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Luke 20:44 — Word Study

Depth

N1904Δαυὶδ οὖν κύριον αὐτὸν καλεῖ, καὶ πῶς αὐτοῦ υἱός ἐστιν;¶

BSADavidDaueid, Dauid, Dabid [the king of Israel, a man after God's heart] thereforeoun Lordkurios [a title of respect and authority] Himautos [as his Master] calls,kaleō andkai howpōs [in what way, possibly] of himautos [physical or earthly] son [a descendant or offspring] is He?eimi

Word
Listen & take awayLuke 20
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 44 is in this chapter.
Greek ↓ Download MP3 Nestle 1904 — the very text on this page — read by Andy Martin in Erasmian pronunciation.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (eimi) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Luke 20:44quick helps
In a sentenceJesus questions how David, who calls Him 'Lord', can also be his son.
Who is speakingJesus is speaking, referencing David, the revered king of Israel.
Where we areThis verse is part of a discussion about Jesus' identity and authority.
The hard wordκαλέω
Take awayThe relationship between David and Jesus challenges common expectations.
3 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Cambridge & more — read them › clause verbκαλέω The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the New Testament.

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

Deep Study — Luke 20:44

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 — Jesus Questions the Understanding of the Messiahgenerated

43until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’
44Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”
45In the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples,
46“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

Luke 20:44 presents Jesus' argument about His identity as the Messiah, using David's acknowledgment of Him as 'Lord' to challenge the prevailing views of the religious leaders. This moment is part of a larger discourse where Jesus addresses the misunderstandings regarding His lineage and authority, which is crucial for understanding His role in salvation history. The context highlights the tension between Jesus and the religious authorities, as seen in the surrounding verses.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Luke 1:31–35Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
2Luke 2:11Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!
3Isaiah 7:14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
4Matthew 1:23“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us” ).
5Romans 9:5Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 8 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word καλέω, kaleōgenerated

The verb καλέω means 'to call' or 'to summon,' and is in the present active indicative form, indicating an ongoing action. Here, it is used to show that David is actively calling Jesus 'Lord', which implies recognition of authority.

This usage emphasizes the relationship between David and Jesus, where David, a revered ancestor, acknowledges Jesus' divine authority. The implications of this acknowledgment challenge the expectations of the Messiah as merely a descendant of David.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as: 'Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?' This wording is consistent across several translations, including the KJV and ASV, which also maintain the essence of David's recognition of Jesus.

However, the YLT uses 'doth call' and the BBE states 'gives him the name of Lord,' which slightly shifts the focus on the act of naming rather than calling. The variations highlight different nuances in how David's acknowledgment is expressed.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the verse is καλεῖ, calls, which governs the clause. The structure includes a subject, Δαυὶδ (David), and an object, αὐτὸν (Him), along with a predicate that identifies the title used by David.

The sentence structure is straightforward, with a clear subject-verb-object arrangement, followed by a question that introduces an adverbial clause, πῶς (how), which probes the relationship between David and Jesus.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

Δαυίδ appears frequently in the Septuagint, referring to King David, who is a central figure in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek term is used to translate the Hebrew דָּוִד, which signifies the same important character.

In the Septuagint, David is often portrayed as a type of the Messiah, which adds depth to Jesus' argument in this verse, as it connects His identity back to the promises made to David.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Luke 20:44 shows Jesus asking how David can call Him 'Lord' while also being his son. This question highlights the mystery of Jesus' identity as both a descendant of David and the divine Messiah.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that David calls Jesus 'Lord'?

This indicates that David recognizes Jesus' authority and divinity, which challenges the common understanding of the Messiah as merely a human descendant.

Why is it significant that Jesus refers to David?

David is a key figure in Jewish history, and by referencing him, Jesus connects His identity to the promises made to David about the Messiah.

How does this verse relate to the concept of Jesus as the Messiah?

It emphasizes that Jesus fulfills the role of the Messiah in a way that transcends traditional expectations, being both David's descendant and his Lord.

What can we learn from Jesus' question?

It encourages us to think deeply about the nature of Jesus' identity and the implications of His authority in our lives.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways do I recognize Jesus' authority in my own life?
  2. How can understanding Jesus as both David's descendant and Lord deepen my faith?
  3. What does this verse teach me about the relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament promises?
  4. How can I share the significance of Jesus' identity with others?

Commentators on this verse — 3 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Luke 20:44 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

David therefore called him Lord,.... Or, "my Lord", as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions read; or, "his Lord", as the Arabic version.

Read John Gill on Luke 20 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son? And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son? For the exposition, see the notes at Mark 12:35-40.

Read Robert Jamieson on Luke 20 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

44. how is he then his son?] To a Jew it was inconceivable that a father, or ancestor, should call his son “Lord.” The only possible solution—that the Messiah was only “made of the seed of David after the flesh” (Romans 1:3) was one which they had never chosen to accept. They, like the Ebionites, expected for their Messiah a mere ‘beloved man.’ And thus, for the second time on this day, they had drawn on their own heads, by their hypocritic craft, the humiliating necessity of publicly confessing their ignorance respecting matters of primary importance before the people, whose absolute reverence they claimed. They ‘did not know’ whether the Baptist was an Impostor or a Prophet; they ‘could…

Read Cambridge on Luke 20 →

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

Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”

WEBWorld English Bible2000

“David therefore calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”

NETBNew English Translation2006

If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

David therefore calleth him Lord, and how is he his son?

RVARevised Version, American1894

David therefore calleth him Lord, and how is he his son?

NWBWebster's Bible1833

David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Seeing Dauid called him Lord, howe is he then his sonne?

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

David therefore calls him Lord, and how is he his son?

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

David, then, doth call him lord, and how is he his son?'

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

David, then, calls Him Lord, and how is He his son?”

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

David therefore calls the Christ 'Lord', so how is he David's son?”

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

David then calleth him Lord: and how is he his son?

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

David calls him ‘Lord,’ so how can he be David's son?”

BBEBible in Basic English1949

David then gives him the name of Lord, so how is it possible for him to be his son?

Word by word, the decisions they made

ΔαυὶδDaueid, Dauid, Dabid David G1138 2 different renderings
davidASV BBE BSB DBY DRA KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA WEB YLT
david'sFBV ULB
καλεῖ,kaleō calls, G2564 2 different renderings
callYLT
calledGNV

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.

clauseοὖνthereforeclauseclausesubjectΔαυεὶδDavidobjectαὐτὸνHimsecond objectΚύριονLordverbκαλεῖcallsκαὶandclauseadverbialπῶςhownoun phrase · predicateαὐτοῦof himυἱόςsonlinking verbἐστινis He

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

David ergo Dominum illum vocat : et quomodo filius ejus est ?

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

ܐܢ ܗܟܝܠ ܕܘܝܕ ܡܪܝ ܩܪܐ ܠܗ ܐܝܟܢܐ ܒܪܗ ܗܘ

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

Δαυὶδ οὖν κύριον αὐτὸν καλεῖ, καὶ πῶς αὐτοῦ υἱός ἐστιν;¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

Δαυὶδ οὖν κύριον αὐτὸν καλεῖ, καὶ πῶς αὐτοῦ υἱός ἐστιν;¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

Δαυὶδ οὖν αὐτὸν καλεῖ, καὶ πῶς αὐτοῦ υἱός ἐστιν;¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

Δαυὶδ οὖν αὐτὸν καλεῖ, καὶ πῶς αὐτοῦ υἱός ἐστιν;¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

Δαυὶδ οὖν αὐτὸν καλεῖ, καὶ πῶς αὐτοῦ υἱός ἐστιν;¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

Δαυὶδ οὖν κύριον αὐτὸν καλεῖ, καὶ πῶς υἱός ἐστιν;¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

Δαυὶδ οὖν κύριον αὐτὸν καλεῖ, καὶ πῶς υἱός ἐστιν;¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

Δαυὶδ οὖν κύριον αὐτὸν καλεῖ, καὶ πῶς υἱός ἐστιν;¶

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
κύριον LordNA28, NA27, Tyn, TR, ByzSBL, WH, Treg
αὐτοῦ of himNA28, NA27, SBL, WH, TregTyn, TR, Byz

Apparatus — SBL Greek New Testament, CC BY 4.0


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

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

Luke 20:44ΔαυίδDavidDavidΔαυίδοὖνthereforethereforeοὖνκύριοςLordLordκύριοςαὐτόςHimHimαὐτόςκαλέωcalls,calls,καλέωκαίandandκαίπῶςhowhowπῶςαὐτόςof himof himαὐτόςυἱόςsonsonυἱόςεἰμίis He?is He?εἰμίἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦκελεύωv. I commav. I command, oκελεύωποῦIrg.adv. wIrg.adv. where,ποῦἐλεέωv. I pity,v. I pity, haveἐλεέωἐπερωτάωv. I interv. I interrogatἐπερωτάωὡσαννάHebr. hosaHebr. hosannaὡσαννάἄραDisj.prt. Disj.prt. then,ἄραμένDisj.prt. Disj.prt. trulyμένδουλεύωv. I am a v. I am a slaveδουλεύωναίDisj.prt. Disj.prt. yes, ναίτίκτωv. I bear,v. I bear, brinτίκτωἁμαρτωλόςAdj sinninAdj sinning, siἁμαρτωλόςπαραβολήn.f. a parn.f. a parable,παραβολήδύναμαιv. I am pov. I am powerfuδύναμαιΔαυίδProp.n. DaProp.n. DavidΔαυίδἄξιοςAdj worthyAdj worthy, worἄξιος
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in Luke 20:44

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.

David therefore Lord Him calls, and how of him son is He?
ΔαυὶδDaueid, Dauid, Dabid David G1138 Noun · proper name, indeclinable
59× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
David refers to King David of Israel, an important figure in the Bible, mentioned in Matthew 1:6 and Luke 1:32. He was an ancestor of Jesus. The term is also used to refer to the Messiah, as in Psalm 17:23. David was a king and a psalmist.
Amplified meaning
the king of Israel, a man after God's heart
Tyndale gloss
David
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word Δαυίδ refers to David, the King of Israel. It is indeclinable and appears in various contexts in the New Testament, including references to his lineage and titles such as the Messiah. The spelling variations noted include Δανείδ and Δαβίδ. Notably, Abbott-Smith and Liddell-Scott-Jones provide similar references, while Mounce mentions its frequency of 59 times.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Δαυείδ (Rec. Δαβίδ), ὁ, indecl. (Heb. דָּוִד),

David, King of Israel: Mt 1:6; 12:3, et al.; σκηνὴ Δ., Ac 15:16; κλεὶς Δ., Re 3:7; θρόνος Δ., Lk 1:32; ῥίζα Δ., Re 5:5; βασιλεία Δ., Mk 11:10; υἱὸς Δ., the Messiah (Ps. Sol., 17:23; for other reff. in Jewish lit., v. Dalman, Words, 317), Mt 1:1 9:27, et al.; ἐν Δ., i.e. the Psalter, He 4:7

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

Δαυείδ. On the spelling of this name see J. H. Moulton Grammar of NT Greek 11. ὃ 45, and cf. below s.v. Σιλονανός.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

Δαυείδ, Δαυίδ, Δαβίδ (Daueid, Dauid, Dabid) — David.

Δαυείδ (Rec. Δαβίδ), ὁ, indecl. (Heb. דָּוִד),

David, King of Israel: Mat.1:6; 12:3, and al.; σκηνὴ Δ., Act.15:16; κλεὶς Δ., Rev.3:7; θρόνος Δ., Luk.1:32; ῥίζα Δ., Rev.5:5; βασιλεία Δ., Mrk.11:10; υἱὸς Δ., the Messiah (Ps. Sol., 17:23; for other reff. in Jewish lit., see Dalman, Words, 317), Mat.1:1 9:27, and al.; ἐν Δ., i.e. the Psalter, Read the full entry →

Strong's Greek Dictionary

Δαυίδ

Dabid

of Hebrew origin (1732); Dabid (i.e. David), the Israelite

king:--David.

see HEBREW for 01732

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Δαυίδ, ὁ

Prop.n.

David

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Δαυίδ Dauid 59x

also spelled Δανείδ and Δαβίδ, David, pr. name, indecl., Mt. 1:6; Lk. 1:27; Acts 2:29; Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:28

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

N-PRI Indeclinable PRoper Noun

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

da'-vid (dawidh, or dawidh, "beloved"; Daueid, also in New Testament, Dauid, Dabid; see Thayer's Lexicon):

I. NAME AND GENEALOGY

II. EARLY YEARS

1. Shepherd

2. Slinger

3. Harpist

4. Poet

5. Psalmist

6. Tribesman

III. IN THE SERVICE OF SAUL

1. David First Meets Saul

2. His First Exploit

3. Envy of Saul and Flight of David

4. Jonathan and David

IV. DAVID IN EXILE

1. David as Outlaw

2. David Joins the Philistines

V. DAVID AS KING

1. Civil War

2. Conquests Abroad

3. Political Situation

4. The Ark

VI. DOMESTIC LIFE

1. His Wives and Children

2. Domestic Troubles

VII. HIS OFFICIALS

1. Prophets

2. Priests

3. Military Officers

4. Other Officials

5. Mutual Rivalry

VIII. PERSONAL CHARACTER OF DAVID

1. Chronicles

2. Psalms

3. Complex Character

4. Physical Courage

5. Moral Courage

6. Prudence

7. Strategy

8. Nobility

9. David in Relation to His Family

10. David in Relation to His Friends

11. His Success

12. His Foreign Friends

13. Nemesis

Easton's Bible Dictionary

David

Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25. As to his personal appearance, we only know that he was red-haired, with beautiful eyes and a fair face (1 Sam. 16:12; 17:42).

His early occupation was that of tending his father’s sheep on the uplands of Judah. From what we know of his after history, doubtless he frequently beguiled his time, when thus engaged, with his shepherd’s flute, while he drank in the many lessons taught him by the varied scenes spread around him. His first recorded exploits were his encounters with the wild beasts of the field. He mentions that with his own unaided hand he slew a lion and also a…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(well-beloved), the son of Jesse. His life may be divided into three portions: His youth before his introduction to the court of Saul; His relations with Saul; His reign. The early life of David contains in many important respects the antecedents of his future career. It appears that David was the youngest son, probably the youngest child, of a family of ten, and was born in Bethlehem B.C. 1085. The first time that David appears in history at once admits us to the whole family circle. The annual sacrificial feast is being held when Samuel appears, sent by God to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as they pass before him, (1 Samuel 16:6-10) Samuel sends for the youngest, David, who was "keeping the sheep," and anoints him. (1 Samuel 16:11-13) As David stood before Samuel we are enabled to…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Beloved, the youngest son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah, born in Bethlehem B. C. 1085; one of the most remarkable men in either sacred of secular history. His life is fully recorded in 1Sa 16:1 1Ki 2:46. He was "the Lord’s anointed," chosen by God to be king of Israel instead of Saul, and consecrated to that office by the venerable prophet Samuel long before he actually came to the throne, 1Sa 16:1-13, for which God prepared him by the gift of his Spirit, and a long course of vicissitudes and dangers. In his early pastoral life he distinguished himself by his boldness, fidelity, and faith in God; and while yet a youth was summoned to court, as one expert in music, valiant, prudent in behavior, and comely in person. He…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
93%david
david93% · 55×david!3% · 2×other renderings3% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject34%adverbial27%predicate19%object15%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 59 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
υἱόςa son, descendent
ἐγώArticle theΧριστόςanointed, the Me
Article the
γεννάωI beget, bring fαὐτόςΝαθάμProp
ποιέωI do, make
τίςIrgὅς
σπέρμαseed, offspring
ἐκArticle the
οὖνtherefore, then
πῶςεἰCond
ΔαυίδDavid59×
what comes after →
Article the
βασιλεύςa king, ruler, eθυγάτηρa daughterπατήρfather, Father,
λέγωI say, speak
ἐναὐτόςArticle the
ἐλεέωI pity, have mercy o
ἐγώ
υἱόςa son, descendent
ἈβραάμProp
ὅτεwhen
πεινάωI am hungry, neeχρείαneed, necessity,

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

ConcordanceΔαυίδ · 59× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke Acts Mark Revelation Romans Hebrews John 2 Timothy
Across the New Testament9 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 280 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
Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas The Didache
The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 10.10c. AD 100

λαμβάνει δὲ τῶν αὐτῶν τριῶν δογμάτων γνῶσιν Δαυείδ καὶ λέγει: Μακάριος ἀνήρ, ὃς οὐκ ἐπορεύθη ἐν βουλῇ ἀσεβῶν, καθὼς καὶ οἱ ἰχθύες πορεύονται ἐν σκότει εἰς τὰ βάθη: καὶ ἐν ὁδῷ ἁμαρτωλῶν οὐκ ἔστη, καθὼς οἱ δοκοῦντες φοβεῖσθαι τὸν κύριον ἁμαρτάνουσιν…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 4.13c. AD 96

διὰ ζῆλος Δαυεὶδ φθόνον ἔσχεν οὐ μόνον ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ Σαοὺλ βασιλέως Ἰσραὴλ ἐδιώχθη.

The DidacheThe Didache 9.2c. AD 100

πρῶτον περὶ τοῦ ποτηρίου: Εὐχαριστοῦμέν σοι, πάτερ ἡμῶν, ὑπὲρ τῆς ἁγίας ἀμπέλου Δαυεὶδ τοῦ παιδός σου, ἦς ἐγνώρισας ἡμῖν διὰ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ παιδός σου: σοὶ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
7th c. AD 6th c. AD 8th c. AD 5th c. AD
P.Lond. 5 1793HermopolitesAD 471

Ἀνθεμίου τῶν αἰωνίων Αὐγούστων ἑκουσίως καὶ αὐθαιρέτως ἐγγυᾶσθαι καὶ ἀναδεδέχθαι μονῆς καὶ ἐμφανείας Αὐρήλιον Δαυεὶδ Σιφίου ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς κώμης ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸν παραμεῖναι τῇ κώμῃ καὶ ἀποκρίνασθαι ὑπὲρ

Stud.Pal. 8 1323ArsinoitesAD 401–AD 600

τὸ πεντακούκιν τοῦ υἱοῦ Δαῦιδ λίτραι ιδ οὐγκίαι γ γράμματα ιζ

P.Flor. 3 280Aphrodites Kome (Antaiopolites)AD 514

ὑπατείας Φλαυίου Σενάτορος τοῦ λαμπροτάτου Τῦβι γ ὀγδόης ἰνδικτίονος. Αὐρήλιος Δαυεὶδ υἱὸς Βίκτορος Κωσταντίου ἀπὸ πρωτοκωμητῶν κώμης Ἀφροδίτης τοῦ Ἀνταιοπολίτου νομοῦ ἑξῆς ὑπογράφων Αὐρηλίῳ Ἀπολλῶτι

David therefore Lord Him calls, and how of him son is He?
οὖνoun therefore G3767 Conjunction
496× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Luke than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means therefore or then, showing a consequence. It appears in Matthew 3:10 and Romans 5:9 to connect ideas and events.
Tyndale gloss
therefore/then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word οὖν (oun) is a particle used to express consequence, sequence, or to resume a narrative. It translates to 'therefore,' 'then,' or 'accordingly,' and appears frequently in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:10 and Romans 5:9. It can also serve in exhortations and questions, indicating what follows logically from previous statements.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὖν,

particle expressing consequence or simple sequence (never standing first in a sentence),

wherefore, therefore, then: Mt 3:10, Lk 3:9, Jo 8:38, Ac 1:21, Ro 5:9, al.; in exhortations, Mt 3:8, Lk 11:35, Ac 3:19, Ro 6:12, al.; in questions, Mt 13:28, Mk 15:12, Jo 8:[5], Ro 6:1, al.; continuing a…

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

οὖν ἃ conj. indicating that something follows from another necessarily; [al. regard the primary force of the particle as confirmatory or continuative, rather than illative; cf. Passow, or L.andS.s. v.; Kiihner § 508, 1 ii. p- 707 sqq.; Biiumlein p. 173 sqq.; Kriiger § 69, 52; Donaldson p. 571; Rost in a program “ Ueber Ableitung ” u.s.w. p.2; Klotz p. 717; Hartung ii. 4]. Hence it is used in drawing a conclusion and in connecting sentences together logically, then, therefore, accordingly, consequently, these things being so, [ (Klotz, Rost, al., have wished to derive the word fr. the neut. ptep. ὄν (cf. ὄντως) ; but see Baumlein or Kiihner u.s.); ef. W. § 53, 8]: Mt. iii. 10; x. 32 (since persecutions are not to be dreaded, and consequently furnish no excuse for denying me [οἵ. W. 455 (424)]); Mt. xviii. 4; Lk. iii.9; xvi. 27; In. viii. 38 (καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν, and ye accordingly, i. e.…

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

οὖν. This common particle, which occurs in the NT nearly 500 times, is used in our sources in a variety of connexions, the exact shade of meaning being determined by the context. (1) For the causal meaning ‘‘therefore” we may cite BGU II. 423" (ii/aA.p.) (= Sevectzons, p. 91) Kal καλῶς pol ἐστιν. ἐρωτῶ ce οὖν, κύριέ pou πατήρ, γράψον μοι ἐπιστόλιον πρῶτον μὲν περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας σου... , “it is well with me. I beg you, therefore, my lord father, write me a letter, first regarding your health ... ,” and P Oxy XIV. 16651 (iii/A.D.), where a son in urgent need of oil writes to his father—dvayxalws οὖν, ἐὰν ἔτι παρὰ σεαυτῷ χρ[ἴ]ον ἔχῃς, δήλωσον ἢ τῷ vie σου ἢ ᾧ ἐὰν σὺ βούλῃ τούτους μοι ἐν τάχει παρα[σ]χεῖν, ‘perforce, therefore, if you have still with you any unguent, instruct your son or any one else you wish to supply me with them speedily ” (Edd.). (2) Οὖν is very common in a looser…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὖν (oun) — therefore/then.

οὖν,

Ionic dialect and Doric dialect ὦν (the latter in [Refs 8th c.BC+], adverb certainly, in fact, confirming something, frequently in contrast with something which is not confirmed, in [Refs 8th c.BC+] only in combination with γε (see. γοῦν), γάρ, οὔτε or μήτε, ὡς, ἐπεί, μέν, etc.:

1. really, φημὶ γὰρ οὖν κατανεῦσαι.. Κρονίωνα for I declare that Zeus did really promise.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τόφρα γὰρ οὖν ἑπόμεσθα.., ὄφρ᾽ for we followed them up to the very point, where.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐλέχθησαν λόγοι ἄπιστοι μὲν ἐνίοισι Ἑλλήνων, ἐλέχθησαν δ᾽ ὦν but they really were spoken, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Θηβαῖοι μὲν ταῦτα λέγουσι.., Πλαταιῆς δ᾽ οὐχ ὁμολογοῦσι.., ἐκ δ᾽ οὖν τῆς γῆς ἀνεχώρησαν at all events they did return, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so δ᾽ οὖν after a parenthesis; εἰ δή τις ὑμῶν οὕτως ἔχει,—οὐκ ἀξιῶ μὲν γὰρ ἔγωγε,—εἰ…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὖν

oun

apparently a primary word; (adverbially) certainly, or

(conjunctionally) accordingly:--and (so, truly), but, now (then), so

(likewise then), then, therefore, verily, wherefore.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὖν

Cj.

therefore, then

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὖν oun 499x

then, now then, Mt. 13:18; Jn. 19:29; then, thereupon, Lk. 15:28; Jn. 6:14; therefore, consequently, Mt. 5:48: Mk. 10:9; it also serves to mark the resumption of discourse after an interruption by a parenthesis, 1 Cor. 8:4. Sometimes it is not translated.

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

οὖν really, at all events, used like γοῦν to dismiss a perplexing subject, οὔτ᾽ οὖν ἀγγελίῃς ἔτι πείθομαι, οὔτε θεοπροπίης ἐμπάζομαι Od.; ἐλέχθησαν λόγοι ἄπιστοι μὲν ἐνίοισι Ἑλλήνων, ἐλέχθησαν δ᾽ ὦν but they really were spoken, Hdt.; εἴτ᾽ οὖν, εἴτε μὴ γενήσεται whether it shall be really so, or no, Eur.; εἴτ᾽ οὖν ἀληθὲς εἴτ᾽ οὖν ψεῦδος Plat.; εἰ δ᾽ ἔστιν, ὥσπερ οὖν ἔστι, θεός if he is, as he surely is, a god, id. Plat.

added to indef. Pronouns and Advs., like Lat. cunque, ὅστις whoever, ὁστισοῦν whosoever; ὅπως how, ὁπωσοῦν howsoever; ἄλλος ὁστισοὖν another, be he who he may; so, ὁποιοσοῦν, ὁποσοσοῦν, ὁπωσοῦν, ὁποθενοῦν…

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
79%therefore
therefore79% · 428×then19% · 104×other renderings1% · 7×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 496 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
διακονέωI wait at table,ἔχωI have, hold, poΣατανᾶςan adversary, Sa
μένDisj
Article theεἰCondπολύςmuch, many, ofte
τίςIrg
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakδιά
Article the
ἸακώβPropὕδωρwater
σύ
καίand, even, also,δεῖit is necessary,ἐρωτάωI ask, question,
οὖνtherefore496×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusἸουδαῖοςJewishμαθητήςa learner, disci
αὐτός
Article theτίςIrgἸησοῦςJesus
καίand, even, also, nam
νίπτωI washἕτεροςanother, differeὁράωI see, look upon
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theσύοὗτος
σύ
πονηρόςevil, bad, wickeτέλειοςperfect, full-grἨλίαςElijah

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

Concordanceοὖν · 496× in the New Testament
John Acts Matthew Romans Luke 1 Corinthians Hebrews 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 Peter Galatians Philippians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament23 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 110 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

τὸ μὲν οὖν κάλλος τῶν νοημάτων τῆς κοσμοποιίας οὐδεὶς οὔτε ποιητὴς οὔτε λογογράφος ἀξίως ἂν ὑμνῆσαι δύναιτο·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.6c. AD 75–95

ἤδη μὲν οὖν καὶ πρότερον διενοήθην, ὅτε τὸν πόλεμον συνέγραφον, δηλῶσαι τίνες ὄντες ἐξ ἀρχῆς Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ τίσι χρησάμενοι τύχαις ὑφʼ οἵῳ τε παιδευθέντες νομοθέτῃ τὰ πρὸς εὐσέβειαν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἄσκησιν ἀρετῆς πόσους τε πολέμους ἐν μακροῖς…

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
3rd c. BC 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Grenf. 2 23Latopolites109 BC

χαίρειν. τοῦ παρʼ Ἑρμώνακτος τῶν ὁμοτίμων τοῖς συγγενέσι καὶ ὑποδιοικητοῦ χρηματισμοῦ ἀντίγραφον ὑπόκειται. κατακολουθήσας οὖν τοῖς διʼ αὐτοῦ σημαινομένοις χρημάτισον ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν Παθύρει τραπέζης, συνυπογράφοντος Φίβιος τοῦ…

P.Grenf. 1 30Pathyris104 BC

δὲ καὶ αὐτοί. μεταλαβόντες τοὺς συντετελεσμένους πρὸς τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς Ἑρμωνθίτας ἀγῶνας μεγάλως ἐχάρημεν. ἐπεὶ οὖν προκεχειρίκαμεν προστάτην τοῦ μεγίστου θεοῦ Νεχθφαραῦτος βεα … ρων … δια … στρατιωτῶν

Chrest.Wilck. 12Pathyris89 BC

ἐπιβεβληκέναι εἰς Μέμφιν, Ἱέρακα δὲ προκεχειρίσθαι μετὰ δυνάμεων μυρίων ἐπὶ καταστολὴν τῆς Θηβαίδος. ὅπως οὖν εἰδότες εὐθαρσεῖς ὑπάρχητε ἐκρίναμεν σημῆναι. ἔρρωσθε ἔτους λ Φαῶφι ιθ

David therefore Lord Him calls, and how of him son is He?
κύριονkurios Lord G2962 Noun · accusative · singular · masculine
718× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for lord or master, used to address God or a person in authority, showing respect and power. In the New Testament, it appears in Matthew 9:38 and Mark 12:9. It signifies a controller or ruler.
Amplified meaning
a title of respect and authority
Tyndale gloss
lord: God
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

κύριος is a Greek word meaning 'lord' or 'master,' derived from the concept of authority. It is used in various contexts, referring to God, Jesus, and earthly masters. In the New Testament, it often denotes divine authority, as seen in verses like Matthew 12:8. The term can also express respect when addressing others, such as teachers or magistrates.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — κύριος, δεσπότης from a scan

A MAN, according to the later Greek grammarians, was δεσπότης in respect of his slaves (Plato, Legg. vi. 756 e), therefore οἰκοδεσπότης, but κύριος in regard of his wife and children ; who in speaking either to him or of him, would give him this title of honour; “as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord” (κύριον αὐτὸν καλοῦσα, I Pet. ili. 6: ef. Plutarch, De Virt. Mul. 5. vv. Μίκκα καὶ Meyoro). There is a certain truth in this distinction. Undoubtedly there lies in κύριος the sense of an authority owning limitations—moral limitations it may be; it is implied too that the wielder of this authority will not exclude, in wielding it, a consideration of their good over whom it is exercised; while the δεσπότης exercises a more unrestricted power and absolute domination, confessing no such limitations or restraints. He who addresses another as δέσποτα, puts an emphasis of submission into his…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

κύριος, -α, -ον (also -ος, -ον),

[in LXX (subst.) chiefly for יהוה, also for אָדוֹן, בַּעַל, etc.;]

having power (κῦρος) or authority; as subst., ὁ κ., lord, master;

in general: c. gen. rei, Mt 9:38 20:8, Mk 12:9 13:35, Lk 19:33; τ. σαββάτου, Mt 12:8, Mk 2:28, Lk 6:5; c. gen. pers., δούλου, etc., Mt 10:24, Lk 14:21, Ac 16:16, al.; absol., opp. to οἱ δοῦλοι,

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

κύριος, -ov, 6, (prop. an 2dj. κύριος, -a, - 1, also of two term.; prop. i. q. ὁ ἔχων κῦρος, having power or author ity), [fr. Pind. down], he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has the power of deciding; master, lord; used a. univ. of the possessor and disposer of a thing, the owner, (Sept. for }}18, 5y3): with gen. of the thing, as τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, Mt. xx. 8; xxi. 40; Mk. xii. 9; Lk. xx. 15; rod θερισμοῦ, Mt. ix. 38; Lk. x. 2; τῆς οἰκίας, the master, Mk. xiii. 35 (Judg. xix. 12); τοῦ πώλου, Lk. xix. 33; τοῦ σαββάτου, possessed of the power to determine what is suitable to the sabbath, and of releasing himself and others from its obligations, Mt. xii. 8; Mk. ii. 28; Lk. vi. 5. with gen. of a pers., one who has control of the person, the master [A. V. lord]; in the household: δούλου, παιδίσκης, οἰκονόμου, Mt. x. 24; Lk. xii. 46 sq.; xiv. 21; xvi. 3, 5; Acts xvi. 16, 19…

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

κύριος BGU III. ο49᾽ (c. A.D. 300) κυρίῳ μου ἀδελφῷ “Hpa, a sister (and probably wife) —P Oxy IV. 7441 (B.c. 1) (= Selections, p. 32) Ἱλαρίωνα (/.—tov)”"Adure τῆι ἀδελφῆι πλεῖστα Χαίρειν, and even a son—zd. I. 123} (iii/iv A.D.) κυρίῳ pov vid Διονυσοθέωνι. (3) It is, however, with the religious use of κύριος that we are specially concerned, and in keeping with the conception of ‘‘lordship,’’ which was so characteristic of Oriental religions, we may begin by noticing its common use in connexion with the cult of the Egyptian God Sarapis. Letters frequently begin with some such formula as—rpd μὲν πάντων εὔχομαί σε ὑιαίνειν (1. by—) καὶ τὸ προσκύνημά cov ποιῶ παρὰ τῷ κυρίῳ Σιαράπιδι, ‘before all else I pray for your health, and I supplicate the lord Sarapis on your behalf”’ (P Fay 127°—ii/iii a.p.), and we may add, owing to the striking resemblance of phraseology to 1 Cor 1024 such…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

κύριος (kurios) — lord: God.

κύριος [ῡ], α, ον,

also ος, ον [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—Thess. κῦρρος [Refs 8th c.BC+]:

I. of persons, having power or authority over, with genitive, Ζεὺς ὁ πάντων κ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πρὶν ἄν σε κ. στήσω τέκνων put thee in possession of.., [Refs 5th c.BC+], of the god to whom a temple is dedicated, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; τῶν αὑτοὺ κ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; θανάτου κ. τινός with power of life and death over, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.2. κύριός εἰμι with infinitive, I have authority to do, am entitled to do, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; οὗτος κ. ὁρκωμοτεῖν (probably to be read instead of -ῶν) [Refs 5th c.BC+]; -ώτεροι δοῦναι better able to give, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; also κ. τοῦ μὴ μεθυσθῆναι having power not to.., [Refs]: with accusative et infinitive, κ. εἶναι ἢ τοίαν εἶναι [πόλιν] ἢ τοίαν [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

κύριος

kurios

from kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun)

controller; by implication, Master (as a respectful title):-- God,

Lord, master, Sir.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

κύριος, ου, ὁ

n.m.

lord, Lord, master, sir

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

κύριος kyrios 717x

a lord, master, Mt. 12:8; an owner, possessor, Mt. 20:8; a potentate, sovereign, Acts 25:26; a power, deity, 1 Cor. 8:5; the Lord, Jehovah, Mt. 1:22; the Lord Jesus Christ, Mt. 24:42; Mk. 16:19; Lk. 10:1; Jn. 4:1; 1 Cor. 4:5; freq.; κύριε, a term of respect of various force, Sir, Lord, Read the full entry →

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Lord

There are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered.

(1.) Heb. Jehovah, has been rendered in the English Bible LORD, printed in small capitals. This is the proper name of the God of the Hebrews. The form “Jehovah” is retained only in Ex. 6:3; Ps. 83:18; Isa. 12:2; 26:4, both in the Authorized and the Revised Version.

(2.) Heb. ‘adon, means one possessed of absolute control. It denotes a master, as of slaves (Gen. 24:14, 27), or a ruler of his subjects (45:8), or a husband, as lord of his wife (18:12).

The old plural form of this Hebrew word is ’adonai. From a superstitious reverence for the name “Jehovah,” the Jews, in reading their Scriptures, whenever that name…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

[GOD]

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

This name belongs to God by preeminence; and in this sense ought never to be given to any creature. Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, the Son of God, and equal with the Father, is often called Lord in Scripture, especially in the writing of Paul. The word LORD, in the English Bible, when printed in small capitals, stands always for JEHOVAH in the Hebrew. See JEHOVAH.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ A prince Jos 13:3; Jud 3:3; 1Sa 5:8; 6:4

→ See GOD

→ See JESUS

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
86%lord
lord86% · 647×master6% · 47×other renderings3% · 22×other renderings5% · 37×

753 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
subject31%adverbial30%object17%predicate4%indirect object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 718 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
αὐτόςὄνομαname, character,χάριςgrace, favor, ki
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
ἐν
εἰμίI am, existσύδέbut, on the othe
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakκαλέωI call, invite, πρός
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώπατήρfather, Father, ὅτιthat, since, bec
κύριοςLord718×
what comes after →
ἐγώ
ἸησοῦςJesusκαίand, even, also,κάθημαιI sit, am seated
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἀμπελώνa vineyardδέbut, on the othe
ἸησοῦςJesus
Χριστόςanointed, the Meκαίand, even, also,μετά
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegσωτήρa savior, delive
αὐτός
χρείαneed, necessity,εἰCondλέγωI say, speak

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

Concordanceκύριος · 718× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians John Romans 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 Thessalonians Revelation 2 Thessalonians Mark

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament23 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
The Shepherd of Hermas Philo of Alexandria The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome Josephus
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.48c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.265c. AD 75–95

Τῶν δὲ Ἰσάκου παίδων Ἡσαῦς, περὶ ὃν μάλιστα ὁ πατὴρ ἐσπουδάκει, τεσσαράκοντα γεγονὼς ἔτη γαμεῖ Ἄδαν τὴν Ἥλωνος καὶ Ἀλιβάμην τὴν Εὐσεβεῶνος δυναστευόντων ἐν Χαναναίοις ἀνδρῶν θυγατέρας, ἑαυτὸν ποιήσας τῆς περὶ τὸν γάμον ἐξουσίας κύριον καὶ μηδὲ τῷ…

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 4th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Grenf. 1 33Thebais104 BC

ὡς ἐτῶν κζ μέση μελίχρως λεύκωμα ὀφθαλμόν, μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύρριν αἱ τρεῖς τῶν Ψεμμίνιος μετὰ κυρίου τοῦ ἑαυτῶν ἀδελφοῦ Παχνούβιος τοῦ προγεγραμμένου καὶ συνπωλουμένου, ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπαρχούσης αὐτοῖς πατρικῆς γῆς

P.Cair. Cat. 10353 descr.Krokodilopolis (Arsinoites108 BC–99 BC

Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου τῆς ἄνω τοπαρχίας τοῦ Παθυρίτου. ὁμολογεῖ Πετεσοῦχος Πετεαρσεμθέως Τορτομίννει Σχώτου Περσίνη μετὰ κυρίου τοῦ ἑαυτῆς υἱοῦ Πανοβχούνιος τοῦ Ἁρπαήσιος ἐκ τῶν φρουρῶν περὶ τοῦ ἐὰν βεβαιώσῃ αὐτῶι

P.Adl. 20Poinkoris (Diopolites)99 BC

τῆς Βελλέους ὡς ἐτῶν κβ μέσης μελιχρόου στρογγυλοπροσώπου εὐθύρινος οὐλὴ μετώπῳ ἐκ δεξιῶν μετὰ κυρίου Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Ψενμεγχείους ὡς ἐτῶν λε μέσου … πάντες τῶν ἐκ τοῦ Παθυρίτου τὴν

David therefore Lord Him calls, and how of him son is He?
αὐτὸνautos Him G846 Personal pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
5,550× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Amplified meaning
as his Master
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

αὐτός is a pronoun meaning 'self' or 'the same,' used to emphasize distinction or opposition. It can function as a reflexive pronoun and appears frequently in the New Testament, often in contexts that highlight contrast or identity, such as in Luke 5:37 and John 2:25. The entries indicate that it can also be used in various grammatical constructions, including with articles to denote sameness.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

determinative pron., in late Gk. much more freq. than in cl. (WM, 178 f.; Jannaris, HGG, §1399).

Emphatic (so always in nom. exc. when preceded by the art., v. infr., iii);

self (ipse), expressing opposition, distinction, exclusion, etc., αὐ. ἐκχυθήσεται, Lk 5:37; αὐ. ἐγινώσκεν, Jo 2:25; αὐ. ὑμεῖς, Jo 3:28; καὶ αὐ. ἐγώ, Ro 15:14; αὐ. Ἰησοῦς, Jo 2:24; αὐ. καὶ οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ, Mk 2:25; ὑμεῖς αὐ., Mk 6:31; esp. (as freq in cl.) αὐ. ὁ, Mt 3:4, Mk 6:17, Jo 16:27, I Th 3:11, al.; in late Gk., sometimes…

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

αὐτός, -7, -d, pron. (“derived from the particle αὖ with the added force of a demonstrative pronoun. In itself it signifies nothing more than again, applied to what has either been previously mentioned or, when the whole discourse is looked at, must necessarily be .upplied.” Klotz ad Devar. ii. p. 219; [see Vaniéek p. 268]). It is used by the bibl. writ. both of the O. T. and of the N. T. far more frequently than the other pronouns; and in this very frequent and almost inordinate use of it, they deviate greatly from prof. auth.; cf. B. § 127, 9. [On classic usage ef. Hermann, Opusce. i. 308 sqq., of which dissertation a summary is given in his edition of Viger pp- 732-736.] I. self, as used (in all persons, genders, numbers) to distinguish a person or thing from or contrast it with another, or to give him (it) emphatic prominence. ik When used to express Opposition or Distinction, it is…

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

αὐτός. The weakening of the old distinction between αὐτὸς 6 and ὁ αὐτός, especially in Luke, is noted in Proleg. p. 91, and paralleled from Hellenistic. We may add (cf. Linleitung p. 145f.) Sy// 8071 (ii/A.D.) αὐταῖς ταῖς ἡμέραις, where Dittenberger remarks ‘‘expectaveris ταῖς αὐταῖς," OG/S 383! (Antiochus of Commagene, i/8.c.) τὴν αὐτήν τε κρίσιν, for which Ditt. desiderates ταύτην τὴν κρίσιν, P Iib I. 30° (B.c. 265) αὐτὸς Ὧρος “the said H.,’’ P Lille I. 238 (B.C, 221) οὗ μ[ισ]θωτὴς Ἡρώδ[ης] ὁ αὐτός “ce méme L.,”’ P Oxy VI. 892% (A.D. 338) τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως, 26. VIII. 1105 (A.D. 254) τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀμφοδογραμματέως “the said a.’’: all these seem to be practically identical, with αὐτός differing little from ἐκεῖνος. The combination αὐτὸ τοῦτο may be illustrated by P Grenf I. 114 (literary, ii/B.c.) “ for this reason ” (Ed.) as in 2 Pet 1°, P Ryl 11. 77°9 (a.p. 192) καὶ αὐτὰ ταῦτα ἀσφαλίσομαι…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

(Cretan dialect ἀϝτός [Refs] (also αὐτόν[Refs], reflexive pronoun, self:—in oblique cases used for the personal pronoun, him, her, it:—with Article, ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (also ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

I. self, myself, thyself, etc., accusative to the person of the Verb: frequently joined with ἐγώ, σύ, etc. (see. below 10),

I.1. one's true self, the soul, not the body, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; reversely, body, not soul, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; oneself, as opposed to others who are less prominent, as king to subject, [Refs]; man to wife and children, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; warrior to horses, [Refs 8th c.BC+], or to weapons, [Refs]; shepherd to herd, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; seamen to ships, [Refs]: generally, whole to parts,[Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, the Master, as in the [Refs 4th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea

of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used

(alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the

proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one,

the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy-

)self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at,

- by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man),

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

self, very; alone, Mk. 6:31; 2 Cor. 12:13; of one’s self, of one’s own motion, Jn. 16:27; used also in the oblique cases independently as a personal pron. of the third person; ὁ αὐτός, the same; unchangeable, Heb. 1:12; κατὰ τὸ αὐτό, at the same time, together, Acts 14:1; ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, in one and the same place, Mt. 22:34; at the same time, together, Acts 3:1

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

αὐτός self, Lat. ipse:— in the oblique cases simply for the personal Pron., him, her, it:— with the Artic. ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (or ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

self, myself, thyself, etc., acc. to the person of the Verb., Hom., etc.:

oneself, one's true self, the soul, not the body, Od.; or opp. to others, as king to subjects, parent to children, man to wife, etc., Hom.; hence absol. for the master, τίς οὗτος;—Αὐτός, i. e. Socrates, Ar.; similarly in neut. αὐτὸ δείξει the result will shew, Eur.

of oneself, of one's own accord, Lat. sponte, Hom., Soph.

by oneself, alone, αὐτός περ ἐών although alone, Il.; αὐτοί ἐσμεν we are by ourselves, i. e. among friends, Ar.

in Plat., τὸ δίκαιον αὐτό right in itself, the idea of right, etc.; cf. αὐτοάνθρωπος.

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

P-ASM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
52%him
him52% · 3025×them25% · 1488×it6% · 323×her4% · 250×other renderings10% · 587×other renderings3% · 188×

5,861 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 92 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
object33%adverbial28%indirect object19%subject18%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 5,561 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςHim5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

Concordanceαὐτός · 5,550× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Revelation Romans Hebrews 1 John 1 Corinthians Ephesians 2 Corinthians

19 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
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

περὶ τοῦ γένους Ἀδάμου καὶ τῶν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ δέκα γενεῶν τῶν μέχρι τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ.

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 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

Πακοίβιος ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν μ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ μερίδα γῆς σιτοφόρου ἐν τῷ περὶ Παθῦρειν πεδίωι σφραγίδων τεσσάρων , ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ὡς ἐτῶν νε μέσος ἢ ἐλάσσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, καὶ Πετεαρσοῆρις Σχώτου τῶν αὐτῶν ἱερέων ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος ἢ ἐλασσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος

David therefore Lord Him calls, and how of him son is He?
καλεῖ,kaleō calls, G2564 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
148× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Luke than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means to call or invite someone, like calling out to them loudly. It's used in Matthew 20:8 and Mark 3:31 to describe calling people to come and follow. This word can also mean to invite someone to a special event or to join in something.
Tyndale gloss
to call: call
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

καλέω is a Greek verb meaning 'to call' or 'to summon.' It encompasses a range of uses, including inviting someone to a meal or event, calling someone by name, and metaphorically inviting people to partake in spiritual blessings. The New Testament frequently employs this term, notably in Matthew and Romans. Notably, Liddell-Scott mentions its use in legal contexts, which is not highlighted in other entries.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καλέω, -ῶ,

[in LXX chiefly for קרא;]

to call, summon: c. acc. pers., Mt 20:8 25:14, Mk 3:31, Lk 19:13, Ac 4:18; seq. ἐκ, Mt 2:15(LXX); metaph., I Pe 2:9.

to call to one's house, invite: Lk 14:16, I Co 10:27, Re 19:9; εἰς τ. γάμους, Mt 22:3, 9, Lk 14:8, 9, Jo 2:2; ὁ καλέσας,

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

καλέω, -@; impf. ἐκάλουν; fut. καλέσω (W. § 13, 3c.); 1 aor. ἐκάλεσα; pi. κέκληκα; Pass., pres. καλοῦμαι; pf. 3 pers. sing. κέκληται (1 Co. vii. 18 LT Tr WH; [Rev. xix. 13 L T Tr WH)), ptep. κεκλημένος ; 1 aor. ἐκλήθην ; 1 fut. κληθήσομαι ; [fr. Hom. down]; Hebr. xp; Lat. voco; i. e. 1. to call (Germ. rufen τὰ βοάω, fin.]) ; a. to call aloud, utter in a loud voice: ἄχρις οὗ τὸ σήμερον καλεῖται, as long as the word ‘to-day’ is called out or proclaimed, Heb. iii. 13; τινά, to call one to approach or stand before one, Mt. xx. 8; xxii. 3 (where εἰς τοὺς γάμους seems to belong to τοὺς κεκλημένους) : Mt. xxv. 14; [Mk. iii. 31 LT Tr WH]; Lk. xix. 13; τὰ ἴδια πρόβατα κατ᾽ ὄνομα, his own sheep each by its name, Jn. x. 3 (where LT Tr WH φωνεῖ); used of Christ, calling certain persons to be his disciples and constant companions, Mt. iv. 21 (note what precedes in 19: δεῦτε ὀπίσω pov); Mk. i. 20; to…

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

καλέω. For this verb = ‘‘summon,” “invite,” as in Mt 22° a/., see P Oxy XII. 1487" (iv/A.D.) καλῖ σε Θέων vids ᾿Ωριγένους εἰς τοὺς γάμους THs ἀδελφῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἐν τῇ αὔριον, and similarly 26. 14861 (iv/A.p.). In both instances it is noticeable that καλῖ takes the place of the earlier ἐρωτᾷ, cf. 73. 1484, 1485. See also P Hamb I. 295 (A.D. 89) κληθέντων τινῶν . καὶ μὴ ὑπακουσάντων. The participle is common = “‘called,’’ ‘‘named,”’ as in Lk 7 a/., e.g. P Petr 11. 4531 20 (B.C. 246) els φρούριον τὸ καλούμενον [ΠΠἸοσιδέον, Osty , καλος 1210 (Roman) Πασήμιο(ς) ΠΠκῶτο(ς) καλ(ούμενος), BGU I. 3497 (A.D. 313) ἐν κλήρῳ καλουμένου (1. — évw) ᾿Αφρικιανός and P Oxy X. 12737 (A.D. 260) περιτραχήλιον μανιάκην,. καλούμενον, ‘a necklace of the kind called maniaces’’ (Edd.). With the usage in Gal 115 we may compare CP Herm I. 251-7’ Αντωνῖνος κληθήσεται and 24. 261: εἰ δοκεῖ σίοι] κληθῆναι... αὐτούς, where…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καλέω (kaleō) — to call: call.

κᾰλέω,

Aeolic dialect κάλημι (which see), Epic dialect infinitive καλήμεναι [Refs 8th c.BC+]: Ionic dialect imperfect καλέεσκον [Refs]; 3rd.pers. singular κάλεσκε [Refs 3rd c.BC+]: future, Ionic dialect καλέω [Refs 8th c.BC+], Attic dialect καλῶ [LXX+5th c.BC+]aorist 1 subjunctive): aorist 1 ἐκάλεσα, Epic dialect ἐκάλεσσα, κάλεσσα, [Refs 8th c.BC+] (late Epic dialect ἔκλησα [Refs 2nd c.BC+]: perfect κέκληκα [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle, Attic dialect future καλοῦμαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; later καλέσομαι (ἐκ-, ἐπι-) uncertain reading in [Refs 4th c.BC+]: aorist 1 ἐκαλεσάμην [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic dialect καλεσσάμην [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—passive, future κεκλήσομαι [LXX+8th c.BC+]: aorist ἐκλήθην [Refs 7th c.BC+]perfect κέκλημαι, Epic dialect 3rd.pers. plural κεκλήαται [Refs 3rd c.BC+], Ionic dialect κεκλέαται [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic dialect 3rd.pers. plural…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καλέω

kaleo

akin to the base of 2753; to "call" (properly, aloud, but used in a

variety of applications, directly or otherwise):--bid, call (forth),

(whose, whose sur-)name (was (called)).

see GREEK for 2753

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καλέω

v.

I call, invite, name

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καλέω kaleō 148x

to call, call to, Jn. 10:3; to call into one’s presence, send for a person, Mt. 2:7; to summon, Mt. 2:15; 25:14; to invite, Mt. 22:9; to call to the performance of a certain thing, Mt. 9:13; Heb. 11:8; to call to a participation in the privileges of the Gospel, Rom. 8:30; 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:9; 7:18; to call to an office or dignity, Heb. 5:4; to name, style, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

καλέω καλέσω is aor1 subj. to call, summon, Hom., etc.: Mid. to call to oneself, id. Hom.

to call to a repast, to invite, Od.; κ. ἐπὶ δεῖπνον Hdt., Xen.; κληθέντες πρός τινα invited to his house, Dem.

to call on, invoke, τοὺς θεούς Hdt., attic; so in Mid., Aesch., etc.:—but ἀράς, ἅς σοι καλοῦμαι curses, which I call down on thee, Soph.:—in Pass., of the god, to be invoked, Aesch.

as law-term, of the judge, to cite or summon before the court, Ar., Dem.; πρὶν τὴν ἐμὴν [δίκην] καλεῖσθαι before it is called on, Ar.

of the plaintiff, in Mid., καλεῖσθαί τινα to sue at law, Lat. vocare in jus, id. Ar., etc.

to call by name, to call, name, Il., Trag.:— ὄνομα καλεῖν τινά to call him a name (i. e. by name), Od.; so, without ὄνομα, τί νιν καλοῦσα τύχοιμ᾽ ἄν; Aesch.:—Pass., τύμβωι δ᾽…

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-3S — Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
16%being called
being called16% · 24×called10% · 15×having called7% · 10×invited7% · 10×calling5% · 7×will be called5% · 7×call4% · 6×you were called4% · 6×other renderings42% · 62×

147 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 45 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
verb59%linking verb40%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 148 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
ὄροςa mountainλέγωI say, speakἸούδαςJudah, Judas, Ju
καίand, even, also, nam
υἱόςa son, descendenὅςαὐτός
αὐτός
ἐπίτροποςa steward, guardδοῦλος (II)πρός
ὅς
κλῆσιςa calling, summoσύκαίand, even, also,
θεόςGod, a god
υἱόςa son, descendenφίλοςτέκνονa child, descend
καλέωcalls,148×
what comes after →
Article the
ὄνομαname, character,μάγοςa sorcerer, magiυἱόςa son, descenden
σύ
σπέρμαseed, offspringArticle theεἰς
αὐτός
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastκαίand, even, also,ἐπί
καίand, even, also, nam
δίδωμιI offer, giveπῶςὅς
ἐν
Article theεἷςoneοὗτος

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

Concordanceκαλέω · 148× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Acts 1 Corinthians Romans Revelation 1 Peter Hebrews Galatians Mark 1 Thessalonians Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament20 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 254 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 15c. AD 40

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

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

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 5.9c. AD 100

ὅτε δὲ τοὺς ἰδίους ἀποστόλους τοὺς μέλλοντας κηρύσσειν τὸ εὐαγγέλιον αὐτοῦ ἐξελέξατο, ὄντας ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἁμαρτίαν ἀνομωτέρους, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλούς, τότε ἐφανέρωσεν ἑαυτὸν εἶναι υἱὸν θεοῦ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 3rd c. AD 2nd c. AD 5th c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Cair. Goodspeed 9Pathyris100 BC–99 BC

παρὰ Πατῆτος τοῦ Πανεβχώνιος. ἐκμισθωθείσης μοι τῆς νήσου καλουμένης Περχμασσινηιτ εἰς τὸ ιϛ ἔτος πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τεσσαράκοντα πέντε γίνονται πυροῦ ἀρτάβαι με ὄρνιθας

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

ὅλης τῆς γῆς· νότου γῆ Πατοῦτος τοῦ Ψεμμώνθου βορρᾶ γῆ Φαμούνιος ἀπηλιώτου κοιλὰς διῶρυξ καλούμενος πλα … Παθύρεως λιβὸς ὄρος ἢ οἳ ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν. ἐπρίατο Εὔνους Ἀσκληπιάδου

P.Corn. 40Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 105

αὐτῇ … … ὡς ἐτῶν τριάκοντα τριῶν οὐλὴ … μηδὲν τὴν Ἀθηνάριον μηδὲν … καλεῖν μηδὲν καλέσειν τῶι Φιλιππωι … … πωαι ἐπεγράφη α … π … … ἑαυτῆς

David therefore Lord Him calls, and how of him son is He?
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

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

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

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

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

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

David therefore Lord Him calls, and how of him son is He?
πῶςpōs how G4459 Adverb · interrogative
118× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
How is a question about the way something is done, as in Matthew 12:29, or an exclamation of surprise, like how much something is.
Amplified meaning
in what way, possibly
Tyndale gloss
how?!
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πῶς, interrog. adv., correl. of ὅπως,

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πῶς (pōs) — how?!.

πῶς,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πῶς πώς

pos

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

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

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

(Occasionally unexpressed in English).

see GREEK for 4226

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πῶς

Adv. & Irg.adv.

how, in what manner

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

ADV-I ADVerb or adverb and particle combined Interrogative

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

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

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

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

Counted over the 65 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 68c. AD 40

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

David therefore Lord Him calls, and how of him son is He?
αὐτοῦautos of him G846 Personal pronoun · genitive · singular · masculine
5,550× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Amplified meaning
physical or earthly
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

αὐτός is a pronoun meaning 'self' or 'the same,' used to emphasize distinction or opposition. It can function as a reflexive pronoun and appears frequently in the New Testament, often in contexts that highlight contrast or identity, such as in Luke 5:37 and John 2:25. The entries indicate that it can also be used in various grammatical constructions, including with articles to denote sameness.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

determinative pron., in late Gk. much more freq. than in cl. (WM, 178 f.; Jannaris, HGG, §1399).

Emphatic (so always in nom. exc. when preceded by the art., v. infr., iii);

self (ipse), expressing opposition, distinction, exclusion, etc., αὐ. ἐκχυθήσεται, Lk 5:37; αὐ. ἐγινώσκεν, Jo 2:25; αὐ. ὑμεῖς, Jo 3:28; καὶ αὐ. ἐγώ, Ro 15:14; αὐ. Ἰησοῦς, Jo 2:24; αὐ. καὶ οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ, Mk 2:25; ὑμεῖς αὐ., Mk 6:31; esp. (as freq in cl.) αὐ. ὁ, Mt 3:4, Mk 6:17, Jo 16:27, I Th 3:11, al.; in late Gk., sometimes…

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

αὐτός, -7, -d, pron. (“derived from the particle αὖ with the added force of a demonstrative pronoun. In itself it signifies nothing more than again, applied to what has either been previously mentioned or, when the whole discourse is looked at, must necessarily be .upplied.” Klotz ad Devar. ii. p. 219; [see Vaniéek p. 268]). It is used by the bibl. writ. both of the O. T. and of the N. T. far more frequently than the other pronouns; and in this very frequent and almost inordinate use of it, they deviate greatly from prof. auth.; cf. B. § 127, 9. [On classic usage ef. Hermann, Opusce. i. 308 sqq., of which dissertation a summary is given in his edition of Viger pp- 732-736.] I. self, as used (in all persons, genders, numbers) to distinguish a person or thing from or contrast it with another, or to give him (it) emphatic prominence. ik When used to express Opposition or Distinction, it is…

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

αὐτός. The weakening of the old distinction between αὐτὸς 6 and ὁ αὐτός, especially in Luke, is noted in Proleg. p. 91, and paralleled from Hellenistic. We may add (cf. Linleitung p. 145f.) Sy// 8071 (ii/A.D.) αὐταῖς ταῖς ἡμέραις, where Dittenberger remarks ‘‘expectaveris ταῖς αὐταῖς," OG/S 383! (Antiochus of Commagene, i/8.c.) τὴν αὐτήν τε κρίσιν, for which Ditt. desiderates ταύτην τὴν κρίσιν, P Iib I. 30° (B.c. 265) αὐτὸς Ὧρος “the said H.,’’ P Lille I. 238 (B.C, 221) οὗ μ[ισ]θωτὴς Ἡρώδ[ης] ὁ αὐτός “ce méme L.,”’ P Oxy VI. 892% (A.D. 338) τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως, 26. VIII. 1105 (A.D. 254) τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀμφοδογραμματέως “the said a.’’: all these seem to be practically identical, with αὐτός differing little from ἐκεῖνος. The combination αὐτὸ τοῦτο may be illustrated by P Grenf I. 114 (literary, ii/B.c.) “ for this reason ” (Ed.) as in 2 Pet 1°, P Ryl 11. 77°9 (a.p. 192) καὶ αὐτὰ ταῦτα ἀσφαλίσομαι…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

(Cretan dialect ἀϝτός [Refs] (also αὐτόν[Refs], reflexive pronoun, self:—in oblique cases used for the personal pronoun, him, her, it:—with Article, ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (also ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

I. self, myself, thyself, etc., accusative to the person of the Verb: frequently joined with ἐγώ, σύ, etc. (see. below 10),

I.1. one's true self, the soul, not the body, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; reversely, body, not soul, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; oneself, as opposed to others who are less prominent, as king to subject, [Refs]; man to wife and children, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; warrior to horses, [Refs 8th c.BC+], or to weapons, [Refs]; shepherd to herd, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; seamen to ships, [Refs]: generally, whole to parts,[Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, the Master, as in the [Refs 4th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea

of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used

(alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the

proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one,

the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy-

)self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at,

- by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man),

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

self, very; alone, Mk. 6:31; 2 Cor. 12:13; of one’s self, of one’s own motion, Jn. 16:27; used also in the oblique cases independently as a personal pron. of the third person; ὁ αὐτός, the same; unchangeable, Heb. 1:12; κατὰ τὸ αὐτό, at the same time, together, Acts 14:1; ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, in one and the same place, Mt. 22:34; at the same time, together, Acts 3:1

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

αὐτός self, Lat. ipse:— in the oblique cases simply for the personal Pron., him, her, it:— with the Artic. ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (or ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

self, myself, thyself, etc., acc. to the person of the Verb., Hom., etc.:

oneself, one's true self, the soul, not the body, Od.; or opp. to others, as king to subjects, parent to children, man to wife, etc., Hom.; hence absol. for the master, τίς οὗτος;—Αὐτός, i. e. Socrates, Ar.; similarly in neut. αὐτὸ δείξει the result will shew, Eur.

of oneself, of one's own accord, Lat. sponte, Hom., Soph.

by oneself, alone, αὐτός περ ἐών although alone, Il.; αὐτοί ἐσμεν we are by ourselves, i. e. among friends, Ar.

in Plat., τὸ δίκαιον αὐτό right in itself, the idea of right, etc.; cf. αὐτοάνθρωπος.

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

P-GSM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
52%him
him52% · 3025×them25% · 1488×it6% · 323×her4% · 250×other renderings10% · 587×other renderings3% · 188×

5,861 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 92 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
object33%adverbial28%indirect object19%subject18%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 5,561 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςof him5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

Concordanceαὐτός · 5,550× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Revelation Romans Hebrews 1 John 1 Corinthians Ephesians 2 Corinthians

19 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
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

περὶ τοῦ γένους Ἀδάμου καὶ τῶν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ δέκα γενεῶν τῶν μέχρι τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ.

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 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

Πακοίβιος ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν μ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ μερίδα γῆς σιτοφόρου ἐν τῷ περὶ Παθῦρειν πεδίωι σφραγίδων τεσσάρων , ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ὡς ἐτῶν νε μέσος ἢ ἐλάσσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, καὶ Πετεαρσοῆρις Σχώτου τῶν αὐτῶν ἱερέων ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος ἢ ἐλασσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος

David therefore Lord Him calls, and how of him son is He?
υἱός son G5207
376× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, this word means a son or child, used in passages like Matthew 10:37 and Luke 1:13. It can also refer to animals, as in a foal. The word is used to describe family relationships and is an important concept in biblical genealogy.
Amplified meaning
a descendant or offspring
Tyndale gloss
son
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word υἱός (i.e., *huios*) means 'son' and is used broadly to refer to biological offspring, descendants, or figuratively to denote kinship. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, including titles for Jesus, such as 'Son of God' and 'Son of Man', as well as in expressions of spiritual relationships, like 'sons of God' referring to believers. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

υἱός, -οῦ, ὁ, [in LXX very freq. and nearly always for בֵּן, Ge 4:17, al.; for בַּר, Da LXX TH 7:13, al.; etc. ;],

a son;

in the ordinary sense: Mt 10:37, Mk 9:17, Lk 1:13, al. mult.; omitted with the art. of origin (WM, § 30, 3; Bl., §35, 2), τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαί, Ac 13:22 (LXX); also c. gen. anarth. (cl.), Σώπατρος Πύρρου Βεροιαῖος, Ac 20:4; c. adj., προτότοκος, Lk 2:7; μονογένης, Lk 7:12; opp. to νόθος, Read the full entry →

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

υἱός (uhios) — son.

υἱός, ὁ

(written ϝηιός in Ἀρχ. Ἐφ. [Refs 6th c.BC+] —in earlier _Attic dialect_ and other Inscrr. inflected as a ῠ-stem (like πῆχυς), _nominative_ υἱύς (written huihus)[Refs]; dative υἱεῖ: dual υἱεῖ [Refs 5th c.BC+], written ηυιε in [Refs 5th c.BC+] are rejected by [Refs 2nd c.AD+], Thom.Mag.p.367 R., as not Attic dialect, though the two latter forms are used by later writers (as υἱέα [Refs 3rd c.BC+] is falsa lectio in [Refs 5th c.BC+] is mentioned as a form that would be regular by [Refs] —Homer uses _nominative_ υἱός (very frequently); genitive υἱοῦ only in [Refs 8th c.BC+], elsewhere υἱέο; dative υἱέϊ or υἱε; accusative υἱέα [Refs 8th c.BC+]: plural, nominative υἱέες [Refs 8th c.BC+]; dative υἱοῖσι (ν) only [Refs 8th c.BC+], belongs solely to later Epic dialect poets, as [Refs 3rd c.BC+] (υιυις lapis); accusative υἱύν [Refs]; genitive υἱέος [Refs…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

υἱός

huios

apparently a primary word; a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very

widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship:--child, foal,

son.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

υἱός, οῦ, ὁ

n.m.

a son, descendent

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

υἱός hyios 377x

a son, Mt. 1:21, 25; 7:9; 13:55 freq.; a legitimate son, Heb. 12:8; a son artificially constituted, Acts 7:21; Heb. 11:24; a descendant, Mt. 1:1, 20; Mk. 12:35; in NT the young of an animal, Mt. 21:5; a spiritual son in respect of conversion or discipleship, 1 Pet. 5:13; from the Hebrew, a disciple, perhaps, Mt. 12:27; a son as implying connection in respect of membership, service…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

υἱός υἱός, οῦ, ὁ, etc. A son, Lat. filius, Hom., etc.; υἱὸν ποιεῖσθαί τινα to adopt him as a son, Aeschin.; υἱεῖς ἄνδρες grown up sons, Dem.:—rarely of animals, NTest.

periphr., υἷες Ἀχαιῶν, for Ἀχαιοί, Il.; cf. παῖς.

Hom. sometimes makes the 1st syll. short, as if it were ὑός.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Smith's Bible Dictionary

The term "son" is used in Scripture language to imply almost any kind of descent or succession, as ben shanah , "son of a year," i.e. a year old; ben kesheth , "son of a bow," i.e. an arrow. The word bar is often found in the New Testament in composition, as Bar-timaeus.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Sometimes denotes a grandson, or any remote descendant, Ge 29:5 2Sa 19:24. At other times a son by adoption is meant, Ge 48:5; or by law, Ru 4:17; or by education, 1Sa 3:6 20:35; or by conversion, as Titus was Paul’s "son father the common faith," Tit 1:4. And again it denotes a mental or moral resemblance, etc., Jud 19:22 Ps 89:6 Isa 57:3 Ac 13:10. In a…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ FIGURATIVE

Of a person' s relation to God Ex 4:22

See ADOPTION

See GOD, FATHERHOOD OF

See JESUS, SON OF GOD

See JESUS, SON OF MAN

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
80%son
son80% · 307×sons19% · 71×other renderings1% · 4×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject35%predicate25%object20%adverbial15%indirect object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 376 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
εἰμίI am, existκαίand, even, also,ὁράωI see, look upon
εἰμίI am, exist
θεόςGod, a godὅςαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theτίκτωI bear, bring foεἰCond
εἰCond
αὐτόςσεαυτοῦδιάβολοςslanderous, the
αὐτός
ὅτιthat, since, becποιέωI do, makeκαίand, even, also,
υἱόςson376×
what comes after →
Article the
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of thθεόςGod, a godνυμφώνa bridal chamber
αὐτός
Article theἸησοῦςJesusεἰμίI am, exist
ἐγώ
Article theεἰμίI am, existεἷςone
καίand, even, also, nam
καλέωI call, invite, Article theὅς
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theθεόςGod, a godλέγωI say, speak

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

Concordanceυἱός · 376× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke John Mark Hebrews 1 John Acts Galatians Romans Revelation 2 Corinthians Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament20 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 The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.48c. AD 40

„ἐὰν δὲ γένωνται ἀνθρώπῳ δύο γυναῖκες, μία αὐτῶν ἠγαπημένη καὶ μία αὐτῶν μισουμένη, καὶ τέκωσιν αὐτῷ καὶ γένηται υἱὸς πρωτότοκος τῆς μισουμένης, ...

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.63c. AD 75–95

Ἀνώχου δὲ Ἰαράδης υἱὸς ἦν, ἐκ δὲ τούτου Μαρουῆλος, οὗ γίνεται παῖς Μαθουσάλας, τοῦ δὲ Λάμεχος, ᾧ παῖδες ὑπῆρξαν ἑπτὰ καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα ἐκ δύο γυναικῶν αὐτῷ φύντες Σελλᾶς καὶ Ἄδας.

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 6th c. AD 3rd c. AD 7th c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Adl. 12Pathyris102 BC

τρεῖς · γείτονες μιᾶς μὲν νότου γῆ Πατήφιος, βορρᾶ γῆ Πακοίβιος διὰ τῶν Φίβιος υἱῶν, ἀπηλιώτου ὁδὸς βασιλική, λιβὸς γῆ Ψεμμώνθου τοῦ Πανεχάτου καὶ τῶν μετόχων, τὴν δʼ ἄλλην

P.Adl. 14Pathyris101 BC

, ὧν γείτονες μιᾶς μὲν νότου γῆ Πατήφιος, βορρᾶ γῆ Πακοίβιος διὰ τῶν Φίβιος υἱῶν, ἀπηλιώτου ὁδὸς βασιλική, λιβὸς γῆ Ψεμμώνθου τοῦ Πανεχάτου καὶ τῶν μετόχων, τὴν δʼ ἄλλην

P.Adl. 16Pathyris100 BC

νότου γῆ Πατήφιος τοῦ Πεμσάϊος βορρᾶ γῆ Πακοίβιος ἧς κρατοῦσιν οἱ Φίβιος τοῦ Πανεχάτου υἱοί, ἀπηλιώτου ὁδὸς βασιλική, λιβὸς γῆ Ψεμμώνθου τοῦ Πανεχάτου, ἄλλης λεγομένης Φαμούνιος νότου γῆ Παθώτου

David therefore Lord Him calls, and how of him son is He?
ἐστιν;¶eimi is He? G1510 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
2,457× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To be or exist, a basic verb used to describe something or someone, like God saying 'I am' in John 8:58.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰμί,

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

As substantive verb.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰμί (eimi) — to be.

εἰμί

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί

eimi

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

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

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

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

see GREEK for 1488

see GREEK for 1498

see GREEK for 1511

see GREEK for 1527

see GREEK for 2258

see GREEK for 2071

see GREEK for 2070

see GREEK for 2075

see GREEK for 2076

see GREEK for 2771

see GREEK for 2468

see GREEK for 5600

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰμί

v.

I am, exist

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰμί eimi 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-3S — Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ha: The fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet; transliterated in this Encyclopedia as "h." It came also to be used for the number 5. For name, etc., see ALPHABET.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

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

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