uncertain, but it is generally agreed that the primary idea is that of strength, power of effect , and that it properly describes God in that character in which he is exhibited to all men in his works, as the creator, sustainer and supreme governor of the world. The plural form of Elohim has given rise to much discussion. The fanciful idea that it…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

This name, the derivation of which is uncertain, we give to that eternal, infinite, perfect, and incomprehensible Being, the Creator of all things, who preserves and governs all by his almighty power and wisdom, and is the only proper object of worship. The proper Hebrew name for God is JEHOVAH, which signifies He is. But the Jews, from a feeling of reverence, avoid pronouncing this name, substituting for it, wherever it occurs in the sacred test, the word ADONAI, Lord; except in the expression, ADONAI JEHOVAH, Lord Jehovah, for which they put, ADONAI ELOHIM, Lord God. This usage, which is not without an element of superstition, is very ancient, dating its origin some centuries before Christ; but there is no good ground for assuming its existence in the days of the inspired Old Testament writers. The proper word for God is ELOHIM, which is plural in its form, being thus used to signify…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
96%god
god96% · 1289×other renderings3% · 34×other renderings1% · 19×

1,342 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 14 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject31%adverbial26%object24%predicate12%indirect object5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,311 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
βασιλείαkingship, sovereλόγοςa word, speech, υἱόςa son, descenden
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theπαράδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnes
ἀπό
εἰρήνηpeace, peace of ὅτιthat, since, becἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἈβραάμPropἸσαάκPropΧριστόςanointed, the Me
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegυἱόςa son, descendenοὗτος
θεόςof God1311×
what comes after →
Article the
δίδωμιI offer, giveπαντοκράτωρruler of the uniπατήρfather, Father,
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theπατήρfather, Father, αὐτός
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,Article theἐκβάλλωI throw, cast, p
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςΧριστόςanointed, the Me
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,εἰς

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

Concordanceθεός · 1,311× in the New Testament
Acts Romans Luke 1 Corinthians Revelation John 2 Corinthians Hebrews 1 John Matthew Mark 1 Peter

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

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

Counted over the 1,637 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 7c. AD 40

Τινὲς γὰρ τὸν κόσμον μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν κοσμοποιὸν θαυμάσαντες τὸν μὲν ἀγένητόν τε καὶ ἀίδιον ἀπεφήναντο, τοῦ δὲ θεοῦ πολλὴν ἀπραξίαν ἀνάγνως κατεψεύσαντο, δέον ἔμπαλιν τοῦ μὲν τὰς δυνάμεις ὡς ποιητοῦ καὶ πατρὸς καταπλαγῆναι, τὸν δὲ μὴ πλέον ἀποσεμνῦναι…

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

ὡς πύργος, ὃν οἱ παῖδες αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ὕβρει τοῦ θεοῦ ᾠκοδόμησαν, καὶ ὡς τὰς φωνὰς αὐτῶν μετέβαλε καὶ ὁ τόπος, ἐν ᾧ τοῦτο γέγονε, Βαβυλὼν ἐκλήθη.

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
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 7th c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 33Pathyris101 BC

αὐτῷ μέρος ἧς ἐμισθώσατο σὺν Πακοίβι Σχώτου καὶ τοῖς μετόχοις γῆς σιτοφόρου λεγομένης Νεχθαραῦτι θεοῦ μεγάλου παρὰ τῶν ἱερέων ἐτῶν δέκα εἰς τὰ ἐνλιπόντα αὐτῷ ἑτέρων , τεσσάρων εἰς

P.Adl. 20Poinkoris (Diopolites)99 BC

1 βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου θεοῦ Φιλομήτορος καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεᾶς Φιλαδέλφου ἔτους ἑκκαιδεκάτου ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ

Chrest.Wilck. 12Pathyris89 BC

ἡμῖν Φιλόξενος ὁ ἀδελφὸς διʼ ὧν κεκόμικεν ἡμῖν Ὄρσης γραμμάτων περὶ τοῦ τὸν μέγιστον Θεὸν Σωτῆρα βασιλέα ἐπιβεβληκέναι εἰς Μέμφιν, Ἱέρακα δὲ προκεχειρίσθαι μετὰ δυνάμεων μυρίων ἐπὶ καταστολὴν τῆς

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
ἀναστρέφεσθαι,anastrephō to conduct oneself, G390 Verb · present · passive · infinitive
9× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To live, return, or overturn something. It can mean to stay in a place, like in Matthew 17:22, or to behave oneself, like in 2 Corinthians 1:12.
Amplified meaning
behave, live
Tyndale gloss
to live/return
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀναστρέφω (anastrepho) is built from the prefix ἀνα- and the root στρέφω, meaning to turn or overturn. It covers a range of meanings including to turn back, return, dwell, and to conduct oneself or live. In the New Testament, it appears in verses such as Acts 5:22 and 2 Peter 2:18.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀνα-στρέφω,

[in LXX chiefly for שׁוּב;]

to overturn: Jo 2:15.

to turn back, return: Ac 5:22 15:16.

to turn hither and thither; pass., to turn oneself about, sojourn, dwell: Mt 17:22 Rec.; metaph. (like Heb. הלךְ, in κοινή writers and in π.; v. Deiss., LAE, 315; BS, 88, 194; MM, VGT, s.v.), to conduct oneself, behave, live: II Co 1:12, Eph 2:3, I Ti 3:15, He 10:33 13:18, I Pe 1:17, II Pe 2:18.†

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

ἀνα-στρέφω: fut. ἀναστρέψω; [1 aor. ἀνέστρεψα; Pass., pres. ἀναστρέφομαι]; 2 aor. ἀνεστράφην; 1. to turn upside down, overturn: τὰς τραπέζας, Jn. ii. 15, (δίφρους, Hom. Il. 23, 436). 2. to turn back; intrans. [W. 251 (236)] to return, like the Lat. reverto i. q. revertor, (as in Grk. writ.; in Sept. i. q. 33%): Acts v. 22; xv. 16 (here ἀναστρέψω καί has not like the Hebr. 23¥ the force of an adverb, again, but God in the Messiah’s advent returns to his people, whom he is conceived of as having previously abandoned; ef. W. 469 (437)). 3. to turn hither and thither; pass. reflexively, to turn one’s self about, sojourn, dwell, év in a place ; a. literally: Mt. xvii. 22, where L TWH Tr txt. συστρεφομένων, cf. Keim ii. p. 581 [Eng. trans. iv. p. 303]. (Josh. v. ὃ: Ezek. xix. 6, and in Grk. writ.) b. like the Hebr. ya to walk, of the manner of life and moral character, to conduct one’s self…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀναστρέφω (anastrephō) — to live/return.

ἀναστρέφω,

poetry ἀνστρέφω, perfect ἀνέστροφα variant in [Refs], 3rd.pers.plural ἀνέστροφαν[Refs 3rd c.BC+]:—turn upside down, μήπως.. δίφρους ἀνστρέψειαν might upset them, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τὴν ζοήν Cerc.[same place]; ἀ. καρδίαν upset the stomach, i.e. cause sickness, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; reverse, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, future ἀναστραφήσεσθαι τὰ τῆς Ἑλλάδος πράγματα[Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἀνεστράφθαι τῆς πολιτείας[Refs]; ὄρος ἀνεστραμμένον ἐν τῇ ζητήσει turned up by digging, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. invert order of words or statements, [Refs 4th c.BC+] —also in passive, with reference to ἐπαναστροφή[Refs]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀναστρέφω

anastrepho

from 303 and 4762; to overturn; also to return; by implication, to

busy oneself, i.e. remain, live:--abide, behave self, have

conversation, live, overthrow, pass, return, be used.

see GREEK for 303

see GREEK for 4762

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀναστρέφω

v.

I overturn, turn upside down, return, mid. and pass: I conduct myself, live

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀναστρέφω anastrephō 9x

to overturn, throw down, to turn back, return, Acts 5:22; 15:16; to live, to conduct one’s self, 2 Cor. 1:12; Eph. 2:3; 1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 13:18; 1 Pet. 1:17; 2 Pet. 2:18; to gaze, Heb. 10:33*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀναστρέφω to turn upside down, upset, Il., Eur., etc.; ἀν. καρδίαν to upset the stomach, i. e. cause sickness, Thuc.:—Pass., ὄρος ἀνεστραμμένον ἐν τῆι ζητήσει turned up by digging, Hdt.

to turn back, bring back, τινὰ ἐξ Ἅδιου Soph.; ὄμμ᾽ ἀν. κύκλωι to roll one's eye about, Eur.: to rally soldiers, Xen.

intr. to turn back, return, retire, Hdt., attic

Pass. to be or dwell in a place, Lat. versari, ἄλλην γαῖαν ἀν. to go to a place and dwell there, Od.; ἀν. ἐν Ἄργει Eur.:— to conduct oneself, ὡς δεσπότης Xen.

to revolve, of the sun, id. Xen.

of soldiers, to face about, rally, id. Xen.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PPN — Verb · present · passive · infinitive
present passive infinitive — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PPN Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Passive Mood: iNfinitive TVM equivalent: G5745

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
11%having returned
having returned11% · 1×i will return11% · 1×we have conducted ourselves11% · 1×lived11% · 1×conduct oneself11% · 1×passing through11% · 1×conduct ourselves11% · 1×do conduct yourselves11% · 1×other renderings11% · 1×

9 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
verb89%adverbial11%

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
θεόςGod, a god
χάριςgrace, favor, kiοἶκοςa house, househo
φυλακήa watching, guard, p
Article the
οὗτος
μετά
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
ἐγώ
οὕτωthus, so, in this ma
Article the
ἀναστρέφωto conduct oneself,
what comes after →
δέbut, on the other ha
ἀπαγγέλλωI report, bring
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀνοικοδομέωI rebuild, build
ἐν
Article the
ποτέDisj
ἐν
ὅστις
εἰμίI 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

Concordanceἀναστρέφω · 9× in the New Testament
Acts Hebrews 1 Peter 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians 2 Peter Ephesians
Across the New Testament7 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 33 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
Clement of Rome Josephus
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.186c. AD 75–95

Αἰγυπτίοις γὰρ ἀπειρημένον ἦν περὶ νομὰς ἀναστρέφεσθαι.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 21.8c. AD 96

τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ παιδείας μεταλαμβανέτωσαν: μαθέτωσαν, τί ταπεινοφροσύνη παρὰ θεῷ ἰσχύει, τί ἀγάπη ἁγνὴ παρὰ θεῷ δύναται, πῶς ὁ φόβος αὐτοῦ καλὸς καὶ μέγας καὶ σώζων πάντας τοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ ὁσίως ἀναστρεφομένους ἐν καθαρᾷ διανοίᾳ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. BC 1st c. BC 2nd c. AD 3rd c. BC 4th c. AD
BGU 8 1769Herakleopolites48 BC

ἕως Τῦβι τοῦ ϛ ἔτους … λαβὼν ἐνβριθεῖς διαστολὰς ὑγιῶς καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ βελτίστου ἀναστρέφεσθαι … μετὰ παν … των τοὺς παραχωρησίμους κλήρους δεόντως οἰκονομεῖν … … σ

BASP 56 (2019), p. 56-59 no. 1Philadelphia (Arsinoites, Ägypten); erworben: - 192476 BC–2 BC

τοῦ Μιθραδάτου ἱππάρχου. Ἀπολλώνιος καὶ Ἄπυγχις οἱ δύο Πνεφερῶτος τῶν οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ βελτίστου ἀναστρεφομένων ἐπιβαλόντες τῆι νυκτὶ τῇ φερούσηι εἰς τὴν … τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος μηνὸς … λῃστρικῶι τρόπωι

BGU 1 256Karanis (ArsinoitesAD 137–AD 142

τῆς στρατείας καὶ πά… … υ … … ι … ο … μ πρότερον ἀναστρέφεσθαι … … σὺν τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ Σαβείνῳ καὶ … κ

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
ἥτιςhostis, hētis which G3748 Relative pronoun · nominative · singular · feminine
140× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'who' or 'which' and is used to ask about someone or something's identity, like in Matthew 5:39. It's often used to make general statements.
Tyndale gloss
who/which
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὅστις (i.e., *hostis*) is a relative pronoun meaning 'whoever' or 'whosoever.' It is used in the New Testament primarily in general statements and relative sentences, often indicating an indefinite person or thing. The word is built from the components for 'who' and 'any.' Notably, there is some distinction in usage between ὅστις and its simpler form ὅς, particularly in the writings of Paul compared to Luke.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅστις, ἥτις, ὅ τι (also written ὅ, τι and ὅτι; v. LS, s.v.; WH, § 411; Tdf., Pr., 111), in NT scarcely ever except in nom. (M, Pr., 91), the only instance of the oblique cases being found in ἕως ὅτου (v.s. ἕως), relative of indef. reference (related to simple ὅς as Lat. quisquis to qui),

whoever, anyone who;

of an indef. person or thing: in general statements, Mt 5:39, 41 13:12, and freq., Lk 14:27, Ga 5:4, al.; in relative sentences, Mt 7:26, Lk 15:7, Phl 3:7, al.; πᾶς ὅ., c. indic., Mt 7:24 10:32; ὅ ἄν (ἐάν), c. subjc., Read the full entry →

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

ὅστις, ἥτις, ὅ,τι (separated by a hypodiastole [comma], to distinguish it from ὅτε; but L T Tr write 6 τι, without a hypodiastole [ef. Td. Proleg. p. 111], leaving a little space between 6 and τι; [WH ὅτι]; cf. W. 46 (45 sq.); [Lipsius, Gramm. Untersuch. p. 118 sq.; WH. Intr. § 4117), gen. οὕτινος (but of the oblique cases only the acc. neut. ὅ,τι and the gen. ὅτου, in the phrase ἕως ὅτου, are found in the N. T.), [fr. Hom. down], comp. of és and tis, hence prop. any one who; i.e. 1. whoever, every one who: ὅστις simply, in the sing. chiefly at the beginning of a sentence in general propositions, esp. in Matt. ; w. an indic. pres., Mt. xiii. 12 (twice); Mk. viii. 34 (where L Tr WH εἴ τις); Lk. xiv. 27; neut. Mt. xviii. 28 Rec.; w. a fut., Mt. v. 39 [RG Trmrg.], 41; xxiii. 12, ete.; Jas. ii. 10 RG; plur. οἵτινες, whosoever (all those who): w. indic. pres., Mk. iv. 20; Lk. viii. 15; Gal.…

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

ὅστις. The classical distinction between ὅστις and ὅς which in the NT is maintained on the whole in Paul, but not in Luke (nor in the LXX, Thackeray ΟἿ". i. p. 192), has worn very thin in the papyri. Thus with Mt 2753 a/. we may compare i P Oxy I. 1104 (an invitation to dinner—ii/a.D.) αὔριον, ἥτις

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅστις (hostis, hētis) — who/which.

ὅστις, ἥτις, ὅ τι

(sometimes written ὅ, τι to distinct it from ὅτι, that): [Refs 8th c.BC+] has also the masculine collateral form ὅτις [Refs 8th c.BC+] and Ionic dialect and [Refs 4th c.AD+] and the neuter ὅττι [Refs 8th c.BC+]—In some forms only the second part is inflected, i.e. genitive ὅτου [Refs 5th c.BC+], Epic dialect ὅττεο [Refs 8th c.BC+][same place], contraction ὅττευ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; perhaps also in Ionic dialect, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic dialect ὅτεῳ [Refs 8th c.BC+], and as disyllable, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Epic dialect accusative ὅτινα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Delph. dative ὅτινι [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; neuter ὅτινα [Refs 8th c.BC+], Attic dialect ὅτων [Refs 8th c.BC+], Attic dialect ὅτοισι [Refs 8th c.BC+], Aeolic dialect ὄττινας [Refs 7th c.BC+]: of the forms with double inflexion [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ᾧτινι first in [Refs 8th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅστις

hostis

hetis hay'-tis, and the neuter

ho,ti hot'-ee

from 3739 and 5100; which some, i.e. any that; also (definite) which

same:--X and (they), (such) as, (they) that, in that they,

what(-soever), whereas ye, (they) which, who(-soever). Compare 3754.

see GREEK for 3739

see GREEK for 5100

see GREEK for 3754

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅστις, ἥτις, ὅτι

Rel.pr.

whosoever, whichsoever, whatsoever

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅστις hostis 144x

whoever, whatever; whosoever, whatsoever, Mt. 5:39, 41; 13:12; 18:4; its use in place of the simple relative is also required in various cases, which may be learned from the grammars; ἕως ὅτου, i.e. χρόνου, until, Lk. 13:8; while, Mt. 5:25

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὅστις any one who, anything which, i. e. whosoever, whichsoever, differing from ὅς, as Lat. quisquis, from qui, Hom., etc.; ὅντινα κιχείη whomsoever he caught, Il.; ὅτις κ ἐπίορκον ὀμόσσῃ whoso forswears himself, id. Il., etc.: —ἔστιν ὅστις, Lat. est qui, often with a negat., οὐκ ἔστιν ὅτῳ μείζονα μοῖραν νείμαιμ᾽ there is no one to whom I would give more, Aesch., etc.: —οὐδὲν ὅ τι οὐ everything, Hdt.

hardly different from ὅς, who, βωμόν, ὅστις νῦν ἔξω τῆς πόλεώς ἐστι the altar, which . . , Thuc.

in indirect questions, ξεῖνος ὅδ᾽, οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅστις Od.:—in dialogue, when the person questioned repeats the question asked by τίς, as οὗτος τί ποιεῖς; Answ. ὅ τι ποιῶ; [you ask] what I'm doing?…

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Rel-NSF — Relative pronoun · nominative · singular · feminine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

R-NSF Part of Speech: Relative pronoun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
54%who
who54% · 79×which26% · 38×whoever9% · 13×when2% · 3×other renderings4% · 6×other renderings4% · 6×

145 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 13 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
subject99%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 140 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
γυνήa woman, wife, my la
Article theὁράωI see, look uponκαίand, even, also,
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςὕψιστοςhighest, most hiἅγιοςset apart, holy,
καίand, even, also, nam
ταπεινόωI humble, humiliὀφθαλμόςthe eyeθεόςGod, a god
ἐγώ
λόγοςa word, speech, θεόςGod, a godὑπαντάωI meet
οἰκοδεσπότηςa head of a househol
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of thεἰμίI am, exist
ὅστιςwhich140×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
μετάπᾶςall, the whole, ἐν
οὐNeg
μήNegἰσχύωI am strong, ablἀφαιρέωI take away, smi
ἐν
Article theκαρδίαthe heart, innerνόμοςa law, the Mosai
σύ
ῥαπίζωI slap, strikeἀγγαρεύωI impress, sendὡςas, like as, how
δέbut, on the other ha
ἄνDisjοὐNegὑψόωI lift up, exalt

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

Concordanceὅστις · 140× in the New Testament
Matthew Acts Luke Hebrews Romans Revelation Galatians Ephesians Mark Philippians 1 Corinthians 1 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament22 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch Polycarp
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 47c. AD 40

εἰ γοῦν οἱ ἀπὸ μονάδος ἄχρι τετράδος ἑξῆς συντεθεῖεν ἀριθμοί, δεκάδα γεννήσουσιν, ἥτις ὅρος τῆς ἀπειρίας τῶν ἀριθμῶν ἐστι, περὶ ὃν ὡς καμπτῆρα εἱλοῦνται καὶ ἀνακάμπτουσι.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.3c. AD 75–95

εἰσὶ δʼ οἵτινες ἐβιάσθησαν ὑπʼ αὐτῆς τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων ἀνάγκης οἷς πραττομένοις παρέτυχον ταῦτα γραφῇ δηλούσῃ περιλαβεῖν·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 10.3c. AD 100

τὸ οὖν χοιρίον πρὸς τοῦτο εἶπεν: οὐ κολληθήσῃ φησίν, ἀνθρώποις τοιούτοις, οἵτινές εἰσιν ὅμοιοι χοίρων: τουτέστιν ὅταν σπαταλῶσιν, ἐπιλανθάνονται τοῦ κυρίου, ὅταν δὲ ὑστεροῦνται, ἐπιγινώσκουσιν τὸν κύριον, ὡς καὶ ὁ χοῖρος ὅταν τρώγει τὸν κύριον οὐκ…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 5th c. AD
P.Fam.Tebt. 9Tebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 107

τοὺς τόκους ἃ ὤφειλεν ἡ Θαῆσις τῇ τῶν δύο Ἡρακλείδου καὶ Ἀπίας ἀδελφῆι Ἡρωδιαίνῃ ἥτις ἀπῄτησεν κατὰ ἀσφάλειαν τετελειωμένην διὰ τοῦ ἐν Θεογονίδι γραφείου τῶι ὀγδόωι ἔτει Τραιανοῦ Καίσαρος

P.Fam.Tebt. 13ArsinoitesAD 113–AD 114

ἐτῶν λ οὐλὴ γόνατι ἀριστερῷ … ονους με … συνῆρσθαι τὴν προς ἀλλήλους συνβίωσιν ἥτις αὐτοῖς συνειστήκει ἀπὸ συνγραφῆς ὁμολογίας τετελειωμένης διὰ τοῦ ἐν Τεπτύνει γραφείου ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν

P.Athen.. 35Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 154

Ἁδριανοῦ Ἀντωνίνου Σεβαστοῦ Εὐσεβοῦς τύχην ἐργάσεσθαι ἐν τῷ προκιμένῳ δρυμῷ ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπογεγραμμένης ἡμέρας, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ πέμπτη τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος μηνὸς Φαρμοῦθι καὶ παραστήσειν τὸν μὲν Ζεναμοῦνιν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
ἐστὶνeimi 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 Timothy 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.

Read the full entry →
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

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
ἐκκλησίαekklēsia [the] church G1577 Noun · nominative · singular · feminine
114× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
An assembly refers to a group of people gathered together for a common purpose, like a church or community, as seen in Acts 19:32 and Hebrews 2:12. This term is used to describe both Jewish and Christian communities.
Amplified meaning
assembly, congregation
Tyndale gloss
assembly
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐκκλησία (i.e., *ekklesia*) means an assembly or congregation, originally referring to a gathering of citizens called for public affairs. In the New Testament, it primarily denotes the Christian church, encompassing both local congregations and the broader body of believers. It is also used in the Septuagint for the assembly of Israel. The term reflects a progression from civic assembly to a spiritual community.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — Ἔκκλησία, συναγωγή, πανήγυρις from a scan

THERE are words whose history it is peculiarly interesting to watch, as they obtain a deeper meaning, and receive a new consecration in the Christian Church; words which the Church did not invent, but has assumed into its service, and employed in a far loftier sense than any to which the world has ever put them before. The very word by which the Church is named is itself an example—a more illustrious one could scarcely be found—of this progressive ennobling of a word.' For we have ἐκκλησία in three distinct stages of meaning—the heathen, the Jewish, and the Christian. In respect of the first, ἡ ἐκκλησία (ΞΞἔκκλητοι, Euripides, Orestes, ‘ Zezschwitz, in his very interesting Lecture, Profangrdcitét und Biblischer Sprachgeist, Leipzig, 1859, p. 5, has said excellently well, ‘ Das Christenthum wiire nicht als was es siegend iiber Griechenthum und Romerthum sich ausgewiesen, hitte es zu…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐκκλησία, -ας, ἡ

(< ἐκ-καλέω),

[in LXX chiefly for קָהָל, otherwise for one of its cogn. forms ;]

prop., an assembly of citizens regularly convened (in Thuc., ii, 22, opp. to σύλλογος, a concourse): Ac 19:32, 39, 41.

In LXX of the assembly, congregation, community of Israel (De 4:10 23:2, al.): Ac 7:38, He 2:12 (LXX).

NT, esp. of an assembly or company of Christians, a (the) church;

of gatherings for worship: I Co 11:18 14:19, 34, 35;

of local communities: Ac 8:3, I Co 4:17; with name…

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

ἐκκλησία, -as, 7, (fr. ἔκκλητος called out or forth, and this fr. ἐκκαλέω) ; prop. a gathering of citizens called out

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

ἐκκλησία. For the Biblical history of the word ἐκκλησία, which meant originally any public assembly of citizens summoned by a herald, it is sufficient to refer to Hort, Zhe Christian Ecclesia, p. τ ff. It is the LXX term fer the community of Israel, whether assembled or no. In the Gospels the word is confined to Mt 1618, 1817, where it denotes Christ's new ἐκκλησία, as distinguished from the old. Deissmann (ZAZ p. 112 ff.) has emphasized the significance of the fact that the Latin-speaking people of the West, to whom Christianity came, did not translate the word, but simply borrowed it, and cites an interesting bilingual inscr. of A.D. 103-4, found in the theatre of Ephesus, which refers to the gift by a Roman official of a silver image of Artemis (cf. Ac 19*4) and other statues—tva τίθηνται kat’ ἐκκλησίαν (cf. Ac 14%) ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ ἐπὶ τῶν βάσεων, or, in the parallel text, z/a wt…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) — assembly.

ἐκκλησί-α, ἡ,

(ἔκκλητος) assembly duly summoned, less general than σύλλογος, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; applied to the Homeric Assemblies, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; to the Samian Assembly, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; to the Spartan, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; to the meeting of the Amphictyons at Delphi, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; at Athens, ἐ. κύριαι, opposed to σύγκλητοι, Arist.[Refs 2nd c.AD+]; κυρία ἐ., at Amorgos, [Refs]; ἐ. συναγείρειν, συνάγειν, συλλέγειν, ἀθροίζειν, call an assembly, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐ. γίγνεται an assembly is held, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐ. διαλύειν, ἀναστῆσαι, dissolve it, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐ. ἀνεβλήθη was adjourned, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐκκλησία

ekklesia

from a compound of 1537 and a derivative of 2564; a calling out, i.e.

(concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation

(Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or

saints in heaven or both):--assembly, church.

see GREEK for 1537

see GREEK for 2564

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐκκλησία, ας, ἡ

n.f.

an assembly, congregation, church

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐκκλησία ekklēsia 114x

a popular assembly, Acts 19:32, 39, 41; in NT the congregation of the children of Israel, Acts 7:38; transferred to the Christian body, of which the congregation of Israel was a figure, the Church, 1 Cor. 12:28; Col. 1:18; a local portion of the Church, a local church, Rom. 16:1; a Christian congregation, 1 Cor. 14:4

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐκκλησία ἐκκλησία, ἡ, ἔκκλητος an assembly of the citizens regularly summoned, the legislative assembly, Thuc., etc.:—at Athens, the ordinary Assemblies were called κύριαι, the extraordinary being σύγκλητοι, ap. Dem.; ἐκκλ. συναγείρειν, συνάγειν, συλλέγειν, ἀθροίζειν to call an assembly, Hdt., etc.; ἐκκλ. ποιεῖν "to make a house, " Ar.; ἐκκλ. γίγνεται, καθίσταται an assembly is held, Thuc.; ἐκκλ. διαλύειν, ἀναστῆσαι to dissolve it, id. Thuc., etc.; ἀναβάλλειν to adjourn it, id. Thuc.

in NTest. the Church, either the body, or the place.

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

N-NSF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

church:

I. PRE-CHRISTIAN HISTORY OF THE TERM

II. ITS ADOPTION BY JESUS

III. ITS USE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

1. In the Gospels

2. In Acts

3. In the Pauline Epistles

IV. THE NOTES OF THE CHURCH

1. Faith

2. Fellowship

3. Unity

4. Consecration

5. Power

V. ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH

1. The General and Prophetic Ministry

2. The Local and Practical Ministry

LITERATURE

The word "church," which is derived from kuriakos, "of or belonging to the Lord," represents in the English Versions of the Bible of the New Testament the Greek word ekklesia; Latin, ecclesia. It is with the signification of this word ekklesia as it meets us in the New Testament, and with the nature of the society which the word is there used to describe, that the present article is concerned.

I. Pre-Christian History of the Term.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Church

Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., “the Lord’s house”), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship.

In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia, which is synonymous with the Hebrew kahal of the Old Testament, both words meaning simply an assembly, the character of which can only be known from the connection in which the word is found. There is no clear instance of its being used for a place of meeting or of worship, although in post-apostolic times it early received this meaning. Nor is this word ever used to denote the inhabitants of a country united in the same profession, as when we say the “Church of England,” the “Church of Scotland,” etc.

We find the word ecclesia used in the following senses in the New Testament: (1.) It is translated “assembly” in the ordinary classical sense (

The Greek word translated church signifies generally an assembly, either common or religious; and it is sometimes so translated, as in Ac 19:32,39. In the New Testament it usually means a congregation of religious worshippers, either Jewish, as Ac 7:38, or Christians, as Mt 16:18 1Co 6:4. The latter sense is the more common one; and it is thus used in a twofold manner, denoting,

1. The universal Christian church: either the invisible church, consisting of those whose names are written in heaven, whom God knows, but whom we cannot infallibly know, Heb 12:23; or the visible church, made up of the professed followers of…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
65%church
church65% · 75×churches30% · 35×assembly3% · 3×other renderings2% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial35%indirect object23%object20%subject12%predicate10%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 114 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
ἐνλέγωI say, speakπᾶςall, the whole,
ἐν
σύἀλλάbut, exceptσιγάωI keep silent
ἑπτάIndec
Article theἑπτάIndec
αὐτός
οἶκοςa house, househo
οὖνtherefore, then
μένDisj
ἐκκλησία[the] church114×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐννικάωI conquer, overc
καίand, even, also, nam
πύληa door, gateἐπίδιδάσκωI teach
γράφωI write
ὅδε
κατά
Article theὅλοςall, the whole, δικαιοσύνηjustice, justnes
ἀσπάζομαιI greet, salute, pay
ἘπαίνετοςEpaenetusσύ

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

Concordanceἐκκλησία · 114× in the New Testament
Acts 1 Corinthians Revelation 2 Corinthians Ephesians Romans Colossians 1 Timothy 3 John Galatians Matthew 1 Thessalonians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament17 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 43 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Ignatius of Antioch Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.8c. AD 40

5, 2), καὶ τοὺς θλαδίας καὶ ἀποκεκομμένους τὰ γεννητικὰ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ πόρνους τὴν ἑνὸς ἀρχὴν ἀποδιδράσκοντας, οἷς ἄντικρυς ἀπείρηται εἰς ἐκκλησίαν θεοῦ φοιτᾶν (Deut.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.84c. AD 75–95

ἐπὶ τούτοις οὖν συγκαλεῖ τὸ πλῆθος εἰς ἐκκλησίαν ἀκουσόμενον ὧν ὁ θεὸς εἴποι πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ συναθροισθέντων στὰς ἐπὶ ὑψηλοῦ τινος, ὅθεν ἔμελλον πάντες ἀκούσεσθαι, ὁ μὲν θεός, εἶπεν, ὦ Ἑβραῖοι, καθάπερ καὶ πρότερον εὐμενὴς προσεδέξατό με καὶ βίον τε…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.16c. AD 100

λέγει: Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀδελφῶν μου, καὶ ψαλῶ σοι ἀνάμεσον ἐκκλησίας ἁγίων.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 7th c. AD 5th c. AD 4th c. AD 8th c. AD
P.Lond. 2 p. 279-280 no. 412Berenikis Aigialu (Arsinoites)AD 351

ἀξιῶ, πραιπόσιτε κύριε, ἀπραγμόνως ἃ ἀφήρπασέν μου παρασχεθῆναί μοι· διάκων γὰρ τετύχηκα τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας. καὶ τούτου τυχὼν εἰσαεί σοι εὐχαριστήσω. διευτύχει. μετὰ τὴν ὑπατείαν Φλαουίων Σεργίου καὶ Νειγρεινιανοῦ

P.Prag. 1 33ArsinoitesAD 391–AD 392

διάκονος καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀπὸ κώμης … Νικήτῃ Σαρμάτου ἐπιμελητῇ κάστρου τῆς … ἐπὶ τῆς παρελθούσης τετάρτης ἰνδικτίονος

P.Oxy. 72 4901OxyrhynchitesAD 408

τῇ θειοτάτῃ οἰκίᾳ διὰ Μαρίνου προνοητοῦ Αὐρήλιος Παμοῦν Μούιτος ἀπὸ ἐποικίου Κινήας διάκονος καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας χαίρειν. ὁμολογῶ ἐσχηκέναι παρὰ σοῦ ἀπὸ λόγου τῆς συμπεφωνημένης πρὸς ἀλλήλους τιμῆς οἴνου διπλῶν

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
θεοῦtheos of God G2316 Noun · genitive · singular · masculine
1,311× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word simply means God, referring to the one true deity. It is used throughout the New Testament, including in Matthew 27:46 and Acts 14:11, to describe the supreme being and creator of the universe.
Amplified meaning
the all-powerful, supreme Creator
Tyndale gloss
God
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

θεός (theos) means 'God' or 'a god' and is used in both singular and plural forms. It refers to the supreme deity in monotheistic contexts, as well as to lesser deities in polytheistic settings. The New Testament frequently employs this term, notably in verses like Matthew 27:46 and Acts 19:37. Some lexicons note its use as a title for rulers or magistrates, reflecting its broader application in ancient texts.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

θεός, -οῦ, ὁ, ἡ (Ac 19:37 only; v. M, Pr., 60, 244), late voc., θεέ (Mt 27:46; cf. De 3:24, al.),

[in LXX chiefly for אֱלֹהִים, also for אֵל and other cognate forms, יהוה, etc.;]

a god or deity, God.

In polytheistic sense, a god or deity: Ac 28:6, I Co 8:4, II Th 2:4, al.; pl., Ac. 14:11 19:26, Ga 4:8, al.

Of the one true God;

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

θεός, -οὔ, ὁ and ἡ, voc. θεέ, once in the N. T., Mt. xxvii. 46; besides in Deut. iii. 24; Judg. [xvi. 28;] xxi. 3; [2 S. vii. 25; Is. xxxviii. 20]; Sir. xxiii. 4; Sap. ix. 1; 3 Mace. vi. 3; 4 Mace. vi. 27; Act. Thom. 44 sq. 57; Eus. h. 6. 2, 23,16; [5, 20,7; vit. Const. 2,55, 1.59]; ef. W. §8, 2 ο.; [B. 12 (11)]; ({on the eight or more proposed derivations see Vaniéek p. 386, who follows Curtius (after Doderlein) p. 513 sqq. in connecting it with a root meaning to supplicate, implore; hence the implored ; per contra cf. Max Miiller, Chips ete. iv. 227 sq.; L. and 8. s. v. fin.]); [fr. Hom. down]; Sept. for 58, ΟΝ and m7; a god, a goddess; 1. a general appellation of deities or divinities: Acts xxviii. 6; 1 Co. viii. 4; 2 Th. ii. 4; once ἡ θεός, Acts xix. 37 G LT Tr WH; θεοῦ φωνὴ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώπου, Acts xii. 22; ἄνθρωπος ὧν ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν θεόν, Jn. x. 33; plur., of the gods of the…

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

θεός. For the application of the title θεός to the Ptolemaic kings it is sufficient to recall Brit. Mus. Inscrr. IV. 1 No. 906% (B.C. 284-273) where a votive offering is dedicated in honour of Πτολεμαίου τοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ θεοῦ, and the description of Ptolemy V. (Epiphanes) on the Rosetta stone—OG/S gol? (B.C. 196) ὑπάρχων θεὸς ἐκ θεοῦ Kal θεᾶς : cf. Deissmann LAE, p. 348 and the full discussion by E. Kornemann ‘‘ Zur Geschichte der antiken Herrscherkulte” in Beztrdge zur alten Geschichte [Klio] i., p. 51 ff. (Leipzig, 1902). The same practice is still more strikingly illustrated in the Imperial period, as when in an inscr. from the Fayum district, dated March 17th, B.c. 24, Augustus is described as θεὸς ἐκ θεοῦ (OG/S 6557), or as when a votive inscr. is addressed to Nero—daya0a(t) θεῶ(ι) (Cos 927): see Deissmann 7s. p. 349. With this may be compared the frequent use for Augustus of the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

θεός (theos) — God.

θεός, ὁ,

Boeotian dialect θιός, Laconian dialect σιός (see. below), [Refs 5th c.AD+], Cretan dialect θιός [Refs], Doric dialect also θεύς [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; vocative (only late) θεός, also θεέ [LXX+NT]; but classical in compound names, Ἀμφίθεε, Τιμόθεε:—God, the Deity, in general sense, both singular and plural (εἰ καὶ ἐπὶ θεοὺς καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐπὶ θεὸν ἁρμόζει μεταφέρειν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; σὺν θ. εἰρημένον [Refs 5th c.BC+]: so in plural, σύν γε θεοῖσιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐ θεῶν ἄτερ pi.[Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὑπὲρ θεόν against his will,[Refs 4th c.BC+]; θεῶν συνεθελόντων, βουλομένων, [Refs 5th c.BC+]bless you! good heavens! for heaven's sake! [Refs 8th c.BC+]: doubled in poets, θεὸν θεόν τις ἀγλαϊζέτω [Refs 5th c.BC+]; θεοί (Cretan dialect θιοί) as an opening formula in Inscrr. (i.e. τύχην ἀγαθὴν διδοῖεν), [Refs].1, etc.: in Prose also with the Article, ὁ θ.…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

θεός

theos

of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with 3588) the supreme

Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very:--X exceeding,

God, god(-ly, -ward).

see GREEK for 3588

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

θεός, οῦ, ὁ

n.f. & n.m.

God, a god

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

θεός theos 1x

a deity, Acts 7:43; 1 Cor. 8:5; an idol, Acts 7:40; God, the true God, Mt. 3:9, et al. freq.; God, possessed of true godhead, Jn. 1:1; Rom. 9:5; from the Hebrew, applied to potentates, Jn. 10:34, 35; τῷ θεῷ, an intensive term, from the Hebrew, exceedingly, Acts 7:20, and, perhaps, 2 Cor. 10:4

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

θεός θεός, ὁ, God, Hom., both in general sense, Θεὸς δώσει God will grant, and in particular sense, θεός τις a god; πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε Hom.:—things are said to happen σὺν θεῷ, σύν γε θεοῖσιν by the will of God, id. Hom., etc.; οὐκ ἄνευ θεοῦ, Lat. non sine diis, Od.; οὐκ ἄνευθε θεοῦ Il.; οὐ θεῶν ἄτερ Pind.;— ἐκ θεόφι Il.;— ὑπὲρ θεόν against his will, id. Il.;— κατὰ θεόν τινα, Lat. divinitus, Eur.:—as an oath, πρὸς θεῶν by the gods, in God's name, Trag.; θεὸς ἴστω Soph., etc.

θεός as fem. for θεά, θέαινα, a goddess, Hom.; θήλεια θεός Il.; ἡ νερτέρα θ. Proserpine, Soph.; often in oaths, νὴ τὼ θεώ id. Soph.; ναὶ τὼ σιώ, with the Spartans, of Castor and Pollux, Xen.; with the Boeotians, of Amphion and Zethus, id.…

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

god ('Elohim, 'El, [`Elyon], Shadday, Yahweh; Theos):

I. INTRODUCTION TO THE GENERAL IDEA

1. The Idea in Experience and in Thought

2. Definition of the Idea

3. The Knowledge of God

4. Ethnic Ideas of God

(1) Animism

(2) Fetishism

(3) Idolatry

(4) Polytheism

(5) Henotheism

(6) Pantheism

(7) Deism

(8) Semitic Monolatry

(9) Monotheism

II. THE IDEA OF GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. The Course of Its Development

2. Forms of Its Manifestation

(1) The Face or Countenance of God

(2) The Voice and Word of God

(3) The Glory of God

(4) The Angel of God

(5) The Spirit of God

(6) The Name of God

(7) Occasional Forms

3. The Names of God

(1) Generic

(2) Attributive

(3) Yahweh

4. Pre-prophetic Conceptions of God

(1) Yahweh Alone Is the God of Israel

(a) His Early Worship

(b) Popular Religion

(c) Polytheistic Tendencies

(i) Coordination

(ii) Assimilation

(iii) Disintegration

(d) No Hebrew Goddesses

(e) Human Sacrifices

Easton's Bible Dictionary

God

(A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew ’El, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of ’Eloah_, plural _’Elohim. The singular form, Eloah, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by “LORD,” printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is spoken of as one devoid of understanding (Ps. 14:1).

The arguments generally adduced by theologians in proof of the being of God are:

(1.) The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by reason.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(good). Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures two chief names are used for the one true divine Being--ELOHIM, commonly translated God in our version, and JEHOVAH, translated Lord . Elohim is the plural of Eloah (in Arabic Allah); it is often used in the short form EL (a word signifying strength , as in EL-SHADDAI, God Almighty, the name by which God was specially known to the patriarchs. (Genesis 17:1; 28:3; Exodus 6:3) The etymology is uncertain, but it is generally agreed that the primary idea is that of strength, power of effect , and that it properly describes God in that character in which he is exhibited to all men in his works, as the creator, sustainer and supreme governor of the world. The plural form of Elohim has given rise to much discussion. The fanciful idea that it…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

This name, the derivation of which is uncertain, we give to that eternal, infinite, perfect, and incomprehensible Being, the Creator of all things, who preserves and governs all by his almighty power and wisdom, and is the only proper object of worship. The proper Hebrew name for God is JEHOVAH, which signifies He is. But the Jews, from a feeling of reverence, avoid pronouncing this name, substituting for it, wherever it occurs in the sacred test, the word ADONAI, Lord; except in the expression, ADONAI JEHOVAH, Lord Jehovah, for which they put, ADONAI ELOHIM, Lord God. This usage, which is not without an element of superstition, is very ancient, dating its origin some centuries before Christ; but there is no good ground for assuming its existence in the days of the inspired Old Testament writers. The proper word for God is ELOHIM, which is plural in its form, being thus used to signify…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
96%god
god96% · 1289×other renderings3% · 34×other renderings1% · 19×

1,342 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 14 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject31%adverbial26%object24%predicate12%indirect object5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,311 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
βασιλείαkingship, sovereλόγοςa word, speech, υἱόςa son, descenden
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theπαράδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnes
ἀπό
εἰρήνηpeace, peace of ὅτιthat, since, becἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἈβραάμPropἸσαάκPropΧριστόςanointed, the Me
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegυἱόςa son, descendenοὗτος
θεόςof God1311×
what comes after →
Article the
δίδωμιI offer, giveπαντοκράτωρruler of the uniπατήρfather, Father,
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theπατήρfather, Father, αὐτός
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,Article theἐκβάλλωI throw, cast, p
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςΧριστόςanointed, the Me
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,εἰς

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

Concordanceθεός · 1,311× in the New Testament
Acts Romans Luke 1 Corinthians Revelation John 2 Corinthians Hebrews 1 John Matthew Mark 1 Peter

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

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

Counted over the 1,637 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 7c. AD 40

Τινὲς γὰρ τὸν κόσμον μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν κοσμοποιὸν θαυμάσαντες τὸν μὲν ἀγένητόν τε καὶ ἀίδιον ἀπεφήναντο, τοῦ δὲ θεοῦ πολλὴν ἀπραξίαν ἀνάγνως κατεψεύσαντο, δέον ἔμπαλιν τοῦ μὲν τὰς δυνάμεις ὡς ποιητοῦ καὶ πατρὸς καταπλαγῆναι, τὸν δὲ μὴ πλέον ἀποσεμνῦναι…

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

ὡς πύργος, ὃν οἱ παῖδες αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ὕβρει τοῦ θεοῦ ᾠκοδόμησαν, καὶ ὡς τὰς φωνὰς αὐτῶν μετέβαλε καὶ ὁ τόπος, ἐν ᾧ τοῦτο γέγονε, Βαβυλὼν ἐκλήθη.

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
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 7th c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 33Pathyris101 BC

αὐτῷ μέρος ἧς ἐμισθώσατο σὺν Πακοίβι Σχώτου καὶ τοῖς μετόχοις γῆς σιτοφόρου λεγομένης Νεχθαραῦτι θεοῦ μεγάλου παρὰ τῶν ἱερέων ἐτῶν δέκα εἰς τὰ ἐνλιπόντα αὐτῷ ἑτέρων , τεσσάρων εἰς

P.Adl. 20Poinkoris (Diopolites)99 BC

1 βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου θεοῦ Φιλομήτορος καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεᾶς Φιλαδέλφου ἔτους ἑκκαιδεκάτου ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ

Chrest.Wilck. 12Pathyris89 BC

ἡμῖν Φιλόξενος ὁ ἀδελφὸς διʼ ὧν κεκόμικεν ἡμῖν Ὄρσης γραμμάτων περὶ τοῦ τὸν μέγιστον Θεὸν Σωτῆρα βασιλέα ἐπιβεβληκέναι εἰς Μέμφιν, Ἱέρακα δὲ προκεχειρίσθαι μετὰ δυνάμεων μυρίων ἐπὶ καταστολὴν τῆς

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
ζῶντος,zaō [the] living, G2198 Verb · present · active · participle · genitive · singular · masculine
140× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To live means to have life, either physically or spiritually, as seen in Acts 20:12 and Romans 7:1-3. It can also refer to being alive with Christ, like in Philippians 1:21.
Amplified meaning
always alive, having life
Tyndale gloss
to live
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ζάω (transliterated as zao) means 'to live' and is used in various contexts, including both literal and figurative senses. It encompasses the idea of being alive, functioning in life, and can refer to both animals and plants. In the New Testament, it appears in discussions of spiritual life and vitality, often in relation to Christ and God, highlighting a deeper, metaphorical meaning of existence.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ζάω, -ῶ,

[in LXX chiefly for חיה (most freq. ptcp., ζῶν, inf., ζῆν, for חַי);]

prop., to live, be alive (v. Syn., s.v. βίος; in cl. usually of animal life, but sometimes of plants, as Arist., Eth. N, i, 7, 12): Ac 20:12, Ro 7:1-3, I Co 7:39, Re 19:20, al.; ἐν αὐτῷ ζῶμεν, Ac 17:28; ἐμοὶ τὸ ζῆν Χριστός, Phl 1:21; διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν (M, Pr., 215, 249), He 2:15; ὃ δὲ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκί, Ga 2:20; ζῇ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός, Ga 2:20; (ὁ) ζῶν, of God (אֵל חַי…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ζάω (zaō) — to live.

ζῶ

(contraction from ζώω: ζάω only in Grammars, [Refs 4th c.AD+]; imperative ζῆ [Refs 5th c.BC+] see at {ζῆ}; optative ζῴη; infinitive ζῆν: imperfect ἔζων [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἔζην in most codices of [Refs 4th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural ἔζων [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future ζήσω [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist 1 ἔζησα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἔζηκα [Refs 4th c.BC+]aorist and perfect are mostly supplied from βιόω.- Exc. participle ζῶντος, [Refs 8th c.BC+] always uses the Epic dialect Ionic dialect Lyric poetry present ζώω (also in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; subjunctive ζώῃ [Refs 5th c.BC+], contraction ζῷ [Refs]; Cretan dialect δώω [Refs]; infinitive ζωέμεναι, -έμεν, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: imperfect ἔζωον [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect ζώεσκον [Refs 8th c.BC+]aorist 1 ἔζωσα (ἐπ-) [Refs 5th c.BC+]; infinitive ζῶσαι [Refs]: perfect participle ἐζωκότα [Refs]; infinitive ζόειν [Refs 7th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ζάω

zao

a primary verb; to live (literally or figuratively):--life(-time),

(a-)live(-ly), quick.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ζάω

v.

I live

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ζάω zaō 140x

to live, to be possessed of vitality, to exercise the functions of life, Mt. 27:63; Acts 17:28; τὸ ζῆν, life, Heb. 2:15; to have means of subsistence, 1 Cor. 9:14; to live, to pass existence in a specific manner, Lk. 2:36; 15:13; to be instinct with life and vigor; hence, ζῶν, living, an epithet of God, in a sense peculiar to Himself; ἐλπὶς ζῶσα, a living hope vigor and constancy, 1 Pet. 1:3; ὕδωρ ζῶν, living water in respect of a full and unfailing flow, Jn. 4:10, 11; to be alive with cheered and…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ζάω to live, Hom., etc.; ἐλέγχιστε ζωόντων vilest of living men, Od.; ζώειν καὶ ὁρᾶν φάος ἠελίοιο Il.; ῥεῖα ζώοντες living at ease, of the gods, id. Il.; ζῶν κατακαυθῆναι to be burnt alive, Hdt.:—also, ζῆν ἀπό τινος to live off or on a thing, Theogn., Hdt., etc.:— τὸ ζῆν ῀ ζωή, Aesch., etc.: —in a quasi-trans. sense, ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων ὧν ἔζης ( = ἃ ἐν τῶι βίωι ἔπραττες) from the other acts of your life, Dem.

metaph. to be in full life and strength, to be fresh, be strong, ἄτης θύελλαι ζῶσι Aesch.; ἀεὶ ζῆι ταῦτα [νόμιμα] Soph.; ζῶσα φλόξ living fire, Eur.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
42%living
living42% · 60×live10% · 14×will live8% · 11×we live4% · 5×lives4% · 5×alive3% · 4×we may live3% · 4×he lives2% · 3×other renderings26% · 37×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb73%adverbial11%predicate6%object5%second object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 140 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
ἐγώθεόςGod, a godπᾶςall, the whole,
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςνεκρόςdead, a corpseσῴζωI save, heal
θεόςGod, a god
ἐπίυἱόςa son, descendenπνεῦμαwind, breath, sp
αὐτός
οὐσίαproperty, wealthγάρforλέγωI say, speak
ἀλλάbut, except
νεκρόςdead, a corpseἀσθένειαwant of strengthαὐτός
ζάω[the] living,140×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
νεκρόςdead, a corpseπιστεύωI believe, have θεάομαιI see, behold, c
Article the
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of thἀνήρa male human beiπεριλείπομαιI leave behind
εἰς
Article theθάνατοςdeath
ἐν
αὐτόςσάρξflesh, bodyκόσμοςthe world, unive
διά
Article theἐγώἀνάστασιςa rising again,

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

Concordanceζάω · 140× in the New Testament
Romans John Revelation Acts Hebrews 2 Corinthians Galatians Luke 1 Peter Matthew 1 Thessalonians 1 Corinthians

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

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 77c. AD 40

λέγουσιν οὖν οἱ τοῖς νόμοις ἐπὶ πλέον ἐμβαθύναντες καὶ τὰ κατ’ αὐτοὺς ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα μετὰ πάσης ἐξετάσεως ἀκριβοῦντες, ὅτι τῆς αὑτοῦ συγγενείας μεταδοὺς ὁ θεὸς ἀνθρώπῳ τῆς λογικῆς, ἥτις ἀρίστη δωρεῶν ἦν, οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἐφθόνησεν, ἀλλ’ ὡς οἰκειοτάτῳ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.66c. AD 75–95

ἔτι δὲ ζῶντος Ἀδάμου Κάιος τοὺς ἐγγόνους πονηροτάτους συνέβη γενέσθαι κατὰ διαδοχὴν καὶ μίμησιν ἄλλον ἄλλου χείρονα τελευτῶντα·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.3c. AD 100

Καὶ ὃς ἐλπίσει ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 2nd c. BC 4th c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Lond. 2 p. 163-165 no. 354Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites8 BC–5 BC

Κόρδῳ τῶι ἐπιστατήσαντι τῶν φυλακιτῶν … … τας φάσκοντες τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν ἐκ τοῦ ζῆν μεθεστακέναι πρὸς … λο … κατὰ φυλακὴν. καταστάντες δὲ καὶ ἀπολογησάμενοι ἐφάνημεν τῶι Κόρδωι

P.Mich. 5 228Areos Kome (Arsinoites)AD 47

ὥστε παρʼ αὐτῇ ἐκτέτρωται τὸ βρέφος νεκρὸν ὥστε αὐτὴν κατακλινῆ εἶναι καὶ κινδυνεύειν τοῦ ζῆν. διὸ ἀξιῶ γράψαι τοῖς τῆς Ὠξυρύνχων πρεσβυτέροις ἐκπέμψαι τὸν ἐνκαλούμενον ἐπὶ σὲ πρὸς τὴν

P.Lond. 3 p. 131 no. 846Soknopaiu Nesos (ArsinoitesAD 140

μου τὸ ὄνομα εἰς πρεσβυτερείαν τῆς κώμης ἀπόρου μου ὄντος καὶ μισθοῦ πορίζοντος τὸ ζῆν ἀπὸ τῆς γερδιακῆς διὸ ἀξιῶ σε τὸν κύριον βοηθῆσαί μοι, ἵνα τύχω τῆς ἀπὸ

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
στῦλοςstulos [the] pillar G4769 Noun · nominative · singular · masculine
4× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A pillar is a support or a column that holds something up, as seen in Revelation 10:1 and Galatians 2:9. It can also be used figuratively to describe something that provides support or strength. This word is used to describe a physical or metaphorical support.
Amplified meaning
support, column
Tyndale gloss
pillar
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

στῦλος (stulos) means 'pillar' and is derived from the concept of support. It is used literally, as in pillars of fire (Re 10:1), and metaphorically to describe foundational figures in the Church (Gal 2:9; 1 Tim 3:15). The term appears in various contexts, including classical literature and the Septuagint, where it often translates Hebrew words for structural supports.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

στύλος (T, στῦλος, as in cl.), -ου, ὁ

[in LXX chiefly for עַמּוּד, also for קֶרֶשׁ, etc. ;]

a pillar, regarded especially as a support: σ. πυρός, Re 10:1; σ. ἐν τ. ναῷ, fig., Re 3:12, Metaph., Ga 2:9; τ. ἀληθείας, I Ti 3:15.†

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

στύλος [RG WH (Trin 1 Tim. iii. 15; Rev. x. 1)], more correctly στῦλος [so L T (Tr in Gal. ii. 9; Rev. iii. 12)]; see Passow [or L. and S.] s. v. fin. [ef. Chandler | Pass. reflexGt | §§ 274, 275; Lipsius, Gram. Untersuch. p. 43], -ov, 6, [fr. Aeschyl. and Hdt. down], Sept. often for 13D, a piliar, column: στῦλοι πυρός, pillars of fire, i.e. flames rising like columns, Rev. x. 1; ποιήσω αὐτὸν στῦλον ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ θεοῦ pov, i. 6. (dropping the fig.) I will assign him a firm and abiding place in the everlasting kingdom of God, Rev. iii. 12; used of persons to whose eminence and strength the stability and authority of any institution or organization are due, Gal. ii. 9 [where cf. Bp. Lghtft.]; Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 5, 2 and the note in Gebhardt and Harnack, (στῦλοι οἴκων εἰσὶ παῖδες ἄρσενες, Eur. Iph. T. 57; exx. fr. [Jewish writ. are given by Schoettgen (on Gal. |. c.) and fr.] eccles. writ.…

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

στύλος, “pillar’?: BGU VII. 1713! (ii/iii A.D.) στύλων povoλίθων, P Giss I. 6913 (A.D. 118-19) διὰ τὴν τοῦ πεντηκοντάποδος στύλου καταγωγὴν πλεῖστα κτήνη ἔχομεν, and BGU IV. τοχϑι8 (ii/a.p.) πρὸς χρείαν τῶν τοὺς στύλ[ους ἐΠργαϊ[οἹμένων. See also the diminutives in P Iand 11% (iii/A.D.) κόμισον δὲ ἕν στυλάριν and OG/S 3328 (B.c. 138132) ἐπὶ στυλίδος pappaplyys. A new adv. στυλοειδῶς, “fin the form of a pillar,” is found in Epicurus Z/. II. 104 (ed. Bailey). The metaph. usage of στύλος, as in Gal 2%, is common to classical, Jewish, and Christian writers: see Suicer Thes. 5.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

στῦλος (stulos) — pillar.

στῦλος, ὁ

(feminine at Epidaurus, [Refs 4th c.BC+], pillar (={κίων} accusative to [Refs 2nd c.AD+], especially as a support or bearing, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: metaphorically, σ... οἴκων εἰσὶ παῖδες ἄρσενες [NT+5th c.BC+]

2. σ. πυρός [LXX+NT]

3. wooden pole, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; [σκηνῆς] tent-poles, uprights, opposed to διατόναια, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; plank, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

4. stile for writing on waxed tablets; wrongly used in this sense by Greek speakers at Alexandria and in the East accusative to [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; compare στυλοειδής.

Strong's Greek Dictionary

στῦλος

stulos

from stuo (to stiffen; properly akin to the base of 2476); a post

("style"), i.e. (figuratively) support:--pillar.

see GREEK for 2476

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

στῦλος, ου, ὁ

n.m.

a pillar

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

στῦλος stylos 4x

a pillar, column, Rev. 10:1; used of persons of authority, influence, etc., a support or pillar of the Church, Gal. 2:9; Rev. 3:12; a support of true doctrine, 1 Tim. 3:15*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

στῦλος στῦλος, ὁ, a pillar, as a support or bearing, Hdt., etc.

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

N-NSM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

pil'-ar (matstsebhah, `ammudh; stulos): In a good many cases the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "pillars" for the King James Version "images" (matstsebhoth, Ex 34:13; De 7:5; 1Ki 14:23, etc.). In Ge 19:26, where "pillar of salt" is given, the word is netsibh; in 1Sa 2:8 it is matsuq; while in most other single uses the Revised Version margin gives variant renderings, as in Jud 9:6 (mutstsabh), the Revised Version margin "garrison"; in 1Ki 10:12 (mic`adh), the Revised Version margin "`a railing,'…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Pillar

Used to support a building (Judg. 16:26, 29); as a trophy or memorial (Gen. 28:18; 35:20; Ex. 24:4; 1 Sam. 15:12, A.V., “place,” more correctly “monument,” or “trophy of victory,” as in 2 Sam. 18:18); of fire, by which the Divine Presence was manifested (Ex. 13:2). The “plain of the pillar” in Judg. 9:6 ought to be, as in the Revised Version, the “oak of the pillar”, i.e., of the monument or stone set up by Joshua (24:26).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

The notion of a pillar is of a shaft or isolated pile either supporting or not supporting a roof. But perhaps the earliest application of the pillar was the votive or monumental, This in early times consisted of nothing but a single stone or pile of stones. (Genesis 28:18; 31:40) etc. The stone Ezel, (1 Samuel 20:19) was probably a terminal stone or a way-mark. The "place" set up by Saul (1 Samuel 15:12) is explained by St, Jerome to be a trophy. So also Jacob set up a pillar over Rachel’s grave. (Genesis 36:20) The monolithic tombs and obelisks of Petra are instances of similar usage. Lastly, the figurative use of the term "pillar," in reference to the cloud and fire…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Sometimes means a monumental column, Ge 35:20 2Sa 18:18; or a column of cloud or smoke, Ex 13:21 Jud 20:40. The stately column which adorns and supports the front of a temple, Jud 16:25-30 Job 9:6 26:11, illustrates the position of prophets, Jer 1:18, apostles, Ga 2:9, believers, Re 3:12, and the church itself, respecting the truth, 1Ti 3:15.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%pillars
pillars50% · 2×pillar50% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
predicate75%second object25%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 4 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
δοκέωI think, seem, appea
Article the
ζάωI live
θεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
ποιέωI do, make
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
αὐτός
στῦλος[the] pillar
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
δεξιόςon the right han
καίand, even, also, nam
ἑδραίωμαa foundation, st
ἐν
Article the
πῦρfire, trials

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

Concordanceστῦλος · 4× in the New Testament
Revelation 1 Timothy Galatians
Across the New Testament3 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 77 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
Clement of Rome Josephus Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Migration of Abraham 124c. AD 40

εὐχώμεθα οὖν τὸν ὡς ἐν οἰκίᾳ στῦλον νοῦν μὲν ἐν ψυχῇ, ἄνθρωπον δὲ ἐν τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸν δίκαιον διαμένειν εἰς τὴν τῶν νόσων ἄκεσιν·

JosephusThe Jewish War 5.180c. AD 75–95

περίστοα δὲ διʼ ἀλλήλων ἐν κύκλῳ πολλά, καὶ στῦλοι πρὸς ἑκάστῳ διάφοροι, τά γε μὴν τούτων ὕπαιθρα πάντα χλοερά,

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 5.2c. AD 96

διὰ ζῆλον καὶ φθόνον οἱ μέγιστοι καὶ δικαιότατοι στύλοι ἐδιώχθησαν καὶ ἕως θανάτου ἤθλησαν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. AD 5th c. AD 2nd c. AD undated
O.Claud. 4 848Mons ClaudianusAD 109–AD 111

γινώσκειν σε θέλω … κον … … νοισ … αι και … οἱ ἄλλοι στύλοι … γινοσκει … … ἐξερχ … … κδ η παρα … … κ πάχος

P.Leipz. 4 RoMemphisAD 201–AD 300

α τριώβολον … … αμμωνις μοξ β … … ὁμοίως κοινω ε … … στυλοι ὁλοφ β … … Σεραπάμμονι κα … … χαραημ … ολοφ τριώβολον

vestiges … προκιμεν … … τετράστυλον ἐλαφαντ … … τὸν στῦλον οἰκοδομῆσαι Ἱππασίδῃ … … καὶ ἀντὶ φόρων δώσω ἡμερουσίως … καὶ κατὰ μῆνα ἔκαστον

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

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

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

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

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

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
ἑδραίωμαhedraiōma base G1477 Noun · nominative · singular · neuter
1× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A foundation is a base or support that provides stability. In 1 Timothy 3:15, the church is described as the foundation of the truth.
Amplified meaning
base, support
Tyndale gloss
foundation
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἑδραίωμα (*hedraiōma*) is built from the root ἑδραῖος and means a support or foundation. It is used in the New Testament to refer to a basis or stay, specifically in 1 Timothy 3:15. The lexicons consistently define it as a foundation or support, without significant disagreement among them.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

*† ἑδραίωμα, -τος, τό

(< ἑδραῖος),

a support, bulwark, stay (Vg. fermamentum): I Ti 3:15 (eccl.).†

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

ἑδραίωμα, -ros, τύ, (ἑδραιόω to make stable, settle firmly), a slay, prop, support, (Vulg. firmamentum) : 1 Tim. iii. 15 [A.V. ground]. (Eccl. writ.)

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

ἑδραίωμα. For this word, which is found in the NT only in 1 Tim 315, Hort (Christian Ecclesia, p. 174) strongly advocates

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἑδραίωμα (hedraiōma) — foundation.

ἑδραί-ωμα, ατος, τό,

stay, support, τῆς ἀληθείας [NT]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἑδραίωμα

hedraioma

from a derivative of 1476; a support, i.e. (figuratively)

basis:--ground.

see GREEK for 1476

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἑδραίωμα, ατος, τό

n.n.

a foundation, stay, support

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἑδραίωμα hedraiōma 1x

a basis, foundation, 1 Tim. 3:15*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἑδραίωμα from ἑδραῖος ἑδραίωμα, ατος, τό, a foundation, base, NTest.

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

(1) Substantive from Latin basis, Greek basis, a foundation.

(a) (mekhonah): the fixed resting-place on which the lavers in Solomon's temple were set (1Ki 7:27-43; 2Ki 16:17; 25:13,16; 2Ch 4:14; Jer 27:19; 52:17,20; compare Ezr 3:3; Zec 5:11 the American Revised Version, margin).

(b) (ken): pedestal in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) (1Ki 7:29,31) and in the Revised Version (British and American) only (Ex 30:18,28; 31:9…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%base
base100% · 1×

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

Concordanceἑδραίωμα · 1× in the New Testament
1 Timothy
Across the New Testament1 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
τῆςho of the G3588 Article · genitive · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

T-GSF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.

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

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

Lamentations 3:1.

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.

Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.

That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

if however I shall delay, so that you may know how it behooves [one] in [the] household of God to conduct oneself, which is [the] church of God [the] living, [the] pillar and base of the truth.
ἀληθείας.¶alētheia truth. G225 Noun · genitive · singular · feminine
109× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for truth, meaning the reality of a matter, is used in Romans 9:1 and Galatians 2:5 to describe Christian doctrine. It can also mean truthfulness, as in being honest. Jesus teaches about truth in John 8:32.
Amplified meaning
reality, divine message
Tyndale gloss
truth
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀλήθεια (aletheia) means 'truth' and is derived from ἀληθής ('true'). It encompasses both objective truth, as in the reality of a matter, and subjective truthfulness, reflecting sincerity and integrity. In the New Testament, it is used in various contexts, including religious truth and moral integrity, with references in Romans and John.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀλήθεια, -ας, ἡ

(< ἀληθής),

[in LXX chiefly for אֱמֶת (on which, v. Cremer, 627f.), אֱמוּנָה;]

truth (v. DB, iv, 818f.).

Objectively, "the reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested, veritable essence of a matter" (Cremer, 86): Ro 9:1, al.; of religious truth, Ro 1:25, al.; esp. of Christian doctrine, Ga 2:5, al.; ἀ. θεοῦ, Ro 15:8.

Subjectively, truthfulness, truth, not merely verbal (cl.), but sincerity and integrity of character: Jo 8:44, III Jo 3.

In phrases (MM, VGT, s.v.): ἐπ’ ἀληθείας, Mk 12:14, al.; ἀ. λέγειν (εἰπεῖν, λαλεῖν),

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

ἀλήθεια, -as, ἡ, (ἀληθής), [fr. Hom. down], verity, truth. I. objectively; 1. univ. what is true in any matier under consideration (opp. to what is feigned, fictitious, false): Jas. iii. 14; ὀλήθειαν λέγειν, ἐρεῖν, Jn. viii. 45 sq.; xvi. 7; Ro. ix. 14 1 Co. xii. 6; 1 Tim. ii. 7; εἶπεν αὐτῷ πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, everything as it really was, Mk. v. 33, (so in classics); μαρτυρεῖν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ to testify according to the true state of the case, Jn. v. 33; ina broader sense, λαλεῖν ἀλήθειαν to speak always according to truth, Eph. iv. 25; [ἀληθείας ῥήματα ἀποφθέγγομαι, as opp- to the vagaries of madness, Acts xxvi. 25]; ἀλήθεια ἐγένετο, was shown to be true by the event, 2 Co. vii. 14. ἐν ἀληθείᾳ in truth, truly, as the case is, according to fact: Mt. xxii. 16; Jn. iv. 23 sq. (as accords with the divine nature); 2 Co. vii. 14; Col. i. 6; ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας a. truly, in truth, according to truth: Mk.…

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

ἀλήθεια. The noun occurs requently in prepositional phrases, μετὰ πάσης ἀληθείας, etc. “Em ἀληθείας is found in P Amh II. 68% (late i/A.D.) ὀμνύομεν . . . εἶ μὴν ἐξ ὑγειοῦς Kal ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας ἐπιδεδωκ[ςέ]ναι : so P Oxy III. 4809 (A.p. 132), and Syli 2261 (iii/B.c.) οὐ γεγενημένου τούτου ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας, etc. This NT phrase is thoroughly idiomatic, we see, and not “translation Greek” in Mark. Other combinations are ἐξ a., P Oxy VII. 103253 (A.p. 162) ἐ[κ] τῆς a., P Flor I. 3214 (A.D. 298) ἐξόμνυμι. . . ἐξ ἀ. kal πίστεως. (For this collocation of nouns, cf. P Oxy I. 70° (iii/A.p.) πίστιν καὶ ἀλήθ[ειαν Exe, “is credited and accepted,” of a contract (Edd.).) With 2 Jn1, 3 Jnt ὃν ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, cf. the Gemellus letters, P Fay 11826 (A.D. 110) ἀσπάζου τοὺς φιλοῦντές σε πάντες πρὸς ἀλήθιαν, and 20. 11928 (c. A.D. 100) τοὺς φιλοῦντες ἡμᾶς πρὸς ἀλήθιαν. In much the same sense we find ταῖς…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀλήθεια (alētheia) — truth.

ἀλήθ-εια [ᾰλ], ἡ,

Doric dialect ἀλάθεια (also ἀλαθείᾱ[Refs 7th c.BC+] ἀληθεί; Ionic dialect ἀληθείη:

I. truth, opposed to lie or mere appearance:

I.1. in [Refs 8th c.BC+] only opposed to a lie, frequently in phrase ἀληθείην καταλέξαι[Refs 8th c.BC+]; παιδὸς πᾶσαν ἀ. μυθεῖσθαι to tell whole truth about the lad, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; proverbial, οἶνος καὶ ἀ. `in vino veritas', Alc.[same place], etc.; ἁπλᾶ γάρ ἐστι τῆς ἀ. ἔπη[Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀ. ἔχειν to be true, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.2. after [Refs 8th c.BC+] also truth, reality, opposed to appearance, σὺν ἀλαθείᾳ καλῶν[Refs 5th c.BC+] — in adverbial usages, τῇ ἀ. in very truth, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐπὶ τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τοῦ πράγματος in truth and reality, [Refs 4th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀλήθεια

aletheia

from 227; truth:--true, X truly, truth, verity.

see GREEK for 227

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀλήθεια, ας, ἡ

n.f.

truth

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀλήθεια alētheia 109x

truth, Mk. 5:33; love of truth, sincerity, 1 Cor. 5:8; divine truth revealed to man, Jn. 1:17; practice in accordance with Gospel truth, Jn. 3:21; 2 Jn. 4

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀλήθεια ἀληθής truth

truth, as opp. to a lie, παιδὸς πᾶσαν ἀλ. μυθεῖσθαι to tell the whole truth about the lad, Od.; so, χρᾶσθαι τῇ ἀλ. Hdt.; ἡ ἀλ. περί τινος Thuc.

truth, reality, opp. to appearance, τῶν ἔργων ἡ ἀλ. Thuc.

adverb. usages, τῇ ἀληθείᾳ in very truth, Thuc.; rarely ἀληθείᾳ Plat.; ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας in truth and reality, Dem.; μετ᾽ ἀληθείας Xen.; κατ᾽ ἀλήθειαν Arist.

the character of the ἀληθής, truthfulness, sincerity, frankness, candour, Hdt., etc.

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

N-GSF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

trooth (`emeth, emunah, primary idea of "firmness," "stability" (compare Ex 17:12), hence "constancy," "faithfulness," etc.; the Septuagint's Apocrypha and the New Testament, aletheia (Ro 3:7), pistis (Ro 3:3); in adjectival and adverbial sense, "in truth," "of a truth," "faithful," etc.; alethos (Lu 21:3; Joh 6:14; 7:40; 1Th 2:13); alethinos (Joh 17:3); ontos (1Co 14:25); pistos (1Ti 3:1); in the King James…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Truth

Used in various senses in Scripture. In Prov. 12:17, 19, it denotes that which is opposed to falsehood. In Isa. 59:14, 15, Jer. 7:28, it means fidelity or truthfulness. The doctrine of Christ is called “the truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:5), “the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7; 4:4). Our Lord says of himself, “I am the way, and the truth” (John 14:6).

Nave's Topical Bible

→ Saints should worship God in Joh 4:24; with Ps 145:18

→ Serve God in Jos 24:14; 1Sa 12:24

→ Walk in the presence of God in 1Ki 2:4; 2Ki 20:3

→ Keep religious feasts with 1Co 5:8

→ Esteem, as inestimable Pr 23:23

→ Love Zec 8:19

→ Rejoice in 1Co 13:6

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- God is a God of

De 32:4; Ps 31:15

- Christ is

Joh 14:6; 7:18

- Christ was full of

Joh 1:14

- Christ spoke

Joh 8:45

- The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of

Joh 14:17

- The Holy Spirit guides into all

Joh 16:13

- The word of God is

Da 10:21; Joh 17:17

- God regards, with favour

Jer 5:3

- The judgments of God are according to

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
99%truth
truth99% · 109×other renderings1% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial49%object28%subject12%predicate10%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 109 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,πνεῦμαwind, breath, spἐν
ἐν
θεόςGod, a godσύἀγαπάωI love
ἐπί
ἀλλάbut, exceptλέγωI say, speakδιδάσκαλοςa teacher
καίand, even, also, nam
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spχάριςgrace, favor, kiεἰλικρίνειαclearness, since
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegτίςIrgκαθώςjust as, as
ἀλήθειαtruth.109×
what comes after →
Article the
εὐαγγέλιονthe good news, tὁδόςa way, road, jouθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὗτοςγάρfor
λέγωI say, speak
οὐNegὅτιthat, since, becδιά
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςἀδικίαunrighteousness
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existστήκωI stand fast, peδέχομαιI take, receive,

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

Concordanceἀλήθεια · 109× in the New Testament
John 1 John 2 Corinthians Romans 1 Timothy 2 Timothy 3 John Ephesians 2 John 2 Thessalonians Acts Galatians

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 70 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 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 1.4c. AD 75–95

τὸν μὲν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους πόλεμον ἡμῖν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις γενόμενον καὶ τὰς ἐν αὐτῷ πράξεις καὶ τὸ τέλος οἷον ἀπέβη πείρᾳ μαθὼν ἐβιάσθην ἐκδιηγήσασθαι διὰ τοὺς ἐν τῷ γράφειν λυμαινομένους τὴν ἀλήθειαν,

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 18.6c. AD 96

ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀλήθειαν ἠγάπησας: τὰ ἄδηλα καὶ τὰ κρύφια τῆς σοφίας σου ἐδήλωσάς μοι.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Oxy. 74 4980OxyrhynchitesAD 34

Καίσαρα … Σεβαστὸν Αὐτοκράτορα θεοῦ Σεβαστοῦ υἱὸν ἦ μὴν ἐξ ὑγιοῦς καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας ἐπιδεδωκέναι τὴν προκειμένην … … αν … γυναικῶν τ … τῶν παρ᾽ ἐμοὶ οἰκούντων

P.Fay. 119Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 103

αὐτά. μὴ οὖν ἄλλως ποιήσῃς. ἐπιμέλου σεαυτοῦ. ἀσπάζου Ἐπαγαθὸν καὶ τοὺς φιλοῦντας ἡμᾶς πρὸς ἀλήθειαν. ἔρρωσο. Χοίακ ιβ. εἰς τὰ Σατορνάλια πέμψεις ἀλέκτορας δέκα ἀγοράσας καὶ εἰς τὰ γενέσια

P.Fay. 118Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 110

ἔχʼ ἐκεῖ ἕως ποτίσῃς τὸ ἑπτάρουρον τοῦ ἐλαιῶνος. ἀσπάζου τοὺς φιλοῦντάς σε πάντας πρὸς ἀλήθειαν. ἔρρωσο. ἔτους ιδ Τραιανοῦ Καίσαρος τοῦ κυρίου, Ἀθὺρ ι.

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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