προσέχω
proséchō · G4337 · Greek · 24 occurrences
Meanings
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to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on one’s guard against
To be in a continuous state of readiness to learn of any future danger, need, or error, and to respond appropriately
ExamplesMatthew 6:1 “Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Matthew 10:17 “But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues;
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to pay close attention to, to consider carefully
To pay close attention to something, with the possible implication of agreement
ExamplesActs 5:35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful as to what you are about to do with these men.
Acts 8:6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.
Acts 8:10 and all the people, from small to great, were paying attention to him, saying, “This man is the Power of God that is called Great.”
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to hold firmly to, to continue to believe
To hold firmly to a particular belief
Examples1 Timothy 1:4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to useless speculation rather than advance the plan of God, which is by faith, so I urge you now.
1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
Hebrews 2:1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
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to continue to give oneself to, to continue to apply oneself to
To continue with close attention and devotion
Examples1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not insincere, not prone to drink much wine, not greedy for money,
Hebrews 7:13 For the one about whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.
How it’s used In 6 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
24 occurrences in 9 groups
- Not stated: you (more than one) 11
- Not stated (participle) 4
- Not stated (infinitive) 3
- Other words · 6 groups that occur once or twice (6) 6
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
12 occurrences in 9 groups
- ἑαυτοῦhimself, herself, itself 5
- Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
11 occurrences in 10 groups
- ἀπόfrom+ ζύμηleaven, yeast 4
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9
With adverbsAdverbs
4 occurrences in 3 groups
- μήnot 2
- ὁμοθυμαδόνwith one mind 1
- περισσοτέρωςvery great 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- δέωto bind, to tie 1
What is done to itIt is the object
6 occurrences in 4 groups
- ἔπωto say 3
- λέγωto say 1
- νοέωto perceive 1
- παραγγέλλωto order, to command 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 2 words
- שָׁמַר shâmar · H8104 · to observe, to watch, to pay attention
- שָׁמַר (shâmar, H8104) emphasizes careful watching/guarding with concrete preservation overtones (keep, preserve, observe), while προσέχω (proséchō, G4337) focuses on mental attention and adherence (pay attention to, apply oneself to, be cautious about); both share the core semantic domain of vigilant heedfulness.
- קָשַׁב qâshab · H7181 · to listen attentively, to pay attention
- Hebrew קָשַׁב emphasizes the auditory dimension of attentiveness (hearing, hearkening, inclining the ear), while Greek προσέχω focuses on mental orientation and volitional adherence (holding the mind toward, applying oneself to); both converge on the core sense of deliberate, focused attention.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- To pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on one’s guard against27.59
- The verb describes remaining vigilant against a danger that could cause one to drift away. Hebrews' exhortation on the danger of neglect uses this term: “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1).
- To pay close attention to, to consider carefully30.35
- The same verb describes turning one's mind toward something in order to consider it, whether wisely or, as here, unwisely. Paul's warning to Timothy uses this term: “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).
- To hold firmly to, to continue to believe31.47
- The same verb, in the same warning, describes the failure to remain firmly committed to sound belief. Paul's warning to Timothy uses this term: “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).
- To continue to give oneself to, to continue to apply oneself to68.19
- The same verb describes persisting in devotion to an ongoing task. Paul's instruction to Timothy on ministry uses this term: “Until I come, give your attention to the public reading, to exhortation, and teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13).
Word family 51 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon imperfect προσεῖχον; perfect προσέσχηκα; (present middle 3 person singular προσέχεται (1…
1. to bring to, bring near; thus very frequent in Greek writings from Herodotus down with ναῦν (quite as often omitting the ναῦν) and a dative of place, or followed by πρός with an accusative of place, to bring a ship to land, and simply to touch at, put in.
2.
a. τόν νοῦν, to turn the mind to, attend to, be attentive: τίνι, to a person or thing, Aristophanes eqq. 503; Plato, Demosthenes, Polybius, Josephus, Lucian, Plutarch, others; once so in the Bible, viz. Job 7:17. The simple προσέχειν τίνι (the Sept. for הִקְשִׁיב, also for הֶאֱזִין), with τόν νοῦν omitted, is often used in the same sense from Xenophon down; so in the N. T. (cf. Winers Grammar, 593 (552); Buttmann, 144 (126)): Acts 8:6; Acts 16:14; Heb 2:1; 2 Pet 1:19 (1 Macc. 7:11; 4 Macc. 1:1; Wis. 8:12); in the sense of caring for, providing for, Acts 20:28.
b. προσέχω ἐμαυτῷ, to attend to oneself, i. e. to give heed to oneself (the Sept. for נִשְׁמָר, to guard oneself, i. e. to beware, Gen 24:6; Ex 10:28; Deut 4:9; Deut 6:12, etc.): Lk 17:3; Acts 5:35 (cf. Buttmann, 337 (290); Winers Grammar, 567 (518); yet see ἐπί, B. 2 f. α.); with the addition of ἀπό τίνος, to be on one's guard against, beware of, a thing (cf. Buttmann, § 147, 3 (ἀπό, I. 3 b.)): Lk 12:1 (Tobit 4:12; (Test xii. Patr., test. Dan 6)); also without the dative προσέχειν ἀπό τίνος: Mt 7:15; Mt 10:17; Mt 16:6, Mt 16:11; Lk 20:46, (Sir. 6:13 Sir. 11:33 Sir. 17:14 Sir. 18:27; ('Teaching' etc. 6, 3 [ET]; 12, 5 [ET])); followed by μή with an infinitive, to take heed lest one do a thing, Mt 6:1; ἐμαυτῷ, μήποτε with the subjunctive Lk 21:34; absolutely to give attention, take heed: Sir. 13:13; the Epistle of Barnabas 4, 9 [ET]; 7, 4 [ET], 6. (9); followed by πῶς, the Epistle of Barnabas 7, 7 [ET]; by the interrogative τί, ibid. 15, 4 [ET]; ἵνα, ibid. 16, 8 [ET]; ἵνα μήποτε, the Epistle of Barnabas 4, 13 [ET] (variant; ἵνα μή, 2 Chr 25:16); (μήποτε, the Epistle of Barnabas 4, 14).
3. namely, ἐμαυτόν, to apply oneself to, attach oneself to, hold or cleave to a person or a thing (R. V. mostly give heed): with the dative of a person to one, Acts 8:10; 1 Tim 4:1; τῷ ἐπισκόπω προσεχ. καί τῷ πρεσβυτεριω καί διακόνοις, Ignatius ad Philad. 7, 1 [ET]; ad Polycarp, 6, 1 [ET]; with the dative of a thing, μύθοις, 1 Tim 1:4; Tit 1:14; (middle ὑγιαίνουσι λόγοις, 1 Tim 6:3 Tdf. (others προσέρχεται, which see b. β.)); to be given or addicted to: οἴνῳ, 1 Tim 3:8 (τρυφή, Julian Caesar 22 (p. 326, Spanh. edition); τρυφή καί μέθηl, Polyaen. strateg. 8, 56); to devote thought and effort to: τῇ ἀναγνώσει κτλ., 1 Tim 4:13; τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ (A. V. give attendance), Heb 7:13 (ναυτικοις, Thucydides 1, 15; for other examples from Greek writings see Passow, under the word, 3 c.; (Liddell and Scott, under the word, 4 b.)).
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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