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2 Corinthians 3:6 — Word Study

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N1904ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

BSAwhohos, hē alsokai has made competenthikanoō [made able, enabled] us [as]egō ministersdiakonos [servants, messengers] of a newkainos [fresh, renewed] covenant,diathēkē [agreement, promise] notou of [the] lettergramma [written law, scripture] butalla of [the] Spirit;pneuma [breath, divine nature] theho forgar lettergramma [written word] kills,apokteinō [brings death, condemnation] <the>ho butde the Spiritpneuma [vital principle, life-giving power] gives life.zōopoieō [makes alive, quickens]

Word
Listen & take away2 Corinthians 3
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 6 is in this chapter.
Greek ↓ Download MP3 Nestle 1904 — the very text on this page — read by Andy Martin in Erasmian pronunciation.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (zōopoieō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
2 Corinthians 3:6quick helps
In a sentenceGod has made us competent ministers of a new covenant, emphasizing the difference between the letter and the Spirit.
Who is speakingPaul, addressing the Corinthians, emphasizes God's role in their ministry.
Where we areIn a discussion about the nature of the new covenant compared to the old.
The hard wordἱκάνωσεν
Take awayThe Spirit brings life, whereas the letter leads to death.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectὅς verbἱκανόω The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the New Testament.

Bars are logarithmic — , the commonest word in the Greek New Testament, stands 19,867 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — 2 Corinthians 3:6

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

Context — The Ministry of the New Covenantgenerated

5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
6And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory,
8will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?

2 Corinthians 3:6 discusses how God has enabled believers to serve as ministers of a new covenant. Paul contrasts this covenant with the old, highlighting the limitations of the written law and the life-giving power of the Spirit. This passage is part of a larger argument about the transformative nature of the new covenant, which is further explored in the surrounding verses, particularly in 2 Corinthians 3:5 and 2 Corinthians 3:7.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
12 Corinthians 5:18–20All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
2Matthew 13:52Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
3Romans 1:5Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
41 Corinthians 3:5–10What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
51 Corinthians 12:28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.

The Key Word ἱκάνωσεν, hikanoōgenerated

The verb ἱκανόω means to make sufficient or to qualify. It is used here in the aorist tense, indicating a completed action where God has enabled believers for their ministry.

This word emphasizes that the competence of the ministers does not come from themselves but from God, who equips them for the task of spreading the new covenant.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

In the Berean Standard Bible, the word qualified is used, which aligns with the KJV's made us able and the ASV's made us sufficient. All these translations convey the idea of being enabled for ministry.

However, the BBE uses made us able to be servants, while the YLT opts for made us sufficient [to be] ministrants, reflecting a slightly different emphasis on the role of the ministers.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main clause is governed by the verb ἱκάνωσεν, He has made competent, which connects to the subject ὃς and describes the action of qualifying the ministers. The structure is complex, with additional clauses explaining the nature of the covenant and the contrast between the letter and the Spirit.

The sentence includes a prepositional phrase indicating the type of covenant, and two clauses that elaborate on the effects of the letter and the Spirit, demonstrating the contrast between death and life.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

διαθήκη refers to a covenant or agreement and is often used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word בְּרִית (berith), which signifies a formal agreement between God and His people. This term appears throughout the Old Testament, emphasizing the covenantal relationship.

The word πνεῦμα is also significant in the Septuagint, translating the Hebrew רוּחַ (ruach), which means spirit or breath, highlighting the divine nature associated with God's Spirit.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

2 Corinthians 3:6 explains that God has made us capable ministers of a new covenant. This covenant is different from the old one, which is based on written laws. Instead, the new covenant is about the Spirit, which gives life, while the old covenant leads to death.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to be a minister of a new covenant?

Being a minister of a new covenant means serving in a role that communicates the message of Jesus and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, as opposed to merely following written laws.

How does the Spirit give life?

The Spirit gives life by empowering believers to experience spiritual renewal and vitality, enabling them to live according to God's will and share His message.

What is the difference between the letter and the Spirit?

The letter refers to the written law, which can lead to condemnation, while the Spirit represents the life-giving presence of God that brings freedom and transformation.

Why is it important that our competence comes from God?

It is important because it emphasizes that our ability to serve and minister effectively is not based on our own strength or qualifications, but on God's empowerment and grace.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways can I rely on God's strength to fulfill my calling as a minister of the new covenant?
  2. How can I better understand the difference between living by the letter of the law and living by the Spirit?
  3. What are some practical ways to share the life-giving message of the Spirit with others?
  4. How does recognizing that my competence comes from God change my perspective on ministry?

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

Early church fathers like Tertullian reference this verse to discuss the nature of the new covenant and the role of the Spirit in contrast to the letter of the law.

TertullianAgainst Marcion Book V c. 155–220
Therefore "the New Testament" will appertain to none other than Him who promised it-if not "its letter, yet its spirit; " and herein will lie its newness.
Early Church Fathers on 2 Corinthians 3 →
TertullianAgainst Marcion Book V c. 155–220
Even if "the letter killeth, yet the Spirit giveth life; " and both belong to Him who says: "I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal.
Early Church Fathers on 2 Corinthians 3 →
TertullianOn Modesty c. 155–220
For even if he has affirmed that "good dwelleth not in his flesh," yet (he means) according to "the law of the letter," in which he "was: "but according to "the law of the Spirit," to which he annexes us,
Early Church Fathers on 2 Corinthians 3 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 2 Corinthians 3:6 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Who also hath made us able ministers,.... This is an answer to the question in 2 Corinthians 2:16 who is sufficient for these things?

Read John Gill on 2 Corinthians 3 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Also - accordingly.

Read Robert Jamieson on 2 Corinthians 3 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

This verse plainly openeth what he had said before, and lets us know what sufficiency of God that was of which he there spake. He hath (saith the apostle) not found, but made us sufficient. We were men before, and, through the creating power and providence of God, we had an ability to think and to speak; but God hath made us sufficient, by a supervening act and influence of his grace, to be ministers of the new testament, that is, of the gospel; which being the new revelation of the Divine will, and confirmed by the death of Christ, is called the new testament. Not of the letter, but of the Spirit: by the letter, here, the apostle understandeth the law; for the law is called the letter…

Read Matthew Poole on 2 Corinthians 3 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Ver. 6. Not of the letter] To wit, of the law, which requireth perfect obedience, presupposing holiness in us, and cursing the disobedient; but the gospel (called here the Spirit) presupposeth unholiness, and, as an instrument, maketh us holy, John 17:17; Acts 10:32. For we preach Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:23. We give what we preach. The Spirit is received by the preaching of faith, Galatians 3:2. This manna is rained down in the sweet dews of the ministry of the gospel, 1 Peter 1:22. For the letter killeth] Many popish priests, that hardly…

Read John Trapp on 2 Corinthians 3 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Able ministers of the new testament.—Better, perhaps, as keeping up the stress on the word that had been used in 2 Corinthians 2:16, in the English as in the Greek, sufficient ministers. The noun is used as carrying out the thought implied in the “ministered by us” in 2 Corinthians 3:3. In the “new covenant”—new, as implying freshness of life and energy—we have a direct reference, both to our Lord’s words, as cited in 1 Corinthians 11:25, and given in the Gospel narrative of the Last Supper (see Notes on Matthew 26:28), and to Jeremiah 31:31. The Greek omits the article before all three words, “of a new covenant, one not of a written letter, but of spirit.” The idea of “spirit” comes…

Read Charles John Ellicott on 2 Corinthians 3 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 6. Who hath made us able ministers] This is a more formal answer to the question, Who is sufficient for these things? προςταυτατιςἱκανος; 2 Corinthians 2:16. God, says the apostle, has made us able ministers; ἱκανωσενἡμαςδιακονους, he has made us sufficient for these things; for the reader will observe that he uses the same word in both places. We apostles execute, under the Divine influence, what God himself has devised. We are ministers of the new covenant; of this new dispensation of truth, light, and life, by Christ Jesus; a system which not only proves itself to have come from God, but necessarily implies that God himself by his own Spirit is a continual agent in it, ever…

Read AdamClarke on 2 Corinthians 3 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. Who also hath made us able ministers] None of the old English versions have given the threefold repetition of the word by St Paul, who writes, ‘Who hath made us sufficient ministers.’ The word St Paul uses signifies the having reached a certain standard of ability.of the new testament] We must dismiss all notions here of the book called the “New Testament.” The word in the original (see note on 1 Corinthians 11:25) signifies both testament and covenant. The latter should be the rendering here. St Paul is contrasting the Mosaic with the Christian covenant. There is also no article. The Apostle’s meaning may be thus paraphrased: ‘Who hath endowed us with qualifications sufficient for us to…

Read Cambridge on 2 Corinthians 3 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Who also hath made us able ministers ... - This translation does not quite meet the force of the original.

Read Albert Barnes on 2 Corinthians 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

And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

NETBNew English Translation2006

who made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

RVARevised Version, American1894

who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Who also hath made vs able ministers of the Newe testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirite: for the letter killeth, but the Spirite giueth life.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

who has also made us competent, [as] ministers of [the] new covenant; not of letter, but of spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit quickens.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

who also made us sufficient [to be] ministrants of a new covenant, not of letter, but of spirit; for the letter doth kill, and the spirit doth make alive.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

who also made us sufficient [to be] servants of the New Covenant, not of letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, and the Spirit makes alive.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

It is God who made us able to be servants of a new covenant. This is a covenant not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Who also hath made us fit ministers of the new testament, not in the letter, but in the spirit. For the letter killeth, but the spirit quickeneth.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

He also gave us the ability to be ministers of a new agreement, based not on the letter of the law, but on the spirit. The letter of the law kills, but the spirit gives life.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Who has made us able to be servants of a new agreement; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter gives death, but the Spirit gives life.

Word by word, the decisions they made

διακόνουςdiakonos ministers G1249 2 different renderings
ministersASV BSB DBY DRA FBV GNV KJV MSB NWB RVA
servantsBBE LSV NETB ULB WEB
καινῆςkainos of a new G2537 2 different renderings
of a newASV BBE BSB FBV MSB NETB RVA ULB WEB YLT
newDBY DRA KJV LSV NWB
διαθήκης,diathēkē covenant, G1242 3 different renderings
covenantASV BSB DBY LSV MSB NETB RVA WEB YLT
agreementBBE FBV
a covenantULB
ζῳοποιεῖ.zōopoieō gives life. G2227 3 different renderings
gives lifeBBE BSB FBV MSB NETB ULB WEB
quickensDBY
makes aliveLSV

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.

clauseοὐχNotclauseὅτιthatclauseprepositional phrase · adverbialἀφ’fromἑαυτῶνourselvespredicateἱκανοίsufficientlinking verbἐσμενwe areclause · adverbialverbλογίσασθαίto reckonobjectτιanythingprepositional phrase · adverbialὡςasprepositional phraseἐξofἑαυτῶνourselvesἀλλ’butclausenoun phrase · subjectthenoun phraseἱκανότηςsufficiencyἡμῶνof usprepositional phrase · predicateἐκ[is] ofnoun phraseτοῦ-noun phraseΘεοῦGodclausesubjectὃςwhoadverbialκαὶalsoverbἱκάνωσενhas made competentobjectἡμᾶςus [as]noun phrase · second objectδιακόνουςministersnoun phraseκαινῆςof a newnoun phraseδιαθήκηςcovenantnoun phraseοὐnotγράμματοςof [the] letterἀλλὰbutπνεύματοςof [the] Spiritclauseγὰρforclauseclausenoun phrase · subjectτὸtheγράμμαletterverbἀποκτείνειkillsδὲbutclausenoun phrase · subjectτὸ-πνεῦμαthe Spiritverbζωοποιεῖgives life

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

qui et idoneos nos fecit ministros novi testamenti : non littera, sed Spiritu : littera enim occidit, Spiritus autem vivificat.

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

ܗܘ ܕܐܫܘܝܢ ܕܢܗܘܐ ܡܫܡܫܢܐ ܕܕܝܬܩܐ ܚܕܬܐ ܠܐ ܒܟܬܒܐ ܐܠܐ ܒܪܘܚܐ ܟܬܒܐ ܓܝܪ ܩܛܠ ܪܘܚܐ ܕܝܢ ܡܚܝܐ

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

ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

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.

2 Corinthians 3:6ὅςwhowhoὅςκαίalsoalsoκαίἱκανόωhas made cohas made competἱκανόωημαςus [as]us [as]ημαςδιάκονοςministersministersδιάκονοςκαινόςof a newof a newκαινόςδιαθήκηcovenant,covenant,διαθήκηοὐnotnotοὐγράμμαof [the] leof [the] letterγράμμαἀλλάbutbutἀλλάπνεῦμαof [the] Spof [the] Spiritπνεῦμαthetheγάρforforγάργράμμαletterletterγράμμαἀποκτείνωkills,kills,ἀποκτείνω<the><the>δέbutbutδέπνεῦμαthe Spiritthe Spiritπνεῦμαζῳοποιέωgives life.gives life.ζῳοποιέωγράφωv. I writev. I writeγράφωπνέωv. I blowv. I blowπνέωἱκανόςAdj sufficAdj sufficient,ἱκανόςδιατίθημιv. I appoiv. I appoint, mδιατίθημιἀπόPrep. fromPrep. from, awaἀπόArticle thArticle theοὗAdv where,Adv where, whitοὗδιώκωv. I pursuv. I pursue, peδιώκωνέοςAdj young,Adj young, new,νέοςμήNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. not, lμήἄλλοςAdj other,Adj other, anotἄλλοςζῷονn.n. an ann.n. an animalζῷονποιέωv. I do, mv. I do, makeποιέωμόνοςAdv alone,Adv alone, but,μόνοςδέχομαιv. I take,v. I take, receδέχομαιπῶςAdv. & IrgAdv. & Irg.adv.πῶςἀκάθαρτοςAdj uncleaAdj unclean, imἀκάθαρτοςἅγιοςAdj set apAdj set apart, ἅγιος
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 2 Corinthians 3:6

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.

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
ὃςhos, hē who G3739 Relative pronoun · nominative · singular · masculine
1,407× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The word which is a pronoun used to ask for or identify something, as seen in John 5:11. It can also be used to describe a person or thing, such as in Mark 15:23. This word helps to clarify or specify what is being talked about.
Tyndale gloss
which
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ὅς is a pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' 'what,' or 'that.' It serves as both a demonstrative and a relative pronoun, agreeing in gender with its antecedent. The New Testament uses it in various constructions, including phrases like ὃς μὲν... ὃς δέ to indicate contrasting subjects. Notably, it can express purpose or cause in certain contexts.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ,

the postpositive article (ἄρθρον ὑποτακτικόν).

As demonstr. pron. = οὗτος, ὅδε, this, that, also for αὐτός, chiefly in nom.: ὅς δέ, but he (cf. ἦ δὲ ὅς, freq. in Plat.), Mk 15:23, Jo 5:11; ὃς μὲν . . . ὃς δέ, the one . . . the other, Mt 21:35 22:5 25:15, Lk 23:33, Ac 27:14, Ro 14:5, I Co 11:21, II Co 2:16, Ju 22; neut., ὃ μὲν . . . ὃ δέ, the one . . . the other, some . . . some, Mt 13:8, 23, Read the full entry →

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

ὅς 455 ὅς iii. 5 [RG], 6; Heb. vi. 10; ix. 20; Jas. ii. 5; 1 In. iii. 24; Jude 15; for other exx. see below; ἐν ὥρᾳ 7 οὐ γινώoxet, Mt. xxiv. 50; τῇ παραδύσει 9 παρεδώκατε, Mk. vii. 13 ; add, Lk. ii. 20; v. 9; ix. 435 xii. 46; xxiv. 25; Jn. xvii. 5; Acts ii. 22; xvii. 31; xx. 38; 2 Co. xii. 21; 2Th.i. 4; Rev. xviii. 6; ef. W. § 24,1; [B. as above]. Rarely attraction oceurs where the verb governs the dative [but see below]: thus, κατέναντι οὗ ἐπίστευσε θεοῦ for xarévavre θεοῦ, ᾧ ἐπίστευσε (See κατέναντι). Ro. iv. 17; φωνῆς, ἧς ἔκραξα (for 7 (al. ἥν, οἴ. W. 164 (154 sq.) Β. 287 (217)}7), Acts xxiv. 21, οἵ. Is. vi. 4; (7γετο δὲ καὶ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ τε πιστῶν, οἷς ἥδετο καὶ ὧν ἠπίστει πολλούς, for καὶ πολλοὺς τούτων, οἷς ἠπίστει, Xen. Cyr. ὅ, 4, 39; ὧν ἐγὼ ἐντετύχηκα οὐδείς; for οὐδεὶς τούτων, οἷς ἐντετ. Plato, Gorg. p. 509 ἃ.; Protag. p. 361 6.; derep.7 p.531e.; παρ᾽ ὧν βοηθεῖς, οὐδεμίαν λήψει…

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

ος is found as a demonstrative pronoun in P Ryl II. 14415 (complaint of assault—a.D. 38) ὃς δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου ἄλογον ἀηδίαν μοι ἐπιχειρήσας παρεχρήσατό μοι πολλὰ καὶ ἄσχημα, ‘“whereupon he opposing me made a brutal and odious attack upon me and subjected me to much shameful mishandling” (Edd.): cf. Mk 15%, Jn 51. For ὃς μέν... ὃς δέ, “the one . . the other,” as in Mt 21° a/., see P Oxy IX. 1189? (c. A.D. 117) ἐπιστολὰς δύο ds ἔγραψα ἣν μὲν σοὶ ἣν δὲ Σαβείνῳ, and for ὃς δέ solétarium see PSI. IV. 313° (iii/iv A.D.) with the editor’s note. Ὃς ἄν (ἐάν) c. conj. = ‘‘ whosoever ” may be illustrated Ly P Par 4622 (B.c. 153) (= Witkowski*, p. 87), περὶ dv ἂν βούληι γράφε, P Grenf I. 30% (B.c. 103) ἐφ} οἷς ἂν οὖν ὑμῶν προσδέωνται, P Oxy IV. 743%% (B.C. 2) ἐν ols ἐὰν σοῦ προσδέηται, °° ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐὰν θέλῃς. For the comparative usage of ὃς ἄν and ὃς ἐάν, see Thackeray Gr. i. p. 68, cited s.v. ἄν.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅς (hos, hē) — which.

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ,

genitive οὗ, ἧς, οὗ, etc.; dative plural οἷς, αἷς, οἷς, etc.: Epic dialect forms, genitive ὅου (probably replacing Οο) in the phrases ὅου κλέος οὔ ποτ᾽ ὀλεῖται [Refs 8th c.BC+]; feminine ἕης [Refs 8th c.BC+]; elsewhere only ἧς [Refs]; dative plural οἷς, οἷσι, ᾗς, ᾗσι (never αἷς or αἷσι in [Refs 8th c.BC+] — _pronoun_ used,

__A as demonstrative by the side of οὗτος, ὅδε, and the Article ὁ, ἡ, τό: in post-Homeric Gr. this use survived only in a few special phrases.

__B as a Relat. by the side of the Article ὅ, ἥ, τό (see. ὁ, ἡ, τό, c):—this demonstrative and Relat. pronoun must not be confounded with the Possess. ὅς, ἥ, ὅν. (With Gr. Relat. ὅς, ἥ, ὅ cf. Sanskrit Relat. yas, yā, yad, Lithuanian jis, ji (he, she), Oslav. i, ja, je (he, she…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅς ἥ ὅ

hos

he hay, and neuter

ho ho

probably a primary word (or perhaps a form of the article 3588); the

relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what,

that:--one, (an-, the) other, some, that, what, which, who(-m, -se),

etc. See also 3757.

see GREEK for 3588

see GREEK for 3757

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ

Rel.pr.

who, which, what, that

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅς hos 1x

who, which, what, that, Mt. 1:16, 23, 25; in NT interrog. ἐφ’ ὅ, wherefore, why, Mt. 26:50; in NT ὅς μὲν ... ὅς δέ, for ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, Mt. 21:35; 2 Cor. 2:16

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

R-NSM Part of Speech: Relative pronoun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
25%which
which25% · 356×whom20% · 291×who17% · 238×that14% · 199×what8% · 117×whatever2% · 30×whose2% · 29×other renderings10% · 145×other renderings2% · 25×

1,430 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 60 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
object40%subject29%adverbial26%indirect object3%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,407 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
ἐν
ἡμέραa dayαὐτόςἵναin order that, s
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἔχωI have, hold, poυἱόςa son, descenden
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἀπόλλυμιI destroy, lose,δοῦλος (II)
διά
ἐκεῖνοςΧριστόςanointed, the Meαὐτός
εἰς
καίand, even, also,ἐγώοἰκίαa house, househo
ὅςwho1407×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theμεθερμηνεύωI translate, intκαίand, even, also,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existἔξεστι(ν)it is permitted,γινώσκωI come to know,
Article the
θεόςGod, a godυἱόςa son, descendenκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
καίand, even, also, nam
σύποιέωI do, makeαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
ἄνDisjἑξήκονταIndecτριάκονταIndec

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

Concordanceὅς · 1,407× in the New Testament
Acts Luke John Matthew Romans Mark Hebrews Revelation 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Colossians Ephesians

22 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 33c. AD 40

ἵν’ οὖν μὴ αἰεὶ συμφερόμεναι στασιάζωσι καὶ πόλεμος ἀντ’ εἰρήνης ἐπικρατῇ τὴν ἀκοσμίαν ἐν κόσμῳ τιθείς, οὐ μόνον ἐχώρισε φῶς καὶ σκότος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅρους ἐν μέσοις ἔθετο διαστήμασιν, οἷς ἀνεῖρξε τῶν ἄκρων ἑκάτερον·

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 4.8c. AD 100

Μωϋσῆ Μωϋσῆ, κατάβηθι τὸ τάχος, ὅτι ἠνόμησεν ὁ λαός σου, οὓς ἐξήγαγες ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, καὶ συνῆκεν Μωϋσῆς καὶ ἔριψεν τὰς δύο πλάκας ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ: καὶ συνετρίβη αὐτῶν ἡ διαθήκη, ἵνα ἡ τοῦ ἠγαπημένου Ἰησοῦ ἐγκατασφραγισθῇ εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ἡμῶν…

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 2nd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

θεοῖς. καλῶς ποιήσεις διαλύσας Ἁρκοννῆσιν καὶ Ψενανοῦπιν καὶ … … ελθεῖν ἐπὶ προ … ους καὶ γραψάτωσαν ἡμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐσπούδασας διὰ τὰς ἡμῶν παρακλήσεις καὶ ση

P.Adl. 15Pathyris (?)101 BC

ἐδάνεισεν Ὧρος Ὥρου Ὥρωι Νεχούτου ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος μελίχρως ὑποκλαστὸς ἀναφάλακρος μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν οὖς ἀριστερὸν τετρημένον πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τεσσαράκοντα ἓξ κριθῆς ἑξήκοντα ἐννέα , ἴσους ἀτόκους, ὧν ἀπόδοσιν

P.Adl. 17Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)100 BC

τῆς ἐπιγονῆς τῶν ἐκ Παθύρεως ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος μελίχρως τετανὸς ἀναφάλακρος μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν οὖς ἀριστερὸν τετρημένον χαλκοῦ ταλάντων πέντε . προπωλητὴς καὶ βεβαιωτὴς τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
καὶkai also G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians 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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ol'-so: In the Greek kai, when it is equivalent to "also" or "even," is always placed before the word or phrase which it is intended to emphasize (e.g. Ac 12:3; 1 Joh 4:21). Mt 6:14 should therefore read, "Your heavenly Father will forgive you also"; Lu 6:13, "Whom also he named apostles"; Heb 8:6, "The mediator of a better covenant also"; and 1Th 4:14, `If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also (we believe that) those who are fallen asleep in Jesus, God will bring with Him.'

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
καίalso8978×
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

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
ἱκάνωσενhikanoō has made competent G2427 Verb · aorist · active · indicative · third person · singular
2× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To qualify or enable someone means to give them the ability or resources they need to succeed, like Paul did for the Christians in 2 Corinthians 3:6. It's about making someone competent or sufficient.
Amplified meaning
made able, enabled
Tyndale gloss
to qualify
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἱκανόω means to make sufficient or to qualify. It is derived from ἱκανός and is used in the New Testament to describe enabling or equipping someone for a task, as seen in 2 Corinthians 3:6 and Colossians 1:12. The entries suggest a range of meanings, including being empowered or made complete.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

† ἱκανόω, -ῶ

(< ἱκανός),

[in LXX chiefly for רַב;]

to make sufficient, render fit: c. dupl. acc., II Co 3:6; c. acc. pers. seq. εἰς, Col 1:12.†

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

ἱκανόω, τῶ: 1 aor. ikdvwoa; (ἱκανός): to make sufficient, render fit; with two acc., one of the obj. the other of the predicate: to equip one with adequate power to perform the duties of one, 2 Co. iii. 6; τινὰ εἴς τι, Col. i. 12. [Sept.; Dion. Hal., al.]

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἱκανόω (hikanoō) — to qualify.

ἱκᾰν-όω,

make sufficient, qualify, [NT]:—passive, to be empowered, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; to be made complete, brought to perfection, of the soul, τῷ περιέχοντι [Refs 4th c.AD+]

II. passive, to be satisfied, content, τινι [LXX+1st c.BC+]; ἱκανούσθω ὑμῖν, with infinitive, let it suffice you.., i.e. do it no more, [LXX]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἱκανόω

hikanoo

from 2425; to enable, i.e. qualify:--make able (meet).

see GREEK for 2425

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἱκανόω

v.

I make sufficient

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἱκανόω hikanoō 2x

to make sufficient or competent, qualify, 2 Cor. 3:6; Col. 1:12*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἱκανόω ἱκα^νόω, φυτ. -ώσω from ἱκανόω to make sufficient, qualify, NTest.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%has made competent
has made competent50% · 1×having qualified50% · 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
καίand, even, also, nam
ὅς
Article the
πατήρfather, Father,
ἱκανόωhas made competent
what comes after →
ἐγώ
διάκονοςa waiter, servan
σύ
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

Concordanceἱκανόω · 2× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians Colossians
Across the New Testament2 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 10 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.

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
ἡμᾶςegō us [as] G3165 Personal pronoun · first person · accusative · plural
1,872× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
I/we
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐγώ, gen, etc., ἐμοῦ, ἐμοί, ἐμέ (enclitic μου, μοι, με), pl. ἡμεῖς, -ῶν, -ῖν, -ᾶς,

pers. pron.

I.

The nom. is usually emphatic, when expressed as subjc, as in Mt 3:11, Mk 1:8, Lk 3:16, al. But often there is no apparent emphasis, as Mt 10:16, Jo 10:17; ἰδοὺ ἐ. (= Heb. הִנֵּנִי, cf. I Ki 3:8), Ac 9:10; ἐ. (like Heb. אֲנִי), I am, Jo 1:23 (LXX), Ac 7:32 (LXX).

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

ἐγώ, gen. ἐμοῦ, enclitic pod; dat. ἐμοί, enclitic μοί; acc. ἐμέ, enclitic μέ; plur. ἡμεῖς, ete.; personal pronoun, J. 1. The nominatives ἐγώ and ἡμεῖς, when joined to a verb, generally have force and emphasis, or indicate antithesis, as Mt. iii. 11; Mk.i. 8; Lk. iii. 16 (ἐγὼ pev... ὁ δέ); Mt. iii. 14 (ἐγὼ... ἔχω, καὶ σύν ; V. 22, 28, 39, and often; ἡμεῖς, contrasted with God, Mt. vi. 12; ἡμεῖς x. of Φαρισαῖοι, Mt. ix. 14; cf. W. § 22,6. But sometimes they are used where there is no emphasis or antithesis in them, as Mt. x. 16; Jn. x. 17; and in many edd. in Mk. i. 2; Lk. vii. 27; οἵ. B. §129, 12. ἰδοὺ ἐγώ, 1397, behold me, hereamT: Acts ix.10 (1S. iii. 8). ἐγώ, like 38, Jam: Jn. i. 23; Acts vii. 32, [ef. W.585 (544); B. 125 (109)]. 2. The enclitic (and monosyllabic) gen., dat., and ace. are connected with nouns, verbs, adverbs, but not with prepositions: ἔμπροσθέν pov, Jn. i. 15; ὀπίσω…

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

ἐγώ. Deissmann (ZAZ p. 134 ff.) has drawn attention to the parallels to the solemn use of the first personal pronoun in the Fourth Gospel that may be adduced from inscriptions and magical texts. Thus in an inscr. in honour of Isis from Ios, written in ii/iii A.p., the contents of which are preChristian, we find —Elows ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ τ[ύρανν]ος πάσης χόρας.. ἐγὼ νόμους ἀνθρώποις ἐθέμην . . ἐγώ εἰμι Kpdvov θυγάτηρ πρεσβυτάτη α΄. And similarly in the magical papyrus P Lond 4645 (iv/a.p.) (=I. p. 69) ἐγώ εἰμι ὃ ἀκέφαλος δαίμων . . ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια ὁ μεισῶν ἀδικήματα γείνεσθαι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ α΄. With the construction of the phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί ; in Jn 24 we may compare BGU IV. 1141°8 (n.c. 14) ἐδίδουν αὐτῷ διαστολὰς μηδὲν αὐτῶι καὶ ἐκείνωι εἶναι : for its meaning see Ε΄. C. Burkitt in 77:5 xiii. p- 594f., where it is rendered, ‘‘ What have I and thou to do with that ?” On the difficult…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μέ (me) — me.

ἐγώ,

I: pronoun of the first person:—Epic dialect mostly ἐγών before vowels (so in Doric dialect, before consonants, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect ἱών [Refs 2nd c.AD+]:— strengthened ἔγωγε, I at least, for my part, indeed, for myself (more frequently in Attic dialect than in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: Doric dialect ἐγώνγα [Refs 7th c.BC+]: Boeotian dialect ἱώνγα [Refs 6th c.BC+]; ἱώνει [Refs]; ἰώγα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: Laconian dialect and Tarentum dialect ἐγώνη, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

II. oblique cases from a different root, genitive ἐμοῦ, enclitic μο; Ionic dialect and Epic dialect ἐμέο, ἐμεῦ, μευ, also ἐμέθεν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect ἔμεθεν [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Doric dialect ἐμέος, ἐμεῦς, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect ἐμοῦς [Refs 6th c.BC+] — _dative_ ἐμοί, enclitic μοι (which may be compared with Sanskrit…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐγώ

me

a shorter (and probably originally) from of 1691; me:--I, me, my.

see GREEK for 1691

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐγώ egō 2x

I, gen., ἐμοῦ [μου], dat., ἐμοί [μοι], acc., ἐμέ [με]

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-1AP — Personal pronoun · first person · accusative · plural
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked plural.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-1AP Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: first Case: Accusative Number: Plural

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

az: Conj. and adverb (usually Greek hos hosper, kathos), designating:

(1) Likeness: (a) between nouns (Ge 3:5; Jud 6:5; Php 2:8; Heb 11:27,29); (b) between verbs (Lu 6:36; Joh 5:30; 1Co 10:7); (c) between adjectives (1Co 15:48).

(2) Limitation (with respect to a particular aspect or relation) (1Pe 4:15,16).

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
35%us
us35% · 717×me32% · 644×mine20% · 402×we ourselves6% · 124×my2% · 45×other renderings5% · 97×

2,029 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 27 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
διακόνουςdiakonos ministers G1249 Noun · accusative · plural · masculine
30× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A servant is someone who attends to others, like a waiter or a Christian teacher, as seen in Matthew 20:26. It is about putting others first and helping them.
Amplified meaning
servants, messengers
Tyndale gloss
servant
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word διάκονος (i.e., *diakonos*) means 'servant' or 'minister' and is used in various contexts, including as a technical term for a church officer, specifically a deacon or deaconess. It is built from an uncertain origin and conveys the idea of someone who serves others, often in a religious capacity. The New Testament frequently employs this term to describe those who serve in the church, such as in Philippians and 1 Timothy.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — θεράπων, δοῦλος, διάκονος, οἰκέτης, ὑπηρέτης from a scan

THE only passage in the N. T. in which θεράπων occurs is Heb. iii. 5: ‘‘ And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant” (ὡς θεράπων). The allusion here to Num. xii. 7 is manifest, where the Septuagint has given θεράπων as its rendering of 12; it has done the same elsewhere (Exod. iv. 10; Deut. iii. 24; Josh. i. 2), yet has not made this its constant rule, frequently rendering it not by θεράπων, but by δοῦλος, out of which latter rendering, no doubt, we have at Rev. xv. 8, the phrase, Μωῦσῆς ὃ δοῦλος τοῦ Θεοῦ. It will 1 Lampe: ‘Christus est Vitis vera, ... et qua talis preponi, quin et opponi, potest omnibus aliis qui etiam sub hoe symbolo in scriptis propheticis pinguntur.’ Six) SYNONYUS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 20 not follow that there is no difference between δοῦλος and θεράπων ; nor yet that there may not be occasions when the one word would be far more fitly employed…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

διάκονος, -ου, ὁ, ἡ

(derivation unknown),

[in LXX for נַעַר, שָׁרַת pi.: Es 6:3, 5, א B Es 1:10 2:2, Pr 10:4, 4 Mac 9:17 * ;]

in general, a servant, attendant, minister: Mt 20:26 22:13 23:11, Mk 9:35 10:43, Jo 2:5, 9, I Co 3:5, Ga 2:17, Eph 6:21, Col 4:7; δ. θεοῦ, Ro 13:4, II Co 6:4

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

διάκονος, -ov, 6, 7, (of uncert. origin, but by no means, as was formerly thought, compounded of διά and κόνις, so as to mean prop. ‘raising dust by hastening’; cf. ἐγκονεῖν ; for a in the prep. διά is short, in διάκονος lone. Bum. Lexil. i. p. 218 sqq. [Eng. trans. p. 231 sq.] thinks it is derived fr. obsol. διάκω i. q. διήκω [allied with διώκω ; cf. Vanicek p. 3687); one who executes the commands of another, esp. of a master; a servant, attendant, minister ; 1. uniy.: of the servant of a king, Mt. xxii. 13; with gen. of the pers. served, Mt. xx. 26; xxiii. 11; Mk. ix. 35; x. 43, (in which pass. it is used fig. of those who advance others’ interests even at the sacrifice of their own) ; τῆς ἐκκλησίας, of one who does what promotes the welfare and prosperity of the church, Col. i. 25; διάκονοι τοῦ θεοῦ, those through whom God carries on his administration on earth, as magistrates, Ro.…

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

διάκονος. For the word in its general sense cf. P Flor II. 121? (6. A.D. 253) ἐπεὶ ἔδοξεν τοῖς [δεκαπρώτοις })] τὸν διάκονον ἙΠ[ρηναῖον ? ἐπ᾽ Ἰένιαυτὸν χρησι[μεύειν ἡμῖν ἢ. There is now abundant evidence that the way had been prepared for the Christian usage of this word by its technical application to the holders of various offices, as in the i/B.c. J/agn 217, where the dedicators of a statue to Hermes are described as κομάκτορες, κήρυκες and διάκονοι. connotation belongs to the word in 2. 109 (ce. A definitely religious B.C. 100) where the remains of a list of temple officials concludes with μάγειρος . . διάκονος. Fora similar combination the editor refers to JG IX. 1, 486 (ii/iB.c.) and IV. 774 (ili/B.c.), and to these examples Thieme (p. 17 f.), from whom the above citations are taken, adds C/G II.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

διάκονος (diakonos) — servant.

διάκονος [ᾱ],

Ionic dialect διήκονος, ὁ, later διάκων (which see):— servant, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; messenger, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. attendant or official in a temple or religious guild, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]:—especially in the Christian church, deacon, [NT+4th c.AD+]: feminine, deaconess, [NT]

II. as adjective, servile, menial, ἐπιστήμη [Refs 5th c.BC+]: irregular comparative διᾱκονέστερος [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

διάκονος

diakonos

probably from an obsolete diako (to run on errands; compare 1377); an

attendant, i.e. (genitive case) a waiter (at table or in other menial

duties); specially, a Christian teacher and pastor (technically, a

deacon or deaconess):--deacon, minister, servant.

see GREEK for 1377

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

διάκονος, οῦ, ὁ, ἡ

n.f. & n.m.

a waiter, servant, administrator

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

διάκονος diakonos 29x

one who renders service to another; an attendant, servant, Mt. 20:26; 22:13; Jn. 2:5, 9; one who executes a commission, a deputy, Rom. 13:4; Χριστοῦ, Θεοῦ, ἐν κυρίῳ, etc. a commissioned minister or preacher of the Gospel, 1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 6:4; a minister charged with an announcement or sentence, 2 Cor. 3:6; Gal. 2:17; Col. 1:23; a minister charged with a significant characteristic, Rom.…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

διάκονος Akin to διάκτορος: both perh. from διώκω. a servant, waiting-man, Lat. minister, Hdt., etc.: a messenger, Aesch., Soph.:—as fem., Dem.

a minister of the church, a deacon, NTest.: as fem. a deaconess, id. NTest.

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

N-APM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- Called by God

Ex 28:1; Heb 5:4

- Qualified by God

Isa 6:5-7; 2Co 3:5,6

- Commissioned by Christ

Mt 28:19

- Sent by the Holy Spirit

Ac 13:2,4

- Have authority from God

2Co 10:8; 13:10

- Authority of, is for edification

2Co 10:8; 13:10

- Separated to the gospel

Ro 1:1

- Entrusted with the gospel

1Th 2:4

- DESCRIBED AS

. Ambassadors for Christ

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%servant
servant50% · 15×servants27% · 8×deacons10% · 3×minister7% · 2×ministers3% · 1×minister?3% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
predicate53%subject23%adverbial10%indirect object7%second object3%object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 30 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
σύ
εἰμίI am, existὑπέρ
Article the
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakαὐτός
γάρfor
θεόςGod, a god
εἰμίI am, exist
ἐγώκαλόςbeautiful, good,
ΠαῦλοςPaul
εἰμίI am, existἐγώ
διάκονοςministers30×
what comes after →
Article the
ἐμόςἐκκλησίαan assembly, conΧριστόςanointed, the Me
εἰμίI am, exist
σύἔκδικοςavenging, an aveεἷςone
ἐν
ὑπομονήendurance, steadκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Χριστόςanointed, the Messia
εἰμίI am, existἸησοῦςJesus
κατά
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

Concordanceδιάκονος · 30× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians Colossians Romans 1 Timothy John Matthew Ephesians Mark 1 Corinthians 1 Thessalonians Galatians Philippians
Across the New Testament12 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 5 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 Polycarp The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Posterity of Cain 165c. AD 40

ἁπαλαῖς γὰρ ἔτι ταῖς τῶν νέων ψυχαῖς οἱ τραγῳδίαν τὸν βίον τύφων ἐρώντων νομίζοντες κεκιβδηλευμένους χαρακτῆρας ἐναπομάττονται, διακόνοις ἀκοαῖς χρώμενοι, ὧν μυθικὸν λῆρον καταχέαντες καὶ μέχρι διανοίας αὐτῶν ἐντήξαντες θεοπλαστεῖν τοὺς τὰ φρονήματα…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.298c. AD 75–95

Ἰακώβου δὲ ἀσμένως ταῦτα ἀκούσαντος καὶ φήσαντος ἡδέως πάντα μένων παρʼ αὐτῷ πόνον εἰς ἡδονὴν ὑπομενεῖν τὴν ἐκείνου, μισθὸν δὲ ὑπὲρ τούτου λαβεῖν ἀξιοῦντος τὸν Ῥαχήλας γάμον διά τε τὰ ἄλλα τιμῆς ἀξίας παρʼ αὐτοῦ τυγχάνειν οὔσης, καὶ ὅτι διάκονος τῆς…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 42.4c. AD 96

κατὰ χώρας οὖν καὶ πόλεις κηρύσσοντες καθίστανον τὰς ἀπαρχὰς αὐτῶν, δοκιμάσαντες τῷ πνεύματι, εἰς ἐπισκόπους καὶ διακόνους τῶν μελλόντων πιστεύειν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
7th c. AD 6th c. AD 5th c. AD 4th c. AD 8th c. AD
P.Berl.Leihg. 1 8Lagis oder Trikomia (Arsinoites)AD 163

ὀβολοὶ ιϛ Ἀπίων Διοδώρου ὀβολοὶ κ Παπνεπτῦνις ὀβολοὶ κ Τρύφων Εἰρηναίου ὀβολοὶ ιβ Πᾶσεις Διάκονος ὀβολοὶ ιβ Κολλοῦθος Πανεῦτος δραχμαὶ δ ὀβολοὶ ιζ Φουῶνσις Ὥρου δραχμαὶ δ ὀβολοὶ ι

P.Flor. 2 121Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 249

παρὰ Ἀλυπίου. ἐπεὶ ἔδοξεν τοῖς δεκαπρώτοις τὸν διάκονον Εἰρηναῖον ἐπ ἐνιαυτὸν χρησιμεύειν ἡμῖν γενέσθω παρὰ ς … ποταμίτῃ οὖσι λαβὼν δραχμὰς τέσσερας

P.Coll.Youtie 2 77Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 324

αἱ περὶ ἐμὲ πληγαὶ δηλοῦσιν, καὶ εἰ μὴ βοηθείας ἔτυχον ὑπὸ τῶν παραγενομένων Ἀντωνίνου διάκονος καὶ Ἰσὰκ μοναχοῦ τάχα ἂν τέλεόν με ἀπώλεσαν. ὅθεν ἐπιδίδωμι τάδε τὰ ἔνγραφα ἀξιῶν

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
καινῆςkainos of a new G2537 Adjective · genitive · singular · feminine
42× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means new or fresh, like something that has not been used before. It is used in Matthew 9 and 2 Corinthians 5 to describe a new heart or a new creation.
Amplified meaning
fresh, renewed
Tyndale gloss
new
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

καινός (kainos) means new or fresh, often in terms of quality rather than age. It contrasts with παλαιός (palaios), which means old or antiquated. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts like new wine (Mt 9:17) and the new covenant (Lk 22:20). The lexicons note a distinction between καινός and νέος (neos), with the former emphasizing freshness and the latter focusing on recentness.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — νέος, καινός from a scan

Some have denied that any difference can in the N. T. be traced between these words. They derive a certain plausible support for this denial from the fact that manifestly νέος and καινός, both rendered ‘new’ in our Version, are often interchangeably used; thus νέος ἄνθρωπος (Col. iii. 10), and καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (Eph. ii. 15), in both cases “ the 1 Our English ‘ world,’ etymologically regarded, more nearly represents αἰών than κόσμος. The old ‘ weralt’ (in modern German ‘ welt’) is composed of two words, ‘wer,’ man, and ‘alt,’ age or generation. The ground-meaning, therefore, of ‘weralt’ is generation of men (Pott. Etym. Forsch. vol. ii, pt. i. p. 125). Out of this expression of time unfolds itself that of space, as αἰών passed into the meaning of κόσμος (Grimm, Deutsche Myth. p. 752); but in the earliest German records ‘ weralt’ is used, first as an expression of time, and only…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καινός, -ή, -όν,

[in LXX (Ez 11:19, al.) for חָדָשׁ, exc. Is 65:15 (אַחֵר);]

of that which is unused or unaccustomed, new in respect to form or quality, fresh, unused, novel: opp. to παλαιός, ἀρχαῖος, Mt 9:17 13:52, Mk 2:21, 22, Lk 5:36, 38, II Co 5:17, Eph 4:24; πλήρωμα, Mk 2:21; μνημεῖον, Mt 27:60, Jo 19:41; διαθήκη (T, WH, R, txt., omit), Read the full entry →

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

καινός, -7, -ov; [fr. Aeschyl. and Hdt. down]; Sept. for wan; new, i. e. a. as respects form; recenily made, fresh, recent, unused, unworn (opp. to παλαιός old, antiquated) : as ἀσκός, Mt. ix. 17; Mk. ii. 22 (Tom. Tr WH br. the cl.]; Lk. v. 88 ; ἱμάτιον, Lk. v. 36; πλήρωμα, Mk. ii. 21; μνημεῖον, Mt. xxvii. 60; with ἐν ᾧ οὐδέπω οὐδεὶς ἐτέθη added, Jn. xix. 413; καινὰ x. παλαιά, Mt. xiii. 52; new, which as recently made is superior to what it succeeds: διαθήκη, Mt. xxvi. 28 (Τ᾿ WH om. caw.) ; Mk. xiv. 24 RL; Lk. xxii. 20 (WH reject the pass.) ; 1 Co. xi. 25; 2Co. iii. 6; Heb. viii. 8,13; ix. 15, (Jer. xxxviil. (xxxi.) 31); καινοὶ οὐρανοί, καινὴ γῆ, 2 Pet. iii. 13; Rev. xxi. 1, (Is. xv. 17 ; xvi. 22) ; Ἱερουσαλήμ (see Ἱεροσόλυμα, fin.), Rey. iii. 12; xxi. 2; ἄνθρωπος (see the word, 1 f.), Eph. ii. 15; iv. 24, (καρδία, πνεῦμα, Ezek. xviii. 31; xxxvi. 26) ; καινὰ πάντα ποιῶ. I bring all…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καινός (kainos) — new.

καινός, ή, όν,

new, fresh, ἔργα οὔτ᾽ ὦν κ. οὔτε παλαιά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κ. λόγους φέρειν to bring news, [Refs]; τίδ᾽ ἐστὶ κ.; [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἢ βούλεσθε περιιόντες πυνθάνεσθαι, “λέγεταί τι κ.;” [Refs 4th c.BC+] anew, afresh, [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc. (also ἐκ καινοῦ [Refs 3rd c.AD+]; especially of new dramas, τραγῳδῶν γιγνομένων καινῶν [Refs 4th c.BC+]; briefly τραγῳδοῖς κ. at the representation of the new tragedies, Docum. cited in [Refs 4th c.BC+]; but κ. κωμῳδία, τραγῳδία, of a new style of drama, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

2. newly-made, κύλικες, τριήρης, ὀθόνια, οἶνος, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

3. adverb -νῶς newly, afresh, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καινός

kainos

of uncertain affinity; new (especially in freshness; while 3501 is

properly so with respect to age:--new.

see GREEK for 3501

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καινός, ή, όν

Adj

fresh, new

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καινός kainos 41x

new, recently made, Mt. 9:17; Mk. 2:22; new in species, character, or mode, Mt. 26:28, 29; Mk. 14:24, 25; Lk. 22:20; Jn. 13:34; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Eph. 2:15; 4:24; 1 Jn. 2:7; Rev. 3:12; novel, strange, Mk. 1:27; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

καινός καινός, new, fresh, Lat. recens, novus, καινὰ καὶ παλαιὰ ἔργα Hdt.; καινοὺς λόγους φέρειν to bring news, Aesch.; λέγεταί τι καινόν; Dem.; ἐκ καινῆς (sc. ἀρχῆς) anew, afresh, Lat. de novo, Thuc.:—esp. of dramas produced for the first time, Aeschin., Dem.

newly-invented, new-fangled, novel, Eur., etc.; κ. θεοί strange gods, Plat.; καινά innovations, Xen.; οὐδὲν καινότερον εἰσέφερε τῶν ἄλλων he introduced as little of anything new as others, id. Xen.; τὸ καινὸν τοῦ πολέμου the unforeseen turn which war often takes, Thuc.

κ. ἄνθρωπος = novus homo, Plut.

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

A-GSF Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
86%new
new86% · 38×a new7% · 3×anew5% · 2×fresh2% · 1×

44 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
object45%adverbial21%subject17%predicate12%second object5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 42 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
ποτήριονa drinking cupἐγώἐν
ἀσκόςa wine-skin
εἰς
ἐντολήan ordinance, injunc
οὐNegπάλινagain, further,
σύ
μετάγράφωI write
διαθήκηa covenant, will, te
ἸούδαςJudah, Judas, Juοὗτος
καινόςof a new42×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀμφότεροιboth of twoπαλαιόςold, ancient, woγῆthe earth, soil,
ἐν
Article theὅς
διαθήκηa covenant, will, te
ἐνεἰμίI am, existοὐNeg
γράφωI write
σύὅς
κατά
ἐξουσίαpower, authorityArticle 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

Concordanceκαινός · 42× in the New Testament
Revelation Luke Mark Matthew 2 Corinthians Hebrews 1 John 2 Peter Acts Ephesians John 1 Corinthians
Across the New Testament14 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

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

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn Husbandry 148c. AD 40

„τίς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ οἰκοδομήσας οἰκίαν καινὴν καὶ οὐκ ἐνεκαίνισεν αὐτήν;

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.79c. AD 75–95

Λαμέχου γάρ ἐστιν υἱός, οὗ πατὴρ ἦν Μαθουσάλας, οὗτος δὲ ἦν τοῦ Ἀνώχου τοῦ Ἰαρέδου, Μαλαήλου δὲ Ἰάρεδος ἐγεγόνει, ὃς ἐκ Καϊνᾶ τεκνοῦται τοῦ Ἀνώσου σὺν ἀδελφαῖς πλείοσιν, Ἄνωσος δὲ Σήθου υἱὸς ἦν τοῦ Ἀδάμου·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.6c. AD 100

ταῦτα οὖν κατήργησεν, ἵνα ὁ καινὸς νόμος τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἄνευ ζυγοῦ ἀνάγκης ὤν, μὴ ἀνθρωποποίητον ἔχῃ τὴν προσφοράν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 2nd c. BC 4th c. AD
P.Fay. 121Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 110

Σαβῖνος Γεμείνωι τῶι ἰδίωι χαίρειν. εὖ ποιήσεις δοὺς Οὐηστείνωι εἰς τὸν ζυγὸν αὐτοῦ ζυγόδεσμον καινὸν στερεόν, ὃ καὶ ἀλείψεις ἐπιμελῶς, ἐκ τῶν ἐν τῆι κιβωτῶι τῶν ἀσκῶν ἧι ἔχεις

P.Aberd. 42 hKaranis (Arsinoites)AD 189

τετελώνηται διὰ πύλης Καινῆς ἐρημοφυλακίας Χήρης ἐξάγων ὄνον ἕνα . ἔτους κθ Ἐπεὶφ κα.

P.Bodl. 1 15ArsinoitesAD 176–AD 225

μόνας, γίνονται κριθῆς ἀρτάβαι τμ, ἐξ ὧν ὑπελογήθησαν ὑπὲρ ἑκατοστῆς α 𐅵 διαφόρου μέτρου καινοῦ παρὰ τὸ παλαιὸν κριθῆς ἀρτάβαι πέντε , λοιπὰς καθαρᾶς ἀδόλου ἀβώλου κεκοσκινευμένης κριθῆς ἀρτάβας

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
διαθήκης,diathēkē covenant, G1242 Noun · genitive · singular · feminine
33× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A covenant is a formal agreement or contract between two parties, like a will or a promise. In the Bible, it often refers to God's promises to his people, as seen in Galatians 3:15 and Hebrews 9:16.
Amplified meaning
agreement, promise
Tyndale gloss
covenant
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

διαθήκη (diathēkē) refers to a disposition or arrangement, often understood as a will or testament. It also signifies a covenant, particularly in the context of agreements between God and humanity. The term is frequently used in the New Testament, notably in references to the new covenant established through Christ, as seen in passages like Matthew 26:28 and Hebrews 9:16-17.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

διαθήκη, -ης, ἡ

(< διατίθημι),

[freq. in LXX, and nearly always for בְּרִית ;]

as usually in cl., a disposition, testament, will (Plat., al.): Ga 3:15 (R, mg., but v. Lft., in l.), He 9:16, 17 (R, txt.; MM, Exp., xi,; Milligan, NTD, 75; Abbott, Essays, 107; Deiss., LAE, 341; but v. infr.).

As in LXX (for בְּרִית) = cl. συνθήκη, a convention, arrangement, covenant (exc. in the disputed cases mentioned above, always between God and man, "perhaps with the feeling that the δια- compound was more suitable than the συν- for a covenant with God---συνθ. might suggest equal terms," MM, Exp., l.c.): Ga 3:15 (R, txt., but v. supr., and cf. Thayer, s.v.), He 9:16

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

διαθήκη, -ης, 7, (διατίθημι) ; 1. a disposition, arrangement, of any sort, which one wishes to be valid, (Germ. Verordnung, Willensverfiigung): Gal. iii. 15, where under the name of ἃ man’s disposition is meant specifically a testament, so far forth as it is a specimen and example of that disposition [cf. Mey. or Bp. Lghtft. ad loc.]; esp. the last disposal which one makes of his earthly possessions after his death, a testament or will (so in Grk. writ. fr. [Arstph.], Plat. lege. 11 p. 922 ¢. sqq. down): Heb. ix. 16 sq. 2. a compact, covenant (Arstph. av. 440), very often in the Seriptures for M3 (Vulg. testamen136 . tum). For the word covenant is used to denote the close relationship which God entered into, first with Noah (Gen. vi. 18; ix. 9 sqq. [ef. Sir. sliv. 18]), then with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their posterity (Lev. xxvi. 42 [ef. 2 Mace. i. 2]), but esp. with Abraham (Gen.…

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

διαθηκη superfluous, P Petr III. 6 (ὁ)15 (c. B.c. 236) τὴ]ν διαθήκην καταλείπω will be about the earliest example: P Grenf I. 177 (c. B.C. 147 or 136) and 76. 214 (B.c. 126) also fall within the LXX period. So do such inserr. as OG/S 3387 (8.6. 133), of the instrument by which King Attalus of Pergamum devised his country to Rome, A/ichel 1001 ἷν- 8 (c. B.C. 200) κατὰ διαθήκαν (the testament of Epicteta, in Theran Doric), and one of iii/B.c. in ᾿Αθηνᾷ xx. p. 167 κατὰ τὰς διαθήκας, Sy 8279 (i/B.c.) might also be cited—houses and gardens bequeathed by a woman to Aphrodite Urania, κατὰ τὰς διαθήκας τὰς κειμένας ἐν τῶι ἱερῶι τῆς ᾿Αφροδίτης καὶ παρ᾽ Εἰὐνομίδει τῶι ἄρχοντι καὶ παρὰ τῶι θεσμοθέτει Κτησιφῶντι. We may also mention BGU IV. 11517 (B.c. 14) καθ᾽ ἣν ἔθετο διαθήκ(ην) διὰ τοῦ τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων ἀρχείου, if illustration is needed to show that the Jews used the word in this sense. Cagnat 1V.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

διαθήκη (diathēkē) — covenant.

διαθήκη, ἡ,

(διατίθημι) disposition of property by will, testament, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κατὰ διαθήκην by will, [Refs 1st c.BC+], etc.: in plural, διαθήκας διαθέσθαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. αἱ ἀπόρρητοι δ. mystic deposits on which the common weal depended, probably oracles (compare διαθέτης), [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II.2. name of an eyesalve, because the recipe was deposited in a temple, [Refs 6th c.AD+]

III. compact, covenant, ἢν μὴ διαθῶνται διαθήκην ἐμοί [LXX+5th c.BC+]; καινή, παλαιὰ δ., [NT]; disposition (with allusion to [NT]

IV. ={διάθεσις}[Refs 3rd c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

διαθήκη

diatheke

from 1303; properly, a disposition, i.e. (specially) a contract

(especially a devisory will):--covenant, testament.

see GREEK for 1303

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

διαθήκη, ης, ἡ

n.f.

a covenant, will, testament

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

διαθήκη diathēkē 33x

a testamentary disposition, will; a covenant, Heb. 9:16, 17; Gal. 3:15; in NT, a covenant of God with men, Gal. 3:17; 4:24; Heb. 9:4; Mt. 26:28; the writings of the old covenant, 2 Cor. 3:14

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

διαθήκη διαθήκη, ἡ, διατίθημι a disposition of property by will, a will, testament, Ar., Oratt.

an arrangement between two parties, covenant, Ar., NTest.

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
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Covenant

A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a “cutting,” with reference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two parts, and the contracting parties passing between them, in making a covenant (Gen. 15; Jer. 34:18, 19).

The corresponding word in the New Testament Greek is diatheke, which is, however, rendered “testament” generally in the Authorized Version. It ought to be rendered, just as the word berith of the Old Testament, “covenant.”

This word is used (1) of a covenant or compact between man and man (Gen. 21:32), or between tribes or nations (1 Sam.…

The Heb. berith means primarily "a cutting," with reference to the custom of cutting or dividing animals in two and passing between the parts in ratifying a covenant. (Genesis 15; Jeremiah 34:18,19) In the New Testament the corresponding word is diathece (diatheke), which is frequently translated testament in the Authorized Version. In its biblical meaning two parties the word is used-- Of a covenant between God and man; e.g. God covenanted with Noah, after the flood, that a like judgment should not be repeated. It is not precisely like a covenant between men, but was a promise or agreement by God. The principal covenants are the covenant of works --God promising to save and bless men on condition of perfect obedience --and the covenant of grace , or God’s promise to save men on condition of their believing in Christ and receiving…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The word testamentum is often used in Latin to express the Hebrew word which signifies covenant; whence the titles, Old and New Testaments, are used to denote the old and new covenants. See TESTAMENT.

A covenant is properly an agreement between two parties. Where one of the parties is infinitely superior to the other, as in a covenant between God and man, there God’s covenant assumes the nature of a promise, Isa 59:21 Jer 31:33,34 Ga 3:15-18. The first covenant with the Hebrews was made when the Lord chose Abraham and his posterity for his people; a second covenant, or a solemn renewal of the former, was made at Sinai, comprehending all who observe the law of Moses. The "new covenant" of which Christ is the Mediator and…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ Sacred Jos 9:18-21; Ga 3:15

→ Binding Jos 9:18-20; Jer 34:8-21; Eze 17:14-18; Ga 3:15

→ Binding, not only on those who make them, but on those who are represented De 29:14,15

→ Blood of Ex 24:8

→ Book of Ex 24:7

→ The Mosaic law called a covenant Ex 34:28

→ See CONTRACTS

→ See VOWS

→ OF MEN WITH MEN

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
79%covenant
covenant79% · 26×covenants9% · 3×a covenant6% · 2×will6% · 2×

33 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
predicate36%object21%subject21%adverbial18%second object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 33 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
ἐγώκαίand, even, also,οὗτος
καινόςfresh, new
Article theδιάκονοςa waiter, servan
μιμνῄσκωI remember, recall
καίand, even, also,
αὐτός
δίδωμιI offer, give
ἐγώ
παρά
διαθήκηcovenant,33×
what comes after →
ὅς
διατίθημιI appoint, makeArticle theποιέωI do, make
Article the
περίἐκχέωI pour out, shedἐπαγγελίαa promise
καινόςfresh, new
μεσίτηςa mediator, go-b
ἅγιοςset apart, holy, sac
αὐτός
ἐν
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

Concordanceδιαθήκη · 33× in the New Testament
Hebrews Galatians 2 Corinthians Acts Luke Romans 1 Corinthians Ephesians Matthew Mark Revelation
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 176 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.85c. AD 40

καταφάσκει καὶ ἐπινεύει λέγων „Ναί, ἰδοὺ Σάρρα ἡ γυνή σου τέξεταί σοι υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰσαάκ, καὶ στήσω τὴν διαθήκην μου πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰς διαθήκην αἰώνιον“ (ib.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 17.argc. AD 75–95

Ἡρώδου τελευτὴ καὶ διαθήκη τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρὸς Καίσαρα καὶ μερισμὸς πρὸς τοὺς τρεῖς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.6c. AD 100

ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἐρωτῶ ὑμᾶς ὡς εἶς ἐξ ὑμῶν ὤν, ἰδίως δὲ καὶ πάντας ἀγαπῶν ὑπὲρ τὴν ψυχήν μου, προσέχειν νῦν ἑαυτοῖς καὶ μὴ ὁμοιοῦσθαί τισιν ἐπισωρεύοντας ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν λέγοντας, ὅτι ἡ διαθήκη ἐκείνων καὶ ἡμῶν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Lond. 2 p. 167-169 no. 177Bakchias (Arsinoites)AD 40

τῷ δ ἔτει Γαίου Καίσαρος Αὐτοκράτορος Σεβαστοῦ τελευτήσαντος τοῦ προγεγραμμένου μου πατρὸς κατέλειψεν κατὰ διαθήκην τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ ἐμοί τε καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου Ὀρσενούφι καὶ Σισοΐτι καὶ Πετοβάστι

P.Col. 8 213Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 84–AD 105

πατρός μου Πολυδεύκους τοῦ δεινὸς … τοῦ Πολυδεύκους ἀπὸ κώμης Ἰβιῶνος Εἰκοσιπενταρούρων τελευτὴν ἀπὸ διαθήκης περὶ τὴν προκειμένην κώμην Ἰβιῶνα εἰκοσιπενταρούρων κατοικικῆς ἀρούρας τρεῖς ὄγδοον ἑκκαιδέκατον καὶ γῆς ἀμπελίτιδος

P.Mil.Vogl. 4 226Tebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 135

αὐτῶι εἰς ἀκοίρωσιν, ἀφʼ ὧν τῶι Ἡρακλείδῃ ὀφειλομένων διαταγέντων ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τῇ Ἀφροδισίᾳ κατὰ διαθήκην ἐπὶ τοῦ διεληλυθότος ὀκτωκαιδεκάτου ἔτους Ἐπεὶφ ἐννεακαιδεκάτῃ διὰ τοῦ γραφείου Τεβτύνεως καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαι

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
οὐou not G3756 Particle · negative
1,622× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a strong 'no', used to deny something completely. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 13:29 and John 1:21. It is a negative answer to a question.
Tyndale gloss
no
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word οὐ (transliterated as ou) is a primary negative particle meaning 'not' or 'no.' It is used to negate verbs or statements, often appearing in various forms depending on the following sound. In the New Testament, it frequently serves to deny facts and is distinct from another negative particle, μή (transliterated as ), which is used for prohibitions or wishes.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὐ, before a vowel with smooth breathing οὐκ, before one with rough breathing οὐχ (but improperly οὐχ ἰδού, Ac 2:7, WH, mg.; cf. WH, Intr., § 409; M, Pr., 44, 244),

[in LXX for לֹא, אַיִן, אֵין;]

neg. particle,

not, no, used generally c. indic. and for a denial of fact (cf . μή);

absol. (accented), οὔ, no: Mt 13:29, Jo 1:21 21:5; οὒ οὔ, Mt 5:37, Ja 5:12.

Most freq. negativing a verb or other word, Mt 1:25 10:26, 38, Mk 3:25 9:37, Jo 8:29, Ac 7:5, Ro 1:16, Phl 3:3, al.; in…

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

οὐ before a consonant, οὐκ before a vowel with a smooth breathing, and ody before an aspirated vowel ; but sometimes in the best codd. οὐχ occurs even before a smooth breathing; accordingly LT WH mrg. have adopted οὐχ ἰδού, Acts ii. 7; LT οὐχ ᾿Ιουδαϊκῶς, Gal. ii. 14 (see WH. Introd. § 409); L οὐχ ὀλίγος, Acts xix. 23; οὐχ ἠγάπησαν, Rev. xii. 11; and contrariwise οὐκ before an aspirate, as οὐκ ἕστηκεν, Jn. viii. 44 T; [οὐκ ἕνεκεν, 2 Co. vii. 12 T]; (οὐκ εὗρον, Lk. xxiv. 3; [οὐκ ὑπάρχει, Acts iii. 6] in cod. x [alsoC*; ef. cod. Alex. in 1 ἔβαν. iv. 2,12; Job xix. 16; xxxviiil. 11, 26]); cf. W. $5, 14d. 14; Β. τ; [A. v. Schiitz, Hist. Alphab. Att., Berol. 1875, pp: 54-58 ; Sophocles, Hist. of Grk. Alphab., 1st ed. 1848, p- 64 sq. (on the breathing); Tdf Sept., ed. 4, Proleg. pp: Xxxiii. xxxiv.; Scrivener, Collation ete., 2d ed., p. lv. no. 9; id. cod. Bezae p. xlvii. no. 11 (ef. p. xlii.…

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

ου to make the voyage” (Edd.), and P Amh II. 78?! (a.p. 184) τοιαύτης ο[ὖ]ν αὐθαδίας ἐν αὐτῷ οὔσης οὐ δυνάμενος [ἐν]καρτερεῖν ἐπιδίδωμι, ‘“ his audacity having reached this pitch I can endure no longer and present this petition.” See further Proleg. p. 231 f. In support of the translation ‘‘ I determined not to know” in 1 Cor 2, we may cite P Par 2657 (B.c. 163) (= UPZi. Ρ-. 248) οὐκ ἐκρίναμεν καταχωρῆσαι, ‘we determined not to record,” P Tebt I. 124° (c. B.c. 118) οὐκ (ἐκδρίναμεν ἐξαρ[ιθ]μεῖ[σθαι, “we determined not to be counted,” and the classical formula in P Hamb I. 27° (B.c. 250 (249)) οὐκ ἔφη εἰδέναι, ‘he said that he did not know.” The origin of the double negative οὐ μή is fully discussed by Moulton Pro/eg. p. 187 ff. When we pass to its actual occurrences in the NT, we find that these for the most part are found in passages derived from the OT and in the Sayings of our Lord…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὐ (ou) — no.

οὐ,

the negative of fact and statement, as μή of will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective. —The same differences hold for all compounds of οὐ and μή, and some examples of οὐδέ and οὐδείς are included below.—As to the Form, see infr. G. USAG[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I. as the negative of single words,

II. as the negative of the sentence.

I. οὐ adhering to single words so as to form a quasi-compound with them:—with Verbs: οὐ δίδωμι withhold, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐκ εἰῶ prevent, [Refs]; οὐκ ἐθέλω refuse, [Refs]; οὔ φημι deny, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; but sometimes οὐ is retained, εἰ δ᾽ ἂν.. οὐκ ἐθέλωσιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐάντε.. οὐ (variant{μή}) φῆτε ἐάντε φῆτε [Refs 8th c.BC+] —On the use of οὐ in contrasts, see below [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὐ

ou

ouk ook, and (before an aspirate)

ouch ookh

a primary word; the absolute negative (compare 3361) adverb; no or

not:--+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, +

nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but. See also

3364, 3372.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὐ

Neg.prt.

no, not

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὐ ou 1x

negative adverb, originally the gen. of ὅς, spelled οὐκ if followed by a word beginning with a vowel and a smooth breathing, οὐχ if followed by a vowel and rough breathing, not, no, Mt. 5:37; 12:43; 23:37; for the peculiarities of its usage (especially as distinct from μή) consult a grammar

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

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
82%not
not82% · 1383×certainly6% · 96×surely4% · 70×no longer3% · 50×no2% · 39×other renderings3% · 51×

1,689 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 17 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial82%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,622 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
εἰμίI am, existἐγώαὐτός
ὅς
ἐγώθερίζωI reap, gatherδέbut, on the othe
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύαὐτόςἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἐνἐπί
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforὅς
οὐnot1622×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
ἐκArticle theἐγώ
μήNeg
παρέρχομαιI pass byεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inπίνωI drink, imbibe
οἶδαI know, remember
ὅτιthat, since, becArticle theτίςIrg
γάρfor
εἰμίI am, existθέλωI will, wish, deArticle the
δύναμαιI am powerful, am ab
ἔρχομαιI come, goσῴζωI save, healArticle 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

Concordanceοὐ · 1,622× in the New Testament
John Matthew Luke 1 Corinthians Romans Mark Acts 2 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews 1 John Galatians

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

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 6c. AD 40

ὡς γὰρ τῶν κολοσσιαίων μεγεθῶν τὰς ἐμφάσεις καὶ ἡ βραχυτάτη σφραγὶς τυπωθεῖσα δέχεται, οὕτως τάχα που καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀναγραφείσης ἐν τοῖς νόμοις κοσμοποιίας ὑπερβάλλοντα κάλλη καὶ ταῖς μαρμαρυγαῖς τὰς τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ψυχὰς ἐπισκιάζοντα βραχυτέροις…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.11c. AD 75–95

ὁ δὲ τῶν παρʼ ἡμῖν ἀρχιερέων οὐδενὸς ἀρετῇ δεύτερος Ἐλεάζαρος τῷ προειρημένῳ βασιλεῖ ταύτης ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς ὠφελείας οὐκ ἐφθόνησε πάντως ἀντειπὼν ἄν, εἰ μὴ πάτριον ἦν ἡμῖν τὸ μηδὲν ἔχειν τῶν καλῶν ἀπόρρητον.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.8c. AD 100

ἐγὼ δὲ οὐχ ὡς διδάσκαλος, ἀλλ̓ ὧς εἰς ἐξ ὑμῶν ὑποδείξω ὀλίγα, δἰ ὧν ἐν τοῖς παροῦσιν εὐφρανθήσεσθε.

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

δὲ γενόμεναι κατὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον κληρονομήσασαι ταξάμεναι τὰ καθήκοντα τέλη θεᾶι Βερενίκηι κυριεύομεν. ὅθεν οὐκ ἀποδιδόντων τὰ ἡμέτερα ἐπεδώκαμεν ἐν τῶι λ ἔτει προσανγελίαν Ἡρακλείδει γενομένωι ἀρχιφυλακίτηι τοῦ Παθυρίτου

C.Erbstreit16Diospolis Magna (Theben)135 BC

ι ἀρουρῶν πρόκτησιν … ένου αὐτὸν ἐν συνεδρίωι καὶ συγχώρησιν … ειν, ἐν ἧι οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ὁ πατήρ. ὅθεν καταβεβραβευμένοι … ήρου συνεριου ἀξιοῦμεν, ἐὰν φαίνηται, συντάξαι γράψαι, οἷς

P.Adl. 2Pathyris125 BC

ὠνῆς ἐν πίστει διὰ τῶν περὶ τὸν Πανεβχοῦνιν ἐκτελειωθεῖσαν τῶι … ἔτει ἀντὶ ὀφειλημάτων, οὐκ ἐπελευσομένους τὸν Πανερέα καὶ τὴν Σενενοῦπιν περὶ ὀφειλημάτων μηδὲ περὶ ἄλλου μηδενός. ταῦτα δὲ

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
γράμματοςgramma of [the] letter G1121 Noun · genitive · singular · neuter
14× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for something written, like a letter or book, used in Galatians 6:11 to refer to a character or letter. It can also mean a written document, like a bill or scripture.
Amplified meaning
written law, scripture
Tyndale gloss
something written
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word γράμμα (gramma) comes from γράφω and generally means something that is written, such as a letter, document, or account. It can refer to letters of the alphabet, written works, or the sacred writings of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, it often contrasts the literal letter of the law with the spirit of the law.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γράμμα, -τος, τό

(< γράφω),

[in LXX for סֵפֶר, etc. ;]

that which is traced or drawn, a picture.

that which is written;

a character, letter: Ga 6:11;

a writing, a written document;

a bill or account: Lk 16:6, 7;

a letter: Ac 28:21;

τὰ ἱερὰ γ., the sacred writings, i.e. the OT: II Ti 3:15 (so in Philo, Vit. Mos., iii, 39) ;

τὸ γ., the letter, the written word as an external authority in contrast with the direct influence of the Spirit as manifested in the new Covenant: Ro 2:27, 29 7:6, II Co 3:6, 7;

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

γράμμα, -ros, τό, (γράφω), that which has been written ; 1. a letter i. e. the character: Lk. xxiii. 388 [R G Lbr. Tr mrg. br.]; Gal. vi. 11. 2. any writing, a document or record; a. a note of hand, bill, bond, account, written acknowledgment of debt, (as scriptio in Varr. sat. Men. 8, 1 [ef. Edersheim ii. 268 sqq.]): Lk. xvi. 6 sq. ((Joseph. antt. 18, 6,3], in Ltxt. T Tr WH plur. τὰ γράμματα; so of one document also in Antiph. p. 114, (30); Dem. p. 1034, 16; Vulg. cautio). b. a letter, an epistle: Acts xxviii. 21; (Hdt. 5, 14; Thue. 8, 50; Xen. Cyr. 4, 5, 26, etc.). ©. τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα the sacred writings (of the O. T.; [so Joseph. antt. prooem. § 3; 10, 10,4 fin.; 6. Ap. 1, 10; Philo, de vit. Moys. 3, 39; de praem. et poen. § 14; leg. ad Gai. § 29, ete.— but always rai. y.]): 2 Tim. iii. 15 [here T WHom. L Tr br. ra]; γράμμα i. q. the written law of Moses, Ro. ii. 27; Μωῦσέως…

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

γράμμα. In view of Jn γ15 it must be remarked that there are hundreds of papyri where someone states that he writes on behalf of the person concerned, who is illiterate: this is most often γράμματα μὴ εἰδότος (εἰδυίης), Lut also frequently ἀγραμμάτου ὄντος (οὔσης). For examples see 5.7. ἀγράμματος, and add the inscription of the Imperial period Sy// 8445 κελεύουσαν ὑπὲρ αἱ ὑτὰν] γράψαι, ἐπεὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτὰ γράμματα μὴ εἰδέναι. See Dittenberger’s note: he can only quote one parallel from inscrr. With this goes sucha phrase as P Tebt IT. 31628 (A.D. 99) τέχνη δὲ ὑμῶν (7. 7p.) γράμματα, “ we are scribes by profession” (Edd.), and that of P Flor III. 38279 (A.D. 222-3) μανθ(άνων) γράμμ(ατα), of a child. The exceeding commonness of this phraseology, which never means anything than inability to write, forces us to recognize it in Jn γ᾽ and Ac 41%. With the biting scorn of the superior person…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γράμμα (gramma) — something written.

γράμμα, ατος, τό,

Doric dialect γράθμα, probably in [Refs 6th c.BC+], but γράσσμα, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: late Aeolic dialect plural γρόππατα, [Refs]: (γράφω):— that which is drawn: plural, lines of a drawing, picture, etc., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; picture, Ἀπέλλεω γ. [Refs 3rd c.BC+]: singular, drawing, picture, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: plural, figures in a picture, [Refs 5th c.AD+]

II. written character, letter, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: in plural, letters, characters, γραμμάτων τε συνθέσεις [NT+4th c.BC+]; the letters, the alphabet, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ἀσσύρια, Ἑλληνικά, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μαθεῖν to have learnt to read, [Refs]; ἐδίδασκες γράμματα, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐφοίτων you kept school—I went there, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; τέχνη ἡμῶν γ. our profession is that of the scribe, [Refs 1st…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γράμμα

gramma

from 1125; a writing, i.e. a letter, note, epistle, book, etc.; plural

learning:--bill, learning, letter, scripture, writing, written.

see GREEK for 1125

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γράμμα, ατος, τό

n.n.

a letter, writings, learning

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γράμμα gramma 14x

pr. that which is written or drawn; a letter, character of the alphabet, a writing, book, Jn. 5:47; an acknowledgment of debt, an account, a bill, note, Lk. 16:6, 7; an epistle, letter, Acts 28:21; Gal. 6:11; ἱερὰ γράμματα, the sacred books of the Old Testament, the Jewish Scriptures, 2 Tim. 3:15; spc. the letter of the law of Moses, the bare literal sense, Rom. 2:27, 29; 7:6; 2 Cor. 3:6, 7; pl. letters, learning, Jn. 7:15; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γράμμα γράφω that which is drawn, in pl. the lines of a drawing or picture, Eur., Theocr.: in sg. a drawing, picture, Plat.

that which is written, a written character, letter, Lat. litera, Hdt., etc.; and in pl. letters, Aesch.; hence, the alphabet, Hdt., Plat.; γρ. to have learnt to read, id. Plat.; ἐδίδασκες γράμματα, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐφοίτων you kept school, — I went there, Dem.

a note in music, Anth.

in pl. also, a piece of writing, and, like Lat. literae, a letter, Hdt., Eur.: an inscription, epitaph, Hdt.

papers or documents of any kind, records, accounts, Ar., Oratt.:—in sg. a bill, account, NTest.

a man's writings, i. e. a book, treatise, Xen.:—also, letters, learning, Plat.

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

N-GSN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

let'-er.

See EPISTLE.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Letter

In Rom. 2:27, 29 means the outward form. The “oldness of the letter” (7:6) is a phrase which denotes the old way of literal outward obedience to the law as a system of mere external rules of conduct. In 2 Cor. 3:6, “the letter” means the Mosaic law as a written law. (See WRITING.)

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
33%letter
letter33% · 5×writings27% · 4×letters20% · 3×bills13% · 2×learning7% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object50%adverbial29%subject14%second object7%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 14 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
σύ
σύ
πολύςmuch, many, ofteπηλίκοςhow large, how g
οὐNeg
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spδιαθήκηa covenant, will
ἐκεῖνος
Article the
οὗτος
πῶς
γράμμαof [the] letter14×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
καθίζωI set, make to sγράφωI writeπεριτομήcircumcision
οἶδαI know, remember
μήNegArticle the
οὐNeg
πιστεύωI believe, have
εἰς
μανίαraving madness
περί
σύ

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

Concordanceγράμμα · 14× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians Romans Acts John Luke 2 Timothy Galatians
Across the New Testament7 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 12 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 Polycarp The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Unchangeableness of God 6c. AD 40

1,28), ἐν ἴσῳ τῷ δοτὸν ὄντα, ὥστ’ εἶναι „τὸν δεδομένον δίδωμι“, κατὰ τὸ ἱερώτατον Μωυσέως γράμμα τοῦτο·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.166c. AD 75–95

ἐγγέγραπται δὲ τούτοις τῶν Ἰακώβου παίδων τὰ ὀνόματα γράμμασιν ἐπιχωρίοις γλώσσῃ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ κατὰ ἓξ τῶν λίθων ἑκατέρῳ, οἱ πρεσβύτεροι δʼ εἰσὶ κατὰ ὦμον τὸν δεξιόν.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 9.8c. AD 100

δηλοῖ οὖν τὸν μὲν Ἰησοῦν ἐν τοῖς δυσὶν γράμμασιν, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ τὸν σταυρόν.

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

Παθυρίτου ἐφʼ οὗ ἀνομολογησάμενοι μόλις ἀπέδωκάν τινα. Συναλλάγματα δὲ καὶ συμβόλαια ἰδιόχρεα καὶ ἕτερα γράμματα λυμανάμενοι ἔβλαψαν τὰ διʼ αὐτῶν διάφορα τά τʼ ἔπιπλα ταξάμενοι ἀποδοῦναι οὐκ ἐποίησαν, οἰόμενοι

P.Grenf. 2 17Thebais137 BC

τῶν προκειμένων πάντων. ἔγραψεν Δρύτων Παμφίλου ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν διὰ τὸ φάσκειν αὐτοὺς μὴ εἰδέναι γράμματα. ἔτους λδ Τῦβι θ.

P.Adl. 4Ptolemais (Oberägypten)110 BC

ἔγραψεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ψεμμίνιος Διονύσιος Ἀρχεδήμου Βερενικεὺς ἀξιωθεὶς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ διὰ τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι γράμματα. ἔτους η Τῦβι κδ.

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
ἀλλὰalla but G235 Conjunction
638× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
But is a strong opposing word, used in Matthew 5:15 and John 7:16. It shows contrast or surprise, like in the phrase 'but God' in Romans 3:31.
Tyndale gloss
but
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀλλά (alla) is an adversative particle, meaning 'but' or 'otherwise.' It is derived from the neuter plural of ἄλλος and is used to introduce opposition or contrast in sentences. In the New Testament, it often appears in contexts that involve negation or exceptions, such as in Matthew 5:15 and John 16:2. The lexicons note its stronger adversative force compared to δέ.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀλλά (ἀλλ’ usually bef. α and υ, often bef. ε and η, rarely bef. ο and ω, never bef. ι; Tdf., Pr., 93 f.; WH, App., 146),

adversative particle,

stronger than δέ; prop. neuter pl. of ἄλλος, used adverbially, with changed accent; hence prop. otherwise, on the other hand (cf. Ro 3:31);

opposing a previous negation, but: οὐ (μὴ) . . . ἀ., Mt 5:15, 17 Mk 5:39, Jo 7:16, al.; rhetorically subordinating but not entirely negativing what precedes, οὐ . . . ἀ., not so much . . . as, Mk 9:37, Mt 10:20, Jo 12:44, al.; with ellipse of the negation, Mt 11:7-9

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

ἀλλά, an adversative particle, derived from ἄλλα, neut. of the adj. ἄλλος, which was originally pronounced ἀλλός (cf. Klotz ad Dévar. ii. p. 1 sq.), hence properly, other things se. than those just mentioned. It differs from δέ, as the Lat. at and sed from autem, [ef. W. 441 sq. (411)]. 1. But. So related to the preceding words that it serves to introduce 1. an opposition to concessions; nevertheless, notwithstanding: Mt. xxiv. 6; Mk. xiii. 20; xiv. 28; Jn. xvi. 7, 20; Acts iv. 17; vii. 48; Ro. v. 14 sq.; x. 16; 1 Co. iv. 4; 2 Co. vii. 6; Phil. ii. 27 (ἀλλ᾽ ὁ θεός etc.), ete. 2. an objection: Jn. vii. 27; Ro. x. 18 sq.; 1 Co. xv. 35; Jas. ii. 18. 3. an exception: Lk. xxii. 53; Ro. iv. 2; 1 Co. viii. 7; xe 29: 4. a restriction: Jn. xi. 42; Gal. iv. 8; Mk. xiv. 36. 5. an ascensive transition or gradation, nay rather, yea moreover: Jn. xvi. 2; 2 Co. i. 9; esp. with καί added, Lk. xii. 7…

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

ἀλλά. The closeness οἱ ἀλλά to πλήν appears in more uses than one. Armitage Robinson, Zp/estans, p. 205, has a note on a quasi-resumpltive use of ἀλλά in Eph 524 which is closely paralleled by that of πλήν in ver. 33. Then there are instances of ἀλλά = ‘‘except.” ‘This is clear where we have ἀλλ᾽ ἤ (as in 2 Cor 13%): thus P Petr 11. 9 (3)® (B.c. 24139) ὥστε μηθένα εἶναι ἐνταῦθα ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἡμᾶς, ‘ There is no one left here except ourselves” (Ed.), 2d. 46 (α)" (B.C. 209) καὶ μὴ ὑποκεῖσθαι πρὸς ἄλλο μηδὲν add’ ἢ τὴν mpoyeypap[μέν]ην ἐγγύην, “has not been pledged for any other purpose than the aforesaid security” (1α.), P Lond 89738 (a.p. 84) (=TIII. p. 207) ὃ μέντοιγε οὐ θέλων. ἀλλὰ ἢ ἀνάγκηι. In P Tebt I. το 419 (B.c. 92) μὴ ἐξέστω Φιλίσκωι γυναῖκα ἄλλην. μ γυ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀλλά (alla) — but.

ἀλλά,

conjunction, originally neuter plural of ἄλλος, otheruise: used adversatively to limit or oppose words, sentences, or clauses, stronger than δέ:

I. in simple oppositions, but,

I.1. after negative clauses, οὐ κακός, ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαθός[Refs 8th c.BC+]

I.1. b after a simple negative, ἦ παραφρονεῖ; οὔκ, ἀλλ᾽ ὕπνος μ᾽ ἔχει[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.1. c frequently after οὐ μόνον, μὴ μόνον, with or without καί, οὐ μόνον ἅπαξ, ἀ. πολλάκις[Refs 5th c.BC+], either, not only.. but.., μὴ ὅτι ἰδιώτην τινά, ἀλλὰ τὸν μέγαν βασιλέα[Refs 5th c.BC+]; or, not only not.. but.., οὐχ ὅπως κωλυταὶ.. γενήσεσθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ.. περιόψεσθε[Refs 5th c.BC+]; the negative form is ἀλλ᾽ οὐδέ, μὴ ὅτι ὑπὲρ ἄλλου, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτοῦ δίκην εἴρηκα[Refs 4th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀλλά

alla

neuter plural of 243; properly, other things, i.e. (adverbially)

contrariwise (in many relations):--and, but (even), howbeit, indeed,

nay, nevertheless, no, notwithstanding, save, therefore, yea, yet.

see GREEK for 243

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀλλά

Cj.

but, except

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀλλά alla 638x

but; however; but still more; ἀλλάγε, at all events; ἀλλή, unless, except. Ἀλλά also serves to introduce a sentence with keenness and emphasis, Jn. 16:2; Rom. 6:5; 7:7; Phil. 3:8

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀλλά Conjunct., properly neut. pl. of ἄλλος (with changed accent) otherwise, but, stronger than δέ:

to oppose single clauses, but, Lat. autem, the preceding clause being negat., οὐ μόνον ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις Plat.; so, οὐχ (or μὴ) ὅτι, οὐχ (or μὴ) ὅπως, are followed by ἀλλά or ἀλλά καὶ . . . , not only . . . , but . . .

after a negative ἀλλά sometimes = ἀλλ᾽ ἤ, except, but, ἔπαισεν οὔτις ἀλλ᾽ ἐγώ Soph.

to oppose whole sentences, but, yet, Lat. at:— used by Hom., with imperat. or subj., to remonstrate, encourage, persuade, like Lat. tandem, ἀλλ᾽ ἴθι, ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε, ἀλλὰ ἴωμεν, Hom.

joined with other Particles, ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα, or, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν, but then, however, Hdt., etc.

ἀλλὰ γάρ, Lat. enimvero, but really, certainly, attic

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
92%but
but92% · 591×instead2% · 15×other renderings4% · 25×other renderings2% · 12×

643 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
adverbial10%object6%predicate3%subject2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 638 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
οἶδαI know, rememberκατεργάζομαιI work out, prodἐπιγινώσκωI come to know,
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγράφωI writeἐν
ἐγώ
ἀπόκρατέωI lay hold of, oθέλημαwill, wish, desi
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegοὐδείςno one, none, noΜωϋσῆςMoses
θεόςGod, a god
Article theἄνομοςlawless, sinful,
ἀλλάbut638×
what comes after →
Article the
Article theπέμπωI sendθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ἐν
οὐNeg
πᾶςall, the whole, ἐνδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐν
πᾶςall, the whole, Article theδύναμιςmight, power, ma
ἵναin order that, so th
φανερόωI make clear, viπληρόωI fill, fulfill,σῴζωI save, heal

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

Concordanceἀλλά · 638× in the New Testament
John 1 Corinthians Romans 2 Corinthians Mark Matthew Luke Acts Galatians 1 Peter Hebrews Philippians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 5c. AD 40

οὐ μὴν διὰ τοῦθ’ ἡσυχαστέον, ἀλλ’ ἕνεκα τοῦ θεοφιλοῦς καὶ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐπιτολμητέον λέγειν, οἴκοθεν μὲν οὐδέν, ὀλίγα δ’ ἀντὶ πολλῶν, ἐφ’ ἃ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν φθάνειν εἰκὸς ἔρωτι καὶ πόθῳ σοφίας κατεσχημένην.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.1c. AD 75–95

Τοῖς τὰς ἱστορίας συγγράφειν βουλομένοις οὐ μίαν οὐδὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ὁρῶ τῆς σπουδῆς γινομένην αἰτίαν, ἀλλὰ πολλὰς καὶ πλεῖστον ἀλλήλων διαφερούσας.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.8c. AD 100

ἐγὼ δὲ οὐχ ὡς διδάσκαλος, ἀλλ̓ ὧς εἰς ἐξ ὑμῶν ὑποδείξω ὀλίγα, δἰ ὧν ἐν τοῖς παροῦσιν εὐφρανθήσεσθε.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
P. Grenf. 1 21Pathyris127 BC

ἐπὶ Διονυσίου ἀγορανόμου ἐν τῶι ϛ ἔτους ἐπὶ τοῦ Φιλομήτορος, ἣ διασαφεῖ τά τε ἄλλα καὶ ἐπίτροπον Ἑρμ … φιλον ὄντα συγγενῆ κατέστησεν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων δ

P.Grenf. 1 44Pathyris127 BC

ἐπὶ Διονυσίου ἀγορανόμου ἐν τῶι ϛ ἔτει ἐπὶ τοῦ Φιλομήτορος ἣ διασαφεῖ τά τε ἄλλα καὶ ἐπίτροπον Ἑρμ … φιλον ὄντα συγγενῆ κατέστησεν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων δ

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

νῦν οὐδενός … ς ἀξιοῦμεν … ἀνθρώπου ἀλόγως … ὀφείλει ἡμῖν διάφορα … θαι ἀλλʼ ἀποστερέσαι … ησας ἀλλά … τας κατὰ κοινόν … ἐπίσκεψιν ποιησάσθαι. … τούτων γὰρ

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
πνεύματος·pneuma of [the] Spirit; G4151 Noun · genitive · singular · neuter
379× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for spirit or breath refers to the vital principle or mental disposition of a person, as seen in John 3:8 and 1 Corinthians 5:5. It can also mean a superhuman spirit, like the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:2.
Amplified meaning
breath, divine nature
Tyndale gloss
spirit/breath: spirit
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word πνεῦμα (i.e., *pneuma*) means 'spirit' or 'breath' and is derived from the verb πνέω (to blow). It encompasses various meanings, including air in motion, the vital principle of life, and spiritual beings such as angels and demons. In the New Testament, it frequently refers to the Holy Spirit and the human spirit, appearing in contexts that contrast it with the body or flesh.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — πνοή, πνεῦμα, ἄνεμος, θύελλα from a scan

From the words into comparison with which πνεῦμα is here brought, it will be evident that it is proposed to deal with it in its natural and earthly, not in its supernatural and heavenly, meaning. Only I will observe, that on the relations between πνοή and πνεῦμα in this its higher sense there is a discussion in Augustine, De Civ. Dei, xiii. 22; cf. De Anim. et huj. Orig. i. 14, 19. The first three words of this group, as they designate not things heavenly but things earthly, differ from one another exactly as, according to Seneca, do in the Latin ‘aér,’ ‘spiritus,’ ‘ ventus’ (Nat. Qu. v. 13) : ‘Spiritum a vento motus' separat; vehementior enim spiritus ventus est; invicem spiritus leviter fluens aer.’ Πνοή and πνεῦμα occur not seldom together, as at Isai. xlii. 5; lvii. 16; πνοή conveying the impression of a lighter, gentler, motion of the air than πνεῦμα, as ‘aura’ than ‘ventus.’…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πνεῦμα, -τος, τό,

(< πνέω),

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

of air in motion;

wind: Jo 3:8; pl., He 1:7(LXX);

breath: π. ζωῆς, Re 11:11; π. τοῦ στόματος, fig., II Th 2:8 (cf. Ps 32 (33):6).

Of the vital principle, the spirit (Arist., Polyb., al.): Lk 8:55, Jo 19:30, Ac 7:59, al.; opp. to σάρξ, Mt 26:41, Mk 14:38, I Co 5:5, al.; to σῶμα, Ro 8:10, I Co 6:17 7:34,

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

πνεῦμα, -τος, τό, (πνέω), Grk. writ. fr. Aeschyl. and Hdt. down; Hebr. may, Lat. spiritus; i. 6. 1. a movement of air, (gentle) blast; a. of the wind: ἀνέμων πνεύματα, Hat. 7,16, 1; Paus. 5, 25; hence the wind itself, Jn. iii. 8; plur. Heb. i. 7, (1 K. xviii. 45; xix. 11; Job i. 19; Ps. ciii. (civ.) 4, etc.; often in Grk. writ.). b. breath of the nostrils or mouth, often in Grk. writ. fr. Aeschyl. down: πνεῦμα τοῦ στόματος, 2 Th. ii. 8 (Ps. xxxii. (xxxiii.) 6, ef. Is. xi. 4); mv. ζωῆς, the breath of life, Rev. xi. 11 (Gen. vi. 17, cf. πνοὴ ζωῆς, il. 7). [πνεῦμα and πνοή seem to have been in the main coincident terms; but avon became the more poetical. Both retain a suggestion of their evident etymology. Even in class. Grk. πνεῦμα became as freq. and as wide in its application as ἄνεμος. (Schmidt ch. 55, 7; Trench § lxxiii.) ] 2. the spirit, i.e. the vital principle by which the body 18…

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

πνεῦμα. This is a notable ex. of those words, whose meaning has been so deepened and enriched through Christian influences, that we cannot expect our sources to throw much light on their use in the NT. One or two points may, however, be noted. Thus for the more literal meaning of the word we may cite P Oxy VI. 9047 (v/A.D.), where a certain Flavius petitions a praeses on the ground ὡς λοιπὸν εἰς αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς σωτηρίας πνεῦμα δυστυχῖν pe, “so that at last the very breath of my life is in danger” (Edd.). In P Leid Wii 2 (ii/iii A.D.) (= II. p. 157) reference is made to a book which περιέχει γέννησιν πνεύματος, πυρὸς Kal okdTo(=ov)s, ‘contains the creation of spirit, fire and darkness.” The same document αν. 4 shows οὐ ἀντιτάξεταί μοι πᾶν πνεῦμα, οὐ δαιμόνιον, οὐ συνάτ(--άντ)ημα. Reminiscent of LXX Numb 1622, 2716, isthe Jewish ‘‘ prayer for vengeance” from Rheneia, Sy// 816 (=#1181)*, which…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πνεῦμα (pneuma) — spirit/breath: spirit.

πνεῦμα, ατος, τό,

(πνέω) blast, wind, first in [Refs 6th c.BC+]: frequently in Trag., etc., ἀνέμων πνεύματα πάντων [Refs 4th c.BC+]; θαλάσσας.. πνεύματι λάβρῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+] is commoner in Poets; [Refs 8th c.BC+]; κατὰ πρύμναν ἵσταται τὸ π.[Refs 5th c.BC+]; κατὰ πνεῦμα στῆναι τοῦ ἄρρενος to leeward of him, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; but κατὰ π. προσιόντες down wind, [Refs]; πνεύματος ἀνείλησις, ἐκπύρωσις, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; as an element, air, [Refs 3rd c.AD+]

2. metaphorically, θαλερωτέρῳ π. with more genial breeze or influence, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; αἰδοίῳ π. χώρας with air or spirit of respect on the part of the country, [Refs]; π. ταὐτὸν οὔποτ᾽.. ἐν ἀνδράσιν φίλοις βέβηκεν the…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πνεῦμα

pneuma

from 4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by

analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by

implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or

(superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the

Holy Spirit:--ghost, life, spirit(-ual, -ually), mind. Compare 5590.

see GREEK for 4154

see GREEK for 5590

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πνεῦμα, ατος, τό

n.n.

wind, breath, spirit

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πνεῦμα pneuma 379x

wind, air in motion, Jn. 3:8; breath, 2 Thess. 2:8; the substance spirit, Jn. 3:6; a spirit, spiritual being, Jn. 4:24; Acts 23:8, 9; Heb. 1:14; a bodiless spirit, specter, Lk. 24:37; a foul spirit, δαιμόνιον, Mt. 8:16; Lk. 10:20; spirit, as a vital principle, Jn. 6:63; 1 Cor.…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πνεῦμα πνεῦμα, ατος, τό, πνέω a blowing, πνεύματα ἀνέμων Hdt., Aesch.: alone, a wind, blast, Trag., etc.

metaph., θαλερωτέρῳ πν. with more genial breeze or influence, Aesch.; λύσσης πν. μάργῳ id. Aesch.; πν. ταὐτὸν οὔποτ᾽ ἐν ἀνδράσιν φίλοις βέβηκεν the wind is constantly changing even among friends, Soph.

like Lat. spiritus or anima, breathed air, breath, Aesch.; πν. βίου the breath of life, id. Aesch.; πν. ἀθροίζειν to collect breath, Eur.; πν. ἀφιέναι, ἀνιέναι, μεθιέναι to give up the ghost, id. Eur.; πνεύματος διαρροαί the wind-pipe, id. Eur.

that is breathed forth, odour, scent, id. Eur.

spirit, Lat. afflatus, Anth.: inspiration, NTest.

the spirit of man, id. NTest.

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

N-GSN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

spir'-it (ruach; pneuma; Latin, spiritus):

1. Primary and Figurative Senses

(1) As Wind, Breath

(2) As Anger or Fury

(3) As Mental and Moral Qualities in Man

2. Shades of Meaning

(1) As Life-Principle

(2) As Surviving Death

(3) Spiritual Manifestations

3. Human and Divine Spirit

(1) The Human as Related with the Divine

(2) Operations of the Divine Spirit as Third Person of the Trinity

4. Old Testament Applications

5. Various Interpretations

1. Primary and Figurative Senses:

(1) As Wind, Breath:

Used primarily in the Old Testament and New Testament of the wind, as in Ge 8:1; Nu 11:31; Am 4:13 ("createth the wind"); Heb 1:7 (angels, "spirits" or "winds" in margin); often used of the breath, as…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Spirit

(Heb. ruah; Gr. pneuma), properly wind or breath. In 2 Thess. 2:8 it means “breath,” and in Eccl. 8:8 the vital principle in man. It also denotes the rational, immortal soul by which man is distinguished (Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 5:5; 6:20; 7:34), and the soul in its separate state (Heb. 12:23), and hence also an apparition (Job 4:15; Luke 24:37, 39), an angel (Heb. 1:14), and a demon (Luke 4:36; 10:20). This…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A word employed in various senses in Scripture.

1. For THE HOLY, HOLINESS SPIRIT, the third person of the Holy Trinity, who inspired the prophets, animates good men, pours his unction into our hearts, imparts to us life and comfort; and in whose name we are baptized and blessed, as well as in that of the Father and the Son. When the adjective Holy is applied to the term Spirit, we should always understand it as here explained; but there are many places whether it must be taken in this sense, although the term Holy is omitted. See HOLY, HOLINESS SPIRIT.

2. BREATH, respiration; or the principle of animal life, common to men and animal: this God has given, and this he recalls when he takes away life, Ec 3:21. See SOUL.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ Called “the inner man,” Ro 7:22; Eph 3:16

→ See ANGELS

→ See DEMONS

→ See HOLY SPIRIT

→ See MAN, A SPIRIT

→ See SATAN

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
90%spirit
spirit90% · 346×spirits8% · 31×other renderings2% · 8×

385 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
adverbial39%subject29%object21%predicate7%indirect object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 379 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,δέbut, on the otheτίςIrg
ἐν
βαπτίζωI dip, submerge,δέbut, on the otheἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
ἅγιοςset apart, holy, sac
Article theγάρforσύ
αὐτός
Article theθυγάτριονa little daughteλέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also, nam
πίνωI drink, imbibeἸσραήλPropμάστιξa scourge, lash,
πνεῦμαof [the] Spirit;379×
what comes after →
Article the
ἅγιοςset apart, holy,ἀκάθαρτοςunclean, impureθεόςGod, a god
ἅγιοςset apart, holy, sac
καίand, even, also,Article theἀτενίζωI direct my gaze
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theδύναμιςmight, power, maἀλήθειαtruth
ἐγώ
ἐπίἐπιτάσσωI give order, coοὗτος
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theἅγιοςset apart, holy,καίand, even, also,

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

Concordanceπνεῦμα · 379× in the New Testament
Acts 1 Corinthians Luke Romans John Revelation Mark Matthew Galatians 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 John

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament25 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 173 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 29c. AD 40

εἶθ’ ὕδατος ἀσώματον οὐσίαν καὶ πνεύματος καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἑβδόμου φωτός, ὃ πάλιν ἀσώματον ἦν καὶ νοητὸν ἡλίου παράδειγμα καὶ πάντων ὅσα φωσφόρα ἄστρα κατὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἔμελλε συνίστασθαι.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.27c. AD 75–95

ταύτης δʼ ὑπʼ ὄψιν οὐκ ἐρχομένης, ἀλλὰ βαθεῖ μὲν κρυπτομένης σκότει, πνεύματος δʼ αὐτὴν ἄνωθεν ἐπιθέοντος, γενέσθαι φῶς ἐκέλευσεν ὁ θεός.

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
7th c. AD 4th c. AD 8th c. AD 5th c. AD 6th c. AD

ἐν ὀνόματι τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ὁμοουσίου τριάδος πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος βασιλείας τοῦ θειοτάτου καὶ εὐσεβεστάτου ἡμῶν δεσπότου Φλαυίου Φωκᾶ τοῦ αἰωνίου Αὐγούστου Αὐτοκράτορος καὶ

Tyche 20 (2005), p. 1-9HerakleopolitesAD 603

r ἐν ὀνόματι τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ τῆς δεσποίνης ἡμῶν τῆς θεοτόκου καὶ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων, βασιλείας τοῦ θειοτάτου καὶ

SB 1 4740ArsinoitesAD 602–AD 610

ἐν ὀνόματι τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ὁμοουσίου τριάδος πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ τῆς δεσποίνης

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
τὸho the G3588 Article · nominative · singular · neuter
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians 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-NSN — Article · nominative · singular · neuter
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-NSN Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
γὰρgar for G1063 Conjunction
1,038× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
For is a word used to explain or give a reason, often introducing a justification or clarification, as seen in Matthew 4:18 and Romans 7:1. It's a conjunction that connects ideas and provides additional information.
Tyndale gloss
for
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word γάρ (gar) is a coordinating particle primarily used to introduce reasons or explanations, similar to 'for' in English. It can serve various functions, including causal, explicative, and conclusive, and is often placed after the first word in a clause. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts that clarify or justify preceding statements, aligning with its classical usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γάρ,

co-ordinating particle, contr. of γε ἄρα,

verily then, hence, in truth, indeed, yea, then, why, and when giving a reason or explanation, for, the usage in NT being in general accord with that of cl.;

explicative and epexegetic: Mt 4:18 19:12, Mk 1:16 5:42 16:4, Lk 11:30, Ro 7:1, I Co 16:5, al.

Conclusive, in questions, answers and exclamations: Mt 9:5 27:23, Lk 9:25 22:27, Jo 9:30, Ac 8:31 16:37 19:35,

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

γάρ, a conjunction, which ace. to its composition, γέ and dpa (i. 4. ἄρ), is properly a particle of affirmation and conclusion, denoting truly therefore, verily as the case stands, “ the thing is first aflirmed by the particle yé, and then is referred to what precedes by the force of the particle dpa” (Klotz ad Devar. ii. 1, p. 232; οἵ. Kiihner ii. p. 724; [Jelf § 786; W. 445 (415) sq-]). Now since by a new affirmation not infrequently the reason and nature of something previously mentioned are set forth, it comes to pass that, by the use of this particle, either the reason and cause of a foregoing statement is added, whence arises the causal or argumentative force of the particle, for (Lat. nam, enim; Germ. denn) ; or some previous declaration is explained, whence γάρ takes on an ex plicative force: YP Sor, the fact is, namely (Lat. videlicet, Germ. ndmilich). Thus the force of the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γάρ (gar) — for.

γάρ

(γε, ἄρα), causal conjunction, used alone or with other Particles.

I. introducing the reason or cause of what precedes, for, τῷ γὰρ ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θῆκε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη· κήδετο γ. Δαναῶν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; but frequently in explanation of that which is implied in the preceding clause, πολλάων πολίων κατέλυσε κάρηνα.. τοῦ γὰρ κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον [Refs]

I. b in simple explanations, especially after a Pronoun or demonstrative adjective, ἀλλὰ τόδ᾽ αἰνὸν ἄχος κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἱκάνει· Ἕκτωρ γ. ποτε φήσει [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὃ δὲ δεινότατον.. ὁ Ζεὺς γ... [Refs 5th c.BC+]; frequently in introducing proofs or examples, μαρτύριον δέ· Δήλου γ. καθαιρομένης.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τεκμήριον δέ· οὔτε γ. Λακεδαιμόνιοι.. [Refs 4th c.BC+]; in full, τεκμήριον δὲ…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γάρ

gar

a primary particle; properly, assigning a reason (used in argument,

explanation or intensification; often with other particles):--and, as,

because (that), but, even, for, indeed, no doubt, seeing, then,

therefore, verily, what, why, yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γάρ

Cj.

for

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γάρ gar 1x

for; it is, however, frequently used with an ellipsis of the clause to which it has reference, and its force must then be variously expressed: Mt. 15:27; 27:23, et al.; it is also sometimes epexegetic, or introductory of an intimated detail of circumstances, now, then, Mt. 1:18

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γάρ for, Lat. enim, and like it, regularly placed after the first word of a sentence: to introduce the reason:

ARGUMENTATIVE, to introduce the reason for a statement, which usually precedes:—when it precedes the statement, it may be rendered since, as, Ἀτρείδη, πολλοὶ γὰρ τεθνᾶσιν Ἀχαιοί, χρὴ πόλεμον παῦσαι Il.

the statement of which γάρ gives the reason may be omitted, οὐ γάρ τί μοι Ζεὺς ἦν ὁ κηρύξας τάδε [yes], for it was not Zeus, etc., Soph.; ἔστι γὰρ οὕτω [yes], for so it is, i. e. yes certainly, Plat.; οἵδ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ εἰσί: τοῦτο γάρ σε δήξεται [I say this], for it will sting thee, Eur.: —in Conditional Propositions, where the Condition is omitted, it may be transl. for otherwise, else, οὐ γὰρ ἄν με ἔπεμπον πάλιν, (sc. εἰ μὴ ἐπίστευον)…

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

for (ki (conjunction), le, from 'el (preposition), and various other words. In the New Testament also the words are various, chiefly gar, kai gar, hoti (conjunctions); anti apo eis dia (accusative), epi (dative and accusative), peri (genitive), pros (genitive and accusative), huper (genitive) (prepositions)): the English Revised Version and the American Standard Revised Version give in many cases more literal or more accurate renderings than those in the King James Version.

In the New Testament the most important preps. from a doctrinal point of view are anti, "face to face," "over against," "instead," "on behalf of," peri, "around," "about," "concerning," huper, "over," "on behalf of." The first has been claimed as stating the substitutionary nature of Christ's sacrifice as contrasted with huper and peri, more frequently used of it. But, although anti in the New Testament often means…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
97%for
for97% · 1050×other renderings3% · 33×

1,083 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 11 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
adverbial3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,038 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
αὐτόςἐγώσύ
οὐNeg
οὐδείςno one, none, noαὐτόςλαλέωI speak, say
εἰμίI am, exist
θάλασσαthe sea, lakeλυπέωI pain, grieve, καθεύδωI sleep, am slee
οὗτος
εἰςαὐτόςδιά
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existκύριοςlord, Lord, mastἐγώ
γάρfor1038×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, θεόςGod, a godArticle the
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theσύἐν
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becἐνοὐNeg
αὐτός
Article theοὗτοςλέγωI say, speak
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theδιάἐν

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

Concordanceγάρ · 1,038× in the New Testament
Romans Matthew 1 Corinthians Luke Hebrews Acts 2 Corinthians John Mark Galatians 1 Thessalonians Revelation

1 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 Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. 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 1.7c. AD 100

ἐγνώρισεν γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ δεσπότης διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τὰ παρεληλυθότα καὶ τὰ ἐνεστῶτα, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων δοὺς ἀπαρχὰς ἡμῖν γεύσεως, ὧν τὰ καθ̓ ἕκαστα βλέποντες ἐνεργούμενα, καθὼς ἐλάλησεν, ὀφείλομεν πλουσιώτερον καὶ ὑψηλότερον προσάγειν τῷ φόβῳ αὐτοῦ.

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

ἀποκαταστῆναι , ἔτι καὶ νῦν καλῶς ποιήσεις παρακαλῶν σαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς παρʼ ἡμῶν· προσπέπτωκεν γὰρ Παῶν ἀναπλεῖν ἐν τῶι Τῦβι μηνὶ μετὰ δυνάμεων ἱκανῶν πρὸς τὸ καταστεῖλαι τοὺς ἐν

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

ἀλλʼ ἀποστερέσαι … ησας ἀλλά … τας κατὰ κοινόν … ἐπίσκεψιν ποιησάσθαι. … τούτων γὰρ γενομένων ἐσόμεθα βεβοηθημένοι ὑφʼ ὑμῶν. ἔρρωσθε. ἔτους θ Φαρμοῦθι κζ, ἐπιλέγματος ἀναγνωσθέντος τοῦ ὑπομνήματος

P.Bad. 2 16Pathyris89 BC

ποιήσετε συνγεινόμενοι εἰς τοῦτον τόπον ἐν ἀσφαλείαι ὑπάρχοντα συντηρηθῆναι τοῦτον τῶι κυρίωι βασιλεῖ· οὕτω γὰρ πράσσοντες καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὰ πράγματα εὔνοιαν διατηροῦντες … ε … παρὰ τῶν ἐπάνω

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
γράμμαgramma letter G1121 Noun · nominative · singular · neuter
14× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for something written, like a letter or book, used in Galatians 6:11 to refer to a character or letter. It can also mean a written document, like a bill or scripture.
Amplified meaning
written word
Tyndale gloss
something written
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word γράμμα (gramma) comes from γράφω and generally means something that is written, such as a letter, document, or account. It can refer to letters of the alphabet, written works, or the sacred writings of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, it often contrasts the literal letter of the law with the spirit of the law.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γράμμα, -τος, τό

(< γράφω),

[in LXX for סֵפֶר, etc. ;]

that which is traced or drawn, a picture.

that which is written;

a character, letter: Ga 6:11;

a writing, a written document;

a bill or account: Lk 16:6, 7;

a letter: Ac 28:21;

τὰ ἱερὰ γ., the sacred writings, i.e. the OT: II Ti 3:15 (so in Philo, Vit. Mos., iii, 39) ;

τὸ γ., the letter, the written word as an external authority in contrast with the direct influence of the Spirit as manifested in the new Covenant: Ro 2:27, 29 7:6, II Co 3:6, 7;

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

γράμμα, -ros, τό, (γράφω), that which has been written ; 1. a letter i. e. the character: Lk. xxiii. 388 [R G Lbr. Tr mrg. br.]; Gal. vi. 11. 2. any writing, a document or record; a. a note of hand, bill, bond, account, written acknowledgment of debt, (as scriptio in Varr. sat. Men. 8, 1 [ef. Edersheim ii. 268 sqq.]): Lk. xvi. 6 sq. ((Joseph. antt. 18, 6,3], in Ltxt. T Tr WH plur. τὰ γράμματα; so of one document also in Antiph. p. 114, (30); Dem. p. 1034, 16; Vulg. cautio). b. a letter, an epistle: Acts xxviii. 21; (Hdt. 5, 14; Thue. 8, 50; Xen. Cyr. 4, 5, 26, etc.). ©. τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα the sacred writings (of the O. T.; [so Joseph. antt. prooem. § 3; 10, 10,4 fin.; 6. Ap. 1, 10; Philo, de vit. Moys. 3, 39; de praem. et poen. § 14; leg. ad Gai. § 29, ete.— but always rai. y.]): 2 Tim. iii. 15 [here T WHom. L Tr br. ra]; γράμμα i. q. the written law of Moses, Ro. ii. 27; Μωῦσέως…

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

γράμμα. In view of Jn γ15 it must be remarked that there are hundreds of papyri where someone states that he writes on behalf of the person concerned, who is illiterate: this is most often γράμματα μὴ εἰδότος (εἰδυίης), Lut also frequently ἀγραμμάτου ὄντος (οὔσης). For examples see 5.7. ἀγράμματος, and add the inscription of the Imperial period Sy// 8445 κελεύουσαν ὑπὲρ αἱ ὑτὰν] γράψαι, ἐπεὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτὰ γράμματα μὴ εἰδέναι. See Dittenberger’s note: he can only quote one parallel from inscrr. With this goes sucha phrase as P Tebt IT. 31628 (A.D. 99) τέχνη δὲ ὑμῶν (7. 7p.) γράμματα, “ we are scribes by profession” (Edd.), and that of P Flor III. 38279 (A.D. 222-3) μανθ(άνων) γράμμ(ατα), of a child. The exceeding commonness of this phraseology, which never means anything than inability to write, forces us to recognize it in Jn γ᾽ and Ac 41%. With the biting scorn of the superior person…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γράμμα (gramma) — something written.

γράμμα, ατος, τό,

Doric dialect γράθμα, probably in [Refs 6th c.BC+], but γράσσμα, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: late Aeolic dialect plural γρόππατα, [Refs]: (γράφω):— that which is drawn: plural, lines of a drawing, picture, etc., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; picture, Ἀπέλλεω γ. [Refs 3rd c.BC+]: singular, drawing, picture, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: plural, figures in a picture, [Refs 5th c.AD+]

II. written character, letter, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: in plural, letters, characters, γραμμάτων τε συνθέσεις [NT+4th c.BC+]; the letters, the alphabet, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ἀσσύρια, Ἑλληνικά, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μαθεῖν to have learnt to read, [Refs]; ἐδίδασκες γράμματα, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐφοίτων you kept school—I went there, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; τέχνη ἡμῶν γ. our profession is that of the scribe, [Refs 1st…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γράμμα

gramma

from 1125; a writing, i.e. a letter, note, epistle, book, etc.; plural

learning:--bill, learning, letter, scripture, writing, written.

see GREEK for 1125

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γράμμα, ατος, τό

n.n.

a letter, writings, learning

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γράμμα gramma 14x

pr. that which is written or drawn; a letter, character of the alphabet, a writing, book, Jn. 5:47; an acknowledgment of debt, an account, a bill, note, Lk. 16:6, 7; an epistle, letter, Acts 28:21; Gal. 6:11; ἱερὰ γράμματα, the sacred books of the Old Testament, the Jewish Scriptures, 2 Tim. 3:15; spc. the letter of the law of Moses, the bare literal sense, Rom. 2:27, 29; 7:6; 2 Cor. 3:6, 7; pl. letters, learning, Jn. 7:15; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γράμμα γράφω that which is drawn, in pl. the lines of a drawing or picture, Eur., Theocr.: in sg. a drawing, picture, Plat.

that which is written, a written character, letter, Lat. litera, Hdt., etc.; and in pl. letters, Aesch.; hence, the alphabet, Hdt., Plat.; γρ. to have learnt to read, id. Plat.; ἐδίδασκες γράμματα, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐφοίτων you kept school, — I went there, Dem.

a note in music, Anth.

in pl. also, a piece of writing, and, like Lat. literae, a letter, Hdt., Eur.: an inscription, epitaph, Hdt.

papers or documents of any kind, records, accounts, Ar., Oratt.:—in sg. a bill, account, NTest.

a man's writings, i. e. a book, treatise, Xen.:—also, letters, learning, Plat.

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

let'-er.

See EPISTLE.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Letter

In Rom. 2:27, 29 means the outward form. The “oldness of the letter” (7:6) is a phrase which denotes the old way of literal outward obedience to the law as a system of mere external rules of conduct. In 2 Cor. 3:6, “the letter” means the Mosaic law as a written law. (See WRITING.)

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
33%letter
letter33% · 5×writings27% · 4×letters20% · 3×bills13% · 2×learning7% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object50%adverbial29%subject14%second object7%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 14 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
σύ
σύ
πολύςmuch, many, ofteπηλίκοςhow large, how g
οὐNeg
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spδιαθήκηa covenant, will
ἐκεῖνος
Article the
οὗτος
πῶς
γράμμαletter14×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
καθίζωI set, make to sγράφωI writeπεριτομήcircumcision
οἶδαI know, remember
μήNegArticle the
οὐNeg
πιστεύωI believe, have
εἰς
μανίαraving madness
περί
σύ

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

Concordanceγράμμα · 14× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians Romans Acts John Luke 2 Timothy Galatians
Across the New Testament7 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 12 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 Polycarp The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Unchangeableness of God 6c. AD 40

1,28), ἐν ἴσῳ τῷ δοτὸν ὄντα, ὥστ’ εἶναι „τὸν δεδομένον δίδωμι“, κατὰ τὸ ἱερώτατον Μωυσέως γράμμα τοῦτο·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.166c. AD 75–95

ἐγγέγραπται δὲ τούτοις τῶν Ἰακώβου παίδων τὰ ὀνόματα γράμμασιν ἐπιχωρίοις γλώσσῃ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ κατὰ ἓξ τῶν λίθων ἑκατέρῳ, οἱ πρεσβύτεροι δʼ εἰσὶ κατὰ ὦμον τὸν δεξιόν.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 9.8c. AD 100

δηλοῖ οὖν τὸν μὲν Ἰησοῦν ἐν τοῖς δυσὶν γράμμασιν, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ τὸν σταυρόν.

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

Παθυρίτου ἐφʼ οὗ ἀνομολογησάμενοι μόλις ἀπέδωκάν τινα. Συναλλάγματα δὲ καὶ συμβόλαια ἰδιόχρεα καὶ ἕτερα γράμματα λυμανάμενοι ἔβλαψαν τὰ διʼ αὐτῶν διάφορα τά τʼ ἔπιπλα ταξάμενοι ἀποδοῦναι οὐκ ἐποίησαν, οἰόμενοι

P.Grenf. 2 17Thebais137 BC

τῶν προκειμένων πάντων. ἔγραψεν Δρύτων Παμφίλου ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν διὰ τὸ φάσκειν αὐτοὺς μὴ εἰδέναι γράμματα. ἔτους λδ Τῦβι θ.

P.Adl. 4Ptolemais (Oberägypten)110 BC

ἔγραψεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ψεμμίνιος Διονύσιος Ἀρχεδήμου Βερενικεὺς ἀξιωθεὶς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ διὰ τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι γράμματα. ἔτους η Τῦβι κδ.

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
ἀποκτέννει,apokteinō kills, G615 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
74× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in 2 Corinthians than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To kill means to destroy or take someone's life, like in Matthew 14:5 where Herod had John the Baptist killed. It can also be used figuratively to describe spiritual destruction.
Amplified meaning
brings death, condemnation
Tyndale gloss
to kill
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀποκτείνω (i.e., *apokteino*) means 'to kill' or 'to put to death.' It is derived from the prefix ἀπό (meaning 'away') and the root κτείνω (to slay). The term appears in various contexts, including literal killing and metaphorical uses, such as spiritual condemnation (e.g., Romans 7:11). It is noted for its frequent occurrence in the New Testament.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀπο-κτείνω

(also in late forms -κτέννω, Mt 10:28, a1., LTTr., -κτεννύω, Mk 12:5, WH),

[in LXX for הרג, מוּת;]

to kill: Mt 14:5, al.; seq. instr. ἐν (q.v.), Eph 2:16, Re 2:23, al. Metaph.: Ro 7:11; τ. ἔχθραν, Eph 2:16; τὸ γράμμα ἀποκτείνει, II Co 3:6 (on the perfective force of this verb, v. M, Pr., 114).

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

ἀπο-κτείνω, and Aeol. -«τέννω (Mt. x. 28 LT Tr; Mk xii 5G LT Tr; Lk. xii. 4 LT Tr; 2 Co. 1. T Tr; cf. Fritzsche on Mk. p. 507 sq.; [7 Proleg. p. 79]; W. 83 (79); [B.61 (54) ]), ἀποκτένω (Grsb. in Mt. x. 28; Lk. xii. 4), ἀποκταίνω (Lehm. in 2 Co. iii. 6; Rev. xiii. 10), ἀποκτέννυντες (Mk. xii. 5 WH); fut. ἀποκτενῶ; 1 aor. ἀπέκτεινα ; Pass., pres. inf. ἀποκτέννεσθαι (Rev. vi. 11 ΟἿ, Τ Τὰ WH); 1 aor. ἀπεκτάνθην (Bim. Ausf. Spr. ii. 227; W.1.c.; [B. 41 (35 sq.)]); [fr. Hom. down]; 1. prop. to kill in any way whatever, (ἀπό i. e. so as to put out of the way; cf. [Eng. to kill of], Germ. abschlachten): Mt. xvi. 21; xxii. 6; Mk. vi. 19; ix. 31; Jn. v.18; viii. 22; Acts iii. 15; Rev. ii. 18, and very often ; [ἀποκτ. ἐν θανάτῳ, Rev. ii. 23; vi. 8, ef. B. 184 (159); W. 339 (319)]. to destroy (allow to perish): Mk. iii. 4 [yet al. take it here absol., fo kill]. 2. metaph. fo extinguish, abolish…

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

ἀποκτείνω. P Magd 45 (iii/B.c.) ἀπέκτειναν, P Par 23° (B.C. 165) ἀποκτῖναι, 72. 11 verso * (B.C. 157) ἀποκτέναι (see Mayser, p- 70). The verb only occurs eleven times in Sy// index. In later papyri we can quote P Oxy VI. 903° (iv/a.p.) ἀποκτίνας αὐτοὺς τῶν πίλ]ηγῶν ‘half killed them with blows” (Edd.), PSI 2774 (v/a.p., Acts of a martyr), P Lips 1. gout? (law report, iv/v A.D.) ἠθέλησεν αὐτὸν ἀποκρῖναι (sic), P Gen I. 497° (iv/a.D.) [w]Anyés ἀπέϊκτ]εινάν pe —as in P Oxy VI. 903, the complainant was obviously not “kilt entoirely” ! P Lond 240 (a p. 346) (ΞΞ 11. p. 278) Part I, > , ἀπολαυσις ἀπέκτινέν μέ τε εἰ μή γ᾽ ἐς φυγὴν ἐχρησάμην, BGU IV. το 4111. 8° (iv/v A.D.) ξίφι ἀπέκζτεινε. For five centuries then we have no trace of this supposed common verb from popular sources : yet in the middle of this period it abounds in the NT texts, developing a whole series of curious forms in the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀποκτείνω (apokteinō) — to kill.

ἀποκτείνω

(later -κτέννω (which see): -κταίνω[NT]future -κτενῶ, Ionic dialect -κτενέω[Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist 1 ἀπέκτεινα[Refs 8th c.BC+]: perfect ἀπέκτονα[Refs 5th c.BC+]; pluperfect 3rd.pers.plural -εκτόνεσαν[Refs], Ionic dialect 3rd.pers.singular -εκτόνεε[LXX+5th c.BC+]: aorist 2 -έκτᾰνον[Refs 8th c.BC+], poetry 1st pers.plural ἀπέκταμεν[Refs 8th c.BC+], infinitive -κτάμεναι, -κτάμεν, [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—passive, late (ἀποθνήσκω being used as the passive by correct writers), present in [Refs 4th c.AD+]: aorist ἀπεκτάνθην[LXX+2nd c.AD+]: aorist 2 infinitive ἀποκτανῆναι[Refs 2nd c.AD+]: perfect infinitive ἀπεκτάνθαι[LXX+2nd c.BC+]:—but aorist middle in passive sense ἀπέκτατο[Refs 8th c.BC+]; participle ἀποκτάμενος[Refs]; compare ἀποκτείνυμι:— stronger form of κτείνω, kill, slay, Epic dialect, Ionic dialect, and the prevailing form…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀποκτείνω

apokteino

from 575 and kteino (to slay); to kill outright; figuratively, to

destroy:--put to death, kill, slay.

see GREEK for 575

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀποκτείνω

v.

I put to death, kill

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀποκτείνω apokteinō 74x

also spelled ἀποκτέννω or ἀποκτένω, to kill, Mt. 14:5; to destroy, annihilate, Mt. 10:28; to destroy a hostile principle, Eph. 2:16; met. to kill by spiritual condemnation, Rom. 7:11; 2 Cor. 3:6

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀποκτείνω cf. ἀποκτίννυμι pass. rare, ἀποθνήσκω being used as pass. to kill, slay, Hom., Hdt., attic

of judges, to condemn to death, Plat., Xen., etc.

metaph., like Lat. enecare, to weary to death, Eur.

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
15%kill
kill15% · 11×killed13% · 10×they may kill9% · 7×be killed8% · 6×killing8% · 6×they killed7% · 5×they will kill5% · 4×kill?5% · 4×other renderings29% · 22×

75 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 25 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

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

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 74 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
γραμματεύςa scribe, town-cαὐτόςἀμπελώνa vineyard
αὐτός
θέλωI will, wish, deἐκτέDisj
Article the
ἀπόἹεροσόλυμαPropμετά
σύ
πατήρfather, Father, θέλωI will, wish, deπροφήτηςa prophet, poet
ζητέωI seek, search for,
ἐγώσύὅς
ἀποκτείνωkills,74×
what comes after →
Article the
σῶμαbody, fleshπροφήτηςa prophet, poetδέbut, on the othe
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,σύδοκέωI think, seem, a
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theμετάσταυρόωI crucify
ἐν
Article theθάνατοςdeathῥομφαίαa sword, piercin
φοβέωI fear, am terrified
δέbut, on the otheArticle 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

Concordanceἀποκτείνω · 74× in the New Testament
Revelation Matthew John Luke Mark Acts Romans 1 Thessalonians 2 Corinthians Ephesians
Across the New Testament10 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 100 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.70c. AD 40

οὐ γὰρ νῦν αὐτὸν ἀπέκτεινεν, ἀλλ’ ἐξ ἀρχῆς νεκρὸν τὸ σῶμα ἀπειργάσατο.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.295c. AD 75–95

Ἰάκωβος δὲ πᾶσαν αὐτῷ τὴν αἰτίαν διηγεῖτο λέγων Ἰσάκῳ γενέσθαι παῖδας διδύμους αὐτόν τε καὶ Ἡσαῦν, ὃν ἐπεὶ τῶν τοῦ πατρὸς εὐχῶν διήμαρτε σοφίᾳ τῆς μητρὸς εἰς αὐτὸν γενομένων, ἀποκτεῖναι ζητεῖν αὐτὸν ὡς ἀφῃρημένον τῆς παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ βασιλείας καὶ…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 4.6c. AD 96

καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ, ἀνέστη Κάϊν ἐπὶ Ἄβελ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτόν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
4th c. AD 2nd c. AD 2nd c. BC 3rd c. BC
P. Lille Gr. 2 4Magdola (Arsinoites)223 BC

χοιρίδια ὀκτώ , καὶ ἔστιν ἡ ὗς … τοῖς χοιριδίοις … μετὰ ταῦτα ἑτέραν ἀπέκτειναν λευκήν, ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσαν, ἣ ἦν ἀξία δραχμῶν … . δέομαι οὖν σου, βασιλεῦ,

ἐκ τῆς σημείας τοῦ Πυ … ρῶτος, ὁ δὲ Φίλιππος, κατʼ ἀπιστίαν ἐπέταξεν αὐτῷ ἀποκτεῖναι τὸν πατέρα ἡμῶν … γυν … τι καὶ σπασάμενος τὴν μάχαιραν κατέτρεχεν αὐτόν. ἡ

P.Amh. 2 66ArsinoitesAD 124

Πανεφρέμμεως … συνηγορουμένῳ καὶ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ Παβοῦτι νυκτὸς ἐπελθόντες … νος ἐβούλετο ἀμφοτέρους ἀποκτεῖναι, διαφυγόντος δὲ τούτου

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
τὸho <the> G3588 Article · nominative · singular · neuter
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians 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-NSN — Article · nominative · singular · neuter
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-NSN Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
<the>19783×
what comes after →
θεόςGod, a god
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusArticle the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
ἐγώσύαὐτός

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
δὲde but G1161 Conjunction
2,787× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a conjunction that means and, but, or then, used to connect ideas like in Matthew 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 6:15.
Tyndale gloss
then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

post-positive conjunctive particle;

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δέ (de) — then.

δέ,

but: adversative and copulative Particle,

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

II. without preceding μέν,

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

II.2. copulative,

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δέ

de

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

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

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δέ

Cj.

but, on the other hand, and

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δέ de 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

δέ is often redundant,

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

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

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existσύ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπεντακισχίλιοιfive thousand
εἰCond
παλαιόςold, ancient, woσύεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ἀναπίπτωI lie down, reclμνημεῖονa tomb, sepulche
οὗτος
δίδωμιI offer, giveθεόςGod, a godπίστιςfaith, belief, t
δέbut2787×
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
who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
πνεῦμαpneuma the Spirit G4151 Noun · nominative · singular · neuter
379× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for spirit or breath refers to the vital principle or mental disposition of a person, as seen in John 3:8 and 1 Corinthians 5:5. It can also mean a superhuman spirit, like the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:2.
Amplified meaning
vital principle, life-giving power
Tyndale gloss
spirit/breath: spirit
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word πνεῦμα (i.e., *pneuma*) means 'spirit' or 'breath' and is derived from the verb πνέω (to blow). It encompasses various meanings, including air in motion, the vital principle of life, and spiritual beings such as angels and demons. In the New Testament, it frequently refers to the Holy Spirit and the human spirit, appearing in contexts that contrast it with the body or flesh.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — πνοή, πνεῦμα, ἄνεμος, θύελλα from a scan

From the words into comparison with which πνεῦμα is here brought, it will be evident that it is proposed to deal with it in its natural and earthly, not in its supernatural and heavenly, meaning. Only I will observe, that on the relations between πνοή and πνεῦμα in this its higher sense there is a discussion in Augustine, De Civ. Dei, xiii. 22; cf. De Anim. et huj. Orig. i. 14, 19. The first three words of this group, as they designate not things heavenly but things earthly, differ from one another exactly as, according to Seneca, do in the Latin ‘aér,’ ‘spiritus,’ ‘ ventus’ (Nat. Qu. v. 13) : ‘Spiritum a vento motus' separat; vehementior enim spiritus ventus est; invicem spiritus leviter fluens aer.’ Πνοή and πνεῦμα occur not seldom together, as at Isai. xlii. 5; lvii. 16; πνοή conveying the impression of a lighter, gentler, motion of the air than πνεῦμα, as ‘aura’ than ‘ventus.’…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πνεῦμα, -τος, τό,

(< πνέω),

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

of air in motion;

wind: Jo 3:8; pl., He 1:7(LXX);

breath: π. ζωῆς, Re 11:11; π. τοῦ στόματος, fig., II Th 2:8 (cf. Ps 32 (33):6).

Of the vital principle, the spirit (Arist., Polyb., al.): Lk 8:55, Jo 19:30, Ac 7:59, al.; opp. to σάρξ, Mt 26:41, Mk 14:38, I Co 5:5, al.; to σῶμα, Ro 8:10, I Co 6:17 7:34,

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

πνεῦμα, -τος, τό, (πνέω), Grk. writ. fr. Aeschyl. and Hdt. down; Hebr. may, Lat. spiritus; i. 6. 1. a movement of air, (gentle) blast; a. of the wind: ἀνέμων πνεύματα, Hat. 7,16, 1; Paus. 5, 25; hence the wind itself, Jn. iii. 8; plur. Heb. i. 7, (1 K. xviii. 45; xix. 11; Job i. 19; Ps. ciii. (civ.) 4, etc.; often in Grk. writ.). b. breath of the nostrils or mouth, often in Grk. writ. fr. Aeschyl. down: πνεῦμα τοῦ στόματος, 2 Th. ii. 8 (Ps. xxxii. (xxxiii.) 6, ef. Is. xi. 4); mv. ζωῆς, the breath of life, Rev. xi. 11 (Gen. vi. 17, cf. πνοὴ ζωῆς, il. 7). [πνεῦμα and πνοή seem to have been in the main coincident terms; but avon became the more poetical. Both retain a suggestion of their evident etymology. Even in class. Grk. πνεῦμα became as freq. and as wide in its application as ἄνεμος. (Schmidt ch. 55, 7; Trench § lxxiii.) ] 2. the spirit, i.e. the vital principle by which the body 18…

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

πνεῦμα. This is a notable ex. of those words, whose meaning has been so deepened and enriched through Christian influences, that we cannot expect our sources to throw much light on their use in the NT. One or two points may, however, be noted. Thus for the more literal meaning of the word we may cite P Oxy VI. 9047 (v/A.D.), where a certain Flavius petitions a praeses on the ground ὡς λοιπὸν εἰς αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς σωτηρίας πνεῦμα δυστυχῖν pe, “so that at last the very breath of my life is in danger” (Edd.). In P Leid Wii 2 (ii/iii A.D.) (= II. p. 157) reference is made to a book which περιέχει γέννησιν πνεύματος, πυρὸς Kal okdTo(=ov)s, ‘contains the creation of spirit, fire and darkness.” The same document αν. 4 shows οὐ ἀντιτάξεταί μοι πᾶν πνεῦμα, οὐ δαιμόνιον, οὐ συνάτ(--άντ)ημα. Reminiscent of LXX Numb 1622, 2716, isthe Jewish ‘‘ prayer for vengeance” from Rheneia, Sy// 816 (=#1181)*, which…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πνεῦμα (pneuma) — spirit/breath: spirit.

πνεῦμα, ατος, τό,

(πνέω) blast, wind, first in [Refs 6th c.BC+]: frequently in Trag., etc., ἀνέμων πνεύματα πάντων [Refs 4th c.BC+]; θαλάσσας.. πνεύματι λάβρῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+] is commoner in Poets; [Refs 8th c.BC+]; κατὰ πρύμναν ἵσταται τὸ π.[Refs 5th c.BC+]; κατὰ πνεῦμα στῆναι τοῦ ἄρρενος to leeward of him, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; but κατὰ π. προσιόντες down wind, [Refs]; πνεύματος ἀνείλησις, ἐκπύρωσις, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; as an element, air, [Refs 3rd c.AD+]

2. metaphorically, θαλερωτέρῳ π. with more genial breeze or influence, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; αἰδοίῳ π. χώρας with air or spirit of respect on the part of the country, [Refs]; π. ταὐτὸν οὔποτ᾽.. ἐν ἀνδράσιν φίλοις βέβηκεν the…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πνεῦμα

pneuma

from 4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by

analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by

implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or

(superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the

Holy Spirit:--ghost, life, spirit(-ual, -ually), mind. Compare 5590.

see GREEK for 4154

see GREEK for 5590

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πνεῦμα, ατος, τό

n.n.

wind, breath, spirit

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πνεῦμα pneuma 379x

wind, air in motion, Jn. 3:8; breath, 2 Thess. 2:8; the substance spirit, Jn. 3:6; a spirit, spiritual being, Jn. 4:24; Acts 23:8, 9; Heb. 1:14; a bodiless spirit, specter, Lk. 24:37; a foul spirit, δαιμόνιον, Mt. 8:16; Lk. 10:20; spirit, as a vital principle, Jn. 6:63; 1 Cor.…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πνεῦμα πνεῦμα, ατος, τό, πνέω a blowing, πνεύματα ἀνέμων Hdt., Aesch.: alone, a wind, blast, Trag., etc.

metaph., θαλερωτέρῳ πν. with more genial breeze or influence, Aesch.; λύσσης πν. μάργῳ id. Aesch.; πν. ταὐτὸν οὔποτ᾽ ἐν ἀνδράσιν φίλοις βέβηκεν the wind is constantly changing even among friends, Soph.

like Lat. spiritus or anima, breathed air, breath, Aesch.; πν. βίου the breath of life, id. Aesch.; πν. ἀθροίζειν to collect breath, Eur.; πν. ἀφιέναι, ἀνιέναι, μεθιέναι to give up the ghost, id. Eur.; πνεύματος διαρροαί the wind-pipe, id. Eur.

that is breathed forth, odour, scent, id. Eur.

spirit, Lat. afflatus, Anth.: inspiration, NTest.

the spirit of man, id. NTest.

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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

spir'-it (ruach; pneuma; Latin, spiritus):

1. Primary and Figurative Senses

(1) As Wind, Breath

(2) As Anger or Fury

(3) As Mental and Moral Qualities in Man

2. Shades of Meaning

(1) As Life-Principle

(2) As Surviving Death

(3) Spiritual Manifestations

3. Human and Divine Spirit

(1) The Human as Related with the Divine

(2) Operations of the Divine Spirit as Third Person of the Trinity

4. Old Testament Applications

5. Various Interpretations

1. Primary and Figurative Senses:

(1) As Wind, Breath:

Used primarily in the Old Testament and New Testament of the wind, as in Ge 8:1; Nu 11:31; Am 4:13 ("createth the wind"); Heb 1:7 (angels, "spirits" or "winds" in margin); often used of the breath, as…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Spirit

(Heb. ruah; Gr. pneuma), properly wind or breath. In 2 Thess. 2:8 it means “breath,” and in Eccl. 8:8 the vital principle in man. It also denotes the rational, immortal soul by which man is distinguished (Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 5:5; 6:20; 7:34), and the soul in its separate state (Heb. 12:23), and hence also an apparition (Job 4:15; Luke 24:37, 39), an angel (Heb. 1:14), and a demon (Luke 4:36; 10:20). This…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A word employed in various senses in Scripture.

1. For THE HOLY, HOLINESS SPIRIT, the third person of the Holy Trinity, who inspired the prophets, animates good men, pours his unction into our hearts, imparts to us life and comfort; and in whose name we are baptized and blessed, as well as in that of the Father and the Son. When the adjective Holy is applied to the term Spirit, we should always understand it as here explained; but there are many places whether it must be taken in this sense, although the term Holy is omitted. See HOLY, HOLINESS SPIRIT.

2. BREATH, respiration; or the principle of animal life, common to men and animal: this God has given, and this he recalls when he takes away life, Ec 3:21. See SOUL.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ Called “the inner man,” Ro 7:22; Eph 3:16

→ See ANGELS

→ See DEMONS

→ See HOLY SPIRIT

→ See MAN, A SPIRIT

→ See SATAN

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
90%spirit
spirit90% · 346×spirits8% · 31×other renderings2% · 8×

385 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
adverbial39%subject29%object21%predicate7%indirect object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 379 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,δέbut, on the otheτίςIrg
ἐν
βαπτίζωI dip, submerge,δέbut, on the otheἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
ἅγιοςset apart, holy, sac
Article theγάρforσύ
αὐτός
Article theθυγάτριονa little daughteλέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also, nam
πίνωI drink, imbibeἸσραήλPropμάστιξa scourge, lash,
πνεῦμαthe Spirit379×
what comes after →
Article the
ἅγιοςset apart, holy,ἀκάθαρτοςunclean, impureθεόςGod, a god
ἅγιοςset apart, holy, sac
καίand, even, also,Article theἀτενίζωI direct my gaze
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theδύναμιςmight, power, maἀλήθειαtruth
ἐγώ
ἐπίἐπιτάσσωI give order, coοὗτος
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theἅγιοςset apart, holy,καίand, even, also,

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

Concordanceπνεῦμα · 379× in the New Testament
Acts 1 Corinthians Luke Romans John Revelation Mark Matthew Galatians 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 John

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament25 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 173 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 29c. AD 40

εἶθ’ ὕδατος ἀσώματον οὐσίαν καὶ πνεύματος καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἑβδόμου φωτός, ὃ πάλιν ἀσώματον ἦν καὶ νοητὸν ἡλίου παράδειγμα καὶ πάντων ὅσα φωσφόρα ἄστρα κατὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἔμελλε συνίστασθαι.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.27c. AD 75–95

ταύτης δʼ ὑπʼ ὄψιν οὐκ ἐρχομένης, ἀλλὰ βαθεῖ μὲν κρυπτομένης σκότει, πνεύματος δʼ αὐτὴν ἄνωθεν ἐπιθέοντος, γενέσθαι φῶς ἐκέλευσεν ὁ θεός.

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
7th c. AD 4th c. AD 8th c. AD 5th c. AD 6th c. AD

ἐν ὀνόματι τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ὁμοουσίου τριάδος πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος βασιλείας τοῦ θειοτάτου καὶ εὐσεβεστάτου ἡμῶν δεσπότου Φλαυίου Φωκᾶ τοῦ αἰωνίου Αὐγούστου Αὐτοκράτορος καὶ

Tyche 20 (2005), p. 1-9HerakleopolitesAD 603

r ἐν ὀνόματι τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ τῆς δεσποίνης ἡμῶν τῆς θεοτόκου καὶ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων, βασιλείας τοῦ θειοτάτου καὶ

SB 1 4740ArsinoitesAD 602–AD 610

ἐν ὀνόματι τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ὁμοουσίου τριάδος πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ τῆς δεσποίνης

who also has made competent us [as] ministers of a new covenant, not of [the] letter but of [the] Spirit; the for letter kills, <the> but the Spirit gives life.
ζῳοποιεῖ.zōopoieō gives life. G2227 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
11× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To make alive means to give life or vitality, as seen in John 5:21 and Romans 4:17 where God gives life to those who believe. It's about creating or restoring life. This concept is central to the Bible's message of salvation and redemption.
Amplified meaning
makes alive, quickens
Tyndale gloss
to make alive
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ζῳοποιέω (i.e., *zoopoieo*) means to make alive or give life. It is derived from roots meaning 'life' and 'to make.' This term appears in both the Septuagint and the New Testament, where it conveys the idea of revitalization or quickening, particularly in a spiritual sense. Notably, it is used in several key New Testament passages, including Romans and Corinthians.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ζωο-ποιέω, ῶ

[in LXX for חיה pi., hi., Jg 21:14, IV Ki 5:7, Ne 9:6, Jb 36:6, Ps 70:20, Ec 7:13(12)*;]

in cl. (= ζωογονέω), to produce alive.

In LXX and NT, to make alive, cause to live, quicken (DCG, ii, 606a; Cremer, 275): Jo 5:21 6:53, Ro 4:17 8:11, I Co 15:45, II Co 3:6, Ga 3:21. Pass., I Co 15:22, 36,

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

ζωοποιέω. The adj. ζωοποιός is a frequent attribute of the Trinity in late papyri, e.g. P Flor I. 381 (vi/a.p.) ἐν ὀνόματι] τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ζωοποιοῦ Kal ὁμοουσίου [τριάδος πατ]ρὸς Kal υἱ[ο]Ἱῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος. For the verb see Aristeas 16 δι᾿ ὃν (sc. θεὸν) ζῳοποιοῦντα τὰ πάντα Kal γίνεται.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ζωοποιέω (zōopoieō) — to make alive.

ζωοποι-έω,

= ζωογονέω [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II. make alive, θανατῶς α καὶ ζ. [LXX+NT]; bring to life, νεκρά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; endow with life, ἑαυτό [Refs 5th c.AD+] —passive [Refs]

II.2. preserve alive, [LXX]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ζῳοποιέω

zoopoieo

from the same as 2226 and 4160; to (re-)vitalize (literally or

figuratively):--make alive, give life, quicken.

see GREEK for 2226

see GREEK for 4160

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ζῳοποιέω

v.

I make to live

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ζῳοποιέω zōiopoieō 11x

pr. to engender living creatures; to quicken, make alive, Rom. 4:17; 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:36; in NT met. to quicken with the life of salvation, Jn. 6:63; 2 Cor. 3:6

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

lif (chayyim, nephesh, ruach, chayah; zoe, psuche, bios, pneuma):

I. THE TERMS

II. THE OLD TESTAMENT TEACHING

1. Popular Use of the Term

2. Complexity of the Idea

III. IN THE APOCRYPHA

IV. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

1. In the Synoptic Gospels

2. In the Fourth Gospel

3. In the Ac of the Apostles

4. In the Writings of Paul

5. In the Writings of John

6. In the Other Books of the New Testament

LITERATURE

I. The Terms.

Of the Hebrew terms, chayah is the verb which means "to live," "to have life," or the vital principle, "to continue to live," or "to live prosperously." In the Piel it signifies "to give life, or preserve, or quicken and restore life." The Hiphil is much like the Piel. The noun hayyim generally used in the plural is an abstract noun meaning "life," i.e. the possession of the vital principle with its energies and activities. Nephesh often means "living being" or "creature." Sometimes it has the…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Life

Generally of physical life (Gen. 2:7; Luke 16:25, etc.); also used figuratively (1) for immortality (Heb. 7:16); (2) conduct or manner of life (Rom. 6:4); (3) spiritual life or salvation (John 3:16, 17, 18, 36); (4) eternal life (Matt. 19:16, 17; John 3:15); of God and Christ as the absolute source and cause of all life (John 1:4; 5:26, 39; 11:25; 12:50).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

In the Bible, is either natural, Ge 3:17; spiritual, that of the renewed soul, Ro 8:6; or eternal, a holy and blissful immortality, Joh 3:36 Ro 6:23. Christ is the great Author of natural life, Col 1:16; and also of spiritual and eternal life; Joh 14:6 6:47. He has purchased these by laying down his own life; and gives them freely to his people, Joh 10:11,28. He is the spring of all their spiritual life on earth, Ga 2:20; will raise them up at the last day; and…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ MISCELLANY OF MINOR SUB-TOPICS

Breath of Ge 2:7

Called SPIRIT OF GOD Job 27:3

Tree of Ge 2:9; 3:22,24; Pr 3:18; 13:12; Re 2:7

→ (SACREDNESS OF, an inference from what is taught in the law concerning murder)

See HOMICIDE

Long life promised to obedient children Ex 20:12; De 5:16

To those who keep the commandments De 4:40; 22:7

Vanity of Ec 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7

Hated Ec 2:17

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
27%gives life
gives life27% · 3×giving life18% · 2×will give life9% · 1×will be made alive9% · 1×does come to life9% · 1×life-giving9% · 1×impart life9% · 1×having been made alive9% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb82%adverbial9%object9%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 11 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
εἰμίI am, existθεόςGod, a god
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spirit
εἰςδέbut, on the othe
καίand, even, also, nam
νεκρόςdead, a corpse
θέλωI will, wish, desire
ὅς
ἸησοῦςJesus
Χριστόςanointed, the Me
ζῳοποιέωgives life.11×
what comes after →
Article the
σάρξflesh, bodyνεκρόςdead, a corpse
οὕτωthus, so, in this ma
καίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
Article the
ἐάνCond
μήNeg
ὄντωςreally, truly
ἐκ

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

Concordanceζῳοποιέω · 11× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians John Romans 1 Peter 2 Corinthians Galatians
Across the New Testament6 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
The Epistle of Barnabas
The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.17c. AD 100

ὅτι πρῶτον τὸ παιδίον μέλιτι, εἶτα γάλακτι ζωοποιεῖται: οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς τῇ πίστει τῆς ἐπαγγελίας καὶ τῷ λόγῳ ζωοποιούμενοι ζήσομεν κατακυριεύοντες τῆς γῆς.

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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