χαίρω
chaírō · G5463 · Greek · 74 occurrences
Meanings
-
to rejoice, to be glad
To enjoy a state of happiness and well-being
ExamplesMatthew 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 18:13 “And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray.
-
hail, greetings
To employ a formalized expression of greeting, implying a wish for happiness on the part of the person greeted
ExamplesMatthew 26:49 And immediately Judas went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
Matthew 27:29 And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Matthew 28:9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Rejoice!” And they came up and took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him.
How it’s used In 11 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
74 occurrences in 26 groups
- Not stated: you (more than one) 14
- Not stated: I 12
- Not stated (participle) 9
- Not stated: you (one person) 5
- Not stated (infinitive) 5
- Not stated: we 4
- Other words · 18 groups that occur once or twice (20) 20
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
10 occurrences in 10 groups
- εἰμίto be 3
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10
To or for whomIndirect object
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 2
- φυλήtribe, nation, people 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
22 occurrences in 19 groups
- ἐνin+ κύριοςLord 3
- Other words · 18 groups that occur once or twice (22) 22
With adverbsAdverbs
20 occurrences in 13 groups
- λίανvery 3
- μήnot 3
- Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- χαράjoy 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- δεῖmust, to be necessary 1
What is done to itIt is the object
8 occurrences in 5 groups
- ἔπωto say 3
- λέγωto say 3
- γράφωto write 1
- εἰσέρχομαιto enter, to go into, to come into 1
- ἀσπάζομαιto greet, to send greetings 1
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- χαίρωto rejoice 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- χαίρωto rejoice 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- μετάwith, after 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.
Near synonyms 1 word
- ἀγαλλιάω agalliáō · G21 · to be extremely joyful, to be overjoyed, to rejoice greatly
- While both terms express joy or gladness, ἀγαλλιάω denotes intensified, exuberant rejoicing (exultation), whereas χαίρω covers a broader range from calm happiness to formal greeting, making them overlapping but not fully interchangeable in register and intensity.
In the other Testament 4 words
- שָׂמַח sâmach · H8055 · to rejoice, to cause to rejoice
- שָׂמַח (sâmach, H8055) serves as the standard Hebrew semantic equivalent for χαίρω (chaírō, G5463), both denoting joy, gladness, and rejoicing across emotional and volitional registers, with overlapping use in both internal affective states and outward expressions of celebration.
- גִּיל gîyl · H1523 · to rejoice, to be glad
- χαίρω (chaírō, G5463) encompasses both the emotional state of rejoicing and the formulaic greeting usage ('Rejoice!' as salutation), while גִּיל (gîyl, H1523) denotes specifically the emotional expression of gladness and rejoicing without the greeting convention.
- שׂוּשׂ sûws · H7797 · to rejoice, to be glad, to delight
- Greek χαίρω emphasizes a state of cheerfulness or well-being (including formulaic greeting usage), while Hebrew שׂוּשׂ focuses on active rejoicing and exultation; both denote joy/gladness but χαίρω carries broader register including calm happiness whereas שׂוּשׂ is more intensely celebratory.
- שָׂמֵחַ sâmêach · H8056 · joyful, rejoicing
- Hebrew שָׂמֵחַ emphasizes the state of being glad or joyful, while Greek χαίρω encompasses both the inward disposition of cheerfulness and its conventional use as a greeting formula ('rejoice!' as salutation), though both terms share the core semantic field of joy and gladness.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- To rejoice, to be glad25.125
- Matthew 5:12 has Jesus say, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.”
- Hail, greetings33.22
- Matthew 26:49 recounts that Judas went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!”, and kissed Him.
Word family 12 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon imperfect ἔχαιρον; future χαρήσομαι (Lk 1:14; Jn 16:20, Jn 16:22; Phm 1:18, for the…
a. in the properly, and strict sense: (Mk 14:11); Lk 15:5,(32); Lk 19:6, Lk 19:37, Lk 22:5, Lk 23:8; Jn 4:36; Jn 8:56; Jn 20:20; Acts 5:41; Acts 8:39; Acts 11:23; Acts 13:48; Acts 13:2 Cor. (); 2 Cor 7:7; 2 Cor 13:9, 2 Cor 13:11 (some refer this to b. in the sense of farewell); Phm 2:17, Phm 2:28; Col 2:5; 1 Thess 5:16; 1 Pet 4:13; 3 Jn 1:3; opposed to κλαίειν, Rom 12:15; 1 Cor 7:30; opposed to κλαίειν καί θρηνεῖν, Jn 16:20; opposed to λύπην ἔχειν, ibid. ; joined with ἀγαλλίασθαι, Mt 5:12; Rev 19:7; with σκιρταν, Lk 6:23; χαίρειν ἐν κυρίῳ (see ἐν, L 6 b, p. 211b middle (cf. Buttmann, 185 (161))), Phm 3:1; Phm 4:4, Phm 4:10; χαίρειν χαράν μεγάλην (cf. χαρά, a.), to rejoice exceedingly, Mt 2:10; also χαρά χαίρειν (Winers Grammar, § 54, 3; Buttmann, § 133, 22), Jn 3:29: ἡ χαρά ἡ χαίρομεν, 1 Thess 3:9; χαίρειν ἐπί with a dative of the object, Mt 18:13; Lk 1:14; Lk 13:17; Acts 15:31 Rom 16:19 L T Tr WH; 1 Cor 13:6; 1 Cor 16:17; 2 Cor 7:13; Rev 11:10 (Xenophon, mem. 2, 6, 35; Cyril 8, 4, 12; Plato, legg. 5, p. 739 d.; cf. Kühner, § 425 Anm. 6; (Winers Grammar, § 33 a.; Buttmann, § 133, 23); in the Greek writings generally with a simple dative of the object as Prov 17:19); διά τί, Jn 3:29; διά τινα, Jn 11:15; 1 Thess 3:9; ἐν τούτῳ, Phm 1:18; (ἐν ταῖς παθήμασι μου, Col 1:24); with an accusative of the object, τό αὐτό, Phm 2:18 (ταῦτα, Demosthenes, p. 323, 6; cf. Matthiae, § 414, p. 923; Krüger, § 46, 5, 9); τό ἐφ' ὑμῖν (see ὁ, II. 8, p. 436a), Rom 16:19 R G; ἀπό τίνος, equivalent to χαράν ἔχειν, to derive joy from one, 2 Cor 2:3; ἐχάρητε followed by ὅτι, Jn 14:28; 2 Cor 7:9, 2 Cor 7:16; 2 Jn 1:4; ἐν τούτῳ, Lk 10:20; with a dative of the cause: τῇ ἐλπίδι χαίροντες, let the hope of future blessedness give you joy, Rom 12:12 (yet cf. Winer's Grammar, § 31, 1 k., 7d.).
b. in a broader sense, to be well, to thrive; in salutations, the imperative χαῖρε, "Hail!" Latinsalve (so from Homer down): Mt 26:49; Mt 27:29; Mk 15:18; Lk 1:28; Jn 19:3; plural χαίρετε (A. V. all hail), Mt 28:9; at the beginning of letters the infinitive χαίρειν (namely, λέγει or κελευει): Acts 15:23; Acts 23:26; Jas 1:1 (often in the books of Maccabees; cf. Grimm on 1 Macc. 10:18; Otto in the Jahrbb. f. deutsch. Theol. for 1867, p. 678ff; cf. Hilgenfeld, Galaterbrief, p. 99ff; Xenophon, Cyril 4, 5, 27; Aelian v. h. 1, 25); fully, χαίρειν λέγω, to give one greeting, salute, 2 Jn 1:10 (11). (Compare: συνχαίρω.)
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 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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