ἐργάζομαι
ergázomai · G2038 · Greek · 41 occurrences
Meanings
-
to work, to labor
To engage in an activity involving considerable expenditure of effort
ExamplesMatthew 21:28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’
Luke 13:14 But the synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days during which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
John 5:17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
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to do business, to trade, work, business
To be involved in business, with focus upon the work which is involved
ExamplesMatthew 25:16 “The one who had received the five talents immediately went and did business with them, and earned five more talents.
Acts 18:3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked together, for they were tent-makers by trade.
Revelation 18:17 for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and all who make their living by the sea, stood at a distance,
-
to do, to make, to perform
A marker of an agent relation with numerable events, with the probable implication of comprehensiveness
ExamplesMatthew 7:23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
Matthew 26:10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you bothering the woman? For she has done a good deed for Me.
Mark 14:6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a good deed for Me.
-
to cause to be, to make to be, to make, to result in, to bring upon, to bring about
To cause a state to be
ExamplesMatthew 7:23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
2 Corinthians 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Galatians 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
How it’s used In 10 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
40 occurrences in 18 groups
- Not stated (participle) 12
- Not stated: he, she or it 4
- Not stated: we 3
- Not stated: you (more than one) 3
- Not stated: you (one person) 3
- Not stated (infinitive) 3
- Other words · 12 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
22 occurrences in 12 groups
- ἔργονwork, deed 6
- δικαιοσύνηrighteousness 3
- ἀγαθόςgood 3
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10
To or for whomIndirect object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- πλησίονneighbor, near 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
13 occurrences in 14 groups
- Other words · 14 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15
With adverbsAdverbs
5 occurrences in 3 groups
- οὐnot 3
- μήnot 1
- σήμερονtoday 1
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 2 groups
- ἝλληνGreek, Gentile 1
- Ἰουδαῖοςa Jew, Jewish 1
What it doesIt is the subject
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- δέωto bind, to tie 1
- ἐσθίωto eat 1
- ἵστημιto stand, to set 1
What is done to itIt is the object
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- παρακαλέωto plead for, to appeal to, to encourage 1
- ἀποκρίνομαιto answer 1
- ἀπόλλυμιto destroy, to perish, to lose 1
It is given or told toIndirect object
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- λογίζομαιto count, to reckon, to consider 2
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- δεκτόςpleasing 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 1 word
- ποιέω poiéō · G4160 · to do, to perform, to practice
- The target term ἐργάζομαι and ποιέω (“to make or do”) both denote productive activity, converging in the senses of causative making and of labor or work; the target emphasizes the labor or task dimension specifically, while ποιέω has a much broader range across making, doing, and causative action generally.
In the other Testament 2 words
- עָבַד ʻâbad · H5647 · to serve (someone), to make (someone) serve (someone else)
- Greek ἐργάζομαι emphasizes the activity of working/toiling itself across various contexts, while Hebrew עָבַד carries stronger connotations of service, bondage, and cultic labor (serving God, serving masters), though both share the core semantic domain of performing work or labor.
- פָּעַל pâʻal · H6466 · to do, to perform, to make, work
- פָּעַל (pâʻal, H6466) פָּעַל serves as the primary Hebrew equivalent for ἐργάζομαι (ergázomai, G2038) ἐργάζομαι, both denoting purposeful labor or working activity, with פָּעַל frequently rendered by ἐργάζομαι in LXX contexts involving human action, divine operation, or moral conduct ('doing' good or evil).
Semantic domains 4 entries
- To cause to be, to make to be, to make, to result in, to bring upon, to bring about13.9
- In James 1:20, the writer warns that “a man's anger does not bring about the righteousness of God,” using this verb for producing or resulting in something.
- To work, to labor42.41
- In Galatians 6:10, believers are urged, “while we have opportunity, let's do good to all people,” the general sense of laboring or working at something.
- To do business, to trade, work, business57.198
- In Matthew 25:16, the servant who received five talents “went and did business with them, and earned five more talents” — the specific sense of trading or conducting business.
- To do, to make, to perform90.47
- In John 6:28, the crowd asks Jesus, “What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God?” the broad, general sense of doing or performing.
Word family 25 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon deponent middle; imperfect ἐιργαζομην (ἠργαζομην, Acts 18:3 L T Tr WH; (so elsewhere at…
1. absolutely,
a. to work, labor, do work: it is opposite to inactivity or idleness, Lk 13:14; Jn 5:17; Jn 9:4; 2 Thess 3:10; with addition of ταῖς χερσί, 1 Cor 4:12; 1 Thess 4:11; with the accusative of time: νύκτα καί ἡμέραν, 2 Thess 3:8 (but L text T Tr WH the genitive, as in 1 Thess 2:9 (see ἡμέρα, 1 a.); cf. Winer's Grammar, § 30, 11 and Ellic. on 1 Tim 5:5); with the predominant idea of working for pay, Mt 21:28 (ἐν τῷ ἀμπελῶνι); Acts 18:3; 1 Cor 9:6; 2 Thess 3:12; according to the conception characteristic of Paul, ὁ ἐργαζόμενος he that does works conformed to the law (Germ.der Werkthatige): Rom 4:4f.
b. to trade, to make gains by trading, (cf. our do business): ἐν τίνι, with a thing, Mt 25:16 (often so by Demosthenes).
2. transitive,
a. (to work, i. e.) to do, work out: τί, Col 3:23; 2 Jn 1:8 (with which (according to reading of L T Tr text) cf. 1 Cor 15:58 end); μηδέν, 2 Thess 3:11 ἔργον, Acts 13:41 (פֹּעַל פָּעַל, Hab 1:5); ἔργον καλόν εἰς τινα, Mt 26:10; ἐν τίνι (the dative of person (cf. Winer's Grammar, 218 (205))), Mk 14:6 (Rec. εἰς ἐμέ); ἔργα, wrought, passive, Jn 3:21; τά ἔργα τοῦ Θεοῦ, what God wishes to be done, Jn 6:28; Jn 9:4; τοῦ κυρίου, to give one's strength to the work which the Lord wishes to have done, 1 Cor 16:10; τό ἀγαθόν, (Rom 2:10); Eph 4:28; πρός τινα, Gal 6:10; κακόν τίνι τί, Rom 13:10 (τινα τί is more common in Greek writings. (Kühner, § 411, 5)); τί εἰς τινα, 3 Jn 1:5, with the accusative of virtues or vices, (to work, i. e.) to exercise, perform, commit": δικαιοσύνην, Acts 10:35; Heb 11:33, (Ps 14:2; Zeph 2:3); τήν ἀνομίαν, Mt 7:23 (Ps 5:6 and often in Sept.); ἁμαρτίαν, Jas 2:9. σημεῖον, bring to pass, effect, Jn 6:30; τά ἱερά, to be busied with the holy things, i. e. to administer those things that pertain to worship, which was the business of priests and among the Jews of the Levites also, 1 Cor 9:13; τήν θάλασσαν literally, work the sea (mare exerceo, Justin Martyr, hist. 43, 3), i. e. to be employed on (cf. do business on, Ps 107:23) and make one's living from it, Rev 18:17 (so of sailors and fishermen also in native Greek writings, as Aristot. probl. 38, 2 (p. 966{b}, 26); Dionysius Halicarnassus, Antiquities 3, 46; App. Punic. 2; (Lucian, de elect. 5; Winers Grammar, 223 (209))). to cause to exist, produce: τί, so (for R G κατεργάζεται) 2 Cor 7:10 L T Tr WH; Jas 1:20 L T Tr WH.
b. to work for, earn by working, to acquire, (cf. Germ.erarbeiten): τήν βρῶσιν, Jn 6:27 (χρήματα, Herodotus 1, 24; τά ἐπιτήδεια, Xenophon, mem. 2, 8, 2; Demosthenes 1358, 12; ἀργύριον, Plato, Hipp., major edition, p. 282 d.; βίον, Andocides () myst. (18, 42) 144 Bekker; θησαυρούς, Theod., Prov 21:6; βρῶμα, Palaeph. 21, 2; others); according to many interpreters also 2 Jn 1:8; but see 2 a. above. (Compare: κατεργάζομαι, περιεργάζομαι, προσεργάζομαι.)
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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