G26 — ἀγάπη (agapē)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G26
Original: ἀγάπη
Transliteration: agapē
Pronunciation: ag-ah'-pay
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: From ἀγαπάω (agapaō, G25) — to love
Occurrences: 116 tokens in 106 unique verses across 24 books
First Occurrence: Mat 24:12 — "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Love, i.e. affection or benevolence; specially (plural) a love-feast. From ἀγαπάω (G25).

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - Domain: 025 — Attitudes and Emotions - Note: The Louw-Nida DB catalogues the verb ἀγαπάω (G25) rather than the noun separately; agapē belongs to the same semantic space: "to love, to regard with affection, loving concern." - Related words in domain: φιλέω (G5368), φιλαδελφία (G5360), σπλαγχνίζομαι (G4697), εὔσπλαγχνος (G2155), φιλόστοργος (G5387), ἄστοργος (G794)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [025] Attitudes and Emotions - [023] Physiological Processes and States

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
love	68	64.2%
charity	19	17.9%
of love	6	5.7%
the love	3	2.8%
Charity	2	1.9%
Love / love's / dear / charitably	4	3.8%
Other (after charity, feasts of charity, in charity, in love, of charity, unto love)	4	3.8%

The KJV translates agapē as "charity" almost exclusively in 1 Corinthians 13 and the pastoral epistles, and as "love" elsewhere. The "charity" rendering follows the Vulgate's caritas.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 John	2	15.4
1 John	14	13.3
Philemon	3	12.0
3 John	1	7.1
Ephesians	10	6.5
2 Thessalonians	3	6.4
1 Thessalonians	5	5.6
Colossians	5	5.3
2 Timothy	4	4.8
1 Timothy	5	4.4
2 Corinthians	9	3.5
1 Corinthians	11	2.5
Titus	1	2.2
Galatians	3	2.0
1 Peter	2	1.9
Romans	8	1.8
2 Peter	1	1.6
John	6	0.7
Hebrews	2	0.7
Revelation	2	0.5
Philippians	4	0.5
Jude	3	0.4
Matthew	1	0.1
Luke	1	0.1

Overwhelmingly a Pauline and Johannine term. The highest density is in the Johannine epistles (1–3 John), where "God is love" theology concentrates. Paul uses it broadly across all his letters; it appears in every Pauline epistle. Absent entirely from Mark, Acts, James, and most of the synoptic Gospels. Only 2 occurrences in the synoptics total (Mat 24:12, Luke 11:42).

Semantic Categories¶

1. God's Love toward Humanity¶

Rom 5:5 — "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost"
Rom 5:8 — "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
Eph 2:4 — "God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us"
1 John 4:9 — "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son"

2. God's Essential Nature as Love¶

1 John 4:8 — "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love"
1 John 4:16 — "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him"

3. Christ's Love (and Inseparability from It)¶

Rom 8:35 — "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"
2 Cor 5:14 — "For the love of Christ constraineth us"
Eph 3:19 — "to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge"
John 15:9 — "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love"

4. Love as Christian Virtue / Mutual Love among Believers¶

John 13:35 — "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another"
Rom 12:9 — "Let love be without dissimulation"
1 Thess 3:12 — "the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another"
1 Pet 4:8 — "above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins"

5. Love as Supreme Virtue / Greatest Gift¶

1 Cor 13:13 — "now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity"
Col 3:14 — "above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness"
1 Cor 13:4 — "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not"
1 Cor 13:8 — "Charity never faileth"

6. Love as Obedience / Walking in Commandments¶

1 John 5:3 — "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments"
2 John 1:6 — "this is love, that we walk after his commandments"
Rom 13:10 — "love is the fulfilling of the law"
John 15:10 — "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love"

7. Love in Virtue Lists and Greetings¶

Gal 5:22 — "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering..."
1 Tim 6:11 — "follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness"
2 Tim 1:7 — "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind"
Eph 6:23 — "Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	32x	"the love of God" (genitive construction)
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	26x	"above all things" in virtue contexts
Χριστός (Christos)	G5547	25x	"the love of Christ" / "in Christ Jesus"
πίστις (pistis)	G4102	24x	"faith and love" — paired as core virtues
ἔχω (echō)	G2192	19x	"have love" / "have not love"
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)	G2424	16x	"in Christ Jesus" with love
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	13x	"the Lord" in contexts of love's source
γινώσκω (ginōskō)	G1097	10x	"to know the love" — love and knowledge paired
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	10x	"love of/in the Spirit"
ἀγαπάω (agapaō)	G25	9x	verb + noun in same verse; "love... loved"
ἀδελφός (adelphos)	G80	9x	"love of the brethren"
ἀλλήλων (allēlōn)	G240	9x	"love one another"
καρδία (kardia)	G2588	7x	"love... in the heart"
μένω (menō)	G3306	7x	"abide in love" / "love that abides"
εἰρήνη (eirēnē)	G1515	7x	"love and peace" in greetings

Word Family / Cognates¶

G25 ἀγαπάω (agapaō) — verb: to love (142 occurrences). The verbal root from which agapē derives.
G27 ἀγαπητός (agapētos) — adjective: beloved, dear (62 occurrences). "Dearly beloved" in Paul's address to churches.

Synonyms¶

G5373 φιλία (philia) — friendship, affection (noun form of phileō)
G1939 ἐπιθυμία (epithymia) — desire, longing, craving (broader; includes negative senses)
ἔρως (erōs) — romantic/passionate love (classical Greek; not used in NT)
στοργή (storgē) — natural family affection (classical Greek; only the negation ἄστοργος appears in NT)

Antonyms¶

G3404 μισέω (miseō) — to hate (via LXX bridge: H157 ahab ↔ H8130 sane → G25 agapao ↔ G3404 miseō)
G2189 ἔχθρα (echthra) — enmity, hostility (Gal 5:20 lists echthra among works of the flesh, contrasting agapē as fruit of the Spirit in 5:22)
G794 ἄστοργος (astorgos) — without natural affection (alpha-privative of storgē; listed in Rom 1:31 and 2 Tim 3:3 as moral deficiency)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἀγαπάω (agapaō)	G25	"love" (verb vs. noun)	G25 is the verb form; G26 is the noun. Same word family.
φιλέω (phileō)	G5368	"love" (4v overlap)	phileō = personal affection, fondness, friendship love; agapē = volitional, self-giving love (though the distinction is often overstated)
φιλανθρωπία (philanthrōpia)	G5363	"love" (1v)	philanthrōpia = kindness/generosity toward mankind generally
אַהֲבָה (ʼahăbâh)	H160	"love" (14v OT)	Hebrew OT equivalent; agapē is its primary LXX rendering
אָהַב (ʼâhab)	H157	"love" (11v OT)	Hebrew verb "to love"; LXX renders it with agapaō

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI Score
אַהֲבָה (ʼahăbâh)	H160	4	15.81
שִׂנְאָה (sinʼâh)	H8135	3	13.94

The primary Hebrew equivalent is H160 אַהֲבָה (ʼahăbâh, "love"), a feminine noun from the same root as אָהַב (ʼâhab, H157, "to love"). The LXX chose ἀγάπη to render ʼahăbâh in passages like Song of Songs and Jeremiah 2:2. The co-occurrence with שִׂנְאָה (sinʼâh, "hatred") reflects the love/hate antithesis in the LXX.

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 025 — Attitudes and Emotions)¶

Word	Strong's	Glosses	Key Difference
φιλέω (phileō)	G5368	to love, have affection for, like to	Personal affection/fondness vs. agapē's volitional, self-giving character
φιλαδελφία (philadelphia)	G5360	love for fellow believer	Specifically brotherly love within the community; narrower than agapē
σπλαγχνίζομαι (splanchnizomai)	G4697	feel compassion for, have great affection	Visceral compassion (from "bowels"); emotional response rather than settled disposition
εὔσπλαγχνος (eusplanchnos)	G2155	compassionate	Describes character quality of tender-heartedness
φιλόστοργος (philostorgos)	G5387	very loving, warmly devoted	Family/natural affection; warmth of personal attachment
ἄστοργος (astorgos)	G794	without normal human affection	Negation — absence of natural family love