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. 2 Corinthians 13:7ὦμεν · appear
    Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not that we will appear to have stood the test, but that you will do what is right, even if we appear to have failed.
  2. 2 Corinthians 13:9ἦτε · are
    In fact, we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong, and our prayer is for your perfection.
  3. 2 Corinthians 13:11ἔσται · will be
    Finally, brothers, rejoice! Aim for perfect harmony, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
  4. Galatians 1:7ἔστιν · is; εἰσιν · are
    …which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.
  5. Galatians 1:8ἔστω · let him be
    But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!
  6. Galatians 1:9ἔστω · let him be
    As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!
  7. Galatians 1:10ἤμην · I would not be
    Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
  8. Galatians 1:11ἔστιν · was
    For I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man.
  9. Galatians 1:22ἤμην · I was
    I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.
  10. Galatians 1:23ἦσαν · They
    They only heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
  11. Galatians 2:3ὤν · [even though] he was
    Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
  12. Galatians 2:6εἶναί; ἦσαν · they were
    But as for the highly esteemed—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—those leaders added nothing to me.
  13. Galatians 2:9εἶναι · to be
    And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
  14. Galatians 2:11ἦν · he stood
    When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
  15. Galatians 3:3ἐστε · Are you
    Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh?
  16. Galatians 3:7εἰσιν · are
    Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham.
  17. Galatians 3:10εἰσὶν · rely on; εἰσίν · are
    All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
  18. Galatians 3:12ἔστιν · is
    The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
  19. Galatians 3:16ἐστιν · is
    The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
  20. Galatians 3:20ἔστιν · is; ἐστιν · is
    A mediator is unnecessary, however, for only one party; but God is one.
  21. Galatians 3:21ἦν · have come
    Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law.
  22. Galatians 3:25ἐσμεν · we are
    Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
  23. Galatians 3:26ἐστε · You are
    You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
  24. Galatians 3:28ἐστε · are
    There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
  25. Galatians 3:29ἐστέ · you are
    And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
  26. Galatians 4:1ἐστιν · is; ὤν · [although] he is
    What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything.
  27. Galatians 4:2ἐστὶν · He is
    He is subject to guardians and trustees until the date set by his father.
  28. Galatians 4:3ἦμεν · we were; ἤμεθα · were
    So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.
  29. Galatians 4:6ἐστε · you are
    And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
  30. Galatians 4:7εἶ · you are
    So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.
  31. Galatians 4:8οὖσιν · are
    Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
  32. Galatians 4:21εἶναι · to be
    Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand what the law says?
  33. Galatians 4:24ἐστιν; εἰσιν · represent; ἐστὶν · is
    These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.
  34. Galatians 4:25ἐστὶν · stands for
    Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
  35. Galatians 4:26ἐστίν · is; ἐστὶν · is
    But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
  36. Galatians 4:28ἐστέ · are
    Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
  37. Galatians 4:31ἐσμὲν · we are
    Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
  38. Galatians 5:3ἐστὶν · he is
    Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
  39. Galatians 5:10ᾖ · he may be
    I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.
  40. Galatians 5:18ἐστὲ · you are
    But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
  41. Galatians 5:19ἐστιν · are
    The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;