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. Acts 17:1ἦν · there was
    When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
  2. Acts 17:3ἐστιν · is
    …explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he declared.
  3. Acts 17:7εἶναι · there is
    …and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”
  4. Acts 17:11ἦσαν · were
    Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.
  5. Acts 17:16οὖσαν · was
    While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.
  6. Acts 17:18εἶναι · to be
    Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.
  7. Acts 17:20εἶναι
    For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
  8. Acts 17:28ἐσμέν · have our being; ἐσμέν · We are
    ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
  9. Acts 17:29εἶναι · is
    Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
  10. Acts 18:3εἶναι · he was; ἦσαν · they were
    …and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was.
  11. Acts 18:5εἶναι · is
    And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.
  12. Acts 18:7ἦν
    So Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titus Justus, a worshiper of God.
  13. Acts 18:10εἰμι · am; ἐστί · I have
    For I am with you and no one will lay a hand on you, because I have many people in this city.”
  14. Acts 18:12ὄντος · was
    While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.
  15. Acts 18:14ἦν · this matter involved
    But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “If this matter involved a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to hear your complaint.
  16. Acts 18:15ἐστιν · it is; εἶναι · to be
    But since it is a dispute about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”
  17. Acts 18:24ὢν · He was
    Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures.
  18. Acts 18:25ἦν · had been
    He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.
  19. Acts 18:28εἶναι · is
    For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
  20. Acts 19:1εἶναι · was
    While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples
  21. Acts 19:2ἔστιν · there is
    …and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
  22. Acts 19:4ἔστιν · is
    Paul explained: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
  23. Acts 19:7ἦσαν · There were
    There were about twelve men in all.
  24. Acts 19:14ἦσαν · were
    Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
  25. Acts 19:15ἐστέ · are
    But one day the evil spirit responded, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
  26. Acts 19:16ἦν
    Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded.
  27. Acts 19:25ἐστιν · is
    Demetrius assembled the craftsmen, along with the workmen in related trades. “Men,” he said, “you know that this business is our source of prosperity.
  28. Acts 19:26εἰσὶν · are
    And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.
  29. Acts 19:31ὄντες · who were
    Even some of Paul’s friends who were officials of the province of Asia sent word to him, begging him not to venture into the theatre.
  30. Acts 19:32ἦν · was
    Meanwhile the assembly was in turmoil. Some were shouting one thing and some another, and most of them did not even know why they were there.
  31. Acts 19:34ἐστιν · he was
    But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
  32. Acts 19:35ἐστιν; οὖσαν · is
    Finally the city clerk quieted the crowd and declared, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?
  33. Acts 19:36ὄντων · are; ἐστὶν
    Since these things are undeniable, you ought to be calm and not do anything rash.
  34. Acts 19:38εἰσιν · are available
    So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges against one another there.
  35. Acts 20:8Ἦσαν · there were; ἦμεν · we were
    Now there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered.
  36. Acts 20:10ἐστιν · is
    But Paul went down, threw himself on the young man, and embraced him. “Do not be alarmed!” he said. “He is still alive!”
  37. Acts 20:13ἦν · because he was going there
    We went on ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, where we were to take Paul aboard. He had arranged this because he was going there on foot.
  38. Acts 20:16εἴη
    Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, because he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
  39. Acts 20:26εἰμι · I [am]
    Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
  40. Acts 20:34οὖσιν
    You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions.
  41. Acts 20:35ἐστιν · It is
    In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
  42. Acts 21:3ἦν · was
    After sighting Cyprus and passing south of it, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where the ship was to unload its cargo.
  43. Acts 21:8ὄντος · who was
    Leaving the next day, we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven.