G5219 — ὑπακούω (hupakouō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G5219
Original: ὑπακούω
Transliteration: hupakouō
Pronunciation: hoop-ak-oo'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: ὑπό (hupo, "under") + ἀκούω (akouō, G191, "to hear") — to hear under, to listen as a subordinate
Occurrences: 21 unique verses (23 tokens) in NT
Books: 11
First Occurrence: Matt 8:27 — "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From ὑπό and ἀκούω; to hear under (as a subordinate), i.e. to listen attentively; by implication, to heed or conform to a command or authority:—hearken, be obedient to, obey.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 036 — Guide, Discipline, Follow
Subdomain 036.003 — Obey, Disobey
Domain 046 — Household Activities (secondary: answering a door)
Other words in 036.003: ἀκούω (G191), ἀνυπότακτος (G506), ἀπείθεια (G543), ἀπειθέω (G544), ἀπειθής (G545), δικαιόω (G1344), εἰσακούω (G1522)

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 036.003 — Obey, Disobey)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary KJV	Relation to ὑπακούω
G191	ἀκούω	157	hear, heard	Root word — hearing without the subordination nuance
G506	ἀνυπότακτος	4	unruly, disobedient	Adjective: refusing to be placed under authority
G543	ἀπείθεια	6	disobedience, unbelief	Obstinate disbelief / rebellious non-compliance
G544	ἀπειθέω	16	believed not, disobedient	Active disbelief; refusing the gospel
G545	ἀπειθής	6	disobedient	Adjective: unpersuadable, stubborn
G1344	δικαιόω	17	justified	Justification — compliance that leads to being declared right
G1522	εἰσακούω	4	is heard, hear	God hearing prayer — the complementary upward "heeding"

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
obey	8	38%
obeyed	4	19%
be obedient	1	5%
obey (with auxiliaries)	5	24%
hearken	1	5%
have obeyed	1	5%
were obedient	1	5%

KJV renders this word with "obey" forms in 20 of 21 verses — near-total uniformity. The single "hearken" (Acts 12:13) reflects the literal "hear" sense (Rhoda coming to listen at the door).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 Thessalonians	2	4.3
Colossians	2	2.1
Ephesians	2	1.3
1 Peter	1	1.0
Romans	4	0.9
Hebrews	2	0.7
Mark	2	0.3
Luke	2	0.2
Acts	2	0.2
Matthew	1	0.1
Philippians	1	0.5

Strongly Pauline: Romans (4) + Prison Epistles (5) + 2 Thessalonians (2) = 11 of 21 verses. The Synoptic occurrences (5) all concern the authority of Jesus over nature or faith. Entirely absent from John, the Johannine epistles, and Revelation.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Cosmic/Natural Obedience to Christ's Authority¶

Matt 8:27 — "even the winds and the sea obey him!"
Mark 1:27 — "even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him"
Mark 4:41 — "even the wind and the sea obey him"
Luke 8:25 — "he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him"
Luke 17:6 — "ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up... and it should obey you"

The elements and unclean spirits respond to Jesus' word — obedience here means yielding to an authority that is inherent, not negotiated.

2. Obedience to the Gospel / Faith¶

Acts 6:7 — "a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith"
Rom 10:16 — "they have not all obeyed the gospel"
2 Thess 1:8 — "vengeance on them... that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ"
Heb 5:9 — "the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him"

Faith and obedience converge: to "obey the gospel" is to respond to God's word with the full-person hearing that the etymology demands. This is the "obedience of faith" (ὑπακοὴ πίστεως) of Rom 1:5 and 16:26, using the cognate noun G5218.

3. Obedience to Sin vs. Righteousness (Pauline Ethical Framework)¶

Rom 6:12 — "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it"
Rom 6:16 — "to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are... whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness"
Rom 6:17 — "ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you"

Paul frames the moral life as a choice of masters: every person obeys something. The verb's subordination nuance — "hearing under" — makes it the perfect word for servanthood.

4. Household Obedience (Haustafel)¶

Eph 6:1 — "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right"
Eph 6:5 — "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh"
Col 3:20 — "Children, obey your parents in all things"
Col 3:22 — "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh"

The household codes use ὑπακούω specifically for children and servants — persons structurally "under" authority, matching the ὑπό prefix exactly.

5. Personal Obedience of Faith¶

Heb 11:8 — "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out... obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went"
Phil 2:12 — "as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation"
1 Pet 3:6 — "Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord"

Abraham's obedience in Heb 11:8 is the paradigm: faith and obedience are not separate acts but a single response — he heard under God's authority and moved.

6. Disobedience to Apostolic Word¶

2 Thess 3:14 — "if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man"

The negative use — refusing to heed apostolic instruction — carries the implication that apostolic teaching has the same authority-structure as the gospel itself.

7. Physical Hearing / Answering a Door¶

Acts 12:13 — "a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda"

The sole non-metaphorical occurrence. The literal meaning surfaces: "to hear in response" — Rhoda came to listen at the gate and answer.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occ	Typical Pattern
κύριος (lord/master)	G2962	8x	The one who is obeyed — winds obey the Lord, servants obey masters
πᾶς (all/every)	G3956	5x	"obey in all things"; universalizing scope
δοῦλος (servant/slave)	G1401	4x	The one who obeys — servanthood as the natural posture of ὑπακούω
πίστις (faith)	G4102	4x	Faith and obedience as inseparable responses
φοβέω (fear)	G5399	4x	"with fear and trembling" — reverent obedience
θεός (God)	G2316	4x	The ultimate authority behind all obedience
ἁμαρτία (sin)	G266	3x	The competing master — obeying sin vs. God
καρδία (heart)	G2588	3x	"obeyed from the heart" — obedience is not external compliance
τέκνον (child)	G5043	3x	Household code: children's obedience
διδαχή (teaching/doctrine)	G1322	2x	"that form of doctrine which was delivered"

Word Family / Cognates¶

Word	Strong's	POS	Occurrences	Gloss
ἀκούω (akouō)	G191	verb	157	to hear — the root component
ὑπακοή (hupakŏē)	G5218	noun	14	obedience — the noun form of ὑπακούω
ὑπήκοος (hupēkoos)	G5255	adj	3	obedient — the adjective form
παρακοή (parakoē)	G3876	noun	3	disobedience (lit. "hearing amiss") — morphological antonym

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
πείθω (peithō)	G3982	"obey" (4 KJV vv)	Persuasion-based compliance — "be persuaded to"; ὑπακούω is authority-based hearing
שָׁמַע (shama')	H8085	"obey" (20 OT vv)	Hebrew equivalent covering both hearing and obeying; LXX uses ὑπακούω 25x for shama'
ὑποτάσσω (hupotassō)	G5293	"be obedient"	Structural subordination ("arrange under"); ὑπακούω is responsive hearing
πειθαρχέω (peitharcheō)	G3980	"obey" (4 vv)	Obey a ruler/magistrate specifically; more formal civic compliance

Synonyms¶

G3982 πείθω (peithō) — to persuade, be persuaded, obey. Obedience rooted in persuasion/trust rather than positional authority.
G5293 ὑποτάσσω (hupotassō) — to place under, subject oneself. Structural arrangement rather than hearing-response.

Antonyms¶

G544 ἀπειθέω (apeithéō) — to disbelieve, disobey. From ἀ- (not) + πείθω (persuade): wilful unpersuadableness.
G3876 παρακοή (parakoē) — disobedience. From παρά (amiss) + ἀκούω (hear): hearing wrongly, the morphological opposite of ὑπακούω.

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Count	Typical Context
Present Active Indicative	5	Timeless truths: "the wind and sea obey him"
Present Active Imperative	4	Commands: "Children, obey your parents"
Present Active Participle	2	Characterizing: "them that obey him" (Heb 5:9)
Present Active Infinitive	1	Purpose: "that ye should obey it" (Rom 6:12)
Aorist Active Indicative	5	Completed past acts: "Abraham obeyed" (Heb 11:8)
Aorist Active Infinitive	1	Purpose: "came to hearken" (Acts 12:13)
Imperfect Active Indicative	1	Ongoing past: "were obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7)

The present tense dominates (12/21), underscoring obedience as an ongoing posture rather than a one-time act. The aorists mark definitive historical responses (Abraham's departure, the Romans' conversion, Sara's obedience).

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
שָׁמַע (shama')	H8085	25	11.26	Primary bridge — "hear intelligently"; covers both hearing and obeying
קוֹל (qol)	H6963	15	11.22	"voice" — "hear the voice" = "obey" in Hebrew idiom
עָנָה (anah)	H6030	11	10.01	"answer, respond" — the responsive dimension of hearing
קָשַׁב (qashab)	H7181	4	8.68	"prick up the ears, attend" — intensive listening

The dominant bridge is shama' (H8085), confirming that ὑπακούω is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word that fuses hearing and obedience into a single concept. When the LXX needed to translate shama' in obedience contexts, ὑπακούω was the standard choice.