ἆρα
âra · G687 · Greek · 18 occurrences
Meanings
-
indeed, then, ever
A marker of a negative response to questions, usually implying anxiety or impatience
ExamplesGalatians 2:17 “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Far from it!
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.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Indeed, then, ever69.14
- In Luke 18:8, after the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus asks, “however, when the Son of Man comes, will He indeed (âra) find faith on the earth?” posing a searching, emphatic question about the future.
- Perhaps71.19
- In Mark 11:13, seeing a fig tree in leaf, Jesus “went to see if perhaps (âra) He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves,” expressing an uncertain hope of what He might find.
- Possible71.7
- In Acts 8:22, Peter tells Simon the magician to “repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible (âra), the intention of your heart will be forgiven you,” expressing genuine doubt about whether forgiveness could be granted.
- So, then, consequently, as a result89.46
- In Matthew 19:25, after Jesus said it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom, “the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, 'Then (âra) who can be saved?'” drawing out the startling implication of what He had just taught.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon G687 — ἄρα (2) , an interrogative particle (implying anxiety or impatience on the part of…
, an interrogative particle (implying anxiety or impatience on the part of the questioner. Liddell and Scott, under the word) (of the same root as the preceding ἄρα, and only differing from it in that more vocal stress is laid upon the first syllable, which is therefore circumflexed);
1.numigitur, i. e. marking an inferential question to which a negative answer is expected: Lk 18:8; with γέ rendering it more pointed, ἄρα γέ (GT ἄραγε): Acts 8:30; (ἄρα οὖν... διώκομεν Lachmann edition min. also major marginal reading are we then pursuing etc. Rom 14:19).
2. ergone i. e. a question to which an affirmative answer is expected, in an interrogative apodosis (German soistalsowohl?), he is then? Gal 2:17 (where others (e. g. Lachmann) write ἄρα, so that this example is referred to those mentioned under ἄρα, 3, and is rendered Christ is then a minister of sin; but μή γένοιτο, which follows, is everywhere by Paul opposed to a question). Cf. Winers Grammar, 510f (475f) (also Buttmann, 247 (213), 371 (318); Herm. ad Vig., p. 820ff; Klotz ad Devar. ii., p. 180ff; speaking somewhat loosely, it may be said "ἄρα expresses bewilderment as to a possible conclusion... ἄρα hesitates, while ἄρα concludes." Lightfoot on Galatians, the passage cited).
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 1 entry
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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