Word Studies¶
G2218 -- zygos (yoke)¶
Original: ζυγός Transliteration: zygos Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: From the root of zeugnymi (to join, especially by a "yoke"); a coupling, i.e. (figuratively) servitude (a law or obligation); literally, the beam of a balance (as connecting the scales).
Translations (6 NT occurrences)¶
| Translation | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| yoke | 2 | 33.3% |
| a yoke | 1 | 16.7% |
| with the yoke | 1 | 16.7% |
| the yoke | 1 | 16.7% |
| a pair of balances | 1 | 16.7% |
Key Occurrences¶
- Acts 15:10 -- Peter: "to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples"
- Matthew 11:29-30 -- Jesus: "Take my yoke upon you...my yoke is easy"
- Galatians 5:1 -- "be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage"
- 1 Timothy 6:1 -- "under the yoke" (of servitude)
- Revelation 6:5 -- "a pair of balances" (literal weighing instrument)
OT Background (Figurative references from Nave's YOKE entry)¶
- LEV 26:13 -- God broke yoke of Egypt
- ISA 9:4; 10:27 -- yoke broken
- JER 2:20; 5:5 -- yoke broken/cast off
- JER 28:2,4,10 -- Jeremiah's yoke prophecy
- LAM 1:14; 3:27 -- yoke imagery
G4061 -- peritome (circumcision)¶
Original: περιτομή Transliteration: peritome Part of Speech: feminine noun Definition: Circumcision (the rite, the condition, or the people). BLB Count: 36 occurrences
Translations (32 KJV occurrences)¶
| Translation | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| circumcision | 17 | 53.1% |
| the circumcision | 7 | 21.9% |
| of circumcision | 4 | 12.5% |
| Other forms | 4 | 12.5% |
Key Contextual Occurrences¶
- Acts 10:45; 11:2 -- "the circumcision" (designation for Jewish believers)
- Romans 2:25-29 -- True circumcision is of the heart
- Romans 4:9-12 -- Circumcision came AFTER Abraham's faith-righteousness
- 1 Corinthians 7:19 -- "Circumcision is nothing...but the keeping of the commandments of God"
- Galatians 5:6,11; 6:15 -- Circumcision avails nothing
- Ephesians 2:11 -- Called "the Circumcision" (ethnic designation)
- Philippians 3:3 -- "We are the circumcision" (believers)
- Colossians 2:11 -- Circumcision "made without hands"
- Colossians 3:11 -- Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
G1378 -- dogma (decree/ordinance)¶
Original: δόγμα Transliteration: dogma Part of Speech: neuter noun Definition: From the base of dokeo; a law (civil, ceremonial, or ecclesiastical). BLB Count: 5 NT occurrences
All 5 NT Occurrences¶
| Verse | Translation | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Luke 2:1 | "a decree" | Decree from Caesar Augustus (civil decree) |
| Acts 16:4 | "decrees" | The council decrees delivered to churches |
| Acts 17:7 | "decrees" | Decrees of Caesar (civil decree) |
| Ephesians 2:15 | "ordinances" | "the law of commandments contained in ordinances" -- abolished |
| Colossians 2:14 | "ordinances" | "handwriting of ordinances" -- nailed to cross |
Significance¶
The word dogma is used for the Jerusalem Council's decisions (Acts 16:4) AND for what was abolished at the cross (Eph 2:15; Col 2:14). Three of five uses are clearly civil/governmental decrees (Luke 2:1; Acts 17:7; Acts 16:4). The two "abolished" uses (Eph 2:15; Col 2:14) describe ceremonial ordinances. Prior studies (law-04, law-08) established that dogma is never used for the Decalogue.
G4174 -- politeia (citizenship/commonwealth)¶
Original: πολιτεία Transliteration: politeia Part of Speech: feminine noun Definition: Citizenship; concretely, a community. BLB Count: 2 NT occurrences
All Occurrences¶
| Verse | Translation | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Acts 22:28 | "freedom" | Roman citizenship -- "With a great sum obtained I this freedom" |
| Ephesians 2:12 | "commonwealth" | "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel" |
Significance¶
Used only twice in the NT. In Eph 2:12 it describes what Gentile believers were previously alienated from -- Israel's civic/covenantal community. The word implies full membership in a political/social body.
G4847 -- sympolites (fellow-citizen)¶
Original: συμπολίτης Transliteration: sympolites Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: A native of the same town; figuratively, a co-citizen. BLB Count: 1 NT occurrence
The Single Occurrence¶
- Ephesians 2:19 -- "fellowcitizens with the saints"
Significance¶
A hapax legomenon (used only once). Combined with politeia (Eph 2:12), Paul's vocabulary describes Gentile believers transitioning from being "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel" to being "fellow-citizens with the saints." The citizenship language implies incorporation into Israel's covenantal community.
G65 -- agrielaios (wild olive tree)¶
Original: ἀγριέλαιος Transliteration: agrielaios Part of Speech: adjective Definition: From agrios and elaia; an oleaster (wild olive tree). BLB Count: 2 occurrences
Occurrences¶
- Romans 11:17 -- "thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them"
- Romans 11:24 -- "cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature"
G2565 -- kallielaios (cultivated olive tree)¶
Original: καλλιέλαιος Transliteration: kallielaios Part of Speech: feminine noun Definition: From the base of kalos and elaia; a cultivated olive tree. BLB Count: 1 occurrence
The Single Occurrence¶
- Romans 11:24 -- "graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree"
Significance (with G65)¶
The agrielaios/kallielaios pair describes Gentile believers (wild olive) being grafted into Israel's tree (cultivated olive). The grafting metaphor means Gentiles draw their sustenance from Israel's root and fatness. Paul warns: "thou bearest not the root, but the root thee" (Rom 11:18).
G4202 -- porneia (fornication)¶
Original: πορνεία Transliteration: porneia Part of Speech: feminine noun Definition: Harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively, idolatry. BLB Count: 26 occurrences
Translations (25 KJV occurrences)¶
| Translation | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| fornication | 19 | 76.0% |
| fornications | 2 | 8.0% |
| from fornication | 2 | 8.0% |
| Other forms | 2 | 8.0% |
Key Occurrences¶
- Acts 15:20,29; 21:25 -- One of the four council prohibitions
- Matthew 5:32; 19:9 -- Exception clause in divorce teaching
- 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:13,18; 7:2 -- Paul's teaching on sexual immorality
- Galatians 5:19 -- Listed as "work of the flesh"
- Revelation 2:21; 14:8; 17:2,4; 18:3; 19:2 -- Babylon's fornication (linked to idolatry)
Semantic Range¶
The word covers a broad range of sexual immorality: adultery, incest, prostitution, and figuratively idolatry. In the Acts 15 context, it appears alongside idolatry, blood, and strangled things, all of which have pre-Sinai and universal moral significance.
G1482 -- ethnikos (Gentile/heathen)¶
Original: ἐθνικός Transliteration: ethnikos Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: National ("ethnic"); specially a Gentile; heathen. BLB Count: 2 KJV occurrences (but used more in critical text)
Occurrences¶
- Matthew 5:47 -- "heathen" (do not even the publicans do the same?)
- Matthew 6:7 -- "heathen" (use not vain repetitions)
- Matthew 18:17 -- "heathen man" (let him be unto thee as an heathen)
- 3 John 1:7 -- "heathen" (taking nothing of the Gentiles)
Note¶
This is the adjective form. The noun form ethnos (G1484) is far more common (164 occurrences). In 1 Cor 12:2, Paul uses ethnos (ἔθνη) with the imperfect tense ἦτε ("you were Gentiles"), placing it in the past.
H1471 -- gowy (nation/Gentile)¶
Original: גּוֹי Transliteration: gowy Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: A foreign nation; hence a Gentile; also figuratively a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts. BLB Count: 558 occurrences (607 KJV)
Primary Translations¶
| Translation | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| nations | 97 | 16.0% |
| the nations | 78 | 12.9% |
| the heathen | 54 | 8.9% |
| nation | 50 | 8.2% |
| Gentiles (various) | ~28 | ~4.6% |
Significance¶
The OT word for "nations/Gentiles." Notably, Israel itself is called a gowy in Exodus 19:6 ("a holy nation") and Genesis 12:2 ("a great nation"). The word does not inherently mean "pagan" -- it means "nation/people." Context determines whether it refers to Israel or to foreign nations.
G1397 -- douleia (bondage/slavery)¶
Original: δουλεία Transliteration: douleia Part of Speech: feminine noun Definition: Slavery (ceremonially or figuratively); bondage. BLB Count: 5 occurrences
All Occurrences¶
| Verse | Translation | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Romans 8:15 | "of bondage" | "spirit of bondage again to fear" |
| Romans 8:21 | "of bondage" | "bondage of corruption" |
| Galatians 4:24 | "to bondage" | Sinai covenant "gendereth to bondage" |
| Galatians 5:1 | "of bondage" | "yoke of bondage" |
| Hebrews 2:15 | "bondage" | "through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" |
G4059 -- peritemno (to circumcise)¶
Original: περιτέμνω Transliteration: peritemno Part of Speech: verb Definition: To cut around; specially to circumcise. BLB Count: 18 occurrences
Key Occurrences in Acts 15 Context¶
- Acts 15:1 -- "Except ye be circumcised..." (the demand)
- Acts 15:5 -- "it was needful to circumcise them" (Pharisees' statement)
- Acts 15:24 -- "[Ye must] be circumcised" (the unauthorized teaching)
- Acts 16:3 -- Paul circumcised Timothy (strategic accommodation)
G3941 -- paroikos (foreigner/stranger)¶
Original: πάροικος Transliteration: paroikos Part of Speech: adjective Definition: Having a home near; a by-dweller (alien resident); figuratively, a sojourner. BLB Count: 4 occurrences
Occurrences¶
| Verse | Translation |
|---|---|
| Acts 7:6 | "sojourn" (Abraham's seed in a strange land) |
| Acts 7:29 | "a stranger" (Moses in Midian) |
| Ephesians 2:19 | "foreigners" (no more strangers and foreigners) |
| 1 Peter 2:11 | "strangers" (strangers and pilgrims) |
G2798 -- klados (branch)¶
Original: κλάδος Transliteration: klados Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: A twig or bough (as if broken off); branch. BLB Count: 11 occurrences
Occurrences¶
- Romans 11:16-21 -- Used 5 times in the olive tree metaphor (branches broken off, grafted in)
- Matthew 13:32; 21:8; 24:32; Mark 4:32; 13:28; Luke 13:19 -- Literal branches
G2615 -- katadouloo (to enslave utterly)¶
Original: καταδουλόω Transliteration: katadouloo Part of Speech: verb Definition: To enslave utterly; bring into bondage. BLB Count: 2 occurrences
Occurrences¶
| Verse | Context |
|---|---|
| 2 Corinthians 11:20 | False apostles "bring into bondage" |
| Galatians 2:4 | False brethren "might bring us into bondage" (circumcision context) |
H1818 -- dam (blood)¶
Original: דָּם Transliteration: dam Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: Blood (as that which when shed causes death); by analogy, juice of the grape; figuratively, bloodshed. BLB Count: 361 occurrences
Significance for Acts 15¶
The blood prohibition in Acts 15:20,29 connects to Gen 9:4 (given to Noah, pre-Sinai, universal), Lev 17:10-14 (repeated in Mosaic law, explicitly applying to "strangers" among Israel), and the theological principle that "the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Lev 17:11).
G946 -- bdelygma (abomination)¶
Original: βδέλυγμα Transliteration: bdelygma Part of Speech: neuter noun Definition: A detestation; specially idolatry; abomination. BLB Count: 6 occurrences
Key Occurrences¶
- Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14 -- "abomination of desolation" (Daniel reference)
- Luke 16:15 -- "That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination"
- Revelation 17:4; 21:27 -- Abominations of Babylon
H1616 -- ger (sojourner/stranger)¶
Original: גֵּר Transliteration: ger Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: A guest; by implication, a foreigner; alien, sojourner, stranger. BLB Count: 92 occurrences
Significance¶
The ger (resident alien/sojourner) was bound by certain laws in Israel -- including the blood prohibition (Lev 17:10,12), sexual immorality laws (Lev 18:26), and the Sabbath commandment (Exo 20:10; Deut 5:14). This OT category is relevant to the Jerusalem Council's treatment of Gentile believers.
G241 -- allogenes (foreigner)¶
Original: ἀλλογενής Transliteration: allogenes Part of Speech: adjective Definition: Foreign; not a Jew; stranger. BLB Count: 1 NT occurrence -- Luke 17:18
G246 -- allophylos (foreign/Gentile)¶
Original: ἀλλόφυλος Transliteration: allophylos Part of Speech: adjective Definition: Foreign; specially Gentile; "one of another nation." BLB Count: 1 NT occurrence -- Acts 10:28
Significance¶
Used by Peter in Acts 10:28: "Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation." This is the same Peter who speaks at the Jerusalem Council about God showing no difference between Jew and Gentile (Acts 15:7-9).