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Titus 3:9 — Word Study

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N1904μωρὰς δὲ ζητήσεις καὶ γενεαλογίας καὶ ἔρεις καὶ μάχας νομικὰς περιΐστασο· εἰσὶν γὰρ ἀνωφελεῖς καὶ μάταιοι.

BSAFoolishmōros [unwise, senseless] howeverde controversieszētēsis [questionings, disputes] andkai genealogiesgenealogia [lists of ancestors, family trees] andkai argumentseris [contentions, strivings] andkai quarrelsmachē [fights, brawlings] about [the] Lawnomikos [Jewish laws, God's commandments] do yourself avoid;periistēmi [shun, stay away from] they areeimi [prove to be] forgar unprofitableanōphelēs [unprofitable, useless] andkai worthless.mataios [vain, empty]

Word
Listen & take awayTitus 3
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 9 is in this chapter.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (mataios) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Titus 3:9quick helps
In a sentencePaul advises Titus to avoid pointless disputes and controversies.
Who is speakingThe Apostle Paul, instructing Titus on church matters.
Where we areThis verse is part of Paul's instructions to Titus on maintaining order in the church.
The hard wordμωρὰς
Take awayEngaging in fruitless arguments is discouraged.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectἀνωφελής verbπεριΐστημι 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 — Titus 3:9

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 Church Conductgenerated

8This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.
9But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.
10Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition,
11knowing that such a man is corrupt and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Titus 3:9 advises believers to steer clear of foolish disputes, genealogies, and quarrels regarding the law. Paul emphasizes that such arguments are not only unproductive but also distract from the core mission of the church. This instruction is part of a larger discourse on how to lead a community of faith effectively, ensuring that believers focus on good deeds instead.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Titus 1:14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.
21 Timothy 1:3–7As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines
31 Timothy 4:7But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness.
42 Timothy 2:23But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.
5Job 15:3Should he argue with useless words or speeches that serve no purpose?

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


The Key Word μωρὰς, mōrosgenerated

The word μωρός (i.e., *mōros*) is an adjective meaning foolish or unwise. It describes a lack of good sense, often in a moral or spiritual context, as seen in various New Testament passages.

In this verse, it characterizes the controversies Paul warns against, suggesting that engaging in them is indicative of a lack of wisdom.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as 'But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.' This wording is consistent across several translations.

However, where translations differ is in their choice of words for ζητήσεις. The BSB uses 'controversies,' while the ASV and WEB opt for 'questionings.'


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the verse is περιΐστασο, avoid, which governs the entire sentence. It is followed by a series of noun phrases that list what should be avoided: foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law.

The structure emphasizes the imperative nature of avoiding these disputes, with the concluding clause explaining why such avoidance is necessary.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

μάχη (i.e., *machē*) appears in the Septuagint, translating the Hebrew word for strife or dispute, רִיב (H7379). This connection highlights the longstanding biblical concern with quarrels and conflicts.

The context in which μάχη is used in the LXX often reflects the futility of engaging in such disputes, aligning with Paul's warning in this verse.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Titus 3:9 warns believers to avoid foolish arguments and disputes about the law. Paul emphasizes that these discussions are not only pointless but also distract from more important matters, such as doing good deeds.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does Paul mean by 'foolish controversies'?

Paul refers to unproductive arguments and disputes that do not contribute to spiritual growth or community harmony.

Why should we avoid genealogies?

Genealogies can lead to divisive discussions that detract from the core message of the Gospel and the unity of the church.

What type of arguments does Paul refer to?

Paul is addressing arguments that are contentious and unprofitable, often revolving around interpretations of the law.

What are the consequences of engaging in such disputes?

Engaging in these disputes can lead to division and distraction from the church's mission to promote good works.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What are some examples of foolish controversies I have encountered in my own life?
  2. How can I focus on promoting good deeds instead of engaging in pointless arguments?
  3. In what ways can I encourage others in my community to avoid divisive discussions?
  4. What steps can I take to ensure that my conversations are constructive and beneficial?

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

Early church Fathers referenced this verse to discuss the dangers of engaging in unproductive arguments and the importance of focusing on sound doctrine.

TertullianThe Prescription Against Heretics c. 155–220
Unhappy Aristotle! who invented for these men dialectics, the art of building up and pulling down; an art so evasive in its propositions, so far-fetched in its conjectures, so harsh, in its arguments,
Early Church Fathers on Titus 3 →
Ambrose of MilanOF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 5, Prologue 3-4 c. 339–397
Blessed is that servant [Paul] who can say: “I have fed you with milk and not with meat; for until now you were not able to bear it.” … Yet he—being so great a man and chosen by Christ for the care of his flock in order to strengthen the…
Early Church Fathers on Titus 3 →
JeromeCommentary on Titus c. 347–420
But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
Early Church Fathers on Titus 3 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Titus 3:9 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

But avoid foolish questions,.... Such as were started in the schools of the Jews; see 2 Timothy 2:23 and genealogies; of their elders, Rabbins, and doctors, by whom their traditions are handed down

Read John Gill on Titus 3 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. Foolish , [ mooras (G3474)] - 'insipid:' producing no moral fruit.

Read Robert Jamieson on Titus 3 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

But avoid foolish questions; in the discharge of thy ministry meddle not with idle questions, , tending to no godly edifying. And genealogies; and sifting out genealogies, . And contentions; and strifes about words, or things unprofitable; perverse disputings, and oppositions of science falsely so called, ,5,20. And strivings about the law; particularly questions about the law, the traditions and constitutions of the elders about it. For they are unprofitable and vain; these things are to no purpose or advantage.

Read Matthew Poole on Titus 3 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. Ver. 9. But foolish questions] Such as is that of the Papists, whether an ass drinking at the font do drink the water of baptism, and so may be said to be baptized? Est questio digna asinis, saith Melancthon. Such questionists are (as Stapleton saith of Bodin) magni nugatores, great triflers.

Read John Trapp on Titus 3 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9) But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies.—The “questions” and “genealogies” have been discussed above (1 Timothy 1:4). The Apostle characterises them as “foolish,” because they were of an utterly unpractical nature, and consumed time and powers which were needed for other and better things. The “contentions” were disputes and wranglings which arose out of arguments advanced by different teachers upon the “questions” and “genealogies.” The “strivings about the law” were, most probably, arguments suggested by disputed and intricate points connected with the law of Moses. In the Talmud we possess unnumbered instances of all these strange and curious inquiries about which men then…

Read Charles John Ellicott on Titus 3 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 9. Avoid foolish questions, and genealogies] In these the Jews particularly delighted; they abounded in the most frivolous questions; and, as they had little piety themselves, they were solicitous to show that they had descended from godly ancestors. Of their frivolous questions, and the answers given to them by the wisest and most reputable of their rabbins, the following is a specimen:- Rabbi Hillel was asked: Why have the Babylonians round heads? To which he answered: This is a difficult question, but I will tell the reason: Their heads are round because they have but little wit. Q. Why are the eyes of the Tarmudians so soft? A. Because they inhabit a sandy country. Q. Why have the…

Read AdamClarke on Titus 3 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9. The summary of the other chief topic of the letter; the dealing with the false teaching and evil living of the day. See note above.avoid foolish questions] The Greek puts the errors first in stronger contrast to the good; ‘questions’ should be ‘questionings’ as in 1 Timothy 1:4. see note there; where also ‘genealogies’ is considered. ‘Genealogies’ would be a special and prevailing theme of the ‘questionings,’ and ‘fightings about the law,’ of the ‘contentions,’ as Bp Ellicott points out, following Wiesinger. Cf. 1 Timothy 6:4; 2 Timothy 2:23; and Introduction on the Gnostic heresy. Keeping the A.V. avoid we may give it the due emphasis at the close, as we cannot with ‘shun’ of R.V.…

Read Cambridge on Titus 3 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But avoid foolish questions and genealogies - See the 1 Timothy 1:4 note; 2 Timothy 2:16, 2 Timothy 2:23 notes.

Read Albert Barnes on Titus 3 →

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

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

but shun foolish questionings, genealogies, strife, and disputes about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.

NETBNew English Translation2006

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, quarrels, and fights about the law, because they are useless and empty.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

but shun foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strifes, and fightings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

RVARevised Version, American1894

but shun foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strifes, and fightings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

But stay foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and brawlings about the Lawe: for they are vnprofitable and vaine.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

But foolish questions, and genealogies, and strifes, and contentions about the law, shun; for they are unprofitable and vain.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about law, stand away from — for they are unprofitable and vain.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

but stand away from foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about law—for they are unprofitable and vain.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

But avoid foolish debates and genealogies and strife and conflict about the law. Those things are unprofitable and worthless.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law. For they are unprofitable and vain.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Avoid pointless discussions, and obsessions about ancestry. Don't get into arguments, and avoid fights over the Jewish laws—they're useless and don't help at all.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

But have nothing to do with foolish questionings, and lists of generations, and fights and arguments about the law; for they are of no profit and foolish.

Word by word, the decisions they made

ζητήσειςzētēsis controversies G2214 2 different renderings
questioningsASV BBE RVA WEB
controversiesBSB MSB NETB
ἔρειςeris arguments G2054 4 different renderings
contentionsDBY DRA GNV KJV LSV NWB YLT
argumentsBBE BSB FBV MSB
strifeULB WEB
quarrelsNETB
μάχαςmachē quarrels G3163 3 different renderings
quarrelsBSB MSB NETB
fightsBBE FBV
brawlingsGNV
νομικὰςnomikos about [the] Law G3544 2 different renderings
about lawLSV YLT
jewish lawsFBV
εἰσὶνeimi they are G1510 2 different renderings
they areASV BBE DBY DRA GNV KJV LSV NETB NWB RVA WEB YLT
areBSB MSB ULB
ἀνωφελεῖςanōphelēs unprofitable G512 2 different renderings
unprofitableASV DBY DRA KJV LSV NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
uselessFBV NETB

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the Nestle 1904 treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

clauseδὲhoweverclausenoun phrase · objectnoun phraseμωρὰςFoolishζητήσειςcontroversiesκαὶandγενεαλογίαςgenealogiesκαὶandἔρινargumentsκαὶandnoun phraseμάχαςquarrelsνομικὰςabout [the] Lawverbπεριΐστασοavoidclauseγὰρforclauselinking verbεἰσὶνthey areadjective phrase · predicateἀνωφελεῖςunprofitableκαὶandμάταιοιworthless

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

Stultas autem quæstiones, et genealogias, et contentiones, et pugnas legis devita : sunt enim inutiles, et vanæ.

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

ܡܢ ܒܥܬܐ ܕܝܢ ܣܟܠܬܐ ܘܡܢ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ ܕܫܪܒܬܐ ܘܡܢ ܚܪܝܢܐ ܘܡܢ ܬܟܬܘܫܐ ܕܣܦܪܐ ܐܫܬܐܠ ܝܘܬܪܢ ܓܝܪ ܠܝܬ ܒܗܝܢ ܘܣܪܝܩܢ ܐܢܝܢ

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

μωρὰς δὲ ζητήσεις καὶ γενεαλογίας καὶ ἔρεις καὶ μάχας νομικὰς περιΐστασο· εἰσὶν γὰρ ἀνωφελεῖς καὶ μάταιοι.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

μωρὰς δὲ ζητήσεις καὶ γενεαλογίας καὶ ἔρεις καὶ μάχας νομικὰς περιΐστασο· εἰσὶν γὰρ ἀνωφελεῖς καὶ μάταιοι.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

μωρὰς δὲ ζητήσεις καὶ γενεαλογίας καὶ ἔρεις καὶ μάχας νομικὰς περιΐστασο· εἰσὶν γὰρ ἀνωφελεῖς καὶ μάταιοι.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

μωρὰς δὲ ζητήσεις καὶ γενεαλογίας καὶ καὶ μάχας νομικὰς περιΐστασο· εἰσὶν γὰρ ἀνωφελεῖς καὶ μάταιοι.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

μωρὰς δὲ ζητήσεις καὶ γενεαλογίας καὶ ἔρεις καὶ μάχας νομικὰς περιΐστασο· εἰσὶν γὰρ ἀνωφελεῖς καὶ μάταιοι.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

μωρὰς δὲ ζητήσεις καὶ γενεαλογίας καὶ ἔρεις καὶ μάχας νομικὰς περιΐστασο· εἰσὶν γὰρ ἀνωφελεῖς καὶ μάταιοι.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

μωρὰς δὲ ζητήσεις καὶ γενεαλογίας καὶ ἔρεις καὶ μάχας νομικὰς περιΐστασο· εἰσὶν γὰρ ἀνωφελεῖς καὶ μάταιοι.

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

μωρὰς δὲ ζητήσεις καὶ γενεαλογίας καὶ ἔρεις καὶ μάχας νομικὰς περιΐστασο· εἰσὶν γὰρ ἀνωφελεῖς καὶ μάταιοι.

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
ἔρεις argumentsNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, Treg, TR, ByzWH

Apparatus — SBL Greek New Testament, CC BY 4.0


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

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

Titus 3:9μωρόςFoolishFoolishμωρόςδέhoweverhoweverδέζήτησιςcontroversicontroversiesζήτησιςκαίandandκαίγενεαλογίαgenealogiesgenealogiesγενεαλογίακαίandandκαίἔριςargumentsargumentsἔριςκαίandandκαίμάχηquarrelsquarrelsμάχηνομικόςabout [the]about [the] Lawνομικόςπεριΐστημιdo yourselfdo yourself avoπεριΐστημιεἰμίthey arethey areεἰμίγάρforforγάρἀνωφελήςunprofitablunprofitableἀνωφελήςκαίandandκαίμάταιοςworthless.worthless.μάταιοςζητέωv. I seek,v. I seek, searζητέωμάχομαιv. I engagv. I engage in μάχομαινόμοςn.m. a lawn.m. a law, theνόμοςπερίPrep. abouPrep. about, coπερίἄλφαletter theletter the firsἄλφαμυστήριονn.n. anythn.n. anything hμυστήριονγενεαλογέωv. I put iv. I put into aγενεαλογέωμάτηνAdv in vaiAdv in vainμάτηνζήτησιςn.f. a quen.f. a questionζήτησιςφρόνιμοςAdj intellAdj intelligentφρόνιμοςγενεαλογίαn.f. genean.f. genealogyγενεαλογίαμωρόςAdj stupidAdj stupid, fooμωρόςφθόνοςn.m. envy,n.m. envy, a grφθόνοςἐριθείαn.f. ambitn.f. ambition, ἐριθείαοὐαίIj. & n.inIj. & n.indcl. οὐαίΦαρισαῖοςn.m. a Phan.m. a PhariseeΦαρισαῖοςγάρCj. forCj. forγάρδέCj. but, oCj. but, on theδέ
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 Titus 3:9

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.

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
μωρὰςmōros Foolish G3474 Adjective · accusative · plural · feminine
12× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Titus than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A foolish person is someone who is dull or stupid, like the fool in Matthew 7:26. It describes someone who is heedless or lacking in good sense, often in a moral or spiritual way.
Amplified meaning
unwise, senseless
Tyndale gloss
foolish
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word μωρός (i.e., *moros*) means dull or foolish, often used to describe a lack of mental sharpness. It appears in various contexts in the New Testament, including references to foolishness in actions and thoughts (e.g., Matthew 7:26, 1 Corinthians 1:25). The term is derived from a root suggesting a state of being shut up or blocked, and it is sometimes associated with moral implications, indicating a heedless or blockheaded nature.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μωρός, -ά, -όν,

[in LXX for נָבָל, etc.; freq. in Si.;]

prop., of the nerves, dull, sluggish (Hipp., Arist.).

Of the mind, dull, stupid, foolish: Mt 5:22 (v. Field, Notes, 3 ff.) 7:26 23:17, 19 (T, WH, txt., R, om.) Mt 25:2, >3, 8, I Co 3:18 4:10; of things, παράδοσις, Mk 7:13 (T, WH, txt., R, om.): ζητήσεις, II Ti 2:23, Tit 3:9; τὸ μ. τ. θεοῦ, I Co 1:25; τὰ μ. τ. κόσμου, I Co 1:27.†

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

μωρός, -d, -dv, [on the accent cf. W. 52 (51); Chandler 88 404, 405], foolish: with τυφλός, Mt. xxiii. 17, 19 [here T Tr WH txt. om. L br. μωρ.]; τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, an act or appointment of God deemed foolish by men, 1 Co. i. 25; i. q. without learning or erudition, 1 Co. i. 27; iiL 18; iv. 10; imprudent, without forethought or wisdom, Mt. vii. 26; xxiii. 17,19 [see above]; xxv. 2 sq. 8; 1. 4: empty, useless, ζητήσεις, 2 Tim. ii. 23; Tit. iii. 9; in imitation of the Hebr. 533 (cf. Ps. xiii. (xiv.) 1; Job ii. 10) i. q. impious, godless, (because such a man neglects and despises what relates to salvation), Mt. v. 22; [some take the word here as a Hebr. term ()D rebel) expressive of condemnation ; cf. Num. xx. 10; Ps. Ixviii. 8; but see the Syriac; Field, Otium Norv. pars iii. ad loc.; Levy, Neuhebriisch. u. Chald. Worterbuch s. v. pn]. (Sept. for 523, Deut. xxxii. 6; Is. xxxii. 5 sq.; for…

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

μωρός. In the nursery acrostic P Tebt II. 27885 (early i/a.b.) it is said of a lost garment—)éwy ὁ ἄρας, μωρὸς --ὁ -- ἀπολέσας, (αι lion he was who took it, a fool who lost it”: cf. BGU I. 4513 (A.D. 203) ἐπῆλθεν αὐτῷ, ἐπαγαγὼν σὺν α[ὐ]τῷ τὸν 1ό. IV. τοφθῖϊ. 35. (ii/A.D.) Μάρων ἐπικαλί(ούμενος) μωρός shows the word used as ἃ nickname, cf. the cognomen Brutus (Liv. i. 56. 8): so the diploma of club membership with reference to the boxer Herminus—P Lond 11784 (a.p. 194) (=III. p. 217) γεινώσκετε! ὄντα [ἡμῶν] συνοδείτην “Eppeivoy, τὸν καὶ Μωρόν, ‘‘ know that we are adopting as member Herminus, also called Morus.” The word is a Greek word, and it is μωρός 421 Motors quite unnecessary to identify it in Mt 522 with Heb. md | Movoje. Numb 20? (cf. RV marg.). It is found in the Midrashim, | For this the older form of the proper name, as in the and may well have passed into use amongst the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μωρός (mōros) — foolish.

μωρός, ά, όν,

Attic dialect μῶρος Hdn.Gr. 1.192: μῶρος as feminine, [Refs 5th c.BC+], but accusative μῶραν [Refs 3rd c.BC+]:—dull, sluggish, of the nerves, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; χειμῶνος ἀρχομένου μ. γίνονται οἱ ἐργάται [τῶν σφηκῶν] [Refs 4th c.BC+]

2. of persons, dull, stupid, μωροῦ φωτὸς ἅδε βουλά [NT+5th c.BC+]: comparative in proverbial, μωρότερος Μορύχου [Refs 5th c.BC+]: superlative, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. b in a religious sense, λαὸς μ. καὶ ἀκάρδιος [LXX]

3. of things, δέδοικα μῶρον πυραύστου μόρον [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὸ μ. folly, [NT+5th c.BC+]; μῶρα φρονεῖν, φωνεῖν, δρᾶν, [LXX+5th c.BC+]

3. b μ. ἀνάγκη blind necessity, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μωρός

moros

probably from the base of 3466; dull or stupid (as if shut up), i.e.

heedless, (morally) blockhead, (apparently) absurd:--fool(-ish, X

-ishness).

see GREEK for 3466

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μωρός, ά, όν

Adj

stupid, foolish

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μωρός mōros 12x

pr. dull; foolish, Mt. 7:26; 23:17; 25:2f., 8; 1 Cor. 1:25, 27; 3:18; 4:10; 2 Tim. 2:23; Tit. 3:9; from the Hebrew, a fool in senseless wickedness, Mt. 5:22*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μωρός μωρός, ή, όν dull, sluggish, stupid, Soph., etc.; τὸ- μ. folly, Eur.; μῶρα φρονεῖν, δρᾶν, λέγειν Soph., Eur.:—adv. -ρως, Xen.

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

A-APF Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
69%foolish
foolish69% · 9×foolishness8% · 1×foolish things8% · 1×fools8% · 1×fool8% · 1×

13 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
subject33%predicate25%object25%adverbial8%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 12 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
δέbut, on the other ha
Article the
Article the
ὅτιthat, since, becἀλλάbut, except
λέγωI say, speak
ἄνDisj
ἀνήρa male human being,
ὁμοιόωI make like, lik
εἰμίI am, exist
αὐτός
μωρόςFoolish12×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
τυφλόςblindπέντεIndecἀπαίδευτοςuntrained, unedu
Article the
φρόνιμοςintelligent, pruθεόςGod, a godκόσμοςthe world, unive
ἔνοχοςinvolved in, liable
εἰμίI am, exist
ὅστις
οἰκοδομέωI build, build u
λαμβάνωI receive, take
Article 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

Concordanceμωρός · 12× in the New Testament
Matthew 1 Corinthians 2 Timothy Titus
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
The Shepherd of Hermas Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Cherubim 75c. AD 40

λέληθέ σε, ὦ μωρέ, ὅτι πᾶς ὁ δοκῶν ἐν γενέσει διώκειν διώκεται·

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 39.1c. AD 96

Ἅφρονες καὶ ἀσύνετοι καὶ μωροὶ καὶ ἀπαίδευτοι χλευάζουσιν ἡμᾶς καὶ μυκτηρίζουσιν, ἑαυτοὺς βουλόμενοι ἐπαίρεσθαι ταῖς διανοίαις αὐτῶν.

The Shepherd of HermasThe Shepherd of Hermas 3.6.5c. AD 140

ἀποκριθεῖσά μοι λέγει: Ἕως πότε μωρὸς εἶ καὶ ἀσύνετος, καὶ πάντα ἐπερωτᾷς καὶ οὐδὲν νοεῖς;

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. AD 2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Brem. 61Hermopolis (?)AD 113–AD 120

τὰ ἀβάσκαντά σου παιδία. ἐρρῶσθαί σε εὔχομαι. Φαρμοῦθι ιϛ. οὐκ ἀγνοεῖς, πῶς πάλιν ὁ μωρὸς διενοχλεῖ μοι χάριν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ μωραίνων καὶ οὐκ ἔχων σε τὸν ἐκτινάξοντα αὐτοῦ

P.Athen.. 43 VoArsinoitesAD 131

ἀσκαύλης ἐπιτηρήσεως δραχμὰς δραχμὰς κ ἐπιτηρήσεως δραχμὰς … ἡμῖν δραχμὰς ιβ Βερενικίδος Αἰγιαλοῦ … μωρος θρηναύλης ἐπιτηρήσεως δραχμὰς κη Ἥρων γέρων ἀσκαύλης ἐπιτηρήσεως δραχμὰς ιϛ ἡμῖν δραχμὰς ιη Διονυσιάδος

P.Petaus 118ArsinoitesAD 182–AD 187

Μ … ος Πυμήους Πακόις Θωσοιέος … ανος Κάστωρ ὁ μωρός α Πι … υ … ν α Πωλᾶς Ἀτσακοῦς Μ … … ος Βαχώτα

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
δὲde however G1161 Conjunction
2,787× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Titus as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a conjunction that means and, but, or then, used to connect ideas like in Matthew 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 6:15.
Tyndale gloss
then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δέ (de) is a post-positive particle in Greek, primarily used as a conjunction to connect clauses. It can express contrast (but, on the other hand) or continuation (and, also), and is often used to transition between ideas or to add emphasis. In the New Testament, it appears frequently in various contexts, such as contrasting statements or resuming interrupted discourse, with notable examples in Matthew and 2 Corinthians.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δέ (before vowels δ’; on the general neglect of the elision in NT, v. WH, App., 146; Tdf., Pr., 96),

post-positive conjunctive particle;

copulative, but, in the next place, and, now (Abbott, JG, 104): Mt 1:2ff., II Co 6:15, 16, II Pe 1:5-7; in repetition for emphasis, Ro 3:21, 22, 9:30, I Co 2:6, Ga 2:2, Phl 2:8; in transition to something new, Mt 1:18 2:19, Lk 13:1, Jo 7:14, Ac 6:1, Read the full entry →

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

δέ (related to δή, as μέν to μήν, ef. Klotz ad Devar. ii. 2 p. 355), a particle adversative, distinctive, disjunctive, but, moreover, (W.§ 53, 7 and 10, 2); it is much more freq. in the historical parts of the N. T. than in the other books, very rare in the Epp. of John and the Apocalypse. {On its general neglect of elision (when the next word begins with a vowel) cf. Tdf. Proleg. p. 96; WH. App. Ῥ 146; W.§5,1a.; B. p.10sq.] It is used ἘΠ ΟἹ δὲ univ. by way of opposition and distinction; it is added to statements opp. to a preceding statement: ἐὰν yap ἀφῆτε... ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῆτε, Mt. vi. 14 sq.; ἐὰν de ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς κτλ. Mt. vi. 23; ἐλεύσονται δὲ ἡμέραι, Mk. ii. 20; it opposes persons to persons or things previously mentioned or thought of, —either with strong emphasis: ἐγὼ δέ, Mt. v. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39,44; ἡμεῖς de, 1 Co. i. 23; 2 Co. x. 13; σὺ δέ, Mt. vi. 6; ὑμεῖς δέ, Mk. viii. 29; of δὲ…

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

δεῖ. For the conjunctive, as in Mt 26%, cf. P Fay 109° (early i/A.D.) ἐάν σε δῇ (for δέῃ) τὸ εἱμάτιόν σου θεῖναι ἐνέχυρον. “even if you have to pawn your cloak” (Edd.). In P Tebt I. 585° (B.c. 111) we have ἐάν followed by the indicative— ἐὰν δεῖ σε συνπεσεῖν τῶι ᾿Ανικήτωι, σύνπεσαι, ‘if you must meet Anicetus, meet him” (Edd.): cf. Mayser G7. p. 325. Other examples of the verb are l’ Par 461® (B.C. 153) διὸ Kal ἡγούμενος δεῖν ἐπ᾿ ἄλλου μὲν μηθενὸς αὐτῶι διακριθῆναι» P Lille I. 267 (iii.B.c.) περὶ (corr. from πεερὶ) δὲ τούτου τοῦ μέρους δεήσει ἐπισχεῖν, P Tebt 11. 3414 (A.p. 140-1) δεήσι ἐπισταλῆναι εἰς δάνε[ι]α σπέρματα κατασπίο]ρᾶς KTA., “ΕἼ will be necessary to send on account of loans of seedcorn for the sowing,” etc., AécheZ 1001" © (Theran Doric —c. B.C. 200) no one may bring forward a proposal ὡς δεείσῃ διαλῦσαι τὸ κοινὸν εἰ τὰς θυσίας, P Flor II. 133" (A.D. 257) ἔδι μὲν ὑμᾶς μηδὲ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δέ (de) — then.

δέ,

but: adversative and copulative Particle,

I. answering to μέν (which see), τὴν νῦν μὲν Βοιωτίαν, πρότερον δὲ Καδμηίδα γῆν καλουμένην [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. without preceding μέν,

II.1. adversative, expressing distinct opposition, αἰεί τοι τὰ κάκ᾽ ἐστὶ φίλα.. μαντεύεσθαι, ἐσθλὸν δ᾽ οὔτε τί πω εἶπας[Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in Prose, οὐκ ἐπὶ κακῷ, ἐλευθερώσει δέ.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. copulative,

II.2. a in explanatory clauses, ξυνέβησαν.. τὰ μακρὰ τείχη ἑλεῖν (ἦν δὲ σταδίων μάλιστα ὀκτώ) [Refs 8th c.BC+]: when a substantive is followed by words in apposition, Ἀρισταγόρῃ τῷ Μιλησίῳ, δούλῳ δὲ ἡμετέρῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in answers, διπλᾶ λέγειν. —Answ. διπλᾶδ᾽ ὁρᾶν…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

δέ

de

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

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

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δέ

Cj.

but, on the other hand, and

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δέ de 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

δέ is often redundant,

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

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

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existσύ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπεντακισχίλιοιfive thousand
εἰCond
παλαιόςold, ancient, woσύεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ἀναπίπτωI lie down, reclμνημεῖονa tomb, sepulche
οὗτος
δίδωμιI offer, giveθεόςGod, a godπίστιςfaith, belief, t
δέhowever2787×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusθεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐπί
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theσύ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὗτοςἸωάννηςJohn
τὶς
Article theαὐτόςὄνομαname, character,

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

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

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

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
ζητήσειςzētēsis controversies G2214 Noun · accusative · plural · feminine
8× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Titus than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A controversy or dispute, such as the one in 2 Timothy 2:23 about foolish arguments.
Amplified meaning
questionings, disputes
Tyndale gloss
controversy
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ζήτησις (zētēsis) refers to a seeking or search, encompassing inquiries, debates, and controversies. It is derived from the verb ζητέω and is used in various contexts, including philosophical investigations and judicial inquiries. In the New Testament, it appears in passages like Acts 15:2 and 1 Timothy 6:4, where it denotes disputes or subjects of questioning.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

* ζήτησις, -εως, ἡ

(< ζητέω).

a seeking, search.

a questioning, inquiry, debate: Ac 15:2, 7, II Ti 2:23, Tit 3:9; seq. περί, Jo 3:25, Ac 25:20, I Ti 6:4.†

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

ζήτησις. The more technical use of this word, as in Ac 252°, may be illustrated from the long petition of Dionysia P Oxy II. 237% 7 (A.D. 186) περὶ ἰδιωτικῶν ζητήσεων, ** concerning private suits,” “Hi 89. εἴ tis γένοιτο ζήτησις cis ὕστερον περὶ τῶν μὴ δεόντως ἀπογραψαμένων, ‘if any inquiry is made hereafter concerning false returns ’’ (Edd.): οἵ. 26. III. Gey (a.p. 184) ἐάν τις ζήτησις περὶ τούτου πρὸς σὲ γένηται, and from the inscrr. OG/S 6299 (A.D. 137) συνέβαινεν δὲ πλειστάκις περὶ τούτου ζητήσεις γείνεσθ[αι με]ταξὺ τῶν ἐνπόρων πρὸς τοὺς τελώνας. For the ordinary meaning ‘‘ search ”’ see a proclamation by the prefect in A.D. 154-5 promising all who had fled from public burdens that, if they returned within three months—p[Sleplav πρὸς α[ὐ]τοὺς ζήτησιν ἔσεσθαι (BGU 11. 372118). The subst. occurs in a difficult phrase in an Imperial edict, probably to be assigned to Julian (see Archiv…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ζήτησις (zētēsis) — controversy.

ζήτ-ησις, εως, ἡ,

seeking, search for, κατ᾽ Εὐρώπης ζήτησιν ἐκπλῶσαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κατὰ βίου τε καὶ γῆς ζ. [Refs]; ἀνδρὸς κατὰ ζήτησιν in quest of him, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. searching, examining, ζήτησιν ἐποιέετο τῶν νεῶν searched the ships, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. inquiry, investigation, especially of a philosophic nature, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ζ. τοῦ μέλλοντος διὰ ὀρνίθων ποιεῖσθαι inquire into the future by augury, [Refs 1st c.BC+]

4. judicial inquiry, [Refs 4th c.BC+], etc.: plural, suits, controversies, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ζήτησις

zetesis

from 2212; a searching (properly, the act), i.e. a dispute or its

theme:--question.

see GREEK for 2212

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ζήτησις, εως, ἡ

n.f.

a question, debate, controversy

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ζήτησις zētēsis 7x

a seeking; an inquiry, a question; a dispute, debate, discussion, Jn. 3:25; 1 Tim. 6:4; a subject of dispute or controversy, Acts 15:2, 7; 25:20; 2 Tim. 2:23; Tit. 3:9

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ζήτησις ζήτησις, εως ζητέω a seeking, seeking for, search for a thing, c. gen., Hdt., Soph., etc.

a searching, search, ποιέεσθαι ζήτησιν τῶν νεῶν to search the ships, Hdt.

inquiry, investigation, Plat.

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

N-APF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
29%controversy
controversy29% · 2×controversies29% · 2×inquiry14% · 1×speculations14% · 1×debate14% · 1×

7 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
object50%subject38%adverbial13%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 8 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
δέbut, on the other ha
πολύςmuch, many, ofteμωρόςstupid, foolish
οὖνtherefore, then
γίνομαιI come into bein
καίand, even, also, nam
στάσιςstanding, place,
οὗτος
περί
ὅστις
ἀπέραντοςunaccomplished,
ζήτησιςcontroversies
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
λογομαχίαcontention aboutγενεαλογίαgenealogy
ἐκ
Article the
οὐNeg
ὀλίγος& Adv
γίνομαιI come into being, a
ἀνίστημιI raise up, set
λέγωI say, speak
εἰCond

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

Concordanceζήτησις · 8× in the New Testament
Acts 1 Timothy 2 Timothy John Titus
Across the New Testament5 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Didache The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 54c. AD 40

ἐκ δὲ τῆς τούτων ζητήσεως τὸ φιλοσοφίας συνέστη γένος, οὗ τελειότερον ἀγαθὸν οὐκ ἦλθεν εἰς τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.31c. AD 75–95

καὶ ὁ μὲν τοῦτο ποιήσας ἀπαλλάσσεται κατὰ ζήτησιν χωρίων πρὸς νομὰς ἐπιτηδείων.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 19.10c. AD 100

μνησθήσῃ ἡμέραν κρίσεως νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας, καὶ ἐκζητήσεις καθ̓ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν τὰ πρόσωπα τῶν ἁγίων, ἢ διὰ λόγου κοπιῶν καὶ πορευόμενος εἰς τὸ παρακαλέσαι καὶ μελετῶν εἰς τὸ σῶσαι ψυχὴν τῷ λόγῳ, ἢ διὰ τῶν χειρῶν σου ἐργάσῃ εἰς λύτρωσιν ἁμαρτιῶν σου.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 7th c. AD
SB 5 7741HerakleopolitesAD 126–AD 133

δοῦναι πράσσεσθαι ὁμοίως καὶ τὰς παρὰ τοῖς διακριταῖς ἐκθέσεις. εἰ γάρ τινα ἐν αὐτοῖς ζητήσεως δεῖσθαι νομίζεις, δυνήσει περὶ τούτων ἐπιστεῖλαι τοῖς τοῦ Ἡρακλείδου βοηθοῖς. ἴσθι μὲν γὰρ τὴν

ει. Κεφαλίωνος καὶ Ἀπολλωνίου τελωνῶν ἐνκυκλίου Μενδησίου ἀξιωσάντων … ς εἶναι τὴν ζήτησιν, Μαμερτεῖνος εἶπεν· τότε ἐρεῖτε. παραγενομένων … Διοφάντου Πτολεμαίου καὶ Ἡρακλείου τοῦ Ἡρακλείου πρὸς Σαραπίωνα

P.Hamb. 1 70Arsinoites (?)AD 145

μου τὰ περὶ αὐτῶν πάντα δημόσια εἰς ὄνομα τῆς Φλαουίας Πτολέμας, ὁμολογῶ, ἐάν τις ζήτησις γένηται περὶ τῶν περιγεινομένων αὐτῶν ἢ ἑτέρου τινὸς αὐτῶν, ὅταν τὸν λόγον δίδομεν τῷ

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Titus 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

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
γενεαλογίαςgenealogia genealogies G1076 Noun · accusative · plural · feminine
2× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Titus than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This term refers to a family tree or a list of ancestors, as seen in 1 Timothy 1:4 and Titus 3:9. It involves making a pedigree and studying genealogy.
Amplified meaning
lists of ancestors, family trees
Tyndale gloss
genealogy
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word γενεαλογία (i.e., genealogia) means 'genealogy' or 'the making of a pedigree.' It refers to tracing ancestry and is used in the New Testament in 1 Timothy 1:4 and Titus 3:9. The word is built from the root related to 'generation' and has a historical context in literature, appearing in works from the 5th century BC onward.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

* γενεαλογία, -ας, ἡ (v. previous word);

the making of a pedigree.

a genealogy: pl., I Ti 1:4, Tit 3:9 (v. CGT, in l., and ib. Intr., xlix ff.; DB, ii, p. 141).†

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

γενεαλογία 915° (i/A.p.) καὶ [adjro[t] καὶ γενεαὶ [αἸὐτῶϊν. abstract sense appears in P Tebt IT. 3125 (A.p. 123-4) ἱερεὺς ἀπολύσιμος ἀπὸ τ[ῆς] [.] ὃ γενεᾶς, ‘‘exempted priest of the [. ]}4th generation.” yeveahoyla. The plural is found along with μῦθοι (as in 1 Tim 14) in Polyb. ix. 2. 1 περὶ tas γενεαλογίας καὶ μύθους, where the reference is to the stories of the births of the demigod founders of states. Heiuce Hort (Jud. Christiunity, p. 135 ff.) understands the word in the Pastorals not of the Gnostic groupings of aeons in genealogical relationships, but of “all the early tales adherent, as it were, to the births of founders,” ete.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γενεαλογία (genealogia) — genealogy.

γενεᾱλογ-ία, ἡ,

tracing a pedigree, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; title of work by Hecataeus; γ. καὶ μῦθοι [NT+2nd c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

γενεαλογία

genealogia

from the same as 1075; tracing by generations, i.e.

"genealogy":--genealogy.

see GREEK for 1075

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γενεαλογία, ας, ἡ

n.f.

genealogy

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γενεαλογία genealogia 2x

genealogy, catalogue of ancestors, history of descent, 1 Tim. 1:4; Tit. 3:9*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γενεαλογία from γενεάλογος the making a pedigree, Plat.

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

N-APF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- The Jews reckoned by

1Ch 9:1; 2Ch 31:19

- Public registers kept of

2Ch 12:15; Ne 7:5

- OF CHRIST

. Given

Mt 1:1-17; Lu 3:23-38

. Prove his descent from Judah

Heb 7:14

- Priests who could not prove their own, excluded from the

priesthood

Ezr 2:62; Ne 7:64

- Subject of, to be avoided

1Ti 1:4; Tit 3:9

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%genealogies
genealogies100% · 2×

2 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.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
μῦθοςan idle tale, faζήτησιςa question, deba
γενεαλογίαgenealogies
what comes after →
ἀπέραντοςunaccomplished, unen
ὅστις
καίand, even, also, nam
ἔριςcontention, stri

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

Concordanceγενεαλογία · 2× in the New Testament
1 Timothy Titus
Across the New Testament2 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Preliminary Studies 44c. AD 40

ἀλλ’ οὐχ ἱστορικὴ γενεαλογία ταῦτ’ ἐστὶν ἀναγραφεῖσα παρὰ τῷ σοφῷ νομοθέτῃ — μηδεὶς τοῦτ’ εὖ φρονῶν ὑπονοήσειεν —, ἀλλὰ πραγμάτων ψυχὴν ὠφελῆσαι δυναμένων διὰ συμβόλων ἀνάπτυξις.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 11.71c. AD 75–95

ἐξεβλήθησαν δὲ καὶ τῶν ἱερέων ἐκ τῆς τιμῆς ἠγμένοι γυναῖκας, ὧν οὔτʼ αὐτοὶ τὸ γένος εἶχον εἰπεῖν οὔτʼ ἐν ταῖς γενεαλογίαις τῶν Λευιτῶν καὶ ἱερέων εὑρέθησαν·

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Titus 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

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
ἔρειςeris arguments G2054 Noun · accusative · plural · feminine
9× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Titus than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A quarrel or strife, as seen in Romans 1:29 and 1 Corinthians 3:3. This means a dispute or argument between people, often involving loud and angry words.
Amplified meaning
contentions, strivings
Tyndale gloss
quarrel
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἔρις (*eris*) means strife or contention and is derived from uncertain roots. It covers a range of meanings including quarrel, wrangling, and debate. The New Testament references include Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, and Titus, where it appears in contexts of conflict and disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἔρις, -ιδος acc, ἔριν (on the declension, v. B1., § 8, 3; WH, App., 157), ἡ,

[in LXX: Ps 138 (139):20, Si 28:11 40:5, 9 * ;]

strife, wrangling, contention: Ro 1:29 13:13, I Co 3:3, II Co 12:20, Ga 5:20, Phl 1:15, I Ti 6:4, Tit 3:9; pl. (v.s. ἐριθία), Ro 13:13, WH, mg., I Co 1:11, Ga, l.c., WH, mg.†

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

ἔρις, -ιδος, 7, ace. ἔριν (Phil. i. 15), pl. ἔριδες (1 Co. i. 11) and épes (2 Co. xii. 20 [RG Trtxt.; Gal. v.20RG WHnrsg.]; Tit. iii. 9 [R GLTr]; see [WH. App. p. 157]; Lob.ad Phryn. p. 326; Matthiae § 80 note 8; Bitm. Ausf. Spr. p. 191 sq.; [W. 65 (63); B. 24 (22)]); contention, strife, wrangling: Ro. i. 29; xiii. 13; 1 Co. i. 11; iii. 3; 2 Co. xii. 20; Gal. v. 20; Phil. i. 15; 1 Tim. vi. 4; Tit. iii. 9. [From Hom. down.]

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

ἔρις. As a new literary reference we may cite the Alexandrian Erotic Fragment P Grenf I. 1% (ii/B.c.) γίνωσκε (pap. γινωσχ᾽) ὅτι θυμὸν ἀνίκητον ἔχω ὅταν ἔρις λάβῃ pe, “know that I have a heart unconquerable when hate takes hold upon me.” The word is used 2% bonam partem in Kazrbel ἣ κάλλει ψ[υχῆς πᾶσιν ἔβαλλεν ἔριν where the editor renders ‘‘ anim pulcritudine illa omnibus aemulandi studium iniecit.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἔρις (eris) — quarrel.

ἔρις,

__B ={ἶρις}, Attic dialect, accusative to [Refs 5th c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἔρις

eris

of uncertain affinity; a quarrel, i.e. (by implication)

wrangling:--contention, debate, strife, variance.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἔρις, ιδος, ἡ

n.f.

contention, strife

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἔρις eris 9x

altercation, strife, Rom. 13:13; contentious disposition, Rom. 1:29; Phil. 1:15

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

N-APF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
56%strife
strife56% · 5×dissension11% · 1×quarrels11% · 1×quarrel11% · 1×arguments11% · 1×

9 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
subject44%adverbial33%predicate11%object11%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 9 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
ζῆλοςeagerness, zeal,φθόνοςenvy, a grudgeγενεαλογίαgenealogy
φόνοςmurder, slaughter
φθόνοςenvy, a grudge
μήNeg
ἀσέλγειαwantonness, lewd
ὅτιthat, since, because
ΧλόηChloe
πῶς
μήNeg
ἔριςarguments
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
ζῆλοςeagerness, zeal,μάχηstrife, contenti
ζῆλοςeagerness, zeal, riv
θυμόςan outburst of p
δόλοςdeceit, guile, treac
κακοήθειαevil-mindedness
ἐν
σύ
οὐχίIrg
σαρκικόςfleshly, carnal

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

Concordanceἔρις · 9× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians Romans 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians Galatians Philippians Titus
Across the New Testament7 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Unchangeableness of God 97c. AD 40

εὐδαίμονες μὲν οὖν οὗτοι, παραπλήσιόν τι πάσχοντες τοῖς ἐκ βαθέος ὕπνου διανισταμένοις καὶ τὸν κόσμον ἐξαίφνης ἀπόνως καὶ χωρὶς πραγματείας ὁρῶσιν, ἄθλιοι δὲ οἷς πρὸς ἃ μὴ πεφύκασιν ἀντιφιλονεικεῖν συμβαίνει ἔριδι, ἀργαλεωτάτῃ νόσῳ, ἐπαιρόμενοι.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 3.96c. AD 75–95

ἦν γὰρ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἔρις τῶν μὲν ἀπολωλέναι λεγόντων θηρίοις περιπεσόντα, καὶ μάλιστα ὅσοι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπεχθῶς ἦσαν διακείμενοι ταύτην τὴν ψῆφον ἔφερον, τῶν δὲ πρὸς τὸ θεῖον ἀνακεχωρηκέναι.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 3.2c. AD 96

ἐκ τούτου ζῆλος καὶ φθόνος, καὶ ἔρις, καὶ στάσις, διωγμὸς καὶ ἀκαταστασία, πόλεμος καὶ αἰχμαλωσία.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 1st c. AD 2nd c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Amh. 2 44Philopator alias Theogenus (Arsinoites) Philopator - Theogenes (Arsinoites)137 BC

νων συνηρμένωι επιν … … … κεων, οἱ δύο τῶν κομ … … εριδος Φίλων Δαζίμου … βασιλευόντων βασιλέως Πτολεμαίου καὶ βασιλίσσης Κλεοπάτρας τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Εὐεργετῶν τῶν

O.Berenike 2 143BerenikeAD 50–AD 75

Μᾶρκος Καλε … έρις τύρμης Λογγείνου ἔχω κεράμια δε- καέξ. Ἐπίμαχος Ψενοσίριος.

O.Claud. 2 249TiberianeAD 126–AD 175

τῶι ἀδελφῷ πολλὰ χαίρειν. κόμισαι παρὰ Λογγινᾶτος τὸ σφυρίδιον καὶ δώσις αὐτὸ τῶι ἀνθρώπῳ. ἐρῖς Ἀπολλωνίωι ὅτι ἐρωτηθεὶς ποίησόν μοι τὸ τοῦτο καὶ πέμψον μοι αὐτὸ διὰ Λογγᾶτος ἐπὶ

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Titus 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

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
μάχαςmachē quarrels G3163 Noun · accusative · plural · feminine
4× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Titus than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for a battle or quarrel, describing a fight or controversy. In 2 Corinthians 7:5 and James 4:1, it refers to a struggle or strife, often between people.
Amplified meaning
fights, brawlings
Tyndale gloss
quarrel
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μάχη (machē) refers to a fight, battle, or conflict, often implying strife or contention. It is derived from the verb μάχομαι and is used in various contexts, including quarrels and disputes, as seen in 2 Corinthians 7:5 and James 4:1. The term can also denote a struggle or contest, extending beyond physical battles to include legal and rhetorical disputes.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — πόλεμος, μάχη from a scan

Πόλεμος and μάχη occur often together (Homer, 10. 1. 177; y. 891; Plato, Tim. 19 6; Job xxxviii. 23; Jam. iv. 1); and in like manner πολεμεῖν and μάχεσθαι. There is the same difference between them as between our own ‘war’ and ‘battle’ ; 6 πόλεμος Πελοποννησιακός, the Peloponnesian War ; ἡ ἐν Μαραθῶνι μάχη, the battle of Marathon. Dealing with the words in this antithesis, namely that πόλεμος embraces the whole course of hostilities, μάχη the actual shock in arms of hostile armies, Pericles, dissuading the Athenians from yielding to the demands of the Spartans, admits that these with their allies were a match for all the other Greeks together in a single battle, but denies that they would retain the same superiority in a war, that is, against such as had their preparations of another kind (μάχῃ μὲν γὰρ μιᾷ πρὸς ἅπαντας Ἕλληνας δυνατοὶ Πελοποννήσιοι καὶ οἱ ξύμμαχοι ἀντισχεῖν, πολεμεῖν δὲ…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μάχη, -ης, ἡ

(< μάχομαι),

[in LXX chiefly for רִיב;]

a fight.

a strife, contention, quarrel: II Co 7:5, II Ti 2:23, Ja 4:1; pl., Tit 3:9.†

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

μάχη, -ης, 9, [μάχομαι; fr. Hom. down], Sept. several times for 3°, 101, ete.; α fight, combat; 1. of those in arms, @ battle. 2. of persons at variance, disputants, ete., strife, contention; a quarrel: 2 Co. vii. 5; 2 Tim. ii. 23; Jas. iv. 1; about the law, Tit. iii. 9.

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

μάχη. The weaker sense οἵ μάχη, ‘contention,’ ‘ quarrel,” which alone is found in the NT (except perhaps in Jas 4'), may be illustrated from the curious mantic P Ry] I. 2820 (iv/A.D.) ἐὰν ὃ τρίτος ἅληται ἀηδίαν σημαίνι Kal μάχας | ἕξει διὰ θῆλυ, ἔχειν δηλοῖ ἔπειτα χαράς᾽ εὔχου Aci, ‘if the third toe quiver, it signifies trouble, and the man will have strife on account of a female, and afterwards gladness: pray to Dionysus” (Ed.): cf. from the inscrr. Sy// 737 (= 1109) 7 (before A.D. 178) μάχης δὲ ἐάν τις ἄρξηται ἢ εὑρεθῇ τις ἀκοσμῶν, and Aazbe/ 5225 (Thessalonica) where a claim is made of a man’s having lived without quarrelling with his companions—€[Tdp ]o[tjow δίχα μάχης ζήσας. In PSI I. 71* (vi/A.pD.) the word is used of what was evidently a serious brawl between two men—paxnv κεινήσαντες πρὸς On the μάχιμοι, native troops, see Chrest. I. i. p. 382, Meyer Aeerwesen, Ὁ. 64 ff.: the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μάχη (machē) — quarrel.

μᾰχ-η, ἡ,

(μάχομαι) battle, combat, frequently in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; sometimes of single combat, [Refs]; μ. καὶ δηϊοτής[Refs 5th c.BC+] fight a battle, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἀντιάζειν τινὶ μάχαν[Refs 5th c.BC+]; μ. συμβάλλειν τινί engage battle with.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; διὰ μάχης τινὶ ἀπικέσθαι, ἔρχεσθαι, ἥκειν, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; εἰς μάχην πρός τινα ἐλθεῖν, μολεῖν, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μάχῃ κρατῆσαι conquer in battle, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μάχη τινός battle with an enemy, Αἴαντος δ᾽ ἀλέεινε μ. [Refs 8th c.BC+]: plural, strifes, ἔρις τε.. πόλεμοί τε μάχαι τε [Refs 8th c.BC+]: generally, contention, strife, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; μ. νομικαί [NT]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μάχη

mache

from 3164; a battle, i.e. (figuratively) controversy:--fighting,

strive, striving.

see GREEK for 3164

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μάχη, ης, ἡ

n.f.

strife, contention, quarrel

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μάχη machē 4x

a fight, battle, conflict; in NT contention, dispute, strife, controversy, 2 Cor. 7:5; 2 Tim. 2:23; Tit. 3:9; Jas. 4:1*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μάχη μά^χη, ἡ, μάχομαι battle, fight, combat, Hom., etc.; μάχαι ναῶν sea fights, Pind.:—with Verbs, μάχην μάχεσθαι to fight a battle, Il., attic; μάχην ἀρτύνειν, ἐγείρειν, ὀρνύμεν, ὀτρύνειν Il.; μάχην συνάπτειν or συμβάλλειν τινί to engage battle with one, Aesch., Eur.; also, διὰ μάχης τινὶ ἀπικέσθαι, ἔρχεσθαι, ἥκειν, μολεῖν Hdt., attic; μάχην νικᾶν to win a battle, Xen.:— μάχη τινός battle with an enemy, Il., etc.

in pl. quarrels, strifes, wranglings, id. Il., Plat.

= ἀγών, a contest for a prize in the games, Pind.: generally a struggle, Xen.

a mode of fighting, way of battle, Hdt., Xen.

a field of battle, Xen.

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

N-APF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
75%quarrels
quarrels75% · 3×conflicts25% · 1×

4 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%object50%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 4 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
ἔξωθενfrom without, outsid
θλίβωI make narrow, p
γεννάωI beget, bring forth
ὅτιthat, since, bec
καίand, even, also, nam
ἔριςcontention, stri
πόθενIrg
καίand, even, also,
μάχηquarrels
what comes after →
ἔσωθενfrom within, inside
φόβοςfear, terror, re
νομικόςabout law, one learn
περιΐστημιI stand around,
ἐν
σύ

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

Concordanceμάχη · 4× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians 2 Timothy James Titus
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 11 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria
Philo of AlexandriaOn Drunkenness 99c. AD 40

ποῦ γὰρ ἀλλαχόθι ἔριδες, μάχαι, φιλονεικίαι, πάνθ’ ὅσα ἔργα ἀκαθαιρέτου πολέμου, πλὴν ἐν τῷ μετὰ σώματος βίῳ, ὃν ἀλληγορῶν καλεῖ στρατόπεδον;

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.153c. AD 75–95

Ταβαῖος γὰρ καὶ Γάδαμος καὶ Τααῦος καὶ Μαχᾶς ἐκ Ῥούμας παλλακῆς αὐτῷ γεγόνασι.

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
O.Krok. 2 299KrokodiloAD 98–AD 117

τοῦ μύρου· οὔ μοι εἴρηκε Παράβολος ἀγoράσαι σοι . μὴ οὖν αὐτὰς ἀφῇς ποιεῖν μάχας ἀλλὰ ὃ ἄν σοι φαίνηται. ἔρρωσο.

P.Coll.Youtie 1 58Apollonopolites (?)AD 207

1 διεγραψεν Παπρεμῖτις Πετεσθέως μητρὸς Μαχη τέλους βυρσοδεψῶν ιε ἔτους Σεουήρου καὶ Ἀντωνίνου τῶν κυρίων Εὐσεβῶν Σεβαστῶν δραχμὰς δ ὀβολὸν

P.Ant. 1 43AntinoitesAD 276–AD 400

r Πανουπ Ταειομ τῇ συμβίῳ πλεῖστα χαίρειν. … ἐλθὲ ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ ὄντως οὐκ ἔστιν μάχη ἀνὰ μέσον ἀλλήλων· ἔδωκά σοι λωδίκιον καὶ μνᾶς παλαιοῦ καὶ τυλάριν μέγα … καὶ

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
νομικὰςnomikos about [the] Law G3544 Adjective · accusative · plural · feminine
9× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Titus than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A lawyer in the Bible is someone who knows a lot about God's laws, like in Matthew 22:35 where a lawyer asks Jesus a question. This word is used to describe people who are experts in the laws of Moses.
Amplified meaning
Jewish laws, God's commandments
Tyndale gloss
lawyer
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word νομικός (i.e., *nomikos*) is derived from νόμος (law) and means 'pertaining to law' or 'learned in the law.' It refers to a lawyer or legal expert, particularly in the context of the Mosaic law, as seen in verses like Matthew 22:35 and Luke 10:25. The lexicons agree that it encompasses both an adjective and a noun form.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

** νομικός, -ή, -όν

(< νόμος),

[in LXX: IV Mac 5:4*;]

relating to law: μάχαι, Tit 3:9.

learned in the law; as subst., ὁ ν. (EV, lawyer): Mt 22:35, Lk 10:25, Tit 3:13; pl., Lk 7:30 11:45, 46, 52 14:3 (cf. MM, xvii).†

SYN.: γραμματεύς, q.v.

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

νομικός, -7, τόν, (νόμος), pertaining to (the) law (Plat., Aristot , al.) : μάχαι, Tit. iii. 9; ὁ νομικός, one learned in the law, in the N. T. an interpreter and teacher of the Mosaic law [A. V. α lawyer; cf. γραμματεύς, 2]: Mt. xxii. 85; Lk. x. 25; Tit. iii. 13; plur., Lk. vii. 30; xi. 45 sq. 525 xiv. 3.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

νομικός (nomikos) — lawyer.

νομ-ικός, ή, όν,

relating to laws, αἴτια, title of work by Democritus; resting on law, ἤθη [Refs 5th c.BC+]; conventional, ν. δίκαιον, opposed to φυσικόν, [Refs 4th c.BC+] adverb -κῶς after the manner of law, i.e. in a broad, general way, [Refs]

2. forensic, μάχαι [NT]; ἀγῶνες, opposed to λογικοί, ἠθικοί, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; relating to points of law (opposed to matters of fact), στάσις, ζήτημα, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; ν. ὀνόματα law-terms, [Refs]law matters, [Refs 5th c.BC+]. adverb -κῶς by legal process, [Refs]

II. learned in the law, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; doctor of the Jewish law, [NT]

II.2. lawyer, notary, [Refs 1st c.AD+]

II.3. legal adviser, assessor of a magistrate, Mitteis [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; ν. ἄριστος [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

νομικός

nomikos

from 3551; according (or pertaining) to law, i.e. legal

(ceremonially); as noun, an expert in the (Mosaic) law:--about the

law, lawyer.

see GREEK for 3551

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

νομικός, ή, όν

Adj

about law, one learned in the Law

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

νομικός nomikos 9x

pertaining to law; relating to the Mosaic law, Tit. 3:9; as a subst., one skilled in law, a jurist, lawyer, Tit. 3:13; spc. an interpreter and teacher of the Mosaic law, Mt. 22:35

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

νομικός νόμος resting on law, conventional, Arist.:—adv. -κῶς, id. Arist.

relating to the law, NTest. Plut.

learned in the law, a lawyer, NTest.

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

A-APF Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Law

A rule of action. (1.) The Law of Nature is the will of God as to human conduct, founded on the moral difference of things, and discoverable by natural light (Rom. 1:20; 2:14, 15). This law binds all men at all times. It is generally designated by the term conscience, or the capacity of being influenced by the moral relations of things.

(2.) The Ceremonial Law prescribes under the Old Testament the rites and ceremonies of worship. This law was obligatory only till Christ, of whom these rites were typical, had finished his work (Heb. 7:9, 11; 10:1; Eph. 2:16). It was fulfilled rather than abrogated by the gospel.

(3.) The Judicial Law, the law which directed the civil policy of the Hebrew nation.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

The word is properly used, in Scripture as elsewhere, to express a definite commandment laid down by any recognized authority; but when the word is used with the article, and without any words of limitation, it refers to the expressed will to God, and in nine cases out of ten to the Mosaic law, or to the Pentateuch of which it forms the chief portion. The Hebrew word torah (law) lays more stress on its moral authority, as teaching the truth and guiding in the right way; the Greek nomos (law), on its constraining power as imposed and enforced by a recognized authority. The sense of the word, however, extends its scope and assumes a more abstracts character in the writings of St. Paul. Nomos , when used by him with the article, still refers in general to the law of Moses; but when used without the article, so as to embrace any manifestation of "law," it includes all powers which act on…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

In the Bible, signifies sometimes the whole word of God, Ps 19:7-11 119:1-176 Isa 8:20; sometimes the Old Testament, Joh 10:34 15:25, and sometimes the five books of Moses, which formed the first of the three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures, Lu 24:44 Ac 13:15. The Pentateuch was probably "the law," a copy of which every king was to transcribe for himself and study, and which was to be made known to young and old, in public and in private, De 6:7 17:18,19 31:9-19,26. In other places the Mosaic institutions as a whole are intend by "the law," in distinction from the…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ General scriptures concerning Ps 19:7-9; 119:1-8; Pr 28:4,5; Mt 22:21; Lu 16:17; 20:22-25; Ro 2:14,15; 7:7,12,14; 13:10; 1Ti 1:5,8-10; Jas 1:25; 1Jo 3:4; 5:3

→ See LITIGATION

→ See COMMANDMENTS

→ See DUTY TO GOD

→ OF MOSES

→ (Contained in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy)

Given at Sinai Ex 19; De 1:1; 4:10-13; 33:2; Hab 3:3

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
56%lawyers
lawyers56% · 5×lawyer33% · 3×about law11% · 1×

9 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
subject44%indirect object22%object22%adverbial11%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 9 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
σύκαίand, even, also,τὶς
αὐτός
ἐκ
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
καίand, even, also,
μάχηstrife, contention,
καίand, even, also,
νομικόςabout [the] Law
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
Φαρισαῖοςa PhariseeἈπολλῶςApollos
πειράζωI try, tempt, test
αὐτός
Article the
βουλήcounsel, deliber
τὶς
ἀνίστημιI raise up, set
λέγωI say, speak
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

Concordanceνομικός · 9× in the New Testament
Luke Titus Matthew
Across the New Testament3 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Mich. 8 476Alexandria (?)AD 101–AD 125

ἐπιστολῆς τὴν ἀντιφώνησιν. ἄσπασαι πάντας τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ Καισαρείου κατʼ ὄνομα. ἄσπασαι Δίδυμον τὸν νομικὸν πανοικί. ἐρεῖς δὲ Λονγείνῳ ὅτι ἐλπίζω πάλιν ἀναβῆναι. ἓν δὲ εὐχαριστῶ τοῖς θεοῖς ὅτι

P.Mich. 8 477AlexandriaAD 101–AD 125

οὐ δύναμαι αὐτὸ καταχωρίσαι. εὗρον δὲ καὶ Παπεῖριν Ἀπολλινᾶριν ᾧ ἐδήλωσα ἃ ἤκουσα τῶν νομικῶν, καὶ ἔλεγέ μοι ἄφες σὺ ἕως οὗ αὐτῷ ἐὰν ἦν δυνατὸν καταβῆναι. ἐπειδὴ σὺ

P.Ross.Georg. 2 20Arsinoites (?)AD 146

ἀγορασμὸν ἐποίησεν τῆς τιμῆς φανείσης ἀδότου κατὰ τὴν γενομένην ἐξέτασιν. ὁ γράψας τὴν οἰκονομίαν νομικὸς Σαραπίων, ὃς … … ἀκολούθως τοῖς γενομένοις ὑπομνηματισμοῖς … … … ντων καὶ ἐπὶ

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
περιΐστασο·periistēmi do yourself avoid; G4026 Verb · present · middle · imperative · second person · singular
4× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Titus than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To stand around or be a bystander, like in John 11:42 and Acts 25:7. It can also mean to avoid or shun something, as in 2 Timothy 2:16 and Titus 3:9.
Amplified meaning
shun, stay away from
Tyndale gloss
to stand around
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word περιΐστημι (*periistemi*) is composed of the prefix περί (around) and the root ἵστημι (to stand). It generally means to stand around, to avoid, or to shun. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts such as John 11:42 and Acts 25:7, where it refers to standing by or around someone. The middle voice usage, indicating avoidance, is noted in 2 Timothy 2:16 and Titus 3:9.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

περι-ίστημι (Rec. ΐστημι),

[in LXX: Jos 6:3 (סבב), II Ki 13:31 (נצב ni.), I Ki 4:16, Ep. Je 37, Jth 5:22, II Mac 14:9*;]

to place around.

to stand around: Jo 11:42; c. acc. pers., Ac 25:7. Mid. (in late writers), to turn oneself about to avoid, to shun: c. acc. rei, II Ti 2:16, Tit 3:9.†

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

περιίστημι. OGIS 735° (ii/B.c.) ἐν τοῖς νῦν περιστᾶσι και[ροῖς, present circumstances,” as contrasted with ἔν τε τοῖς πρότερον χρόνοις mentioned just before. See also P Oxy VI. 89914 (A.D. 200) where a woman complains of having been reduced to extreme poverty—els ἔνδειά]ν pe ob τὴν τυχοῦσαν περιστῆναι, and 20. 90215 (c. A.D. 465) εἰς τελείαν γὰρ ἀνατροπὴν καὶ εἰς αἰχάτην πεινων (/. ἐσχάτην πεῖναν) περιέστην, “1 have been reduced to complete ruin and the extremity of hunger’’ (Edd.): cf. Vett. Val. p. 28555 εἰς μεγίστας ἀτυχίας περιιστάνουσιν. The late use of the mid. = “‘turn oneself about” to avoid, “shun,” c. acc., as in 2 Tim 215, Tit 35, may perhaps be illustrated from Chrest. 11. 88|ν.80. (ii/A.p.) τῆς δὲ [ἀ]ντίας Δρουσίλλας περιισταμένης τὴν λογο[θ]εσίαν. Other exx. of the mid. are BGU IV. ro1g (mid. ii/A.D.) περι[εἼσταμένης δ᾽ αὐτῆς, and the floril/egeum PSI ΤΙ. 120%? (iv/A.D. Ὁ)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

περιΐστημι (periistēmi) — to stand around.

περιίστημι,.

in the transitive tenses (with perfect περιέστᾰκα [Refs 5th c.BC+], place round, π. τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. bring round, ὁ δῆμος εἰς ἑαυτὸν περιέστησε τὴν πολιτείαν [Refs 5th c.BC+].with; εἰς τοσοῦτον π. τινά, ὥστε.. [Refs 4th c.BC+]; especially into a worse state, εἰς τοῦθ᾽ ἡ τύχη τὰ πράγματα αὐτῶν περιέστησεν ὥστε.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οἴκους εἰς πενίαν π. [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; convert, εἰς τὸ περιφερὲς [τὸν ἀέρα] [Refs 4th c.BC+]; transfer, π. τὰς ἑαυτοῦ συμφορὰς εἴς τινα [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II. in aorist 1 middle, place round oneself, ξυστοφόρων κύκλον [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

περιΐστημι

periistemi

from 4012 and 2476; to stand all around, i.e. (near) to be a

bystander, or (aloof) to keep away from:--avoid, shun, stand by (round

about).

see GREEK for 4012

see GREEK for 2476

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

περιΐστημι

v.

I stand around, avoid, shun

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

περιίστημι periistēmi 4x

to place around; intrans. 2 aor. περιέστην, perf. part. περιεστώς, to stand around, Jn. 11:42; Acts 25:7; mid. to keep aloof from, avoid, shun, 2 Tim. 2:16; Tit. 3:9*

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PMM-2S — Verb · present · middle · imperative · second person · singular
present middle imperative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-void: Archaic use in 1Sa 18:11 for "escaped." In the Revised Version (British and American) of New Testament only in 2Co 8:20 stellomenoi (with negative), literally, "arranging that not," etc., i. e. by anticipation providing that something should not occur. In the King James Version for "turn away from," ekklinete: Ro 16:17; 1Ti 6:20; "refuse," paraitou, 2Ti 2:23; periistaso, Tit 3:9.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%do yourself avoid
do yourself avoid50% · 2×they stood around25% · 1×already standing around25% · 1×

4 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
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 4 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
ὄχλοςa crowd
αὐτός
δέbut, on the othe
κενοφωνίαempty disputing, wor
βέβηλοςprofane, secular
νομικόςabout law, one learn
μάχηstrife, contenti
περιΐστημιdo yourself avoid;
what comes after →
λέγωI say, speak
ἵναin order that, s
αὐτός
Article the
ἐπί
πολύςmuch, many, ofte
εἰμίI am, exist
γάρfor

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

Concordanceπεριΐστημι · 4× in the New Testament
2 Timothy Acts John Titus
Across the New Testament4 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
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 9.32c. AD 75–95

καὶ κυκλεύσαντες ἑπτὰ ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν εἰς ἀπορίαν ὕδατος τοῖς τε κτήνεσι καὶ τῇ στρατιᾷ περιέστησαν πλανηθέντων τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῖς τῶν ἡγουμένων, ὡς ἀγωνιᾶν μὲν ἅπαντας, μάλιστα δὲ τὸν Ἰώραμον καὶ ὑπὸ λύπης ἐκβοῆσαι πρὸς τὸν θεόν, τί κακὸν αἰτιασάμενος…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
1st c. BC
BGU 8 1824Herakleopolites61 BC–56 BC

καὶ τῶι συστρατιώτηι Ἀπολλωνίωι κατήνεγκαν αὐτῶν πάντα καὶ αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν περὶ τοῦ ζῆν περιέστησαν κίνδυνον, ἐγβιασάμενοι καὶ ἣν περιεστάλκεσαν αὑτῶν οἱ παρʼ ἐμοῦ ὄνον σὺν τῶι ἐπικειμένωι χόρτωι.

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
εἰσὶνeimi they are G1510 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · plural
2,457× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Titus as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To be or exist, a basic verb used to describe something or someone, like God saying 'I am' in John 8:58.
Amplified meaning
prove to be
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰμί,

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

As substantive verb.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰμί (eimi) — to be.

εἰμί

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί

eimi

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

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

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

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

see GREEK for 1488

see GREEK for 1498

see GREEK for 1511

see GREEK for 1527

see GREEK for 2258

see GREEK for 2071

see GREEK for 2070

see GREEK for 2075

see GREEK for 2076

see GREEK for 2771

see GREEK for 2468

see GREEK for 5600

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰμί

v.

I am, exist

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰμί eimi 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, becκαίand, even, also,ὅς
οὗτος
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
ἐνἄνθρωποςa man, one of thθεόςGod, a god
ἐγώ
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakμετά
σύ
ἐνλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
εἰμίthey are2457×
what comes after →
Article the
υἱόςa son, descendenΧριστόςanointed, the Meβασιλείαkingship, sovere
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegγάρfor
ἐν
Article theσύαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theτὶςἐκεῖthere, yonder, t
ἐγώ
εἰςἄξιοςworthy, worthy oὧδεhere

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
γὰρgar for G1063 Conjunction
1,038× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Titus as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
For is a word used to explain or give a reason, often introducing a justification or clarification, as seen in Matthew 4:18 and Romans 7:1. It's a conjunction that connects ideas and provides additional information.
Tyndale gloss
for
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γάρ,

co-ordinating particle, contr. of γε ἄρα,

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γάρ (gar) — for.

γάρ

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γάρ

gar

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

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

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

therefore, verily, what, why, yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γάρ

Cj.

for

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γάρ gar 1x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

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

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
αὐτόςἐγώσύ
οὐNeg
οὐδείςno one, none, noαὐτόςλαλέωI speak, say
εἰμίI am, exist
θάλασσαthe sea, lakeλυπέωI pain, grieve, καθεύδωI sleep, am slee
οὗτος
εἰςαὐτόςδιά
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existκύριοςlord, Lord, mastἐγώ
γάρfor1038×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, θεόςGod, a godArticle the
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theσύἐν
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becἐνοὐNeg
αὐτός
Article theοὗτοςλέγωI say, speak
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theδιάἐν

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

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

P.Bad. 2 16Pathyris89 BC

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

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
ἀνωφελεῖςanōphelēs unprofitable G512 Adjective · nominative · plural · feminine
2× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Titus than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means useless or unprofitable, as seen in Titus 3:9, where it describes unprofitable discussions. It can also refer to something that is without benefit or value, such as in Hebrews 7:18.
Amplified meaning
unprofitable, useless
Tyndale gloss
useless
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀνωφελής (*anōphelēs*) is built from the negative prefix ἀ- and the root ὄφελος, meaning 'profit.' It covers meanings like 'useless' and 'unprofitable.' In the New Testament, it appears in Titus 3:9 and Hebrews 7:18, where it refers to things that lack benefit or utility.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀν-ωφελής, -ές

(ἀ- neg., ὄφελος),

[in LXX: Is 44:10 (הוֹעִיל בִּלְתִּי), Je 2:8 (הוֹעִיל לֹא), Pr 28:3, Wi 1:11*;]

unprofitable: Tit 3:9; neut. as subst., unprofitableness: He 7:18.†

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

ἀν-ωφελής, -€s, (a priv. and ὄφελος) ; fr. Aeschyl. down; unprofitable, useless: Tit. iii. 9. Neut. as subst. in Heb. vii. 18 (διὰ τὸ αὐτῆς ἀνωφελές on account of its unprofitableness).

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

ἀνωφελής. P Lond 908" (A.D. 139) (= IIL. p. 133) ὅπως εἰδῇ ἄκυρον kal ἀνωφελὲς κριθησόμενον ὃ μετέδωκεν ὑπόμνημα. The same document has κενῶς kal [ἀ]νωφελῶς (]. 28). In P Hawara 56” (Plate i/A.D.) (= Archiv ν. p. 382) we find a derived subst., ὅτι ἀρρωστίαν ἰσοθάνατο(ν) [ἐξ]ῆήντλησα Kal ἄλλας πολλὰς ἀνωφελίας.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀνωφελής (anōphelēs) — useless.

ἀνωφελ-ής, ές,

unprofitable, useless, ἁβροσύναι[Refs 6th c.BC+]

2. hurtful, prejudicial, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: comparative -έστερος[Refs 5th c.BC+]. adverb -λῶς[Refs 4th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀνωφελής

anopheles

from 1 (as a negative particle) and the base of 5624; useless or

(neuter) inutility:--unprofitable(-ness).

see GREEK for 1

see GREEK for 5624

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀνωφελής, ές

Adj

useless, unprofitable

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀνωφελής anōphelēs 2x

useless, unprofitable, Tit. 3:9; Heb. 7:18*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀνωφελής ὠφελέω unprofitable, useless, Aesch., Soph., etc.

hurtful, prejudicial, Thuc.; τινι to one, Plat.: adv. -λῶς, Arist.

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

A-NPF Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%unprofitable
unprofitable50% · 1×uselessness50% · 1×

2 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 phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
γάρfor
εἰμίI am, exist
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀσθενήςweak, infirm, si
ἀνωφελήςunprofitable
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
μάταιοςvain, unproducti

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

Concordanceἀνωφελής · 2× in the New Testament
Hebrews Titus
Across the New Testament2 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 11c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4.191c. AD 75–95

ἔσται δʼ ὑμῖν τούτων πεῖραν λαμβάνουσιν ἀνωφελὴς ἡ μετάνοια καὶ ἡ τῶν οὐ φυλαχθέντων νόμων ἀνάμνησις.

The Shepherd of HermasThe Shepherd of Hermas 22.1.3c. AD 140

Οὐκ οἴδατε, φησί, νηστεύειν τῷ κυρίῳ, οὐδέ ἐστιν νηστεία αὕτη ἡ ἀνωφελής, ἣν νηστεύετε αὐτῷ.

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Titus 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

Foolish however controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about [the] Law do yourself avoid; they are for unprofitable and worthless.
μάταιοι.mataios worthless. G3152 Adjective · nominative · plural · feminine
6× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Titus than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means something is empty or useless, like an idol that has no real power. In 1 Corinthians 15:17, it describes faith that is useless if Jesus did not really rise from the dead.
Amplified meaning
vain, empty
Tyndale gloss
futile
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word μάταιος (i.e., *mataios*) means vain, empty, or unproductive. It appears in various contexts, often describing things like faith, religion, or idle thoughts as lacking value or purpose. In the New Testament, it is used in verses such as 1 Corinthians 15:17 and James 1:26. The term is also associated with idolatry and the worship of false gods.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — κενός, μάταιος from a scan

THESE words nowhere in the N.T. occur together; but on several occasions in the Septuagint, as for instance at Job xx. Seen Xk es οὐ! 1%. Δ. clos ἐσ ie nC lemontaor Rome, Cor. 6; and not unfrequently in classical Greek; as in Sophocles (Hlec. 324); in Aristotle (Hthic. Nic. i. 2. 1); and in Plutarch (Adv. Colot. 17). We deal with them here solely in their ethical use; for seeing that μάταιος knows, at least in Scripture, no other use, it is only as ethically employed that κενός can be brought into comparison with it, or the words made the subject of discrimination. The first, κενός, is ‘ empty,’ ‘ leer,’ ‘ gehaltlos,’ ‘ inanis’ ; the second, μάταιος, ‘ vain,’ ‘ eitel ’ (‘idle’), ‘ erfolglos,’ ‘ vanus.’ In the first is characterized the hollowness, in the second the aimlessness, or, if we may use the word, the resultlessness, connected as it is with μάτην, of that to which this epithet…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μάταιος, -ον

(as in Att., but -αία, -αιον, I Co 15:17, I Pe 1:18; < μάτην),

[in LXX for שָׁוְא, הֶבֶל, כָּזָב, etc.;]

vain, useless: ἀνωφελὴς κ. μ., Tit 3:9; πίστις, I Co 15:17; θρησκεία, Ja 1:26; διαλογισμοί, I Co 3:20(LXX); ἀναστροφή, I Pe 1:18; of idols and heathen gods, τὰ μ. (Je 2:5, IV Ki 17:15, al.): Ac 14:15.

SYN.: κενός, q.v.

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

μάταιος, -αία (1 Co. xv. 17; [1 Pet. i. 187), -atov, also τος, -ov, (Jas. i. 26; Tit. iii. 9), [ef. WH. App. p.157; W. xxvi. 16; 1 Pet. v. 1; ν΄. ἃ gen. of the possessor ‘one | § 11, 1], (fr. μάτην), Sept. for ΔΙΊ, RW, 31D (a lie), ete. ; as in prof. auth. (Lat. vanus) devoid of force, truth, success, result, [A.V. uniformly vain]: univ.: ἡ θρησκεία, Jas. i. 26; useless, lo no purpose, ἡ πίστις. 1 Co. xv. 17; foolish, διαλογισμοί, 1 Co. iii. 20; ζητήσεις, Tit. iii. 9; given to vain things and leading away from salvation, avaστροφή, 1 Pet. i. 18. τὰ μάταια, vain things, vanities, of heathen deities and their worship (727), Jer. ii. 5; x. 3; 5307 πο 72, πορεύεσθαι ὀπίσω τῶν par. 2 K. xvii. BE 0933, parata, Jer. viii. 19; εἴδωλα, Deut. xxxil. 21; Jer. xiv. 22): Acts xiv. 15. [Cf. Trench, Syn. §…

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

μάταιος. P Oxy I. 5839 (a.p. 288) τὰ μάταια ἀναλώματα, ‘useless expense.” For the adv. see P Oxy VII. 10271° (i/a.D.) ἀγνοεῖν α[ὐ]τὸν τὴν τῶν ἐμοὶ yevn[pévwv] (/. γεγενη-) ἀσφαλιῶν θέσιν, ‘* wherein he vainly relates that he was ignorant of the securities which had been given to me” (Ed.), and the sepulchral inser. A@zbel 29824 — Tis τοὐμὸν δύστηνον ἐπ᾽ οὔνομα γράψε TO χαῖρε; τίς κωφὴν ματέως θήκατό μοι χάριτα ; The fluctuation between the fem. μάταιος (Tit 39, Jas 17°) and ματαία (1 Cor 1517, 1 Pet 118) is found also in classical texts (Moulton Gy. ii. ὃ 64). In Vett. Val. p. 35616 μάταια “*yes viles,” and in 2) p. 276% μάταιοι = “znepti”: see Kroll’s Index, p. 404.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μάταιος (mataios) — futile.

μάται-ος [μᾰ], α, ον

[Refs 4th c.BC+]; also ος, ον[Refs 5th c.BC+]: (μάτη):—

I. vain, empty, idle:

I.1. of words, acts, etc., μάταια νομίζομεν [Refs 6th c.BC+]; μ. λόγοι idle tales or words, [Refs 5th c.BC+].; μ. ἔπεα[Refs 4th c.BC+]; μ. ὑλάγματα, ποιφύγματα,[Refs]; μ. εὐχή E.[same place]; μάταια βάζειν τινά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μ. ἡδονή S.[same place]; δοξοσοφία [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὰ μ. ἀναλώματα useless expenses, [Refs 3rd c.AD+]; but also, μ. ἔπος a word of offence, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.2. of persons, empty, foolish, ματαιότεροι νόον [Refs 6th c.BC+]; φῦλον ματαιότατον [Refs 5th c.BC+]; worthless, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μάταιος

mataios

from the base of 3155; empty, i.e. (literally) profitless, or

(specially), an idol:--vain, vanity.

see GREEK for 3155

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μάταιος, αία, αιον

Adj

vain, unproductive, godless

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μάταιος mataios 6x

idle, ineffective, worthless, 1 Cor. 3:20; groundless, deceptive, fallacious, 1 Cor. 15:17; useless, fruitless, unprofitable, Tit. 3:9; Jas. 1:26; from the Hebrew, erroneous in principle, corrupt, perverted, 1 Pet. 1:18; τὰ μάταια, superstition, idolatry, Acts 14:15*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μάταιος μάταιος, η, ον μάτη vain, empty, idle, trifling, frivolous, Theogn., Hdt., attic

thoughtless, rash, irreverent, profane, impious, Aesch.; τὸ μὴ μάταιον seriousness, gravity, id. Aesch.

adv. -ως, idly, without ground, Soph.

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

A-NPF Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%futile
futile50% · 3×worthless33% · 2×vanities17% · 1×

6 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
predicate67%adverbial33%

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
οὗτοςἐκ
εἰμίI am, exist
ὅτιthat, since, bec
ἐγείρωI wake, arouse, rais
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀνωφελήςuseless, unprofi
οὗτος
ἑαυτοῦ
μάταιοςworthless.
what comes after →
Article the
πίστιςfaith, belief, tθρησκείαritual worship,
ἐπιστρέφωI turn back to
ἐπί
σύ
ἀναστροφήbehavior, manner

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

Concordanceμάταιος · 6× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians 1 Peter Acts James Titus
Across the New Testament5 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 52 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 Clement of Rome Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.46c. AD 40

μάταιος δὲ ὁ νομίζων πρὸς τὸν ἀληθῆ λόγον ἐκ τοῦ νοῦ τι συνόλως γεννᾶσθαι ἢ ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 7.158c. AD 75–95

ὁ δὲ ἀμαθεῖς εἰπὼν αὐτοὺς ἐδίδασκεν, ὡς ἔτι μὲν ζῶντος τοῦ παιδὸς ἔχων ἐλπίδα σωτηρίας αὐτοῦ δεόντως πάντʼ ἐποίει τὸν θεὸν ἡγούμενος τούτοις εὐμενῆ καταστήσειν, ἀποθανόντος δʼ οὐκέτι χρείαν εἶναι λύπης ματαίας.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 7.2c. AD 96

διὸ ἀπολίπωμεν τὰς κενὰς καὶ ματαίας φροντίδας, καὶ ἔλθωμεν ἐπὶ τὸν εὐκλεῆ καὶ σεμνὸν τῆς παραδόσεως ἡμῶν κανόνα,

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Oxy. 1 58OxyrhynchosAD 288

γε πλεῖστον τρεῖς προσαιρεῖν τοὺς ἐξυπηρετησομένους αὐτῷ πρὸς τὴν φροντίδα. οὕτως αὐτά τε τὰ μάταια ἀναλώματα παύσεται καὶ αἱ ταμιακαὶ οὐσίαι τῆς προσηκούσης ἐπιμελείας τεύξονται. δηλαδὴ δὲ τοιούτους αἱρεθῆναι

P.Oxy. 34 2713OxyrhynchosAD 297

ἐπὶ περιγραφῇ ἐμῇ οἰ ἀδελφοὶ τῆς μητρός μου οἱ ὁμομήτριοι συνδυάζοντες ἀλλήλοις κενῇ καὶ ματαίᾳ ἀνοίᾳ τὰ λοιπὰ ὡς ἐβουλήθησαν ἐπεκράτησαν ἕκαστος ὧν καὶ ἐβούλετο σωμάτων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων

CPR 1 233HermopolisAD 314

στῆναι τοῖς προστεταγμένοις, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ αὐτὴ οὐ δυναμένη τὰς ἡσυχίας ἄγειν ἐπὶ τῇ ματαίᾳ αὐτῶν ἐντυχίᾳ θαρροῦσά τε τῇ δοθείσῃ μοι ἀπὸ τοῦ διασημοτάτου ἡγεμόνος Ἀντωνίου Γρηγορίου ὑπογραφῇ

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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