G25 — ἀγαπάω (agapao)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G25
Original: ἀγαπάω
Transliteration: agapao
Pronunciation: ag-ap-ah'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: Perhaps from agan (much)
Occurrences: 109 unique verses (147 tokens) across 21 books
First Occurrence: Mat 5:43 — "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Perhaps from agan (much); to love (in a social or moral sense):—(be-)love(-ed). Compare G5368 (phileo).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 025 — Attitudes and Emotions
Subdomain 1: 025.003 — Love, Affection, Compassion
Subdomain 2: 025.010 — Enjoy, Take Pleasure In, Be Fond of Doing
Other words in 025.003: ἀγάπη (agape, G26), ἀγαπητός (agapetos, G27), φιλέω (phileo, G5368), φιλαδελφία (philadelphia, G5360), σπλαγχνίζομαι (splanchnizomai, G4697)

Greek Morphological Distribution¶

Tense/Voice	Tokens	Notes
Present Active	72	Dominant — ongoing/habitual love (indicative, subjunctive, imperative, infinitive, participle)
Aorist Active	37	Punctiliar/summary — "loved" as a completed act
Future Active	16	Commandments ("thou shalt love") and promises ("will love")
Imperfect Active	12	Ongoing past love — "was loving" (Jesus loved, the beloved disciple)
Perfect Passive	8	State resulting from being loved — "beloved" (ēgapēmenos)
Perfect Active	2	State of having loved (2 Tim 4:8; 1 John 4:10)
Future Passive	1	"shall be loved" (John 14:21)
Present Passive	1	"the less I be loved" (2 Cor 12:15)

Mood	Tokens	Notes
Indicative	64	Statements of fact about love
Participle	30	Substantival — "he that loveth," "them that love"
Subjunctive	22	Exhortation/purpose — "that ye love," "let us love"
Imperative	11	Direct commands — "love your enemies," "love one another"
Infinitive	8	Purpose/complement — "to love"

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
love (all forms)	91	83.5%
beloved	6	5.5%
Other verbal forms	12	11.0%

Virtually all occurrences are rendered "love" in some verbal form. The word is translated with remarkable consistency.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 John	17	16.2
2 John	2	15.4
3 John	1	7.1
Ephesians	7	4.5
2 Thessalonians	2	4.3
1 Peter	4	3.8
John	27	3.1
James	3	2.8
2 Timothy	2	2.4
1 Thessalonians	2	2.2
Colossians	2	2.1
2 Peter	1	1.6
Romans	6	1.4
Galatians	2	1.3
2 Corinthians	3	1.2
Revelation	4	1.0
Luke	9	0.8
Matthew	7	0.7
Hebrews	2	0.7
Mark	4	0.6
1 Corinthians	2	0.5

Johannine concentration is overwhelming: John + 1-3 John account for 47 of 109 verses (43%). Paul uses it across all epistles but at lower density. Absent from Acts, Philippians, Titus, Philemon, Jude.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Love for God / Christ (Commandment and Response)¶

Mat 22:37 — "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind"
John 14:15 — "If ye love me, keep my commandments"
1 Cor 8:3 — "But if any man love God, the same is known of him"
1 John 5:2 — "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments"

2. God's / Christ's Love for Humanity¶

John 3:16 — "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son"
Eph 2:4 — "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us"
1 John 4:10 — "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us"
Rev 1:5 — "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood"

3. Father-Son Love (Intra-Trinitarian)¶

John 3:35 — "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand"
John 10:17 — "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life"
John 15:9 — "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you"
John 17:24 — "thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world"

4. Mutual Love Among Believers (The New Commandment)¶

John 13:34 — "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you"
1 Th 4:9 — "ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another"
1 John 4:7 — "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God"
1 John 4:11 — "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another"

5. Love for Neighbor (OT Law Fulfillment)¶

Mat 5:43 — "Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy"
Mat 19:19 — "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"
Rom 13:8 — "he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law"
James 2:8 — "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well"

6. Love for Enemies (Distinctive of Jesus' Teaching)¶

Mat 5:44 — "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you"
Luke 6:27 — "Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you"
Luke 6:35 — "love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again"

7. Disordered Love (Wrong Objects)¶

John 3:19 — "men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil"
John 12:43 — "they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God"
2 Tim 4:10 — "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world"
1 John 2:15 — "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	34x (31%)	God as subject/object of love; "God so loved," "love God"
Ἰησοῦς (Iesous)	G2424	16x (15%)	Jesus as subject who loved, or object "if ye love me"
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	15x (14%)	"love the Lord thy God," "whom the Lord loveth"
πατήρ (pater)	G3962	14x (13%)	Father's love for Son, Father will love the obedient
ἀλλήλων (allelon)	G240	12x (11%)	"love one another" — the new commandment formula
ἐντολή (entole)	G1785	11x (10%)	"keep my commandments" paired with love — love as obedient loyalty
ἀγάπη (agape)	G26	9x (8%)	Noun-verb pairing — "continue in my love," "love of the Father"
πλησίον (plesion)	G4139	9x (8%)	"love thy neighbour" — the Leviticus 19:18 commandment
ἀδελφός (adelphos)	G80	8x (7%)	"loveth his brother" — test of authentic love in 1 John
κόσμος (kosmos)	G2889	8x (7%)	Both "God loved the world" and "love not the world"

Word Family / Cognates¶

G26 ἀγάπη (agape) — noun: love, affection, benevolence (106 verses)
G27 ἀγαπητός (agapetos) — adjective: beloved, dear (61 verses)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
φιλέω (phileo)	G5368	"love," "loveth"	Phileo = personal affection, fondness, friendship; agapao = broader love including moral commitment and self-giving
φιλαδελφία (philadelphia)	G5360	"love" (of brethren)	Compound of phileo + adelphos; brotherly affection specifically among believers
φιλανθρωπία (philanthropia)	G5363	"love," "kindness"	Fondness of mankind; general benevolence, not the covenantal love of agapao

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 025.003)¶

Word	Strong's	Verses	Primary KJV	Key Difference
ἀγάπη (agape)	G26	106	love, charity	The noun form; agapao is the verb
ἀγαπητός (agapetos)	G27	61	beloved	The adjectival form; one who has been loved
φιλέω (phileo)	G5368	21	love, kiss	Warmer personal affection; agapao is broader, more volitional
σπλαγχνίζομαι (splanchnizomai)	G4697	12	moved with compassion	Visceral emotional response; agapao is a settled disposition
σπλάγχνον (splanchnon)	G4698	11	bowels, affection	The seat of compassion; metaphorical
φιλαδελφία (philadelphia)	G5360	5	brotherly love	Love restricted to the sibling-in-faith relationship

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
אָהַב (ahab)	H157	144	32.42
אַהֲבָה (ahabah)	H160	17	18.29
שָׂנֵא (sane)	H8130	19	12.08
מִצְוָה (mitsvah)	H4687	15	9.26
שָׁמַר (shamar)	H8104	20	7.44
חָפֵץ (chaphets)	H2654	6	6.58
דָּבַק (dabaq)	H1692	5	6.28

Primary Hebrew equivalent is H157 אָהַב (ahab) — 144 co-occurrences with the strongest PMI score. This is the dominant LXX translation path: ahab -> agapao.