μελετάω
meletáō · G3191 · Greek · 2 occurrences
Meanings
-
to ponder, to let one’s mind dwell on, to keep thinking about, to fix one’s attention on
To keep on giving serious consideration to something
Examples1 Timothy 4:15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.
-
to plan to act, to plot
To think seriously about a particular course of action
ExamplesActs 4:25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘WHY WERE THE NATIONS INSOLENT, AND THE PEOPLES PLOTTING IN VAIN?
-
to practice, to continue to do, to cultivate
To continue to perform certain activities with care and concern
Examples1 Timothy 4:15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.
How it’s used In 3 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
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- λαόςpeople 1
- Not stated: you (one person) 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
2 occurrences in 3 groups
- εἰμίto be 1
- κενόςempty, vain 1
- οὗτοςthis 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἔπωto say 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
- φροντίζω phrontízō · G5431 · to ponder, to let one’s mind dwell on, to keep thinking about
- Both verbs describe intentional mental engagement or sustained attention to a matter. φροντίζω emphasizes anxious concern or careful thought, while μελετάω can denote deliberate pondering but extends to planning or practicing actions, giving it broader application beyond purely contemplative mental states.
In the other Testament 2 words
- הָגָה hâgâh · H1897 · to remove, to produce a sound, to growl
- Hebrew הָגָה (hâgâh, H1897) encompasses mental rehearsal, meditation, and murmuring speech, directly corresponding to Greek μελετάω's core sense of mental revolving and careful consideration, with both terms denoting deliberate cognitive engagement with content.
- שָׁעַע shâʻaʻ · H8173 · to be blinded, to blind oneself
- Greek μελετάω emphasizes cognitive rehearsal and mental preparation ('revolve in the mind'), while Hebrew שָׁעַע in its 'delight (self)' sense focuses on pleasurable absorption or meditative enjoyment, creating overlap in contexts of contemplative engagement with subject matter (e.g., delighting in/meditating upon Torah).
Semantic domains 3 entries
- To ponder, to let one’s mind dwell on, to keep thinking about, to fix one’s attention on30.20
- This sense denotes fixing one's attention on something in thought. Acts 4:25 quotes David's psalm asking why “the peoples” were “plotting in vain.”
- To plan to act, to plot30.60
- This sense denotes devising a scheme or plan of action. Acts 4:25 quotes the psalm's question, “WHY WERE THE NATIONS INSOLENT, AND THE PEOPLES PLOTTING IN VAIN?”
- To practice, to continue to do, to cultivate68.20
- This sense denotes diligent, ongoing practice or cultivation of a task. 1 Timothy 4:15 exhorts, “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them.”
Word family 10 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon μελέτω; 1 aorist ἐμελέτησα; (from μελέτη care, practice); especially frequent in Greek…
d. (Liddell and Scott, under the word, II. 2 and III. 4 b.)), which usage seems to have been in the writer's mind in Mk 13:11 (R L brackets Compare: προμελετάω).
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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