G3009 — λειτουργία (leitourgia)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3009
Original: λειτουργία
Transliteration: leitourgia
Pronunciation: li-toorg-ee'-ah
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: From G3008 λειτουργέω (leitourgeo) — to minister publicly; ultimately from λεῖτος (leitos, "public") + ἔργον (ergon, "work")
Occurrences: 6 unique verses (6 tokens) across 4 books
First Occurrence: Luke 1:23 — "as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Public function (as priest ["liturgy"]) or benefaction. From G3008 leitourgeo. Denotes an official public service — originally a civic duty performed by wealthy citizens for the state (Greek cultural background), applied in biblical usage to priestly/Levitical service and to Christian ministry acts.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 53.001: Religious Practice
Domain 35.002: Serve
Other words in 35.002: διακονέω (G1247), διακονία (G1248), διάκονος (G1249), δουλεύω (G1398), θεραπεύω (G2323), θεράπων (G2324), λειτουργέω (G3008), λειτουργικός (G3010), λειτουργός (G3011)

Louw-Nida Domain Neighbors (053.001 — Religious Practice)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total vv	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G763	ἀσέβεια	6	ungodliness
G1343	δικαιοσύνη	77	righteousness
G2150	εὐσέβεια	14	godliness
G2124	εὐλάβεια	2	godly fear
G2126	εὐλαβής	3	devout

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
service	2	33.3%
ministry	2	33.3%
ministration	1	16.7%
of service	1	16.7%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Philippians	2	1.9
Hebrews	2	0.7
2 Corinthians	1	0.4
Luke	1	0.1

Concentrated in epistolary literature (5 of 6 occurrences). Luke provides the single Gospel occurrence, set in a temple context. Absent from the rest of the NT.

Morphological Distribution¶

Case	Count	References
Genitive Sg.	5	Luke 1:23; 2 Cor 9:12; Phil 2:30; Heb 8:6; Heb 9:21
Dative Sg.	1	Phil 2:17

All occurrences are singular. The word appears overwhelmingly in the genitive (possessive/descriptive), typically as "of ministration/service/ministry" modifying another noun.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Priestly/Levitical Temple Service¶

Luke 1:23 — "as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house"
Heb 9:21 — "he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry"

Formal cultic service rendered by priests. Zacharias completing his priestly course (Luke) and the Mosaic tabernacle apparatus (Hebrews) both use leitourgia for the officially prescribed worship duties.

2. Christ's Superior Heavenly Ministry¶

Heb 8:6 — "now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises"

Applied to Christ's high-priestly ministry — a "more excellent" leitourgia contrasted with the earthly Levitical service.

3. Sacrificial Service of Faith¶

Phil 2:17 — "if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all"
Phil 2:30 — "for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me"

Paul uses leitourgia for acts of sacrificial devotion — both his own poured-out ministry and Epaphroditus's near-fatal service. The sacrificial overtone from the cultic register carries forward.

4. Charitable Service to the Saints¶

2 Cor 9:12 — "the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God"

The financial collection for Jerusalem believers is called a leitourgia — material aid framed as a public/priestly act of worship.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	2x	"all the vessels of the ministry" — totality of service
ὑστέρημα (hysterema)	G5303	2x	"supply your lack of service" — leitourgia fills a deficit
θυσία (thysia)	G2378	1x	"sacrifice and service" — leitourgia paired with sacrificial offering
διαθήκη (diatheke)	G1242	1x	"more excellent ministry... better covenant" — ministry tied to covenant mediation
αἷμα (haima)	G129	1x	"sprinkled with blood... vessels of the ministry" — blood consecrates the instruments of leitourgia
διακονία (diakonia)	G1248	1x	"administration of this service" — diakonia and leitourgia co-occur as complementary service terms

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3008 λειτουργέω (leitourgeo) — verb: to minister, serve publicly (3v)
G3010 λειτουργικός (leitourgikos) — adjective: ministering (1v — Heb 1:14)
G3011 λειτουργός (leitourgos) — noun (masc.): a minister, public servant (5v)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
διακονία (diakonia)	G1248	"ministry" (12v), "service" (3v)	diakonia = general attendance/service to others; leitourgia = formal public/priestly service with cultic overtones
λατρεία (latreia)	G2999	"service" (4v)	latreia = worship/devotion to God specifically; leitourgia = official public duty, whether priestly or civic

Semantic Domain¶

[035] Help, Care For — service and assistance words
[053] Religious Activities — worship, cultic, and priestly activity words

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
עֲבֹדָה (avodah)	H5656	37	7.36	Primary equivalent — general service/labor, especially Levitical
לֵוִיִּי (Leviyiy)	H3881	14	4.95	Levite — the personnel who perform leitourgia
מוֹעֵד (moed)	H4150	10	4.71	Appointed time/place — tent of meeting context
אֹהֶל (ohel)	H168	11	4.31	Tent — tabernacle where leitourgia occurs
עָבַד (avad)	H5647	10	4.45	Root verb: to work/serve
מְלָאכָה (melakah)	H4399	7	4.82	Work/deputyship — overlaps in tabernacle service contexts
מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmereth)	H4931	5	5.32	Watch/charge — duty roster for priestly service
כֹּהֵן (kohen)	H3548	10	3.09	Priest — the other class performing leitourgia
שָׁרַת (sharath)	H8334	4	4.62	To attend/minister — priestly attendance verb

The dominant Hebrew source is H5656 avodah, which the LXX translators consistently rendered as leitourgia in cultic/Levitical contexts. The surrounding Hebrew vocabulary (tent, Levite, priest, appointed time, charge) confirms that leitourgia in the LXX is anchored in tabernacle/temple service.