Keraia
Lexicon

εἰμί

eimito beHow to read Greek
greekNew TestamentVerb2,465 occurrences27 books2,100 verses

Definition

εἰμί,

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

I. As substantive verb.

1. Of persons and things, to be, exist: Acts 17:28, John 1:1; 8:58; 17:5, al; ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν (for past ptcp.), Revelation 1:4, 8; 4:8; 11:17; 16:5 (see Swete, Ap., 5; M, Pr., 228); τὰ (μὴ) ὄντα, Romans 4:17, 1 Corinthians 1:28.

2. Of times, events, etc., to be, happen, take place: Matthew 24:3, Mark 14:2; 15:42, Luke 21:23, John 4:6, 23; 5:10, al.

3. to be present, be in a place, have come: Matthew 2:13, 15, Mark 1:45; 5:21; 15:40, Luke 1:80; 5:29, John 7:30, al.; before εἰς, Mark 2:1; before ἐκ, (ἐξ), Matthew 1:20; 21:25, Mark 11:30, John 3:31, al.

4. Impers., ἔστι, ἦν, etc.;

(a) there is (Fr. il y a), was, etc.: Matthew 16:28, Luke 16:19, John 3:1; 5:2, Romans 3:10, al.; with dative (of the possessor; Bl., §37, 3), Matthew 16:22, Luke 1:7, John 18:10, Romans 9:2, al.; ἔστιν ὅς, ὅστις (chiefly in pl), Matthew 16:28; 19:2, Mark 9:1, al.;

(b) with inf., = ἔξεστιν (which see), it is possible: Hebrews 9:5, 1 Corinthians 11:20, RV (but see ICC, in l.).

II. As copula uniting subject and predicate.

1. Expressing simply identity or equivalence: Matthew 5:13; 14:15, Luke 1:18, 19, John 1:1; 4:19, Revelation 3:9, al. mult.

2. Explicative, as in parable, figure, type, etc.: Matthew 13:19, 1 Corinthians 9:2; 10:4; 11:25, Galatians 4:24, Revelation 17:15, al.; ταῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, Matthew 27:46, Mark 7:2, Romans 7:18 al.; ὅ ἐστιν, Mark 3:17, Colossians 1:24, Hebrews 7:2, al.; akin to this is the sacramental usage: Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22, 24, Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24 (see ICC on Mk, I Co, ll. with; DB, iii, 148 f.).

3. C. genitive: qual., etc., Mark 5:42, Luke 3:23, 1 Corinthians 14:33, Hebrews 12:11, al.; part., 1 Timothy 1:20, 2 Timothy 1:15; poss., Matthew 5:3, 10, Mark 12:7, Luke 4:7; of service or partisanship, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 1:12, 2 Corinthians 10:7, 2 Timothy 2:19.

4. C. dative (BL, §37, 3): Acts 1:8; 9:15, Romans 4:12, 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14, Revelation 21:7, al.

5. C. ptcp., as a periphrasis for the simple verb (Bl., §62, 1, 2; M, Pr., 225 ff.);

(a) with ptcp. pf. (cl.): Matthew 10:30, Luke 9:32, John 3:24, Acts 21:35, 1 Corinthians 15:19, al;

(b) with ptcp. pr. (esp. in impf., as in Heb. and Aram.; Dalman, Words, 35 f.), Matthew 7:29, Mark 1:22, Luke 4:31; 14:1, Acts 1:10, al. mult., id. for imper. (M, Pr., 180f., 182f.), with ellipsis of εἰμί, Romans 12:9, 10, Hebrews 13:5, al.;

(with) with ptcp. aor. (cl), Luke 23:9.

6. Seq. εἰς (cf. Heb. הָיָה לְ), a vernac. usage (M, Pr., 71): Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:8, Hebrews 8:10, al.

7. C. adv.: Matthew 19:20, Mark 4:26, Luke 18:11, al.

8. Ellipses;

(a) of the copula (Bl., §30, 3): Matthew 8:29; 24:32, John 21:22, 23, Hebrews 6:4, al.;

(b) of the predicate: ἐγώ εἰμί, Matthew 14:27, Mark 6:50, al.; absol. (cf. Deuteronomy 32:39; אֲנִי הוּא), Mark 13:6, John 4:26, al. (cf. ἄπ-, ἔν-, πάρ-, συμ-πάρ-, σύν-ειμι).

Hebrew words it translates

The Hebrew words that the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament renders as εἰμί:

Usage patterns

Old TestamentNew Testament

Occurrences

2,465 total
  1. Matthew 1:18ἦν · came about
    This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
  2. Matthew 1:19ὢν · was
    Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
  3. Matthew 1:20ἐστιν · is
    But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
  4. Matthew 1:23ἐστιν · means
    “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
  5. Matthew 2:2ἐστιν · is
    …asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
  6. Matthew 2:6εἶ · are
    ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”
  7. Matthew 2:9ἦν · was
    After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was.
  8. Matthew 2:13ἴσθι · Stay
    When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
  9. Matthew 2:15ἦν · he stayed
    …where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
  10. Matthew 2:18εἰσίν · they are
    “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
  11. Matthew 3:3ἐστιν · is
    This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
  12. Matthew 3:4ἦν · was
    John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
  13. Matthew 3:11ἐστιν · [One]; εἰμὶ · I am
    I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
  14. Matthew 3:15ἐστὶν · It is
    “Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.
  15. Matthew 3:17ἐστιν · is
    And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”
  16. Matthew 4:3εἶ · You are
    The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
  17. Matthew 4:6εἶ · You are
    “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
  18. Matthew 4:18ἦσαν · they were
    As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
  19. Matthew 5:3ἐστιν · is
    “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  20. Matthew 5:10ἐστιν · is
    Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  21. Matthew 5:11ἐστε · are you
    Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
  22. Matthew 5:13ἐστε · are
    You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
  23. Matthew 5:14ἐστε · are
    You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
  24. Matthew 5:21ἔσται · will be
    You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
  25. Matthew 5:22ἔσται · will be; ἔσται · will be; ἔσται · will be
    But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.
  26. Matthew 5:25ἴσθι; εἶ · you are still
    Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
  27. Matthew 5:34ἐστὶν · it is
    But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
  28. Matthew 5:35ἐστιν · it is; ἐστὶν · it is
    …or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
  29. Matthew 5:37ἔστω · let; ἐστιν · comes
    Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.
  30. Matthew 5:48Ἔσεσθε · Be; ἐστιν · is
    Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
  31. Matthew 6:4ᾖ · may be
    …so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
  32. Matthew 6:5ἔσεσθε · do not be
    And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
  33. Matthew 6:21ἐστιν · is; ἔσται · will be
    For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
  34. Matthew 6:22ἐστιν · is; ᾖ · are; ἔσται · will be
    The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
  35. Matthew 6:23ᾖ · are; ἔσται · will be; ἐστίν · is
    But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
  36. Matthew 6:25ἐστιν · Is
    Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
  37. Matthew 6:30ὄντα · which is [here]
    If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
  38. Matthew 7:9ἐστιν
    Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?