G2316 — θεός (theós)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2316
Original: θεός
Transliteration: theós
Pronunciation: theh'-os
Part of Speech: Masculine noun (n-m)
Root: Of uncertain affinity
Occurrences: 1172 unique verses (1343 tokens) across all 27 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 1:23 — "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with the article) the supreme Deity; God. Used both for the God of the Bible and (rarely) for pagan deities.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - 012.001 — Supernatural Beings - Other words in domain: ἀββά (G5), ἄγγελος (G32), ἄθεος (G112), αἰών (G165), ἀρχάγγελος (G743), δαιμόνιον (G1140), διάβολος (G1228), εἴδωλον (G1497)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [012] Supernatural Beings and Powers

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
God / of God	1101	93.9%
to God / unto God	70	6.0%
God's	10	0.9%
gods	7	0.6%
godly	4	0.3%
other forms	~15	1.3%

Note: KJV splits across "God," "of God," "to God," "unto God," "God's" largely reflect case inflection (nominative, genitive, dative). The word itself is uniformly θεός throughout.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 John	40	38.1
1 Thessalonians	30	33.7
1 Peter	35	33.3
Romans	135	31.2
2 Thessalonians	14	29.8
Titus	12	26.1
2 Corinthians	65	25.3
Revelation	90	22.3
Colossians	21	22.1
Hebrews	64	21.1
Ephesians	32	20.6
1 Corinthians	86	19.7
Galatians	29	19.5
1 Timothy	21	18.6
Acts	158	15.7
2 John	2	15.4
2 Timothy	12	14.5
3 John	2	14.3
James	13	12.0
2 Peter	7	11.5
Luke	116	10.1
Philemon	2	8.0
John	70	8.0
Mark	44	6.5
Matthew	46	4.3
Philippians	22	—
Jude	4	—

Density peaks in the epistles (Romans, 1 John, 1 Peter, Thessalonians) and Revelation, where theological reflection and worship language are most concentrated. John's Gospel has a lower per-verse density than the Synoptics despite heavy Christological content, because its narrative stretches are longer.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Supreme Deity¶

God as the one absolute divine being, distinct from all other beings. - 1 Cor 8:4 — "there is none other God but one" - 1 Cor 8:5–6 — "though there be that are called gods... to us there is but one God, the Father" - John 1:1 — "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" - Mat 1:23 — "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us"

2. God the Father¶

God identified as divine Father, source of grace, peace, and blessing — the dominant use in Pauline greeting formulas. - Rom 1:7 — "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ" - 2 Cor 1:3 — "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies" - Gal 1:1 — "by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead" - 1 Pet 1:2 — "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father"

3. Kingdom of God¶

God's sovereign rule, preached by Jesus as the central message of the gospel. - Mark 1:14–15 — "preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God... the kingdom of God is at hand" - Luke 1:16 — "shall he turn to the Lord their God" - Acts 1:3 — "speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" - Rom 14:17 — "the kingdom of God is not meat and drink"

4. Son of God / Christ as God¶

Christological uses — Christ identified as God's Son or directly as God. - Mark 1:1 — "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" - Rom 1:4 — "declared to be the Son of God with power... by the resurrection from the dead" - John 20:28 — "Thomas... said unto him, My Lord and my God" - Heb 1:8 — "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever"

5. Spirit of God¶

The Spirit as God's active presence and agent. - Acts 2:17 — "saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh" - 1 Cor 2:11 — "the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" - 1 Pet 1:2 — "Elect... through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience" (God's Spirit at work) - Mat 3:16 — "the Spirit of God descending like a dove"

6. God's Character and Nature¶

God defined by specific attributes across the epistles and gospels. - 1 John 1:5 — "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" - James 1:13 — "God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man" - Titus 1:2 — "God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began" - Heb 1:1 — "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers"

7. False Gods / Pagan Deities¶

Applied to non-divine beings worshipped by Gentiles; the plural "gods" or in 2 Cor 4:4 "god of this world." - 1 Cor 8:5 — "there be gods many, and lords many" - Acts 14:11 — "The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men" - Gal 4:8 — "ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods" - 2 Cor 4:4 — "the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)	G2424	202x (17%)	"Jesus... Son of God"; epistolary headers
πᾶς (pás)	G3956	199x (17%)	"all things of God"; "all... before God"
Χριστός (Christós)	G5547	185x (16%)	"Jesus Christ" + "of God"; apostolic greetings
λέγω (légō)	G3004	146x (12%)	"saith God"; quoted speech attributed to God
κύριος (kúrios)	G2962	122x (10%)	"God and Lord"; "the Lord our God"
ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos)	G444	103x (9%)	"man... of God"; humanity contrasted with God
υἱός (huiós)	G5207	95x (8%)	"Son of God"
ἔχω (échō)	G2192	85x (7%)	"hath God"; "have... of God"
πατήρ (patēr)	G3962	84x (7%)	"God the Father"; "Father of God"
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	80x (7%)	"Spirit of God"; "God's Spirit"
βασιλεία (basileía)	G932	79x (7%)	"kingdom of God"
χάρις (cháris)	G5485	69x (6%)	"grace of God"; epistolary greetings
λόγος (lógos)	G3056	70x (6%)	"word of God"

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G2316.

Antonyms¶

G112 ἄθεος (atheos) — "without God"; the alpha-privative form and clearest lexical antonym surfaced by search_relationships.py

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlōhîm)	H430	"God" / "gods"	Primary Hebrew equivalent; plural form used as singular for the God of Israel, and as a true plural for pagan deities
אֵל (ʼêl)	H410	"God" / "mighty one"	Emphasizes power/might; often appears in compound divine names (El Shaddai, El Elyon)
אֱלוֹהַּ (ʼĕlōwah)	H433	"God"	Singular poetic form of H430; appears mostly in poetry and Job
אֱלָהּ (ʼĕlāhh)	H426	"God"	Aramaic equivalent; used in Daniel and Ezra sections written in Aramaic
κύριος (kúrios)	G2962	"Lord" / "God"	kúrios = Lord, master, owner; used in LXX for YHWH; closely linked with θεός but distinct in referent

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 012.001)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Vv	Primary KJV Translation	Key Difference
G5	ἀββά	3	Abba	Aramaic address term for God as Father
G32	ἄγγελος	141	angel	Divine messenger, servant of θεός
G112	ἄθεος	1	without God	Negation of θεός — one who has no God
G1140	δαιμόνιον	48	devil/demons	Supernatural beings opposed to θεός
G1228	διάβολος	32	devil	The chief adversary of θεός
G1497	εἴδωλον	10	idol	Physical image of a false θεός

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Word	Strong's	Transliteration	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
אֱלֹהִים	H430	ʼĕlōhîm	2027	22.48	Primary — the standard Hebrew "God"
אֱלָהּ	H426	ʼĕlāhh	77	13.38	Aramaic equivalent (Daniel, Ezra)
אֵל	H410	ʼêl	157	12.73	Secondary — "mighty one / God"
יְהֹוָה	H3068	YHWH	1391	8.11	Divine name; LXX renders as κύριος (G2962), not θεός, in most cases

The LXX consistently uses θεός to render H430 (ʼĕlōhîm), the common Hebrew word for God. YHWH (H3068) is almost always rendered κύριος in the LXX, preserving the distinction between God's title and his personal name.