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. Colossians 3:18ἐν · in
    Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
  2. Colossians 3:20ἐν · to
    Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
  3. Colossians 3:22ἐν; ἐν · with
    Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.
  4. Colossians 4:1ἐν · in
    Masters, supply your slaves with what is right and fair, since you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
  5. Colossians 4:2ἐν; ἐν · [and]
    Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful,
  6. Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.
  7. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
  8. Colossians 4:7ἐν · in
    Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord.
  9. Colossians 4:12ἐν · in; ἐν · in
    Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in the full will of God.
  10. Colossians 4:13ἐν · at; ἐν
    For I testify about him that he goes to great pains for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
  11. Colossians 4:15ἐν · in
    Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.
  12. Colossians 4:16ἐν · in
    After this letter has been read among you, make sure that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
  13. Colossians 4:17ἐν · in
    Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
  14. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.
  15. 1 Thessalonians 1:5ἐν · in; ἐν · in; ἐν · in; ἐν · with; ἐν · among
    …because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.
  16. 1 Thessalonians 1:6ἐν · in [spite of your]
    And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.
  17. 1 Thessalonians 1:7ἐν · in; ἐν
    As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
  18. 1 Thessalonians 1:8ἐν · to; ἐν; ἐν · to
    For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more.
  19. 1 Thessalonians 2:2ἐν · in; ἐν · in; ἐν · in the face of
    As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
  20. For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery.
  21. As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!
  22. Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
  23. 1 Thessalonians 2:7ἐν · among
    On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.
  24. And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe.
  25. 1 Thessalonians 2:14ἐν · in; ἐν · in
    For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,
  26. 1 Thessalonians 2:17ἐν · [our]
    Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.
  27. After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
  28. So when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left on our own in Athens.
  29. We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,
  30. …so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this.
  31. For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord.
  32. 1 Thessalonians 3:13ἐν · [and]; ἐν · at
    …so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.
  33. Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.
  34. …each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,