Bible Words

What a word actually says in Hebrew or Greek, and what it does not.

17 questions answered. All topics

• Whosoever WillWhat do "elect" and "election" (eklektos, ekloge) mean?Eklektos (ἐκλεκτός) means chosen; eklogē (ἐκλογή), a choosing. Scripture’s election is corporate and in Christ: God "hath chosen us in him" (Eph 1:4). The elect are those in the Chosen One, entered by faith.
• Whosoever WillWhat does "draw" (helkuo) mean in John 6:44?Helkuō (ἑλκύω) means to draw or drag. "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44). Jesus defines the drawing three verses later as teaching: "every man... that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh" (6:45).
• Whosoever WillWhat does "earnest" (arrabon) of the Spirit mean?Arrabōn (ἀῥραβών) is a down payment, a deposit that guarantees the full sum will come. "The earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession" (Eph 1:14). The Spirit is God’s guarantee of the believer’s future.
• Whosoever WillWhat does "freely" (dorean) mean in Revelation 22:17?Dōrean (δωρεάν) means freely, as a gift, without cost or cause. "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely [dōrean]" (Rev 22:17). It is the same word Paul uses: "justified freely by his grace" (Rom 3:24).
• Whosoever WillWhat does "It is finished" (tetelestai) mean?Tetelestai (τετέλεσται) is Jesus’ cry from the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30). It is a perfect-tense verb meaning "it has been completed and stands completed". It does not mean "paid in full", and the truth is better than the myth.
• Whosoever WillWhat does "the Word... dwelt among us" mean (eskenosen)?Eskēnōsen (ἐσκήνωσεν), in John 1:14, means "pitched his tent" or "tabernacled." "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." John chose the tabernacle word: God moved into a tent of human flesh.
• Whosoever WillWhat does agapao (agape love) mean? Is it different from phileo?Agapao (ἀγαπάω) is to love with the will, a chosen, self-giving love, distinct in emphasis from phileo (affection, fondness). "God so loved [ēgapēsen] the world" (John 3:16) is agapao: a deliberate love for the world, not a feeling about the likeable.
• Whosoever WillWhat does agorazo ("bought") mean in 2 Peter 2:1?Agorazō (ἀγοράζω) means to buy, to purchase in the marketplace, a completed transaction at a price. In 2 Peter 2:1 false teachers deny "the Lord that bought [agorasanta] them," and perish, purchased men who are still lost.
• Whosoever WillWhat does hilasmos (propitiation) mean in the Bible?Hilasmos (ἱλασμός) means propitiation, the turning away of wrath by a satisfying sacrifice, not merely expiation (the wiping away of sin). "He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2).
• Whosoever WillWhat does it mean to be "sealed" (sphragizo) with the Spirit?Sphragizō (σφραγίζω) means to seal, to mark as owned and secured. "In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise" (Eph 1:13). The seal is placed at faith and marks the believer as God’s.
• Whosoever WillWhat does nephesh ("soul") mean in the Bible?Nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ) means soul, life, the living being. "Man became a living soul [nephesh]" (Gen 2:7). It is the whole living person, not a ghost inside a body, and it is what God breathed life into.
• Whosoever WillWhat does olam ("everlasting," "forever") mean in Hebrew?Olam (עוֹלָם) means a long duration, an age, "forever" or "everlasting" as far as the horizon can see. "The everlasting God" (Gen 21:33); "from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God" (Ps 90:2). Of God it means truly eternal.
• Whosoever WillWhat does predestinate (proorizo) mean in the Bible?Proorizō (προορίζω) means to mark out a boundary beforehand, to determine in advance. "He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom 8:29). It is a destiny appointed, and Scripture always names the destination.
• Whosoever WillWhat does proginosko (foreknow) mean in Romans 8:29?Proginōskō (προγινώσκω) means to know beforehand. "Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate" (Rom 8:29). It is God knowing in advance, and Scripture never explains its mechanics.
• Whosoever WillWhat does repentance (metanoia) mean?Metanoia (μετάνοια) means a change of mind, from meta (change) and nous (mind), a turning of the mind that turns the man. "God... commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30).
• Whosoever WillWhat does shuv (turn, repent) mean in Hebrew?Shuv (שׁוּב) is the Hebrew verb "to turn, to return," the Old Testament’s main word for repentance. "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?" (Ezek 33:11). To repent is to turn back to God.
• Whosoever WillWhat does thelo (God's will) mean? Does God will all to be saved?Thelō (θέλω) means to will, to want, to desire. "Who will [thelei] have all men to be saved" (1 Tim 2:4). It is God’s genuine desire, not merely His permission, and its object is all men.