Word

φείδομαι

pheídomai · G5339 · Greek · 10 occurrences

See all 10 in Search

Meanings

to spare, to prevent trouble happening to someone

To cause someone not to be troubled

Examples
Acts 20:29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
to avoid, to refrain from, to keep oneself from

To keep oneself from doing something

Examples
2 Corinthians 12:6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.

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

10 occurrences in 6 groups

θεόςGod 2
Not stated: I 2
Not stated: he, she or it 2
Not stated (participle) 2
ἐγώI, we 1
ὅςwho, which, that 1

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

8 occurrences in 7 groups

σύyou 3
ἁμαρτάνωto sin, to do wrong 1
κλάδοςbranch (of a tree or woody shrub) 1
κόσμοςworld 1
ποίμνιονpeople who are like a flock 1
υἱόςson 1

With adverbsAdverbs

7 occurrences in 3 groups

οὐnot 5
μήnot 1
οὐδέand not, nor, neither 1

What it doesIt is the subject

1 occurrences in 1 groups

χαρίζομαιto give freely, to forgive 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 3 words

חָמַל châmal · H2550 · to be concerned for, to have pity on, to show mercy: Hebrew חָמַל emphasizes the emotional component of compassion/pity leading to sparing action, while Greek φείδομαι focuses more narrowly on the restraint or abstention itself (being sparing/chary), though both converge on the act of withholding harm or judgment.
חוּס chûwç · H2347 · to have pity, to spare, to mind: Hebrew חוּס emphasizes emotional pity or compassion as the motivating disposition behind sparing, while Greek φείδομαι focuses on the act of withholding judgment or punishment itself, whether from restraint, leniency, or reluctance to harm.
חָשַׂךְ châsak · H2820 · to withhold, to hold back, to be reluctant: φείδομαι (pheídomai, G5339) φείδομαι denotes refraining from action (typically punishment or harm) out of mercy or forbearance, while חָשַׂךְ (châsak, H2820) חָשַׂךְ denotes withholding or holding back (action, resource, or punishment) with broader application beyond mercy contexts.

Semantic domains 2 entries

To avoid, to refrain from, to keep oneself from13.152: 2 Corinthians 12:6 has Paul say, “I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.”
To spare, to prevent trouble happening to someone22.28: Romans 8:32 describes God, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all.”

Word family 3 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

φείδομαιpheídomai · G5339φειδομένως pheidoménōs · G5340 · sparingly, in a limited manner · 2×ἀφειδία apheidía · G857 · severe self-control, harsh control over · 1×

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon future φείσομαι; 1 aorist ἐφεισάμην; deponent middle; from Homer down; the Sept. for…

future φείσομαι; 1 aorist ἐφεισάμην; deponent middle; from Homer down; the Sept. for חָמַל, חוּס, חָשַׂך (to keep back); to spare: absolutely 2 Cor 13:2; τίνος, to spare one (Winers Grammar, § 30, 10 d.; Buttmann, § 132, 15), Acts 20:29; Rom 8:32; Rom 11:21; 1 Cor 7:28; 2 Cor 1:23; 2 Pet 2:4f; to abstain (A. V. forbear), an infinitive denoting the act abstained from being supplied from the context: καυχᾶσθαι, 2 Cor 12:6 (μή φειδου — namely, διδάσκειν — εἰ ἔχεις διδάσκειν, Xenophon, Cyril 1, 6, 35; with the infinitive added, λέγειν κακά, Euripides, Or. 393; δρασαι τί τῶν τυραννικων, Plato, de rep. 9, p. 574 b.).

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain

Topical studies with this word 2 entries

Happen1 occurrence Cause Trouble, Hardship9 occurrences

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