G2041 — ἔργον (érgon)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2041
Original: ἔργον
Transliteration: érgon
Pronunciation: er'-gon
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: From ἔργω érgō (primary but obsolete verb — to work); cognate with German Werk, English work
Occurrences: 161 unique verses (176 tokens) in 26 NT books
First Occurrence: Matt 5:16 — "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works (ἔργα), and glorify your Father which is in heaven"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From Thayer: Work, i.e. 1. Business, employment, that with which anyone is occupied — the work committed by God to Christ (John 17:4); the work of apostles and Christian teachers (Acts 13:2; 1 Thess 5:13; 2 Tim 4:5). 2. Any product whatever, anything accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind — works of creation visible in the world (Heb 1:10); τά ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου, sins and all misery springing from them (1 John 3:8). 3. An act, deed, thing done — contrasted with λόγος (word) in Luke 24:19; Rom 15:18; 2 Thess 2:17; 1 John 3:18. Applied to conduct measured by religion and righteousness — whether evil (Matt 23:3; John 3:20) or good (John 3:21; Jas 2:14–26). In Paul's writings ἔργα νόμου = works demanded by and agreeing with the law (Rom 3:20, 28; Gal 2:16; 3:2, 5, 10).

Derives from ἔργω érgō; the Septuagint renders פֹּעַל, עֲבֹדָה, מְלָאכָה, and especially מַעֲשֶׂה with this word.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - 42.002 — Do, Perform - 42.004 — Work, Toil

Other words in 42.002: ἀπόχρησις, δαπανάω, ἐνέργημα, καρπός (G2590), κατεργάζομαι (G2716) Other words in 42.004: ἐργάζομαι (G2038), ἐργάτης (G2040), κοπιάω (G2872), ποιέω (G4160)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [042] Perform, Do

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
works	85	52.8%
work	38	23.6%
deeds	13	8.1%
the works	8	5.0%
deed	4	2.5%
the work	4	2.5%
in deed	2	1.2%
the deeds	2	1.2%
Other (labour, doing, work's sake, etc.)	5	3.1%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Titus	7	15.2
James	12	11.1
2 John	1	7.7
2 Timothy	6	7.2
3 John	1	7.1
Revelation	21	5.2
1 Timothy	5	4.4
2 Thessalonians	2	4.3
Galatians	6	4.0
Hebrews	11	3.6
Romans	15	3.5
2 Peter	2	3.3
Colossians	3	3.2
1 John	3	2.9
John	25	2.8
Ephesians	4	2.6
1 Thessalonians	2	2.2
1 Peter	2	1.9
1 Corinthians	7	1.6
2 Corinthians	3	1.2
Acts	10	1.0
Philippians	3	—
Matthew	5	0.5
Jude	1	—
Mark	2	0.3
Luke	2	0.2

Patterns: Heaviest concentration in Pastoral Epistles (Titus, 1–2 Tim) and James, reflecting strong practical/ethical focus. John's Gospel has the highest raw count (25 verses) from Jesus' "works of the Father" discourse. Revelation's 21 uses cluster around the letters to the seven churches and the judgment of the dead. Notably sparse in the Synoptics (Matt/Mark/Luke), suggesting Johannine and Pauline theology drive the NT's ἔργον vocabulary.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Works of God and Christ (Signs, Creation, Acts of Power)¶

John 5:36 — "the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me"
John 10:25 — "the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me"
Heb 1:10 — "Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands"
Rev 15:3 — "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways"

2. Works of the Law (Pauline Contrast with Faith)¶

Gal 2:16 — "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ"
Rom 3:20 — "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight"
Eph 2:9 — "Not of works, lest any man should boast"
Rom 4:2 — "if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God"

3. Good Works of Believers (Practical Piety)¶

Matt 5:16 — "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father"
Eph 2:10 — "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained"
Titus 2:14 — "purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works"
Jas 2:17 — "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone"

4. Evil Works / Works of Darkness¶

John 3:19 — "men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil"
1 John 3:8 — "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil"
Col 1:21 — "enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled"
Eph 5:11 — "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them"

5. Assigned Task / Ministry¶

Acts 13:2 — "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them"
1 Cor 15:58 — "your labour is not in vain in the Lord"
2 Tim 4:5 — "do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry"
Eph 4:12 — "for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ"

6. Recompense According to Works (Eschatological Judgment)¶

Rom 2:6 — "Who will render to every man according to his deeds"
Rev 20:12 — "the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works"
Rev 22:12 — "my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be"
2 Tim 4:14 — "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theós)	G2316	35x (22%)	"works of God," "work of God in man"
ποιέω (poiéō)	G4160	31x (19%)	"do works" — Jesus doing the Father's works; believers doing good works
πᾶς (pâs)	G3956	29x (18%)	"every work," "all good works"
πατήρ (patḗr)	G3962	19x (12%)	"works of the Father" (Johannine)
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs)	G2424	18x (11%)	"works of Jesus" / Jesus commending his works
πίστις (pístis)	G4102	18x (11%)	"faith and works" — both in contrast (Paul) and as fruit (Jas)
ἀγαθός (agathós)	G18	16x (10%)	ἔργον ἀγαθόν — "good work/deed"
καλός (kalós)	G2570	16x (10%)	ἔργον καλόν — "noble/beautiful work"
νόμος (nómos)	G3551	10x (6%)	"works of the law" (Pauline phrase)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2038 ἐργάζομαι (ergázomai) — to work, labor, accomplish (the verb; ἔργον is its concrete product)
G2040 ἐργάτης (ergátēs) — worker, laborer, craftsman (the agent noun)
G1754 ἐνεργέω (energéō) — to be active, work in, effectuate (compound with ἐν-)
G1755 ἐνέργημα (enérgēma) — activity, operation (compound noun)
G4903 συνεργέω (synergéō) — to work together, cooperate (compound with σύν-)

Synonyms¶

G5147 τρίβος (tribos) — path, track
G4161 ποίημα (poiēma) — thing made, workmanship
G763 ἀσέβεια (asebeia) — ungodliness
G2999 λατρεία (latreia) — service, worship
G468 ἀνταπόδομα (antapodoma) — recompense

Antonyms¶

No direct antonyms surfaced from search_relationships.py for this lemma.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
πρᾶξις (prâxis)	G4234	"deeds," "deed," "works"	prâxis = a practice, habitual course of action; érgon = a specific concrete work or product
ἐργάζομαι (ergázomai)	G2038	"work"	ergázomai = the act of working (process); érgon = the work itself (product/deed)
ποίημα (poíēma)	G4161	"workmanship"	poíēma = something made/crafted (creative product); érgon = any act or labor, not only creative
κόπος (kópos)	G2873	"labour"	kópos emphasizes wearisome toil; érgon is neutral — the deed regardless of effort

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 42.002 — Do, Perform)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Verses	Primary KJV	Key Difference from ἔργον
G2590	καρπός (karpós)	56	fruit	Metaphorical result; ἔργον = the deed itself
G2716	κατεργάζομαι	10	worketh, wrought	Intensive: bring about fully, produce; ἔργον is the product, not the act
G1755	ἐνέργημα	2	operations, working	Supernatural working within; ἔργον = the observable deed
G3622	οἰκονομία	6	stewardship, dispensation	Administration/management of a task; ἔργον = the task/act itself

Hebrew Source (LXX Alignment)¶

Hebrew	Strong's	Transliteration	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
מַעֲשֶׂה	H4639	maʻăseh	152	5.39
מְלָאכָה	H4399	mᵉlâʼkâh	105	5.50
עֲבֹדָה	H5656	ʻăbôdâh	55	4.70
פֹּעַל	H6467	pôʻal	26	5.38

Primary source: H4639 מַעֲשֶׂה (an action, transaction, any product) by raw co-occurrence, but H4399 מְלָאכָה (assigned service, trade, occupation) by PMI. Together these two Hebrew words cover the bulk of ἔργον's LXX usage, reflecting its semantic range from general action to delegated task.