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Hebrews 10:23 — Word Study

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N1904κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἀκλινῆ, πιστὸς γὰρ ἐπαγγειλάμενος,

BSAWe may hold fastkatechō to theho confessionhomologia [announce, declare] <the>ho of [our] hopeelpis [expectation, trusting in God's goodness] firmly,aklinēs [firmly, without wavering] faithfulpistos [trustworthy, reliable, true to His word] for [is]gar the [One]ho having promised,epangellō [to make a promise]

Word
Listen & take awayHebrews 10
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 23 is in this chapter.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (epangellō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Hebrews 10:23quick helps
In a sentenceThe author encourages believers to hold firmly to their hope, grounded in the faithfulness of God.
Who is speakingThe author of Hebrews, addressing fellow believers.
Where we areThis verse is part of a passage urging perseverance in faith and community support.
The hard wordκατέχω
Take awayOur hope is anchored in God's faithfulness.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectπιστός verbκατέχω The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

1 of 10 occurs nowhere else in the New Testament — a word chosen on purpose.

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

Deep Study — Hebrews 10:23

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 — Encouragement to Persevere in Faithgenerated

22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
24And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.
25Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:23 is part of a larger exhortation encouraging believers to draw near to God with confidence, hold fast to their hope, and encourage one another. The surrounding verses emphasize the importance of community and faith as believers approach the Day of the Lord, highlighting the need for mutual support and steadfastness in their shared hope.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Hebrews 3:6–14But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.
2Hebrews 4:14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.
3Revelation 3:11I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
4James 1:6But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
5Hebrews 6:18Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 11 references, hung on the phrase they belong to

waveringJames 1:6

The Key Word κατέχω, katechōgenerated

The verb κατέχω means to hold fast, derived from the prefix κατ- and the verb ἔχω, which means to possess or hold. It encompasses meanings such as retaining faith or controlling something, as seen in other New Testament contexts.

In this verse, it is in the present active subjunctive, suggesting an ongoing action or state that believers should actively engage in — holding onto their hope without wavering.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as 'Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.' This is echoed in the KJV and ASV, which use 'hold fast' and 'confession of our hope', respectively.

Where translations differ is in the rendering of πιστὸς. The ASV, BSB, and others use 'faithful', while the NETB opts for 'trustworthy'.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the verse is κατέχωμεν, let us hold, which governs the action of holding fast to hope. This is complemented by an adverbial phrase ἀκλινῆ, meaning 'firmly', and a noun phrase ὁμολογίαν, which is the object of the verb.

The structure includes a subordinate clause introduced by γὰρ, explaining the reason for holding fast: 'for He who promised is faithful.' This clause emphasizes the reliability of God as the basis for the believers' hope.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In Hebrews 10:23, the word ὁμολογίαν (homologia), meaning "confession," is used. This term appears in the Septuagint and is linked to the Hebrew word נְדָבָה (nedavah), which conveys the idea of voluntariness or a freewill offering. This connection suggests that the confession referred to in the verse carries an element of willing acknowledgment of faith.

The word ἐλπίδος (elpis), meaning "of [our] hope," corresponds to the Hebrew תִּקְוָה (tikvah), which signifies hope or expectation. This choice emphasizes the assurance and anticipation inherent in the hope that believers profess.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Hebrews 10:23 encourages us to hold firmly to our hope in God, as He is faithful to keep His promises. This verse reminds us of the importance of community and mutual encouragement in our faith journey.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to hold fast to our hope?

Holding fast to our hope means to remain steadfast and unwavering in our trust in God and His promises, even in difficult times.

Why is it important to encourage one another?

Encouraging one another helps strengthen our faith and resolve, reminding us that we are not alone in our struggles and that we can support each other in our spiritual journeys.

What does it mean that God is faithful?

God's faithfulness means that He is reliable and true to His word, fulfilling His promises to us, as seen throughout Scripture.

How can we practically hold onto our hope in daily life?

We can hold onto our hope by regularly engaging in prayer, reading Scripture, participating in community worship, and reminding ourselves of God's past faithfulness.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what areas of my life do I need to hold more firmly to my hope in God?
  2. How can I actively encourage others in my community to remain steadfast in their faith?
  3. What specific promises of God can I reflect on to strengthen my hope?
  4. How does understanding God's faithfulness impact my daily decisions and outlook?

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

Several early church Fathers reference this verse to emphasize faithfulness and the importance of holding onto hope.

John ChrysostomHomily on Hebrews 19 c. 347–407
"For He is faithful that promised." "That promised" what? That we are to depart thither and enter into the kingdom. Be then in nothing over-curious, nor demand reasonings. Our religion needs faith.
Early Church Fathers on Hebrews 10 →
Apostolic ConstitutionsCONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES c. 375–380
Therefore, God has opened an entrance to all the sons of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in order that they may be in the faith of profession towards Him.
Early Church Fathers on Hebrews 10 →
Theodoret of CyrusINTERPRETATION OF Hebrews 10 c. 393–460
It is not separation but assiduous effort at unity that is the work of love.
Early Church Fathers on Hebrews 10 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Hebrews 10:23 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering,.... Either in the grace or doctrine of faith, or in the profession of both; [See comments on Hebrews 4:14].

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

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) Profession [ homologian (G3671) 'confession '] our faith [ tees (G3588) elpidos (G1680)] 'OUR

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

Let us hold fast; this duty is inferred from the doctrine of the gospel High Priest, and the perfect work he wrought in taking away sin, and bringing in everlasting righteousness: let us herefore persevere in the faith and hope of him, really, actually, stedfastly, retaining it with all our might and power; whatsoever insinuations may be used to entice us, or violence by persecutions to force us, from it, retaining it still in mind, will, affection, and operation. The profession of our faith; an outward exhibition to the world both in word and deed, as we have it sincerely in our hearts, solemnly owning it in the ordinances of God in his church, of the hope we have in Christ our High…

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

23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) Ver. 23. Without wavering] Gr. ακλινη, without tilting or tossing to one side or other. This amounts to more than that conjectural confidence of the Popish dubitanei, and that common faith that holds men in suspense, and hangs between heaven and earth as a meteor.

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

(23) In this verse again we have the characteristic words of earlier exhortations: “hold fast” (Hebrews 3:6; Hebrews 3:14); “profession,” or, rather, confession (Hebrews 3:1; Hebrews 4:14). Of our faith.—This rendering, apparently found in no earlier English version, is supposed to be due to oversight on the part of our translators. The true reading is “of the hope” (Hebrews 6:11; Hebrews 6:18-19). The two following words must be joined with “confession,” “let us hold fast the confession of the (Christian) hope so that it waver not.” This hope “maketh not ashamed” (Romans 5:5), for the promise is sure.

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

Verse 23. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith] The word ομολογια, from ομου, together, and λογος, a word, implies that general consent that was among Christians on all the important articles of their faith and practice; particularly their acknowledgment of the truth of the Gospel, and of Jesus Christ, as the only victim for sin, and the only Saviour from it. If the word washed above refer to Christian baptism in the case of adults, then the profession is that which the baptized then made of their faith in the Gospel; and of their determination to live and die in that faith. The various readings on this clause are many in the MSS., c. Τηςελπιδοςτηνὁμολογιαν, the confession of our…

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

23. the profession of our hope] Rather, “the confession of our Hope.” Here we have the same trilogy of Christian graces as in St Paul—Faith (Hebrews 10:22), Hope (Hebrews 10:23), and Love (Hebrews 10:24).without wavering] “So that it do not bend.” It must be not only “secure” (Hebrews 3:6; Hebrews 3:14), but not even liable to be shaken.for he is faithful that promised] Hebrews 6:13, Hebrews 11:11, Hebrews 12:26. The writer felt the necessity of insisting upon this point, because the sufferings of the Hebrew converts, and the long delay (as it seemed to them) of Christ’s return, had shaken their constancy.

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

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering - To secure this was one of the leading designs of this Epistle, and hence, the apostle adverts to it so frequently.

Read Albert Barnes on Hebrews 10 →

The verse in English, compared — 16 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

let’s hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

NETBNew English Translation2006

And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised:

RVARevised Version, American1894

let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised:

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised:

GNVGeneva Bible1599

And washed in our bodies with pure water, let vs keepe the profession of our hope, without wauering, (for he is faithfull that promised)

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Let us hold fast the confession of the hope unwavering, (for he [is] faithful who has promised;)

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

may we hold fast the unwavering profession of the hope, (for faithful [is] He who did promise),

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

may we hold fast the unwavering profession of the hope (for He who promised [is] faithful),

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Let us also hold tightly to the confession of our hope without wavering, because God, who has promised, is faithful.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering (for he is faithful that hath promised),

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

So let us hold onto the hope we're telling others about, never hesitating, for God who promised is trustworthy.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Let us keep the witness of our hope strong and unshaking, for he is true who has given his word:

Word by word, the decisions they made

πιστὸςpistos faithful G4103 2 different renderings
faithfulASV BSB DBY DRA KJV LSV MSB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
trustworthyFBV 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.

clauseclauseverbκατέχωμενWe should hold fastnoun phrase · objectτὴνto thenoun phraseὁμολογίανconfessionnoun phraseτῆςof [our]ἐλπίδοςhopeadverbialἀκλινῆfirmlyclauseγὰρfor [is]clausepredicateπιστὸςfaithfulnoun phrase · subjectthe [One]clauseverbἐπαγγειλάμενοςhaving promised

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

teneamus spei nostræ confessionem indeclinabilem (fidelis enim est qui repromisit),

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

ܘܢܚܡܣܢ ܒܬܘܕܝܬܐ ܕܣܒܪܢ ܘܠܐ ܢܨܛܠܐ ܡܗܝܡܢ ܗܘ ܓܝܪ ܡܢ ܕܡܠܟ ܠܢ

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

κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἀκλινῆ, πιστὸς γὰρ ἐπαγγειλάμενος,

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἀκλινῆ, πιστὸς γὰρ ἐπαγγειλάμενος,

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἀκλινῆ, πιστὸς γὰρ ἐπαγγειλάμενος,

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἀκλινῆ, πιστὸς γὰρ ἐπαγγειλάμενος,

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἀκλινῆ, πιστὸς γὰρ ἐπαγγειλάμενος,

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἀκλινῆ, πιστὸς γὰρ ἐπαγγειλάμενος,

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἀκλινῆ, πιστὸς γὰρ ἐπαγγειλάμενος,

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἀκλινῆ, πιστὸς γὰρ ἐπαγγειλάμενος,

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

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


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

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

Hebrews 10:23κατέχωWe may holdWe may hold fasκατέχωto theto theὁμολογίαconfessionconfessionὁμολογία<the><the>ἐλπίςof [our] hoof [our] hopeἐλπίςἀκλινήςfirmly,firmly,ἀκλινήςπιστόςfaithfulfaithfulπιστόςγάρfor [is]for [is]γάρthe [One]the [One]ἐπαγγέλλομαιhaving promhaving promisedἐπαγγέλλομαικατάPrep. downPrep. down fromκατάἄλφαletter theletter the firsἄλφαπείθωv. I persuv. I persuade, πείθωἐπίPrep. on, Prep. on, to, aἐπίὁμολογέωv. I confev. I confess, pὁμολογέωβέβαιοςAdj firm, Adj firm, steadβέβαιοςμέχριAdv as farAdv as far as, μέχρικαλόςAdj beautiAdj beautiful, καλόςἀνάστασιςn.f. a risn.f. a rising aἀνάστασιςἀληθινόςAdj true, Adj true, real,ἀληθινόςμάρτυςn.m. a witn.m. a witnessμάρτυςὥσπερAdv just aAdv just as, asὥσπερτοιοῦτοςDem.pr. ofDem.pr. of suchτοιοῦτοςπιστόςAdj trustwAdj trustworthyπιστόςζωήn.f. lifen.f. lifeζωή
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 Hebrews 10:23

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.

We may hold fast to the confession <the> of [our] hope firmly, faithful for [is] the [One] having promised,
κατέχωμενkatechō We may hold fast G2722 Verb · present · active · subjunctive · first person · plural
18× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Hebrews than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To hold back means to keep or restrain something, like in Luke 8:15 and Romans 1:18. It can also mean to possess or have control over something, like in 1 Corinthians 7:30 and 1 Thessalonians 5:21.
Tyndale gloss
to hold back/fast
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

κατέχω is built from the prefix κατ- and the verb ἔχω, meaning to hold or possess. It encompasses a range of meanings including to hold fast, restrain, and detain. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts such as retaining faith (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and restraining evil (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7). The lexicons do not show significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

κατ-έχω,

[in LXX for אחז, חזק hi., etc.;]

perfective of ἔχω (M, Pr., 116; M, Th., 155),

to possess, hold fast: Lk 8:15, Jo 5:[4], Ro 1:18 (Lft., Notes, 251), I Co 7:30 11:2, II Co 6:10, I Th 5:21, He 3:6, 14 10:23;

to lay hold of, get possession of: Lk 14:9.

to hold back, detain, restrain (M, Th., 156 f.): c. acc. seq. τοῦ μή c. inf., Lk 4:42; seq. πρός, c. acc., Phm 13; absol., τὸ κατέχον (ὁ κ.), II Th…

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

κατέχω; impf. κατεῖχον; 2 aor. subjunc. κατάσχω; impf. pass. κατειχόμην ; 1. to hold back, detain, retain; a. τινά, from going away, foll. by τοῦ μή w. inf., Lk. iv. 42 [B. § 140, 16 8.; οἵ. W. 604 (561)]; τινὰ πρὸς ἐμαυτόν, Philem. 13. Pass. (as often in Grk. writ. fr. Hom. down; ef. Passow 8. v. p. 1677*; [L. and 5. 5. ν. II. 67), of some troublesome condition or circumstance by which one is held as it were bound: νοσήματι, Jn. v. 4[GT Tr WHom. the passage]; ἔν τινι, Ro. vii. 6. b. to restrain, hinder (the course or progress of): τ. ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ, Ro. i. 18; absol. τὸ κατέχον, that which hinders, se. Antichrist from making his appearance (see avrixpiotos); the power of the Roman empire is meant; 6 κατέχων he that hinders, checks, sc. the advent of Antichrist, denotes the one in whom that power is lodged, the Roman emperor: 2 Th. ii. 6 sq. (cf., besides De Wette and Liinemann ad…

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

κατέχω royal ordinance—s.c. 118) κρατεῖν ὧν κατεσχήκασι κλή(ρων), ‘shall have the legal ownership of the lands which they have possessed ” (Edd.), P Oxy II. 237 Vili 22 (a.p, 186) διαζητοῦντί μοι μαθεῖν ἐκ τίνος ὑποθέσεως ἐτελεῖτο τὰς Αἰγυπτιακὰς γυναῖκας κατὰ ἐνχώριον νόμιμα (/ νόμισμα) κατέχειν τὰ ὑπάρχοντα τῶν ἀνδρῶν διὰ τῶν γαμικῶν συνγραφῶν κτλ., ‘when I wished to know on what pretext it came about that Egyptian wives have by native Egyptian law a claim upon their husbands’ property through their marriage contracts” etc. (Edd.). Cf. also P Oxy IV. γ7γ1315 (A.D. 97) where the parents κατέσχον τῇ ἐξ ἀλλήλων γενεᾷ τὰ ἑαυτῶν πάντα, ‘settled upon their joint issue the whole of their property” (Edd.). (2) From this it is an easy transition to the meaning ‘‘ lay hold of,” ‘* take possession of,’ as in Lk 14%: see e.g. P Amh II. 3076 (ii/B.c.) where in an official report regarding the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

κατέχω (katechō) — to hold back/fast.

κατέχω,

future καθέξω (of duration) [Refs 8th c.BC+]aorist κατέσχον, poetry

__A κατέσχεθον [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Epic dialect 3rd.pers. singular κάσχεθε [Refs 8th c.BC+], Aeolic dialect κατέσκ [εθε] [Refs 7th c.BC+]; late aorist κατέσχα [Refs 4th c.AD+]

__A.I transitive, hold fast, καλύπτρην χείρεσσι [Refs 8th c.BC+]

__A.I.b hold back, withhold, εἴ με βίῃ ἀέκοντα καθέξει [Refs 8th c.BC+]: check, restrain, bridle, ἑωυτόν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; [γυναῖκε] [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὀργήν, θυμόν, ὕβριν, etc., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κ. τὴν ἀγωγήν put it off, [Refs]; κ. τὸ πλῆθος ἐλευθέρως, ἰσχύϊ, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οὖρον hold in, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἑαυτὸν κατέχει μὴ ἐπιπηδᾶν restrains himself from.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, to be held down, γλῶσσα κατείχετο [Refs 5th c.BC+]; to be bound…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

κατέχω

katecho

from 2596 and 2192; to hold down (fast), in various applications

(literally or figuratively):--have, hold (fast), keep (in memory),

let, X make toward, possess, retain, seize on, stay, take, withhold.

see GREEK for 2596

see GREEK for 2192

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

κατέχω

v.

I hold fast, bind, restrain

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

κατέχω katechō 17x

(1) transitive, to hold down; to detain, retain, Lk. 4:42; Rom. 1:18; Phlm. 13; to hinder, restrain, 2 Thess. 2:6, 7; to hold downright, hold in a firm grasp, to have in full and secure possession, 1 Cor. 7:30; 2 Cor. 6:10; to come into full possession of, seize upon; to keep, retain, 1 Thess. 5:21; to occupy, Lk. 14:9; met. to hold fast mentally, retain, Lk. 8:15; 1 Cor. 11:2; 15:2…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

κατέχω fut. καθέξω fut. κατασχήσω aor2 κατέσχον poet. κατέσχεθον epic 3rd sg. κάσχεθε trans. to hold fast, Hes.

to hold back, withhold, Hom.:— to check, restrain, control, bridle, Hdt., attic: —Pass. to be held down, to be bound, kept under, Hdt.

to detain, id. Hdt., Xen.:—Pass. to be detained, to stay, stop, tarry, Hdt., Soph.

to have in possession, possess, occupy, Trag.

of sound, to fill, ἀλαλητῷ πεδίον κατέχουσι Il.; κ. στρατόπεδον δυσφημίαις to fill it with his grievous cries, Soph.

βιοτὰν κ. to continue a life, id. Soph.

to occupy, be spread over, cover, νὺξ κάτεχ᾽ οὐρανόν Od.; ἡμέρα κατέσχε γαῖαν Aesch.:—in Mid., κατέσχετο πρόσωπα covered her face, Od.

of the grave, to confine, cover, Hom.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Fast

The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great Day of Atonement (q.v.), Lev. 23:26-32. It is called “the fast” (Acts 27:9).

The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old Testament is in Zech. 7:1-7; 8:19, from which it appears that during their captivity the Jews observed four annual fasts.

(1.) The fast of the fourth month, kept on the seventeenth day of Tammuz, the anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; to commemorate also the incident recorded Ex. 32:19. (Comp. Jer. 52:6, 7.)

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
11%possessing
possessing11% · 2×restraining11% · 2×keep11% · 2×they were making6% · 1×suppressing6% · 1×we were bound6% · 1×you are keeping6% · 1×you hold fast6% · 1×other renderings39% · 7×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 18 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
νῦνnow, already, atμόνοςalone, but, only
βέβαιοςfirm, steadfast, end
τέλοςan end, purpose,
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτός
λόγοςa word, speech, divi
Article the
τόποςa place
ἔσχατοςlast, at the las
κατέχωWe may hold fast18×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article the
καίand, even, also, nam
καρποφορέωI bear fruit
νόσημαa trouble, disease
εἰς
Article the
ὥστεso that, therefore
δουλεύωI am a slave, am

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

Concordanceκατέχω · 18× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians Hebrews Luke 2 Thessalonians Romans 1 Thessalonians 2 Corinthians Acts John Philemon
Across the New Testament10 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaOn Flight and Finding 151c. AD 40

ἀπέστειλεν οὖν τὸν ἔριφον κομίσασθαι τὸν ἀρραβῶνα παρὰ τῆς γυναικός, οὐ τοῦτο προῃρημένος πάντως ἀπολαβεῖν, ἀλλ’ εἴ ποτε ἀναξία τοῦ κατέχειν ἐκείνη γένοιτο.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.21c. AD 75–95

οὕτως δʼ αὐτοὺς Ῥουβῆλος ὁρῶν ἔχοντας ὁ πρεσβύτατος αὐτῶν καὶ πρὸς τὴν πρᾶξιν ὡμονοηκότας ἐπειρᾶτο κατέχειν ὑποδεικνὺς τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ τολμήματος καὶ τὸ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ μύσος,

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 4th c. AD
BGU 4 1148Alexandria14 BC

προσεληλυθέναι αφ … τῇ κατοχῇ αὐτοῦ ἀκολούθως τοῖς τῆς χώρας νόμοις διὰ τὸ αὐτὴν κατέχειν τὴν Διονυσίου συγγραφὴν Αἰγυπτίαν καὶ εἶναι αὐτόθεν ἀκύρους τὰς δύο συνχωρήσεις, μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαι δὲ

P.Oxy. 49 3466OxyrhynchosAD 81–AD 96

δὲ Δημητρίας ὡσαύτως μετερχομένης τὸν Φανίαν ἀργυρίου δραχμὰς τρισχιλίας ἑξακοσίας … ν … οκα κατείχετο παρʼ ἑαυτῇ μέχρι τῆς τοῦ δανείου κομιδῆς, ἀποπεφηνότος τοῦ Κάρου ἀκολούθως τοῖς γενομένοις ὑπʼ

διαζητοῦντί μοι μαθεῖν ἔκ τινος ὑποθέσεως ἐγένετο τὰς Αἰγυπτίας γυναῖκας κατὰ τὰ ἐνχώρια νόμιμα κατέχειν τὰ ὑπάρχοντα τῶν ἀνδρῶν διὰ τῶν γαμικῶν συνγραφῶν ἑαυταῖς τε καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις, πλειστάκις

We may hold fast to the confession <the> of [our] hope firmly, faithful for [is] the [One] having promised,
τὴνho to the G3588 Article · accusative · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Hebrews as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

T-ASF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

We may hold fast to the confession <the> of [our] hope firmly, faithful for [is] the [One] having promised,
ὁμολογίανhomologia confession G3671 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
6× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Hebrews than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Confession refers to the act of acknowledging or admitting something, like in 2 Corinthians 9:13 where it talks about the confession of faith. It is about expressing agreement or consent.
Amplified meaning
announce, declare
Tyndale gloss
confession
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὁμολογία (i.e., *homologia*) is derived from ὁμολογέω and generally means agreement or confession. It covers a range of meanings including assent, admission, and compact, often used in legal or formal contexts. In the New Testament, it refers to a profession of faith or acknowledgment, appearing in verses like 2 Corinthians 9:13 and Hebrews 10:23.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁμολογία, -ας, ἡ

(< ὁμολογέω),

[in LXX: De 12:6, 17, Am 4:5, Ez 46:12 (נְדָבָה), Le 22:18, Je 51 (44):25 (נֶדֶר), I Es 9:8*;]

in cl., an agreement, assent, compact (in π., of a contract; Deiss., BS, 249).

confession (prob. always in an objective sense): II Co 9:13, I Ti 6:12, 13, He 3:1 4:14 10:13.†

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

ὁμολογία, -as, 7, (ὁμολογέω, q. ν. [ef. W. 35 (34)]), in the N. T. profession [R. V. uniformly confession]; ἃ. subjectively: ἀρχιερέα τῆς ὁμολ. ἡμῶν. i. e. Whom we profess (to be ours), Heb. iii. 1 [but al. refer this to b.]. b. objectively, profession [confession ] i.e. what one professes [confesses]: Heb. iv. 14; 1 Tim. vi. 12 (see ὁμολογέω, 3) ; 13 (see paprupew, a. p. 391"); τῆς ἐλπίδος, the substance of our profession, which we embrace with hope, Heb. x. 23; εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, relative to the gospel, 2 Co. ix. 13 (translate, for the obedience ye render to what ye profess concerning the gospel; cf. ἡ εἰς τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ Χριστὸν ὁμολογία, Justin M. dial. ο. Tryph. c.47,— ἃ constr. occasioned perhaps by ἡ eis τὸν Χριστὸν πίστες, Col. ii. 5; [ef. W. 381 (357)]). [(Hdt., Plat.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁμολογία (homologia) — confession.

ὁμολογ-ία,

Ionic dialect -ιη, ἡ, agreement, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; αἱ τῶν ὀνομάτων ὁ. verbal consistency, [Refs]

2. assent, admission, concession, τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κατὰ τὴν ἐμὴν ὁ. by my admission, [Refs]; ἐξ ὁ. διαλέγεσθαι argue from premises agreed upon or granted, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

3. agreement, compact, συνθήκη καὶ ὁ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. b especially in war, terms of peace, truce, or surrender, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὁμολογίῃ ἐχρήσαντο, of the conquered, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐς ὁμολογίην προκαλέεσθαι, of the conquerors, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. c in Law, contract, agreement, συγγραφὴ καὶ ὁ. [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; ὁ. τινὸς πρός τινα [Refs 1st c.AD+]

4. vow, [LXX]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁμολογία

homologia

from the same as 3670; acknowledgment:--con- (pro-)fession, professed.

see GREEK for 3670

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁμολογία, ας, ἡ

n.f.

a profession, confession

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁμολογία homologia 6x

assent, consent; profession, 2 Cor. 9:13; 1 Tim. 6:12, 13; Heb. 3:1; 4:14; 10:23*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁμολογία ὁμολογία, ἡ, from ὁμολογέω agreement, Plat.

an assent, admission, concession, id. Plat.: κατὰ τὴν ἐμὴν ὁμ. by my admission, id. Plat.

an agreement made, compact, id. Plat.; often in pl., id. Plat.; esp. in war, terms of surrender, Hdt., Thuc.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

kon-fesh'-un (yadhah; homologeo, and their derivatives): The radical meaning is "acknowledgment," "avowal," with the implication of a change of conviction or of course of conduct on the part of the subject. In English "profession" (the King James Version 1Ti 6:12; Heb 3:1; 4:14), besides absence of the thought just suggested, emphasizes the publicity of the act. Confession, like its Greek equivalent, connotes, as its etymology shows (Latin, con; Greek, homou), that the act places one in harmony with others. It is the uniting in a statement that has previously been made by someone else. Of the two Greek words from the same root in the New Testament, the compound with the Greek preposition ek found, among other places, in Mt 3:6

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Confession

(1) An open profession of faith (Luke 12:8). (2.) An acknowledment of sins to God (Lev. 16:21; Ezra 9:5-15; Dan. 9:3-12), and to a neighbour whom we have wronged (James 5:16; Matt. 18:15).

Nave's Topical Bible

→ OF CHRIST Mt 3:11; 7:21-23; 10:32,33; Lu 12:8; Joh 1:15-18; 9:22-38; 12:42,43; Ac 8:35-37; 18:5; 19:4,5; Ro 10:9-11; 1Co 12:3; 1Jo 1:6; 2:4; 4:2,3,15

See TESTIMONY, RELIGIOUS

→ OF SIN

See SIN, CONFESSION OF

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%confession
confession100% · 6×

6 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
object83%adverbial17%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 6 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
ὑποταγήsubjection, submἀρχιερεύςhigh priest, chiκρατέωI lay hold of, o
καλόςbeautiful, good, wor
Article the
ὁμολογίαconfession
what comes after →
σύ
εἰς
ἐνώπιονbefore the face of,
πολύςmuch, many, ofte
ἐγώ
ἸησοῦςJesus
Article the
ἐλπίςhope, expectatio

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

Concordanceὁμολογία · 6× in the New Testament
Hebrews 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians
Across the New Testament3 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 5 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.82c. AD 40

καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸ τοὔνομα τὸ τῆς ἐξομολογήσεως ἐμφαίνει τὴν ἐκτὸς ἑαυτοῦ ὁμολογίαν·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 6.118c. AD 75–95

τοῦ δὲ Σαούλου τοῦτο φήσαντος, ἐπεὶ κατά τινα δρυμὸν ἐγένοντο βαθὺν καὶ μελισσῶν γέμοντα τῆς Ἐφράμου κληρουχίας, ὁ τοῦ Σαούλου παῖς οὐκ ἐπακηκοὼς τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς ἀρᾶς οὐδὲ τῆς ἐπʼ αὐτῇ τοῦ πλήθους ὁμολογίας ἀποθλίψας τι κηρίον τοῦ μέλιτος ἤσθιε.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD
P.Athen.. 26Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 41–AD 68

τοῦ … ὡς ἐτῶν … μακροπροσώπου εὐθύρρινος οὐλὴ … καὶ Διονυσαρίωι κατὰ τήνδε τὴν ὁμολογίαν ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἐπὶ τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον, ἃς καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Πτολεμαῖος … γραφειν

P.Amh. 2 110Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 75

Νήσου τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος ἔτους, ἀπέχειν παρʼ αὐτῶν τοὺς ὁμολογοῦντας ἃς ὤφειλαν αὐτοῖς κατὰ ἀσφάλειαν ὁμολογίας πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τρίακοντα πέντε τὴν τελειωθεῖσαν τῶι ἐνεστῶτι ἔτει μηνὶ Τῦβι ἐννεακαιδεκάτῃ διὰ τοῦ

P.Athen.. 22ArsinoitesAD 122

ἀντίγραφον ὁμολογίας δανείου. ἔτους ζ Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος Μάρκου Αὐρηλίου Ἀντωνίνου μηνὸς Περιτίου … ἐν … τῆς

We may hold fast to the confession <the> of [our] hope firmly, faithful for [is] the [One] having promised,
τῆςho <the> G3588 Article · genitive · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Hebrews as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

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

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

We may hold fast to the confession <the> of [our] hope firmly, faithful for [is] the [One] having promised,
ἐλπίδοςelpis of [our] hope G1680 Noun · genitive · singular · feminine
53× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Hebrews than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Hope or expectation, as in 2 Corinthians 1:6 and Acts 16:19, where it refers to trusting in God's goodness.
Amplified meaning
expectation, trusting in God's goodness
Tyndale gloss
hope
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐλπίς (lemma: elpis) means hope or expectation, primarily in a positive sense. It appears frequently in the New Testament, often referring to religious hope, such as the hope of salvation or the Messianic hope of Israel. Notably, it can denote both the object of hope and the source of hope, as seen in various verses like Romans 5:4 and Acts 24:15.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐλπίς

(ἑλ-, Ro 8:20, WH, v. Bl., § 4, 3; M, Pr., 44), -ίδος, ἡ

[in LXX for בָּטַח and its derivatives, תִּקְוָה (freq. in Jb), etc. ;]

expectation (in cl., rarely of evil, mostly of good, and so always in NT), hope;

of hope in general: II Co 1:6; c. gen. obj., Ac 16:19; art. inf., Ac 27:20, I Co 9:10; παρ’ ἐλπίδα, Ro 4:18; ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι, I Co 9:10.

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

ἐλπίς [sometimes written ἑλπίς ἢ so WH in Ro. viii. 20; Tdf.in Acts ii. 26; see (in 2 below, and) the reff. s. V. ἀφεῖδον], -ἰδος, ἡ, (ἔλπω to make to hope), Sept. for nua and m3, trust; TOM that in which one confides or to which he flees for refuge; MpA expectation, hope; in the classics a vox media, i. e. expectation whether of good or of ill; 1. rarely in a bad sense, expectation of evil, fear; as, τῶν κακῶν ἐλπίς. Leian. Tyrannic. ec. 3; τοῦ φόβου ἐλπίς, Thuc. 7, 61; κακὴ ἐλπίς. Plat. rep. 1 p. 330 e. [ef. legg. 1 p. 644 c. fin.]; πονηρὰ edz. Is. XXvili. 19 Sept. 2. much more freq. in the classics, and always in the N. T., in a good sense: expectation of good, hope; and in the Christian sense, joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation: Acts xxiii. 63 xxvi. 7; Ro. v. 4.Βη.; xii. 12; xv. 13; 1 Co. xiii. 185; 1 Pet. i. 3; iii. 15; ἀγαθὴ ἐλπίς (often in prof. auth., as Plat.…

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

ἐλπίς “Ελληνιστί. P Giss I. 365 (B.c. 161) ἀ(ντίγραφον) [συγχωρήσεως Alyurr]([as με]θη[ρ]μην[εὐ]μένης “Ἑλληνιστὶ κατὰ τὸ δυνατόν, P Tor I. 1%4 (B.c. 117) ἀντίγραφα συγγραφῶν Αἰγυπτίων διηρμηνευμένων δ᾽ λληνιστί. For this form of the word see Mayser Gr. p. 457, and for the elliptical usage in Ac 2137 see Field Notes, p. 135 f. élhoyaw (—éw). To Lightfoot’s examples of this word from the inscriptions in his note on Philem?8 τοῦτο ἐμοὶ ἐλλόγα, may now be added several occurrences in the papyri in its general Hellenistic form ἐλλογέω. Thus the technical sense of ‘‘set to one’s account,”’ as in the Philemon passage, comes out well in P Ryl II. 243" (ii/a.b.) where two women write to their steward—8oa ποτὲ οὖν ἐὰν ἀναναλώσῃς (1. ἀναλώσῃΞς) ts τὴν τοῦ κλήρου κατεργασίαν, ἡμεῖν ἐνλόγησον ἐπὶ λόγου, “put down to our account everything you expend on the cultivation of the holding ” (Edd.), and in…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐλπίς (elpis) — hope.

ἐλπ-ίς, ίδος, ἡ,

(see. ἔλπω) hope, expectation (δόξα μελλόντων [Refs 8th c.BC+]; πολλῶν ῥαγεισῶν ἐλπίδων after the wreck of many hopes, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; expectancy, [Refs 5th c.BC+] —Constr., in _Attic dialect_, with _genitive_ both of subject and object, as (where both are conjoined) Πελοποννησίων τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῦ ναυτικοῦ the hope of the P.in their navy, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὑμέτεραι ἐλπίδες,= ἐς ὑμᾶς, [Refs]; ἐλπίδ᾽ ἔχω, ={ἐλπίζω}, with future infinitive, μὴ οὐ δώσειν δίκην [Refs 5th c.BC+]: with aorist infinitive, κλέος εὑρέσθαι [Refs 5th c.BC+] and future infinitive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν ἐλπίδι εἰμί, with future infinitive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐλπίς [ἐστί] μοι with accusative and future infinitive or aorist, ἐλπίς τις αὐτὸν ἥξειν [Refs 5th c.BC+]: with present infinitive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐλπίδας μεγάλας ἔν τινι ἔχειν[Refs 5th c.BC+]; τίν᾽…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐλπίς

elpis

from a primary elpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure);

expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence:--faith, hope.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐλπίς, ίδος, ἡ

n.f.

hope, expectation

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐλπίς elpis 53x

pr. expectation; hope, Acts 24:15; Rom. 5:4; meton. the object of hope, thing hoped for, Rom. 8:24; Gal. 5:5; the author or source of hope, Col. 1:27; 1 Tim. 1:1; trust, confidence, 1 Pet. 1:21; ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι, in security, with a guarantee, Acts 2:26; Rom. 8:20

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐλπίς ἔλπω hope, expectation, Od.;in pl., πολλῶν ῥαγεισῶν ἐλπίδων after the wreck of many hopes, Aesch.;—with gen. both of subject and object, Πελοποννησίων τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῦ ναυτικοῦ the hope of the P. in their navy, Thuc.

the object of hope, a hope, Ὀρέστης, ἐλπὶς δόμων Aesch.

apprehension, fear, id. Aesch.

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

hop:

1. In the Old Testament:

In the Revised Version (British and American) the New Testament "hope" represents the noun elpis (52 t), and the verb elpizo (31 t). King James Version, however, renders the noun in Heb 10:23 by "faith," and for the verb gives "trust" in 18 cases (apparently without much system, e.g. in Php 2 compare 2:19 and 23; see TRUST), while in Lu 6:35 it translates apelpizo, by "hoping for nothing again" (the Revised Version (British and American) "never despairing"). But in the Old Testament there is no Hebrew word that has the exact force of "expectation of some good thing," so that in the King James Version "hope" (noun and vb.) stands for some 15 Hebrew words, nearly all of which in other places are given other translation (e.g. mibhTach, is rendered "hope"…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Hope

One of the three main elements of Christian character (1 Cor. 13:13). It is joined to faith and love, and is opposed to seeing or possessing (Rom. 8:24; 1 John 3:2). “Hope is an essential and fundamental element of Christian life, so essential indeed, that, like faith and love, it can itself designate the essence of Christianity (1 Pet. 3:15; Heb. 10:23). In it the whole glory of the Christian vocation is centred (Eph. 1:18; 4:4).” Unbelievers are without this hope (Eph. 2:12;

→ General scriptures concerning Ps 9:18; 16:9; 31:24; 33:18,22; 38:15; 39:7; 43:5; 71:5,14; 78:5-7; 119:74,81,116,166; 130:7; 146:5; Pr 10:28; 13:12; 14:32; 23:18; 24:14; Isa 38:18; Jer 17:7; La 3:21,24,26; Ho 2:15; Joe 3:16; Zec 9:12; Ac 23:6; 24:14,15; 26:7,8; 28:20; Ro 4:18; 5:2-5; 8:24,25; 12:12; 15:4,13;

- In God

Ps 39:7; 1Pe 1:21

- In Christ

1Co 15:19; 1Ti 1:1

- In God's promises

Ac 26:6,7; Tit 1:2

- In the mercy of God

Ps 33:18

- Is the work of the Holy Spirit

Ro 15:13; Ga 5:5

- OBTAINED THROUGH

. Grace

2Th 2:16

. The word

Ps 119:81

. Patience and comfort of the Scriptures

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%hope
hope100% · 53×

53 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
adverbial42%object30%subject21%predicate6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 53 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
ἐξέρχομαιI go out, come oγάρforγραφήa writing, passa
ἐπί
κατασκηνόωI encamp, tabernνῦνnow, already, atἐλπίςhope, expectatio
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀποκαραδοκίαeager expectatioαἰώνιοςeternal, unendinσύ
πίστιςfaith, belief, trust
μένωI remain, abideἐκ
περί
Φαρισαῖοςa Pharisee
ἐλπίςof [our] hope53×
what comes after →
Article the
δόξαhonor, renown, gκλῆσιςa calling, summoἐργασίαworking, activit
ἐγώ
βέβαιοςfirm, steadfast,ὅτιthat, since, bec
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀνάστασιςa rising again, ἐπιφάνειαappearing, manif
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
εἰς
δέbut, on the other ha
βλέπωI look, seeἔχωI have, hold, po

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

Concordanceἐλπίς · 53× in the New Testament
Romans Acts Hebrews 1 Thessalonians 1 Corinthians 1 Peter 2 Corinthians Colossians Ephesians Titus 1 John 1 Timothy
Across the New Testament15 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 55 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Ignatius of Antioch The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 155c. AD 40

ὡς δὲ εἶδε ῥέπουσαν μὲν ἐπὶ πανουργίαν, εὐσεβείας δὲ καὶ ὁσιότητος ὀλιγωροῦσαν, ἐξ ὧν ἡ ἀθάνατος ζωὴ περιγίνεται, προὐβάλετο κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς καὶ ἐφυγάδευσεν ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου, μηδ’ ἐλπίδα τῆς εἰσαῦθις ἐπανόδου δυσίατα καὶ ἀθεράπευτα πλημμελούσῃ ψυχῇ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.90c. AD 75–95

ἔπειτα τῆς λάρνακος περὶ ἄκραν τινὰ ὄρους σταθείσης κατὰ τὴν Ἀρμενίαν συνεὶς ὁ Νῶχος ἀνοίγει τʼ αὐτὴν καὶ θεασάμενος γῆν βραχεῖαν περὶ αὐτὴν ἐπὶ χρηστοτέρας ἤδη γεγονὼς ἐλπίδος ἠρέμει.

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Bad. 2 35Ptolemais Hermeiu (Thinites)AD 87

Περιφεράγαθος μὴ ἀμελήσῃ, ἐὰν δύνηται, ἡμῖν ἐνέγκαι καὶ υἱὸν καὶ γλ … … γίγνωσκε ἐλπίδα ἀνευρετικὸν ποιεῖν. ἔρχου σὺν Ταήσι ἀστομάχητος, ἐὰν ἀνέλθῃ. μὴ ἀμελήσῃς τὰ ἄλλα …να μοι

P.Oxy. 50 3555OxyrhynchosAD 1–AD 200

πόλεως. θεραπαινίδιόν μου οἰκογενές, οὗ ἔστιν ὄνομα Πεῖνα, ἠγάπησα καὶ ἐτημέλησα ὡς θυγάτριον ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι τοῦ ἡλικίας γενόμενον ἔχειν με γηροβοσκόν, γυναῖκα ἀβοήθητον οὖσαν καὶ μόνην. τοῦτο δὲ διάγον

P.Oxy. 18 2190OxyrhynchosAD 100

γάρ, ἐπιζητῶν φιλόλογον, καὶ Χαιρήμονα τὸν καθηγητὴν καὶ Δίδυμον τὸν τοῦ Ἀριστοκλέους, παρʼ οἷς ἐλπὶς ἦν καὶ ἐμέ τι κατορθῶσαι, οὐκέτι ἐν τῆι πόλει εὗρον, ἀλλὰ καθάρματα, παρʼ οἷς

We may hold fast to the confession <the> of [our] hope firmly, faithful for [is] the [One] having promised,
ἀκλινῆ,aklinēs firmly, G186 Adjective · accusative · singular · feminine
1× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Hebrews than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Unwavering means being firm and steady, not leaning or changing. In Hebrews 10:23, it describes a faith that doesn't waver.
Amplified meaning
firmly, without wavering
Tyndale gloss
unwavering
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀκλινής (*aklinēs*) is derived from the root κλίνω and means unbending or firm. It conveys a sense of being steadfast or unwavering, as noted in various contexts, including metaphorical uses in literature and the New Testament, specifically in Hebrews 10:23. The lexicons consistently describe it as resolute or unyielding, with no significant disagreements among them.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

** ἀκλινής, -ές

(< κλίνω),

[in LXX: IV Mac 6:7 17:3*;]

unbending, firm: metaph. (MM, VGT, s.v.). He 10:23.†

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

ἀκλινής, -és, (κλίνω), not inclining, firm, unmoved: Heb. x. 23. (Freq. in prof. writ.)

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

ἀκλινής. This NT ἅπ. εἰρ. (Heb 108) occurs in a petition (v/A.D.) of stilted style but far from accurate: P Oxy VI. 904° ταῖς ἀκλεινεῖς (/. -ἐσιν) ἀκοαῖς τῆς ὑμετέρας ἐξουσίας, ‘‘ the impartial ears of your highness.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀκλινής (aklinēs) — unwavering.

ἀκλῐνής, ές,

lending to neither side, unswerving, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; impartial, ἀκοαί[Refs 4th c.BC+]; regular, ἀκλινέων καλάμων[Refs 1st c.BC+], etc.: in Mathematics texts, without inclination, of a perpendicular, [Refs 5th c.AD+]; horizontal, of a plane, [Refs 2nd c.BC+], fixed, of notes in scale, [Refs 3rd c.AD+]: in Medicine texts, persistent, πυρετοί[Refs 3rd c.BC+]. adverb -νῶς[Refs 1st c.AD+]; Ionic dialect -νέως[Refs 3rd c.BC+]

2. metaphorically, steadfast, steady, φιλία[NT+1st c.BC+]; unmoved, tranquil, [Refs 4th c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀκλινής

aklines

from 1 (as a negative particle) and 2827; not leaning, i.e.

(figuratively) firm:--without wavering.

see GREEK for 1

see GREEK for 2827

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀκλινής, ες

Adj

unbent, unyielding, resolute

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀκλινής aklinēs 1x

not declining, unwavering, steady, Heb. 10:23*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀκλινής κλίνω bending to neither side, unswerving, Plat.: steadfast, regular, Anth., etc.:— adv. -νῶς, ionic -νέως, id. Anth.

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

A-ASF Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%firmly
firmly100% · 1×

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

Concordanceἀκλινής · 1× in the New Testament
Hebrews
Across the New Testament1 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.83c. AD 40

πολλαὶ δὲ καρτερίας καὶ σωφροσύνης ἐρασθεῖσαι ψυχαὶ καὶ ἐρημωθεῖσαι παθῶν ὅμως κράτος ὑπέμειναν θεοῦ καὶ τροπὴν τὴν πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ἐδέξαντο, διασυνιστάντος αὑτόν τε καὶ τὴν γένεσιν τοῦ δεσπότου, ἑαυτὸν μέν, ὅτι ἀκλινὴς ἕστηκεν ἀεί, τὴν δὲ γένεσιν,…

We may hold fast to the confession <the> of [our] hope firmly, faithful for [is] the [One] having promised,
πιστὸςpistos faithful G4103 Adjective · nominative · singular · masculine
67× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Hebrews than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Being faithful or trustworthy is what this word means, as seen in Matthew 24:45 and 1 Corinthians 4:2. It describes someone who is loyal and dependable, like the apostles in the Bible.
Amplified meaning
trustworthy, reliable, true to His word
Tyndale gloss
faithful
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πιστός is an adjective meaning trustworthy or faithful, derived from the root πείθω. It describes both people and things, indicating reliability and trustworthiness, as seen in various New Testament passages like Matthew 24:45 and 2 Timothy 2:2. The word can also denote a believer, someone who trusts in God or is convinced of Jesus' resurrection. Notably, Liddell-Scott-Jones highlights its use in classical literature, while Moulton & Milligan note its rare active sense of 'trusting' in the New Testament.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πιστός, -ή, -όν

(< πείθω),

[in LXX chiefly for נֶאֱמָן;]

Pass., to be trusted or believed;

of persons, trusty, faithful: Mt 24:45 25:21, 23, Lk 12:42, Ac 16:15, I Co 4:2, 17 7:25, Eph 1:1 6:21, Col 1:2, 7 4:7, 9, I Ti 1:12, II Ti 2:2, He 2:17 3:2, 5, I Pe 5:12, Re 2:13 19:11; of God, I Co…

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

πιστός, -7, -όν, (πείθω [q. v-]), [fr. Hom. down], Sept. mostly for 1232}; 1. trusty, faithful; of persons who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties: δοῦλος, Mt. xxiv. 45; xxv. 21, 23; οἰκονόpos, Lk. xii. 42; 1 Co. iv. 2; διάκονος, Eph. vi. 21; Col. i. 7; iv. 7; ἀρχιερεύς, Heb. ii. 17; iii. 2; of God, abiding by his promises, 1 Co.i.9; x.13; 2Co.i. 18; 1 Th. v. 24; 2 Th. ii. 8; Heb. x. 23: xi. 11; 2 Tim. 1. 13; Avdneds 9: 1 Pet. 1v. 19% add, 1 Co.ave 17; Colsava 9s 1 Tim. i. 12; Heb. iii. 5; 1 Pet. v. 12; πιστὸς ἔν τινι, in a thing, Lk. xvi. 10-12; xix. 17; 1 Tim. iii. 11; ἐπί τι, Mt. xxv. 23; ἄχρι θανάτου, Rev. ii. 10. one who kept his plighted faith, Rev. ii. 13; worthy of trust; that can be relied on: 1 Co. vii. 25; 2 Tim. ii. 2; Christ is called μάρτυς ὁ πιστός, Rev. i. 5; with καὶ ἀληθινός added, Rev.…

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

πιστός. For πιστός, ‘‘ faithful,” ‘‘ trustworthy,” as generally in the NT, cf. P Grenf II. 7312 (late iii/A.D.) (= Selections, p- 118) τ]αύτην παραδέδωκα τοῖς καλοῖς kal πιστοῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν νεκροτάφων εἰς τήρησιν, “1 have handed her over to the good and faithful men among the grave-diggers themselves that they may take care of her” (cf. Mt 2574), and P Oxy I. 4159 (iii/iv A.D.) ἁγνοὶ πιστοὶ σύνδικοι, “true and trustworthy advocates.” In a deed of sale of a slave, published by Eitrem (S#/avenkauf, Christiania, 1916), the slave is described as 27 πιστοῦ kal adpdcrov, ‘faithful and not given to running away.’’ A petitioner for release from prison οὕνεκα Tod θεοῦ kal τοῦ καλῶς ἔχοντος, “in the name of God and of fair play,’’ describes himself, P Petr II. 19(1a)4, as δοὺς τὰ πιστά, with reference apparently to certain required ‘‘ pledges”: cf. BGU IV. 115276 (B.C. 10) οὗ τὰ] πιστὰ (reading…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πιστός (pistos) — faithful.

πιστός, ή, όν,

(πείθω):

__B passive, to be trusted or believed:

__B.I of persons, faithful, trusty, ἑταῖρος [Refs 8th c.BC+]: comparative -ότερος [Refs 5th c.BC+]: superlative πιστότατος [Refs 8th c.BC+] a trusted friend of P., Ergias cited in [Refs 4th c.BC+]; οἱ πιστοί, in Persia, trusty councillors, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τάδε Περσῶν πιστὰ καλεῖται [Refs 4th c.BC+]

__B.I.2 trustworthy, worthy of credit, [Refs 5th c.BC+]. adverb, - τῶς καὶ ἀδόλως [Refs]

__B.I.3 genuine, π. Ἀταλάντης γόνος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Θηρικλέους π. τέκνον, of a cup, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; unmistakable, νόσοι πονηραὶ καὶ π. [LXX]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πιστός

pistos

from 3982; objectively, trustworthy; subjectively,

trustful:--believe(-ing, -r), faithful(-ly), sure, true.

see GREEK for 3982

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πιστός, ή, όν

Adj

trustworthy, faithful, believing

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πιστός pistos 67x

faithful, true, trusty, Mt. 24:45; 25:21, 23; Lk. 12:42; 2 Tim. 2:2; put in trust, 1 Cor. 7:25; true, veracious, Rev. 1:5; 2:13; credible, sure, certain, indubitable, Acts 13:34; 1 Tim. 1:15; believing, yielding belief and confidence, Jn. 20:27; Gal. 3:9; spc. a Christian believer, Acts 10:45; 16:1, 15; Read the full entry →

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

A-NSM Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Faithful

As a designation of Christians, means full of faith, trustful, and not simply trustworthy (Acts 10:45; 16:1; 2 Cor. 6:15; Col. 1:2; 1 Tim. 4:3, 12; 5:16; 6:2; Titus 1:6; Eph. 1:1; 1 Cor. 4:17, etc.).

It is used also of God’s word or covenant as true and to be trusted (Ps. 119:86, 138; Isa. 25:1; 1 Tim. 1:15;

In many passages in the Bible, means "believing." Thus in Ga 3:9, believers are said to be blessed with Abraham, because of his preeminent distinction above all man for steadfast faith in God. This appellation is given in Scripture to true Christians, to indicate not only their saving faith in Christ, but their trustworthy and consistent Christian character, Ac 16:15 1Co 4:17 Eph 6:21 Col 4:9 1Pe 5:12. "A faithful saying" is one that cannot prove false, 1Ti 1:15 2Ti…

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

Counted over the 29 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 AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.67c. AD 40

ὄντως γὰρ ἀναίσχυντος καὶ θρασεῖα ἡ αἴσθησις, ἣ ἐξουθενηθεῖσα ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ πατρὸς παρὰ τὸν πιστὸν ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ (ibid.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 6.256c. AD 75–95

πολέμιον γὰρ σὸν οὐκ εἰδέναι ἔφασκε, πιστὸν δὲ ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα δοῦλον καὶ χιλίαρχον καὶ τὸ τούτων μεῖζον γαμβρόν τε ἤδη καὶ συγγενῆ.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 11.5c. AD 100

καί: τὸ ὕδωρ αὐτοῦ πιστόν: βασιλέα μετὰ δόξης ὄψεσθε, καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν μελετήσει φόβον κυρίου

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
8th c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 4th c. AD

κέχρησαι τὸ κερμάτιον, οὐ δὲ φάσιν ἀπέστειλας ἐμοί. ἐγὼ γὰρ μή εἰ ἤδη ὅτι πιστὸς εἶ οὐκ ἂν ἔχρησά σοι. εἰδὼς τὴν σὴν πίστιν οὐδενὶ ἔδωκα τὸ γράμμα. ἄν

O.Krok. 2 267KrokodiloAD 98–AD 117

ὡς ἐπίτροπος · εἰ μὲν ηὕρηκες μίσθωμα αὐτῇ εἰς Διδύμους, ἀσφάλισον σεαυτῷ λίαν παρὰ πιστὸν ἄνθρωπον ἵνα μὴ αὐτὴν ὑβρίσωσιν· ἐὰν ποιῄσεις μοι μικρόν τι, ἀνταποδώσω σοι καὶ πάντοτε

O.Did. 402DidymoiAD 110–AD 115

μὲν ἔλθῃς ὑγιαίνουσα, οἴσεις μοι αὐτὴ τὸ τετράδερμα, εἰ δὲ μή, πέμψεις μοι διὰ πιστοῦ τινος ἐπεὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ οὐ δύναμαι μένειν. εὐχαριστῶ α … φησαπολ ἔρρωσο. τε προσα

We may hold fast to the confession <the> of [our] hope firmly, faithful for [is] the [One] having promised,
γὰρgar for [is] G1063 Conjunction
1,038× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Hebrews than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
For is a word used to explain or give a reason, often introducing a justification or clarification, as seen in Matthew 4:18 and Romans 7:1. It's a conjunction that connects ideas and provides additional information.
Tyndale gloss
for
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γάρ,

co-ordinating particle, contr. of γε ἄρα,

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γάρ (gar) — for.

γάρ

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γάρ

gar

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

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

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

therefore, verily, what, why, yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γάρ

Cj.

for

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γάρ gar 1x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

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

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

1,083 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 11 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,038 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
αὐτόςἐγώσύ
οὐNeg
οὐδείςno one, none, noαὐτόςλαλέωI speak, say
εἰμίI am, exist
θάλασσαthe sea, lakeλυπέωI pain, grieve, καθεύδωI sleep, am slee
οὗτος
εἰςαὐτόςδιά
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existκύριοςlord, Lord, mastἐγώ
γάρfor [is]1038×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, θεόςGod, a godArticle the
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theσύἐν
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becἐνοὐNeg
αὐτός
Article theοὗτοςλέγωI say, speak
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theδιάἐν

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

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

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.7c. AD 100

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

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

P.Bad. 2 16Pathyris89 BC

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

We may hold fast to the confession <the> of [our] hope firmly, faithful for [is] the [One] having promised,
ho the [One] G3588 Article · nominative · singular · masculine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Hebrews as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

T-NSM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

wun.

See NUMBER.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

We may hold fast to the confession <the> of [our] hope firmly, faithful for [is] the [One] having promised,
ἐπαγγειλάμενος,epangellō having promised, G1861 Verb · aorist · middle deponent · participle · nominative · singular · masculine
15× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Hebrews than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To profess means to announce or declare something about oneself. In the Bible, it can mean to make a promise, like in Romans 4:21 and Hebrews 6:13.
Amplified meaning
to make a promise
Tyndale gloss
to profess
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐπαγγέλλομαι (i.e., *epaggellomai*) is derived from a combination of a prefix and a base verb, meaning to announce or proclaim. It covers a range of meanings including to promise and to profess, often used in the New Testament in contexts of making commitments or declarations, such as in Hebrews 6:13 and 1 Timothy 2:10. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐπ-αγγέλλω

[in LXX: Es 4:8 (אָמַר), Pr 13:12, Wi 2:13, al. ;]

to announce, proclaim.

to promise;

to profess. Mid., also freq. in both these senses;

to promise: c. dat. pers., He 6:13; c. acc rei, Ro 4:21, Tit 1:2; c. dat pers. et acc rei, Ja 1:12 2:5, II Pe 2:19; ἐπαγγελίαν, I Jo 2:25; c. inf., Mk 14:11, Ac 7:5; seq. λέγων, He 12:26; ptcp., He…

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

ἐπ-αγγέλλω : [pres. mid. ἐπαγγέλλομαι]: pf. pass. and mid. ἐπήγγελμαι; 1 aor. mid. ἐπηγγειλάμην ; from Hom. down ; 1. to announce. 2. to promise: pass. @ ἐπήγγελται, to whom the promise hath been made, Gal. iii. 19. Mid. to announce concerning one’s self; i.e. 1. to announce that one is about to do or to furnish something, i. e. to promise (of one’s own accord), to engage (voluntarily) : ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος, Heb. x. 23 ; xi. 11; ἐπήγyeAra, he hath promised, foll. by λέγων, Heb. xii. 26; τινί, to give a promise to one, Heb. vi. 13; τί, Ro. iv. 21; Tit. i. 2; τινί τι, Jas. i. 12; ii. δ᾽; 2 Pet. ii. 19; ἐπαγγελίαν, to give a promise, 1 Jn. ii. 25 (Esth. iv. 7; [cf. W. 225 (211) ; B. 148 (129)]); foll. by the inf. [ef. W. § 44, 7¢.]: Mk. xiv. 11; Acts vii. 5. 2. to profess; τί, 6. . an art, to profess one’s self skilled in it (τὴν ἀρετήν. Xen. mem. 1, 2, 7; τὴν στρατιάν, Hell. 3, 4, 3; σοφίαν…

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

ἐπαγγέλλομαι, = ‘‘ promise,” as in Heb 1073, 1112, may be illustrated by P Petr I. 2915 (iii/B.c.) (= Witkowski?, p. 31) ἐχρησάμην δὲ kal παρὰ Atvews ἀρτάβας ὃ κριθοπύρων αὐτοῦ érayyehopévou καὶ φιλοτίμου ὄντος, P Tebt II. 411° (ii/A-pD.) εἰ μὴ ἐπηγγειλάμην σήμερόν σε παρέσασθαι, ‘had I not promised that you would be present to-day,” P Oxy I. 7118 (A.D. 303) ἅπερ διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν γραμματίων ἐπηγγίλατο ἀποδώσειν ἄνευ δίκης κτλ. Ramsay (Ax VII. viii. p. 19) draws attention to the use of the verb in 1 Tim 651 where it is applied to ‘‘volunteers, who set up as teachers with the intention to make a business and a means of livelihood out of the Word of God,” and notes its application ‘‘to candidates for municipal favours and votes in the Greek cities, who publicly announced what they intended to do for the general benefit, if they gained popular support ’—cf. Cagzat IV. 766 (Mossyna in…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐπαγγέλλω (epangellō) — to profess.

ἐπαγγ-έλλω,

aorist passive -ηγγέλθην[Refs]—tell, proclaim, announce, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; especially proclaim by authority, notify publicly, ἐ. [τὴν ἐκεχειρίαν] [Refs 5th c.BC+]:— passive, to be proclaimed, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; βουλῆς -θείσης a meeting having been summoned, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]:—middle, cause proclamation to be made, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. give orders, command, absolutely, [Refs]: c.accusative et infinitive, give orders that.., ἐπαγγείλας τοὺς Αακεδαιμονίους παρεῖναι[Refs 5th c.BC+]: with dative et infinitive, order one to do, [Refs 4th c.BC+] with accusative _of things_, στρατιὰν ἐς τοὺς ξυμμάχους ἐ. send them orders to furnish their contingents, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle, ἐπαγγέλλεσθαί τινι ἑτοιμάζειν στρατιήν [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, τὸ ἐπαγγελλόμενον…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐπαγγέλλομαι

epaggello

from 1909 and the base of 32; to announce upon (reflexively), i.e. (by

implication) to engage to do something, to assert something respecting

oneself:--profess, (make) promise.

see GREEK for 1909

see GREEK for 32

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐπαγγέλλομαι

v.

I promise, profess

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐπαγγέλλομαι epangellomai 15x

to declare, to promise, undertake, Mk. 14:11; Rom. 4:21; to profess, 1 Tim. 2:10

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐπαγγέλλω fut. -ελῶ aor1 -ήγγειλα perf. -ήγγελκα to tell, proclaim, announce, Od., Hdt., etc.:— Mid. to let proclamation be made, id. Hdt.

to give orders, command, id. Hdt., Thuc.; c. acc., στρατιὰν ἐπ., like Lat. milites imperare, to order an army to be furnished, Thuc.:—also in Mid., Hdt.

as Attic law-term, to denounce one who, having incurred ἀτιμία, yet takes part in public affairs, Aeschin., etc.

to promise, τί τινι Aesch.:—so in Mid., Hdt., attic:—absol. to make offers, Hdt.

to profess, make profession of, τι Dem.:—so in Mid., like Lat. profiteri, Xen., Plat.

to demand, require, Foed. ap. Thuc.; so in Mid., Dem.

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

V-ADP-NSM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: middle Deponent Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
20%he has promised
he has promised20% · 3×he promised13% · 2×professing13% · 2×promised13% · 2×having promised13% · 2×promise has been made7% · 1×having made his promise7% · 1×promising7% · 1×other renderings7% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 15 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
ὅς
ὅτιthat, since, becσπέρμαseed, offspringαἰώνιοςeternal, unendin
καίand, even, also, nam
χαίρωI rejoice, am glπούςthe foot
Article the
γάρforἡγέομαιI lead, think
αὐτός
ἐλευθερίαfreedom, libertyὅς
γυνήa woman, wife, my la
πρέπωit becomes, is f
ἐπαγγέλλομαιhaving promised,15×
what comes after →
Article the
ἀγαπάωI loveἀψευδήςnot guilty of faθεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
ἀργύριονsilver, a shekelδοῦλος (II)
δίδωμιI offer, give
αὐτός
δυνατόςpowerful, able, poss
εἰμίI am, exist
διατάσσωI give orders to, pr
διά

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

Concordanceἐπαγγέλλομαι · 15× in the New Testament
Hebrews 1 Timothy James 1 John 2 Peter Acts Galatians Mark Romans Titus
Across the New Testament10 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaOn Husbandry 64c. AD 40

πῶς οὖν ποιμενικὴν τέχνην διαπονοῦντες καὶ τῆς συμφυοῦς ποίμνης ἐπιμέλειαν ἔχειν καὶ προστασίαν ἐπαγγελλόμενοι προσορμίσασθαι τῇ σώματος καὶ παθῶν χώρᾳ διενοήθητε, Αἰγύπτῳ, ἀλλ’ οὐχ ἑτέρωσε τὸν πλοῦν ἐποιήσασθε;

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 5.258c. AD 75–95

πρὸς τοῦτον οὖν πέμψαντες ἠξίουν αὐτὸν συμμαχεῖν ἐπαγγελλόμενοι παρασχεῖν εἰς ἅπαντʼ αὐτῷ τὸν χρόνον τὴν ἰδίαν ἡγεμονίαν.

Clement of RomeSecond Clement 11.6c. AD 96

πιστὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος τὰς ἀντιμισθίας ἀποδιδόναι ἐκάστῳ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 5th c. AD 4th c. AD 2nd c. BC 3rd c. BC
O.Krok. 2 308KrokodiloAD 98–AD 117

Παραβόλῳ χαίρειν. τὸ προσκύνημά σου ποιῶ παρὰ τοῖς θεοῖς πᾶσιν. γινώσκειν σε θέλω ὅτι ἐπηγγείλατο ὁ ἔπαρχος δοῦναι ἄνθρωπον ἡμῖν· λέγει δὲ ἂν καταβῶ, δώσω · λοιπὸν ἂν καταβῇ

P.Giss. 1 59Apollonopolites HeptakomiasAD 119–AD 120

ιω … … … … λογω … δηλωθεὶς πόρον ἔχειν ταλάντων … , ἐπαγγειλάμενος δραχμὰς Β ἐξ ὧν ἀπεδόθησαν δραχμαὶ φ· λοιπαὶ δραχμαὶ Αφ. Ἀφροδίσιος Παυθώφιος ἄνεσιν ἐσχηκὼς

P.Prag. 3 209Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 184

τούτοις δὲ καὶ ἐν νωθρείᾳ μου γενομένου ἐξεβιάσατο ὥστε ἀσφαλίαν γραφὴν αὐτῷ με ποιήσασθαι, ἐπαγγειλάμενος εἰ μὴ ποιῶ εἰς τὸ ζῆν μοι ἐπιχειρήσειν. τοιαύτης οὖν αὐθαδίας ἐν αὐτῷ οὔσης

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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