G4105 — πλανάω (planaō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G4105
Original: πλανάω
Transliteration: planaō
Pronunciation: plan-ah'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Root / Cognates: noun πλάνη (planē, G4106 — "error, deceit"); adjective πλάνος (planos, G4108 — "deceiver, roving"); compound ἀποπλανάω (apoplanaō, G635 — "to lead astray"). English "planet" (a "wandering" star) preserves the root sense.
Occurrences: 39 NT tokens across 37 unique verses, in 14 books
First Occurrence: Mat 18:12 — "if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray (planaō)"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From the verbal base meaning to "roam" or "wander." Properly, to cause to roam from safety, truth, or virtue; passively, to go astray, wander, be led into error. Extends from the physical image of straying sheep (Mat 18:12; 1 Pet 2:25) to the figurative sense of deception — being led out of the truth — which dominates NT usage. Frequently middle/passive: "be deceived, err, go astray."

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Primary Domain: 31.8 — Change an Opinion Concerning Truth (subdomain "Accept a False View")
Related Domain: 31.10 — Hold a Wrong View, Be Mistaken
Movement Domain: 15.24 — Travel, Journey (the underlying "wander" sense)
Other words in 31.8 / 31.10 (deception cluster): ἀπατάω (G538), ἀπάτη (G539), ἀποπλανάω (G635), ἐξαπατάω (G1818), πλάνη (G4106), πλάνος (G4108), φρεναπατάω (G5422), φρεναπάτης (G5423)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
031	Hold a View, Believe, Trust	Covers deception as the acceptance of a false belief or misleading view.
015	Linear Movement	Preserves the root image of wandering/roaming that underlies the figurative sense "go astray."

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
deceive / deceiveth / deceiving / deceived	18	~49%
shall deceive / he/they shall deceive / to deceive	8	~22%
err / do err / Ye do err / Do ye (err)	8	~22%
go/gone/going astray	4	~11%
seduce / to seduce	2	~5%
wandered / went / out of the way	3	~8%

(Counts total > 37 because some verses carry two token senses; derived from search_strongs.py --lookup.)

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 John	3	2.9
Titus	1	2.2
Revelation	8	2.0
James	2	1.9
2 Peter	1	1.6
2 Timothy	1	1.2
Hebrews	3	1.0
1 Peter	1	1.0
Matthew	7	0.7
Galatians	1	0.7
Mark	4	0.6
1 Corinthians	2	0.5
John	2	0.2
Luke	1	0.1

Pattern: Heavily concentrated in eschatological / polemical contexts — Revelation (8), the Synoptic Olivet Discourse (Mat 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), and the anti-heretical Johannine and Pastoral epistles (1 John, 2 Tim, Titus). Absent from Acts, Romans, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1–2 Thessalonians, Philemon, 2–3 John, and Jude. Nominal/abstract cognate πλάνη (G4106) fills that gap in Rom, Eph, 1–2 Thess, Jas, 2 Pet, Jude.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Literal / Pastoral — Straying Sheep¶

Mat 18:12 — "if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray"
Mat 18:13 — "[he] rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray"
1 Pet 2:25 — "For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd"
Heb 11:38 — "they wandered in deserts, and in mountains"

2. Intellectual Error — Misunderstanding Scripture or God¶

Mat 22:29 — "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God"
Mar 12:24 — "Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures"
Mar 12:27 — "ye therefore do greatly err"
Heb 3:10 — "They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways"

3. End-Time Deception by False Christs and False Prophets¶

Mat 24:4 — "Take heed that no man deceive you"
Mat 24:5 — "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many"
Mat 24:11 — "many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many"
Mat 24:24 — "false Christs, and false prophets... shall deceive, if it were possible, even the elect"
Mar 13:5–6, Luke 21:8 — parallel Olivet warnings

4. Deception by Supernatural / Diabolical Agents (Revelation)¶

Rev 12:9 — "the great dragon... Satan, which deceiveth the whole world"
Rev 13:14 — "[the earth-beast] deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles"
Rev 18:23 — "by thy sorceries were all nations deceived"
Rev 19:20 — "the false prophet... with which he deceived them that had received the mark"
Rev 20:3 — "that he should deceive the nations no more"
Rev 20:8 — "shall go out to deceive the nations... Gog and Magog"
Rev 20:10 — "the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire"
Rev 2:20 — "Jezebel... to teach and to seduce my servants"

5. Self-Deception and Moral Delusion¶

1 Cor 6:9 — "Be not deceived: neither fornicators... shall inherit the kingdom"
1 Cor 15:33 — "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners"
Gal 6:7 — "Be not deceived; God is not mocked"
Jas 1:16 — "Do not err, my beloved brethren"
1 Jhn 1:8 — "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves"

6. Heretical / Teacher-Driven Deception¶

2 Tim 3:13 — "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived"
Tit 3:3 — "we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived"
1 Jhn 2:26 — "concerning them that seduce you"
1 Jhn 3:7 — "Little children, let no man deceive you"
2 Pet 2:15 — "are gone astray, following the way of Balaam"

7. Moral Apostasy — Wandering from Truth¶

Jas 5:19 — "if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him"
Heb 5:2 — "compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way"
Jhn 7:12 — "others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people"
Jhn 7:47 — "Are ye also deceived?"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
λέγω (legō)	G3004	8x (22%)	"saying, I am Christ... shall deceive" — speech-act of deception
ἔπω (epō)	G2036	6x (16%)	Jesus "said" warnings; "Take heed... no man deceive"
πολύς (polys)	G4183	6x (16%)	"many shall come... deceive many" — scale of deception
γῆ (gē)	G1093	5x (14%)	Revelation — deception of "the earth" / earth-dwellers
θεός (theos)	G2316	5x (14%)	error concerning God / God not mocked
ψευδοπροφήτης (pseudoprophētēs)	G5578	4x (11%)	"false prophets shall deceive" (Olivet + Rev)
θηρίον (thērion)	G2342	3x (8%)	beast as agent of deception (Rev 13, 19, 20)
ἔθνος (ethnos)	G1484	3x (8%)	"deceive the nations" (Rev 20)
ὄνομα (onoma)	G3686	3x (8%)	deceivers come "in my name"

Word Family / Cognates¶

Word	Strong's	POS	Note
πλάνη (planē)	G4106	fem. noun	"error, deceit, delusion" — 10x NT (e.g., 2 Thess 2:11 "strong delusion"; Eph 4:14; Jas 5:20)
πλάνος (planos)	G4108	adj./subst.	"deceiver, impostor" — 5x (Mat 27:63; 2 Cor 6:8; 1 Tim 4:1 "seducing spirits"; 2 Jhn 7)
ἀποπλανάω (apoplanaō)	G635	verb	"to lead away astray" — 2x (Mar 13:22; 1 Tim 6:10)

Synonyms¶

G2666 καταπίνω (katapinō) — swallow up, engulf; overlaps where deception consumes, overwhelms, or carries people away.
G3835 πανοῦργος (panourgos) — crafty, cunning; overlaps in the deceptive agency that leads others astray.

Antonyms¶

G3106 μακαρίζω (makarizō) — pronounce blessed; returned as a domain-opposite by search_relationships.py, contrasting blessedness with wandering into error.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV	Key Difference
ἀπατάω (apataō)	G538	"deceive"	Emphasis on cheating / beguiling through trickery; planaō emphasizes leading out of the true path.
ἐξαπατάω (exapataō)	G1818	"deceive, beguile"	Intensive of G538 — "thoroughly deceive" (e.g., Eve in 2 Cor 11:3, 1 Tim 2:14). planaō is broader and more often passive/cosmic.
φρεναπατάω (phrenapataō)	G5422	"deceive"	Specifically self-deception of the mind (Gal 6:3). planaō covers both self- and external deception.

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 31.8 — Change Opinion Concerning Truth)¶

Word	Strong's	Primary KJV	Contrast with G4105
ἀποπλανάω	G635	seduce, err	Stronger prefixed form; "lead completely away"
ἀναστρέφω/ἀποστρέφω	G654	turn away	Turning-back rather than wandering-into
ἀνατρέπω	G396	overthrow, subvert	Destructive subversion of faith
διαστρέφω	G1294	pervert	Twisting truth, not straying from it
ἀστοχέω	G795	err, swerve	Miss the mark (of faith); close synonym
ἀστήρικτος	G793	unstable	Descriptive state; planaō is the action

Hebrew Source (LXX back-mapping)¶

Hebrew	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
תָּעָה (taʿah)	H8582	40	8.00	Primary Hebrew equivalent — "to wander, reel, stray"
נָדַח (nadach)	H5080	8	5.52	"to push off / drive away / banish"
שָׁגָה (shagah)	H7686	5	6.24	"to stray, err, go astray" (often unintentional)
פָּתָה (pathah)	H6601	4	5.52	"to be enticed, persuaded, deceived"
דֶּרֶךְ (derek)	H1870	17	2.97	"way, path" — co-occurs as the noun the verb strays from

The dominant bridge is תָּעָה (taʿah, H8582) — seen in LXX of Isa 53:6 ("all we like sheep have gone astray," LXX ἐπλανήθημεν) and Ps 119:176, both quoted/alluded in NT (1 Pet 2:25; Heb 11:38).