Word

ὑπέρ

hypér · G5228 · Greek · 150 occurrences

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Meanings

  1. for, on behalf of, for the sake of

    (With the genitive) A marker of a participant who is benefited by an event or on whose behalf an event takes place

    Examples

    Mark 9:40 “For the one who is not against us is for us.

    Mark 14:24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many.

    Luke 9:50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for the one who is not against you is for you.”

  2. concerning, about, of

    (With the genitive) A marker of general content, whether of a discourse or mental activity

    Examples

    John 1:30 “This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘After me is coming a Man who has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’

    Romans 9:27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL MAY BE LIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, ONLY THE REMNANT WILL BE SAVED;

    1 Corinthians 10:30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered about that for which I give thanks?

  3. more than, to a greater degree than, beyond

    A degree which is beyond that of a compared scale of extent

    Examples

    Matthew 10:37 “The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

    Luke 16:8 “And his master complimented the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.

    Acts 26:13 at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who were journeying with me.

  4. above, superior to

    A marker of status which is superior to another status

    Examples

    Matthew 10:24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.

    Luke 6:40 “A student is not above the teacher; but everyone, when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

    Ephesians 1:22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church,

  5. because of, in view of

    A marker of cause or reason, often with the implication of something which has been beneficial

    Examples

    Acts 5:41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.

    Acts 21:13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

    Romans 15:9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written: “THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES, AND I WILL SING PRAISES TO YOUR NAME.”

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 2 words
מִן min · H4480 · from, out of
Both ὑπέρ and מִן are versatile prepositions that overlap in expressing spatial superiority ("above," "over"), causal relationships ("because of," "for the sake of") and comparison ("more than," "beyond"). The Hebrew מִן commonly denotes source, separation and comparison ("from," "out of," "more than"), while the Greek ὑπέρ emphasizes position above, substitution and representation ("on behalf of," "instead," "concerning").
עַל ʻal · H5921 · on, upon, over, against
Both ὑπέρ and עַל are high-frequency prepositions whose core spatial sense is "over, above" and which have developed parallel sets of extended meanings, including locative positioning, causal relationships ("for the sake of," "because of") and discourse-level framing ("concerning," "regarding"). עַל is the primary Hebrew counterpart of Greek ὑπέρ in the Septuagint.
Semantic domains 5 entries
More than, to a greater degree than, beyond78.29
Luke 16:8 — “‘And his master complimented the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.’”
Above, superior to87.30
Matthew 10:24 — “‘A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.’”
Because of, in view of89.28
Philippians 1:29 — “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf.”
Concerning, about, of90.24
Romans 9:27 — “Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, ‘THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL MAY BE LIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, ONLY THE REMNANT WILL BE SAVED.’”
For, on behalf of, for the sake of90.36
John 10:11 — “‘I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.’”
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (cf. English up, over, etc.), Latin super, over, a preposition, which stands before…
(cf. English up, over, etc.), Latin super, over, a preposition, which stands before either the genitive or the accusative according as it is used to express the idea of state and rest or of motion over and beyond a place.
I. with the genitive; cf. Winer's Grammar, 382f (358f).
1. properly, of place, i. e. of position, situation, extension: over, above, beyond, across. In this sense it does not occur in the N. T.; but there it always, though joined to other classes of words, has a tropical signification derived from its original meaning.
2. equivalent to Latinpro, for, i. e. for one's safety, for one's advantage or benefit (one who does a thing for another, is conceived of as standing or bending 'over' the one whom he would shield or defend (cf. Winer's Grammar, as above)): προσεύχεσθε ὑπέρ τῶν..., Mt 5:44; Lk 6:28 (T Tr marginal reading WH περί (see 6 below)); Col 1:3 L Tr WH marginal reading (see 6 below); (Jas 5:16 L Tr marginal reading WH text), 9; εὔχομαι, Jas 5:16 (R G T Tr text WH marginal reading); after δέομαι, Acts 8:24; and nouns denoting prayer, as δέησις, Rom 10:1; 2 Cor 1:11; 2 Cor 9:14; Phm 1:4; Eph 6:19; προσευχή, Acts 12:5 (here L T Tr WH περί (see 6 below)); Rom 15:30; 1 Tim 2:1, 1 Tim 2:2; εἶναι ὑπέρ τίνος (opposed to κατά τίνος), to be for one i. e. to be on one's side, to favor and further one's cause, Mk 9:40; Lk 9:50; Rom 8:31, cf. 2 Cor 13:8; τό ὑπέρ τίνος that which is for one's advantage, Phm 4:10 (but see ἀναθάλλω and φρονέω, at the end); ἐντυγχάνω and ὑπερεντυγχάνω, Rom 8:26 R G, 27,34; Heb 7:25, cf. Heb 9:24; λέγω, Acts 26:1 R WH text (see 6 below); μερίμνω, 1 Cor 12:25; ἀγρύπνω, Heb 13:17; ἀγωνίζομαι ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς, Col 4:12, cf. Rom 15:30; πρεσβεύω, Eph 6:20; 2 Cor 5:20; with a substantive: ζῆλος, 2 Cor 7:7; (Col 4:13 Rec.); πόνος, Col 4:13 (G L T Tr WH); σπουδή, 2 Cor 7:12; 2 Cor 8:16; διάκονος, Col 1:7; to offer offerings for, Acts 21:26; to enter the heavenly sanctuary for (used of Christ), Heb 6:20; ἀρχειρεα καθίστασθαι, Heb 5:1; after the ideas of suffering, dying, giving up life, etc.: Rom 9:3; Rom 16:4; 2 Cor 12:15; after τήν ψυχήν τιθέναι (ὑπέρ τίνος), in order to avert ruin, death, etc., from one, Jn 10:11; Jn 13:37f; of Christ dying to procure salvation for his own, Jn 10:15; Jn 15:13; 1 Jn 3:16; Christ is said τό αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐκχύνειν, passive, Mk 14:24 L T Tr WH (see 6 below); Lk 22:20 (WH reject the passage); ἀπολέσθαι, Jn 18:14 Rec.; ἀποθνῄσκειν, Jn 11:50ff; ( L T Tr WH); Acts 21:13; Rom 5:7; of Christ undergoing death for man's salvation, Rom 5:6, Rom 5:8; Rom 14:15; 1 Thess 5:10 (here T Tr WH text περί (see 6 below); 1 Pet 3:18 L T Tr WH text); γεύεσθαι θανάτου, Heb 2:9; σταυρωθῆναι, 1 Cor 1:13 (here L text Tr marginal reading WH marginal reading περί (see 6 below)); (of God giving up his Son, Rom 8:32); παραδιδόναι τινα ἑαυτόν, Gal 2:20; Eph 5:2, Eph 5:25; διδόναι ἑαυτόν, Tit 2:14; with a predicate accusative added, ἀντίλυτρον, 1 Tim 2:6; τό σῶμα αὐτοῦ διδόναι, passive, Lk 22:19 (WH reject the passage), cf. 1 Cor 11:24; τυθῆναι (θυθῆναι, see θύω, at the beginning), 1 Cor 5:7; παθεῖν, 1 Pet 2:21; 1 Pet 3:18 (R G WH marginal reading; 4:1 R G); ἁγιάζειν ἑαυτόν, Jn 17:19. Since what is done for one's advantage frequently cannot be done without acting in his stead (just as the apostles teach that the death of Christ inures to our salvation because it has the force of an expiatory sacrifice and was suffered in our stead), we easily understand how ὑπέρ, like the Latinpro and our for, comes to signify
3. in the place of, instead of (which is more precisely expressed by ἀντί; hence, the two prepositions are interchanged by Irenaeus, adv. haer. 5, 1, τῷ ἰδίῳ αἵματι λυτρωσαμένου ἡμᾶς τοῦ κυρίου καί δόντος τήν ψυχήν ὑπέρ τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν καί τήν σάρκα τήν ἑαυτοῦ ἀντί τῶν ἡμετέρων σαρκῶν): ἵνα ὑπέρ σου μοι διακονῇ, Phm 1:13; ὑπέρ τῶν νεκρῶν βαπτίζεσθαι (see βαπτίζω, at the end), 1 Cor 15:29; (add, Col 1:7 L text Tr text WH text); in expressions concerning the death of Christ: εἷς ὑπέρ πάντων ἀπέθανεν (for the inference is drawn ἄρα οἱ πάντες ἀπέθανον, i. e. all are reckoned as dead), 2 Cor 5:14(15),15; add, 21; Gal 3:13. (On this debated sense of ὑπέρ, see Meyer and Van Hengel on Rom 5:6; Ellicott on Galatians and Philemon, the passages cited; Wieseler on Gal 1:4; Trench, Synonyms, § lxxxii.; Winer's Grammar, 383 (358) note.) Since anything, whether of an active or passive character which is undertaken on behalf of a person or thing, is undertaken 'on account of' that person or thing, ὑπέρ is used
4. of the impelling or moving cause; on account of, for the sake of, any person or thing: ὑπέρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ζοης, to procure (true) life for mankind, Jn 6:51; to do or suffer anything ὑπέρ τοῦ ὀνόματος Θεοῦ, Ἰησοῦ, τοῦ κυρίου: Acts 5:41; Acts 9:16; Acts 15:26; Acts 21:13; Rom 1:5; 3 Jn 1:7; πάσχειν ὑπέρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, Phm 1:29; ὑπέρ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ, 2 Thess 1:5; στενοχωριαι ὑπέρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, 2 Cor 12:10 (it is better to connect ὑπέρ etc. here with εὐδοκῶ); ἀποθνῄσκειν ὑπέρ Θεοῦ, Ignatius ad Rom. 4 [ET]. examples with a genitive of the thing are, Jn 11:4; Rom 15:8; 2 Cor 1:6; 2 Cor 12:19; ὑπέρ τῆς εὐδοκίας, to satisfy (his) good-pleasure, Phm 2:13; with a genitive of the person, 2 Cor 1:6; Eph 3:1, Eph 3:13; Col 1:24; δοξάζειν, εὐχαριστεῖν ὑπέρ τίνος (genitive of the thing), Rom 15:9; 1 Cor 10:30; ὑπέρ πάντων, for all favors, Eph 5:20; ἐυηξαρίστειν ὑπέρ with a genitive of the person, Rom 1:8 (here L T Tr WH περί (see 6 below)); 2 Cor 1:11; Eph 1:16; ἀγῶνα ἔχειν ὑπέρ with a genitive of the person Col 2:1 L T Tr WH (see 6 below); ὑπέρ (τῶν) ἁμαρτιῶν (or ἀγνοημάτων), to offer sacrifices, Heb 5:1, Heb 5:3 (here L T Tr WH περί (see 6 below)); Heb 7:27; Heb 9:7; ; ἀποθανεῖν, of Christ, 1 Cor 15:3; ἑαυτόν δοῦναι, Gal 1:4 R WH text (see 6 below).
5. Like the Latinsuper (cf. Klotz, HWB, d. Latin Spr. ii, p. 1497b; (Harpers' Latin Dict. under the word, II. B. 2 b.)), it frequently refers to the object under consideration, concerning, of, as respects, with regard to ((cf. Buttmann, § 147, 21); examples from secular authors are given in Winer's Grammar, 383 (358f)); so after καυχᾶσθαι, καύχημα, καύχησις (R. V. on behalf of): 2 Cor 5:12; 2 Cor 7:4, 2 Cor 7:14; 2 Cor 8:24; 2 Cor 9:2; 2 Cor 12:5; 2 Thess 1:4 (here L T Tr WH εγ( (or εν() καυχᾶσθαι); φυσιουσθαι, 1 Cor 4:6 (others refer this to 4 above; see Meyer edition Heinrici (cf. φυσιόω, 2 at the end)); ἐλπίς, 2 Cor 1:7 (6); ἀγνοεῖν, 8 (here L T Tr WH marginal reading περί (see 6 below)); φρονεῖν, Phm 1:7 (2 Macc. 14:8); ἐρωτᾶν, 2 Thess 2:1; κράζειν, to proclaim concerning, Rom 9:27; (παρακαλεῖν, 1 Thess 3:2 G L T Tr WH (see 6 below)); after εἰπεῖν, Jn 1:30 L T Tr WH (see 6 below); (so after verbs of saying, writing, etc., 2 Sam 18:5; 2 Chr 31:9; Joel 1:3; Judith 15:4; 1 Esdr. 4:49; 2 Macc. 11:35); εἴτε ὑπέρ Τίτου, whether inquiry be made about Titus, 2 Cor 8:23; ὑπέρ τούτου, concerning this, 2 Cor 12:8.
6. In the N. T. manuscripts, as in those of secular authors also, the prepositions ὑπέρ and περί are confounded (cf. Winers Grammar, 383 (358) note; § 50, 3; Buttmann, § 147, 21; Kühner, § 435, I. 2 e.; Meisterhans, § 49, 12; also Wieseler or Ellicott on Galatians, as below; Meyer on 1 Cor 15:3 (see περί, the passage cited δ.)); this occurs in the following passages: Mk 14:24; (Lk 6:28); Jn 1:30; Acts 12:5; Acts 26:1; Rom 1:8; 1 Cor 1:13; 2 Cor 1:8; Gal 1:4; Col 1:3; Col 2:1; (1 Thess 3:2; 1 Thess 5:10); Heb 5:3. (For ὑπέρ ἐκ περισσοῦ or ὑπέρ ἐκπερισσοῦ, see ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ.)
II. with the accusative (cf. Winers Grammar, § 49, e.); over, beyond, away over; more than;
1. properly, of the place 'over' or 'beyond' which, as in the Greek writings from Homer down; not thus used in the N. T., where it is always
2. metaphorically, of the measure or degree exceeded (cf. Buttmann, § 147, 21);
a. universally: εἶναι ὑπέρ τινα, to be above i. e. superior to one, Mt 10:24; Lk 6:40; τό ὄνομα τό ὑπέρ πᾶν ὄνομα namely, ὄν, the name superior to every (other) name, Phm 2:9; κεφαλήν ὑπέρ πάντα namely, οὖσαν, the supreme head or lord (A. V. head over all things), Eph 1:22; ὑπέρ δοῦλον ὄντα, more than a servant, Phm 1:16; more than (R. V. beyond), Phm 1:21; ὑπέρ πάντα, above (i. e. more and greater than) all, Eph 3:20a; ὑπέρ τήν λαμπρότητα τοῦ ἡλίου, above (i. e. surpassing) the brightness of the sun, Acts 26:13; more (to a greater degree) than, φιλεῖν τινα ὑπέρ τινα, Mt 10:37 (examples from secular authors are given by Fritzsche at the passage); beyond, 1 Cor 4:6; 2 Cor 12:6; ὑπέρ ὁ δύνασθε, beyond what ye are able, beyond your strength, 1 Cor 10:13 (cf. Winer's Grammar, 590 (549)); also ὑπέρ δύναμιν, 2 Cor 1:8; opposed to κατά δύναμιν (as in Homer, Iliad 3, 59 κατ' Αισαν, ὀυδ' ὑπέρ Αισαν, cf. 6, 487; 17, 321. 327), 2 Cor 8:3 (where L T Tr WH παρά δύναμιν).
b. with words implying comparison: προκόπτειν, Gal 1:14; of the measure beyond which one is reduced, ή῾ττασθαι, 2 Cor 12:13 (Winer's Grammar, § 49 e.), (πλεονάζω, 1 Esdr. 8:72; περισσεύω, 1 Macc. 3:30; ὑπερβάλω, Sir. 25:11); after comparatives equivalent to than, Lk 16:8; Heb 4:12 (Judg 11:25; 1 Kgs 19:4; Sir. 30:17); cf. Winers Grammar, § 35, 2; (Buttmann, § 147, 21).
c. ὑπέρ is used adverbially; as, ὑπέρ ἐγώ (L ὑπερεγώ (cf. Winers Grammar, 46 (45)), WH ὑπέρ ἐγώ (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 14, 2 Note)), much more (or in a much greater degree) I, 2 Cor 11:23; cf. Kypke at the passage; Winer's Grammar, 423 (394). (For ὑπέρ λίαν see ὑπερλίαν.)
III. In Composition ὑπέρ denotes
1. over, above, beyond: ὑπεράνω, ὑπερέκεινα, ὑπερεκτείνω.
2. excess of measure, more than: ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ, ὑπερνικάω.
3. aid, for; in defense of: ὑπερεντυγχάνω. Cf. Viger. edition Hermann, p. 668; Fritzsche on Romans, vol. i., p. 351; (Ellicott on Eph 3:20).

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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