ἀντί
antí · G473 · Greek · 22 occurrences
Meanings
-
instead
A marker of an alternative serving as a contrast
ExamplesLuke 11:11 “Now which one of you fathers will his son ask for a fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake?
James 4:15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
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for, on behalf of
A marker of a participant who is benefited by an event, usually with the implication of some type of exchange or substitution involved
ExamplesMatthew 17:27 “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a stater. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”
Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
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because, for this reason, for the purpose of
A marker of reason, with the possible implication of purpose
ExamplesLuke 1:20 “And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Luke 19:44 and they will level you to the ground, and throw down your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Acts 12:23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
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therefore, so then
A marker of result, with the implication of something being in return for something else
ExamplesLuke 12:3 “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
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for, in place of
A marker of an exchange relation
ExamplesMatthew 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee,
Matthew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘EYE FOR EYE, and TOOTH FOR TOOTH.’
John 1:16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
How it’s used
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
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 4 words
- יַעַן yaʻan · H3282 · because, since
- Both ἀντί (antí, G473) and יַעַן (yaʻan, H3282) are causal prepositions or conjunctions expressing reason or cause; the sense "because, for this reason" of ἀντί (antí, G473) matches the core meaning of יַעַן (yaʻan, H3282), "because (that), forasmuch as, seeing then." ἀντί (antí, G473) has additional substitutionary senses ("instead," "in place of") not present in יַעַן (yaʻan, H3282).
- תַּחַת tachath · H8478 · under, underneath, below
- Greek ἀντί and Hebrew תַּחַת both express substitution ('instead of') and positional replacement, with תַּחַת additionally carrying spatial 'under/beneath' senses that ἀντί does not literally encode, though both converge on the abstract sense of one thing taking the place of another.
- חֵלֶף chêleph · H2500 · in return for
- Hebrew חֵלֶף (chêleph, H2500) and Greek ἀντί (antí, G473) both express substitution or exchange ('instead of'), functioning as cross-linguistic equivalents for the substitutive sense across Hebrew and Greek biblical texts.
- עֵקֶב ʻêqeb · H6118 · recompense, reward, because
- ἀντί (antí, G473) functions as a substitution/exchange preposition ('instead of') or causal marker ('because of'), while עֵקֶב (ʻêqeb, H6118) primarily serves as a causal/resultative marker ('because', 'as a result of') with occasional reward/consequence nuance; the overlap centers on their shared causal sense where Greek ἀντί expresses 'in return for/because of' and Hebrew עֵקֶב expresses 'on account of/because'.
Semantic domains 5 entries
- For, in place of57.145
- In Matthew 2:22, Joseph hears “that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of (antì) his father Herod,” describing one ruler succeeding and substituting for another.
- Instead89.133
- In Luke 11:11, Jesus asks which father, when his son asks for a fish, “instead of (antì) a fish, he will give him a snake,” describing one thing substituted for another that was expected.
- Because, for this reason, for the purpose of89.24
- In Ephesians 5:31, Paul quotes, “FOR THIS REASON (antì toútou) A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE,” introducing a stated ground for the action that follows.
- Therefore, so then89.45
- In James 4:15, after warning against boastful planning, James writes, “Instead (antì toũ), you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that,'” marking the correct conclusion to draw in place of the presumption just described.
- For, on behalf of90.37
- In Mark 10:45, Jesus says the Son of Man came “to give His life as a ransom for (antì) many,” describing a substitutionary act performed on others' behalf.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (before ὤν, ἀνθ'; elsewhere neglecting elision) a preposition followed by the genitive…
1. properly, it seems to have signified over against, opposite to, before, in a local sense (Alexander Buttmann (1873) Gram., p. 412; (cf. Curtius, § 204)). Hence,
2. indicating exchange, succession, for, instead of, in place of (something).
a. universally, instead of: ἀντί ἰχθύος ὄφιν, Lk 11:11; ἀντί περιβολαίου to serve as a covering, 1 Cor 11:15; ἀντί τοῦ λέγειν, Jas 4:15 (ἀντί τοῦ with the infinitive often in Greek writings (Winers Grammar, 329 (309); Buttmann, 263 (226))).
b. of that for which anything is given, received, endured: Mt 5:38; Mt 17:27 (to release me and thyself from obligation); Heb 12:2 (to obtain the joy; cf. Bleek, Lünemann, or Delitzsch at the passage); of the price of sale (or purchase): Heb 12:16; λύτρον ἀντί πολλῶν, Mt 20:28; Mk 10:45. Then c. of recompense: κακόν ἀντί κακοῦ ἀποδιδόναι, Rom 12:17; 1 Thess 5:15; 1 Pet 3:9,(Wis. 11:16 (15)). ἀνθ' ὧν equivalent to ἀντί τούτων, ὅτι for that, because: Lk 1:20; Lk 19:44; Acts 12:23; 2 Thess 2:10 (also in secular authors (examples in Wetstein (1752) on Lk 1:20); cf. Herm. ad Vig., p. 710; (Winers Grammar, 364 (342), cf. 162 (153); Buttmann, 105 (92)); Hebrew אֲשֶׁר תַּחַת, Deut 21:14; 2 Kgs 22:17).
d. of the cause: ἀνθ' ὧν wherefore, Lk 12:3; ἀντί τούτου for this cause, Eph 5:31.
e. of succession to the place of another: Ἀρχέλαος βασιλεύει ἀντί Ἡρῴδου in place of Herod, Mt 2:22 (1 Kings 11:44; Herodotus 1, 108; Xenophon, an. 1, 1, 4). χάριν ἀντί χάριτος grace in the place of grace, grace succeeding grace perpetually, i. e. the richest abundance of grace, Jn 1:16 (Theognis, verse 344 ἀντ' ἀνιων ἀνιας (yet cf. the context verse 342 (vss. 780 and 778, Welcker edition); more appropriate are the references to Philo, i. 254, Mang. edition (de poster. Caini § 43, vol. ii. 39, Richter edition), and Chrysostom de sacerdot. l. 6 c. 13 § 622)).
3. As a prefix, it denotes a. opposite, over against: ἀντιπεραι, ἀντιπαρέρχεσθαι.
b. the mutual efficiency of two: ἀντιβάλλειν, ἀντικάλειν, ἀντιλοιδόρειν.
c. requital: ἀντιμισθία, ἀνταποδίδωμι.
d. hostile opposition: ἀντίχριστος.
e. official substitution instead of: ἀνθύπατος.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 5 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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