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Acts 23:25 — Word Study

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N1904γράψας ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον·¶

BSAhaving writtengraphō [in these words, a letter after this manner] a letterepistolē [epistle, a written message] havingperiechō <the>ho formtupos this:ohutos [containing, holding all around]

Word
Listen & take awayActs 23
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 25 is in this chapter.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (ohutos) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Acts 23:25quick helps
In a sentenceA letter is written by Claudius Lysias to Governor Felix, explaining the situation regarding Paul.
Who is speakingClaudius Lysias, the Roman commander.
Where we areThe narrative is set in the context of Paul's transfer to Governor Felix.
The hard wordγράψας
Take awayThe letter serves as an official communication in a critical moment.
7 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectγράφω verbγράφω 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 — Acts 23:25

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 Letter to Felixgenerated

24Provide mounts for Paul to take him safely to Governor Felix.”
25And he wrote the following letter:
26Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings.
27This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him when I came with my troops to rescue him. For I had learned that he is a Roman citizen,

Acts 23:25 presents a letter written by Claudius Lysias, the Roman commander, to Governor Felix. This letter is crucial as it outlines the circumstances surrounding Paul’s arrest and the potential threats he faced from the Jewish leaders. The letter serves to clarify the situation and ensure Paul's safe transport, highlighting the Roman authority's involvement in the matter.


Cross References


The Key Word γράψας, graphōgenerated

The word γράφω (graphō) is a verb that means 'to write' and is used in various contexts in the New Testament, including recording events and composing letters. It is in the aorist active participle form, indicating a completed action — in this case, the act of writing the letter.

This participle emphasizes the action of writing as a significant step in the narrative. Claudius Lysias is not merely communicating; he is formally documenting the situation, which adds weight to the proceedings and the seriousness of Paul's circumstances.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as 'And he wrote the following letter:', which is straightforward. The KJV and ASV offer similar phrases, 'a letter after this manner' and 'a letter after this form,' respectively.

Translations vary slightly in wording. The BSB uses 'the following letter,' while the KJV and ASV emphasize the manner of the letter's composition. The YLT states 'he having written a letter after this description,' which adds a descriptive element to the action.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb in this section is γράψας, having written, which governs the structure of the sentence. The phrase that follows describes the contents of the letter, indicating its formal nature.

The sentence structure is straightforward, with a clear subject (Claudius Lysias) and a direct object (the letter). The participial phrase adds context to the action, establishing the significance of the letter in the unfolding narrative.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

ἐπιστολή is a term that appears in the Septuagint, where it is used to denote written messages or letters. It corresponds to the Hebrew word for 'send' or 'message,' emphasizing the importance of communication.

The use of γράφω in the Septuagint aligns with its New Testament usage, indicating a continuity in the understanding of writing as a means of conveying important information.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Acts 23:25 shows Claudius Lysias, a Roman commander, writing a letter to Governor Felix. This letter explains the situation regarding Paul, who was in danger from the Jews. The letter serves as an official record of the events leading to Paul's transfer, ensuring his safety.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What is the purpose of the letter written by Claudius Lysias?

The letter serves to explain the circumstances surrounding Paul's arrest and to request safe passage for him to Governor Felix.

Why is it important that this letter is written?

The letter documents the Roman authority's involvement in Paul's case, highlighting the seriousness of the situation and ensuring proper communication between officials.

What does the term 'letter' imply in this context?

In this context, 'letter' refers to an official written communication, which was a common practice in the Roman administration for conveying important information.

How does this letter fit into the larger narrative of Acts?

This letter is part of the larger narrative that details Paul's trials and the challenges he faced as a Roman citizen, showcasing the interplay between Jewish and Roman authorities.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What can we learn about the importance of clear communication in resolving conflicts from this letter?
  2. How does the act of writing serve as a means of authority in this passage?
  3. In what ways can written communication impact our relationships and interactions today?
  4. What lessons can we draw from Claudius Lysias's approach to handling Paul's situation?

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

John Chrysostom comments on the significance of the letter written by Claudius Lysias, emphasizing its role in the narrative surrounding Paul.

John ChrysostomHomily on Acts 49 c. 347–407
"And he wrote a letter after this manner: Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting. This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him,

Chrysostom explains the contents of the letter and its implications for Paul's situation.

Early Church Fathers on Acts 23 →
John ChrysostomHomily on Acts 49 c. 347–407
"About to have been killed of them:" so set upon his death were they. First, "I came with the army, and rescued him:" then also "I brought him down unto them:" and not even so did they find anything to lay to his charge: and when they…

He reflects on the urgency of the circumstances that prompted the writing of the letter.

Early Church Fathers on Acts 23 →

Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Acts 23:25 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

And he wrote a letter after this manner. The chief captain wrote a letter to Felix the governor, the form and sum of which were as follow; this letter he sent by one of the centurions to him.

Read John Gill on Acts 23 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

And he wrote a letter after this manner: And he wrote a letter after this manner:

Read Robert Jamieson on Acts 23 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

It is not certain whether the following words were the letter itself, or only the sum or contents of the letter.

Read Matthew Poole on Acts 23 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

25 And he wrote a letter after this manner: Ver. 25. And he wrote a letter] Gr. an epistle, cuius ornamentum est ornamentis carere, saith Politian.

Read John Trapp on Acts 23 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 25. He wrote a letter after this manner] It appears that this was not only the substance of the letter, but the letter itself: the whole of it is so perfectly formal as to prove this; and in this simple manner are all the letters of the ancients formed. In this also we have an additional proof of St. Luke's accuracy.

Read AdamClarke on Acts 23 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

25. a letter after this manner] [Rev. Ver. form]. As both the writer and receiver of the letter were Romans, it is most likely that Latin would be the language of the original, and that St Luke has given us a representation of the substance of the document rather than its very words.

Read Cambridge on Acts 23 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

25. This manner—This type or form. The regular letter form of this document, according to the fashion of that day, shows that Luke offers it as a literal copy.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Acts 23 →

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 wrote the following letter:

WEBWorld English Bible2000

He wrote a letter like this:

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

And he wrote the following letter:

NETBNew English Translation2006

He wrote a letter that went like this:

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

And he wrote a letter after this manner:

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

And he wrote a letter after this form:

RVARevised Version, American1894

And he wrote a letter after this form:

NWBWebster's Bible1833

And he wrote a letter after this manner:

GNVGeneva Bible1599

And he wrote an epistle in this maner:

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

having written a letter, couched in this form:

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

he having written a letter after this description:

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

he having written a letter after this description:

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Then he wrote a letter like this:

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

(For he feared lest perhaps the Jews might take him away by force and kill him, and he should afterwards be slandered, as if he was to take money.) And he wrote a letter after this manner:

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

He also wrote a letter that went like this:

BBEBible in Basic English1949

And he sent a letter in these words:

Word by word, the decisions they made

γράψαςgraphō having written G1125 4 different renderings
wroteASV BSB FBV GNV MSB NETB RVA ULB WEB
a letter after this mannerDRA KJV NWB
having writtenDBY LSV YLT
in these wordsBBE
ἐπιστολὴνepistolē a letter G1992 3 different renderings
a letterASV BBE DBY DRA FBV KJV LSV NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
letterBSB MSB
epistleGNV

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.

clauseΚαὶAndclauseclause · adverbialverbπροσκαλεσάμενόςhaving called to [him]noun phrase · objectnoun phraseτιναςcertainδύοtwonoun phraseτῶνof theἑκατονταρχῶνcenturionsverbεἶπενhe saidclauseclauseverbἙτοιμάσατεPreparenoun phrase · objectnoun phraseστρατιώταςsoldiersδιακοσίουςtwo hundredκαὶandnoun phraseἱππεῖςhorsemenἑβδομήκονταseventyκαὶandnoun phraseδεξιολάβουςspearmenδιακοσίουςtwo hundredclauseὅπωςso thatclauseverbπορευθῶσινthey might goprepositional phrase · adverbialἕωςas far asΚαισαρίαςCaesareaprepositional phrase · adverbialἀπὸfornoun phraseτρίτηςthe thirdnoun phraseὥραςhournoun phraseτῆςof theνυκτόςnightτεthenclauseobjectκτήνηMountsverbπαραστῆσαιprovideclauseἵναso thatclauseclause · adverbialverbἐπιβιβάσαντεςhaving set upon [them]noun phrase · objectτὸν-ΠαῦλονPaulverbδιασώσωσιthey might bring [him] safelyprepositional phrase · adverbialπρὸςtonoun phraseΦήλικαFelixnoun phraseτὸνtheἡγεμόναgovernorclauseverbγράψαςhaving writtennoun phrase · objectἐπιστολὴνa letteradjective phraseclauseverbἔχουσανhavingnoun phrase · objectnoun phraseτὸνtheτύπονformτοῦτονthis

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

(Timuit enim ne forte raperent eum Judæi, et occiderent, et ipse postea calumniam sustineret, tamquam accepturus pecuniam.)

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

ܘܟܬܒ ܐܓܪܬܐ ܝܗܒ ܠܗܘܢ ܕܐܝܬ ܒܗ ܗܟܢܐ

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

γράψας ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον·¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

γράψας ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον·¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

γράψας ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον·¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

γράψας ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον·¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

γράψας ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον·¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

γράψας ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον·¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

γράψας ἐπιστολὴν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον·¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

γράψας ἐπιστολὴν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον·¶

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
ἔχουσαν havingNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WH, TregTR, Byz

Apparatus — SBL Greek New Testament, CC BY 4.0


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.

Acts 23:25γράφωhaving writhaving writtenγράφωἐπιστολήa lettera letterἐπιστολήἔχωhavinghavingἔχω<the><the>τύποςformformτύποςοὗτοςthis:this:οὗτοςἐπιστέλλωv. I writev. I write, senἐπιστέλλωτύπτωv. I beat,v. I beat, striτύπτωὅδεDem.pr. thDem.pr. this heὅδεβιβλίονn.n. a papn.n. a papyrus βιβλίονγράφωv. I writev. I writeγράφωπαράPrep. fromPrep. from, in παράχρείαn.f. need,n.f. need, neceχρείακακῶςAdv badly,Adv badly, evilκακῶςγίνομαιv. I come v. I come into γίνομαιἀλλάCj. but, eCj. but, exceptἀλλάγενεάn.f. a genn.f. a generatiγενεάἄρχωνn.m. a ruln.m. a ruler, pἄρχων
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 Acts 23:25

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.

having written a letter having <the> form this:
γράψαςgraphō having written G1125 Verb · aorist · active · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
192× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Acts than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This verb means to write or record something, like in John 8:6 where Jesus writes on the ground. It can also mean to describe or express something in writing, as seen in Luke 1:63 and Galatians 6:11.
Amplified meaning
in these words, a letter after this manner
Tyndale gloss
to write
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

γράφω (graphō) primarily means 'to write' and is derived from a sense of scratching or engraving. It encompasses various forms of writing, including inscribing letters, recording information, and expressing content in written form. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts such as recording scripture (e.g., Matthew 4:4) and writing letters (e.g., Acts 23:25). The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γράφω, [in LXX chiefly for כּתב ];

to scrape, graze (Hom.), and later (Hdt.) to sketch, draw.

to write;

of forming or tracing letters on writing material: Jo 8:[6], Ga 6:11, II Th 3:17;

to express in writing, commit to writing, record: Lk 1:63, Jo 19:21, 22 Re 1:11, 19 al.; of scripture as a standing authority (Deiss., BS, 112ff.), γέγραπται, it stands written (Luther), Mt 4:4, Mk 7:6, Lk 4:8, Ro 1:17, I Co…

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

γράφω ; [impf. ἔγραφον]; fut. γράψω; 1 aor. ἔγραψα; pf. γέγραφα; Pass., [pres. γράφομαι]; pf. γέγραμμαι ; [plpf. 3 pers. sing. ἐγέγραπτο, Rev. xvii. 8 Lchm.]; 2 aor. ἐγράφην ; (prop. to grave, scrape, scratch, engrave ; ef. Germ. graben, eingraben ; γράψεν δὲ οἱ ὀστέον ἄχρις αἰχμή, Hom. Il. 17, 599; σήματα γράψας ἐν πίνακι, ib. 6, 169; hence to draw letters), towrite; 1. with reference to the form of the letters; to delineate (or form) letters on a tablet, parchment, paper, or other material: τῷ 8aκτύλῳ ἔγραφεν eis τὴν γῆν made figures on the ground, Jn. viii. 6 Rec. ; οὕτω γράφω so am I accustomed to form my letters, 2 Thess. iii. 17; πηλίκοις γράμμασι ἔγραψα with how large (and so, ill-formed [?]) letters I have written, Gal. vi. 11; ef. Winer, Riickert, Hilgenfeld ad loe. [for the views of those who regard éyp. as covering the close of the Ep. only, see Bp. Lghtft. and Mey.; cf. W.…

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

γράφω. Deissmann (BS, pp. 112 ff. 249 f.) has shown the widespread juristic_use in the papyri of the ‘* biblical” γέγραπται with reference to the regulative and authoritative character

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γράφω (graphō) — to write.

γράφω [ᾰ],

future -ψω[Refs 5th c.BC+]aorist ἔγραψα, Epic dialect γράψα [Refs 8th c.BC+]: perfect γέγραφα [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle, future γράψομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist ἐγραψάμην [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, future γρᾰφήσομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc.: aorist ἐγράφην [ᾰ], [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect γέγραμμαι (also in middle sense, see near the end), 3rd.pers. singular ἔγραπται [Refs 3rd c.AD+]; participle ἐγραμμένος or ἠγρ- [Refs 1st c.AD+]: 3rd.pers. plural γεγράφαται [Refs], Doric dialect γεγράβανται [Refs]: pluperfect ἐγέγραπτο [Refs 5th c.BC+]: 3rd.pers. plural ἐγεγράφατο [Refs 8th c.BC+] only in aorist active:—scratch, graze, αἰχμὴ γράψεν οἱ ὀστέον ἄχρις [Refs 8th c.BC+]; γράψας ἐν πίνακι πτυκτῷ θυμοφθόρα πολλά having marked or drawn signs thereon, [Refs]represent by lines, draw, paint, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; γῆς περιόδους γ. draw maps, [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γράφω

grapho

a primary verb; to "grave", especially to write; figuratively, to

describe:--describe, write(-ing, -ten).

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γράφω

v.

I write

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γράφω graphō 191x

to engrave, write, according to the ancient method of writing on plates of metal, waxes tables, etc., Jn. 8:6, 8; to write on parchment, paper, etc., generally, Mt. 27:37, et al.; to write letters to another, Acts 23:25; 2 Cor. 2:9; 13:10, et al.; to describe in writing, Jn. 1:46; Rom. 10:5; to inscribe in a catalogue, etc., Lk. 10:20; Rev. 13:8; 17:8, et al.; to write a law, command, or enact in writing, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γράφω Orig. sense, to scratch, scrape, graze, αἰχμὴ γράψεν ὀστέον Il.; σήματα γράψας ἐν πίνακι having scratched marks as tokens on a tablet, id. Il.:—then, to represent by lines drawn, to delineate, draw, paint, Hdt., Aesch.; εἰκὼν γεγραμμένη Ar.: also in Mid., ζῷα γράφεσθαι ῀ ζωγραφεῖν, Hdt.

to express by written characters, to write, τι id. Hdt.; γο. τινά to write a person's name, Xen.; γ. ἐπιστολήν, etc., id. Xen.; γρ. τι εἰς διφθέρας Hdt.

to inscribe, like ἐπιγράφω, γρ. εἰς στήλην Eur., Dem.

to write down, γρ. τινὰ αἴτιον to set him down as the cause, Hdt.

to register, enrol, γρ. τινὰ τῶν ἱππευόντων among the cavalry, Xen.; Κρέοντος προστάτου γεγράψομαι, as a dependent of Creon…

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
30%it has been written
it has been written30% · 61×written19% · 38×do write7% · 15×write6% · 13×it was written6% · 13×i have written5% · 10×i am writing5% · 10×wrote3% · 6×other renderings19% · 39×

205 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 31 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
verb98%object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 192 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
καθώςjust as, as
ἀλλάbut, exceptὑπάγωI go away, deparθέλωI will, wish, de
Article the
πᾶςall, the whole, εἰμίI am, existοὗτος
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakαἰτίαa cause, reason,ἐπί
σύ
ἔχωI have, hold, poσκληροκαρδίαhardness of hearκαθεξῆςin order, just a
εἰμίI am, exist
καθώςjust as, asοὐNegοὗwhere, whither,
γράφωhaving written192×
what comes after →
σύ
ἀλλάbut, exceptὅτιthat, since, becἵναin order that, s
Article the
ἐμόςὄνομαname, character,οἶκοςa house, househo
γάρfor
ὅτιthat, since, becκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπατάσσωI strike
ἐν
Article theβίβλοςa written book, νόμοςa law, the Mosai
ὅτιthat, since, because
οὗτοςArticle theοὐNeg

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

Concordanceγράφω · 192× in the New Testament
Revelation John Romans Luke 1 Corinthians 1 John Acts 2 Corinthians Matthew Mark Galatians 3 John

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament22 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 111 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 141c. AD 40

ἀποδεῖ γὰρ τὰ μιμήματα τῶν ἀρχετύπων, τὰ δ’ ἀπὸ τῶν μιμημάτων γραφόμενα καὶ πλαττόμενα πολὺ μᾶλλον, ἅτε μακρὰν ἀφεστῶτα τῆς ἀρχῆς·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.4c. AD 75–95

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.3c. AD 100

τὸ τέλειον σκάνδαλον ἤγγικεν, περὶ οὖ γέγραπται, ὡς Ἐνὼχ λέγει.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. BC 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD
P.Adl. 10Pathyris102 BC

εἰκάδος τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶι ἐν τῶι ὡρισμένωι χρόνωι ἀποτεισάτω καθὰ γέγραπται παραχρῆμα ἐπάναγκον· ἡ δὲ πρᾶξις ἔστω Ἀγαθίνωι καὶ Πατῆτι ἐκ τοῦ δεδανεισμένου Πανᾶτος καὶ

P.Adl. 15Pathyris (?)101 BC

καὶ παρείληφεν· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῷ ἐν τῷ ὡρισμένῳ χρόνωι ἢ μὴ ποιῇ καθὰ γέγραπται ἀποτεισάτω ἐν τῷ ἐχομένωι μηνὶ παραχρῆμα ἡμιόλιον ἢ τὴν ἐσομένην ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾶι τιμήν,

P.Adl. 19Pathyris99 BC

ιϛ ἔτους· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶι ἐν τῶι ὡρισμένωι χρόνωι ἢ μὴ ποιήσηι καθὰ γέγραπται ἀποτεισάτω ἐν τῶι ἐχομένωι μηνὶ παραχρῆμα τὰ τοῦ σιδήρου μνᾶς δισχιλίας χμ καὶ ἐπίτιμον

having written a letter having <the> form this:
ἐπιστολὴνepistolē a letter G1992 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
24× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word refers to a written message, like a letter, as seen in Acts 9:2 and 1 Corinthians 5:9. It is about sending a note or a formal letter. The New Testament includes many epistles, including those written by Paul.
Amplified meaning
epistle, a written message
Tyndale gloss
epistle
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐπιστολή (i.e., *epistolē*) means a letter or message, often used in the context of written communication. It encompasses both informal letters and formal commands, appearing frequently in the New Testament, such as in Acts and Corinthians. The word is derived from ἐπιστέλλω and reflects a range of uses, including official documents and letters of commendation.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐπι-στολή, -ῆς, ἡ

(< ἐπιατέλλω),

[in LXX for אִגֶּרֶת, etc.; freq. in Mac ;]

a message.

a letter, an epistle: Ac 9:2, I Co 5:9, al.; pl., Ac 22:5, I Co 16:3, al.; ἐ. σνστατικαί, II Co 3:1 (cf. Milligan, NTD, 254 f.). (On the NT ἐπιστολαί, cf. Milligan, Th., 121 ff.; NTD, 85 ff.; Deiss., BS, 3 ff.; St. Paul, 8 ff.)

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

ἐπι-στολή, -ῆς, ἡ, (ἐπιστέλλω), a letter, epistle: Acts xv. 30; Ro. xvi. 22; 1 Co. v. 9, ete.; plur., Acts ix. 2; 2Co. x. 10, ete.; ἐπιστολαὶ συστατικαί, letters of commendation, 2 Co. iii. 1 [W. 176 (165). On the possible use of the plur. of this word interchangeably with the sing. (cf. Thom. Mag. ed. Ritschl p. 113, 8), see Bp. Lghtft. and Meyer on Phil. iii. 1. (Eur., Thue., al.)] -

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

ἐπιστολή. Preisigke in his Fachwérter, p. 90, has classified various more or less technical usages of this common word. Thus in P Amh II, 6419 (a.p. 107) the copy of an official letter addressed to the strategus with reference to the public baths of Hermopolis is headed—avrtypadov ἐπιστολῆς, and in P Hamb I. 18 4-6 (a.p, 222) a συνκολ(λήσιμον) is mentioned αὐθ(εντικῶν) ἐπιστολ(ῶν) kal βιβλ(ιδίων) ὑποκεκολ(λημένων). In BGU IV. 1046%1-5 (not before A.D. 166) (= Chrest. I. p. 315) we learn that the persons selected for certain public duties were appointed by the epistrategus—8u’ ἐπιστολ(ῆς) κομισθι(είσης) καὶ προγρα(φείσης) (*‘ openly placarded up”’) ; while in Chvest. I. 2616 (a.p. 135) a petition, instead of being lodged in the usual way as a ὑπόμνημα, takes the form of an ἐπιστολή : see Wilcken’s note ad 7. In BGU IV. 11357 (prob. B.C. 10) κατὰ] νομογραφικὴν ἐπιστ[ολήν, the word is = ‘‘…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐπιστολή (epistolē) — epistle.

ἐπιστολ-ή, ἡ,

(ἐπιστέλλω) anything sent by a messenger, message, order, commission, whether verbal or in writing, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐξ ἐπιστολῆς by command, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: used by Trag. always in plural, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Πενθέως ἐπιστολαῖς by his commands, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τέκνων ἐπιστολὰς ἔγραψεν commands about her children, [Refs]

2. letter, ἐ. διαπέμπειν, ἀποδοῦναι, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πέμπειν τινί [Refs 5th c.BC+]: in plural of one letter, like{γράμματα}, Latin litterae, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὁ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν.. τοῦ Ὄθωνος, Latin ab epistulis Othoni, his secretary, [Refs 1st c.AD+]; νομογραφικὴ ἐ. [Refs 1st c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐπιστολή

epistole

from 1989; a written message:--"epistle," letter.

see GREEK for 1989

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐπιστολή, ῆς, ἡ

n.f.

a letter, dispatch, epistle

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐπιστολή epistolē 24x

word sent; an order, command; an epistle, letter, Acts 9:2; 15:30

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐπιστολή ἐπιστολή, ἡ, ἐπιστέλλω a message, command, commission, whether verbal or in writing, Hdt., attic; ἐξ ἐπιστολῆς by command, Hdt.

a letter, Lat. epistola, Thuc., etc.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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
67%letter
letter67% · 16×letters33% · 8×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object38%adverbial38%subject17%predicate8%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 24 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
ἐνὅτιthat, since, becδιά
διά
δοκιμάζωI put to the tesλόγοςa word, speech, μήτεNeg
γράφωI write
σύ
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
ἐν
αὐτός
παρά
ἐπιστολήa letter24×
what comes after →
ἐν
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastὅς
οὗτος
πέμπωI sendσημειόωI note
ἐγώ
σύ
εἰς
ΔαμασκόςDamascus
δέχομαιI take, receive, acc
πρός

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

Concordanceἐπιστολή · 24× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians Acts 2 Thessalonians 1 Corinthians 2 Peter 1 Thessalonians Colossians Romans
Across the New Testament8 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 11 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 Ignatius of Antioch Polycarp
Philo of AlexandriaEvery Good Man is Free 96c. AD 40

μηνύει δὲ ἡ πεμφθεῖσα ἐπιστολὴ τῷ βασιλεῖ·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 7.136c. AD 75–95

ταῦτα γράψας καὶ σημηνάμενος τῇ αὑτοῦ σφραγῖδι τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἔδωκεν Οὐρίᾳ κομίσαι πρὸς Ἰώαβον.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 47.1c. AD 96

Ἀναλάβετε τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου τοῦ ἀποστόλου.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. BC 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Edg. $1Karien258 BC

r Ἀπολλόδοτος Χαρμίδει χαίρειν· ὑπογέγραφά σοι τῶν πρὸς Ξάνθιππον ἐπιστολῶν τὰ ἀντίγραφα. ἐντυχὼν οὖν αὐτῶι καὶ περὶ τῶν Βυξε δραχμῶν εἴδησον πῶς βούλεται οἰκονομῆσαι,

P.Grenf. 1 11Arsinoites182 BC

αὐτῶν ανενεγκεῖν ἐπὶ σὲ τὰ συγκεκριμένα τοῦ δὲ Πεχύτου γράψαντός σοι διὰ τῆς ὑποκειμένης ἐπιστολης καταστάντας ἐν Κροκοδίλων πόλει παρόντος Δημητρίου τοῦ φρουράρχου, Ἀσκληπιάδου ὑπηρέτου, Πολιάνθου Ψεμμίνιος τοῦ Πατοῦτος

P.Grenf. 1 30Pathyris104 BC

προστάτην τοῦ μεγίστου θεοῦ Νεχθφαραῦτος βεα … ρων … δια … στρατιωτῶν … τὴν ἐπιστολὴν … ντες, οἷς καὶ ἐντετάλμεθα ἀσπάσεσθαι ὑμᾶς παρʼ ἡμῶν φιλοφρόνως καὶ διὰ γραμμάτων ἐκρίναμεν

having written a letter having <the> form this:
ἔχουσανperiechō having G2192 Verb · present · active · participle · accusative · singular · feminine
709× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Acts than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means to have or hold something, like a possession or ability. It is used in many ways, such as having power or being with someone. The Bible uses it in Revelation 5:8 and 14:6.
Tyndale gloss
to have/be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἔχω, transliterated as echō, means 'to have' or 'to hold' and is used in various contexts, including possession, ability, and condition. It appears frequently in the New Testament, often relating to physical possession or metaphorical concepts like keeping faith or emotions. Notably, it can also refer to being pregnant, as seen in Matthew 1:18. The entries do not show significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἔχω,

[in LXX for אָצֵל (ἐχόμενος), בַּעַל, יֵשׁ, etc., 59 words in all;]

(on the Aktionsart of the various tenses, v. M, Pr., 110, 145, 150, 183),

to have, as in cl., in various senses and constructions.

Trans.;

to have, hold, hold fast, etc.;

to hold, as, in the hand: Re 5:8 14:6, al.; ἐν τ. χειρί, Re 1:16 10:2, al.;

of arms and clothing, = φέρω, φορέω, to bear, wear: Mt 3:4 22:12, al.; so freq. pres. ptcp. (LS, s.v., A, I, 6; Bl., § 74, 2), Mk 11:13, Jo 18:10, Re 9:17, al.;

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

ἔχω ; fut. ἕξω ; impf. εἶχον, [1 pers. plur. εἴχαμεν, 2 Jn. ἔχω 266 5 T Tr WH], 8 pers. plur. εἶχαν (Mk. viii. 7 L T Tr WH; Rey. ix. 8 LT Tr WH; but ef. [ Soph. Lex., Intr. p. 38; Tdf. Proleg. p. 123; WH. App. p. 165]; B. 40 (35)) and εἴχοσαν (LT Tr WH in Jn. xv. 22, 24; but ef. Bitm. in Theol. Stud. u. Krit. 1858, pp. 485 sqq. 491; see his N. T. Gr. p. 43 (37); [Soph. Lex., Intr. p. 39; Τὰ Proleg. p. 124; WH. App. p. 165; ef. δολεόω ]) ; pres. mid. ptep. ἐχόμενος ; to have,—with 2 aor. act. ἔσχον; pf. ἔσχηκα; I. Transitively. have (hold) in the hand: τὶ ἐν τῇ χειρί, Rev. i. 16; vi. 5; x. 2; xvii. 4; and simply, Rev. v. 8; viii. 3, 6; xiv. 6, ete.; Heb. viii. 3. Ὁ. in the sense of wearing (Lat. gestare) ; of garments, arms and the like: τὸ ἔνδυμα, Mt. iii. 4; xxii. 12; κατὰ κεφαλῆς ἔχων, sc. τί, having a covering hanging down from the head, i.e. having the head covered [B. $130, 5; W. §…

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

ἔχω. It may be well to illustrate some of the less usual forms of this common verb. The future σχήσω (cf. Kithner-Blass Gr. 1. ii. p. 112 n.8) is restored by the editor in OGZS 751° (ii/ B.C.) ἐπεὶ θλιβέντες ἐμ πλείοσιν ἀσθενῶς [σχή]σετε. For the 2 aor. with 1 aor. termination (cf. Ac 757 D συνἐσχαν) see BGU 11. 4518 (i/ii A.D.) ἀναγκαίως ἔσχαμεν δ[ι7᾽ ἐπιστολῆς σε ἀσπάσεσθαι, and for ἔσχοσαν cf. OG/S 315°" (B.C. 164-159) ὑφοψίαν μοχθηράν, ἣν Kal περὶ Tod ἀδελφοῦ ἔσχοσαν. In 20. 2237 (iii/B.c.) we have αὐτοὶ ἀπολογισάμενοι περί τε τῆς εὐνοίας ἣν διὰ παντὸς εἰσχήκατε εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν οἰκίαν, and for similar forms see the editor's note ® to 2b. 323. For the trans. use of the verb see such passages as P Oxy IV. 743!® (B.c. 2) εἰ καὶ m[p]ds ἄλλους εἶχον πρᾶγμα, βοηθὸν αὐτοῦ γ[εἸνέσθαι διὰ ἣν ἔχομε(ν) πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς φιλίαν, BGU I. 228(a.p. 114) (= «ϑελδείζογις, p. 74), which illustrate 1 Cor…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἔχω (echō) — to have/be.

ἔχω,

__A2nd pers. singular ἔχεισθα conjecture in [Refs 7th c.BC+]; 2nd pers. singular subjunctive ἔχῃσθα [Refs 8th c.BC+]imperfect εἶχον, Epic dialect ἔχον [Refs 8th c.BC+], Ionic dialect and poetry ἔχεσκον [Refs 8th c.BC+]future ἕξω, Epic dialect infinitive ἑξέμεναι [Refs 3rd c.BC+] (of momentary action, especially in sense check, see below [Refs 4th c.BC+], not found in Attic dialect Inscrr. or [Refs]; 2nd pers. singular σχήσησθα [Refs]aorist 1 ἔσχης α falsa lectio in [Refs 3rd c.AD+]aorist 2 ἔσχον, imperative σχές [Refs 5th c.BC+] only in Oracle texts cited in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; subjunctive σχῶ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural σχοίησαν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; infinitive σχεῖν [Refs 8th c.BC+], Epic dialect σχέμεν [Refs] (in Alexandr. Gr. 3rd.pers. plural imperfect and aorist 2 εἴχοσαν [NT+3rd c.BC+], see at {Σχέθω}: perfect ἔσχηκα [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἔχω

echo

scheo skheh'-o; (used in certain tenses only)

a primary verb; to hold (used in very various applications, literally

or figuratively, direct or remote; such as possession; ability,

contiuity, relation, or condition):--be (able, X hold, possessed

with), accompany, + begin to amend, can(+ -not), X conceive, count,

diseased, do + eat, + enjoy, + fear, following, have, hold, keep, +

lack, + go to law, lie, + must needs, + of necessity, + need, next, +

recover, + reign, + rest, + return, X sick, take for, + tremble, +

uncircumcised, use.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἔχω

v.

I have, hold, possess

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἔχω echō 708x

pluperfect., ἐσχήκειν, to hold, Rev. 1:16; to seize, possess a person, Mk. 16:8; to have, possess, Mt. 7:29, et al. freq.; to have, have ready, be furnished with, Mt. 5:23; Jn. 5:36; 6:68; to have as a matter of crimination, Mt. 5:23; Mk. 11:25; to have at command, Mt. 27:65; to have the power, be able, Mt. 18:25; Lk. 14:14; Read the full entry →

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

V-PAP-ASF Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Participle Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
29%having
having29% · 211×has9% · 62×have8% · 58×you have7% · 52×i have5% · 36×we have5% · 35×he has3% · 24×had3% · 21×other renderings30% · 217×

716 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 97 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 709 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,ἄρτοςbread, a loaf, fἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
Article the
ἄγγελοςan angel, messenαὐτόςκαίand, even, also,
μήNeg
Article theδέbut, on the otheπρόβατονa sheep
ὅς
καίand, even, also,ἐνεἰμίI am, exist
χρείαneed, necessity, bus
οὐNegαὐτόςὅς
ἔχωhaving709×
what comes after →
Article the
ἑπτάIndecυἱόςa son, descendenδέbut, on the othe
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegὅς
ἐν
Article theἑαυτοῦΧριστόςanointed, the Me
οὖςthe ear
ἀκούωI hear, listen
ἐξουσίαpower, authority, we
Article theἀλλάbut, exceptἐκβάλλωI throw, cast, p

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

Concordanceἔχω · 709× in the New Testament
Revelation John Luke Matthew Mark 1 Corinthians Acts Hebrews 1 John Romans 2 Corinthians 1 Timothy

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
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 11c. AD 40

ἀπεριμάχητον δὲ δόγμα καὶ ἀνωφελὲς ἀναρχίαν ὡς ἐν πόλει κατασκευάζον τῷδε τῷ κόσμῳ τὸν ἔφορον ἢ βραβευτὴν ἢ δικαστὴν οὐκ ἔχοντι, ὑφ’ οὗ πάντ’ οἰκονομεῖσθαι καὶ πρυτανεύεσθαι θέμις.

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 1.5c. AD 100

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Gen. 1 20Pathyris110 BC

ἔτους η Μεχεὶρ β, ἐπὶ Σώσου ἀγορανόμου. ὁμολογεῖ Ἁρκοννῆσις Φιγήριος Πέρσης τῶν μισθοφόρων ἱππέων ἔχειν παρὰ Ναομσήσιος τῆς Σπεμμίνιος εἰς λύτρα τετάρτης μερίδος γῆς ἠπείρου σιτοφόρου ἐν τῆι κάτω

P.Bad. 2 3Pathyris110 BC

Μεχεὶρ β ἐν Παθύρει ἐπὶ Σώσου ἀγορανόμου. ὁμολογεῖ Ἁρκοννῆσις Φιγήριος Πέρσης τῶν μισθοφόρων ἱππέων ἔχειν παρὰ Ναομσήσιος τῆς Σπεμμίνιος εἰς λύτρα τετάρτης μερίδος γῆς ἠπείρου σιτοφόρου ἐν τῇ κάτω

P.Adl. 4Ptolemais (Oberägypten)110 BC

Ψεμμῖνις … ου Ὥρωι Νεχούτου χαίρειν. ὁμολογῶ ἔχειν παρὰ σοῦ χαλκοῦ νομίσματος τάλαντα τρῖα ἄτοκα ?. ταῦτα δέ ἐστιν ἃ προσωφείλετό σοι

having written a letter having <the> form this:
τὸνho <the> G3588 Article · accusative · singular · masculine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts 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-ASM — Article · accusative · singular · masculine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-ASM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

having written a letter having <the> form this:
τύπονtupos form G5179 Noun · accusative · singular · masculine
15× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A mark or example, like a stamp or statue, as in Romans 6:17 and Acts 7:43 where it refers to a model or pattern.
Tyndale gloss
mark/example
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τύπος is derived from the verb τύπτω and generally refers to a mark or impression made by a blow. It encompasses meanings such as a figure, model, or example, and is used in both ethical and doctrinal contexts in the New Testament. Notably, it can signify a type or foreshadowing of future events or persons, as seen in Romans 5:14. The lexicons agree on its broad application, but specific nuances may vary.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τύπος, -ου, ὁ

(< τύπτω),

[in LXX: Ex 25:39 (40) (תַּבְנִית), Am 5:26 (צֶלֶם), III Mac 3:30, IV Mac 6:19 * ;]

the mark of a blow: τῶν ἥλων, Jo 20:25.

An impression, impress, the stamp made by a die; hence, a figure, image: Ac 7:43 (LXX).

form (Plat.): Ro 6:17; the sense or substance of a letter (III Mac, l.c.), Ac 23:25.

an example, pattern: Ac 7:44, He 8:6 (LXX); in ethical sense, Phl 3:17, I Th 1:7, II Th 3:9, I Ti 4:12,

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

τύπος, -ov, ὁ, (τύπτω). fr. [Aeschyl. and] Hdt. down; 2 Τύριος 1. the mark of a stroke or blow; print: τῶν ἥλων, Jn. xx. 25%, 25” [where LT Trmrg. τόπον], (Athen. 13 p. 585 ο. Tous τύπους τῶν πληγῶν ἰδοῦσα). 2. a figure formed hy a blow or impression; hence univ. a figure, image: of the images of the gods, Acts vii. 43 (Amos v. 26; Joseph. antt. 1, 19,11; 15, 9,5). (Cf. κύριοι τύπος θεοῦ, Barn. ep. 19, 7; ‘ Teaching’ 4, 11.] 3. form: διδαxis, i. e. the teaching which embodies the sum and substance of religion and represents it to the mind, Ro. vi. 17; i. q. manner of writing, the contents and form of a letter, Acts xxiii. 25 (3 Mace. iii. 30). 4. an example ; a. in the technical sense, viz. the pattern in conformity to which a thing must be made: Acts vii. 445 Heb. viii. 5, (Ex. xxv. 40). B. in an ethical sense, a dissuasive example, pattern of warning: plur. of ruinous events which…

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

τύπος, from meaning originally the ‘‘mark” of a blow (cf. Jn 2075), came to denote the “stamp” or the “figure” which a stamp bears, and hence ‘‘ pattern,” ‘* model,”’ and finally ‘‘type” in the Biblical sense of a person or event prefiguring someone or something in the future (cf. Zz V. vi. p. 377 ff.). The word has equally varied meanings in the papyri. The following may serve as illustrations—ἔ (1) “pattern”: P Tebt II. 34275 (late ii/a.p.) κοῦφα ἀρεστὰ τύπῳ TH προκί(ειμένῳ), pots in good order of the aforesaid pattern,” and P Lond 112248 (ς. a.p. 254-268) (Ξ: 11. p. 211, P Flor 11. 187*) τὸν τύπον τὸν τοῦ ἐλαιουργοῦ π[α]ράδος, if the word is read correctly (see the editor's note). Ἵ See also P Lond 19178 (c. A.D. 330-340) ὅπως ἐφάρῃς τὰς Xipds σίου πρὸς τὸν δεσπότην θαιὸν ὡς τοίπως (1. τύπος) σταυρῶ, “that you may lift up your hands to our Master God, in the semblance of a cross’’…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τύπος (tupos) — mark/example.

τύπ-ος [ῠ], ὁ,

(τύπτω) blow, τ. ἀντίτυπος Oracle texts cited in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; beat of horses' hoofs, variant for{κτὺπος} in [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. the effect of a blow or of pressure:

II.1. impression of a seal, τύποι σφενδόνης χρυσηλάτου [Refs 5th c.BC+]; stamp on a coin, τὰ ἀκριβῆ τὸν τ. [Refs 2nd c.BC+] “*Mens.” 60, [Refs 5th c.AD+] see entry {Κυζικηνοι στατῆρες}; on a branding-iron, ὄ τ. τοῦ καυτῆρος ἔστω ἀλώπηξ ἢ πίθηκος [Refs 2nd c.AD+]: generally, print, impression, χύτρας τύπον ἀρθείσης ἐν σποδῷ μὴ ἀπολιπεῖν, ἀλλὰ συγχεῖν [Refs 1st c.AD+]; στίβου γ᾽ οὐδεὶς τ. no footprint, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὡς ἡδὺς ἐν πόρπακι σὸς (i.e. τοῦ βραχίονος) κεῖται τύπος thy imprint, (O arm), [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τ. ὀδόντων imprint of teeth, [Refs]; print, βάλω τὸν δάκτυλόν μου εἰς τὸν τ. τῶν ἥλων [NT+2nd…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τύπος

tupos

from 5180; a die (as struck), i.e. (by implication) a stamp or scar;

by analogy, a shape, i.e. a statue, (figuratively) style or

resemblance; specially, a sampler ("type"), i.e. a model (for

imitation) or instance (for warning):--en-(ex-)ample, fashion, figure,

form, manner, pattern, print.

see GREEK for 5180

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τύπος, ου, ὁ

n.m.

a figure, model, type

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

τυπικῶς typikōs 1x

figuratively, typically, 1 Cor. 10:11*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τύπος τύ^πος, ὁ, τύπτω a blow, Orac. ap. Hdt.

the effect of a blow, the print or impress of a seal, Eur.; στίβου τύπος the print of a footstep, Soph.:— τύποι marks, letters, Plat.:— ὁ τ. τῶν ἵππων the sound of their tread, Xen.

anything wrought of metal or stone, in pl. figures worked in relief, Hdt., Eur.:—then, simply, a figure, image, statue, Hdt., Eur.

τύπος τινός a man's form, i. e. himself, Ἱππομέδοντος τ. Aesch.; βραχιόνων τ. ῀ βραχίονες, Eur.

general form or character, the type or model of a thing, Plat.:— an example, NTest.

an outline, sketch, draught, Plat.; so, τύπῳ, ἐν τύπῳ in outline, in general, id. Plat.

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

N-ASM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

form (yatsar, to'ar; morphe):

(1) To form is "to fashion," "create," "produce." In the Old Testament it is for the most part the translation of yatsar, "to form," "to fashion" (Ge 2:7, etc., "Yahweh God formed man of the dust of the ground," etc.); also of chul and chil, "to be twisted" "turned round" "to bring forth (in pain)" (compare Isa 13:8; Mic 4:10; De 32:18 the King James Version, "God that formed thee"; Job 26:13 the King James Version; Ps 90:2, "or ever thou hadst formed the earth" etc.; Pr 26:10 the King…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ IN RELIGIOUS SERVICE 1Ch 15:13,14; 2Ch 29:34

→ IRREGULARITIES IN 2Ch 30:2-5,17-20; Mt 12:3,4

See CHURCH AND STATE

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
33%pattern
pattern33% · 5×example13% · 2×mark13% · 2×images7% · 1×form7% · 1×type7% · 1×the form7% · 1×types7% · 1×other renderings7% · 1×

15 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
predicate33%object27%adverbial20%second object20%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 15 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
κατάαὐτόςῬαιφάνProp
δέbut, on the other ha
οὗτος
ἀλλάbut, except
καταφρονέωI despise, scornκλῆροςa lot, portion
εἰμίI am, exist
ὅς
παραδίδωμιI hand over, deliver
ὅς
τύποςform15×
what comes after →
Article the
ἧλοςa nailμέλλωI am about toδείκνυμιI point out, sho
ὅς
ποιέωI do, makeὁράωI see, look upon
ἐγώ
γίνομαιI come into bein
γίνομαιI come into being, a
Article the
οὗτος

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

Concordanceτύπος · 15× in the New Testament
Acts 1 Corinthians Romans 1 Peter 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Thessalonians Hebrews John Philippians Titus
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria The Epistle of Barnabas Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 18c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.129c. AD 75–95

οὐ γὰρ ἐπιχώριος ἡμῖν ὁ τοιοῦτος αὐτῶν τύπος, ἀλλʼ ἕν τε αὐτῶν σχῆμα καὶ τελευτὴ μία, Νῶχός τέ τοι Νῶε καλεῖται καὶ τοῦτον τὸν τύπον ἐπὶ παντὸς τηρεῖ σχήματος.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.11c. AD 100

ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀνακαινίσας ἡμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἀφέσει τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς ἄλλον τύπον, ὡς παιδίων ἔχειν τὴν ψυχήν, ὡς ἂν δὴ ἀναπλάσσοντος αὐτοῦ ἡμᾶς.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 5th c. AD 2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD
P.Brem. 51Hermopolis (?)AD 113–AD 120

συνήλιξα ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ χειρόγραφα τὸ μὲν Εὐδαίμονος Ἀπολλωνίου δραχμὰς Αφκη, τὸ δὲ ἕτερον τύπον ἔχον ἐπιθήκης δραχμὰς Βρξγ. δώσεις Παυσᾶτι Ἀλιοῦτος ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐμοῦ λόγου δραχμὰς τρισχιλίας λαβὼν

CdÉ 77 (2002), p. 227-229 no. 11Narmuthis (Arsinoites)AD 101–AD 300

Ζηνοδώρου ἐλαιουργὸς Γεμέλλου Μύρου ἐπὶ τὸ Πετεσούχου ἄγραφον εἶδος τοῦ ἑνὸς καὶ ἑκάστου ἐγκλήματος τύπους ἐκλεκτικὰ κατὰ στρατηγοῦ

P.Lond. 3 p. 210-211 no. 1122 bTheadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 249–AD 268

Ἡρακλείδης Ἡρωνείνῳ τῶι πατρὶ χαίρειν. τὸν τύπον τὸν τοῦ ἐλαιουργοῦ παράδος Ἀμεσύσῳ τῷ βαδιστηλάτῃ συντιμήσας αὐτὸν καὶ ὁρίσας τὴν τιμὴν εἰς

having written a letter having <the> form this:
τοῦτον·¶ohutos this: G3778 Demonstrative pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
1,388× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This refers to a specific person or thing, like when Jesus says 'this is my body' in Matthew 26:26 and Mark 14:22.
Amplified meaning
containing, holding all around
Tyndale gloss
this/he/she/it
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word οὗτος (i.e., *houtos*) is a demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' or 'this one.' It is used to refer to something nearby or recently mentioned, often with a connotation of contempt in certain contexts. In the New Testament, it appears in various forms, such as in Matthew 3:17 and John 1:15, and can also serve to emphasize or clarify a subject.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο, gen., τούτου, ταύτης, τούτου,

[in LXX chiefly for זֶה, זֹאת;]

demonstr. pron. (related to ἐκεῖνος as hic to ille),

this;

as subst., this one, he;

absol.: Mt 3:17, Mk 9:7, Lk 7:44, 45, Jo 1:15, Ac 2:15, al.; expressing contempt (cl.), Mt 13:55, 56, Mk 6:2, 3, Jo 6:42, al.; εἰς τοῦτο, Mk 1:38, Ro 14:9; μετὰ τοῦτο (ταῦτα; V. Westc. on Jo 5:1), Jo 2:12 11:7, al.;

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

οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο, demonstrative pron. [ef. Curtius p. 543], Hebr. 71, ΠΝ, this; used I. absolutely. 1. a. this one, visibly present here: Mt. iii. 17; xvii.5; Mk. ix. 7; Lk. vii. 44 sq.; ix. 35; 2 Pet.i.17. Mt.ix.3; xxi. 38; Mk. xiv. 69; Lk. 11. 34; xxiii. 2; Jn. i. 15, 30; vii. 25; ix. 8 54. 19; xviii. 21,50; xxi. 21; Actsii. 15; iv. 10; ix. 21; according to the nature and character of the person or thing mentioned, it is used with a suggestion —either of contempt, as Mt. xiii. 55 sq.; Mk. vi. 2 sq.: Lk. v. 21; vii. 39,49; Jn. vi. 42,52; vii. 15; or of admiration, Mt. xxi. 11; Actsix.21; οἵ, Wahl, Clavis apocryphor. V. T. p- 370% b. it refers to a subject immediately preceding, the one just named: Lk. i. 32; ii. 37 [RGL]; Jn. i. 2; vi. 71; 2 Tim. iii. 6,8, ete.; at the beginning of a narrative about one already mentioned, Mt. iii. 3; Lk. xvi. 1; Jn. i. 41 (42); ili. 2; xii. 21; xxi.…

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

οὗτος. A few of the prepositional phrases with this common demonstrative pron. may be illustrated διὰ τοῦτο, ‘on this account,” cf. P Ryl IT. 845 (a.p. 146) τὴν ἄνεσιν τὴν διὰ τοῦτο γενομένην τῶν ὑπαρχόντων, “the ensuing remission “ OUT@S, O’.TO@ of the lands’ (Edd.): ἐκ τούτου, ‘for this reason,’’ Jn 6° cf. 26. 81°4 (c, A.D, 104) ἐκ τούτου δὲ [φανεῖρόν ἐστιν [καὶ] μηδένα χρῇζειν, “‘it is evident from this that nobody wants it’’ (Edd.), BGU 11. 423!7 (ason to his father—ii/a.D.) (= Selections, p. 91) με ἐπαίδευσας καλῶς, Kal ἐκ τούτου ἐλπίζω ταχὺ προκόσί-- par τῶν θε[ῶ]ν θελόντων, “you have brought me up well, and for this reason I hope to be quickly promoted, if the gods will”: τούτου ἕνεκα, ‘‘ for this purpose,” cf. P Oxy I. 1138 (ii/a.p.) ἐὰν δ᾽ dpa μή, ; ἅμα τῷ vide μου ἐξέρχομαι τούτου ἕνεκα, “otherwise I and my son will come for this purpose’’ (Edd.): ἐπὶ τούτων, ““upon this,” ‘in…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὗτος (ohutos) — this/he/she/it.

οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο,

genitive τούτου, ταύτης, τούτου, etc.: the dual feminine never in Attic dialect, see ὁ, ἡ, τό, [near the start]:—demonstrative pronoun, this, common from [Refs 8th c.BC+]

__A ORIGIN and FORMS: οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο probably arose from a reduplication of the demonstrative ὁ, ἡ, τό with insertion of -υ- (= Sanskrit Particle u), e.g. ταῦτα from τα-υ-τα: Doric dialect genitive singular feminine τούτας [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc., the latter is uncertain in [Refs 5th c.BC+], as genitive singular neuter οὕτω [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; accusative singular feminine οὕταν [Refs 6th c.BC+] —In _Attic dialect_ οὗτος was frequently strengthened by the _demonstrative_ -ί, οὑτοσί, αὑτηί, τουτί, _genitive_ τουτουί, _dative_ τουτῳί, _accusative_ τουτονί; plural nominative οὑτοιί, neuter ταυτί, etc., this man here…

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Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο

Dem.pr.

this, he, she, it

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὗτος houtos 1x

this, this person or thing, Mt. 3:3, 9, 17; 8:9; 10:2; 24:34, et al. freq.; used by way of contempt, this fellow, Mt. 13:55; 27:47; αὐτὸ τοῦτο, this very thing, this same thing, 2 Cor. 2:3; 7:11; εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο, and elliptically, αὐτὸ τοῦτο, for this same purpose, on this account, Eph. 6:18, 22; 2 Pet. 1:5; καὶ οὗτος, and moreover, Lk. 7:12; 16:1; 20:30; καὶ τοῦτο, and that too, 1 Cor. 6:6, 8; tοῦτο μὲν ... τοῦτο δέ, partly ... partly, Heb.…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

οὗτος demonstr. Pron. this, Lat. hic, to designate the nearer of two things, opp. to ἐκεῖνος, the more remote (cf. ὅδε), Hom., etc.

when, of two things, one precedes and the other follows, ὅδε generally refers to what follows, οὗτος to what precedes, Soph., etc.

so also, οὗτος is used emphat., generally in contempt, while ἐκεῖνος (like Lat. ille) denotes praise, ὁ πάντ᾽ ἄναλκις οὗτος, i. e. Aegisthus, id. Soph.; οὗτος ἀνήρ Plat.; τούτους τοὺς συκοφάντας id. Plat.

in attic law-language, οὗτος is commonly applied to the opponent, whether plaintiff or defendant, whereas in Lat. hic was the client, iste the opponent, Dem.

often much like an adv., in local sense (cf. ὅδε init.), τίς δ᾽ οὗτος κατὰ νῆας ἔρχεαι; who art thou here that comest . . ? Il.; often in attic, τίς οὑτοσί; who's this…

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Dem-ASM — Demonstrative pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

D-ASM Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
55%this
this55% · 781×these things16% · 231×these14% · 196×he3% · 49×other renderings5% · 73×other renderings7% · 94×

1,424 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 49 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
subject36%object32%adverbial26%predicate4%indirect object2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,388 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
αὐτόςδέbut, on the otheλέγωI say, speak
διά
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςεἰμίI am, exist
ἐν
καίand, even, also,γάρforοὔτεNeg
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakεἰςγάρfor
ὅτιthat, since, because
λέγωI say, speakοἶδαI know, rememberγράφωI write
οὗτοςthis:1388×
what comes after →
Article the
λόγοςa word, speech, θεόςGod, a godἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ὅς
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theκατακρίνωI condemnεἰμίI am, exist
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakεἰμίI am, existαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
σύArticle theαὐτός

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

Concordanceοὗτος · 1,388× in the New Testament
John Acts Luke Matthew Mark 1 Corinthians Romans Revelation Hebrews 2 Corinthians 1 John 2 Peter

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

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

Counted over the 2,054 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 12c. AD 40

ἀλλ’ ὅ γε μέγας Μωυσῆς ἀλλοτριώτατον τοῦ ὁρατοῦ νομίσας εἶναι τὸ ἀγένητον — πᾶν γὰρ τὸ αἰσθητὸν ἐν γενέσει καὶ μεταβολαῖς οὐδέποτε κατὰ ταὐτὰ ὄν — τῷ μὲν ἀοράτῳ καὶ νοητῷ προσένειμεν ὡς ἀδελφὸν καὶ συγγενὲς ἀιδιότητα, τῷ δ’ αἰσθητῷ γένεσιν οἰκεῖον…

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

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

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

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

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

ὡς ἐτῶν μ χαλκοῦ τάλαντα δύο . προπωλητὴς καὶ βεβαιωτὴς τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην πάντων Πετεαρσεμθεὺς ὁ ἀποδόμενος, ὃν ἐδέξατο Πετεαρσεμθεὺς ὁ πριάμενος. Ἑρμίας ὁ παρὰ Πανίσκου κεχρημάτικα.

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ὡς ἐτῶν λ χαλκοῦ δραχμῶν τρισχιλίων . προπωληταὶ καὶ βεβαιωταὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην πάντων Νεχούτης καὶ ὁ σὺν αὐτῷ οἱ ἀποδόμενοι, ὃν ἐδέξατο Πακοῖβις ὁ πριάμενος. Ἑρμίας

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

εὐθύριν χαλκοῦ δραχμὰς δισχιλίας καὶ διακοσίας . προπωλητὴς καὶ βεβαιωτὴς τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην πάντων Πανοβχοῦνις ὁ ἀποδόμενος, ὃν ἐδέξατο Εὔνους ὁ πριάμενος. Ἑρμίας ὁ παρὰ Πανίσκου κεχρημάτικα.

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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