G2171 — εὐχή (euchē)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2171
Original: εὐχή
Transliteration: euchē
Pronunciation: yoo-khay
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: εὔχομαι (euchomai, G2172) — to wish, pray
Occurrences: 3 unique verses (3 tokens)
First Occurrence: Acts 18:18 — "having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Properly, a wish, expressed as a petition to God, or in votive obligation: a prayer or a vow. From εὔχομαι (G2172).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 33.013: Pray — εὔχομαι (G2172), προσευχή (G4335), προσεύχομαι (G4336)
Domain 33.054: Swear, Put Under Oath, Vow — δίδωμι (G1325), ἐξορκίζω (G1844), ἐπιορκέω (G1964), ὀμνύω (G3660), ὅρκος (G3727), ὁρκωμοσία (G3728)

Note: εὐχή uniquely straddles two Louw-Nida domains — prayer (33.013) and vow (33.054) — reflecting its dual semantic range.

Domain Neighbors (33.013 — Pray)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G2172	εὔχομαι	3	I pray, I wish
G4335	προσευχή	30	prayers, prayer
G4336	προσεύχομαι	34	pray, praying

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
a vow	1	33.3%
prayer	1	33.3%
which have [a vow]	1	33.3%

Each of the 3 occurrences receives a different KJV rendering, reflecting the word's dual semantic range.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
James	1	0.9
Acts	2	0.2

Exclusively NT; confined to narrative (Acts) and paraenetic (James) contexts. Acts uses the vow sense; James uses the prayer sense.

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Parsing	Occurrences	Verse(s)
εὐχήν	Accusative Singular Feminine	2	Acts 18:18; 21:23
εὐχή	Nominative Singular Feminine	1	James 5:15

The accusative form appears exclusively in the vow-sense passages (object of ἔχω "have a vow"); the nominative appears in the prayer-sense passage (subject: "the prayer of faith shall save").

Semantic Categories¶

1. Vow — A Formal Obligation Before God¶

Acts 18:18 — "having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow (εὐχήν)"
Acts 21:23 — "We have four men which have a vow (εὐχήν) on them"

Both instances describe Nazarite-like vows involving ritual obligations (head-shaving, purification period). The vow is a binding commitment with specific cultic actions attached.

2. Prayer — A Petition Addressed to God¶

James 5:15 — "And the prayer (εὐχή) of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up"

Here εὐχή denotes prayer offered on behalf of the sick, qualified by πίστις ("faith"). The context is elder-led intercession with anointing oil.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
κεφαλή (kephalē)	G2776	1x	Head-shaving associated with vow completion
κείρω (keirō)	G2751	1x	"Having shorn" — ritual hair-cutting
πίστις (pistis)	G4102	1x	"Prayer of faith" (εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως)
κάμνω (kamnō)	G2577	1x	"Save the sick" — prayer context
Κεγχρεαί (Kenchreai)	G2747	1x	Location of Paul's vow fulfillment
ἀνήρ (anēr)	G435	1x	"Four men which have a vow"

With only 3 verses, all collocations appear once. The vow-sense collocates with ritual vocabulary (head, shearing); the prayer-sense collocates with faith and healing vocabulary.

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2172 εὔχομαι (euchomai) — root verb: to wish, pray (7 occurrences; Acts 26:29, 27:29; Rom 9:3; 2 Cor 13:7, 9; James 5:16; 3 John 1:2)
G4335 προσευχή (proseuchē) — compound: πρός + εὐχή = prayer directed toward God (37 occurrences; the standard NT prayer noun)
G4336 προσεύχομαι (proseuchomai) — compound verb: to pray (34 occurrences)

Synonyms¶

G1162 δέησις (deēsis) — petition, supplication (19v; emphasizes the specific request aspect)
G1595 ἑκούσιος (hekousios) — voluntary, willing (related to the volitional aspect of vowing)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
προσευχή (proseuchē)	G4335	"prayer"	proseuchē is the standard, general NT word for prayer (37v); εὐχή covers both prayer and vow, and is far rarer (3v)
δέησις (deēsis)	G1162	"prayer"	deēsis emphasizes urgent petition/supplication; εὐχή in its prayer sense is a broader wish-prayer
ἔντευξις (enteuxis)	G1783	"prayer"	enteuxis stresses intercession/interview with God (2v); εὐχή lacks the intercessory nuance

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
נֶדֶר (neder)	H5088	52	8.21	Primary: vow, promise to God
נָדַר (nadar)	H5087	19	7.76	Verb: to vow
אֱסָר (esar)	H632	10	8.32	Obligation, binding vow (of abstinence)
נֶזֶר (nezer)	H5145	10	7.18	Consecration, Nazirite separation
שָׁלַם (shalam)	H7999	14	5.44	To complete, pay (vows)
נְדָבָה (nedabah)	H5071	8	6.68	Freewill offering (contrast with binding vow)
אָסַר (asar)	H631	10	5.71	To bind (oneself by a vow)
זֶבַח (zebach)	H2077	12	4.68	Sacrifice (often paired with vow fulfillment)
נָזִיר (naziyr)	H5139	5	6.64	Nazirite, consecrated one
נָזַר (nazar)	H5144	4	7.00	To separate, consecrate

The LXX data shows εὐχή overwhelmingly renders the neder/nadar word family (vow/to vow), with strong secondary connections to Nazirite vocabulary (nezer, naziyr, nazar). This confirms that the vow sense is the word's primary semantic field in biblical Greek usage.