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Galatians 4:28 — Word Study

Depth

N1904ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα ἐστέ.

BSAyou yourselvesegō now,de brothers,adelphos [fellow believers, brethren] likekata IsaacIsaak [as Isaac was, in the manner of Isaac] of promiseepangelia [divine undertaking, God's assurance] childrenteknon [sons and daughters] you are.eimi

Word
Listen & take awayGalatians 4
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 28 is in this chapter.
Greek ↓ Download MP3 Nestle 1904 — the very text on this page — read by Andy Martin in Erasmian pronunciation.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (eimi) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Galatians 4:28quick helps
In a sentencePaul explains that believers, like Isaac, are regarded as children of God's promise.
Who is speakingPaul addresses fellow believers, referring to them as brothers.
Where we areThis verse is part of a discussion about the inheritance of believers in Christ.
The hard wordἐπαγγελία
Take awayBelievers are assured of their status as children of promise.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectσύ verbεἰμί 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 — Galatians 4:28

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 — Children of Promisegenerated

27For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”
28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
29At that time, however, the son born by the flesh persecuted the son born by the Spirit. It is the same now.
30But what does the Scripture say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”

Galatians 4:28 states that believers are like Isaac, who was a child of promise. Paul contrasts the children of the flesh with the children of the Spirit, emphasizing the spiritual inheritance that comes through faith. This passage connects to earlier discussions in Galatians about the law and grace, illustrating the significance of God's promises to His people.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Galatians 4:23His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born through the promise.
2Galatians 3:29And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
3Acts 3:25And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
4Romans 4:13–18For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
5Romans 9:8–9So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 5 references, hung on the phrase they belong to

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.Galatians 4:23 Galatians 3:29 Acts 3:25 Romans 4:13–18 Romans 9:8–9

The Key Word ἐπαγγελία, epangeliagenerated

The word ἐπαγγελία is a feminine noun meaning 'promise.' It signifies a divine assurance or commitment, often linked to God's covenant with His people. The parsing indicates it is in the genitive case, suggesting a relationship to the children mentioned in the verse.

In this context, it implies that the believers' identity and inheritance are grounded in God's promises, similar to how Isaac was recognized as a child of promise due to God's covenant with Abraham.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is presented in the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which states, "Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise." This wording is echoed in several translations, including the KJV and ASV, which also emphasize the connection to Isaac.

However, the BBE uses the phrase "the children of the undertaking of God," which shifts the focus slightly from the idea of promise to God's active commitment.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main clause is governed by the finite verb ἐστέ, you are, with a subject ὑμεῖς (you) and a predicate that includes a prepositional phrase κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ (like Isaac) and a noun phrase τέκνα ἐπαγγελίας (children of promise).

The structure shows a clear identification of the believers with Isaac, highlighting their shared status as children of God's promise.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

Ἰσαάκ is a proper name referring to Isaac, the son of Abraham, and appears in the Septuagint as יִצְחָק (Yitzhak). This connection emphasizes the continuity of God's promises from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

The term ἐπαγγελία does not have a direct counterpart in the Septuagint but is rooted in the concept of divine promises that are foundational to both Testaments.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Galatians 4:28 tells us that believers are like Isaac, who was a child of promise. Paul emphasizes that through faith, they inherit the blessings promised by God, just as Isaac did through God's covenant with Abraham.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to be a child of promise?

Being a child of promise means that believers are heirs to God's promises, signifying a special relationship with Him, similar to Isaac's status as a son of Abraham.

How does Isaac represent believers in this verse?

Isaac represents believers as a child of promise, illustrating that their identity and inheritance are rooted in God's faithfulness and divine assurance.

What is the significance of Paul calling them 'brothers'?

By calling them 'brothers,' Paul emphasizes the familial bond among believers, highlighting their shared faith and status as children of God.

How does this verse connect to the theme of inheritance in Galatians?

This verse connects to the theme of inheritance by affirming that believers, like Isaac, are heirs of God's promises, contrasting them with those born of the flesh.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways do I see myself as a child of promise in my own life?
  2. How can I better understand and embrace my identity as a brother or sister in Christ?
  3. What does it mean to me that God's promises are fulfilled in my life?
  4. How can I share the assurance of God's promises with others?

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

Early church writers reference this verse to discuss the identity of believers as children of promise, drawing parallels with Isaac's story.

IrenaeusAgainst Heresies Book IV c. 130–202
As Paul does also testify, saying that we are children of Abraham because of the similarity of our faith, and the promise of inheritance.
Early Church Fathers on Galatians 4 →
JeromeEPISTLE TO THE Galatians 2.4.28 c. 347–420
One might ask how he speaks of the Galatians, whom he had called fools. He accused them of starting in the Spirit and finishing in the flesh.
Early Church Fathers on Galatians 4 →
JeromeVerse 28. c. 347–420
But we, brethren, are children of promise according to Isaac. It is of no difficulty of understanding that the Apostle and those like him are said to be children of promise according to Isaac.
Early Church Fathers on Galatians 4 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Galatians 4:28 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was,.... The Ethiopic version reads, "you, brethren"; and so one of Stephens's copies. As the two women, Hagar and Sarah, might be, and are allegorized; so likewise their respective offspring.

Read John Gill on Galatians 4 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. We. So A C Delta 'Aleph ('), Vulgate. But B G f g, 'ye.' "We" better accords with Galatians 4:26; Galatians 4:31.

Read Robert Jamieson on Galatians 4 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Isaac was the promised seed, : the apostle tells the Galatians that the believing Gentiles were (as Isaac) the children of the promise. Isaac being born, not by virtue of any procreative virtue in his parents, which was now dead in them, , but by virtue of the promise, and by a power above nature, was a type of the believing Gentiles, who are a spiritual seed, and that seed to whom the promise was made, being the members of Christ by faith: so as the Jews had no reason so much to glory as they did, that Abraham was their father, for those amongst them that believed not were but his carnal seed, believers only were the spiritual seed, the children of the promise; to which the believing…

Read Matthew Poole on Galatians 4 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. Ver. 28. Now we, brethren, as Isaac] This the Jews to this day will not hear of, but call us Mamzer Goi, bastardly Gentiles.

Read John Trapp on Galatians 4 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(28) We.—The better reading appears to be Ye. Children of promise.—Children born in accomplishment of the promise. (See Romans 9:8, and Note.)

Read Charles John Ellicott on Galatians 4 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 28. Now we] Who believe in the Lord Jesus, are the children of promise-are the spiritual offspring of the Messiah, the seed of Abraham, in whom the promise stated that all the nations of the earth should be blessed.

Read AdamClarke on Galatians 4 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

28. The previous verse is introduced parenthetically. The connexion is, ‘Jerusalem from above is our mother … and we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children, not according to the flesh, but of promise’. The same conclusion as that arrived at ch. Galatians 3:29.

Read Cambridge on Galatians 4 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Now we, brethren - We who are Christians. Are the children of the promise - We so far resemble Isaac, that there are great and precious promises made to us. We are not in the condition of Ishmael, to whom no promise was made.

Read Albert Barnes on Galatians 4 →

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

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are children of promise.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Now we, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.

NETBNew English Translation2006

But you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.

RVARevised Version, American1894

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Therefore, brethren, wee are after the maner of Isaac, children of the promise.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

But ye, brethren, after the pattern of Isaac, are children of promise.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

And we, brethren, as Isaac, are children of promise,

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

And we, brothers, as Isaac, are children of promise,

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

But you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Now my friends, we are children of promise just like Isaac.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are the children of the undertaking of God.

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἀδελφοί,adelphos brothers, G80 2 different renderings
brethrenASV DBY DRA GNV KJV NWB RVA YLT
brothersBBE BSB LSV MSB NETB ULB WEB
ἸσαὰκIsaak Isaac G2464 2 different renderings
isaacBSB DBY FBV GNV LSV MSB NETB ULB YLT
as isaac wasASV BBE DRA KJV NWB RVA WEB
ἐπαγγελίαςepangelia of promise G1860 2 different renderings
of promiseASV BSB DBY DRA FBV KJV LSV MSB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
promiseGNV NETB

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.

clauseδέnowclauseἀδελφοίbrothersclausesubjectὑμεῖςYouprepositional phrase · adverbialκατὰlikeἸσαὰκIsaacnoun phrase · predicateἐπαγγελίαςof promiseτέκναchildrenlinking verbἐστέare

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

Nos autem, fratres, secundum Isaac promissionis filii sumus.

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

ܚܢܢ ܕܝܢ ܐܚܝ ܐܝܟ ܐܝܣܚܩ ܒܢܝ ܡܘܠܟܢܐ ܚܢܢ

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

ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα ἐστέ.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα ἐστέ.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα ἐστέ.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα ἐστέ.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα ἐστέ.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα

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
ὑμεῖς you yourselvesNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, TregWH, TR, Byz
ἐστέ. you are.NA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, TregWH, TR, Byz

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

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

Galatians 4:28σύyou yourselyou yourselvesσύδέnow,now,δέἀδελφόςbrothers,brothers,ἀδελφόςκατάlikelikeκατάἸσαάκIsaacIsaacἸσαάκἐπαγγελίαof promiseof promiseἐπαγγελίατέκνονchildrenchildrenτέκνονεἰμίyou are.you are.εἰμίἄλφαletter theletter the firsἄλφαἐπαγγέλλομαιv. I promiv. I promise, pἐπαγγέλλομαιτιμωρίαn.f. punisn.f. punishmentτιμωρίαἀμήνHebr. veriHebr. verily, tἀμήνἈνδρέαςn.m. Andren.m. AndrewἈνδρέαςἀδελφήn.f. a sisn.f. a sisterἀδελφήὄναρn.indcl. an.indcl. a dreaὄναρτάξιςn.f. ordern.f. order, posτάξιςἸακώβProp.n. JaProp.n. JacobἸακώβἈβραάμProp.n. AbProp.n. AbrahamἈβραάμκομίζωv. I bringv. I bring, recκομίζωσπέρμαn.n. seed,n.n. seed, offsσπέρμαἐπανίστημιv. I rise v. I rise up agἐπανίστημιγονεύςn.m. a parn.m. a parentγονεύςἄξιοςAdj worthyAdj worthy, worἄξιος
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 Galatians 4:28

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Greek lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. Imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, the full Liddell-Scott-Jones, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate LSJ, Robinson and Packard on the Greek, Webster and Cawdrey on the English the translators were using. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

you yourselves now, brothers, like Isaac of promise children you are.
ὑμεῖςegō you yourselves G4771 Personal pronoun · first person · nominative · plural
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Galatians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

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

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

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-1NP — Personal pronoun · first person · nominative · plural
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-1NP Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: first Case: Nominative Number: Plural

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύyou yourselves2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

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

you yourselves now, brothers, like Isaac of promise children you are.
δέ,de now, G1161 Conjunction
2,787× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Galatians 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…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

δέ

de

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

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

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δέ

Cj.

but, on the other hand, and

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δέ de 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

δέ is often redundant,

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

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

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existσύ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπεντακισχίλιοιfive thousand
εἰCond
παλαιόςold, ancient, woσύεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ἀναπίπτωI lie down, reclμνημεῖονa tomb, sepulche
οὗτος
δίδωμιI offer, giveθεόςGod, a godπίστιςfaith, belief, t
δέnow,2787×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusθεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐπί
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theσύ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὗτοςἸωάννηςJohn
τὶς
Article theαὐτόςὄνομαname, character,

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

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

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

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
you yourselves now, brothers, like Isaac of promise children you are.
ἀδελφοί,adelphos brothers, G80 Noun · vocative · plural · masculine
343× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Galatians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for brother refers to a male sibling or a fellow Christian, as seen in Matthew 1:2 and 1 Corinthians 1:1. It implies a close relationship.
Amplified meaning
fellow believers, brethren
Tyndale gloss
brother
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἀδελφός is built from a copulative particle and δελφύς, meaning 'womb.' It primarily refers to a brother, either by birth or in a broader sense, such as a fellow Christian or a member of the same nation. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, including familial and spiritual relationships, as seen in Matthew 1:2 and 1 Corinthians 1:1.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀδελφός, -οῦ, ὁ

(< ἀ- copul., δελφύς, womb),

in cl., a brother, born of the same parent or parents. [In LXX (Hort, Ja., 102 f.), for אָח;]

lit. of a brother (Ge 4:2, al.).

Of a neighbour (Le 19:17).

Of a member of the same nation (Ex 2:14, De 15:3). In NT in each of these senses (1. Mt 1:2, al.; 2. Mt 7:3; 3. Ro 9:3) and also,

of a fellow-Christian: I Co 1:1, Ac 9:30. This usage finds…

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

ἀδελφός, -οῦ, ὁ, (fr. a copulative and δελφύς, from the same womb; cf. ἀγάστωρ), [fr. Hom. down]; 1. a brother (whether born of the same two parents, or only of the same father or the same mother): Mt. i. 2; iv. 18, and often. That ‘the brethren of Jesus,’ Mt. xii. 46, 47 [but WH only in mrg.]; xiii. 55 sq.; Mk. vi. 3 (in the last two passages also sisters); Lk. viii. 19 sq.; Jn. ii. 12; vii. 8; Acts i. 14; Gal. i. 19; 1 Co. 1. 5, are neither sons of Joseph by a wife married before Mary (which is the account in the Apocryphal Gospels [ef. Thilo, Cod. Apocr. N. T. i. 8362 sq.]), nor cousins, the children of Alpheus or Cleophas [i. 6. Clopas] and Mary a sister of the mother of Jesus (the current opinion among the doctors of the church since Jerome and Ausustine [ef. Bp. Lghtft. Com. on Gal., diss. ii.]), according to that use of language by which ἀδελφός like the Hebr. τὶ denotes any…

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

ἀδελφός. For the literal and the more general derived sense we may quote Sy// 474° ἀδελφοὶ ols κοινὰ τὰ πατρῷα, and 276" διὰ τὸ Μεσσαλιήτας εἶναι ἡμῖν ἀδελφούς]. In P Lond 421 (B.C. 168) (= I. p. 30, Selections p. 9) ᾿Ισίας Ἡφαιστίωνι τῶι ἀδελφῶ[ι χαί(ρειν)], it seems probable that Isias is

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀδελφός (adelphos) — brother.

ἀδελφός [ᾰ],

(ἀ- copulative, δελφύς, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; compare ἀγάστωρ) properly, son of the same mother:

I. as substantive, ἀδελφός, ὁ, vocative ἄδελφ; Epic dialect, Ionic dialect, and Lyric poetry ἀδελφεός (genitive -ειοῦ in [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—brother, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἀδελφοί brother and sister, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so of the Ptolemies, θεοὶ ἀδελφοί[Refs 3rd c.BC+]; ἀπ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων ἀδελφεός[LXX+5th c.BC+]

I.2. kinsman,[LXX]; tribesman, Ex.[Refs]

I.3. colleague, associate, [Refs]; member of a college, [Refs]

I.4. term of address, used by kings, [LXX+2nd c.BC+], etc.:—as a term of affection, applicable by wife to husband, [LXX+2nd c.BC+]

I.5. brother (as a fellow Christian), [NT]; of other religious communities, e.g. Serapeum, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀδελφός

adelphos

from 1 (as a connective particle) and delphus (the womb); a brother

(literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like 1):--brother.

see GREEK for 1

see GREEK for 1

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀδελφός, οῦ, ὁ

n.m.

a brother

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀδελφός adelphos 343x

a brother, near kinsman or relative; one of the same nation or nature; one of equal rank and dignity; an associate, a member of the Christian community

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀδελφός α copul. , δελφύς; cf. Lat. couterinus ἀδελφοί are properly sons of the same mother:

as Subst., ἀδελφός, ὁ, voc. ἄδελφε (not -φέ), ionic ἀδελφεός, epic -ειός:—a brother, or generally, a near kinsman, ἀδελφοί brother and sister, like Lat. fratres, Eur.; ἀδελφεοὶ ἀπ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων brothers by both parents, i. e. not half-brothers, Hdt.

a brother (as a fellow Christian), NTest.

adj., ἀδελφός, ή, όν, brotherly or sisterly, Trag., Plat.

like Lat. geminus, gemellus, of anything in pairs, twin, Xen.:—then, just like, c. gen. or dat., ἀδελφὰ τῶνδε, ἀδελφὰ τούτοισι Soph.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-VPM — Noun · vocative · plural · masculine
vocative — the one being addressed.
Agrees with anything else marked plural masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-VPM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Vocative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
64%brothers
brothers64% · 223×brother35% · 121×other renderings1% · 4×

348 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
subject25%object20%adverbial12%indirect object6%predicate4%

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,ἸωάννηςJohnἈνδρέαςAndrew
σύ
δέbut, on the otheπερίἀδελφόςa brother
ἀνήρa male human being,
λέγωI say, speakποιέωI do, makeφημίI say
δέbut, on the other ha
σύἐγώπαραδίδωμιI hand over, del
οὖνtherefore, then
ἄραDisjἑπτάIndecλοιπόςleft, left behin
ἀδελφόςbrothers,343×
what comes after →
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,Article theἐν
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,ἀγαπητόςloved, belovedArticle the
σύ
Article theκαίand, even, also,ὡςas, like as, how
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastἐκκλησίαan assembly, conεὐαγγέλιονthe good news, t
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἀδελφήa sisterπατήρfather, Father,

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

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

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 419 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 The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch
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 1.53c. AD 75–95

οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀδελφοὶ διαφόροις ἔχαιρον ἐπιτηδεύμασιν·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.10c. AD 100

ἀκριβεύεσθαι οὖν ὀφείλομεν, ἀδελφοί, περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν, ἵνα μὴ ὁ πονηρὸς παρείσδυσιν πλάνης ποιήσας ἐν ἡμῖν ἐκσφενδονήσῃ ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς ζωῆς 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 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD
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 Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ν μέσος ἢ ἐλασσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς παστοφορίου ὠκοδομημένου καὶ δεδοκωμένου καὶ τεθυρωμένου ἐν τῷ ἀπὸ νότου μέρει τοῦ ἐν Παθύρει

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

ἐτῶν ξ μέσος μελίχρως τετανὸς ἀναφάλακρος μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπαρχούσης αὐτῷ καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς γῆς ἠπείρου σιτοφόρου ἀδιαιρέτου ἐν τῷ ἀπὸ βορρᾶ πεδίωι Παθύρεως τὸ ἐπιβάλλον αὐτῷ μέρος

you yourselves now, brothers, like Isaac of promise children you are.
κατὰkata like G2596 Preposition
473× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Galatians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
According to means following or matching something. In the Bible, it's used to talk about things happening in line with God's plan or will, like in Matthew 8:32 and Mark 5:13.
Tyndale gloss
according to
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

κατά (kata) is a preposition used with the genitive and accusative cases, primarily meaning 'down' or 'against.' It indicates direction, motion, or relation, appearing in various contexts such as 'down from' (e.g., Mt 8:32) and 'against' (e.g., Mk 9:40). The word also conveys meanings like 'throughout' and 'according to.' Lexicons note its frequent use in the New Testament, with some variations in application.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

κατά (bef. a vowel κατ’, καθ’; on the freq. neglect of elision, v. Tdf., Pr., 95; WH, App., 146a),

prep. c. gen., acc.,

down, downwards.

C. gen. (WM, § 47, k; Bl., § 42, 2).

C. gen. rei, in local sense;

down, down from: Mt 8:32, Mk 5:13, Lk 8:33, I Co 11:4;

throughout (late usage; Bl., § 42, 2): κ. ὅλης κ.τ.λ., Lk 4:14 23:5, Ac 9:31 10:37;

in a peculiar adjectival phrase: ἡ κ. βάθους πτωχεία, deep or extreme poverty, II Co 8:2.

C. gen. pers., usually in hostile sense;

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

κατά, [on its neglect of elision before a vowel see Tf. Proleg. p. 95; cf. W. § 5, 1a.; B.10; WH. App. p. 1405], a preposition denoting motion or diffusion or direction from the higher to the lower; as in class. Grk., joined with the gen. and the acc. I. With the Genitive (W. § 47, k. p. 381 (357); [B. § 147, 20]); 1. prop. a. down from, down: κατὰ κατά 8 τοῦ κρημνοῦ, Mt. viii. 32; ΜΚ. v.13; Lk. viii. 33; κατέχεεν κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς (so that it flowed down from his head [οἷς W. 381 (357) note]; but it is more correct here to omit κατά with LT Tr WH; see καταχέω), Mk. xiv. 3; hence κατὰ κεφαλῆς (a veil hanging down from his head) ἔχων, 1 Co. xi. 4 ([Δ. V. having his head covered] cf. καταπέτασμα [or rather κάλυμμα (q. v.), but 566 ἔχω I. 1b.]). Ὁ. down upon (down into) anything: Acts xxvii. 14 [W. 381 (357) note!; ef. B.D. Am. ed. s. ν. Crete]; trop. 7 κατὰ βάθους πτωχεία reaching down…

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

κατά, the favourite preposition of Polybius, by whom it is often used in place of ἐν, eis, and περί (Krebs Pra. p. 4), is also found with considerable variety of application in the NT, where it occurs 73 times c. gen., and 391 times c. acc. (cf. Proleg. p. 105). Brugmann (Awrze Vergletchende Grammazk, p. 479) considers that the earliest use of the word was “‘along ” something, so as to remain in connexion and contact with the object, and from this most of the senses found in the NT can be derived. I. (1) Turning to the construction c. gen. we find that the meaning ‘‘along” has passed into ‘‘down,” a usage not found in ΜΟΥ, in such passages as P Petr II. 18(26)!° (B.c. a ἐπιπεσὼν ἔτυπτεν [ad]t[o]v κατὰ τοῦ τραχήλου, Chest. τοῦ πνοήν: ἐξ Mt 8%, r Cor 114, 2 Cor 8%. (2) This in turn becomes ‘‘ against,” as in Mt τοῦδ, Mk 14°5, e.g. P Eleph 115 (B.c. 311-0) (= Se/ections, p. 4) ὅπου ἂν…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

κατά (kata) — according to.

κατά [κᾰτᾰ],

poetry καταί accusative to [Refs 2nd c.AD+]: preposition with genitive or accusative:— downwards.

__A WITH GEN.,

__A.I denoting motion from above, down from, βῆ δὲ κατ᾽ Οὐλύμποιο καρήνων, κατ᾽ Ἰδαίων ὀρέων, βαλέειν κ. πέτρης, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; καθ᾽ ἵππων ἀΐξαντε[Refs 5th c.BC+] — for κατ᾽ ἄκρης see.{ἄκρα}: Μοῖσα κ. στόματος Χέε νέκταρ [Refs 3rd c.BC+]

__A.II denoting downward motion,

__A.II.1 down upon or over, κ. Χθονὸς ὄμματα πήξας [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of the dying, κατὰ.. ὀφθαλμῶν κέχυτ᾽ ἀχλύς a cloud settled upon the eyes, [Refs]; φᾶρος κὰκ κεφαλῆς εἴρυσσε down over.. , [Refs 8th c.BC+]; [κόπρος] κ. σπείους κέχυτο.. πολλή [Refs]; ὕδωρ κ. Χειρός, see at {Χεί; μύρον κ. τῆς κεφαλῆς καταχέαντες} [Refs…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

κατά

kata

a primary particle; (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in

varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or

accusative) with which it is joined):--about, according as (to),

after, against, (when they were) X alone, among, and, X apart, (even,

like) as (concerning, pertaining to touching), X aside, at, before,

beyond, by, to the charge of, (charita-)bly, concerning, + covered,

(dai-)ly, down, every, (+ far more) exceeding, X more excellent, for,

from ... to, godly, in(-asmuch, divers, every, -to, respect of), ...

by, after the manner of, + by any means, beyond (out of) measure, X

mightily, more, X natural, of (up-)on (X part), out (of every), over

against, (+ your) X own, + particularly, so, through(-oughout,

-oughout every), thus, (un-)to(-gether, -ward), X uttermost,

where(-by), with. In composition it retains many of these

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Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

κατά

Prep.

down from, against, according to, throughout, during

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

κατά kata 473x

down from, Mt. 8:32; down upon, upon, Mk. 14:3; Acts 27:14; down into; κατὰ βάθους, profound, deepest, 2 Cor. 8:2; down over, throughout a space, Lk. 4:14; 23:5; concerning, in cases of pointed allegation, 1 Cor. 15:15; against, Mt. 12:30; by, in oaths, Mt. 26:63; with an acc. of place, in the quarter of, about, near, at, Lk. 10;32; Acts 2:10; throughout, Read the full entry →

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

PREP PREPosition

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
45%according to
according to45% · 215×against12% · 57×in9% · 42×every5% · 24×by5% · 23×on3% · 13×other renderings15% · 72×other renderings7% · 34×

480 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 48 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
adverbial86%object5%predicate5%subject3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 473 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,πᾶςall, the whole, ἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
αὐτός
ποιέωI do, makeγυνήa woman, wife, mλαλέωI speak, say
καίand, even, also, nam
ἑκατόνIndecμέγαςσύ
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,ἀλλάbut, exceptἔρχομαιI come, go
ἐγώ
μετάσυλλαμβάνωI seize, appreheγίνομαιI come into bein
κατάlike473×
what comes after →
Article the
νόμοςa law, the Mosaiἔργονwork, labor, actαὐτός
σάρξflesh, body
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ζάωI liveοὐNeg
ἴδιοςone’s own, private,
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,δέbut, on the othe
ἡμέραa day
ἐνεἰμίI am, existκαίand, even, also,
αὐτός
ὅπωςhow, in order thκαίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speak

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

Concordanceκατά · 473× in the New Testament
Acts Romans Luke Hebrews Matthew 2 Corinthians 1 Corinthians Ephesians Mark Galatians Colossians Philippians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 3c. AD 40

ἡ δ’ ἀρχή, καθάπερ ἔφην, ἐστὶ θαυμασιωτάτη κοσμοποιίαν περιέχουσα, ὡς καὶ τοῦ κόσμου τῷ νόμῳ καὶ τοῦ νόμου τῷ κόσμῳ συνᾴδοντος καὶ τοῦ νομίμου ἀνδρὸς εὐθὺς ὄντος κοσμοπολίτου πρὸς τὸ βούλημα τῆς φύσεως τὰς πράξεις ἀπευθύνοντος, καθ’ ἣν καὶ ὁ σύμπας…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.7c. AD 75–95

ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ μείζων ἦν ἡ τοῦδε τοῦ λόγου περιβολή, κατʼ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον χωρίσας ταῖς ἰδίαις ἀρχαῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ τέλει τὴν γραφὴν συνεμέτρησα·

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

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

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

ἐπρίατο Πετεαρσεμθεὺς Πανοβχούνιος 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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ἐπρίατο Πακοῖβις Πατοῦτος 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

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

μελίχρως τετανὸς μακροπρόσωπος 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

you yourselves now, brothers, like Isaac of promise children you are.
ἸσαὰκIsaak Isaac G2464 Noun · proper name, indeclinable
20× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Galatians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Isaac was the son of Abraham, a key figure in the Bible. He is mentioned in Matthew 1:2 and Romans 9:10, and his story is told in the book of Genesis.
Amplified meaning
as Isaac was, in the manner of Isaac
Tyndale gloss
Isaac
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word Ἰσαάκ (i.e. Isaak) is an indeclinable proper noun referring to Isaac, the son of Abraham, with its origin in Hebrew. It appears in various New Testament passages, including Matthew and Romans. The entries consistently identify it as a name without significant variation in meaning.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Ἰσαάκ

(in MSS. sometimes -σάκ; cf. Deiss., BS, 189; Thack., Gr., 100), ὁ, indecl.

(in FlJ, Ἴσακος, -ου),

(Heb. יִצְחָק),

Isaac (Ge 17:19, al.): Mt 1:2, Ro 9:10, al.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

Ἰσαάκ (Isaak) — Isaac.

Ἰσαάκ

(in MSS. sometimes -σάκ; cf. Deiss., BS, 189; Thack., Gr., 100), ὁ

indecl.

(in FlJ, Ἴσακος, -ου), (Heb. יִצְחָק),

Isaac (Gen.17:19, al.): Mat.1:2, Rom.9:10, al

(From Abbott-Smith. LSJ has no entry)

Strong's Greek Dictionary

Ἰσαάκ

Isaak

of Hebrew origin (3327); Isaac (i.e. Jitschak), the son of

Abraham:--Isaac.

see HEBREW for 03327

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Ἰσαάκ, ὁ

Prop.n.

Isaac

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Ἰσαάκ Isaak 20x

Isaac, pr. name, indecl., Mt. 1:2; 8:11; 23:32; Acts 3:13;. Rom. 9:7f.; Gal. 4:28; Heb. 11:9ff.; Jas. 2:21

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-PRI — Noun · proper name, indeclinable
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-PRI Indeclinable PRoper Noun

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

i'-zak:oIT- (CS:HebrewIT+`iruIT-/CS): Eldest son of Caleb (1Ch 4:15); probably to be read Ir, the syllable "-u" being the conjunction "and" belonging to the following word.

I. NAME

1. Root, Forms, Analogues

2. Implication

II. FAMILY AND KINDRED

1. Birth and Place in the Family

2. Relation to the Religious Birthright

3. Significance of Marriage

III. STORY OF LIFE

1. Previous to Marriage

2. Subsequent to Marriage

IV. BIBLICAL REFERENCES

1. In the Old Testament

2. In the New Testament

V. VIEWS OTHER THAN THE HISTORICAL

I. Name.

1. Root, Forms and Analogues:

This name has the double spelling, yitschaq, and yitschaq (Isaak), corresponding to the two forms in which appears the root meaning "to laugh"--a root that runs through nearly all the Semitic languages. In Hebrew both tsachaq and sachaq have their cognate nouns, and signify, in the simple stem, "to…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Isaac

Laughter. (1) Israel, or the kingdom of the ten tribes (Amos 7:9, 16).

(2.) The only son of Abraham by Sarah. He was the longest lived of the three patriarchs (Gen. 21:1-3). He was circumcised when eight days old (4-7); and when he was probably two years old a great feast was held in connection with his being weaned.

The next memorable event in his life is that connected with the command of God given to Abraham to offer him up as a sacrifice on a mountain in the land of Moriah (Gen. 22). (See ABRAHAM.) When he was forty years of age Rebekah was chosen for his wife (Gen. 24). After the death and burial of his father he took up his residence at Beer-lahai-roi (25:7-11), where his two sons, Esau and Jacob, were born (21-26), the former of whom seems to have been his favourite son…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(laughter), the son whom Sara bore to Abraham, in the hundredth year of his age, at Gerar. (B.C. 1897.) In his infancy he became the object of Ishmael’s jealousy; and in his youth the victim, in intention, of Abraham’s great sacrificial act of faith. When forty years old he married Rebekah his cousin, by whom, when he was sixty, he had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Driven by famine to Gerar, he acquired great wealth by his flocks but was repeatedly dispossessed by the Philistines of the wells which he sunk at convenient stations. After the deceit by which Jacob acquired his father’s blessing Isaac sent his son to seek a wife in Padan-aram; and all that we know of him during the last forty-three years of his life in that he saw that GOD, with a large and prosperous family, return to him at Hebron. (Genesis 36:27) before he died there, at…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Laughter, Ge 17:17 18:12 21:6, one of the patriarchal ancestors of the Hebrew nation and of Christ, son of Abraham and Sarah, B. C. 1896-1705. His history is related in Ge 21:1-34 24:1-28:22 35:27-29. He is memorable for the circumstances attending his birth, as a child of prophecy and promise, in the old age of his parents. Even in childhood he was the object of dislike to his brother Ishmael, son of the bondwoman; and in this, a type of all children of the promise, Ga 4:29. Trained in the fear of God to early manhood, he showed a noble trust and obedience in his conduct during that remarkable trail of faith which established Abraham as the "father of the faithful;" and in his meek submission to all the will of God…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%isaac
isaac100% · 20×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial30%subject25%object20%predicate20%second object5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 20 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
ἈβραάμPropὄγδοοςeighth
Article the
γεννάωI beget, bring fἸακώβPropἈβραάμProp
θεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also,Article the
ἐν
ἀλλάbut, exceptὅτιthat, since, bec
ἸσαάκProp
Article the
ἸσαάκIsaac20×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
ἸακώβPropθεόςGod, a godArticle the
Article the
ἸακώβPropἈβραάμPropπατήρfather, Father,
καλέωI call, invite, name
σύ
ἸσαάκProp
δέbut, on the othe
δέbut, on the other ha
γεννάωI beget, bring f

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

ConcordanceἸσαάκ · 20× in the New Testament
Acts Hebrews Matthew Luke Romans Galatians James Mark
Across the New Testament8 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 104 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 Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.82c. AD 40

ὅταν γὰρ ἐκβῇ ὁ νοῦς ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἀνενέγκῃ θεῷ, ὥσπερ ὁ γέλως Ἰσαάκ, τηνικαῦτα ὁμολογίαν τὴν πρὸς τὸν ὄντα ποιεῖται·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.8c. AD 100

Ἰδού, τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός: Εἰσέλθατε εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθήν, ἣν ὤμοσεν κύριος τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακώβ, καὶ κατακληρονομήσατε αὐτήν, γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 31.3c. AD 96

Ἰσαὰκ μετὰ πεποιθήσεως γινώσκων τὸ μέλλον ἡδέως προσήγετο θυσία.

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 8th c. AD 4th c. AD 5th c. AD
P.Col. 7 132Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 330–AD 340

εγη … … νιου … … ιου τάλαντα β Ἰσαὰκ Ἰσίωνος τάλαντα ιβ Χαιρήμων Ἰσίωνος τάλαντα δ Φίρμος Δίου τάλαντα θ δοῦλος Πανκράτιος τάλαντα

P.Cair. Masp. 1 67088Aphrodites Kome (Antaiopolites)AD 548

ὡς πρόκειται … ς Ἑρμαῶτος κτήτωρ στοιχεῖ μοι ἡ μαρτυρία ὡς πρόκειται. … … Ἰσαὰκ Κολλούθου ἀξιωθεὶς ἔγραψα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ γράμματα μὴ εἰδότος … … γινος Ἰωάννου κτήτωρ ἀπὸ

CdÉ 45 (1970), p. 144-HermopolisAD 501–AD 600

ἡ ἁγία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκκλησία ἡ ὑπὸ τὸν τὰ πάντα ὁσιώτατον ἐπίσκοπον Οὐλπιανὸν διὰ Ἰσαὰκ τοῦ θεοφιλεστάτου διακόνου καὶ οἰκονόμου Πκυλίῳ προνοητῇ Θαλλοῦ· παρασχοῦ Παιᾶτι συμμάχῳ ὑπὲρ μισθοῦ αὐτοῦ

you yourselves now, brothers, like Isaac of promise children you are.
ἐπαγγελίαςepangelia of promise G1860 Noun · genitive · singular · feminine
52× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Galatians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A promise is a commitment or assurance, especially from God. In the Bible, it refers to God's promises to his people, like in Acts 7:17 and Romans 4:14.
Amplified meaning
divine undertaking, God's assurance
Tyndale gloss
promise
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐπαγγελία (i.e., *epangelia*) means 'promise' and is derived from the verb ἐπαγγέλλω. It encompasses the idea of divine promises, particularly in the context of blessings and salvation, as seen in various New Testament passages like Acts and Romans. The lexicons note its use in both legal and general contexts, but there is some variation in how they emphasize its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐπ-αγγελία, -ας, ἡ

(< ἐπαγγέλλω),

[in LXX: Ps 55(56):8 (סֵפֶר), etc. ;]

a summons (as Attic law-term, Dem., al.).

a promise (Dem., Arist., al.): Ac 23:21; esp. in NT of the divine promises, Ac 7:17, Ro 4:14, 16 9:4, Ga 3:17, 18, 21 4:23, He 8:6 11:9, 17, II Pe 3:9; c. inf., He 4:1; γίνεται, etc., c. dat. pers., Ac 2:39, Ro 4:13, Ga…

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

ἐπ-αγγελία, -as, ἡ, (emayyeAkw); 1. announcement: 1 Jn. i. 5 (Ree., where ἀγγελία was long since restored) ; κατ᾽ ἐπαγγελίαν ζωῆς τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ, to proclaim life in fellowship with Christ, 2 Tim. i. 1 [W. 402 (376); cf. κατά, Π. fin. But others give ἐπαγγ.: here as elsewhere the sense of promise, cf. 2 below]. 2. promise; a. the act of promising, a promise given or to be given: προσδέχεσθαι τὴν ἀπὸ τινος ἐπαγγελίαν (assent; the reference is to a promise to surrender Pau! to the power and sentence of the Jews), Acts xxiii. 91; [add, ἐπαγγεAlas ὁ λόγος οὗτος, Ro. ix. 9]. It is used also of the divine promises of blessing, esp. of the benefits of salvation by Christ, [ef. Bp. Lghtft. on Gal. iii. 14]: Acts vii. 17; Ro. iv. 14, 16; [plur. Ro. ix. 4]; Gal. iii. 17 sq. 21; iv. 23; Heb. xi. 17; 2 Pet. iii. 9 (on which see βραδύνω. 5); Heb. viii. 6; xi. 9; foll. by the inf. Heb. iv. 1…

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

ἐπαγγελία. For this word in its original sense of ‘‘ announcement ” we may cite Sy? 6057 (iii/B.c.) καὶ τοῖς ἀποδημοῦσιν ἐπὶ τὰς σπονδοφορίας διατελεῖ per εὐνοίας ἀπογράφων τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, 2. 260° (not after B.C. 199) οἱ ἠιρημένοι ὑπὸ Maγνήτων περὶ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τοῦ ἀγῶνος. In Arche! 473" (ii/B.c.) καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπαγγελίαν ποιησάμενος ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων ἔδωκεν εἰς τὴν [κατασκευὴν τῆς] στοᾶς, the word is seen with the meaning of ‘‘ promise,’ which apparently it always has in the NT: cf. further Przene 123° with reference toa magistrate who on taking office had promised a distribution of food—éBeBalwoev δὲ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν παραστή[σ]ας μὲν τοῖς ἐντεμενίοις θεοῖς τὴν θυσίαν. In PSI IV.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐπαγγελία (epangelia) — promise.

ἐπαγγ-ελία, ἡ,

command, summons, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]

__b announcement, notice, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; τοῦ ἀγῶνος [LXX]; variant in [NT]

2. as law-term, ἐ. (i.e. δοκιμασίας) summons to attend a δοκιμασία τῶν ῥητόρων (see. ἐπαγγέλλω [Refs 4th c.BC+]: generally, notification, summons, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

3. offer, promise, profession, undertaking, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; ἐν ἐν ἐπαγγελίᾳ καταλιπών having left it as a promise, [Refs]; τὴν ἐ. ἐπὶ τέλος ἀγαγεῖν [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; ὤμων ἐπαγγελίᾳ the promise of his shoulders, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; ἐξ ἐ., ={ἐπαγγειλάμενος}, [Refs]; ἐ. ποιησάμενος ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων [Refs]; ἐβεβαίωσεν τὴν ἐ. [Refs]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐπαγγελία

epaggelia

from 1861; an announcement (for information, assent or pledge;

especially a divine assurance of good):--message, promise.

see GREEK for 1861

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐπαγγελία, ας, ἡ

n.f.

a promise

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐπαγγελία epangelia 52x

annunciation, 2 Tim. 1:1; a promise, act of promising, Acts 13:23, 32; 23:21; meton. the thing promised, promised favor and blessing, Lk. 24:49; Acts 1:4

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐπαγγελία ἐπαγγελία, ἡ, a public denunciation of one who, being subject to ἀτιμία, yet takes partin public affairs, Aeschin., Dem.

an offer, promise, profession, id. Dem.

from ἐπαγγέλλω

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

prom'-is (most frequently in the Old Testament dabhar, "speaking," "speech," and dabhar, "to speak" also 'amar, "to say," once in Ps 77:8, 'omer, "speech"; in the New Testament epaggelia, and the verbs epaggellomai, and compounds): Promise holds an important place in the Scriptures and in the development of the religion that culminated in Christ. The Bible is indeed full of "precious and exceeding great promises" (2Pe 1:4), although the word "promise" is not always used in connection with them. Of the more outstanding promises of the Old Testament may be mentioned:

(1) the proto-evangelium (Ge 3:15);

(2) the promise to Noah no more to curse the ground, etc. (Ge 8:21,22; 9:1-17);

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Used by Paul to denote the spiritual gifts of God, chiefly the Messiah, the Holy Spirit, and the fullness of gospel blessings, of which an assurance was given to Abraham and other saints in behalf of themselves, and of believers who should come after them, Ro 4:13-14 Ga 3:14-29. The "children of the promise" are either Isaac’s posterity, as distinguished from Ishmael’s; Jews converted to Christianity; or all true believers, who by faith lay hold on the promise of salvation in Christ. In Heb 11:39, "promise" means the thing promised, Ac 1:4. The "exceeding great and precious promises" of God include all good things for this life and the future; which are infallibly secured to…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
77%promise
promise77% · 40×promises21% · 11×other renderings2% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object35%subject29%adverbial21%predicate12%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 52 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, existκομίζωI bring, receiveκαταργέωI bring to naugh
κατά
σπέρμαseed, offspringεἰμίI am, existθεόςGod, a god
τέDisj
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
Article the
σύ
ἀπό
ἐπαγγελίαof promise52×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, πνεῦμαwind, breath, spθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article the
ὅς
ὁμολογέωI confess, profeαὐτός
γίνομαιI come into being, a
ὑπό
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
ἀλλότριοςbelonging to anoτὶς

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

Concordanceἐπαγγελία · 52× in the New Testament
Hebrews Galatians Acts Romans Ephesians 2 Corinthians 2 Peter 1 John 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Luke
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Clement of Rome Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Change of Names 201c. AD 40

Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἔγνω τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν λαλοῦσαν τὰ αἰδοῦς καὶ εὐλαβείας μεστὰ κατὰ τὴν αὑτοῦ διάνοιαν ὁ σπουδαῖος, ἔπαθεν ἀμφότερα, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν πίστιν καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸ γενητὸν ἀπιστίαν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.236c. AD 75–95

οἱ δὲ παρʼ ἐλπίδας αὐτοῦ κεκομισμένου καὶ τοιούτων ἀγαθῶν ἐπαγγελίας ἀκηκοότες ἠσπάζοντό τε ἀλλήλους καὶ θύσαντες ἀπενόστησαν πρὸς τὴν Σάρραν καὶ διῆγον εὐδαιμόνως ἐφʼ ἅπασιν οἷς ἐθελήσειαν τοῦ θεοῦ συλλαμβάνοντος αὐτοῖς.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 5.7c. AD 100

ἵνα τοῖς πατράσιν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν ἀποδῷ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ τὸν λαὸν τὸν καινὸν ἑτοιμάζων ἐπιδείξῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὤν, ὅτι τὴν ἀνάστασιν αὐτὸς ποιήσας κρινεῖ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. BC 2nd c. BC 3rd c. AD
P.Ryl. 4 593Oxyrhynchos (?)36 BC

τῶι ἐπιστάτηι τοῦ παιδίου δὸς τῶι ἀποδιδόντι σοι τὸ πιττάκιον αὐτὸν ὧν μοι πεποίηκας ἐπαγγελιῶν ἵνα μὴ μέμψεις ἔχωμεν πρὸς ἑαυτούς. ἔρρωσο ἔτους ιζ β Μεσορὴ ι

Chrest.Mitt. 245ArsinoitesAD 117–AD 138

ἐν τῇ ὁρισθείσῃ προθεσμίᾳ, ἐξεῖναι τῷ Πακύσι ἢ τοῖς παρʼ αὐτοῦ χωρὶς διαστολῆς καὶ ἐπαγγελίας τὴν τῆς ὑποθήκης ἐπικαταβολὴν ποιήσασθαι ταξαμένοις τὰ τέλη ἀκολούθως τοῖς νόμοις τῶν ὑποθηκῶν, καὶ

P.Herm. 12AD 101–AD 225

Ἡλιοδώρου ὁμοίως ἐπυθόμην καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν σῶν γραμμάτων, οἷς πιστεύσας καὶ τῇ τοῦ τεχνίτου ἐπαγγελίᾳ Κρητικὴν ὑπολαμβάνω ἐσχηκέναι, καὶ οὕτως ἐπὶ τοῦ ἔργου φανῆναι εὔχομαι, εἰ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς

you yourselves now, brothers, like Isaac of promise children you are.
τέκναteknon children G5043 Noun · nominative · plural · neuter
99× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Galatians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means a child, either male or female, born to parents, as mentioned in Matthew 7:11 and Romans 9:8.
Amplified meaning
sons and daughters
Tyndale gloss
child
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τέκνον (teknon) means a child, whether male or female, and can also refer to descendants or inhabitants. It is used in various contexts in the New Testament, including as a term of endearment and to denote spiritual offspring, particularly in relation to God. The word is derived from the verb meaning 'to bear' or 'to give birth.' Notably, it appears in verses like Matthew 2:18 and Romans 8:16.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τέκνον, -ου, τό

(< τίκτω),

[in LXX chiefly for בֵּן, also for יֶלֶד, etc. ;]

that which is begotten, born (cf. Scottish bairn), a child of either sex: Mk 13:12, Lk 1:7, Ac 7:5; pl., Mt 7:11, Mk 7:27, Lk 1:17, Eph 6:1, al.; τέκνα ἐπαγγελίας, Ro 9:8; τ. τῆς σαρκός, ib.; in a wider sense (as Heb. בָּנִים), of posterity, Mt 2:18, Lk 3:8, al.…

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

τέκνον, -ov, τό, (τίκτω, τεκεῖν), fr. Hom. down, Sept. chiefly for 13, sometimes for ΠΩΣ offspring; plur. children; a. prop. a. univ. and without regard to sex, child: Mk. xiii. 12; Lk. i. 7: Acts vii.5; Rev. xii. 4; plur., Mt. vii. 11; x. 21; xv. 26; Mk. vii. 27; xii. 19; Lk.i.17; xiv. 26; Actsxxi.5; 2Co. xii. 14; Eph. vi. 1; Col. iii. 20sq.; 1 Th. ii. 7,11; 1 Tim. iii.4; Tit. i.6; 2Jn.1, 4,13, and often; with emphasis: to be regarded as true, genuine children, Ro. ix. 7; τέκνα ἐπαγγελίας, children begotten by virtue of the divine promise, Ro. ix. 8; accounted as children begotten by virtue of God’s promise, Gal. iv. 28; τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκός, children by natural descent, Ro. ix. 8. in a broader sense (like the Hebr. 0°33), posterity: Mt. ii. 18; iii. 9; Lk. iii. 8; Acts ii. 39; xiii. 33 (32). with emphasis: genuine posterity, true offspring, Jn. viii. 39; (of wo men) to be regarded as…

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

τέκνον. (1) The following may serve as exx. of this very common word = ‘“‘a child’’—P Amh II. 35% (B.c. 132) ὑπέρ τε τοῦ

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τέκνον (teknon) — child.

τέκνον, τό,

(τίκτω,--οὐκ ἔστι μήτηρ ἡ κεκλημένου τέκνου τοκεύς, τροφὸς δὲ.. [Refs 4th c.BC+], child, ἄλοχοι καὶ νήπια τέκνα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; γυναῖκες καὶ τ. [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc.: the singular is used by [Refs 8th c.BC+] only in vocative, as a form of address from elders to their youngers, my son, my child, sometimes with masculine adjective, φίλε τέκνον [Refs 8th c.BC+]: the relative pronoun or Participle sometimes follows in masculine or feminine, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—the word is used in Prose at Cyrene, [Refs 4th c.BC+] in Attic dialect Prose, [LXX+5th c.BC+]; rare in Comedy texts except in paratragoedic passages, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; in Trag. it is generally used with especially reference to the mother, ὦ τέκνον Νηρῇδος, ὦ παῖ Πηλέως [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ἀγαμέμνονος παῖ (sic codices) καὶ Κλυταιμήστρας τέκνον…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τέκνον

teknon

from the base of 5098; a child (as produced):--child, daughter, son.

see GREEK for 5098

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τέκνον, ου, τό

n.n.

a child, descendent, inhabitant

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

τέκνον teknon 99x

a child, a son or daughter, Mt. 2:18; Lk. 1:7; pl. descendants, posterity, Mt. 3:9; Acts 2:39; child, son, as a term of endearment, Mt. 9:2; Mk. 2:5; 10:24; pl. children, inhabitants, people, of a city, Mt. 23:37; Lk. 19:44; from the Hebrew, met. a child or son in virtue of discipleship, 1 Cor. 4:17; 1 Tim. 1:2; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τέκνον τέκνον, ου, τό, τίκτω that which is borne or born, a child (cf. Scottish bairn, from Anglo-S. beran, to bear), Hom., etc.; my son, my child, sometimes with masc. adj., φίλε τέκνον id. Hom.; the relat. Pron. or Participle often follows in masc. or fem.

of animals, the young, id. Hom., etc.

metaph., flowers are γαίας τέκνα Aesch.; birds αἰθέρος τέκνα Eur.

The penult. is long in Hom., in Trag. more often short.

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

N-NPN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Smith's Bible Dictionary

The blessing of offspring, but especially of the male sex, is highly valued among all eastern nations, while a the absence is regarded as one of the severest punishments. (Genesis 16:2; 7:14; 1 Samuel 1:6; 2 Samuel 6:23; 2 Kings 4:14; Isaiah 47:9; Jeremiah 20:15; Psalms 127:3,5) As soon as the child was born it was washed in a bath, rubbed with salt and wrapped in swaddling clothes. (Ezekiel 16:4; Job 38:9; Luke…

A numerous offspring was regarded as a signal blessing, Ps 127:3-5, and childless wives sought various means to escape the reproach of barrenness, which was deprecated in the blessing given to a newly married couple, Ru 4:11. The pangs of childbirth, in their suddenness and sharpness, are often alluded to in Scripture. The apostle Paul speaks of them as fruits and evidences of the fall; but assures those who abide in faith, that, amid all the suffering that reminds them that woman was first in the transgression, Ge 3:16, they may yet look trustfully to God for acceptance and salvation, 1Ti 2:15.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ In answer to prayer

To Abraham Ge 15:2-5; with 21:1,2

Isaac Ge 25:21

Leah Ge 30:17-22

Rachel Ge 30:22-24

Hannah 1Sa 1:9-20

Zacharias Lu 1:13

→ Treatment of, at birth Eze 16:4-6; Lu 2:7,12

→ Circumcision of

→ See CIRCUMCISION

→ Dedicated to God in infancy

Samson Jud 13:5,7

Samuel 1Sa 1:24-28

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- Christ was an example to

Lu 2:51; Joh 19:26,27

- Are a gift from God

Ge 33:5; Ps 127:3

- Are capable of glorifying God

Ps 8:2; 148:12,13; Mt 21:15,16

- SHOULD BE

. Brought to Christ

Mr 10:13-16

. Brought early to the house of God

1Sa 1:24

. Instructed in the ways of God

De 31:12,13; Pr 22:6

. Judiciously trained

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
77%children
children77% · 76×child17% · 17×son4% · 4×other renderings2% · 2×

99 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
object31%subject18%predicate18%adverbial10%indirect object9%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 99 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,δίδωμιI offer, giveἄρτοςbread, a loaf, f
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakεἰμίI am, existμήτηρa mother
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
ἀλλάbut, exceptἀντιμισθίαa reward, recompθεόςGod, a god
πατήρfather, Father, ance
καίand, even, also,ὡςas, like as, how
Disj
μήτηρa motherπατήρfather, Father, γονεύςa parent
τέκνονchildren99×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἈβραάμPropσάρξflesh, body
σύ
πόσοςὅςπάντοτεalways, at all t
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐπανίστημιI rise up againsArticle theβάλλωI cast, throw, r
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ὅςἀποκτείνωI put to death,
ἐγώ
ἀνίστημιI raise up, set ἀγαπητόςloved, belovedὅς

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

Concordanceτέκνον · 99× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Mark Romans 1 John 1 Timothy Acts Ephesians Galatians 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 John
Across the New Testament23 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Didache The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 167c. AD 40

ἡ μὲν γυνὴ σφοδρὰς ἀνίας ἐνδεξαμένη τὰς ἐν ὠδῖσι καὶ τὰς παρὰ τὸν ἄλλον βίον λύπας ἐπαλλήλους καὶ μάλιστα τὰς ἐπὶ τέκνοις γεννωμένοις καὶ τρεφομένοις καὶ νοσοῦσι καὶ ὑγιαίνουσι καὶ εὐτυχοῦσι καὶ ἀτυχοῦσιν, εἶτ’ ἀφαίρεσιν ἐλευθερίας καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.74c. AD 75–95

Νῶχος δὲ τοῖς πραττομένοις ὑπʼ αὐτῶν δυσχεραίνων καὶ τοῖς βουλεύμασιν ἀηδῶς ἔχων ἔπειθεν ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτοὺς καὶ τὰς πράξεις μεταφέρειν, ὁρῶν δʼ οὐκ ἐνδιδόντας, ἀλλʼ ἰσχυρῶς ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς τῶν κακῶν κεκρατημένους, δείσας μὴ καὶ…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 7.1c. AD 100

Οὐκοῦν νοεῖτε, τέκνα εὐφροσύνης, ὅτι πάντα ὁ καλὸς κύριος προεφανέρωσεν ἡμῖν, ἵνα γνῶμεν, ᾧ κατὰ πάντα εὐχαριστοῦντες ὀφείλομεν αἰνεῖν.

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.Bon. 24 aTebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 135

π … ικ … οικ … ἀπηλιώτου πρότερον τοῦ προγεγραμμένου Προκτηρος … νυνὶ δὲ τέκνων Μυς … τοῦ Φ … … ωπ … ικαι … … , καὶ ἀπέχειν

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

ἐστὶν ἡ πέμπτη τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος μηνὸς Φαρμοῦθι καὶ παραστήσειν τὸν μὲν Ζεναμοῦνιν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ τέκνα εἰς τὸ ἁλιεύειν καὶ πωλεῖν καὶ Πετεσοῦχον ὡσαύτως δὲ παραστήσειν σὺν τοῖς προγεγραμμένοις τοὺς

P.Berl.Leihg. 1 24Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 169

Πτολεμαῖος ἐπίτροπος Σερήνου ἀντεξηγητοῦ καὶ Πλουτάμμωνος ἀφηλίκων τέκνων Σαραπίωνος Ἠπιοδώρου Ἰσιδώρῳ Νικάνδρου μισθωτῇ χαίρειν. ἀπέχω παρὰ σοῦ τὸν χειμερινὸν φόρον κήπου παραδείσου,

you yourselves now, brothers, like Isaac of promise children you are.
ἐστέ.eimi you are. G1510 Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · plural
2,457× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Galatians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To be or exist, a basic verb used to describe something or someone, like God saying 'I am' in John 8:58.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰμί,

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

As substantive verb.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰμί (eimi) — to be.

εἰμί

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί

eimi

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

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

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

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

see GREEK for 1488

see GREEK for 1498

see GREEK for 1511

see GREEK for 1527

see GREEK for 2258

see GREEK for 2071

see GREEK for 2070

see GREEK for 2075

see GREEK for 2076

see GREEK for 2771

see GREEK for 2468

see GREEK for 5600

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰμί

v.

I am, exist

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰμί eimi 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-1P — Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · plural
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

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

2,408 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 139 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
linking verb87%verb13%

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

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

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

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

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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