G480 — ἀντίκειμαι (antikeimai)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G480
Original: ἀντίκειμαι
Transliteration: antikeimai
Pronunciation: an-TIK-ay-mahee
Part of Speech: Verb (deponent middle/passive)
Composition: ἀντί (anti, "against, opposite") + κεῖμαι (keimai, "to lie, be laid, be set")
Literal sense: "to lie over against," "to be set in opposition"
Occurrences: 8 in NT, across 6 books
First NT Occurrence: Luke 13:17 — "all his adversaries (οἱ ἀντικείμενοι) were ashamed"
LXX usage: present (e.g., Exod 23:22; cf. BLB outline); not covered by this NT-focused study
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Strong's: "from ἀντί and κεῖμαι; to lie opposite, i.e. be adverse (figuratively, repugnant) to: — adversary, be contrary, oppose."

The verb is a compound stative: it denotes not primarily an act of aggression but a position — to lie, stand, or be set over against someone or something. Because it is deponent (middle/passive in form, active in sense), the participle ὁ ἀντικείμενος can be used substantivally: "the one (who is) set in opposition," "the opponent," "the adversary."

Morphological Profile (All 8 NT Forms)¶

From greek_parser.py (SBL/TR text):

Reference	Form	Parsing
Luke 13:17	ἀντικείμενοι	Pres M/P Ptcp Nom Pl Masc
Luke 21:15	ἀντικείμενοι	Pres M/P Ptcp Nom Pl Masc
1 Cor 16:9	ἀντικείμενοι	Pres M/P Ptcp Nom Pl Masc
Gal 5:17	ἀντίκειται	Pres M/P Ind 3 Sg
Phil 1:28	ἀντικειμένων	Pres M/P Ptcp Gen Pl Masc
2 Thess 2:4	ἀντικείμενος	Pres M/P Ptcp Nom Sg Masc
1 Tim 1:10	ἀντίκειται	Pres M/P Ind 3 Sg
1 Tim 5:14	ἀντικειμένῳ	Pres M/P Ptcp Dat Sg Masc

Observations: - 6 of 8 forms are participles (substantival use: "the one[s] opposing" = "the adversary/adversaries"). - Only 2 of 8 forms are finite verbs (Gal 5:17; 1 Tim 1:10) — both describing abstract things (flesh/Spirit, behavior/sound doctrine) that "stand contrary" to each other. - 2 Thess 2:4 is the only singular masculine substantival participle in the NT. - 1 Tim 5:14 is the only dative singular substantival participle — pointing to a specific personal adversary. - Present tense throughout: the opposition is characterized as ongoing/durative.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 39: Hostility, Strife
Subdomain 39.1: Opposition, Hostility
Related domain: 33.422 — Oppose, Contradict (speech-act sub-sense)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [039] Hostility, Strife

Cognate/near-synonym verbs in domain 39 and the "against" field:

Word	Strong's	Sense
ἀνθίστημι (anthistemi)	G436	to stand against, withstand, resist
ἀντιτάσσομαι (antitassomai)	G498	to range oneself against, oppose
ἐναντίος (enantios)	G1727	opposite, contrary (adj.)
ὑπεναντίος (hupenantios)	G5227	covertly contrary, adversary
ἐχθρός (echthros)	G2190	enemy, hostile one
διάβολος (diabolos)	G1228	slanderer, the devil

Translation Distribution (KJV, n=8)¶

Translation	Verses	%
adversaries	3	37.5%
your adversaries	1	12.5%
adversary	1	12.5%
opposeth	1	12.5%
are contrary	1	12.5%
that is contrary	1	12.5%

All 8 KJV renderings cluster on two English ideas: "adversary/adversaries" (6/8) when the participle is personal, and "contrary / opposeth" (2/8) when the verb describes abstract/behavioral opposition.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Book Verses	Per 100 Verses
2 Thessalonians	1	47	2.1
1 Timothy	2	113	1.8
Galatians	1	149	0.7
Philippians	1	104	1.0
Luke	2	1151	0.2
1 Corinthians	1	437	0.2

Patterns: - Exclusively NT usage in this study; six books. - Densest use in the Pastorals and 2 Thessalonians — contexts concerned with false teachers, eschatological opposition, and household order. - Absent from Gospels except Luke, and absent from John, Acts, Hebrews, Peter, Johannine epistles, and Revelation. - Paul accounts for 6 of 8 uses (75%).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Personal Human Opponents (plural, concrete)¶

The substantival plural participle names a group standing visibly against God's messenger/work. - Luke 13:17 — "all his adversaries (πάντες οἱ ἀντικείμενοι αὐτῷ) were ashamed" — Jesus' synagogue-ruler critics after the sabbath healing. - Luke 21:15 — "all your adversaries (πάντες οἱ ἀντικείμενοι ὑμῖν) shall not be able to gainsay nor resist" — persecutors of disciples. - 1 Cor 16:9 — "a great door… and many adversaries (ἀντικείμενοι πολλοί)" — opposition coupled with open mission. - Phil 1:28 — "in nothing terrified by your adversaries (ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντικειμένων)" — civic/pagan pressure on the Philippian church.

2. Abstract / Behavioral Opposition (finite verb, impersonal subject)¶

The finite indicative describes a thing or state that stands in mutual incompatibility with another. - Gal 5:17 — "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit… these are contrary the one to the other (ταῦτα… ἀλλήλοις ἀντίκειται)." - 1 Tim 1:10 — "if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine (τῇ ὑγιαινούσῃ διδασκαλίᾳ ἀντίκειται)."

3. Singular Personal Adversary — Definite / Titular Usage¶

When articulated and singular, ὁ ἀντικείμενος functions as a quasi-title for a singular opposing figure. - 1 Tim 5:14 — "give none occasion to the adversary (τῷ ἀντικειμένῳ) to speak reproachfully." Dative singular with the article; in the Pastorals' vocabulary this is taken by most lexica (BDAG, Thayer) and commentators as a near-title for Satan (cf. 1 Tim 3:6–7; 5:15, where Σατανᾶς occurs in the immediate context of 5:14). - 2 Thess 2:4 — "ὁ ἀντικείμενος καὶ ὑπεραιρόμενος ἐπὶ πάντα λεγόμενον θεόν…" — "the one opposing and exalting himself over all that is called God." Nominative singular participle, articulated and paired with a second articulated participle (ὑπεραιρόμενος, G5229). Grammatically this is a standard substantival participle construction identifying a definite figure characterized by ongoing opposition.

(Note that 2 Thess 2:4 and 1 Tim 5:14 are the only two singular, articulated forms of ἀντικείμενος in the NT; the identification of the referent in 2 Thess 2:4 is an interpretive question for the study using this data, not a lexical one.)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	3x (38%)	"all his/your adversaries" (Luke 13:17; 21:15; Phil 1:28 context) — emphasis on totality of opposition
δίδωμι (didomi)	G1325	2x	"give (a mouth) / give (occasion)" — Luke 21:15; 1 Tim 5:14
θεός (theos)	G2316	2x	2 Thess 2:4 (opposition to God); Phil 1:28 (salvation "of God")
λέγω (lego)	G3004	2x	speech context — Luke 13:17; 2 Thess 2:4 ("that is called God")
μηδείς (medeis)	G3367	2x	"in nothing" / "none occasion" — Phil 1:28; 1 Tim 5:14

Structural pattern: πᾶς + οἱ ἀντικείμενοι forms a fixed idiom for "all the opposition" (Luke 13:17; 21:15).

Word Family / Cognates¶

κεῖμαι (keimai) G2749 — root verb: to lie, be laid, be appointed, be set. Cf. Luke 2:34 (Christ "set" εἰς πτῶσιν); Phil 1:16 (εἰς ἀπολογίαν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου κεῖμαι). The compound ἀντίκειμαι inherits the "set, positioned" sense, adding the directional ἀντί ("over against").
ἀντί (anti) G473 — preposition: over against, in place of, instead of.

Synonyms¶

No close lexical synonyms were identified by search_relationships.py; the domain-adjacent opposition terms listed below remain the nearest parallels.

Antonyms¶

No direct antonyms were identified by search_relationships.py.

Easily Confused / Domain-Adjacent Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Territory	Key Difference
ἀνθίστημι (anthistemi)	G436	"resist, oppose"	Active: one takes a stand against. ἀντίκειμαι is stative: one is (already) positioned opposite.
ἀντιτάσσομαι	G498	"oppose, set oneself against"	Middle: active self-arrangement in opposition; narrower.
ὑπεναντίος	G5227	KJV also "adversaries" (Heb 10:27)	Adjective, "covertly contrary" (ὑπό + ἐναντίος).
ἐχθρός (echthros)	G2190	"enemy"	Relational/hostile status; ἀντίκειμαι describes positional opposition, which may or may not include personal enmity.
διάβολος (diabolos)	G1228	title of Satan, "slanderer"	Names the devil by his speech-act (slander); ὁ ἀντικείμενος names him (when applied to him) by his posture (opposition).
Σατανᾶς (Satanas)	G4567	title of Satan, "adversary" (from H7854)	Direct Semitic transliteration of the Hebrew title שָׂטָן; lexically closest Greek near-synonym to a titular ὁ ἀντικείμενος.

Hebrew / LXX Connection¶

שָׂטָן (satan) H7854 — "adversary, opponent; the Adversary." The Hebrew title which the NT transliterates as Σατανᾶς. In the LXX, שָׂטָן is most often rendered by διάβολος (Job 1–2; Zech 3), but the semantic field of ἀντίκειμαι overlaps with שָׂטָן's root idea of "one who stands against." The KJV shares "adversaries" as a gloss between G480 and H7854 (see Easily Confused above), reflecting real overlap in referent-possibility in the NT.
Co-occurrence analysis (Greek ← Hebrew, PMI-ranked) shows no single dominant OT source-word for ἀντίκειμαι — the verb is Greek-native rather than a fixed translation-equivalent of one Hebrew term.

Hebrew Source (PMI alignment, non-translation contexts)¶

Hebrew	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
עָמַד (amad)	H5975	3	3.81	"to stand" — thematic link: standing against
כֹּל (kol)	H3605	5	1.45	"all" — matches πᾶς collocation
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	3	1.86	"king" — opposition often royal/political

No single Hebrew word dominates; ἀντίκειμαι is not a stock LXX equivalent of any OT term.