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Matthew 10:16 — Word Study

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N1904ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.¶

BSABeholdhoraō I myselfegō send forthapostellō yousu ashōs sheepprobaton [defenseless, vulnerable] inen [the] midstmesos of wolves;lukos [ferocious, dangerous] do beginomai thereforeoun [in consequence, as a result] shrewdphronimos [wise, thoughtful] ashōs theho serpentsophis [cunning, sly] andkai innocentakeraios [harmless, pure] ashōs theho doves.peristera [gentle, peaceful]

Word
Listen & take awayMatthew 10
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 16 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 (peristera) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Matthew 10:16quick helps
In a sentenceJesus instructs His disciples on how to navigate a hostile environment.
Who is speakingJesus, directly addressing His disciples.
Where we areIn the midst of Jesus' instructions to His disciples before sending them out.
The hard wordἀποστέλλω
Take awayDisciples must balance wisdom and innocence in their mission.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectἐγώ verbιδου 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 — Matthew 10:16

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 — Instructions for the Disciplesgenerated

15Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
16Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
17But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.
18On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.

Matthew 10:16 captures Jesus' directive to His disciples as He prepares them for their mission. He uses vivid imagery to illustrate the challenges they will face, comparing their vulnerability to sheep among wolves. This instruction emphasizes the need for both wisdom and purity as they engage with a hostile world, paralleling themes found in earlier teachings about discernment and integrity.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Luke 10:3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
2Acts 20:29I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
3Genesis 3:1–13Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
4Luke 21:15For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
5Romans 16:19Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.

The Key Word ἀποστέλλω, apostellōgenerated

The verb ἀποστέλλω means to send forth or dispatch. It is in the present active indicative form, indicating a current action of sending. This term is often used in the New Testament to describe the act of sending someone on a mission, highlighting the authority behind the sending.

In this context, Jesus emphasizes that He is actively sending His disciples out, which carries a sense of urgency and purpose. The term implies that they are being sent with a specific mission, reinforcing their role as messengers of His teachings.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered similarly across various translations, with the Berean Standard Bible stating, “I am sending you out”, while the KJV and ASV use “I send you forth”. Both expressions convey the same essential meaning of being dispatched.

Where translations differ is with the word φρόνιμοι. The BSB uses shrewd, while the KJV and ASV prefer wise. This distinction reflects subtle nuances in the interpretation of wisdom.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb governing the verse is ἀποστέλλω, send forth, with two noun phrases following: ὑμᾶς (you) and πρόβατα (sheep). The structure emphasizes the action of sending and the identity of those being sent.

Following the main clause, there are two imperative phrases: γίνεσθε (do be) and the predicates φρόνιμοι (shrewd) and ἀκέραιοι (innocent). This construction highlights the qualities Jesus wants His disciples to embody.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

ἀποστέλλω has its roots in the Septuagint, where it translates the Hebrew word for sending, שָׁלַח. This connection reinforces the idea of being sent with authority, as seen in various Old Testament contexts.

The term πρόβατα appears in the Septuagint as well, where it often symbolizes the people of God, emphasizing the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Matthew 10:16 shows Jesus sending His disciples out into a dangerous world. He tells them to be wise like snakes but innocent like doves, indicating they should be careful and discerning while maintaining their purity and gentleness.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to be wise as serpents?

Being wise as serpents means to be shrewd and discerning, able to navigate tricky situations with intelligence and caution, similar to how a serpent moves.

Why does Jesus compare His disciples to sheep?

Jesus compares His disciples to sheep to illustrate their vulnerability and need for guidance, highlighting the challenges they will face in a hostile environment.

What is the significance of being innocent as doves?

Being innocent as doves signifies purity and harmlessness, suggesting that while the disciples must be wise, they should also remain morally upright and gentle in their actions.

How can I apply this teaching in my life?

You can apply this teaching by being discerning in your interactions with others while also striving to maintain integrity and kindness in your behavior.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what situations do I need to be more discerning and wise in my decisions?
  2. How can I ensure that I remain innocent and pure in my actions while navigating difficult circumstances?
  3. What are some examples of being shrewd in my daily life without compromising my values?
  4. How can I support others who are vulnerable or in need, like the sheep among wolves?

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

Early church writers reflect on this verse to discuss the balance of wisdom and innocence in the life of a disciple. Their insights highlight the importance of these qualities in the face of adversity.

Glossa Ordinariaap. Anselm. 12th c.
Ye have indeed need to be wise as serpents, for, as they are wont to do, they will deliver you to councils, forbidding you to preach in My name;
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 10 →
TertullianAgainst the Valentinians c. 155–220
For this reason we are branded by them as simple, and as being merely so, without being wise also; as if indeed wisdom were compelled to be wanting in simplicity, whereas the Lord unites them both: "Be ye therefore wise as serpents,
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 10 →
TertullianScorpiace c. 155–220
Though, even if He had appointed all this persecution in case He were obeyed for those only who were then apostles, assuredly through them along with the entire sacrament, with the shoot of the name, with the layer of the Holy Spirit,
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 10 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Matthew 10:16 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Behold, I send you forth, as sheep among wolves,.... This, and the following verses, chiefly respect the troubles, afflictions, persecutions, and sufferings which should befall the apostles after the

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

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Behold, I send you forth.

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

Our Lord having hitherto instructed his twelve apostles as to the places whither they were to go, the work they had to do, and the methods he would have them observe, now comes to arm them against their difficulties, and the temptations they were like to meet with. I send you forth (saith he) as sheep in the midst of wolves. It is most probable that our Saviour speaks this with reference to what they were like to meet with when he should be taken from them, for we do not read of any great opposition which they at present met with. I send you, ( saith he), as sheep, which are feeble creatures in themselves, and without any natural armour to defend themselves, in the midst of wolves, which…

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

16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Ver. 16. Behold, I send you forth, &c.] This might seem incredible to the disciples, since they were sent among the "lost sheep of Israel." But strange though it seem, it is not so strange as true. Look for it therefore. "Behold:" Christ was in no such danger from Herod, that fox, as from those wolves the Pharisees. As sheep in the midst of wolves] Who would make it their work to worry the flock and suck their blood: as did Saul, that wolf of the tribe of Benjamin, and the primitive persecutors. Under Diocletian 17,000 Christians are said to have been slain in one month…

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

(16) I send you forth.—The nominative pronoun is emphatic, “It is I who send,” and that not so much as an assurance of protection, but, as the words that follow show, as reminding them of their responsibility as His delegates. As sheep in the midst of wolves.—Nothing can be more striking than the union of this clear foresight of conflict and suffering with the full assurance of victory and sovereignty. The position of the disciples would be as sheep surrounded by a flock of hungry and raging wolves, the wolf being here, as elsewhere in the New Testament, the symbol of the persecutor. Wise as serpents.—The idea of the serpent as symbolising wisdom, seems to have entered into the early…

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

Verse 16. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves] He who is called to preach the Gospel is called to embrace a state of constant labour, and frequent suffering. He who gets ease and pleasure, in consequence of embracing the ministerial office, neither preaches the Gospel, nor is sent of God. If he did the work of an evangelist, wicked men and demons would both oppose him. Wise (φρονιμοι prudent) as serpents, and harmless as doves.] This is a proverbial saying: so in Shir hashirim Rabba, fol. 16, "The holy blessed God said to the Israelites, Ye shall be towards me as upright as the doves; but, towards the Gentiles, as cunning as serpents." There is a beauty in this saying…

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

5–42. Christ’s Charge to the Apostles This discourse falls naturally into two divisions; of which the first (Matthew 10:5-15) has reference to the immediate present, the second relates rather to the church of the future. The subdivisions of the first part are: (1) Their mission field, 5, 6. (2) Their words and works, 7, 8. (3) Their equipment, 9, 10. (4) Their approach to cities and houses, 11–15.

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

As sheep in the midst of wolves - That is, I send you, inoffensive and harmless, into a cold, unfriendly, and cruel world. Your innocence will not be a protection.

Read Albert Barnes on Matthew 10 →

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

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

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

“Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

NETBNew English Translation2006

“I am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

¶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

RVARevised Version, American1894

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Behold, I send you as sheepe in the middes of the wolues: be yee therefore wise as serpents, and innocent as doues.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves; be therefore prudent as the serpents, and guileless as the doves.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

'Lo, I do send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, be ye therefore wise as the serpents, and simple as the doves.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, therefore be wise as the serpents, and pure as the doves.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

See, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Look, I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

See, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Be then as wise as snakes, and as gentle as doves.

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἀποστέλλωapostellō send forth G649 2 different renderings
sendASV BBE DBY DRA GNV KJV LSV NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
am sendingBSB MSB NETB
φρόνιμοιphronimos shrewd G5429 2 different renderings
wiseASV BBE DRA FBV GNV KJV LSV NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
shrewdBSB MSB
ὄφειςophis serpents G3789 2 different renderings
as serpentsASV DRA FBV GNV KJV NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
serpentsDBY LSV YLT
ἀκέραιοιakeraios innocent G185 3 different renderings
harmlessASV FBV KJV NWB RVA ULB WEB
innocentBSB GNV MSB NETB
pureLSV
περιστεραί.¶peristera doves. G4058 2 different renderings
dovesASV BSB DBY DRA FBV KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
gentleBBE

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.

clauseclauseverbἸδοὺBeholdclausesubjectἐγὼIverbἀποστέλλωsend forthobjectὑμᾶςyouclauseὡςasclauseobjectπρόβαταsheepprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνinnoun phraseμέσῳ[the] midstλύκωνof wolvesclauseοὖνthereforeclauseclauselinking verbγίνεσθεbe youpredicateφρόνιμοιshrewdclauseὡςasclausenoun phrase · subjectοἱtheὄφειςserpentsκαὶandclausepredicateἀκέραιοιinnocentclauseὡςasclausenoun phrase · subjectαἱtheπεριστεραίdoves

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

Ecce ego mitto vos sicut oves in medio luporum. Estote ergo prudentes sicut serpentes, et simplices sicut columbæ.

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

ܗܐ ܐܢܐ ܡܫܕܪ ܐܢܐ ܠܟܘܢ ܐܝܟ ܐܡܪܐ ܒܝܢܝ ܕܐܒܐ ܗܘܘ ܗܟܝܠ ܚܟܝܡܐ ܐܝܟ ܚܘܘܬܐ ܘܬܡܝܡܐ ܐܝܟ ܝܘܢܐ

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

ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.¶

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

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


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

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

Matthew 10:16ιδουBeholdBeholdιδουἐγώI myselfI myselfἐγώἀποστέλλωsend forthsend forthἀποστέλλωσύyouyouσύὡςasasὡςπρόβατονsheepsheepπρόβατονἐνininἐνμέσος[the] midst[the] midstμέσοςλύκοςof wolves;of wolves;λύκοςγίνομαιdo bedo beγίνομαιοὖνthereforethereforeοὖνφρόνιμοςshrewdshrewdφρόνιμοςὡςasasὡςthetheὄφιςserpentsserpentsὄφιςκαίandandκαίἀκέραιοςinnocentinnocentἀκέραιοςὡςasasὡςthetheπεριστεράdoves.doves.περιστεράὅςRel.pr. whRel.pr. who, whὅςἀπόPrep. fromPrep. from, awaἀπόεἰςPrep. intoPrep. into, in,εἰςμετάPrep. withPrep. with, aftμετάφρήνn.f. the mn.f. the mind, φρήνὀπτάνομαιv. I appeav. I appear, amὀπτάνομαιἄλφαletter theletter the firsἄλφαοἶδαv. I know,v. I know, remeοἶδαπροβαίνωv. I go fov. I go forwardπροβαίνωἐκPrep. fromPrep. from out,ἐκλευκόςAdj white,Adj white, brigλευκόςνήπιοςAdj an infAdj an infant, νήπιοςπλησίονAdv near, Adv near, nearbπλησίονπέμπωv. I sendv. I sendπέμπωἀγαπητόςAdj loved,Adj loved, beloἀγαπητόςδέχομαιv. I take,v. I take, receδέχομαιδύοAdj. & IndAdj. & Indec.nuδύοἀμήνHebr. veriHebr. verily, tἀμήν
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 Matthew 10:16

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.

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
ἰδοὺhoraō Behold G2400 Verb · second aorist · middle · imperative · second person · singular
605× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
to see: see
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἰδού,

[in LXX chiefly for הִנֵּה,]

prop. imperat. 2 aor. mid. of ὁράω, used as a demonstrative particle, with frequency much greater in LXX and NT than in cl. (v. M, Pr., 11),

lo, behold, see: Mt 10:16 11:8 13:3, Mk 3:32, Lk 2:48, I Co 15:51, Ja 5:9, Ju 14, Re 1:7, al.; after gen. absol., Mt 1:20 2:1, 13 12:46, al.; καὶ ἰδού, Mt 2:9 (and freq.), Lk 1:20 10:25, Ac 12:7, al.; in elliptical…

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

ἰδού, a demonstrative particle, [in Grk. writ. fr. Soph. down], found in the N. T. esp. in the Gospels of Matthew and of Luke, used very often in imitation of the Hebr. nan, and giving a peculiar vivacity to the style by bidding the reader or hearer to attend to what is said: behold! see! lo! It is inserted in the discourse after a gen. absol., Mt. i. 20; ii. 1, 13; ix. 18; xii. 46; xvii. 5; Xxvi.47; xxviii. 11. καὶ ἰδού is used, when at the close of a narrative something new is introduced, Mt. ii. 9; ili. 16; iv. 11; viii. 2, 24, 29,32, 34; ix. 2 54. 20; xii. 10; KV 224 ΧΥΙ- Ss) KIX. 10... eva. 91; ΧΧΥΪ. 51: ΧΧΥΤΙ ὦ, 7; Lk. i. 20, 31, 36; ii. 9[R GL Tr br. ], 25; ix. 30, 38 sq.; x. 25; xiv. 2; xxiv.13; Acts xii.7; xvi.1; when a thing is specified which is unexpected yet sure, 2 Co. vi. 9 (καὶ ἰδοὺ ζῶμεν, and nevertheless we live), cf. Mt. vii. 4; when a thing is specified which seems…

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

ἰδού. Moulton (Pro/eg. p. 11) has shown that the frequency with which ἰδού (originally the imper. of εἰδόμην and accented ἰδοῦ) is used by certain NT writers is due to the fact that they were accustomed to the constant use of an equivalent interjection in their own tongue: cf. Wellhausen £ini.* p. 22. As showing, however, that the interjection was used in the Kou where no Hebraistic influence is predicable, we may cite P Oxy VII. 10665 (iii/A.p.) εἰδ[ο]ὺ οὖν ἀπέστιλά σοι αὐτήν, with reference to the return of a file, 76. 10691 (very illiterate—iii/a.p.) εἰδοὺ γὰρ kal τὸ πορφύρειν μετὰ τῶν συ[ν]έργων κεῖντε, “see, the purple is put with the tools” (cf. 1.5), 74. X. 12917 (A.D. 30) οὐδ[εί]ς μοι ἤνεγκεν ἐπιστολήν περὶ ἄρτων, ἀλλ᾽ εὐθέως, ἡ (-- εἰ) ἔπεμψας διὰ ἸΚολλούθου ἐπιστολήν, εἰδοὺ ἀρτάβηι σοι γίνεται, ‘“‘no one has brought me a letter about the bread, but if you send a letter by…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἰδού (idou) — look!.

ἰδοῦ

(ἴδου Hdn.Gr. cited in [Refs 4th c.AD+]aorist 2 imperative middle of ὁρά; but,

II. ἰδού (on the accent see Hdn.Gr.[Refs] adverb, lo! behold! (even with words of hearing, ἰδοὺ δοῦπον αὖ κλύω τινά [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.1. with Nouns and Prons., ἰ. χελιδών Klein [Refs 6th c.BC+], etc.; ἰ. ἐγώ here am I, [LXX+NT]; οὐκ ἰ. Ἀαρώ; [LXX]

II.2. with Verbs,

II.2. a in the imperative, ἰ. θεᾶσθε [Refs 5th c.BC+]; especially in offering a thing, take it! ἰ. δέχου παῖ [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. b in indicative of all tenses, ἰ. πείθομαι [NT+5th c.BC+] with past tenses, [LXX+NT]; in the middle of a sentence, [NT]

II.3. with questions, ἰ., τί ἔστι; [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἰδού

idou

second person singular imperative middle voice of 1492; used as

imperative lo!; --behold, lo, see.

see GREEK for 1492

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἰδού

v.

See! Lo! Behold! Look!

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἰδού idou 200x

aorist middle imperative of εἶδον used as an interjection, Look! See! Lo! Mt. 1:23; Lk. 1:38; Acts 8:36

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἰδού 2nd sg mid imperat of εἰδόμην, as adv. lo! behold! see there! Soph.; ἰδού, δέχου there! take it! Lat. en tibi! id. Soph., etc.:— well, as you please! Ar.

in repeating another's words quizzingly, ἰδού γ᾽ ἄκρατον oh yes, wine, id. Ar.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-2AMM-2S — Verb · second aorist · middle · imperative · second person · singular
second aorist middle imperative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-2AMM-2S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Middle Mood: iMperative Person: second Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%behold
behold100% · 207×other renderings0% · 1×

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

The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 603 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.

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
ἐγὼegō I myself G1473 Personal pronoun · first person · nominative · singular
2,567× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a pronoun meaning I or me, used by the speaker to refer to themselves. It is often used in the Bible to emphasize the speaker's identity.
Tyndale gloss
I/we
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The first-person pronoun. A Greek verb already carries its person in the ending, so the pronoun is usually present for emphasis. Luke puts himself inside the “us” among whom these things were fulfilled: he writes as one of the people the events happened to, not as an observer standing outside them.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

pers. pron.

I.

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐγώ (egō) — I/we.

ἐγώ,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐγώ

ego

a primary pronoun of the first person I (only expressed when

emphatic):--I, me. For the other cases and the plural see 1691, 1698,

1700, 2248, 2249, 2254, 2257, etc.

see GREEK for 1691

see GREEK for 1698

see GREEK for 1700

see GREEK for 2248

see GREEK for 2249

see GREEK for 2254

see GREEK for 2257

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐγώ

Pers.pr.

I

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐγώ egō 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐγώ

pron. of the first person, Lat ego

epic ἐγών before vowels

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

P-1NS Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: first Case: Nominative Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
47%i myself
i myself47% · 406×me myself21% · 180×me13% · 114×myself4% · 36×mine4% · 36×my3% · 26×i myself also3% · 26×other renderings5% · 42×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject30%object26%adverbial26%indirect object10%predicate6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,567 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
πατήρfather, Father, ance
Article theθεόςGod, a godκαίand, even, also,
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
Article theναίDisjδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
μένωI remain, abideεἰμίI am, existπατήρfather, Father,
καίand, even, also, nam
ὡςas, like as, howαὐτόςοὕτωthus, so, in thi
δίδωμιI offer, give
ὅςArticle theαὐτός
ἐγώI myself2567×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godπατήρfather, Father, ἐν
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theσύοὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,σύ
ἐν
Article theΧριστόςanointed, the Meαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
οὐNegλέγωI say, speakArticle the

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

Concordanceἐγώ · 2,567× in the New Testament
John Acts Luke Matthew 2 Corinthians Romans Mark 1 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews Galatians Philippians

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

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

Counted over the 853 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 17c. AD 40

ᾗ δὲ συνέστηκεν, εἰσόμεθα παρακολουθήσαντες εἰκόνι τινὶ τῶν παρ’ ἡμῖν.

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

ὅπως Ἅβραμος ὁ πρόγονος ἡμῶν ἐξελθὼν ἐκ τῆς Χαλδαίων γῆς κατέσχε τὴν τότε μὲν Χαναναίαν νῦν δὲ Ἰουδαίαν λεγομένην.

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 6th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 35Ptolemais - Akko (Syrien)103 BC

συνγενόμενοι Ὥρωι Ψεν … λειτουργῶι μέχρι τοῦ ἀποδοθῆι τὸν ἐπεσταλμένον ἡμῖν κατὰ μῆνα πυρὸν τοῖς παρʼ ἡμῶν. διʼ ἄλλων γεγράφαμεν ὑμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν βουλόμεθα μηδεμιᾶς

P.Adl. 14Pathyris101 BC

σφραγίδων, ἧς ἐτελειώθη ὠνῆς ἀποστασίου ἐν τῷ ιδ ἔτει Φαῶφι ι εἰς τὸ ἐνλιπὸν μοι ἄπρατον γῆς ἀρουρῶν γ, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαι μήτʼ αὐτὸν Κολλούθην μήδʼ ἄλλον μηδένα ὑπὲρ

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

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
ἀποστέλλωapostellō send forth G649 Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · singular
131× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To send means to set apart or dispatch someone or something on a mission, as seen in Matthew 10:40 and Mark 12:2. This term is used to describe the act of giving someone a task or commission to fulfill.
Tyndale gloss
to send
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀποστέλλω (i.e., *apostellō*) means to send away or dispatch, often with a specific mission or commission. It is used in various contexts, including sending persons like Christ and the apostles, as well as things like messages or commands. The New Testament frequently employs this term, notably in Matthew 10:40 and Luke 4:18. Different lexicons highlight its official or authoritative connotation compared to the more general term for sending.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀπο-στέλλω,

[in LXX very freq., almost always for שׁלח;]

prop., to send away, to dispatch on service;

to send with a commission, or on service;

of persons: Christ, Mt 10:40; the apostles, 10:16; servants, Mk 12:2; angels, 13:27;

of things: ὄνος, Mt 21:3; τὸ δρέπανον, Mk 4:29; τ. λόγον, Ac 10:36; τ. ἐπαγγελίαν (i.e. the promised Holy Spirit), Lk 24:49, Rec.; seq. εἰς, Mt 20:2, Lk 11:49, Jo 3:17; ὀπίσω,

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

ἀπο-στέλλω; fut. ἀποστελῶ ; 1 aor. ἀπέστειλα; pf. ἀπέσταλκα, [3 pers. plur. ἀπέσταλκαν Acts xvi. 36 LT Tr WH (see γίνομαι init.) ; Pass., pres. drooreAAopat |; pf. ἀπέσταλpat; 2 aor. ἀπεστάλην ; [fr. Soph. down]; prop. to send off; sena away ; 1. to order (one) to go to a place ap6/ 5 τς ἀποστέλλω pointed; a. either persons sent with commissions, or things intended for some one. So, very frequently, Jesus teaches that God sent him, as Mt. x. 40; Mk. ix. 37; Lk. x.16; Jn. v. 36, ete. he, too, is said to have sent his apostles, i. 6. to have appointed them: Mk. vi. 7; Mt. x.16; Lk. xxii. 35; Jn. xx. 21, etc. messengers are sent: LK. vii. 3 ; ix. 52; x. 1; servants, Mk. vi. 27; xii. 2; Mt. xxi. 36; xxii. 3; an embassy, Lk. xiv. 32; xix. 14; angels, Mk. xiii. 27; Mt. xxiv. 31, ete. Things are said to be sent, which are ordered to be led away or conveyed to any one, as Mt. xxi. 3; Mk. xi. 3…

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

ἀποστέλλω. The verb is common in the sense of mz¢¢o. Thus P Par 32°° (B.c. 152) (= Witkowski?, p. 68) Καβάτοκον δ᾽ ἐπιτηρῶ, ἂν κατα[π]λῇ, ἀποστεῖλαί σοι, P Oxy IV. 744° (B.C. 1) (= Selections, p. 33) ἐὰν εὐθὺς ὀψώνιον λάβωμεν ἀποστελῶ

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀποστέλλω (apostellō) — to send.

ἀποστέλλω,

future -στελῶ: aorist ἀπέστειλα (see. below):— send off or away from, μή μ᾽.. τῆσδ᾽ ἀποστείλητε γῆς[Refs 5th c.BC+]; send away, banish, τὰ δίκαια[Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, go away, depart, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. dispatch, on some mission or service, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; frequently of messengers or forces, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οἰκιστάς (as a form of banishment), [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, with infinitive, οἱ ἀποσταλέντες στρατεύεσθαι[Refs]

III. put off, doff, θαἰμάτια[Refs 5th c.BC+]

IV. intransitive, retire, withdraw, of the sea, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of persons, οἴκαδε[Refs 4th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀποστέλλω

apostello

from 575 and 4724; set apart, i.e. (by implication) to send out

(properly, on a mission) literally or figuratively:--put in, send

(away, forth, out), set (at liberty).

see GREEK for 575

see GREEK for 4724

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀποστέλλω

v.

I send forth, send, send away, dismiss

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀποστέλλω apostellō 132x

to send forth a messenger, agent, message, or command, Mt. 2:16; 10:5; to put forth into action, Mk. 4:29; to liberate, rid, Lk. 4:19; to dismiss, send away, Mk. 12:3

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀποστέλλω to send off or away from, γῆς, χθονός Soph., Eur.; ἔξω χθονός Eur.; ἐκ τῆς πόλεως Plat.: absol. to send away, banish, Soph., Eur.:—Pass. to go away, depart, set out, Soph., Eur.

to send off, despatch, on some service, Soph.; of troops and ships, Hdt., Thuc.

intr. to go back, retire, of the sea, Thuc.; of seamen, Dem.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-1S — Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · singular
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

forth: "Forth," adverb (from "for"), signifies movement

(1) forward,

(2) out of,

(3) beyond a certain boundary.

In a few instances in the Old Testament it is the translation of the preposition `al, properly "above," "upon" (2Ki 11:15; 2Ch 23:14; Am 7:17 the King James Version), and of chuts, "without" (Ge 39:13; Jud 19:25). "Forth" is often used as an expletive of various verbs, as "break (forth)," "bring (forth)," "call (forth)," etc. In the Gospel of John it is the translation of exo, "without," as "Lazarus, come forth" (11:43; so 15:6; 19:4 the King James Version…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
31%sent
sent31% · 42×he sent16% · 22×having sent9% · 12×has sent5% · 7×he may send2% · 3×have sent2% · 3×send forth2% · 3×send2% · 3×other renderings29% · 39×

134 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 38 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
verb96%adverbial2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 131 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
λίανvery, very much,δέρωI flay, flog, scθεόςGod, a god
ἐγώ
σύὁράωI see, look uponἐκβάλλωI throw, cast, p
Article the
δέχομαιI take, receive,λιθοβολέωI stone, cast stἀλλάbut, except
αὐτός
μήNegἄρχωI beginεὐθέωςimmediately, soo
ὅς
ὅτιthat, since, becεἰςκαίand, even, also,
ἀποστέλλωsend forth131×
what comes after →
Article the
ἄγγελοςan angel, messenυἱόςa son, descendenδοῦλος (II)
πρός
αὐτόςArticle theσύ
αὐτός
εἰςκηρύσσωI proclaim, heraArticle the
ἐγώ
Article theεἰςκηρύσσωI proclaim, hera
εἰς
Article theὅλοςall, the whole, αὐτός

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

Concordanceἀποστέλλω · 131× in the New Testament
John Luke Acts Matthew Mark 1 John Revelation 1 Corinthians 1 Peter 2 Corinthians 2 Timothy Hebrews

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament13 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 236 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaThat the Worse Attacks the Better 5c. AD 40

καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς κοιλάδος τῆς Χεβρών, καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Συχέμ.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 6.167c. AD 75–95

φήσαντος δέ τινος αὐτῷ τῶν παρόντων ἐν Βηθλεέμῃ πόλει τεθεᾶσθαι Ἰεσσαίου μὲν υἱὸν, ἔτι δὲ παῖδα τὴν ἡλικίαν, εὐπρεπῆ δὲ καὶ καλὸν τά τε ἄλλα σπουδῆς ἄξιον καὶ δὴ καὶ ψάλλειν εἰδότα καὶ ᾄδειν ὕμνους καὶ πολεμιστὴν ἄκρον, πέμψας πρὸς τὸν Ἰεσσαῖον…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 14.9c. AD 100

καὶ πάλιν ὁ προφήτης λέγει: Πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπ’ ἐμέ, οὖ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέν με εὐαγγελίσασθαι ταπεινοῖς χάριν, ἀπέσταλκέν με ἰάσασθαι τοὺς συντετριμμένους τὴν καρδίαν, κηρῦξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν καὶ τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν, καλέσαι ἐνιαυτὸν κυρίου δεκτὸν καὶ…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD 5th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Cair. Zen. 1 59047Alexandria258 BC

r Ἀμύντας Ζήνωνι χαίρειν. ἀπεστάλκαμεν Δεξίλαον πρὸς Ἀπολλώνιον κομίζοντα ἐπιστολὴν περὶ ἀνηλωμάτων. καλῶς ἂν οὖν ποιήσαις … τήν τε

P.Cair. Zen. 1 59049Memphites (?)258 BC

r Νίκων Ζήνωνι χαίρειν. ἀπόστειλόν τινα ὃς παραλήψεται τὸν χόρτον τὸν γινόμενον ἡμῖν παρὰ τῶν γεωργῶν καὶ Ἀπολλώνιον ὑπόμνησον

P.Edg. $1Alexandria258 BC

πόλει κομιῆι· καὶ τὴν ταχίστην, ἵνα γενόμενα ὡς ἂν παραγένηι εἰς πόλιν καταγάγηις ἡμῖν. ἀπεστάλκαμεν δέ σοι τὴν γραφὴν πάντων Ἕρμωνα κομίζοντα καὶ ἅμα ἵνα γένηται πρὸς τούτοις. ἔρρωσο.

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
ὑμᾶςsu you G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · accusative · plural
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

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

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

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-2AP — Personal pronoun · second person · accusative · plural
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked plural.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-2AP Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: second Case: Accusative Number: Plural

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύyou2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

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

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
ὡςhōs as G5613 Adverb
502× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Matthew than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means as or when, showing a comparison or timing. It's used in many verses, like Mark 4:26 and 1 Corinthians 3:15, to show how things are done. It helps explain how or when something happens.
Tyndale gloss
as/when
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὡς is an adverb and conjunction derived from the relative pronoun ὅς. It is used in various contexts to mean 'as,' 'like,' or 'when,' and can indicate manner, comparison, or time. In the New Testament, it appears frequently to express similarity or to introduce clauses, such as in comparisons or temporal phrases. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὡς, adverbial form of the relative pron. ὅς, ἥ, ὅ.

As relat. adv. of manner, as, like as, just as, even as;

with a demonstrative, like οὕτως, expressed or understood: οὕτως . . . ὡς, Mk 4:26, I Co 3:15, Eph 5:28, Ja 2:12, al.; ὡς . . . οὕτως, Ac 8:32, I Co 7:17, al.; elliptically (sc. οὕτως, οὕτω), c. nom., Mt 6:29, al.; c. acc., Mt 19:19, Mk 12:31, al.; c. prep., Mt 26:55, Read the full entry →

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

ὡς [ Treg. (by mistake) in Mt. xxiv. 38 ὥς; cf. W. 462 (431); Chandler § 934, and reff. in Ebeling, Lex. Hom. s. v. p. 494

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

ὡς. Ι. = “45: P Goodsp Cairo 44 (ii/B.c.) (= Selections, Ῥ- 24) εἰ tppwoar . .. εἴη dv ὡς αἱρούμεθα, “if you are well, it will be as we desire,” BGU I. 1637 (A.D. 108) καὶ yap ἄλλοι ὡς πληγέντες ὑπὸ αὐτοῦ ἀναφόριον δεδώκασι, “for others have given information (from time to time) ἃ5 having been assaulted by him,” P Flor I. 5618 (A.p. 234) ὡς καθήκει, and BGU IV. το. 1 (iv/y A.D.) κα]ταβληθῆναι ὡς φονέα. 2. = “that,” ‘ how,” after verbs of saying, thinking, etc.: P Tebt I. τοῦ (B.c. 119) φρόντισον ὡς τὰ τῆς ὑποσχέσεως ἐκπληρωθήσεται, “take care that the terms of his agreement are fulfilled” (Edd.), and P Tebt II. 4101? (i/A.D.) μν[ἤ]σθητι o[s] ἐν τῷ Τρ[ιστόμῳ pe ἐφιλοτ[ιυἹμοῦ σὺν ἐμοὶ μεῖναι, ‘remember how zealous you were at Tristomos to remain with me” (Fdd.). 3. Ὁ. ind. with dy, as in Σ Cor 125, cf. P Par 4615 (B.C. 152) ὡς ἂν εὐκαιρήσω, παραχρῆμα παρέσομαι πρός σε. 4. c. conj. with…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὡς (hōs) — as/when.

ὡς:—

Summary:

__A as adverb of Manner.

__A.Aa ὧς and ὥς (with accent), so, thus.

__A.Ab ὡς (without accent) of the Relat. pronoun ὅς, as.

__A.Ac ὡς Relat. and Interrog., how.

__A.Ad ὡς temporal, when.

__A.Ae ὡς Local, where,

__B ὡς, as CONJUNCTION.

__C,D various usages. adverb of Manner:

__A.Aa ὥς, Demonstr., ={οὕτως}, so, thus, frequently in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in Ionic dialect Prose, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὥς simply ={οὕτως}, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__A.2 καὶ ὧς even so, nevertheless, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐδ᾽ ὧς not even so, [Refs 8th c.BC+] are used in Trag. and Attic dialect, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κἂν ὧς, εἴπερ μέλει σοι, ἀπόστειλόν μοί τινα [Refs 4th c.AD+]; δουλεύων καθὼς καὶ ὧς [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; Thess. καὶ οὗς [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; for this phrase the accentuation ὧς[Refs 2nd…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὡς

hos

probably adverb of comparative from 3739; which how, i.e. in that

manner (very variously used, as follows):--about, after (that),

(according) as (it had been, it were), as soon (as), even as (like),

for, how (greatly), like (as, unto), since, so (that), that, to wit,

unto, when(-soever), while, X with all speed.

see GREEK for 3739

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὡς

Adv

as, like as, how, while, so that

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὡς hōs 504x

conjunction formed from the relative pronoun ὅς, used as a comparative part. and conj., as, correlatively, Mk. 4:26; Jn. 7:46; Rom. 5:15; as, like as, Mt. 10:16; Eph. 5:8; according as, Gal. 6:10; as, as it were, Rev. 8:8; as, Lk. 16:1; Acts 3:12; before numerals, about, Mk. 5:13; conj. that, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὡς thus, as, so that, since

A. ADVERB of Manner, either ὥς (with accent) Demonstr. so, thus, Lat. sic;— or ὡς (without accent) Relat. as, Lat. ut. B. ὡς, as CONJUNCTION. C, D. various usages.

of Manner:

ὥς, Demonstr. = οὕτως, so, thus, Lat. sic, Hom., Hdt.; rare in attic:— καὶ ὥς, even so, nevertheless, οὐδ᾽ ὥς, μηδ᾽ ὥς, not even so, in no wise, Hom., Soph.

in Comparisons, ὥς . . , ὡς . . , so . . as . . , Lat. sic . . ut . . , Il., Plat.

thus, for instance, Od.

ὡς, Relat., as, Lat. ut, first in Hom.; οὕτως ὡς, Lat. sic ut; but the antec. is often omitted: similes are commonly introduced by ὡς ὅτε, ὡς δ᾽ ὅτε, where ὅτε often seems superfluous, ἤριπε δ᾽, ὡς ὅτε πύργος [ἤριπε] Il.:—this ὡς takes the accent at the end of a clause or when it follows the word dependent on it; θεὸς δ᾽ ὣς τίετο δήμῳ Il.; οἱ δὲ φέβοντο, βόες ὥς…

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adv — Adverb
adverb — it qualifies the verb, and never changes form.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

ADV ADVerb or adverb and particle combined

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
60%as
as60% · 310×like16% · 84×when8% · 41×how4% · 21×about4% · 20×other renderings6% · 33×other renderings1% · 7×

516 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 22 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
adverbial31%predicate12%object4%subject4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 502 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
πρόσωπονthe face, counteπούςthe footδιδάσκωI teach
σύ
πλησίονnear, nearby, a καρδίαthe heart, innerἀποστέλλωI send forth, se
καίand, even, also, nam
πολύςmuch, many, ofteαὐτόςλαόςa people, the cr
ἀλλάbut, except
γαμίζωI give in marriaθέλωI will, wish, deφανερῶςclearly, openly
εἰμίI am, exist
ὥραan hour, seasonὅτιthat, since, becοὐNeg
ὡςas502×
what comes after →
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastἥλιοςthe sun, sunlighφῶςlight, a source
δέbut, on the other ha
πληρόωI fill, fulfill,γίνομαιI come into beinἀκούωI hear, listen
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἐνἐγώ
φωνήa sound, noise, voic
ὕδωρwaterβροντήthunderἐν
ἐν
Article theοὐρανόςthe sky, the heaκρυπτόςhidden, secret

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

Concordanceὡς · 502× in the New Testament
Revelation Acts Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians John 2 Corinthians 1 Peter Hebrews Mark Romans Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
πρόβαταprobaton sheep G4263 Noun · accusative · plural · neuter
39× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, a sheep refers to a literal animal or a person who follows a leader, as in Matthew 7:15 and Romans 8:36.
Amplified meaning
defenseless, vulnerable
Tyndale gloss
sheep
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πρόβατον refers to a sheep, derived from the notion of something that walks forward. It is used in the New Testament to denote sheep literally and metaphorically, often representing followers of a leader, especially in the context of the Good Shepherd. The term can also imply timidity or laziness when used proverbially. It appears in verses like Matthew 7:15 and Romans 8:36.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πρόβατον, -ου, τό

(< προβαίνω),

[in LXX chiefly for צֹאן, also for שֶׂה, more rarely for כֶּבֶשׂ (כֶּשֶׂב), רָחֵל;]

in Hom., Hdt., cattle, esp. of small cattle, sheep and goats.

In NT, as in Attic writers generally (cf. MM, xxi), a sheep: Mt 7:15, Mk 6:34, al.; πρόβατα σφαγῆς, Ro 8:36(LXX). Metaph. (in cl. of timidity, stupidity or idleness), of the followers of a leader or master, esp. of those who are subject to the care of the Good Shepherd: Mt 10:6 15:24 26:31(LXX), Mk 14:27(LXX), Jo 10:7, 8, 15, 16, 26, 27 21:16, 17 (WH txt., προβάτια),

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

πρόβατον is used of ‘‘sheep” collectively in such a passage as P Hib I. 3210 (B.c. 246) πρόβατα Xn, (dv) ἔρσίεν)ες ἢ, ἄρνες ty . . . “38 sheep, of whicheizht are rams, 13 lambs . .” Other exx. of the word are P Petr II. 22° (iii/B.c.) Botds(?) ἢ ὑποζύγιον (‘‘ass ’’) ἢ πρόβατον, P Oxy II. 2445 (A.D. 23) πρόβατα τριακόσια εἴκοσι καὶ αἶγας [ἑκατ]ὸν ἑξήκον[τ]α καὶ τοὺς ἐπακολουθ(οῦντας) ἄρνας [κ]αὶ ἐρίφους, P Fay

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πρόβατον (probaton) — sheep.

πρόβᾰτον, τό,

frequently in plural πρόβατα (but also in singular, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; irregular dative πρόβασι[Refs 5th c.AD+] — used (among the Ionians and Dorians) of all four-footed cattle, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of Europa's bull, [Refs 8th c.BC+] generally of cattle, flocks and herds, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τὰ π. καὶ καρταίποδα [Refs]; opposed to ἄνθρωποι, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τὰ λεπτὰ τῶν π. small cattle, i.e. sheep and goats, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; so later, π. ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρνῶν καὶ τῶν ἐρίφων λήψεσθε [LXX] almost invariably of sheep, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in later Boeotian dialect, [Refs]: generally, animals for slaughter, whether for sacrifices, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; or for food, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πρόβατον προβάτιον

probaton

probably neuter of a presumed derivative of 4260; something that walks

forward (a quadruped), i.e. (specially), a sheep (literally or

figuratively):--sheep(-fold).

see GREEK for 4260

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πρόβατον, ου, τό

n.n.

a sheep

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πρόβατον probaton 39x

a sheep, Mt. 7:15; 9:36; 10:16; met. Mt. 10:6; 15:24

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πρόβατον πρόβα^τον, ου, τό, προβαίνω mostly in pl. πρόβατα, properly, anything that walks forward; in Hom. generally of cattle, flocks and herds; in Hdt. and Pind. also of horses; τὰ λεπτὰ τῶν προβάτων small cattle, i. e. sheep and goats, Hdt.; but in attic always of sheep, Ar., Thuc.

proverb. of stupid, lazy people, πρόβατ᾽ ἄλλως a set of sheep, Ar.; so, προβατίου βίος, i. e. a lazy do-nothing life, id. Ar.

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

N-APN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

shep:

1. Names:

The usual Hebrew word is tso'n, which is often translated "flock," e.g. "Abel .... brought of the firstlings of his flock" (Ge 4:4); "butter of the herd, and milk of the flock" (De 32:14). The King James Version and the English Revised Version have "milk of sheep." Compare Arabic da'n. The Greek word is probaton. For other names, see notes under CATTLE; EWE; LAMB; RAM.

2. Zoology:

The origin of domestic sheep is unknown. There are 11 wild species, the majority of which are found in Asia, and it is conceivable that they may have spread from the highlands of Central Asia to the other portions of their habitat. In North America is found the "bighorn," which is very closely related to a Kamschatkan species. One species, the urial or sha, is found in India. The Barbary…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Sheep

Are of different varieties. Probably the flocks of Abraham and Isaac were of the wild species found still in the mountain regions of Persia and Kurdistan. After the Exodus, and as a result of intercourse with surrounding nations, other species were no doubt introduced into the herds of the people of Israel. They are frequently mentioned in Scripture. The care of a shepherd over his flock is referred to as illustrating God’s care over his people (Ps. 23:1, 2; 74:1; 77:20; Isa. 40:11; 53:6; John 10:1-5, 7-16).

“The sheep of Palestine are longer in the head than ours, and have tails from 5 inches broad at the narrowest part to 15 inches at the widest, the weight being in proportion, and ranging generally from 10 to 14 lbs.…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Sheep were an important part of the possessions of the ancient Hebrews and of eastern nations generally. The first mention of sheep occurs in (Genesis 4:2) They were used in the sacrificial offering,as, both the adult animal, (Exodus 20:24) and the lamb. See (Exodus 29:28; Leviticus 9:3; 12:6) Sheep and lambs formed an important article of food. (1 Samuel 25:18) The wool was used as clothing. (Leviticus 13:47) "Rams skins dyed red" were used as a covering for the tabernacle. (Exodus 25:5) Sheep and lambs were…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Of the Syrian sheep, according to Dr. Russell, there are two varieties; the one called Bedaween sheep, which differ in no respect from the larger kinds of sheep among us, except that their tails are somewhat longer and thicker; the others are those often mentioned by travellers on account of their extraordinary tails; and this species is by far the most numerous. The tail of one of these animals is very broad and large, terminating in a small appendage that turns back upon it. It is of a substance between fat and marrow, and is not eaten separately, but mixed with the lean meat in many of their dishes, and also often used instead of butter. A common sheep of this sort, without the head, feet, skin, and entrails, weighs from sixty to eighty pounds, of which the tail itself is usually ten or fifteen pounds, and when the animal is fattened, twice or thrice that weight, and very…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
98%sheep
sheep98% · 39×than a sheep?3% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object39%subject26%adverbial23%predicate13%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 39 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, existὑπέρ
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
σύεἰμίI am, existοὗτος
ἑκατόνIndec
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of thἔχωI have, hold, po
καίand, even, also, nam
βοῦςan oxκτῆνοςa beast of burde
ἔνδυμαa garment, raiment
ἐν
πρόβατονsheep39×
what comes after →
Article the
ἀπόλλυμιI destroy, lose,ἐμόςποίμνηa flock
καίand, even, also, nam
πλανάωI lead astray, dἀπόλλυμιI destroy, lose,περιστεράa dove
ἐγώ
Article the
μήNeg
ἔχωI have, hold, po
ἔσωθενfrom within, inside
δέbut, on the othe

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

Concordanceπρόβατον · 39× in the New Testament
John Matthew Luke Mark 1 Peter Acts Hebrews Revelation Romans
Across the New Testament9 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 210 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Josephus Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 85c. AD 40

τὰς γοῦν πολυζῴους ἀγέλας προβάτων αἰγῶν βοῶν ἄγει ποιμὴν αἰπόλος βουκόλος, ἄνθρωποι μηδὲ τοῖς σώμασιν ἐρρωμένοι καὶ σφριγῶντες, ὡς ἕνεκα γοῦν εὐεξίας ἐμποιῆσαι τοῖς ἰδοῦσι κατάπληξιν·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.102c. AD 75–95

Οἱ δὲ χαίροντες οἷς τε ἑώρων καὶ οἷς ἤκουον τοῦ στρατηγοῦ τῆς κατὰ δύναμιν αὐτῶν σπουδῆς οὐκ ἀπελείποντο, ἀλλʼ εἰσέφερον ἄργυρόν τε καὶ χρυσὸν καὶ χαλκὸν ξύλα τε τῆς καλλίστης ὕλης καὶ μηδὲν ὑπὸ τῆς σήψεως παθεῖν δυνάμενα, αἰγείους τε τρίχας καὶ…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 5.2c. AD 100

γέγραπται γὰρ περὶ αὐτοῦ ἅ μὲν πρὸς τὸν Ἰσραήλ, ἃ δὲ πρὸς ἡμᾶς, λέγει δὲ οὕτως: Ἐτραυματίσθη διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν καὶ μεμαλάκισται διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν: τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς ἰάθημεν: ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη, καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἄφωνος ἐναντίον τοῦ…

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

Ἰάσονι δοῦναι στρῶμα ἢ δραχμὰς λ, οὐκ ἔδωκεν. γραψάτω οὖν Ἀπολλοδώρωι τῶι ἐπὶ τῶν προβάτων δοῦναι ἔρια δραχμῶν λ, ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπέγνωσα ὧδε, ἵνα γένηταί σοι στρῶμα· ἐγὼ δὲ

δ εν … … … εὐκαιρήσης, γράψον ἡμῖν ἵνα παραγενωμ … … λόγον τῶν προβάτων καὶ τὸν χρόνον οὗ … ἔρρωσο. ἔτους λζ, Παχὼνς

ὧν τὸ καθʼ ἓν σήμερον ὑπόκειται τῶν τε ἐγγαίων καὶ κτηνῶν τῆι προκειμένῃ Ταθώτει, πρόβατα μὲν ὀκτὼ βόες δύο καὶ τὰ ἐπεσόμενα τούτοις καὶ οἰκίαν ᾠκοδομημένην καὶ ἐστεγασμένην καὶ

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
ἐνen in G1722 Preposition
2,743× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word is a preposition that means in, on, or among something. It's used in many places, like Matthew 7:3 and Luke 7:37, to describe a location or relationship. It can also mean by, with, or during.
Tyndale gloss
in/on/among
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The most frequent preposition in the New Testament, 2,752 occurrences. In, on, at, among, within — its force comes almost entirely from the word it is attached to. What it does here is put the events inside a community rather than at a distance: they were fulfilled among us.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐν,

prep, (the most freq. of all in NT), c. dat. (= Heb. בְּ, Lat. in, c. abl.).

Of place, c. dat. rei, pers., in, within, on, at, by, among: ἐν τ. πόλει, Lk 7:37; τ. οφθαλμῷ, Mt 7:3; τ. κοιλίᾳ, Mt 12:40; τ. ὄρει, II Pe 1:18; τ. θρόνῳ, Re 3:21; τ. δεξιᾷ τ. θεοῦ, Ro 8:34; ἐν ἡμῖν , Lk 1:1; of books, ἐν τ. βιβλίῳ, Ga 3:10; τ. νόμῳ, Mt 12:5, al.; ἐν τοῖς τ. Πατρός, in my Father's house (RV; cf. M, Pr., 103)…

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

ἐν Χριστῷ, ἐν Χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ, ἐν κυρίῳ, (οἴ. Fritzsche, Com. on Rom. vol. ii. p. 82 544.; W. 389 (364); Weiss, Bibl. Theol. des N. T. §§ 84 b., 149 c.), ingrafied as it were in Christ, in fellowship and union with Christ, with the Lord: Ro. iii. 24; vi. 11, 23; viii. 39; 1Co.i.4; 2 Co. iii. 14; Gal. ii. 4; iii. 14, 26, 28; v. 6; Eph.i. 3 [Rec. om. ἐν]; ii. 6 sq. 10,13; 1 Tim.i.14; 2 Tim.i. 1,13; ii-1; 1 Pet. iii. 16; v.10; στήκειν ἐν κυρίῳ, Phil. iv. 1; iva εὑρεθῶ ἐν αὐτῷ, that I may be found (by God and Christ) most intimately united to him, Phil. iii. 9; εἶναι ἐν Χριστῷ "Inc. 1 Co. i. 30; οἱ ἐν Xp. "Ina. Ro. viii. 1; 1 Pet. v. 14; κοιμᾶσθαι ἐν Χριστῷ, θνήσκειν ἐν κυρίῳ, to fall asleep, to die, mindful of relationship to Christ and confiding in it [W. u.s.], 1 Co. xv. 18; Rey. xiv. 13. Since such union with Christ is the basis on which actions and virtues rest, the expression is…

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

ἐν 210 contract—time of Augustus) ἱμάτια γυναικεῖα ἐν apyv(plov) δραχμαῖς ἑκατόν, P Oxy IV. 7247 (A.D. 155) ἐξ ὧν ἔσχες τὴν πρώτην δόσιν ἐν δραχμαῖς τεσσαράκοντα, 70. I. 565 (A.D. 211) δανειζομένη. .. ἀργύριον ἔντοκον ἐν δραχμαῖς ἑξακισχειλίαις, and P Grenf II. 778 (iii/iv a.p.) (=Selections, Pp. 120) το]ὺς μισθοὺς. . ὄντας ἐν δραχμαῖς τριακοσίαις τεσσαράκοντα. Similar are P Oxy IV. 7084 (a.p. 188) yopou . . ἐν (1vpod)(apraBats) ’B, BGU 1. 724 (a.p. 191) ἐξέκοψαν πλεῖστον τόπον ἐν ἀρούραις πέντε: with which may be compared Eph 2!° τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐν δόγμασιν, “consisting in.” In P Lond 9215 (ii/iii a.p.) (ΞΞ 111. P- 134) γεγονέναι ἐν ἀμπέλῳ = ‘to be planted with vines.” A predicative use of ἐν is seen in P Hib I. 421° (B.c. 262) δώσομεν Λευκίωι ἐν ὀφειλήματι, ‘asa debt,” P Petr I. 1215 (cf. II. p. 22) ὅσα δὲ ᾿Αξιοθέα προσενήνεγκται ἐμ φερνῆι, “ἐᾷς dowry,” and P Tebt I. 120 135…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐν (en) — in/on/among.

ἐν,

poetry ἐνί, εἰν, εἰνί [Refs 8th c.BC+], forms used by Epic dialect and Lyric Poets as the metre requires, but only as falsa lectio in Trag., εἰν [Refs 5th c.BC+] ἰν [Refs]

__PREP. WITH DAT. AND ACC. Radical sense, in, into.

__A WITH DAT.

__A.I OF PLACE,

__A.I.1 in, νήσῳ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; with names of cities or islands, as ἐν Ἀθήνῃς, ἐν Τροίῃ, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; where ἐν is used, it = in the district of.., ὲν Ἐλευσῖνι [Refs] in my arms, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐν αὑτῷ εἶναι to be in one's senses, be oneself, ἔτ᾽ ἐν σαυτῷ (variant -τοῦ) γενοῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__A.I.1.b ἐν τοῖς ἰχθύσιν in the fish-market, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so ἐν τοῖν δυοῖν ὀβολοῖν ἐθεώρουν ἄν in the two-obol seats, [Refs 4th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐν

en

a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or

state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or

constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between 1519

and 1537); "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.:--about, after, against, +

almost, X altogether, among, X as, at, before, between, (here-)by (+

all means), for (... sake of), + give self wholly to, (here-)in(-to,

-wardly), X mightily, (because) of, (up-)on, (open-)ly, X outwardly,

one, X quickly,

X shortly, (speedi-)ly, X that, X there(-in, -on),

through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), under, when, where(-with), while,

with(-in). Often used in compounds, with substantially the same

import; rarely with verbs of motion, and then not to indicate

direction, except (elliptically) by a separate (and different)

preposition.

see GREEK for 1519

see GREEK for 1537

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐν

Prep.

in, on, among

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐν en 2x

followed by the dat., in, Mt. 8:6; Mk. 12:26; Rev. 6:6,; upon, Lk. 8:32; among, Mt. 11:11; before, in the presence of, Mk. 8:38; in the sight, estimation of, 1 Cor. 14:11; before, judicially, 1 Cor. 6:2; in, of state, occupation, habit, Mt. 21:22; Lk. 7:25; Rom. 4:10; in the case of, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐν

e)nprepe)ni/prep ei)nprep ei)ni/prep in, among. c. dat.

Lat. in.

PREP. WITH DAT.:

OF PLACE

in, ἐν νήσῳ, ἐν Τροίῃ, etc., Hom., etc.:—elliptic, ἐν Ἀλκινόοιο (sc. οἴκῳ) Od.; εἰν Ἀΐδαο Il.; ἐν παιδοτρίβου at the school of the training master, Ar.

in, upon, ἐν οὔρεσι Hom., etc.

in the number of, amongst, ἐν Δαναοῖς, etc., Hom.; and with Verbs of ruling, ἄρχειν, ἀνάσσειν ἐν πολλοῖς to be first or lord among many, i. e. over them, id. Hom.; cf. ὁ, τό B. III. 3.

in one's hands, within one's reach or power, Lat. penes, Hom., etc.; ἐν σοὶ γάρ ἐσμεν Soph.; ἐν τῷ θεῷ τὸ τέλος ἦν Dem.

in respect of, ἐν γήρᾳ in point of age, Soph.

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

PREP PREPosition

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

A principal thing to notice about this preposition, which in the King James Version represents about 16 Hebrew and as many Greek words and prepositions, is that, in hundreds of cases (especially in the Old Testament, but frequently also in the New Testament) in the Revised Version (British and American) the rendering is changed to more exact forms ("to," "unto," "by," "upon," "at," "with," "among," "for," "throughout," etc.; compare e.g. Ge 6:16; 13:8; 17:7,9,12; 18:1; Ex 8:17; Le 1:9, etc.); while, nearly as often, "in" is substituted for divergent forms of the King James Version (e.g. Ge 2:14; 17:11; 31:54; 40:7; 49:17; Ex…

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
μέσῳmesos [the] midst G3319 Adjective · dative · singular · neuter
58× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Middle or midst, referring to a central position, is used in Luke 23:45 and John 19:18 to describe a location.
Tyndale gloss
midst
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μέσος is an adjective meaning 'middle' or 'in the midst.' It appears in various contexts in the New Testament, such as in references to time (e.g., 'at midnight' in Mt 25:6) and location (e.g., 'in the midst of' in Lk 22:55). The word can also function as a neuter noun, often used in phrases indicating position or relationship, such as 'between' or 'among.'

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μέσος, -η, -ον,

[in LXX chiefly for תָּוֶךְ;]

middle, in the middle or midst;

prop., as an adj.: Lk 23:45, Jo 19:18, Ac 1:18; c. gen. pl., Lk 22:55, Jo 1:26; gen. temp. (Bl., § 36, 13), μέσης νυκτός, Mt 25:6; μ. ἡμέρας, Ac 26:13.

In adverbial phrases, neut., μέσον, τὸ μ., as subst.: ἀνὰ μέσον, c. gen., between (cl.; in LXX: Ge 1:4, al.), elliptically (but v. M, Pr., 99), I Co 6:5; = ἐν μ., among, in the midst of (Bl., § 39, 2; 40, 8; cf. in LXX:

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

μέσος, -n, -ov, [fr. Hom. down], middle, (Lat. medius, “a, -umM) ; 1. as an adjective: μέσης νυκτός, at midnight, Mt. xxv. 6; μέσης ἡμέρας, Acts xxvi. 13 (ace. to Lob. ad Phryn. pp. 53, 54, 465, the better writ. said péGov ἡμέρας, μεσοῦσα ἡμέρα, μεσημβρία); w. gen.: [exdθητο ὁ Πέτρος μέσος αὐτῶν, Lk. xxii. 55 (RG Lév μέσῳ)]; μέσος ὑμῶν ἔστηκε [8]. στήκει], stands in the midst of you, Jn. i. 26, (Plat. de rep. 1 p. 380 b.;_ polit. p. 303 4.); ἐσχίσθη μέσον, (the veil) was rent in the midst, Lk. xxiii. 45 [W. 131 (124) note]; ἐλάκησε μέσος, Acts i. 18; (ἐσταύρωσαν) μέσον τὸν Ἰησοῦν, Jn. xix. 18. 2. the neut. τὸ μέσον or (without the art. in adverb. phrases, as διὰ μέσου, ἐν μέσῳ, cf. W. 123 (117); [ef. B. § 125, 67) μέσον is used as a substantive; Sept. for 7) (constr. state 71M), and 37); the midst: ἀνὰ μέσον (see ἀνά, 1 {and added note below]); διὰ μέσου (τινός), through the midst (Am.…

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

μέσος is common as an adj. in personal descriptions, e.g. P Ryl II. 128% (c. a.p. 30) ᾿Ατρῆ(ς) (ἐτῶν) Xe οὐ(λὴ) μετώπί(ῳ) μέσῳ, “᾿Ηδίτεβ, aged 35, with a scar on the middle of the forehead,”’ 25. 1543 (A.D. 66) Χαι]ρήμων . . - οὐλήι ῥινὶ μίῆσηι, ‘‘Chaeremon with a scar on the middle of the | and nose,” similarly of height, as in P Oxy I. 7318 (A.D. 94) / [ET OTOLXOV

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μέσος (mesos) — midst.

μέσος, η, ον,

also [Refs 4th c.AD+]; Epic dialect μέσσος (also Aeolic dialect, [Refs 7th c.BC+], Boeotian dialect, Cretan dialect μέττος, [Refs 3rd c.BC+] ii b 2 [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle, in the middle,

I. of Space, especially with Nouns, of the middle point or part, μ. σάκος [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐρανός zenith, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; μ. ἀπήνης from mid chariot, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν αἰθέρι μ. in mid-air, [Refs]; μ. μετώπῳ in the middle of the forehead, [Refs 1st c.AD+]: in Prose frequently preceding the Article, κατὰ μέσον τὸν σταθμόν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐκ μ. τῆς νήσου, κατὰ μ. τὴν νῆσον, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐπὶ μέσου τοῦ τμάματος at the middle point of the segment, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]: sometimes following the Noun, ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ μέσῃ [Refs 4th c.BC+]: less frequently midmost, central, of three or more objects, μ. ὁδός [Refs 6th c.BC+]; ὁ μ.…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μέσος

mesos

from 3326; middle (as an adjective or (neuter) noun):--among, X before

them, between, + forth, mid(-day, -night), midst, way.

see GREEK for 3326

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μέσος, η, ον

Adj

middle, in the middle

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μέσος mesos 58x

mid, middle, Mt. 25:6; Acts 26:13; ἀνὰ μέσον, in the midst; from the Hebrew, in, among, Mt. 13:25; between, 1 Cor. 6:5; διὰ μέσου, through the midst of, Lk. 4:30; εἰς τὸ μέσον, into, or in the midst, Mk. 3:3; Lk. 6:8; ἐκ μέσου, from the midst, out of the way, Col. 2:14; 2 Thess. 2:7; from the Hebrew, from, from among, Mt. 13:49; ἐν τῷ…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μέσος middle, in the middle, Lat. medius, Hom., etc.; μέσον σάκος the middle or centre of the shield, Il.; ἐν αἰθέρι μέσῳ in mid air, Soph.; with the Art. following, διὰ μέσης τῆς πόλεως, ἐν μ. τῇ χώρᾳ Xen.

with a Verb, ἔχεται μέσος by the middle, by the waist, proverb. from the wrestling-ring, Ar.

μ. δικαστής ῀ μεσίτης, a judge between two, an umpire, Thuc.

ὁ μέσος (sc. δάκτυλος) Plat.

of Time, μέσον ἦμαρ mid- day, Hom.; μέσαι νύκτες Hdt.; also, μέσον τῆς ἡμέρας id. Hdt.

middling, moderate, μέσος ἀνήρ a man of middle rank, id. Hdt.; μ. πολίτης Thuc.; also οἱ διὰ μέσου the moderate or neutral party, id. Thuc.

middling, i. e. middling good, Plat.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-DSN — Adjective · dative · singular · neuter
dative — to, for, with — the one it is done to or by.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-DSN Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
83%midst
midst83% · 50×middle7% · 4×between3% · 2×other renderings7% · 4×

60 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 7 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
adverbial90%predicate7%subject3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 58 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
ἐν
αὐτόςκαίand, even, also,ΠαῦλοςPaul
Article the
εἰςἐνἐκ
ἐκ
ἐξέρχομαιI go out, come oπονηρόςevil, bad, wickeαὐτός
ἀνά
ζιζάνιονspurious wheat, ΓαλιλαίαGalileeδιακρίνωI distinguish, d
διά
διέρχομαιI pass through,
μέσος[the] midst58×
what comes after →
Article the
θρόνοςa throne, seatἀδελφόςa brotherσῖτοςwheat, grain
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,πορεύομαιI travel, journeἐκχωρέωI go out, depart
καίand, even, also, nam
λέγωI say, speakἀρέσκωI please, serveἀνίστημιI raise up, set
σύ
εἰμίI am, existστήκωI stand fast, peκαθώςjust as, as
λύκοςa wolf, jackal
γίνομαιI come into bein

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

Concordanceμέσος · 58× in the New Testament
Luke Acts Revelation Matthew John Mark 1 Corinthians 1 Thessalonians 2 Corinthians 2 Thessalonians Colossians Hebrews
Across the New Testament13 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 390 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 63c. AD 40

χαίρει γὰρ τὰ μέν τινα τεναγώδει καὶ οὐ πάνυ βαθείᾳ θαλάττῃ, τὰ δ’ ὑποδρόμοις καὶ λιμέσι μήτ’ ἐπὶ γῆν ἀνέρπειν μήτε πόρρω γῆς ἐπινήχεσθαι δυνάμενα, τὰ δὲ κατὰ μέσον καὶ βαθὺ πέλαγος διαιτώμενα τὰς προκεχυμένας ἄκρας ἢ νήσους ἢ πέτρας ἐκτρέπεται·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.223c. AD 75–95

σωζομένους δʼ ἐκ παραδόξου καὶ σχεδὸν ἐκ μέσου τῶν κακῶν εὑρισκομένους τὴν εὐπραγίαν τοὺς κινδυνεύοντας τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ γνώμῃ.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 7.11c. AD 100

τί δέ, ὅτι τὸ ἔριον μέσον τῶν ἀκανθῶν τιθέασιν;

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. BC 2nd c. BC 3rd c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο Νεχούτης Σχώτου τοῦ Φιμήνιος ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν νε μέσος ἢ ἐλάσσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, καὶ Πετεαρσοῆρις Σχώτου τῶν αὐτῶν ἱερέων ὡς ἐτῶν

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ὠνή. ἀπέδοτο Πανοβχοῦνις Παοῦτος Πέρσης τῆς ἐπιγονῆς ὡς ἐτῶν ξ μέσος μελίχρως τετανὸς ἀναφάλακρος μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπαρχούσης αὐτῷ καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς γῆς ἠπείρου

P.Adl. 20Poinkoris (Diopolites)99 BC

ἐτῶν δέκα δύο μετὰ προσπωλουμένης τῆς Ὥρου συγγενοῦς Ἀρσινόης τῆς Βελλέους ὡς ἐτῶν κβ μέσης μελιχρόου στρογγυλοπροσώπου εὐθύρινος οὐλὴ μετώπῳ ἐκ δεξιῶν μετὰ κυρίου Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Ψενμεγχείους ὡς ἐτῶν

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
λύκων·lukos of wolves; G3074 Noun · genitive · plural · masculine
6× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A wolf, as in Jesus' warning to his disciples in Matthew 10:16 and Luke 10:3.
Amplified meaning
ferocious, dangerous
Tyndale gloss
wolf
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word λύκος (i.e., *lykos*) means 'wolf' and is used literally and figuratively in various contexts. It appears in the New Testament to describe both the animal itself and metaphorically to refer to cruel or greedy individuals (e.g., Matthew 7:15). The word has connections to Hebrew and Latin, indicating its long-standing presence in literature and language.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

λύκος, -ου, ὁ,

[in LXX for זְאֵב;]

a wolf: Mt 10:16, Lk 10:3, Jo 10:12; fig. (as Ez 22:27, Ze 3:3, Je 5:6, al.), Mt 7:1, Ac 20:29.†

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

λύκος, -ov, 6, Hebr. 381, a wolf: Mt. x. 16; Lk. x. 3; Jn. x. 12; applied figuratively to cruel, greedy, rapacious, destructive men: Mt. vii. 15; Acts xx. 29; (used trop. even in Hom. I]. 4,471; 16, 156; in the O. T., Ezek. xxii. 27; Zeph. iii. 3; Jer. v. 6).

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

λύκος. P Par 619 (B.c. 129) συνέβη δὲ καί, διὰ τὸ ἀχ[ανῆ] τὴν θύραν ἀφεθῆν[αι, ὑπὸ] λύκων AvpavOA[var] ἀγαθὰ σώματα [περ]ιβρωθέντα, ‘‘and it also happened that, owing to the door having been left open, certain bodies in good condition were mangled by wolves, which have partly devoured them.” The Latin (or rather Sabine) /ufus is linked with λύκος, and points to an original *luqzos, MGr λύκος.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

λύκος (lukos) — wolf.

λύκος [ῠ], ὁ,

wolf, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; πολιός grisly,[Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὀρέστεροι[Refs 8th c.BC+]; the small Egyptian wolves mentioned by [Refs 5th c.BC+] were perhaps jackals: various kinds distinguished by [Refs 3rd c.AD+] to see a wolf, i. e. to be struck dumb, as was vulgarly believed of any one at whom a wolf got the first look [Refs 5th c.BC+]; λύκου πτερά, of things that are not, 'pigeon's milk', [Refs]; ὡς λ. χανών, of vain expectation, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πρίν κεν λ. οἶν ὑμεναιοῖ, of an impossibility, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὡς λύκοι ἄρν᾽ ἀγαπῶσιν, of treacherous or unnatural love, poetical cited in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; λύκου βίον ζῆν, i. e. live by rapine, Prov. cited in [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; ἐκ λύκου στόματος, of getting a thing praeter spem, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; τῶν ὤτων ἔχειν τὸν λύκον 'catch a Tartar', [Refs 4th c.BC+]; λ. ἀετὸν φεύγει, of the…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

λύκος

lukos

perhaps akin to the base of 3022 (from the whitish hair); a

wolf:--wolf.

see GREEK for 3022

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

λύκος, ου, ὁ

n.m.

a wolf, jackal

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

λύκος lykos 6x

a wolf, Mt. 10:16; Lk. 10:3; Jn. 10:12; met. a person of wolf-like character, Mt. 7:15; Acts 20:29*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

λύκος λύ^κος, ὁ, Lat. lupus, a wolf, Hom.;—proverb., λύκον ἰδεῖν to see a wolf, i. e. to be struck dumb, as was vulgarly believed of any one of whom a wolf got the first look, Plat., Theocr. (so Virg., Moerim lupi videre priores); λύκος οἶν ὑμεναιοῖ, of an impossibility, Ar.

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

N-GPM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Genitive Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
67%wolves
wolves67% · 4×wolf33% · 2×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject50%adverbial33%predicate17%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 6 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
μέσοςmiddle, in the middl
ἐν
Article the
θεωρέωI behold, look aκαίand, even, also,
εἰμίI am, exist
δέbut, on the othe
ἐγώ
ἄφιξιςarrival, departu
λύκοςof wolves;
what comes after →
ἅρπαξrapacious, ravenous,
γίνομαιI come into being, a
οὖνtherefore, then
ἔρχομαιI come, go
καίand, even, also,
ἁρπάζωI seize, snatch, obt
αὐτός
βαρύςheavy, weighty, burd
εἰς

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

Concordanceλύκος · 6× in the New Testament
John Matthew Acts Luke
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 7 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
Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Clement of RomeSecond Clement 5.2c. AD 96

λέγει γὰρ ὁ κύριος Ἔσεσθε ὡς ἀρνία ἐν μέσῳ λύκων.

Ignatius of AntiochThe Letters of Ignatius 5.2.2c. AD 110

πολλοὶ γὰρ λύκοι ἀξιόπιστοι ἡδονῇ κακῇ αἰχμαλωτίζουσιν τοὺς θεοδρόμους: ἀλλ̓ ἐν τῇ ἑνότητι ὑμῶν οὐχ ἕξουσιν τόπον.

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 2nd c. BC 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Mert. 3 108ArsinoitesAD 69–AD 79

παρʼ αὐτοῦ Λύκου … πλὴν τοῦ γυναικείου θόλου καὶ … … … ὁ αὐτὸς Λύκος ἔχει ἐν μισθώσει παρὰ … … σὺν ἑτέροις εἰς καθαίρεσιν καὶ … ἀνοικοδομήσουσι ἐκ

ZPE 86 (1991), p. 221 no. 4Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 86

Φιλίππου τοῦ καὶ Μάρωνος λαογραφίας πέμπτου ἔτους Θαραπείας δραχμὰς εἴκοσι, γίνονται κ, κόλλυβον, καὶ Λύκος υἱὸς μητρὸς Θαισᾶτος τῆς Χάρητος δραχμὰς εἴκοσι, γίνονται κ, κόλλυβον,

P.Fay. 123Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 100

ἀλλὰ αἰφνιδίως εἴρηκεν ἡμῖν σήμερον. γνώσομαι γὰρ εἰ ἀληθῶς λέγει. ἔρρωσο. ἀσπάζου τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς Λύκον καὶ … ν. Μεχεὶρ ιβ.

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
γίνεσθεginomai do be G1096 Verb · present · no voice stated · imperative · second person · plural
668× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A versatile word meaning to be, become, or come into being, used in John 1:15 and 1 Corinthians 15:37.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

γίνομαι (ginomai) is a versatile Greek verb meaning to come into being, be born, or arise. It covers a wide range of uses, from the creation of things to events occurring. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts such as birth (e.g., Romans 1:3), occurrences in nature (e.g., John 12:29), and actions being performed (e.g., Matthew 21:42). It can also express the idea of becoming or changing states.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γίνομαι, Ion. and κοινή for Att. γίγν- (M. Pr., 47; Bl., §6, 8 Mayser, 166 f.),

[in LXX chiefly for היה ;]

of persons, things occurrences, to come into being, be born, arise, come on: Jo 1:15 8:58, I Co 15:37; a first appearance in public, Mk 1:4, Jo 1:6, al.; seq. ἐκ (of birth), Ro 1:3, Ga 4:4; διά, Jo 1:3; βροντή, Jo 12:29; σεισμός, Re 6:12; γογγυσμός, Ac 6:1; χαρά, Ac 8:8, many other similar exx.; ἡμέρα, Lk 22:66, al.; ὀψέ, Read the full entry →

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

γίνομαι (in Ionic prose writ.and in com. Grk. fr. Aristot. on for Attic γίγνομαι) ; [impf. ἐγινόμην ; fut. γενήσομαι ; 2 aor. ἐγενόμην (often in 3 pers. sing. optat. γένοιτο ; [ptep. yevapevos, Lk. xxiv. 22 Tdf. ed. 7]), and, with no diff. in signif., 1 aor. pass. ἐγενήθην, rejected by the Atticists (cf. Lob. ad Phryn. p. 108 sq.; [Thom. Mag. ed. Ritschl p. 75, 6 sq.]), not rare in later Grk., common in Sept. (Acts iv. 4; 1 Th. ii. 14; 1 Co. xv. 10, etc.), impv. γενηθήτω (Mt. vi. 10; xv. 28, ete.) ; pf. γεγένημαι and γέγονα, 3 pers. plur. γέγοναν L T Tr WH in Ro. xvi. 7 and Rey. xxi. 6 (cf. [Tdf. Proleg. p. 124; WH. App. p. 166; Soph. Lex. p. 37 sq.; Curtius, Das Verbum, ii. 187]; W. 36 and 76 (73) sq-; Mullach p. 16; B. 43 (37 sq.)), [ptep. γεγονώς] ; plpf. 3 pers. sing. ἐγεγόνει (Jn. vi. 17 [not Tdf.];. Acts iv. 22 [where L T Tr WH γεγόνει, cf. W. § 12, 9; B. 33 (29); Tdf.’s note on…

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

γίνομαι {Ξ ΠῚ. p. 210) γενοῦ πρὸς "Ata τὸν ποιμένα καὶ δέξαι παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ δραχμὰς διακοσίας, P Flor II. 180 (a.p. 253) ἐὰν γένηται πρός σε Διόσκορος, α΄. Γίνομαι sometimes supplies an aorist fir εἰμί : ἐγενόμην is normally ingressive (= became), but has to serve on occasion for summary (‘‘constative ’’) aorist as well—cf. Prolfeg. p. 109. Thus P. Flor III. 382% (cited ad 72.) might be translated ‘the son whom I neither have nor ever had,’’ as well as ‘‘ nor was ever born to me.” Lk 13? is an instance of this summary use. It appears in a very common technical usage, by which γενόμενος, with the tithe of an official, etc., denotes “ex-’’: where the title forms a verb, the aor, the perf.) partic. of this is used instead. arch” is γυμνασιαρχήσας. For the periphrasis cf. P Oxy I. 3811 (a.p. 49-50) (= Selections, p. 53) καθὰ π|ζα]ρῆλθον ἐπὶ τοῦ γενομένου τοῦ νομοῦ στρατηγοῦ Ilaciwyvos, “1…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γίνομαι (ginomai) — to be.

γίγνομαι,

Ionic dialect and after [Refs 4th c.BC+] γίνομαι [ῑ], (Attic dialect Inscrr. have γιγν- in fifth and fourth cententury,[Refs]; Thess. γίνυμαι [Refs]; Boeotian dialect γίνιουμαι [Refs]future γενήσομαι: aorist ἐγενόμην (ἐγενάμην [LXX] (προ-) Decrees Byzantine cited in [Refs 4th c.BC+], Ionic dialect 2nd pers. singular γένευ [Refs 8th c.BC+], 3rd.pers. singular γενέσκετο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Epic dialect γέντο [Refs 8th c.BC+] (gṇ-το): perfect γέγονα [Refs 8th c.BC+]: 3rd.pers. plural γέγοναν [NT]: pluperfect ἐγεγόνει [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect ἐγεγόνεε [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic dialect forms (as if from perfect γέγᾰα), 2nd pers. plural γεγάᾱτε [Refs 8th c.BC+]pluperfect ἐκ-γεγάτην [ᾰ] [Refs 8th c.BC+]; infinitive γεγάμεν [ᾰ] [Refs 8th c.BC+]; participle γεγᾰώς -ᾰυῖα, plural -ᾰῶτες, -ᾰυῖαι [Refs 8th c.BC+], contraction γεγώς, -ῶσα [Refs…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γίνομαι

ginomai

a prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be

("gen"-erate), i.e. (reflexively) to become (come into being), used

with great latitude (literal, figurative, intensive, etc.):--arise, be

assembled, be(-come, -fall, -have self), be brought (to pass), (be)

come (to pass), continue, be divided, draw, be ended, fall, be

finished, follow, be found, be fulfilled, + God forbid, grow, happen,

have, be kept, be made, be married, be ordained to be, partake, pass,

be performed, be published, require, seem, be showed, X soon as it

was, sound, be taken, be turned, use, wax, will, would, be wrought.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γίνομαι

v.

I come into being, am born

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γίνομαι ginomai 669x

pluperfect, ἐγενόει (3rd sg), to come into existence; to be created, exist by creation, Jn. 1:3, 10; Heb. 11:3; Jas. 3:9; to be born, produced, grow, Mt. 21:19; Jn. 8:58, et al.; to arise, come on, occur, as the phenomena of nature, etc.; Mt. 8:24, 26; 9:16, et al.; to come, approach, as morning or evening, Mt. 8:16; 14:15, 23; to be appointed, constituted, established, Mk. 2:27; Gal.…

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PNM-2P — Verb · present · no voice stated · imperative · second person · plural
present no voice stated imperative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PNM-2P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: middle or passive depoNent Mood: iMperative Person: second Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
9%it came to pass
it came to pass9% · 64×became4% · 28×there was3% · 23×do be3% · 22×came3% · 19×having become3% · 18×was3% · 18×having been3% · 17×other renderings69% · 468×

677 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 180 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
verb57%linking verb42%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 668 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
θάλασσαthe sea, lakeἐκεῖthere, yonder, tεἰμίI am, exist
Article the
δύναμιςmight, power, maεἰμίI am, existαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
ὄψιοςlateοὗτοςὡςas, like as, how
μήNeg
ἵναin order that, sοὐNegθεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
ἱμάτιονouter garmentδιάκλάδοςa branch
γίνομαιdo be668×
what comes after →
Article the
δύναμιςmight, power, maθέλημαwill, wish, desiἔσχατοςlast, at the las
ἐν
Article theσύεἷςone
δέbut, on the other ha
ἐνArticle theἡμέραa day
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegἐκφύωI put forth, cau
εἰς
Article theκεφαλήthe headδένδρονa tree

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

Concordanceγίνομαι · 668× in the New Testament
Luke Acts Matthew Mark John 1 Corinthians Revelation Romans Hebrews 1 Thessalonians Galatians 2 Corinthians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 11c. AD 40

πρὸς δὲ τὸ μὴ γεγονὸς οἰκείωσις οὐδεμία τῷ μὴ πεποιηκότι.

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

ὡς ὁ κατακλυσμὸς ἐγένετο καὶ ὃν τρόπον Νῶχος σωθεὶς ἐν λάρνακι μετὰ τῶν συγγενῶν κατῴκησεν ἐν τῷ Σινάρῳ πεδίῳ.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.11c. AD 100

γενώμεθα πνευματικοί, γενώμεθα ναὸς τέλειος τῷ θεῷ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 22Thebais119 BC

ἔχω εἰς τὸν Ἑρμίου λόγον περὶ πῆς τοπογραμματείας τοῦ νγ ἔτους χαλκοῦ τάλαντα δέκα. γίνεται τάλαντα ι. καὶ περὶ τῆς κωμογραμματείας ὁμοίως χαλκοῦ τάλαντα δέκα. γίνεται τάλαντα ι. καὶ

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

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

P.Adl. 10Pathyris102 BC

λ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως τετανὸς μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν οὐλὴ φαλάνθῳ ἀριστερῶι χαλκοῦ νομίσματος τάλαντα δέκα δύο, γίνεται τάλαντα ιβ, ἄτοκα, ἡμερῶν τριάκοντα ἀπὸ μηνὸς Παῦνι ιθ. τὸ δὲ δάνειον τοῦτο ἀποδότω

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
οὖνoun therefore G3767 Conjunction
496× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else 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.
Amplified meaning
in consequence, as a result
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

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
φρόνιμοιphronimos shrewd G5429 Adjective · nominative · plural · masculine
14× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Being thoughtful means being wise and discreet, like in Matthew 10:16 where Jesus tells his disciples to be wise as serpents. It involves being cautious and having good judgment.
Amplified meaning
wise, thoughtful
Tyndale gloss
thoughtful
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word φρόνιμος (phronimos) is derived from φρονέω and means thoughtful, prudent, or sensible. It appears in the New Testament in contexts that emphasize practical wisdom and discretion, notably in Matthew and Romans. The lexicons note its opposition to terms like μωρός (foolish) and ἄφρων (unwise), indicating a range of meanings from general wisdom to specific prudence.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

φρόνιμος, -ον

(< φρονέω),

[in LXX for נָבוֺן, חָכָם etc. ;]

practically wise, sensible, prudent: Mt 10:16 24:45, Lk 12:42, I Co 10:15; opp. to μωρός, Mt 7:24 25:2, 4, 8, 9, I Co 4:10; to ἄφρων, II Co 11:19; φ. παρ’ ἑαυτῷ (EV, wise in one's own conceit), Ro 11:25 12:16 (cf. Pr 3:7); compar., -ώτερος, Lk 16:8.†

SYN.: v.s. σοφός

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

φρόνιμος, “prudent,” is frequent in the NT as denoting fitness for God’s service (Mt 774, τοῦδ, a/.: Swete Parables of the Kingdom, p. 123): cf OGZS 38316 (mid. 1.8.6.) διαμονῆς δὲ τούτων ἕνεκεν, ἣν ἐμ φρονίμοις ἀνδράσι εὐσεβὲς ἀεὶ τηρεῖν. The word is common as a proper name, e.g. P Oxy III. 531° 2 (ii/a.D.). ;

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

φρόνιμος (phronimos) — thoughtful.

φρόνιμ-ος, ον,

also η, ον [Refs 1st c.AD+]:— in one's right mind, in one's senses, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. showing presence of mind, ἐν τοῖς δεινοῖς [Refs 5th c.BC+]presence of mind, [Refs]

III. sensible, prudent, opposed to ἄφρων, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; opposed to ἀνόητος, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὸν φρόνιμον ζητοῦντας.. ὥσπερ ἀποδεδρακότα [Refs 4th c.BC+]; φ. περί τινος possessing sagacity or discernment in a thing, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; περί τι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; εἴς τι [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III.2. of thoughts, acts, and the like, φ. τι ἐργάσασθαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III.3. of birds as giving omens, τοὺς ἄνωθεν φρονιμωτάτους οἰωνούς [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III.3. b sagacious, of animals, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

φρόνιμος

phronimos

from 5424; thoughtful, i.e. sagacious or discreet (implying a cautious

character; while 4680 denotes practical skill or acumen; and 4908

indicates rather intelligence or mental acquirement); in a bad sense

conceited (also in the comparative):--wise(-r).

see GREEK for 5424

see GREEK for 4680

see GREEK for 4908

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

φρόνιμος, ον

Adj

intelligent, prudent

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

φρόνιμος phronimos 14x

considerate, thoughtful, prudent, discreet, Mt. 7:24; 10:16; 24:45; 25:2, 4, 8, 9; Lk. 12:42; sensible, wise, Rom. 11:25; 12:16; 1 Cor. 4:10; 10:15; 2 Cor. 11:19*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

φρόνιμος φρόνι^μος, ον, in one's right mind, in one's senses, Soph.

staid, unmoved, discreet, Xen.; τὸ φρ. presence of mind, id. Xen.

wise, sensible, prudent, Lat. prudens, Plat., etc.:— τὸ φρόνιμον prudence, id. Plat.; and in pl., ἄπορος ἐπὶ φρόνιμα devoid of wisdom, Soph.; φρονιμώτατα λέγειν Xen.

adv. -μως, Ar., Plat., etc.; φρ. ἔχειν Xen.; comp. φρονιμώτερον, Isocr.

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

A-NPM Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
79%wise
wise79% · 11×sensible7% · 1×shrewd7% · 1×more shrewd7% · 1×

14 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
predicate50%subject29%indirect object14%adverbial7%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 14 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
μωρόςstupid, foolishδέbut, on the otheοἰκονόμοςa steward
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theσύ
ἀνήρa male human being,
ὁμοιόωI make like, lik
οὖνtherefore, then
γίνομαιI come into bein
καίand, even, also, nam
δοῦλος (II)
φρόνιμοςshrewd14×
what comes after →
λέγωI say, speak
δίδωμιI offer, giveμήNegκρίνωI judge, decide,
ὅς
καθίστημιI set, establish
ὅστις
οἰκοδομέωI build, build u
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
Article the
λαμβάνωI receive, take
ἔλαιονolive oil

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

Concordanceφρόνιμος · 14× in the New Testament
Matthew 1 Corinthians Luke Romans 2 Corinthians
Across the New Testament5 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 22 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 Ignatius of Antioch Josephus
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.67c. AD 40

κατὰ δὲ τὸν τόπον τῆς φρονήσεως δύο εἰσὶ ποιοί, ὅ τε φρόνιμος καὶ ὁ φρονῶν, οὓς ἄνθρακι καὶ λίθῳ πρασίνῳ παραβέβληκεν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4.259c. AD 75–95

τριάκοντα δʼ ἡμερῶν τῷ πένθει διελθουσῶν, αὐτάρκεις γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῖς δακρύοις αὗται τῶν φιλτάτων ταῖς φρονίμοις, τότε χωρεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν γάμον.

Ignatius of AntiochThe Letters of Ignatius 1.17.2c. AD 110

διὰ τί δὲ οὐ πάντες φρόνιμοι γινόμεθα λαβόντες θεοῦ γνῶσιν, ὅ ἐστιν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός;

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 5th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Mich. 8 474Alexandria (?)AD 101–AD 125

προσκυνήσομέν σε μετὰ τῶν παιδίων ἐὰν ἀνέλθῃς … ἡ θυγάτηρ σου Σεγάθιος ὑπηρετεῖ με· φρόνιμός ἐστιν καὶ … ἱκανή. καὶ ἔπεμψε Ἰσίδωρον τὸν υἱόν σου πρὸς σὲ ἵνα σου

P.Hamb. 4 254AD 101–AD 125

εὐμοίρου τινὸς πῶς ἠχθέσθην πανοικεσίᾳ οὐκ ἔχω τῷ λόγῳ παραστῆσαι. ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, ὡς φρόνιμοι καὶ γινώσκοντες τὸ πᾶσι ἀποκείμενον καὶ ὡς οὔτε πρῶτοι οὔτε ὕστατοι ἐπάθετε τοῦτο γενναίως

P.Oxy. 3 531Oxyrhynchos (OxyrhynchitesAD 101–AD 200

καὶ τῶν σῶν ἐξοδίασον ἕως πέμψω. ἔστι δὲ τοῦ Τῦβι μηνὸς σοὶ ὅ θέλεις, Φρονίμῳ δραχμαὶ ιϛ, τοῖς περὶ Ἀβάσκαντον καὶ Μύρωνι δραχμαὶ θ, Σεκούνδῳ δραχμαὶ ιβ. πέμψον Φρόνιμον

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
ὡςhōs as G5613 Adverb
502× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Matthew than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means as or when, showing a comparison or timing. It's used in many verses, like Mark 4:26 and 1 Corinthians 3:15, to show how things are done. It helps explain how or when something happens.
Tyndale gloss
as/when
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὡς is an adverb and conjunction derived from the relative pronoun ὅς. It is used in various contexts to mean 'as,' 'like,' or 'when,' and can indicate manner, comparison, or time. In the New Testament, it appears frequently to express similarity or to introduce clauses, such as in comparisons or temporal phrases. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὡς, adverbial form of the relative pron. ὅς, ἥ, ὅ.

As relat. adv. of manner, as, like as, just as, even as;

with a demonstrative, like οὕτως, expressed or understood: οὕτως . . . ὡς, Mk 4:26, I Co 3:15, Eph 5:28, Ja 2:12, al.; ὡς . . . οὕτως, Ac 8:32, I Co 7:17, al.; elliptically (sc. οὕτως, οὕτω), c. nom., Mt 6:29, al.; c. acc., Mt 19:19, Mk 12:31, al.; c. prep., Mt 26:55, Read the full entry →

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

ὡς [ Treg. (by mistake) in Mt. xxiv. 38 ὥς; cf. W. 462 (431); Chandler § 934, and reff. in Ebeling, Lex. Hom. s. v. p. 494

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

ὡς. Ι. = “45: P Goodsp Cairo 44 (ii/B.c.) (= Selections, Ῥ- 24) εἰ tppwoar . .. εἴη dv ὡς αἱρούμεθα, “if you are well, it will be as we desire,” BGU I. 1637 (A.D. 108) καὶ yap ἄλλοι ὡς πληγέντες ὑπὸ αὐτοῦ ἀναφόριον δεδώκασι, “for others have given information (from time to time) ἃ5 having been assaulted by him,” P Flor I. 5618 (A.p. 234) ὡς καθήκει, and BGU IV. το. 1 (iv/y A.D.) κα]ταβληθῆναι ὡς φονέα. 2. = “that,” ‘ how,” after verbs of saying, thinking, etc.: P Tebt I. τοῦ (B.c. 119) φρόντισον ὡς τὰ τῆς ὑποσχέσεως ἐκπληρωθήσεται, “take care that the terms of his agreement are fulfilled” (Edd.), and P Tebt II. 4101? (i/A.D.) μν[ἤ]σθητι o[s] ἐν τῷ Τρ[ιστόμῳ pe ἐφιλοτ[ιυἹμοῦ σὺν ἐμοὶ μεῖναι, ‘remember how zealous you were at Tristomos to remain with me” (Fdd.). 3. Ὁ. ind. with dy, as in Σ Cor 125, cf. P Par 4615 (B.C. 152) ὡς ἂν εὐκαιρήσω, παραχρῆμα παρέσομαι πρός σε. 4. c. conj. with…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὡς (hōs) — as/when.

ὡς:—

Summary:

__A as adverb of Manner.

__A.Aa ὧς and ὥς (with accent), so, thus.

__A.Ab ὡς (without accent) of the Relat. pronoun ὅς, as.

__A.Ac ὡς Relat. and Interrog., how.

__A.Ad ὡς temporal, when.

__A.Ae ὡς Local, where,

__B ὡς, as CONJUNCTION.

__C,D various usages. adverb of Manner:

__A.Aa ὥς, Demonstr., ={οὕτως}, so, thus, frequently in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in Ionic dialect Prose, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὥς simply ={οὕτως}, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__A.2 καὶ ὧς even so, nevertheless, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐδ᾽ ὧς not even so, [Refs 8th c.BC+] are used in Trag. and Attic dialect, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κἂν ὧς, εἴπερ μέλει σοι, ἀπόστειλόν μοί τινα [Refs 4th c.AD+]; δουλεύων καθὼς καὶ ὧς [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; Thess. καὶ οὗς [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; for this phrase the accentuation ὧς[Refs 2nd…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὡς

hos

probably adverb of comparative from 3739; which how, i.e. in that

manner (very variously used, as follows):--about, after (that),

(according) as (it had been, it were), as soon (as), even as (like),

for, how (greatly), like (as, unto), since, so (that), that, to wit,

unto, when(-soever), while, X with all speed.

see GREEK for 3739

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὡς

Adv

as, like as, how, while, so that

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὡς hōs 504x

conjunction formed from the relative pronoun ὅς, used as a comparative part. and conj., as, correlatively, Mk. 4:26; Jn. 7:46; Rom. 5:15; as, like as, Mt. 10:16; Eph. 5:8; according as, Gal. 6:10; as, as it were, Rev. 8:8; as, Lk. 16:1; Acts 3:12; before numerals, about, Mk. 5:13; conj. that, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὡς thus, as, so that, since

A. ADVERB of Manner, either ὥς (with accent) Demonstr. so, thus, Lat. sic;— or ὡς (without accent) Relat. as, Lat. ut. B. ὡς, as CONJUNCTION. C, D. various usages.

of Manner:

ὥς, Demonstr. = οὕτως, so, thus, Lat. sic, Hom., Hdt.; rare in attic:— καὶ ὥς, even so, nevertheless, οὐδ᾽ ὥς, μηδ᾽ ὥς, not even so, in no wise, Hom., Soph.

in Comparisons, ὥς . . , ὡς . . , so . . as . . , Lat. sic . . ut . . , Il., Plat.

thus, for instance, Od.

ὡς, Relat., as, Lat. ut, first in Hom.; οὕτως ὡς, Lat. sic ut; but the antec. is often omitted: similes are commonly introduced by ὡς ὅτε, ὡς δ᾽ ὅτε, where ὅτε often seems superfluous, ἤριπε δ᾽, ὡς ὅτε πύργος [ἤριπε] Il.:—this ὡς takes the accent at the end of a clause or when it follows the word dependent on it; θεὸς δ᾽ ὣς τίετο δήμῳ Il.; οἱ δὲ φέβοντο, βόες ὥς…

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adv — Adverb
adverb — it qualifies the verb, and never changes form.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

ADV ADVerb or adverb and particle combined

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
60%as
as60% · 310×like16% · 84×when8% · 41×how4% · 21×about4% · 20×other renderings6% · 33×other renderings1% · 7×

516 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 22 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
adverbial31%predicate12%object4%subject4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 502 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
πρόσωπονthe face, counteπούςthe footδιδάσκωI teach
σύ
πλησίονnear, nearby, a καρδίαthe heart, innerἀποστέλλωI send forth, se
καίand, even, also, nam
πολύςmuch, many, ofteαὐτόςλαόςa people, the cr
ἀλλάbut, except
γαμίζωI give in marriaθέλωI will, wish, deφανερῶςclearly, openly
εἰμίI am, exist
ὥραan hour, seasonὅτιthat, since, becοὐNeg
ὡςas502×
what comes after →
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastἥλιοςthe sun, sunlighφῶςlight, a source
δέbut, on the other ha
πληρόωI fill, fulfill,γίνομαιI come into beinἀκούωI hear, listen
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἐνἐγώ
φωνήa sound, noise, voic
ὕδωρwaterβροντήthunderἐν
ἐν
Article theοὐρανόςthe sky, the heaκρυπτόςhidden, secret

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

Concordanceὡς · 502× in the New Testament
Revelation Acts Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians John 2 Corinthians 1 Peter Hebrews Mark Romans Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
οἱho the G3588 Article · nominative · plural · masculine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

T-NPM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
ὄφειςophis serpents G3789 Noun · nominative · plural · masculine
14× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The word for snake, it can also symbolize sly cunning or malice, especially in reference to Satan, as seen in Revelation 12:9 and 20:2. Jesus warns against being like a snake in Matthew 10:16.
Amplified meaning
cunning, sly
Tyndale gloss
snake
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὄφις, meaning 'serpent' or 'snake', is used in various contexts in the New Testament, often symbolizing cunning or malice, particularly in reference to Satan. It is derived from a root associated with sharpness of vision. The term appears in passages like Matthew 10:16 and Revelation 12:9, where it conveys both literal and metaphorical meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὄφις, -εως, ὁ,

[in LXX chiefly for נָחָשׁ;]

a serpent, snake: Mt 7:10, Mk 16:18, Lk 10:19 11:11, Jo 3:14, I Co 10:9, Re 9:19; as typical of wisdom and cunning, Mt 10:16 23:23, II Co 11:3 (cf. Ge 3:1); of Satan (cf. Ge 3:1, Wi 2:23, 24, IV Mac 18:8), Re 12:9, 14, 15 20:2.†

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

ὄφις, -ews, 6, [perh. named fr. its sight; ef. δράκων, init., and see Curtius as s. v. ὀφθαλμός] ; fr. Hom. Il. 12, 208 down; Sept. mostly for wm; a snake, serpent: Mt. vii. 10; Mk. xvi. 18; Lk. x. 19; xi. 11; Jn. iii. 14; 1 Co. x. 9; Rey. ix. 19; with the ancients the serpent was an emblem of cunning and wisdom, 2 Co. xi. 3, ef. Gen. iii. 1; hence, φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις, Mt. x. 16 [here WH mrg. ὁ ὄφις}; hence, crafty hypocrites are called ὄφεις, Mt. xxiii. 33. The serpent narrated to have deceived Eve (see Gen. u. s.) was regarded by the later Jews as the devil (Sap. ii. 23 sq. ef. 4 Mace. xviii. 8); hence he is Vi. 22; “2; called ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὁ ὄφις: Rev. xii. 9, 14 5α.; xx. 2; 566 [Grimm on Sap. u.s.; Fr. Lenormant, Beginnings of History ete. ch. ii. p. 109 sq., and] δράκων.

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

ὄφις. spell—8gw ἀποκτεῖναι, ‘to kill a serpent.’ In P Lond 122 (iv/A.p.) (=I. p. 116) Hermes is invoked under his various shapes and titles, e.g. Mev τῷ βορεᾷ μορφὴν ἔχεις ὄφεως. For the name ascribed to Satan cf. a Christian amulet not later than Justinian, Aazbe/ 1140 b3— φεῦγ᾽ ἀπ᾽ ἐμῶν μελέων, ὄφ[ι], πῦρ, Βελιὰρ κ[ακό]μορί φ]ε. The MGr φίδι has assumed the diminutive suffix and become neuter.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὄφις (ophis) — snake.

ὄφις, ὁ,

genitive ὄφεως, poetry also ὄφεος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Doric dialect and Ionic dialect ὄφιος [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—serpent, αἰόλος [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὁ ψυχρὸς ὄ. [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; equivalent to δράκων in [Refs 8th c.BC+]

II. like{δράκων}, a serpent-like bracelet, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; ὄφεις is Attic dialect for ψέλλια accusative to [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

II.2. τρικάρηνος ὄ. ὁ χάλκεος dedicated at Delphi (= [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III. the constellation [Refs 4th c.BC+]

IV. a creeping plant, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

V. a kind of fish, see at {ὀφίδιον} [Refs]

VI. guinea-worm (elsewhere δρακόντιον), [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

VII. ={ὀφίασις} I, [Refs 1st c.AD+]. [The first syllable is sometimes made long in the older Poets, αἰόλον ὄφιν [Refs 8th c.BC+] —The ultima of the _nominative_ and…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὄφις

ophis

probably from 3700 (through the idea of sharpness of vision); a snake,

figuratively, (as a type of sly cunning) an artful malicious person,

especially Satan:--serpent.

see GREEK for 3700

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὄφις, εως, ὁ

n.m.

a serpent

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὄφις ophis 14x

a serpent, Mt. 7:10; 10:16; an artificial serpent, Jn. 3:14; used of the devil or Satan, Rev. 12:9, 14, 15; 20:2; met. a man of serpentine character, Mt. 23:33

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὄφις a serpent, snake, Il., Hdt., Trag.:—metaph., πτηνὸν ὄφιν, of an arrow, Aesch.

The first syll. is sometimes made long, when it was pronounced (and perh. ought to be written) ὄπφις, v. ὀχέω.

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

N-NPM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

These reptiles, unclean among the Hebrews, Le 11:10,41, are widely diffused through the world, but are most numerous and venomous in tropical climates. About one-sixth part of all that are known to be poisonous. These are distinguished by having two hollow poisonfangs in the upper jaw, and are usually of slower motion than most snakes. Venomous serpents were abundant in Egypt and Arabia, and seven different kinds are mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures, some of which are identified with existing species. See ADDER, ASP, COCKATRICE, and VIPER.

The serpents mentioned in Nu 21:1-35 Isa 14:29 30:6, and by whom multitudes of the Israelites were destroyed in the desert north of the Gulf of Akabah, were probably called "fiery" and…

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- Created by God

Job 26:13

- Characterised as subtle

Ge 3:1; Mt 10:16

- Called crooked

Job 26:13; Isa 27:1

- Unclean and unfit for food

Mt 7:10

- INFEST

. Hedges

Ec 10:8

. Holes in walls

Am 5:19

. Deserts

De 8:15

- Produced from eggs

Isa 59:5

- Cursed above all creatures

Ge 3:14

- Doomed to creep on their belly

Thompson Chain Reference topics

(1) General References to

Ex 4:3; 7:10; Nu 21:6; De 8:15; Pr 23:32; 30:19; Ec 10:8

Isa 30:6; 65:25; Am 5:19; Mt 7:10; 10:16

--SEE Vipers,

(2) Evil Men Compared to

Ps 58:4; 140:3; Mt 12:34; 23:33; Lu 3:7

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
57%serpent
serpent57% · 8×serpents36% · 5×as serpents7% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object36%subject29%adverbial29%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 14 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
ὡςas, like as, howὑψόωI lift up, exaltὑπό
μήNeg
αἰτέωI ask, request,
ἐπάνωon the top, above, s
πατέωI tread, trample
ἰχθύςa fish
ἀντί
ὅμοιοςlike, similar to
αὐτός
ὄφιςserpents14×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀκέραιοςsimple, unsophisσκορπίοςa scorpion
Article the
ἀρχαῖοςoriginal, primit
ἐπιδίδωμιI hand in, give up,
αὐτός
γέννημαoffspring, child, fr
ἔχιδναa serpent, snake
αἴρωI raise, lift up
κἄνCond

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

Concordanceὄφις · 14× in the New Testament
Revelation Matthew Luke 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians John Mark
Across the New Testament7 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 26 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 156c. AD 40

λέγεται τὸ παλαιὸν τὸ ἰοβόλον καὶ γηγενὲς ἑρπετὸν [ὄφις] ἀνθρώπου φωνὴν προΐεσθαι καί ποτε προσελθὸν τῇ τοῦ πρώτου φύντος ἀνδρὸς γυναικὶ τῆς βραδυτῆτος καὶ τῆς ἄγαν εὐλαβείας ὀνειδίσαι, διότι μέλλει καὶ ὑπερτίθεται πάγκαλον ὀφθῆναι καὶ ἥδιστον…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.41c. AD 75–95

ὁμοφωνούντων δὲ κατʼ ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ τῶν ζῴων ἁπάντων ὄφις συνδιαιτώμενος τῷ τε Ἀδάμῳ καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ φθονερῶς μὲν εἶχεν ἐφʼ οἷς αὐτοὺς εὐδαιμονήσειν ᾤετο πεπεισμένους τοῖς τοῦ θεοῦ παραγγέλμασιν,

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 12.5c. AD 100

πάλιν Μωϋσῆς ποιεῖ τύπον τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸν παθεῖν, καὶ αὐτὸς ζωοποιήσει, ὃν δόξουσιν ἀπολωλεκέναι, ἐν σημείῳ πίπτοντος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, ʽἐποίησεν γὰρ κύριος πάντα ὄφιν δάκνειν αὐτούς, καὶ ἀπέθνησκον ἐπειδὴ ἡ παράβασις διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως ἐν Εὔᾳ ἐγένετὀ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
4th c. AD 7th c. AD 2nd c. AD 5th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Amh. 2 128 VoHermopolitesAD 128

λόγος ὧν ὀφείλω ἀργυρικῶν ὑπὲρ ἐκφορίων καὶ χλωρῶν ἀπὸ Ὄφεως τιμῆς χλωρῶν δραχμαὶ η τῷ αὐτῷ ὑπὲρ ἀρουρῶν γ δραχμαὶ κη Ἐξακῶντι Ἀχιλλίωνος δραχμαὶ

BACPS 1 (1985), p. 24HermopolitesAD 187–AD 188

κϛ ἔτους ὁμοίως πυροῦ ἀρτάβαι η καὶ δραχμαὶ λβ ὧν διασταλεῖσαι διὰ Ὀλυμπιάδος θησαυρῷ Ὄφεως κολλήματος ιϛ ὑπὲρ τῆς προκειμένης Τέρτον Σαμοοῦ πυροῦ δοχικῷ ἀρτάβαι γ 𐅵 γ κζ

P.Ryl. 4 648HermopolisAD 301–AD 325

γραφὴ κτημάτων τοπαρχίας Περὶ Πόλιν Κάτω Παχὼν α Μαγδῶλα ναύβια ϛ Ὄφεως ναύβια δ Σεσιὺ ναύβια δ Βουσίρεως ναύβια β Βωοῦ ναύβια γ Σελλέχμη ναύβια β

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew 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

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
ἀκέραιοιakeraios innocent G185 Adjective · nominative · plural · masculine
3× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Innocent, meaning unmixed or pure, is used to describe someone who is guileless and simple, like in Matthew 10:16 and Romans 16:19.
Amplified meaning
harmless, pure
Tyndale gloss
innocent
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀκέραιος (akeraios) is derived from a negative particle and a presumed root meaning 'to mix.' It encompasses meanings such as unmixed, pure, innocent, and guileless. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts emphasizing sincerity and simplicity, notably in Matthew 10:16, Romans 16:19, and Philippians 2:15. The lexicons also note its metaphorical use to describe moral purity.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — ἁπλοῦς, ἀκέραιος, ἄκακος, ἄδολος from a scan

In this group of words we have some of the rarest and most excellent graces of the Christian character set forth ; or perhaps, as it may rather prove, the same grace by aid of different images, and with only slightest shades of real difference. ᾿“Απλοῦς occurs only twice in the N. T. (Matt. vi. 22; Luke xi. 34); but ἁπλότης seven times, or perhaps eight, always in St. Paul’s Epistles; and ἁπλῶς once (Jam. i. 5). It would be quite impossible to improve on ‘single’? by which our Translators have rendered it, being as it is from ἁπλόω, “ expando,’ “ explico,’ that which is spread out, and thus without folds or wrinkles; exactly opposed to the πολύπλοκος οἵ Job v. 13; compare ‘simplex’ (not ‘ without folds’; but ‘ one-folded,’ ‘ semel,’ not ‘sine,’ lying in its first syllable, ‘ einfaltig,’ Ῥ. 390), which is its exact representative in Latin, and a word, like it, in honorable use. This…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

** ἀκέραιος, -ον

(< κεράννυμι),

[in LXX: Es 8:13*;]

unmixed, pure, hence, metaph. (cf. MM, VGT, s.v.), guileless, simple: Mt 10:16, Ro 16:19, Phl 2:15.†

SYN.: ἄδολος, ἄκακος, ἁπλοῦς (cf. Ellic. on Phl 2:15; Tr., Syn., §lvi).

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

ἀκέραιος, -ov, (κεράννυμιν) ; a. unmixed, pure, as wine, metals. b. of the mind, without admixture of evil, free from guile, innocent, simple: Mt. x. 16; Ro. xvi. 19; Phil. ii. 15; (and freq. in prof. writ.). [Cf. Ellic. on Phil. 1. c.; Trench § lvi.; Tittmann i. 27 sq. |

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

ἀκέραιος. Syll 210! (iii/B.c.) τὴν χώραν ἀκέραιον. (A.D. 232) (= Chrest. I. p. 64) .. .] αὐτῷ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἀκέραιον ὡς ἦλ[θεν . .. In PSI 865 (A.p. 367-75) a man named Aurelius Sneus is bailed out of prison on certain conditions, ἀκέραιον Kal ékro[s] φυϊλακῆς ἀ]ναδοθέντα. Much earlier comes an instance of the adverb, in BGU IV. 120847 (B.c. 27-6) ἐξηγήϊσατό μοι ἀκεραίως an outrage (ὕβρις) set forth in the petition which these words close. It is associated with downs in 7G III. 1418 (ii/A.p.), and in a Delphian inscr. of ii/B.c. (BCH xxvii. p. 109%) πρᾶγμα a. = οὐ κεκριμένον. Cronert, to whom these two passages are due, cites also 7G XIV. 9517! (Rome, B.C. 78) els ἀκέραιον ἀποκαθιστάναι = 77 tnlegrum restituere. In P Lips 1. 13" (A.D. 366) ἀἸκεραίων ὄντων καὶ ἀκινδύνων is applied to a loan, in the promise to pay interest. (MGr ἀκέριος.) P Par 6giil…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀκέραιος (akeraios) — innocent.

ἀκέραι-ος, ον

(feminine -αία [Refs 5th c.BC+], pure, unmixed, ὕδωρ[Refs 4th c.BC+]; untouched, γῆ, νομή, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; unalloyed, ἡδοναί[Refs 4th c.BC+]

2. of persons, pure in blood, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. unharmed, unravaged, ἀ. ἀπολαμβάνειν τὴν πόλιν[Refs 5th c.BC+]; δύναμις, of an army, in full force, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of troops, fresh, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of property, untouched, οὐσία[Refs 4th c.BC+]; ἐᾶν τι ἀσινὲς καὶ ἀ. [Refs]; of a person, Persae.[Refs]

II.2. metaphorically, pure, inviolate, ἀκέραιον ὡς σῴσαιμι Μενέλεῳ λέχος[Refs 5th c.BC+]; [τέχνη] ἀβλαβὴς καὶ ἀ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; complete, perfect, φαντασίαι[Refs 2nd c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀκέραιος

akeraios

from 1 (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative of 2767;

unmixed, i.e. (figuratively) innocent:--harmless, simple.

see GREEK for 1

see GREEK for 2767

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀκέραιος, ον

Adj

simple, unsophisticated, innocent

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀκέραιος akeraios 3x

pr. unmixed: hence, without mixture of vice or deceit, sincere, blameless, Mt. 10:16; Rom. 16:19; Phil. 2:15*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀκέραιος = the poetic ἀκήρατος unmixed, pure in blood, Eur.

entire, unharmed, unravaged, of cities or countries, Hdt., Thuc.; ἀκ. δύναμις an army in full force, id. Thuc.; ἀκ. λέχος inviolate, Eur.; of persons, uncontaminated, guileless, id. Eur.: c. gen., ἀκέραιος κακῶν ἠθῶν uncontaminated by bad habits, Plat.

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

A-NPM Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%innocent
innocent100% · 3×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
predicate100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 3 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
ὄφιςa serpentἄμεμπτοςblameless
ἀγαθόςgood
Article the
ἀκέραιοςinnocent
what comes after →
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
Article the
δέbut, on the other ha
εἰς
τέκνονa child, descendent,
θεόςGod, a god

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

Concordanceἀκέραιος · 3× in the New Testament
Matthew Philippians Romans
Across the New Testament3 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 Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.130c. AD 75–95

αἱ μέντοι προσηγορίαι τῶν μὲν καὶ παντελῶς ἐξίτηλοι γεγόνασιν, ἐνίων δὲ μεταβαλοῦσαι καὶ μεταρρυθμισθεῖσαι πρὸς ἑτέρας δύσγνωστοι τυγχάνουσιν, ὀλίγοι δὲ οἱ φυλάξαντες ἀκεραίους τὰς προσηγορίας ὑπάρχουσι.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 2.5c. AD 96

εἰλικρινεῖς καὶ ἀκέραιοι ἦτε καὶ ἀμνησίκακοι εἰς ἀλλήλους.

Ignatius of AntiochThe Letters of Ignatius 7.2.2c. AD 110

φρόνιμος γίνου ὡς ὁ ὄφις ἐν ἅπασιν καὶ ἀκέραιος εἰς ἀεὶ ὡς ἡ περιστερά.

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

κατ’ ἄνδρα πρ … … … … … … φη … αθ … ν ἀκέραιοι ἡμεῖς … … … … ρ … γράφιον τῆς ἀποχῆς … … ραγματα

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
ὡςhōs as G5613 Adverb
502× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Matthew than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means as or when, showing a comparison or timing. It's used in many verses, like Mark 4:26 and 1 Corinthians 3:15, to show how things are done. It helps explain how or when something happens.
Tyndale gloss
as/when
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὡς is an adverb and conjunction derived from the relative pronoun ὅς. It is used in various contexts to mean 'as,' 'like,' or 'when,' and can indicate manner, comparison, or time. In the New Testament, it appears frequently to express similarity or to introduce clauses, such as in comparisons or temporal phrases. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὡς, adverbial form of the relative pron. ὅς, ἥ, ὅ.

As relat. adv. of manner, as, like as, just as, even as;

with a demonstrative, like οὕτως, expressed or understood: οὕτως . . . ὡς, Mk 4:26, I Co 3:15, Eph 5:28, Ja 2:12, al.; ὡς . . . οὕτως, Ac 8:32, I Co 7:17, al.; elliptically (sc. οὕτως, οὕτω), c. nom., Mt 6:29, al.; c. acc., Mt 19:19, Mk 12:31, al.; c. prep., Mt 26:55, Read the full entry →

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

ὡς [ Treg. (by mistake) in Mt. xxiv. 38 ὥς; cf. W. 462 (431); Chandler § 934, and reff. in Ebeling, Lex. Hom. s. v. p. 494

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

ὡς. Ι. = “45: P Goodsp Cairo 44 (ii/B.c.) (= Selections, Ῥ- 24) εἰ tppwoar . .. εἴη dv ὡς αἱρούμεθα, “if you are well, it will be as we desire,” BGU I. 1637 (A.D. 108) καὶ yap ἄλλοι ὡς πληγέντες ὑπὸ αὐτοῦ ἀναφόριον δεδώκασι, “for others have given information (from time to time) ἃ5 having been assaulted by him,” P Flor I. 5618 (A.p. 234) ὡς καθήκει, and BGU IV. το. 1 (iv/y A.D.) κα]ταβληθῆναι ὡς φονέα. 2. = “that,” ‘ how,” after verbs of saying, thinking, etc.: P Tebt I. τοῦ (B.c. 119) φρόντισον ὡς τὰ τῆς ὑποσχέσεως ἐκπληρωθήσεται, “take care that the terms of his agreement are fulfilled” (Edd.), and P Tebt II. 4101? (i/A.D.) μν[ἤ]σθητι o[s] ἐν τῷ Τρ[ιστόμῳ pe ἐφιλοτ[ιυἹμοῦ σὺν ἐμοὶ μεῖναι, ‘remember how zealous you were at Tristomos to remain with me” (Fdd.). 3. Ὁ. ind. with dy, as in Σ Cor 125, cf. P Par 4615 (B.C. 152) ὡς ἂν εὐκαιρήσω, παραχρῆμα παρέσομαι πρός σε. 4. c. conj. with…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὡς (hōs) — as/when.

ὡς:—

Summary:

__A as adverb of Manner.

__A.Aa ὧς and ὥς (with accent), so, thus.

__A.Ab ὡς (without accent) of the Relat. pronoun ὅς, as.

__A.Ac ὡς Relat. and Interrog., how.

__A.Ad ὡς temporal, when.

__A.Ae ὡς Local, where,

__B ὡς, as CONJUNCTION.

__C,D various usages. adverb of Manner:

__A.Aa ὥς, Demonstr., ={οὕτως}, so, thus, frequently in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in Ionic dialect Prose, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὥς simply ={οὕτως}, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__A.2 καὶ ὧς even so, nevertheless, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐδ᾽ ὧς not even so, [Refs 8th c.BC+] are used in Trag. and Attic dialect, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κἂν ὧς, εἴπερ μέλει σοι, ἀπόστειλόν μοί τινα [Refs 4th c.AD+]; δουλεύων καθὼς καὶ ὧς [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; Thess. καὶ οὗς [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; for this phrase the accentuation ὧς[Refs 2nd…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὡς

hos

probably adverb of comparative from 3739; which how, i.e. in that

manner (very variously used, as follows):--about, after (that),

(according) as (it had been, it were), as soon (as), even as (like),

for, how (greatly), like (as, unto), since, so (that), that, to wit,

unto, when(-soever), while, X with all speed.

see GREEK for 3739

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὡς

Adv

as, like as, how, while, so that

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὡς hōs 504x

conjunction formed from the relative pronoun ὅς, used as a comparative part. and conj., as, correlatively, Mk. 4:26; Jn. 7:46; Rom. 5:15; as, like as, Mt. 10:16; Eph. 5:8; according as, Gal. 6:10; as, as it were, Rev. 8:8; as, Lk. 16:1; Acts 3:12; before numerals, about, Mk. 5:13; conj. that, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὡς thus, as, so that, since

A. ADVERB of Manner, either ὥς (with accent) Demonstr. so, thus, Lat. sic;— or ὡς (without accent) Relat. as, Lat. ut. B. ὡς, as CONJUNCTION. C, D. various usages.

of Manner:

ὥς, Demonstr. = οὕτως, so, thus, Lat. sic, Hom., Hdt.; rare in attic:— καὶ ὥς, even so, nevertheless, οὐδ᾽ ὥς, μηδ᾽ ὥς, not even so, in no wise, Hom., Soph.

in Comparisons, ὥς . . , ὡς . . , so . . as . . , Lat. sic . . ut . . , Il., Plat.

thus, for instance, Od.

ὡς, Relat., as, Lat. ut, first in Hom.; οὕτως ὡς, Lat. sic ut; but the antec. is often omitted: similes are commonly introduced by ὡς ὅτε, ὡς δ᾽ ὅτε, where ὅτε often seems superfluous, ἤριπε δ᾽, ὡς ὅτε πύργος [ἤριπε] Il.:—this ὡς takes the accent at the end of a clause or when it follows the word dependent on it; θεὸς δ᾽ ὣς τίετο δήμῳ Il.; οἱ δὲ φέβοντο, βόες ὥς…

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adv — Adverb
adverb — it qualifies the verb, and never changes form.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

ADV ADVerb or adverb and particle combined

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
60%as
as60% · 310×like16% · 84×when8% · 41×how4% · 21×about4% · 20×other renderings6% · 33×other renderings1% · 7×

516 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 22 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
adverbial31%predicate12%object4%subject4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 502 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
πρόσωπονthe face, counteπούςthe footδιδάσκωI teach
σύ
πλησίονnear, nearby, a καρδίαthe heart, innerἀποστέλλωI send forth, se
καίand, even, also, nam
πολύςmuch, many, ofteαὐτόςλαόςa people, the cr
ἀλλάbut, except
γαμίζωI give in marriaθέλωI will, wish, deφανερῶςclearly, openly
εἰμίI am, exist
ὥραan hour, seasonὅτιthat, since, becοὐNeg
ὡςas502×
what comes after →
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastἥλιοςthe sun, sunlighφῶςlight, a source
δέbut, on the other ha
πληρόωI fill, fulfill,γίνομαιI come into beinἀκούωI hear, listen
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἐνἐγώ
φωνήa sound, noise, voic
ὕδωρwaterβροντήthunderἐν
ἐν
Article theοὐρανόςthe sky, the heaκρυπτόςhidden, secret

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

Concordanceὡς · 502× in the New Testament
Revelation Acts Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians John 2 Corinthians 1 Peter Hebrews Mark Romans Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
αἱho the G3588 Article · nominative · plural · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

T-NPF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Behold I myself send forth you as sheep in [the] midst of wolves; do be therefore shrewd as the serpents and innocent as the doves.
περιστεραί.¶peristera doves. G4058 Noun · nominative · plural · feminine
10× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word refers to a dove, a symbol of peace and innocence in the Bible. In Matthew 3:16, a dove descends on Jesus after his baptism, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. In Luke 2:24, doves are offered as a sacrifice by Mary and Joseph.
Amplified meaning
gentle, peaceful
Tyndale gloss
dove
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word περιστερά (peristera) means 'dove' or 'pigeon' and is derived from uncertain origins. It appears frequently in the New Testament, often symbolizing purity or peace, as seen in passages like Matthew 3:16 and Luke 2:24. The word is also noted in classical literature, where it refers to the common pigeon or dove.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

περιστερά, -ᾶς, ἡ,

[in LXX chiefly for יוֹנָה;]

a dove: Mt 3:16 10:16 21:12, Mk 1:10 11:15, Lk 2:24 3:22, Jo 1:32 2:14, 16.†

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

περιστερά, -ᾶς, ἡ, Hebr. 731, a dove: Mt. iii. 16; x. 16; xxi. 12; Mk.i. 10; xi. 15; Lk. ii. 24; iii. 22; Jn. 1.32; ii. 14,16. [From Hat. down. }

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

περιστερά (a Semitic borrowing=bird of Istar) is common in the sense of ‘‘dove,’”’ cf. e.g. P Flor ΠῚ. 361° (a.p. 82-3) περιστερὰς ἑκατόν. The diminutive περιστέριον is found in BGU IV. 1095! (A.D. 57) ἱμακάτιον περιστερᾳίων (1. ἡμικάδιον περιστερίων), ““ἃ half-jar of (preserved) pigeons,” and περιστερίδιον in BGU II. 5967 (A.D. 84) (= Selections, p- 64) where the writer invites a friend to accompany the bearer of the letter, ὅπως εἰς τὴν ἑω(--οἱρτὴν περιστερείδια ἡμεῖν ἀγοράσηι, ““{παᾶΐ he may buy for us young pigeons for the feast,” P Giss I. 80° (ii/a.p.) τὰ [π]εριστερίδι[α καὶ ὀ]ρνυθάρια, ἃ οὐκ ἤωθα ἐσθεῖν, πέμψον . .., and P Lond ined. Inv. N. 1575 (iii/a.D.) (cited by Olsson Papyrusbrzefe, P- 195) μνημονεύσατε τῶν περιστεριδίων ἡμῶν (a schoolboy to his father). In P Oxy VIII. 11278 (a.p. 183) we have the lease of the upper-room of a house with a pigeon-cote --τὸν ὑπερῷον τόπον…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

περιστερά (peristera) — dove.

περιστερ-ά, ἡ,

common pigeon or dove, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; specifically, Columba livia domestica, and so distinguished from φάψ, φάττα, οἰνάς, τρυγών, [Refs 4th c.BC+]: περιστερός, ὁ, cock-pigeon, [Refs 5th c.BC+] (of a carrier-pigeon), [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

περιστερά

peristera

of uncertain derivation; a pigeon:--dove, pigeon.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

περιστερά, άς, ἡ

n.f.

a dove

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

περιστερά peristera 10x

a dove, pigeon, Mt. 3:16; 10:16

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

περιστερά περιστερά, ἡ, the common pigeon or dove, Hdt., Soph., etc.

deriv. uncertain

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

N-NPF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Were clean according to the Mosaic ritual, and were offered in sacrifice, especially by the poor, Ge 15:9 Le 5:7 12:6-8 Lu 2:24. Several kinds of doves or pigeons frequented the Holy Land; and the immense flocks of them sometimes witnessed illustrate a passage in Isa 60:8. They are symbols of simplicity, innocence, and fidelity, Ho 7:11 Mt 10:16. The dove was the chosen harbinger of God’s returning favor after the flood, Ge 8:1-22, and was honored as an emblem of the Holy Spirit,

Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 24 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 Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn Drunkenness 173c. AD 40

τὸν δὲ αὐχένα τῆς περιστερᾶς ἐν ἡλιακαῖς αὐγαῖς οὐ κατενόησας μυρίας χρωμάτων ἀλλάττοντα ἰδέας;

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.91c. AD 75–95

μετὰ δὲ ἡμέρας ἑπτὰ περιστερὰν ἐπὶ τῷ γνῶναι τὰ περὶ τὴν γῆν προύπεμψεν·

Ignatius of AntiochThe Letters of Ignatius 7.2.2c. AD 110

φρόνιμος γίνου ὡς ὁ ὄφις ἐν ἅπασιν καὶ ἀκέραιος εἰς ἀεὶ ὡς ἡ περιστερά.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD 1st c. AD 2nd c. BC
BGU 4 1095Peri ThebasAD 57

φάγρον κατάμονον, ἐν δὲ τῇ λαγύνῳ ἀριθμῷ μ γίνονται μ, ἐν δὲ τῷ ἡμικαδίῳ περιστερὰς ἀριθμῷ λε καὶ φάγρον σαργανίδιον ἕνα .

P.Flor. 3 361HermopolitesAD 85–AD 86

Καισαρείου … … … το … τους … φόρου δὲ τοῦ συνπεφωνημένου κατʼ ἔτος περιστερὰς ἑκατόν· γίνονται κατʼ ἔτος περιστεραὶ ἑκατόν· τὴν δὲ γεινομένην κόπρον μέχρι τῆς προθεσμίας εἶναι

P.Oxy. 4 729OxyrhynchosAD 138

τριετίαν δώσουσι τῷ μεμισθωκότι κατʼ ἔτος τυροὺς ὀβολιαίους ἑκατόν . τὴν δὲ αὐταρκείαν κόπρου περιστερῶν πρὸς κοπρισμὸν τοῦ κτήματος δώσουσιν οἱ μεμισθωμένοι κατὰ τὸ ἥμισυ καὶ ὁ μεμισθωκὼς κατὰ

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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