G5229 — ὑπεραίρω (hyperairō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G5229
Original (lexical form): ὑπεραίρω (active); NT usage is always middle/passive ὑπεραίρομαι
Transliteration: hyperairō (mid. hyperairomai)
Pronunciation: hoop-er-ah'-ee-rom-ahee
Part of Speech: Verb (compound: ὑπέρ G5228 "over/above" + αἴρω G142 "to lift, take up")
Occurrences: 3 tokens in 2 NT verses (2 Cor 12:7 contains the verb twice)
First Occurrence: 2 Corinthians 12:7 — "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations..."
Hapax Legomenon: No (3x NT), but occurs in only 2 distinct verses and 2 books.

Lexicon Definition¶

Strong's / Thayer: ὑπεραίρω — middle voice from ὑπέρ (G5228, "over, above") and αἴρω (G142, "to lift, raise, take up"); "to raise oneself over," i.e. (figuratively) to become haughty; — "exalt self, be exalted above measure."

Semantic range: 1. Literal (not attested in NT): to lift up over, raise above (active voice, classical usage). 2. Middle, reflexive: to lift oneself up, raise oneself over (others or a standard) — 2 Cor 12:7 renders this passively in KJV ("be exalted above measure"), but the Greek form ὑπεραίρωμαι is middle-sense: "that I might not exalt myself." 3. Middle, with ἐπί + accusative: to exalt oneself against / over (someone or something) — hostile self-elevation above a rival or authority (2 Thess 2:4).

(Thayer's, STRONGS G5229; BDAG s.v. ὑπεραίρω.)

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Primary Domain: 088027 — Arrogance, Haughtiness, Pride (within 088 "Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior")
Secondary Domain: 039007 — Rebellion (within 039 "Hostility, Strife")
Glosses: "to be overly proud," "to be puffed up with pride," "to feel overly self-confident"

The dual classification (88 + 39) captures the two NT uses: internal pride (2 Cor 12:7) and rebellious self-exaltation against God (2 Thess 2:4).

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
088	Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior	`search_relationships.py` places hyperairō in the moral field of arrogance and self-exaltation, matching the pride warning in 2 Cor 12:7.
039	Hostility, Strife	The same tool also places the verb in a conflict field, fitting 2 Thess 2:4 where self-exaltation is directed against all worship.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Tokens	%
(lest) I should be exalted above measure	2	66.7%
exalteth (himself)	1	33.3%

Only two distinct KJV renderings across 3 tokens. Both render the middle voice reflexively.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Tokens	Verses	Per 100 Verses
2 Corinthians	2	1	0.4
2 Thessalonians	1	1	1.2

Confined to the Pauline corpus. Absent from the Gospels, Acts, General Epistles, Revelation, and the rest of the NT.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Self-Exaltation as Internal Pride (Danger to the Believer)¶

Paul's personal experience: the temptation for a recipient of great revelation to become inwardly proud. The "thorn" is given as preventive against this very verb. - 2 Corinthians 12:7 — "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure." (Greek: ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρωμαι... ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρωμαι — present middle subjunctive, bracketing the verse by inclusio.)

2. Self-Exaltation as Rebellious Usurpation (Hostility Against God)¶

A participial description of a figure who actively lifts himself above every rival deity or object of worship. The preposition ἐπί + accusative marks the object over which the subject exalts himself. - 2 Thessalonians 2:4 — "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (Greek: ὁ ἀντικείμενος καὶ ὑπεραιρόμενος ἐπὶ πάντα λεγόμενον θεὸν ἢ σέβασμα — present middle participle.)

Morphological Summary (NT forms)¶

Form	Parsing	Verse
ὑπεραίρωμαι	present middle/passive subjunctive, 1st sing.	2 Cor 12:7 (×2)
ὑπεραιρόμενος	present middle/passive participle, masc. nom. sing.	2 Thess 2:4

All three NT tokens are in the present middle/passive — imperfective aspect ("continually be lifting oneself up"). No aorist, future, perfect, or active forms are attested in the NT.

Common Collocations (NT)¶

Given only 2 verses, frequency counts are indicative rather than statistical.

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἵνα μή (hina mē)	G2443 + G3361	2× (2 Cor 12:7)	negative purpose clause: "lest / so that... not"
ἀντίκειμαι (antikeimai)	G480	1× (2 Thess 2:4)	paired with "opposeth" — hostility + self-exaltation
ἐπί + acc. (epi)	G1909	1× (2 Thess 2:4)	marks what one exalts oneself over
πᾶς λεγόμενος θεός (pas legomenos theos)	G3956/G3004/G2316	1× (2 Thess 2:4)	"every so-called god" — totality of objects of worship
σέβασμα (sebasma)	G4574	1× (2 Thess 2:4)	"object of worship" — what is exalted above
ἀποκάλυψις (apokalypsis)	G602	1× (2 Cor 12:7)	the occasion of the pride danger: revelations
σκόλοψ (skolops)	G4647	1× (2 Cor 12:7)	the "thorn" given to prevent the self-exaltation

Word Family / Cognates¶

G142 αἴρω (airō) — root verb: to lift, take up, raise, bear, remove (110× NT).
G5228 ὑπέρ (hyper) — preposition: "over, above, beyond" (160× NT); the prefix element giving the "above measure" force.
G1869 ἐπαίρω (epairō) — ἐπί + αἴρω: "to lift up, raise up" (eyes, hands, voice, sail); figuratively "to exalt oneself" (2 Cor 10:5 "every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God").
G4868 συναίρω (synairō) — "to take up together, reckon" (accounts).
G1808 ἐξαίρω (exairō) — "to lift out / remove."

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G5229.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G5229.

Easily Confused / Overlapping Words (KJV "exalt")¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV Translation	Key Difference
ὑψόω (hypsoō)	G5312	"exalt," "exalted," "lift up" (22× NT)	general, neutral or positive "lift high" — used of God exalting Christ (Phil 2:9 via G5251), of Christ being "lifted up" on the cross (Jn 3:14), as well as self-exaltation (Mt 23:12; 2 Cor 11:7). Can be good or bad.
ὑπερυψόω (hyperupsoō)	G5251	"hath highly exalted" (1× NT, Phil 2:9)	ὑπέρ + ὑψόω — supreme exaltation by God (of Christ); positive only. Parallel compound structure to ὑπεραίρω but with a different root and a redemptive-historical subject.
ἐπαίρω (epairō)	G1869	"exalt itself" (2 Cor 10:5)	ἐπί + αἴρω — literal lifting (eyes, voice) or figurative self-exaltation against God's knowledge. Closest NT synonym of ὑπεραίρω in the "self-exaltation against God" sense.
τυφόω (typhoō)	G5187	"lifted up with pride," "proud," "high-minded" (3× NT: 1 Tim 3:6; 6:4; 2 Tim 3:4)	"to be puffed up / enveloped in smoke of conceit"; inward conceit without the "above a standard/rival" nuance of ὑπεραίρω.
φυσιόω (physioō)	G5448	"puffed up" (7× NT, mostly 1 Cor)	"to inflate / puff up"; inward swelling; different metaphor (inflation vs. lifting above).
μεγαλύνω (megalynō)	G3170	"magnify"	to make/declare great; positive (of God) or negative (of self).

Hebrew Source (via LXX Cognate Usage)¶

The automated LXX map returns no direct Hebrew alignment (ὑπεραίρω is rare in the LXX and the NT passages are not OT quotations). However, a small cluster of LXX occurrences gives the semantic background:

LXX Ref	Hebrew Lemma	LXX Greek	Sense
Psalm 71:14 LXX (= Ps 72:16 MT)	variant (cf. פָּרַח / רָעַשׁ)	ὑπεραρθήσεται	"(the fruit of the land) shall be exalted above Lebanon" — positive, of messianic abundance
Psalm 37:35 LXX (= Ps 37:35 MT)	מִתְעָרֶה / עָרִיץ ("ruthless spreading")	ὑπεραιρόμενον	"the ungodly exalting himself and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon" — negative, of the wicked
2 Maccabees 5:23	—	ὑπεραίρων	tyrannical elevation of hostility
Sirach 48:13	—	ὑπεραιρομένης	rising/surpassing

Key lexical kin for 2 Thess 2:4: though ὑπεραίρω itself is not used in Dan 11:36, Theodotion renders the Hebrew ἁ וְיִתְרוֹמֵם וְיִתְגַּדֵּל עַל־כָּל־אֵל with the synonymous pair ὑψωθήσεται καὶ μεγαλυνθήσεται ἐπὶ πάντα θεόν — "he shall be exalted and magnified above every god." Paul's phrase ὑπεραιρόμενος ἐπὶ πάντα λεγόμενον θεόν in 2 Thess 2:4 reproduces (a) the verbal idea of exalting oneself, (b) the preposition ἐπί + accusative, and (c) the object πάντα θεόν. The underlying Hebrew verbs are H7311 רוּם (rûm) "be high, lifted up" and its hithpael "exalt oneself," and H1431 גָּדַל (gādal) "be great, magnify oneself." These are the standard OT verbs of arrogant self-exaltation against God (cf. Isa 10:15; Isa 14:13–14; Ezek 28:2; Dan 8:11, 25; 11:36–37).