G1473 — ἐγώ (egō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1473
Original: ἐγώ
Transliteration: egō
Pronunciation: eg-o'
Part of Speech: Personal pronoun, first person singular (nominative)
Occurrences: 334 unique verses (370 tokens) across 23 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 3:11 — "I (ἐγώ) indeed baptize you with water unto repentance..."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primary pronoun of the first person, "I." Thayer (summary): the nominative ἐγώ, when joined to a finite verb, generally has force and emphasis, or indicates antithesis (as Mat 3:11; Mar 1:8; Luk 3:16). Oblique cases: genitive ἐμοῦ / enclitic μοῦ; dative ἐμοί / enclitic μοί; accusative ἐμέ / enclitic μέ; plural ἡμεῖς. The full (non-enclitic) forms ἐμοῦ, ἐμοί, ἐμέ are used for emphasis or antithesis. ἰδοὺ ἐγώ corresponds to Hebrew הִנֵּנִי ("behold, here am I," Acts 9:10; 1 Sam 3:8). ἐγώ by itself renders Hebrew אֲנִי as the self-identification "I [am]" (Jhn 1:23; Act 7:32).

Grammatical note: Greek verbs encode person in the ending, so the subject pronoun is not required. When ἐγώ is expressed alongside a finite first-person verb, it is pragmatically marked — signaling emphasis, contrast, or solemn self-identification. This makes every occurrence load-bearing for discourse analysis.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
I	320	95.8%
my	2	0.6%
when I	2	0.6%
I am	1	0.3%
because I	1	0.3%
do I	1	0.3%
have I	1	0.3%
it I	1	0.3%
me	1	0.3%
that I am	1	0.3%
though I	1	0.3%
unto me	1	0.3%
will I	1	0.3%

The overwhelming KJV rendering is "I." Nearly all variations arise from English word-order inversion (e.g., "will I," "do I," "though I"), not from semantic change — the pronoun always refers to the speaker.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
John	130	14.8
Philemon	3	12.0
2 John	1	7.7
3 John	1	7.1
Galatians	8	5.4
1 Corinthians	20	4.6
Titus	2	4.3
Acts	39	3.9
2 Corinthians	10	3.9
Romans	16	3.7
Revelation	15	3.7
2 Timothy	3	3.6
Matthew	30	2.8
1 Timothy	3	2.7
Mark	15	2.2
Colossians	2	2.1
Luke	22	1.9
Ephesians	3	1.9
Hebrews	5	1.7
2 Peter	1	1.6
1 Thessalonians	1	1.1
1 Peter	1	1.0

Distribution patterns: John's Gospel dominates by an enormous margin (14.8 per 100 verses — more than 3× the next closest). This reflects John's heavy use of Jesus' first-person self-disclosure discourses, especially the "I am" (ἐγώ εἰμι) sayings. The Johannine epistles (2 John, 3 John) also rank high because the elder writes in intimate first-person voice. Pauline epistles form a middle band (3–5 per 100), driven by Paul's self-referential apostolic defense (esp. Galatians, 1–2 Corinthians, Romans 7). Synoptic Gospels use it far less frequently because they narrate in the third person; when it appears there, it usually marks dominical sayings.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Solemn Self-Identification ("ἐγώ εἰμι" — "I am")¶

The pronoun + copula εἰμί (G1510) forms the distinctive Johannine "I am" construction. 89 verses NT-wide have both G1473 and G1510; 41 are in John alone. Renders Hebrew אֲנִי הוּא / אֲנִי יהוה when used absolutely. Also used for ordinary predicate self-identification. - Jhn 8:58 — "Before Abraham was, I am (ἐγώ εἰμι)" - Jhn 8:24 — "if ye believe not that I am (ἐγώ εἰμι) [he], ye shall die in your sins" - Jhn 18:5–6 — "I am (ἐγώ εἰμι) [he]. ... they went backward, and fell to the ground" - Rev 1:8 — "I am (ἐγώ εἰμι) Alpha and Omega"

2. Predicated Self-Disclosure (the metaphorical "I am" sayings)¶

ἐγώ εἰμι followed by a predicate nominative — Jesus defining his role/identity. - Jhn 6:35 — "I (ἐγώ) am the bread of life" - Jhn 8:12 — "I (ἐγώ) am the light of the world" - Jhn 10:11 — "I (ἐγώ) am the good shepherd" - Jhn 11:25 — "I (ἐγώ) am the resurrection, and the life" - Jhn 14:6 — "I (ἐγώ) am the way, the truth, and the life" - Jhn 15:1 — "I (ἐγώ) am the true vine"

3. Emphatic Contrast with Another Subject¶

The pronoun draws a sharp antithesis between speakers or between the speaker and a different party. Thayer lists this as the primary emphatic use. - Mat 3:11 — "I (ἐγώ) indeed baptize you with water... but he that cometh after me..." - Mar 1:8 — "I (ἐγώ) indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost" - Mat 5:22 — "but I (ἐγώ) say unto you" (contrasting Jesus' teaching with prior tradition; cf. 5:28, 5:39, and throughout Sermon on the Mount) - Gal 2:20 — "I (ἐγώ) am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I (ἐγώ), but Christ liveth in me"

4. Apostolic / Authoritative Self-Reference¶

Writers (esp. Paul) assert identity, authority, or personal stake in a statement. - Phm 1:19 — "I (ἐγώ) Paul have written [it] with mine own hand, I will repay [it]" - 1Co 1:12 — "every one of you saith, I (ἐγώ) am of Paul; and I (ἐγώ) of Apollos" - Rev 1:9 — "I (ἐγώ) John, who also am your brother" - Eph 3:1 — "For this cause I (ἐγώ) Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ"

5. Inner Conflict / Ethical "I"¶

The existential "I" of Romans 7 — the self as moral agent wrestling with sin and Torah. - Rom 7:9 — "For I (ἐγώ) was alive without the law once" - Rom 7:14 — "but I (ἐγώ) am carnal, sold under sin" - Rom 7:17 — "Now then it is no more I (ἐγώ) that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" - Rom 7:25 — "with the mind I (ἐγώ) myself serve the law of God"

6. Divine "I" in Old Testament Citations¶

The pronoun renders the divine אָנֹכִי / אֲנִי of Yahweh when the NT quotes the OT. - Heb 1:5 (citing Ps 2:7) — "Thou art my Son, this day have I (ἐγώ) begotten thee" - Act 7:32 (citing Exo 3:6) — "I (ἐγώ) [am] the God of thy fathers" - 2Co 6:16 (citing Lev 26:12 / Eze 37:27) — implicit in "I (ἐγώ) will dwell in them" - Heb 10:30 (citing Deut 32:35) — "Vengeance [belongeth] unto me (ἐγώ)"

7. Interrogative / Relational Formula τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί¶

Literally "what to me and to thee?" — a Semitism (Heb. מַה־לִּי וָלָךְ) meaning "what have I to do with thee?" - Jhn 2:4 — "Woman, what have I (ἐμοί) to do with thee?" - Mar 5:7 / Luk 8:28 — demoniac to Jesus: "What have I (ἐμοί) to do with thee?" - Mat 8:29 — "What have we to do with thee, Jesus?" (plural form)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
λέγω (légō)	G3004	78x	"I say unto you" (ἐγὼ λέγω ὑμῖν) — dominical authority formula
ἔπω (épō)	G2036	70x	"I said" — aorist of saying, reported speech
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs)	G2424	53x	Jesus as speaker or referent of "I"
ἔρχομαι (érchomai)	G2064	48x	"I come / have come" — mission and arrival statements
πατήρ (patḗr)	G3962	48x	"I and the Father" — Johannine relational pairings
θεός (theós)	G2316	38x	Divine self-declaration or Paul's God-reference
κύριος (kýrios)	G2962	30x	"I [the] Lord" — OT-quotation or lordship contexts
ποιέω (poiéō)	G4160	29x	"I do / have done" — works attributed to the speaker
δίδωμι (dídōmi)	G1325	27x	"I give" — gift/commission statements (esp. Johannine)
ἀποκρίνομαι (apokrínomai)	G611	26x	"I answered" — narrative framing of reply
πᾶς (pâs)	G3956	26x	"I / all" — universal claims by the speaker
Χριστός (Christós)	G5547	24x	Pauline "I... Christ" identity statements
κόσμος (kósmos)	G2889	23x	"I [and] the world" — Johannine dualism
εἴδω (eídō)	G1492	22x	"I know / have seen" — epistemic/witness claims
ἔχω (echō)	G2192	22x	"I have" — possession, authority, knowledge
πιστεύω (pisteúō)	G4100	21x	"I believe" or exhortations to believe in "me"
λαλέω (laléō)	G2980	20x	"I speak" — declarative/revelatory speech
ἀποστέλλω (apostéllō)	G649	18x	"I send" — commissioning formula

UBS Semantic Domains¶

search_relationships.py returned no UBS semantic-domain entry for G1473; first-person pronouns are not presently mapped in ubs_greek.db.

Case-Inflected Forms (same lemma, oblique cases)¶

These are not separate Strong's entries but share the paradigm. The enclitic (short) forms are unemphatic; the full forms carry emphasis comparable to nominative ἐγώ.

Form	Function	Emphatic?
ἐγώ	nominative (subject)	Yes (expressed only when emphatic)
ἐμοῦ / μοῦ (G3450)	genitive	μοῦ enclitic = unmarked; ἐμοῦ = emphatic
ἐμοί / μοί (G3427)	dative	μοί enclitic = unmarked; ἐμοί (G1698) = emphatic
ἐμέ / μέ (G3165)	accusative	μέ enclitic = unmarked; ἐμέ = emphatic

Word Family / Compounds¶

κἀγώ (kagṓ) G2504 — crasis of καί + ἐγώ ("and I" / "I also"); 84 NT uses; often carries the same emphatic/contrastive force as ἐγώ
ἐμός (emós) G1699 — first-person possessive adjective ("mine, my own"); 76 NT uses; emphatic equivalent of enclitic μοῦ
ἡμεῖς (hēmeis) G2249 — first person plural ("we"); emphatic when expressed, same pragmatic logic as ἐγώ

Synonyms¶

search_relationships.py returned no direct synonym data for G1473; the pronoun is not presently mapped in ubs_greek.db.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G1473.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
μέ (mé)	G3165	"me" / "I"	Accusative enclitic of ἐγώ — object form, unmarked
κἀγώ (kagṓ)	G2504	"I" / "I also"	Crasis καί+ἐγώ — adds additive/contrastive καί
μοῦ (moû)	G3450	"my" / "me"	Genitive enclitic — possession and source, unmarked
ἐμός (emós)	G1699	"my" / "mine"	Possessive adjective, declines with noun; emphatic possession
μοί (moí)	G3427	"me" / "to me"	Dative enclitic — indirect object, unmarked

Hebrew "I" equivalents (the OT counterparts ἐγώ renders in LXX and NT citations):

Word	Strong's	Notes
אֲנִי ('ănî)	H589	Standard Hebrew "I"; 663 verses in MT
אָנֹכִי ('ānōkî)	H595	Longer/more emphatic Hebrew "I"; 276 verses; often in divine self-declaration ("I am the LORD")
אֲנָא ('ănā')	H576	Aramaic "I" (Dan, Ezra); 13 verses
הֵן / הִנֵּה (hēn / hinnēh)	H2005 / H2009	"behold" — combined with אֲנִי produces הִנְנִי ("here am I"), rendered ἰδοὺ ἐγώ

Hebrew Source¶

Via LXX PMI-ranked co-occurrence (Hebrew source words for Greek ἐγώ):

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Score	Notes
הֵן / הִנֵּה	H2005	212	1.49	7.98	"Behold I" (ἰδοὺ ἐγώ) self-presentation idiom
אָמַר ('āmar)	H559	2034	0.94	7.17	"said" — general speech verb accompanying "I said"
אָדוֹן ('ādôn)	H113	179	1.37	7.13	"Lord" — "I [the] Lord" self-identifications
עַתָּה ('attâ)	H6258	245	1.24	6.84	"now" — temporal frame of first-person declarations
מָה (mâ)	H4100	333	1.13	6.56	"what" — as in "what have I...?" constructions

Note on the underlying Hebrew pronouns: The corpus tool ranks by raw PMI co-occurrence rather than lemma-to-lemma translation, so the expected equivalents (H589 אֲנִי, H595 אָנֹכִי) appear prominently in the "Easily Confused" reverse-lookup above rather than in the PMI top ranks. In actual LXX practice, ἐγώ is the standard rendering of both אֲנִי and אָנֹכִי.