στρέφω
stréphō · G4762 · Greek · 21 occurrences
Meanings
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to turn
To cause something to turn
ExamplesMatthew 5:39 “But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also.
Matthew 7:6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Matthew 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.”
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to change, to turn into, to remove from
To cause something to turn into or to become something else
ExamplesRevelation 11:6 These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
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to bring back, to carry back to, to take back to
To carry something back to a point where it had been formerly
ExamplesMatthew 27:3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
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to pay back, to return a payment
To return a payment
ExamplesMatthew 27:3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
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to reject, to turn away from
To reject an existing relation of association
ExamplesActs 7:42 “But God turned away and gave them over to serve the heavenly lights; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘YOU DID NOT OFFER ME VICTIMS AND SACRIFICES FOR FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS, DID YOU, HOUSE OF ISRAEL?
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to turn around, to turn toward
To turn around to or toward
ExamplesMatthew 9:22 But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” And at once the woman was made well.
Luke 7:9 Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”
Luke 7:44 And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
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to turn to, to come to believe, to come to accept
To change one’s belief, with focus upon that to which one turns
ExamplesMatthew 18:3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
John 12:40 “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WILL NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED, AND SO I WILL NOT HEAL THEM.”
Acts 7:39 “Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts,
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to change one’s ways, to turn to God, to repent
To change one’s manner of life, with the implication of turning toward God
ExamplesMatthew 18:3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
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to turn to, to leave and go to, to shift to, to establish a relation with
To shift one’s association to someone else
ExamplesActs 13:46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you repudiate it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
How it’s used In 5 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
21 occurrences in 9 groups
- Not stated (participle) 13
- Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (8) 8
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
9 occurrences in 8 groups
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 2
- δύναμαιcan 1
- ἄλλοςother, another 1
- λέγωto say 1
- ΠέτροςPeter 1
- σύyou 1
To or for whomIndirect object
5 occurrences in 5 groups
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 2
- ὄχλοςcrowd, multitude, common people 1
- ΠέτροςPeter 1
- πρεσβύτεροςelder, older 1
- ἀρχιερεύςchief priest, high priest 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
8 occurrences in 8 groups
- πρόςto, toward, with+ αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 2
- εἰςto+ ΑἴγυπτοςEgypt 1
- εἰςto+ αἷμαblood 1
- εἰςto+ ἔθνοςnation, Gentiles 1
- εἰςto+ ὀπίσωbehind 1
- ἐνin+ καρδίαheart 1
With adverbsAdverbs
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- Ἑβραϊστίin the Hebrew language 1
- μήnot 1
- τότεthen 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
- הָפַךְ hâphak · H2015 · to turn, to turn around, to turn back
- Greek στρέφω and Hebrew הָפַךְ share the core semantic field of physical turning/reversing motion and extending metaphorically to change of direction, state, or condition; both verbs encompass literal spatial rotation and figurative transformation or overthrow.
- סָבַב çâbab · H5437 · to turn, to swing, to turn around
- סָבַב (çâbab, H5437) denotes circular motion or surrounding action ('turn around', 'go around', 'surround'), while στρέφω (stréphō, G4762) focuses on the act of turning or reversing direction, often with an endpoint orientation rather than circular motion; both share the core semantic of rotational/directional change, making them legitimate translation equivalents in contexts where Hebrew circular motion is rendered as Greek directional turning.
Semantic domains 9 entries
- To change, to turn into, to remove from13.63
- The verb describes a decisive turning from one moral course to another. Jesus tells the crowd, “unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
- To bring back, to carry back to, to take back to15.195
- The verb describes physically bringing something back to where it came from. Overcome with remorse, Judas “returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders” (Matthew 27:3).
- To turn around, to turn toward16.13
- The verb describes a person physically turning to face someone. Jesus, “turning and seeing” the woman who had touched His cloak, said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22).
- To turn16.14
- The verb describes offering the opposite side of the body. Jesus instructs that whoever slaps a person on the right cheek should “turn the other” toward him also (Matthew 5:39).
- To turn to, to come to believe, to come to accept31.60
- The verb describes a change of allegiance toward a new message. Paul and Barnabas, rejected by the Jews at Pisidian Antioch, declare, “since you repudiate it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46).
- To turn to, to leave and go to, to shift to, to establish a relation with34.25
- The verb describes turning back to engage with someone directly. Jesus warns not to give what is holy to dogs, lest they trample it and “turn” and tear the giver to pieces (Matthew 7:6).
- To reject, to turn away from34.28
- The verb describes decisively rejecting someone's counsel. Jesus “turned” and rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan!” after Peter set his mind on merely human concerns (Matthew 16:23).
- To change one’s ways, to turn to God, to repent41.50
- The verb describes a fundamental change of life-direction toward God, distinct from ordinary physical turning. The quoted prophecy explains why some cannot believe: God has hardened their hearts “so that they will not… be converted, and so I will not heal them” (John 12:40).
- To pay back, to return a payment57.157
- The verb describes making financial restitution. Judas, seized with remorse, “returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders” (Matthew 27:3).
Word family 29 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon : 1 aorist ἐστρεψα; passive, present στρέφομαι; 2 aorist ἐστράφην; from Homer down; the…
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 7 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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