G4793 — συγκρίνω (synkrínō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G4793
Original: συγκρίνω
Transliteration: synkrínō
Pronunciation: soong-kree'-no
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: σύν (syn, "together with") + κρίνω (krínō, G2919, "to judge, distinguish, decide")
Occurrences: 3 tokens in 2 unique NT verses
First Occurrence: 1 Cor 2:13 — "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."
Hapax Legomenon: No (but extremely rare — only 2 verses)

Lexicon Definition¶

From σύν and κρίνω; to judge of one thing in connection with another, i.e. to combine, to compare; also to interpret (as in the LXX for פָּתַר, to interpret dreams).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 33.010: Interpret, Mean, Explain
Domain 64: Comparison
Other words in 33.010: διερμηνεύω (G1329), δηλόω (G1213), διασαφέω (G1285), διανοίγω (G1272)
Other words in 64: ἀφομοιόω (G871), καθώς (G2531), ὅμοιος (G3664)

Note: The dual-domain assignment captures the word's two semantic poles — comparing/combining (domain 64) and interpreting/explaining (domain 33).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
comparing	2	100%
compare	1	50%
among	1	50%
with	1	50%

Note: Totals exceed 100% because 2 Cor 10:12 uses the word twice with different English renderings ("compare" and "comparing").

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 Corinthians	1	0.4
1 Corinthians	1	0.2

Exclusively Pauline. Confined to the Corinthian correspondence.

Morphological Attestation¶

Form	Reference	Parsing
συνκρίνοντες	1 Cor 2:13	Present Active Participle, Nominative Plural Masculine
συνκρῖναι	2 Cor 10:12	Aorist Active Infinitive
συνκρίνοντες	2 Cor 10:12	Present Active Participle, Nominative Plural Masculine

Semantic Categories¶

1. Interpreting / Explaining Spiritual Things¶

1 Cor 2:13 — "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

The participle πνευματικοῖς πνευματικὰ συγκρίνοντες can be read as "interpreting spiritual things by spiritual [means/words]" or "combining spiritual things with spiritual [things]." The LXX background strongly favors the interpretive sense (see Hebrew Source below).

2. Comparing / Measuring Against¶

2 Cor 10:12 — "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."

Here the word clearly means "compare" — self-measuring against a wrong standard. The aorist infinitive (συνκρῖναι) denotes the act of comparison, while the present participle (συνκρίνοντες) describes the ongoing activity.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
πνευματικός (pneumatikos)	G4152	1x (50%)	"comparing spiritual with spiritual"
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	1x (50%)	Holy Ghost as source of teaching
σοφία (sophia)	G4678	1x (50%)	contrasted — human wisdom vs. Spirit-taught interpretation
λόγος (logos)	G3056	1x (50%)	"words" that wisdom teaches vs. Spirit teaches
ἐγκρίνω (enkrino)	G1469	1x (50%)	cognate verb "count among" in same verse (2 Cor 10:12)
μετρέω (metreo)	G3354	1x (50%)	"measuring themselves" paired with comparing
διδακτός (didaktos)	G1318	1x (50%)	"taught" — Spirit-taught vs. man-taught

Word Family / Cognates (κρίνω root)¶

G2919 κρίνω (krinō) — root verb: to distinguish, decide, judge (114 occurrences)
G1469 ἐγκρίνω (enkrinō) — to judge in, count among (hapax — 2 Cor 10:12)
G1252 διακρίνω (diakrinō) — to separate, distinguish, discern, doubt
G2920 κρίσις (krisis) — judgment, decision
G2917 κρίμα (krima) — judgment, condemnation

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
παραβάλλω (paraballo)	G3846	"compare" (Mark 4:30)	paraballo = set alongside for illustration; sugkrino = judge things together / interpret by combination
ἀφομοιόω (aphomoioo)	G871	comparison domain	aphomoioo = make similar to / liken; sugkrino = judge-together, with interpretive force
διερμηνεύω (hermēneuō)	G1329	"interpret"	diermeneuo = translate from one language to another; sugkrino = interpret by placing things together (LXX dream-interpretation)

Antonyms¶

Ἀσύγκριτος (Asygkritos) — G799, alpha-privative form used as a proper name (Rom 16:14); literally "incomparable"

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
פָּתַר (pathar)	H6622	6	11.08	Primary. "to open up, interpret (a dream)" — Gen 40-41 dream-interpretation narrative
חֲלוֹם (chalowm)	H2472	4	7.57	"dream" — noun co-occurring in dream-interpretation contexts
יוֹסֵף (Yowceph)	H3130	4	5.71	Joseph — the dream-interpreter
שַׂר (sar)	H8269	3	4.38	"chief, captain" — the chief butler/baker of Gen 40

LXX Dream-Interpretation Connection¶

The LXX uses συγκρίνω as the standard rendering of H6622 פָּתַר ("interpret") in the Joseph dream narratives:

Gen 40:8 (LXX) — "there is no interpreter (ὁ συγκρίνων) of it" — Joseph offers to interpret the dreams
Gen 40:16 — "the interpretation (ἡ σύγκρισις) was good" — the chief baker sees the favorable reading
Gen 40:22 — "as Joseph had interpreted (συνέκρινεν) to them"
Gen 41:12 — "he interpreted (συνέκρινεν) to us our dreams"
Gen 41:15 — "thou canst understand a dream to interpret (συγκρῖναι) it"
Judg 7:15 — Gideon hears "the interpretation (τὴν σύγκρισιν)" of the barley-cake dream
Dan 5:12 — Daniel described as one skilled in "interpreting (συγκρίνων) dreams"

This LXX usage reveals the word's core logic: to interpret is to place things side by side and judge their correspondence — comparing the dream-symbol with the reality it signifies. The interpreter discerns meaning by matching one thing to another.

Paul's usage in 1 Cor 2:13 (πνευματικοῖς πνευματικὰ συγκρίνοντες) draws on this LXX semantic field: the Spirit-taught interpreter explains spiritual realities by placing spiritual things alongside spiritual things — interpreting scripture by scripture, revelation by revelation, rather than by human wisdom.

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 33.010 — Interpret, Mean, Explain)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G1329	διερμηνεύω	4	interpret, by interpretation
G1328	διερμηνευτής	1	interpreter
G1213	δηλόω	3	declared, did signify
G1285	διασαφέω	1	and told
G1272	διανοίγω	4	were opened, Be opened
G1421	δυσερμήνευτος	1	hard (to be uttered)