ποιμαίνω
poimaínō · G4165 · Greek · 11 occurrences
Meanings
-
to shepherd, to take care of, to tend, to pasture
To herd and tend flocks of sheep or goats
ExamplesLuke 17:7 “Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’?
John 21:16 He said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
1 Corinthians 9:7 Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not consume some of the milk of the flock?
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to guide and to help, to guide and take care of
(A figurative extension of meaning of ποιμαίνω ‘to shepherd,’) To lead, with the implication of providing for
ExamplesMatthew 2:6 ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR FROM YOU WILL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’”
Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Jude 1:12 These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;
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to rule, to govern
To rule, with the implication of direct personal involvement
ExamplesRevelation 2:27 AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE SHATTERED, as I also have received authority from My Father;
Revelation 12:5 And she gave birth to a Son, a male, who is going to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne.
Revelation 19:15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
How it’s used In 4 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
11 occurrences in 9 groups
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
10 occurrences in 9 groups
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 3
- Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (8) 8
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἐνin+ ῥάβδοςstick 3
What is done to itIt is the object
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- λέγωto say 1
- μέλλωto be about to 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
- רָעָה râʻâh · H7462 · to graze, to pasture, to feed
- רָעָה (râʻâh, H7462) רָעָה is the Hebrew verbal root for shepherding/tending flocks that directly underlies ποιμαίνω (poimaínō, G4165) ποιμαίνω in LXX translation practice, sharing both literal pastoral sense and the extended figurative sense of leadership/oversight.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- To guide and to help, to guide and take care of36.2
- ποιμαίνω describes guiding and caring for others, drawing on the shepherd's role. Paul's charge to the Ephesian elders uses this term: “‘Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood’” (Acts 20:28).
- To rule, to govern37.57
- The same verb can describe ruling or governing, drawn from the same shepherd imagery applied to a sovereign. Matthew's quotation of the prophecy concerning Bethlehem uses this term: “‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR FROM YOU WILL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL’” (Matthew 2:6, where the underlying verb names this ruling function).
- To shepherd, to take care of, to tend, to pasture44.3
- Most literally, the verb describes the ordinary work of tending sheep. Jesus's own question to His disciples draws on this literal sense: “‘Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, “Come immediately and recline at the table to eat”?’” (Luke 17:7).
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon future ποιμανῶ; 1 aorist imperative 2 person plural ποιμάνατε (1 Pet 5:2); (ποιμήν, which…
a. properly: Lk 17:7; ποίμνην, 1 Cor 9:7.
b. tropically, α. to rule, govern: of rulers, τινα, Mt 2:6; Rev 2:27; Rev 12:5; Rev 19:15 (2 Sam 5:2; Mic 5:6 (); , etc.; (cf. Winers Grammar, 17)) (see ποιμήν, b. at the end); of the overseers (pastors) of the church, Jn 21:16; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet 5:2. β. to furnish pasturage or food; to nourish: ἑαυτόν, to cherish one's body, to serve the body, Jude 1:12; to supply the requisites for the soul's needs (R. V. shall be their shepherd), Rev 7:17. (Synonym: see βόσκω, at the end.)
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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