G3123 — μᾶλλον (mallon)¶
Core Data¶
- Strong's: G3123
- Original: μᾶλλον
- Transliteration: mallon
- Pronunciation: mal'-lon
- Part of Speech: Adverb (comparative)
- Root: Neuter of the comparative of the same root as G3122 (mala, "very much")
- Occurrences: 80 unique verses (82 tokens) across 17 NT books
- First Occurrence: Mat 6:26 — "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"
- Hapax Legomenon: No
Lexicon Definition¶
Neuter of the comparative of the same as G3122; (adverbially) more (in a greater degree) or rather.
Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶
- Domain 78.002: More Than, Less Than [Comparative Degree]
- Other words in domain: ἐκπερισσῶς (G4053b), ἐπάνω (G1883), ἥσσων (G2276a), μέγας (G3173), παρά (G3844), περισσεία (G4050), περισσεύω (G4052), περισσός (G4053), περισσοτέρως (G4056), περισσῶς (G4057), πλεονάζω (G4121)
- Domain 89.023: Contrast
- Other words in domain: ἀλλά (G235), ἀντί (G473), δέ (G1161), εἰ (G1487), ἐκτός (G1622), ἔτι (G2089), μέν (G3303), μενοῦνγε (G3304a)
Domain Neighbors (78.002 — More Than, Less Than)¶
| Strong's | Lemma | Total vv | Primary KJV |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1883 | ἐπάνω | 13 | over, on |
| G3173 | μέγας | 143 | great, a great |
| G3844 | παρά | 108 | of, with |
| G4050 | περισσεία | 4 | abundance, abundantly |
| G4052 | περισσεύω | 10 | abound, abundance |
| G4053 | περισσός | 6 | more, more abundant |
| G4056 | περισσοτέρως | 6 | more abundant, more abundantly |
| G4057 | περισσῶς | 4 | exceedingly, abundantly |
| G4121 | πλεονάζω | 3 | abound, abounded |
Translation Distribution (KJV)¶
| Translation | Verses | % |
|---|---|---|
| rather | 31 | 38.8% |
| more | 27 | 33.8% |
| the more | 11 | 13.8% |
| more and more | 2 | 2.5% |
| so much the more | 2 | 2.5% |
| he should rather | 1 | 1.2% |
| more than | 1 | 1.2% |
| much | 1 | 1.2% |
| much more | 1 | 1.2% |
| that | 1 | 1.2% |
| the rather | 1 | 1.2% |
| which is far | 1 | 1.2% |
Distribution by Book¶
| Book | Count | Per 100 Verses |
|---|---|---|
| Philemon | 2 | 8.0 |
| 2 Corinthians | 8 | 3.1 |
| 1 Thessalonians | 2 | 2.2 |
| Hebrews | 6 | 2.0 |
| Ephesians | 3 | 1.9 |
| Romans | 8 | 1.8 |
| 1 Corinthians | 8 | 1.8 |
| 1 Timothy | 2 | 1.8 |
| 2 Peter | 1 | 1.6 |
| Galatians | 2 | 1.3 |
| 2 Timothy | 1 | 1.2 |
| Mark | 6 | 0.9 |
| Matthew | 9 | 0.8 |
| Acts | 7 | 0.7 |
| Philippians | 5 | 0.6 |
| Luke | 6 | 0.5 |
| John | 4 | 0.5 |
Pauline concentration: 50 of 80 verses (62.5%) are in Paul's letters. Highest density in Philemon (8.0 per 100 verses) and 2 Corinthians (3.1). Present in all four Gospels and Acts but at lower density. Absent from Revelation, James, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Titus, Colossians.
Semantic Categories¶
1. A Fortiori / "Much More" Reasoning (qal wahomer)¶
The signature construction: if the lesser case is true, how much more the greater. Typically paired with πολύ (polys) or πόσος (posos) to form "much more" / "how much more." - Rom 5:9 — "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." - Rom 5:10 — "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." - Rom 5:15 — "much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many" - Rom 5:17 — "much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ" - Mat 7:11 — "how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" - Heb 9:14 — "How much more shall the blood of Christ... purge your conscience from dead works" - 2 Cor 3:9 — "much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory" - 2 Cor 3:11 — "much more that which remaineth is glorious" - Heb 12:25 — "much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven"
2. Preference / "Rather Than" Contrast¶
Marks a deliberate choice between two alternatives. Translated "rather" — signals what ought to be chosen, valued, or done instead. - Mat 10:28 — "but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" - Acts 5:29 — "We ought to obey God rather than men" - John 3:19 — "men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" - Eph 5:11 — "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" - Heb 11:25 — "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season"
3. Exhortation to Increase / "More and More"¶
Marks progressive intensification — the believer should keep doing what is already good, but more so. - 1 Thess 4:1 — "as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more" - 1 Thess 4:10 — "we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more" - Phil 1:9 — "this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge" - Phil 2:12 — "not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation"
4. Intensifying Comparison / "The More"¶
Describes escalation — the more something happens, the more something else intensifies in response. - Mark 7:36 — "the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it" - Mark 10:48 — "he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me" - Luke 5:15 — "so much the more went there a fame abroad of him" - John 5:18 — "the Jews sought the more to kill him" - Acts 9:22 — "Saul increased the more in strength"
5. Corrective Redirection ("but rather")¶
Introduces what should be done instead — a mild correction redirecting action from one course to another. - Mat 10:6 — "go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" - 1 Cor 14:1 — "desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy" - 1 Cor 14:5 — "but rather that ye prophesied" - Eph 4:28 — "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour" - Rom 14:13 — "judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall"
6. Self-Correction / Rhetorical Refinement¶
The speaker corrects or sharpens their own statement — "or rather" / "yea rather." - Gal 4:9 — "after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God" - Rom 8:34 — "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again"
Common Collocations¶
| Word | Strong's | Co-occurrences | Typical Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| πολύς (polys) | G4183 | 17x (21%) | πολλῷ μᾶλλον "much more" — a fortiori reasoning |
| θεός (theos) | G2316 | 16x (20%) | God as greater agent in "how much more shall God..." |
| πᾶς (pas) | G3956 | 9x (11%) | Universal scope: "more than all," "all the more" |
| Χριστός (Christos) | G5547 | 9x (11%) | Christ as basis of the "much more" argument |
| παρακαλέω (parakaleo) | G3870 | 8x (10%) | Exhortation: "I beseech you rather..." |
| ἀδελφός (adelphos) | G80 | 7x (9%) | Fraternal appeal: "brethren, do this the more" |
| περισσεύω (perisseuo) | G4052 | 5x (6%) | "abound more and more" — progressive intensification |
Related Words¶
Easily Confused Words¶
| Word | Strong's | Shared Translation | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἔτι (eti) | G2089 | "more" (18v) | eti = temporal "still, yet"; mallon = degree/preference |
| πλείων (pleion) | G4119 | "more" (15v) | pleion = quantitative "more in number/amount"; mallon = qualitative/comparative degree |
| περισσός (perissos) | G4053 | "more" (3v) | perissos = "exceeding, superabundant"; mallon = comparative marker intensifying another word |
| יָסַף (yasaph) | H3254 | "the more" (3v OT) | yasaph = "add, increase" (verb); mallon = adverbial degree marker |
Semantic Domain — Degree/Comparison¶
| Word | Strong's | Verses | Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| περισσοτέρως (perissoteros) | G4056 | 6 | Superlative: "all the more abundantly" |
| περισσῶς (perissos) | G4057 | 4 | "exceedingly" — intensifies beyond comparison |
| ἐπάνω (epano) | G1883 | 13 | "above, more than" — spatial/quantitative |
| πλεονάζω (pleonazo) | G4121 | 3 | "abound, increase" — growth rather than comparison |
Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶
No dominant Hebrew equivalent. Mallon is a Greek comparative adverb with no single Hebrew word it consistently translates. The LXX uses it across scattered Hebrew comparative constructions (min "from/than" H4480 — 7x, atsuwm "mighty" H6099 — 4x, gadol "great" H1419 — 3x), but these are contextual renderings, not semantic bridges.
| Hebrew Source | Strong's | Co-occ | PMI |
|---|---|---|---|
| עָצוּם (atsuwm) | H6099 | 4 | 11.54 |
| כְּסִיל (keciyl) | H3684 | 3 | 7.73 |
| מִן (min) | H4480 | 7 | 5.89 |
| יָרַשׁ (yarash) | H3423 | 3 | 5.54 |
| גּוֹי (gowy) | H1471 | 4 | 5.01 |
| גָּדוֹל (gadol) | H1419 | 3 | 3.81 |
Generated from: gather_word_data.py, greek_parser.py, search_relationships.py, louw_nida.db Last updated: 2026-05-03