ἀνάγκη
anánkē · G318 · Greek · 17 occurrences
Meanings
-
trouble, distress, troublous times
A general state of distress and trouble
ExamplesLuke 21:23 “Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people;
1 Corinthians 7:26 I think, then, that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is.
2 Corinthians 6:4 but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in difficulties,
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complete obligation, necessary obligation
An obligation of a compelling nature
ExamplesLuke 14:18 “And yet they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I purchased a field and I need to go out to look at it; please consider me excused.’
1 Corinthians 7:37 But the one who stands firm in his heart, if he is not under constraint, but has authority over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin, he will do well.
1 Corinthians 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for I am under compulsion; for woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.
-
inevitability, what is bound to be, to have to be
Necessity as a law of human experience
ExamplesMatthew 18:7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes!
Romans 13:5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for the sake of conscience.
Hebrews 7:12 For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.
How it’s used In 7 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἐγώI, we 1
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- μέγαςgreat, large 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἐπίκειμαιto be on 1
What is done to itIt is the object
4 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἔχωto have 4
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- γῆearth 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
5 occurrences in 6 groups
- ἀγαθόςgood 1
- ἔρχομαιto come 1
- καθαρίζωto make clean, to cleanse, to clean 1
- ὑποτάσσωto submit, to subject 1
- φέρωto bring, to carry, to bear 1
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
6 occurrences in 4 groups
- ἐκfrom 3
- ἐνin 2
- ἐπίon 2
- κατάaccording to, against, down 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.
In the other Testament 1 word
- צָרָה tsârâh · H6869 · trouble, distress, anguish
- Hebrew צָרָה (tsârâh, H6869) denotes adversity, distress, or tribulation as a state of affliction, while Greek ἀνάγκη (anánkē, G318) emphasizes constraint or compulsion (literal or figurative) that produces distress; the LXX uses ἀνάγκη to render צָרָה when the Hebrew term's distress-sense aligns with circumstances that constrain or press upon someone.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Trouble, distress, troublous times22.1
- In Luke 21:23, Jesus warns of “those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress (anánkē) upon the land,” describing a coming time of severe hardship.
- Complete obligation, necessary obligation71.30
- In Romans 13:5, Paul writes that “it is necessary (anánkē) to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for the sake of conscience,” describing a binding duty that must be fulfilled.
- Inevitability, what is bound to be, to have to be71.38
- In Matthew 18:7, Jesus says “it is inevitable (anánkē) that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes,” describing an outcome that cannot be avoided.
Word family 9 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (ης, ἡ; 1. necessity, imposed either by the external condition of things, or by the law…
1. necessity, imposed either by the external condition of things, or by the law of duty, regard to one's advantage, custom, argument: κατ' ἀνάγκην perforce (opposed to κατά ἑκούσιον), Phm 1:14; ἐξ ἀνάγκης of necessity, compelled, 2 Cor 9:7; Heb 7:12 (necessarily); ἔχω ἀνάγκην I have (am compelled by) necessity, (also in Greek writings): 1 Cor 7:37; Heb 7:27; followed by an infinitive, Lk 14:18; Lk 23:17 R L brackets; Jude 1:3; ἀν. μοι ἐπίκειται necessity is laid upon me, 1 Cor 9:16; ἀνάγκη (equivalent to ἀναγκαῖον ἐστι) followed by an infinitive: Mt 18:7; Rom 13:5; Heb 9:16, Heb 9:23 (also in Greek writings).
2. in a sense rare in the classics (Diodorus 4, 43), but very common in Hellenistic writings (also in Josephus, b. j. 5, 13, 7, etc.; see Winers Grammar, 30), calamity, distress, straits: Lk 21:23; 1 Cor 7:26; 1 Thess 3:7; plural ἐν ἀνάγκαις, 2 Cor 6:4; 2 Cor 12:10.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 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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