ἤπιος

πραΰς praÿs · G4239 · mild, gentle, meek

Greek adjective denoting gentleness and mildness of disposition; overlaps substantially with ἤπιος but πραΰς emphasizes meekness while ἤπιος emphasizes affability and kindness in personal interaction.

ἐπιεικής epieikḗs · G1933 · gentle, gracious, forbearing

Greek adjective for gentle, yielding character; closely related in sense but ἐπιεικής emphasizes forbearance and reasonableness while ἤπιος emphasizes mild, kind affability.

χρηστός chrēstós · G5543 · fine, better, good

Greek adjective for kindness and goodness; overlaps with the 'kind' aspect of ἤπιος but χρηστός has broader application to general goodness while ἤπιος specifically denotes mild, affable demeanor.

ἄγριος ágrios · G66 · violent, stormy, wild

Greek adjective meaning wild or fierce; direct opposite of the mild, gentle character denoted by ἤπιος.

σκληρός sklērós · G4642 · harsh, strong, violent

Greek adjective for harsh or hard character; lexical opposite of the mild, affable disposition indicated by ἤπιος.

πικρός pikrós · G4089 · bitter, pungent, resentful

Greek adjective for bitter or harsh demeanor; stands in contrast to the kind, mild character of ἤπιος.

עָנָו ʻânâv · H6035 · afflicted, poor, humble

Hebrew adjective describing gentle, humble character; standard translation equivalent for the gentle/mild sense of ἤπιος in contexts describing personal demeanor.

רַךְ rak · H7390 · timid, soft, delicate

Hebrew adjective for tender or gentle disposition; can describe mild, affable character and would be a natural equivalent for ἤπιος in relational contexts.

Gentle, kind88.61

In 1 Thessalonians 2:7, Paul writes of his ministry among the Thessalonians, “we proved to be gentle among you. As a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children,” using this word for a kind, gentle manner.

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.