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. Galatians 1:6ἐν · by
    I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
  2. Galatians 1:13ἐν · in
    For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.
  3. Galatians 1:14ἐν · in; ἐν
    I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
  4. Galatians 1:16ἐν · in; ἐν · among
    …to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,
  5. Galatians 1:22ἐν · in
    I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.
  6. Galatians 1:24ἐν · because of
    And they glorified God because of me.
  7. Galatians 2:2ἐν · among
    I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain.
  8. Galatians 2:4ἐν · in
    This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.
  9. Galatians 2:17ἐν · in
    But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ a minister of sin? Certainly not!
  10. Galatians 2:20ἐν · in; ἐν · in; ἐν · by
    I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
  11. Galatians 3:5ἐν · among
    Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?
  12. Galatians 3:8ἐν · through
    The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
  13. Galatians 3:10ἐν · in
    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.”
  14. Galatians 3:11ἐν · by
    Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”
  15. Galatians 3:12ἐν · by
    The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
  16. Galatians 3:14ἐν · in
    He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
  17. Galatians 3:19ἐν · by
    Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator.
  18. Galatians 3:26ἐν · in
    You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
  19. Galatians 3:28ἐν · in
    There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
  20. Galatians 4:14ἐν · [although]
    And although my illness was a trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself.
  21. Galatians 4:18ἐν · if it serves; ἐν · when
    Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not only when I am with you.
  22. Galatians 4:19ἐν · in
    My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
  23. Galatians 4:20ἐν · about
    …how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you.
  24. Galatians 4:25ἐν · in
    Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
  25. Galatians 5:4ἐν · by
    You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
  26. Galatians 5:6ἐν · in
    For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.
  27. Galatians 5:10ἐν · in
    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.
  28. Galatians 5:14ἐν · in; ἐν
    The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
  29. Galatians 6:1ἔν · in; ἐν · with
    Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
  30. Galatians 6:6ἐν · in
    Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor.
  31. Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.
  32. Galatians 6:13ἐν · in
    For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
  33. Galatians 6:14ἐν · in
    But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
  34. Galatians 6:17ἐν · on
    From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
  35. Ephesians 1:1ἐν · in; ἐν · in
    Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
  36. Ephesians 1:3ἐν · with; ἐν · in; ἐν · in
    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
  37. Ephesians 1:4ἐν · in; ἐν · In
    For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
  38. Ephesians 1:6ἐν · in
    …to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
  39. Ephesians 1:7ἐν · In
    In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace