G5236 — ὑπερβολή (huperbole)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G5236
Original: ὑπερβολή
Transliteration: huperbole
Pronunciation: hoop-er-bol-ay'
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: From G5228 ὑπέρ (huper, "over/beyond") + G906 βάλλω (ballo, "to throw") — literally "a throwing beyond"
Occurrences: 7 unique verses (8 tokens — 2 Cor 4:17 has two)
First Occurrence: Rom 7:13 — "that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A throwing beyond others, i.e. (figuratively) supereminence; adverbially (with G2596 or G2596 and G2532) pre-eminently. Used exclusively in adverbial phrases: kath' huperbolen ("beyond measure," "exceedingly"), kath' huperbolen eis huperbolen ("far more exceedingly," lit. "excess unto excess").

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 78.31 — Degree
Subdomain: 78.31 (078002) — More Than, Less Than [Comparative Degree]
Glosses: extraordinary, extreme, supreme
Other words in subdomain: ἐπάνω (G1883), μᾶλλον (G3123), μέγας (G3173), περισσεία (G4050), περισσεύω (G4052), περισσός (G4053), περισσοτέρως (G4056), περισσῶς (G4057), πλεονάζω (G4121)

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
exceeding	1	14.3%
more exceeding	1	14.3%
excellent	1	14.3%
excellency	1	14.3%
abundance	1	14.3%
measure	1	14.3%
of measure	1	14.3%

Every occurrence translates differently in KJV, reflecting the word's use in varied adverbial constructions rather than any semantic breadth.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 Corinthians	4	1.6
Galatians	1	0.7
Romans	1	0.2
1 Corinthians	1	0.2

Exclusively Pauline. 2 Corinthians accounts for 57% of all uses. Absent from the Gospels, Acts, General Epistles, and Revelation. Paul is the only NT author who uses this word.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Surpassing degree of divine realities¶

2 Cor 4:17 — "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory" — kath' huperbolen eis huperbolen (double use: excess unto excess), applied to the weight of glory
2 Cor 4:7 — "that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" — huperbole as nominative subject: the surpassing quality belongs to God's power
1 Cor 12:31 — "and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way" — kath' huperbolen hodon: introducing the love chapter (1 Cor 13) as a way that surpasses spiritual gifts

2. Extreme degree of human experience (suffering/trial)¶

2 Cor 1:8 — "we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life" — kath' huperbolen: trial in Asia exceeded Paul's capacity
2 Cor 12:7 — "lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations" — huperbole used twice in this verse for the excess of revelations (dative huperbolē) that prompted the thorn in the flesh

3. Extreme degree of sin¶

Rom 7:13 — "that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful" — kath' huperbolen hamartolos: sin's true nature exposed through the law as surpassingly sinful

4. Extreme degree of human zeal¶

Gal 1:13 — "beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it" — kath' huperbolen: Paul's pre-conversion persecution described as exceeding all bounds

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θλῖψις (thlipsis)	G2347	2x (29%)	Affliction contrasted with surpassing glory (2 Cor 1:8, 4:17)
κατεργάζομαι (katergazomai)	G2716	2x (29%)	"works for us" the surpassing weight (2 Cor 4:17; Rom 7:13)
δύναμις (dynamis)	G1411	2x (29%)	The surpassing quality of God's power (2 Cor 4:7, 1:8)
θεός (theos)	G2316	2x (29%)	Divine source of the surpassing quality (2 Cor 4:7; Gal 1:13)
γίνομαι (ginomai)	G1096	2x (29%)	"become" exceedingly sinful (Rom 7:13; 2 Cor 1:8)
ἁμαρτία (hamartia)	G266	1x (14%)	Sin's exceeding sinfulness (Rom 7:13)
βάρος (baros)	G922	1x (14%)	"weight" of glory (2 Cor 4:17)
αἰώνιος (aionios)	G166	1x (14%)	Eternal weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17)

Morphological Notes¶

All 8 tokens appear in only three forms: - Accusative singular (ὑπερβολήν) — 6 tokens: used in the prepositional phrase kath' huperbolen ("according to excess" = exceedingly/beyond measure) - Nominative singular (ὑπερβολή) — 1 token: 2 Cor 4:7 as grammatical subject - Dative singular (ὑπερβολῇ) — 1 token: 2 Cor 12:7 ("by the excess of the revelations")

The accusative kath' huperbolen construction dominates (6 of 8 tokens), functioning as a fixed adverbial phrase meaning "to an extraordinary degree."

Word Family / Cognates¶

G5235 ὑπερβάλλω (huperballo) — verb: "to throw beyond the usual mark, to surpass" (5v: 2 Cor 3:10; 9:14; Eph 1:19; 2:7; 3:19)
G5228 ὑπέρ (huper) — preposition: "over, above, beyond" (160v)
G906 βάλλω (ballo) — verb: "to throw" (125v)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ὑπερβάλλω (huperballo)	G5235	"exceeding"	Verb form of same root; huperbole is the noun (abstract result of surpassing)
περισσός (perissos)	G4053	"exceeding," "abundant"	General surplus/abundance; huperbole = extreme beyond measure
περισσεία (perisseia)	G4050	"abundance"	Quantitative overflow; huperbole = qualitative surpassing
περισσεύω (perisseuo)	G4052	"abundance," "abound"	Verb of overflowing; huperbole conveys intensity beyond comparison
μέτρον (metron)	G3358	"measure"	Standard of measurement; huperbole is the exceeding of any measure

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 078002)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G1883	ἐπάνω	13	over, on
G3123	μᾶλλον	69	rather, more
G3173	μέγας	143	great
G4050	περισσεία	4	abundance
G4052	περισσεύω	10	abound
G4053	περισσός	6	more, more abundant
G4056	περισσοτέρως	6	more abundantly
G4057	περισσῶς	4	exceedingly
G4121	πλεονάζω	3	abound

Hebrew Source¶

No Hebrew sources found via LXX mapping. The noun ὑπερβολή does not appear in the LXX as a consistent translation of any Hebrew word.