Word

χείρ

cheír · G5495 · Greek · 177 occurrences

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Meanings

hand, finger

A hand or any relevant portion of the hand, including, for example, the fingers

Examples
Matthew 3:12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Matthew 4:6 and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘HE WILL GIVE HIS ANGELS ORDERS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON THEIR HANDS THEY WILL LIFT YOU UP, SO THAT YOU DO NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’”
Matthew 5:30 “And if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
person, agent

(A figurative extension of meaning of χείρ ‘hand,’) A human as an agent in some activity

Examples
Acts 2:23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
Acts 7:25 “And he thought that his brothers understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand.
Acts 7:50 ‘WAS IT NOT MY HAND THAT MADE ALL THESE THINGS?’
power

(A figurative extension of meaning of χείρ ‘hand,’) Power as an expression of the activity of a person or supernatural being

Examples
Luke 1:66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
Luke 1:71 Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us;
Luke 1:74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Would serve Him without fear,
to be in the control of, to be in the power of

(A figurative extension of meaning of χείρ ‘hand,’) A state of control exercised by a person

Examples
Luke 23:46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I ENTRUST MY SPIRIT.” And having said this, He died.
John 10:28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
John 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
to deliver to the control of, to hand over to

(An idiom, literally: to give into the hands) To hand someone over into the control of others

Examples
Matthew 17:22 And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men;
Matthew 26:45 Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Mark 9:31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.”
by, with the help of

(An idiom, literally: with the hand of) A marker of an associated agent

Examples
Acts 7:35 “This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND A JUDGE?’ is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.
person, people

(An idiom, literally: human hand) A human being as a means of accomplishing something

Examples
Acts 17:25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
to seize, to arrest

(An idiom, literally: to lay hands on) To take a person into custody for alleged illegal activity

Examples
Matthew 26:50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him.
Luke 22:53 “While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”
Mark 14:46 And they laid hands on Him and arrested Him.
to start to do something and then to hesitate, to begin but have second thoughts about continuing

(A Semitic idiom, literally: one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back) To begin some activity requiring close attention but then to change one’s mind about proceeding

Examples
Luke 9:62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

How it’s used In 10 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

98 occurrences in 26 groups

αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 42
σύyou 13
ἐγώI, we 8
ἄγγελοςangel, messenger 4
ΠαῦλοςPaul 4
ἄνθρωποςman, person, people 4
Other words · 19 groups that occur once or twice (21) 21

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

22 occurrences in 10 groups

δεξιόςright 6
ἐμόςmy 5
Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11

Named alongside itApposition

1 occurrences in 1 groups

εἰμίto be 1

What it doesIt is the subject

9 occurrences in 6 groups

σκανδαλίζωto cause to stumble, to offend 3
ἀποκαθίστημιto restore 2
ποιέωto do, to make 1
προορίζωto decide beforehand 1
ὑπηρετέωto serve 1
ψηλαφάωto touch 1

What is done to itIt is the object

81 occurrences in 29 groups

ἐπιτίθημιto lay on, to put on 20
ἐκτείνωto stretch out, to reach out 13
ἐπιβάλλωto lay on, to put on 11
ἔχωto have 6
κρατέωto take hold of, to seize, to hold 5
ἐπιλαμβάνομαιto take hold of 3
Other words · 23 groups that occur once or twice (29) 29

It is given or told toIndirect object

1 occurrences in 1 groups

ἔπωto say 1

What it is said to bePredicate

5 occurrences in 4 groups

αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 2
ξηρόςwithered, dry 1
σύyou 1
τράπεζαtable 1

What is said to be itIt is the predicate

3 occurrences in 2 groups

πτύονa winnowing shovel 2
φοῖνιξpalm tree 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

53 occurrences in 7 groups

εἰςto 24
ἐκfrom 21
ἐνin 20
διάthrough 19
ἐπίon 9
ὑπόby, under 4

In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive

7 occurrences in 2 groups

ἐπίθεσιςputting on 4
ἔργονwork, deed 3

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

יָד yâd · H3027 · hand, wrist, forearm: Hebrew יָד and Greek χείρ are direct cross-linguistic equivalents denoting 'hand' in both literal anatomical sense and extended figurative senses (power, means, instrument), with the Greek term naturally rendering the Hebrew in LXX translation contexts.
יַד yad · H3028 · hand, power: Hebrew יַד (yad, H3028) and Greek χείρ (cheír, G5495) both denote 'hand' in literal anatomical sense and extend to figurative senses of power, agency, and instrumentality, constituting direct translation equivalents across the Hebrew Bible and its Greek Septuagint rendering.
כַּף kaph · H3709 · palm, hand, hand > action: Greek χείρ and Hebrew כַּף both denote the hand as a body part and, by extension, power or agency. כַּף carries additional anatomical senses (such as palm, sole, or hollow) beyond χείρ's core hand/power range, but the two overlap substantially in both their literal and figurative hand/power senses, with χείρ serving as a genuine translation equivalent for כַּף in these contexts.

Semantic domains 9 entries

To seize, to arrest37.110: Matthew 26:50 recounts that when Judas approached, “they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him”.
To deliver to the control of, to hand over to37.12: Matthew 17:22 has Jesus say, “The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men.”
To be in the control of, to be in the power of37.14: John 10:29 has Jesus say, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.”
To start to do something and then to hesitate, to begin but have second thoughts about continuing68.6: Luke 9:62 has Jesus say, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Power76.3: Acts 13:11 has Paul tell Elymas, “Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.”
Hand, finger8.30: Matthew 8:3 recounts that Jesus “reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed.”
Person, agent9.17: Acts 2:23 says this Man was “delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death”.
Person, people9.5: Acts 11:21 says, “the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.”
By, with the help of90.2: Galatians 3:19 says the Law “was added on account of the violations, having been ordered through angels at the hand of a mediator”.

Word family 12 words

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

χείρcheír · G5495χειροποίητος cheiropoíētos · G5499 · man-made, made by human hands · 6×ἀχειροποίητος acheiropoíētos · G886 · not made by human hands, not man-made · 3×ἐπιχειρέω epicheiréō · G2021 · to try, to undertake · 3×προχειρίζομαι procheirízomai · G4400 · to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance · 3×διαχειρίζομαι diacheirízomai · G1315 · to seize and kill, to arrest and cause the death of · 2×χειραγωγέω cheiragōgéō · G5496 · to lead someone by the hand, to take by the hand · 2×χειροτονέω cheirotonéō · G5500 · to choose, to elect, to select · 2×αὐτόχειρ autócheir · G849 · one’s own hands · 1×προχειροτονέω procheirotonéō · G4401 · to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance · 1×χειραγωγός cheiragōgós · G5497 · a guide, one who leads by the hand · 1×χειρόγραφον cheirógraphon · G5498 · account, record of debts · 1×

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon genitive χειρός, accusative χειραν (1 Pet 5:6 Tdf.; see ἄρσην, at the end), ἡ (from the…

genitive χειρός, accusative χειραν (1 Pet 5:6 Tdf.; see ἄρσην, at the end), ἡ (from the root meaning 'to lay hold of'; cf. Latinheres, etc.; Curtius, § 189; Vanicek, p. 249f), from Homer down, Hebrew יַד, the hand: Mt 3:12; Mk 3:1; Lk 6:6; 1 Tim 2:8; Heb 12:12, and often; the genitive with the verbs ά῾πτομαι, ἐπιλαμβάνομαι, κρατέω, πιάζω, etc., which see in their places; the dative with ἐργάζομαι, ἐσθίω, etc.; ὁ ἀσπασμός τῇ ἐμή χειρί, 1 Cor 16:21; Col 4:18; 2 Thess 3:17; the accusative with the verbs αἴρω, δέω, ἐκπετάννυμι, ἐκτείνω, ἐμβάπτω, ἐπιτίθημι, καθαρίζω, κατασείω, νίπτω, etc. ἡ ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν (see ἐπίθεσις and references), 1 Tim 4:14; 2 Tim 1:6; Heb 6:2; ἐν χειρί τίνος, in imitation of the Hebrew פ בְּיַד (cf. Buttmann, § 133, 20 cf. 319f (274); Lightfoot on Galatians, 3:19), by the help or agency, of anyone, by means of anyone, Acts 7:35 Rec.; Gal 3:19; (σύν χειρί ἀγγέλου, with the aid or service of the angel (cf. Buttmann, as above), Acts 7:35 L T Tr WH; those things in the performance of which the hands take the principal part (as e. g. in working miracles), are said to be done διά χειρός or χειρῶν or τῶν (cf. Buttmann, § 124, 8 d.) χειρῶν τίνος, Mk 6:2; Acts 5:12; Acts 14:3; Acts 19:11; universally, Acts 2:23; Acts 7:25; Acts 11:30; Acts 15:23; ἐπί χειρῶν, Mt 4:6; Lk 4:11; ἐπί τήν χεῖρα, Rev 14:9; Rev 20:1 (here Treg. marginal reading ἐν τῇ χειρί), Rev 20:4; ἐκ, Acts 28:4; Rev 8:4; εἰς τήν χεῖρα (on his hand), Lk 15:22; ἡ χείρ, as an acting subject (see γλῶσσα, 1), Lk 22:21; plural, Acts 17:25; Acts 20:34; 1 Jn 1:1; τά ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν, Acts 7:41; Rev 9:20; ἐκδίκειν τό αἷμα τίνος ἐκ τίνος (see ἐκδικέω, b. and ἐκ I. 7), Rev 19:2. By metonymy, ἡ χείρ is put for power, activity (for examples from secular authors from Homer down see Passow, under the word, p. 2431b; (Liddell and Scott, under the word, p. 1720a)): παραδιδόναι τινα εἰς χεῖρας τινων, into the hostile hands (Deut 1:27; Job 16:11), Mt 17:22; Mt 26:45; Mk 9:31; Lk 9:44; Lk 24:7; Acts 21:11; Acts 28:17; διδόναι τί ἐν τῇ χειρί τίνος, to commit to one's protecting and upholding power, Jn 3:35; also εἰς τήν χεῖρα τίνος, Jn 13:3; τινα ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν or ἐκ χειρός τίνος (from the hostile power of anyone) ἀπάγειν, Acts 24:7 Rec.; ἐξελέσθαι, Acts 12:11 (Gen 32:11; Ex 18:8f); ἐξέρχεσθαι, Jn 10:39; ῥυσθῆναι, Lk 1:74; σωτηρία, Lk 1:71; ἐκφεύγειν τάς χεῖρας τίνος, 2 Cor 11:33. By a figure use of language χείρ or χεῖρες, are attributed to God, symbolizing his might, activity, power; conspicuous α. in creating the universe: ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ, Heb 1:10 (Psalm 101:26. β. in upholding and preserving: Lk 23:46; Jn 10:29 (cf. ); χείρ κυρίου ἐστι μετά τίνος, God is present, protecting and aiding one, Lk 1:66; Acts 11:21. γ. in punishing: χείρ κυρίου ἐπί σε, Acts 13:11 (1 Sam 12:15); ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς χεῖρας Θεοῦ ζῶντος, Heb 10:31. δ. in determining and controlling the destinies of men: Acts 4:28; ταπεινοῦσθαι ὑπό τήν κραταιάν χεῖρα τοῦ Θεοῦ, 1 Pet 5:6.

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

Topical studies with this word 7 entries

Parts of the Body129 occurrences Human Beings11 occurrences Control, Restrain15 occurrences Seize, Take into Custody22 occurrences Begin, Start1 occurrence Power, Force11 occurrences Agent, Personal or Nonpersonal, Causative or Immediate, Direct or Indirect1 occurrence

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