ἐν

enin/on/amongHow to read Greek
greekNew TestamentPreposition2,754 occurrences27 books2,112 verses

Definition

ἐν,

prep, (the most frequently of all in NT), with dative (= Heb. בְּ, Lat. in, with abl.).

I. Of place, with dative of thing(s), of person(s), in, within, on, at, by, among: ἐν τ. πόλει, Luke 7:37; τ. οφθαλμῷ, Matthew 7:3; τ. κοιλίᾳ, Matthew 12:40; τ. ὄρει, 2 Peter 1:18; τ. θρόνῳ, Revelation 3:21; τ. δεξιᾷ τ. θεοῦ, Romans 8:34; ἐν ἡμῖν Abbott-Smith has ὑμῖν., Luke 1:1; of books, ἐν τ. βιβλίῳ, Galatians 3:10; τ. νόμῳ, Matthew 12:5, al.; ἐν τοῖς τ. Πατρός, in my Father's house (RV; cf. M, Pr., 103), Luke 2:49; trop., of the region of thought or feeling, ἐν τ. καρδίᾳ (-αις), Matthew 5:28, 2 Corinthians 4:6, al.; τ. συνειδήσεσιν, 2 Corinthians 5:11; after verbs of motion, instead of εἰς (constructio praegnans, a usage extended in late Gk. beyond the limits observed in cl.; cf. Bl., §41, 1; M, Th., 12), ἀποστέλλω . . . ἐν, Matthew 10:16. δέδωκεν ἐν τ. χειρί (cf. τιθέναι ἐν χερσί, Hom., Il., i, 441, al.), John 3:35; id. after verbs of coming and going (not in cl.), εἰσῆλθε, Luke 9:46; ἐξῆλθεν, Luke 7:17.

II. Of state, condition, form, occupation, etc.: ἐν ζωῇ, Romans 5:10; ἐν τ. θανάτῳ, 1 John 3:14; ἐν πειρασμοῖς, 1 Peter 1:6; ἐν εἰρήνῃ, Mark 5:25; ἐν δόξῃ, Philippians 4:19; ἐν πραΰτητι, James 3:13; ἐν μυστηρίῳ, 1 Corinthians 2:7; ἐν τ. διδαχῇ, Mark 4:2; of a part as contained in a whole, ἐν τ. ἀμπέλῳ, John 15:4; ἐν ἑνὶ σώματι, Romans 12:4; of accompanying objects or persons (simple dative in cl.), with, ἐν αἵματι, Hebrews 9:25; ἐν δέκα χιλιάσιν, Luke 14:31 (cf. Jude 14, Acts 7:14); similarly (cl.), of clothing, armour, arms, ἐν στολαῖς, Mark 12:38; ἐν ἐσθῆτι λαμπρᾷ, James 2:2; ἐν μαξαίρῃ, Luke 22:49; ἐν ῥάβδῳ, 1 Corinthians 4:21 (cf. ἐν τόξοις, Xen., Mem., 3, 9, 2); of manner (cl.), ἐν τάχει (= ταχέως), Luke 18:8 (cf. Bl., §41, 1); of spiritual influence, ἐν πνεύματι, Romans 8:9; ἐν π. ἀκαθάρτῳ, Mark 1:23; of the mystical relation of the Christian life and the believer himself, to God and Christ (cf. ICC, Ro., 160f.; Mayor on Jude 1; M, Pr., 103): ἐν Χριστῷ, Romans 3:24; 6:11, 1 Corinthians 3:1; 4:10, 2 Corinthians 12:2, Galatians 2:17, Ephesians 6:21, Colossians 4:7, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, al.

III. Of the agent, instrument or means (an extension of cl. ἐν of instr.—see LS, see word Ill—corresponding to similar use of Heb. בְּ), by, with: ἐν ὑμῖν κρίνεται ὁ κόσμος (= cl. παρά, C. dative), 1 Corinthians 6:2; ἐν τ. ἄρχοντι τ. δαιμονίων, Matthew 9:34; ἐν αἵματι, Hebrews 9:22; ἐν ὕδατι, Matthew 3:11, al.; ἐν μαχαίρᾳ ἀποκτενεῖ (cf. the absol. ἐν μ., ἐν ῥάβδῳ, supr., II, which some would classify here), Revelation 13:10 (Revelation 6:8). Allied to this usage and distinctly Semitic are the following: ἠγόρασας . . . ἐν τ. αἵματι σου (cf. BDB, see word בְּ, III, 3), Revelation 5:9; ὁμολογεῖν ἐν (= Aram. אודי בּ; cf. McNeile on Mt, I.with; M, Pr., 104), Matthew 10:32, Luke 12:8; ὀμνύναι ἐν (= cl. accusative, so James 5:12), Matthew 5:34, al.; also at the rate of, amounting to, Mark 4:8 (WH; vv. ll., εἰς, ἒν), Acts 7:14 (LXX).

IV. Of time,

(a) in or during a period: ἐν τ. ἡμέρᾳ (νυκτί), John 11:9, al.; ἐν σαββάτῳ, Matthew 12:2, al.; ἐν τῷ μεταξύ, meanwhile, John 4:31;

(b) at the time of an event: ἐν τ. παρουσίᾳ, 1 Corinthians 15:23; ἐν τ. ἀναστάσει, Matthew 22:28;

(with) with art. inf.,

(α) present (so sometimes in cl., but not as in NT = ἕως; V. M, Pr., 215), while: Matthew 13:4, Mark 6:48, Galatians 4:18, al.;

(β) aor., when, after: Luke 9:36, al.;

(d) within (cl.): Matthew 27:40,

V. In composition: (1) meaning: (a) with adjectives, it signifies usually the possession of a quality, as ἐνάλιος, ἐν́δοξος; (b) with verbs, continuance in (before ἐν) or motion into (before εἰς), as ἐμμένω, ἐμβαίνω. (ii) Assimilation: ἐν becomes ἐμ- before β, μ, π, φ, ψ; ἐγ- before γ, κ, ξ, χ; ἐλ- before λ. But in the older MSS of NT, followed by modern editions, assimilation is sometimes neglected, as in ἐνγράφω, ἐγκαινίζω, etc.

Hebrew words it translates

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

Usage patterns

Old TestamentNew Testament

Occurrences

2,754 total
  1. Luke 10:21ἐν · in
    At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.
  2. Luke 10:26Ἐν · in
    “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?”
  3. Luke 10:27ἐν · with; ἐν · with; ἐν · with
    He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
  4. Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
  5. Luke 10:35ἐν · on
    The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he said, ‘and on my return I will repay you for any additional expense.’
  6. As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
  7. Luke 11:1ἐν; ἐν · in
    One day in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
  8. Luke 11:15Ἐν · [It is] by
    …but some of them said, “It is by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, that He drives out demons.”
  9. Luke 11:18ἐν · by
    If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? After all, you say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.
  10. Luke 11:19ἐν · by; ἐν · by
    And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.
  11. Luke 11:20ἐν · by
    But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
  12. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure.
  13. As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”
  14. Luke 11:31ἐν · at
    The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.
  15. Luke 11:32ἐν · at
    The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.
  16. Luke 11:35ἐν · within
    Be careful, then, that the light within you is not darkness.
  17. Luke 11:37Ἐν · As
    As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in and reclined at the table.
  18. Luke 11:43ἐν · in; ἐν · in
    Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.
  19. Luke 12:1Ἐν · In
    In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
  20. Luke 12:3ἐν · in; ἐν · in; ἐν · in
    What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.
  21. Luke 12:8ἐν; ἐν
    I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.
  22. Luke 12:12ἐν · at
    For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”
  23. Luke 12:15ἐν · in
    And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
  24. Luke 12:17ἐν · to
    So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’
  25. Luke 12:27ἐν · in
    Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.
  26. Luke 12:28ἐν · of
    If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!
  27. Luke 12:33ἐν · in
    Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
  28. Luke 12:38ἐν · in; ἐν
    Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, those servants will be blessed.
  29. Luke 12:42ἐν · at
    And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?
  30. Luke 12:45ἐν · in
    But suppose that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
  31. Luke 12:46ἐν · on; ἐν · at
    The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
  32. Luke 12:51ἐν · to
    Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.
  33. Luke 12:52ἐν · in
    From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.
  34. Make every effort to reconcile with your adversary while you are on your way to the magistrate. Otherwise, he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison.
  35. Luke 13:1ἐν · At
    At that time some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
  36. Luke 13:4ἐν · of
    Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem?
  37. Luke 13:6ἐν · in; ἐν · on
    Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.
  38. Luke 13:7ἐν · on
    So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
  39. Luke 13:10ἐν · in
    One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,