G3528 — νικάω (nikáō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3528
Original: νικάω
Transliteration: nikáō
Pronunciation: nik-ah'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Occurrences: 28 in NT (22 mapped in KJV DB)
First Occurrence: Luke 11:22 — "when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

To subdue (literally or figuratively); to conquer, overcome, prevail, gain the victory. From the root νίκη (nikē, "victory"). Used of military conquest, moral triumph, legal vindication, and eschatological victory.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 39 — Hostility, Strife
Subdomain: 39.012 — Conquer
Glosses: to be victorious over, to be a victor, to conquer
Other words in subdomain: ἡσσάομαι (hēssaomai, "be defeated"), θριαμβεύω (thriambeuō, "triumph over"), καταγωνίζομαι (katagōnizomai, "conquer"), κατισχύω (katischuō, "overpower"), νίκη (nikē, "victory"), νῖκος (nikos, "victory"), πατέω (pateō, "trample")

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
039	Hostility, Strife	`search_relationships.py` keeps nikaō in the conflict/victory field, matching its use for contest, conquest, and overcoming opposition.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
overcometh	5	22.7%
that overcometh	3	13.6%
overcome	2	9.1%
overcame	2	9.1%
shall overcome	2	9.1%
and overcome	1	4.5%
mightest overcome	1	4.5%
Be (not overcome)	1	4.5%
hath prevailed	1	4.5%
conquering	1	4.5%
conquer	1	4.5%
to overcome	1	4.5%
had gotten the victory	1	4.5%

KJV overwhelmingly renders nikáō as "overcome" (77% across forms). Consolidated: overcome/overcometh/overcame = 17x; conquer/conquering = 2x; prevail = 1x; victory = 1x.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	17	4.2
Romans	4	0.9
Luke	1	0.1

Additional occurrences not mapped in DB: John 16:33; 1 John 2:13, 2:14, 4:4, 5:4 (×2), 5:5 — bringing total to 28 (BLB). The word is overwhelmingly concentrated in Revelation (61%) and Johannine literature broadly (John + 1 John + Revelation ≈ 86%).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Eschatological Victory — Believers Overcoming (Promises to the Churches)¶

The dominant usage: promises to faithful believers who "overcome" in the letters to the seven churches and the final vision. - Rev 2:7 — "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life" - Rev 2:11 — "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death" - Rev 2:26 — "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations" - Rev 3:21 — "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne" - Rev 21:7 — "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son" - 1 John 5:4 — "whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith"

2. Cosmic Victory — Christ Overcoming¶

Christ's own victory as the basis for believers' victory. - John 16:33 — "be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" - Rev 5:5 — "the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book" - Rev 17:14 — "the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings" - Rev 3:21 — "even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne"

3. Moral Victory — Overcoming Evil¶

Rom 12:21 — "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (both active and passive in one verse)
1 John 2:13 — "ye have overcome the wicked one"
1 John 4:4 — "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them"

4. Military/Hostile Conquest — Adversary Overcoming¶

Used of enemies overcoming God's people or of physical military victory. - Luke 11:22 — "when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour" - Rev 11:7 — "the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them" - Rev 13:7 — "it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them" - Rev 6:2 — "he went forth conquering, and to conquer"

5. Legal/Forensic Vindication¶

Rom 3:4 — "That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged" (quoting Psalm 51:4 LXX, where Hebrew has זָכָה zakah, "be clear/pure")

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
δίδωμι (didōmi)	G1325	6x	"will I give to him that overcometh" — victory followed by reward
θεός (theos)	G2316	5x	God as source/context of victory
ἔχω (echō)	G2192	5x	"he that hath an ear" — hearing formula paired with overcoming
ὄνομα (onoma)	G3686	4x	new name / God's name given to overcomer
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	3x	"what the Spirit saith" — Spirit's call to overcome
ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia)	G1577	3x	churches as recipients of overcoming promises
λευκός (leukos)	G3022	3x	white raiment / white stone for overcomer
θηρίον (thērion)	G2342	2x	beast as adversary to overcome / who overcomes saints
μαρτυρία (martyria)	G3141	2x	"they overcame him by...the word of their testimony"

The collocation pattern reveals that nikáō in Revelation operates within a reward framework: overcoming + giving (didōmi) + name (onoma) + white (leukos).

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3534 νῖκος (nikos) — victory, conquest (neuter noun, 4x: Matt 12:20; 1 Cor 15:54, 55, 57)
G5245 ὑπερνικάω (hypernikaō) — to more than conquer (1x: Rom 8:37 — "we are more than conquerors")
νίκη (nikē) — victory (noun, 1x: 1 John 5:4 — "this is the victory [nikē] that overcometh [nikaō] the world"; not in Strong's DB)

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G3528.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G3528.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἡττάω (hēttaō)	G2274	"overcome" (2x)	Passive defeat, to be subdued/inferior (2 Pet 2:19-20)
ἰσχύω (ischuō)	G2480	"prevail" (3x)	To have strength, be able — general capacity, not necessarily in conflict
κατισχύω (katischuō)	G2729	"prevail" (2x)	To overpower — stronger emphasis on force applied against resistance

Key distinction: nikáō specifically denotes victory in a contest or conflict; ἡττάω is its antonym (defeat); ἰσχύω is about raw strength without necessarily implying a conflict context.

Hebrew Source¶

No direct Hebrew source mapped via LXX bridge in DB. However, the LXX uses νικάω to translate: - זָכָה (zakah, H2135) in Psalm 51:4 (LXX 50:6) — "be clear/pure when thou judgest" → rendered νικάω in the forensic/legal sense. Quoted in Romans 3:4.