ἀγάπηagápē
love, goodwill, esteem.
Greek (New Testament) · G26
Meanings
Outside of biblical and ecclesiastical books, there is no clear instance. In NT, like ἀγαπάω, -ῶ
1. Of men's love
(a) to one another, John 13:35
(b) to God, 1 John 2:5.
2. Of divine love
(a) God's love: to men, Romans 5:8; to Christ, John 17:26
(b) Christ's love to men: Romans 8:35.
3. In plural, love feasts: Jude 1:12.
Synonyms
φιλία. ἀ., signifying properly (see ἀγαπάω) love which chooses its object, is taken over from LXX, where its connotation is more general, into NT, and there used exclusively to express that spiritual bond of love between God and man and between man and man, in Christ, which is characteristic of Christianity. It is thus distinct from φιλία, friendship (James 4:4 only), στοργή, natural affection (in NT only in compounds, see ἄστοργος) and ἔρως, sexual love, which is not used in NT, its place being taken by ἐπιθυμία..
Same root
Where it appears
Appears 114 times in the Bible.
- Matthew 24:12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.
- Luke 11:42 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
- John 5:42 because I know you don’t have God’s love within you.
- John 13:35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
- John 15:9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.
- John 15:10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
See every passage
- Matthew 24:12
- Luke 11:42
- John 5:42, 13:35, 15:9, 15:10, 15:13, 17:26
- Romans 5:5, 5:8, 8:35, 8:39, 12:9, 13:10, 14:15, 15:30
- 1 Corinthians 4:21, 8:1, 13:1, 13:2, 13:3, 13:4, 13:8, 13:13, 14:1, 16:14, 16:24
- 2 Corinthians 2:4, 2:8, 5:14, 6:6, 8:7, 8:8, 8:24, 13:11
- Galatians 5:6, 5:13, 5:22
- Ephesians 1:4, 1:15, 2:4, 3:17, 3:19, 4:2, 4:15, 4:16, 5:2, 6:23
- Philippians 1:9, 2:1, 2:2
- Colossians 1:4, 1:8, 1:13, 2:2, 3:14
- 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 3:6, 3:12, 5:8, 5:13
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 2:10, 3:5
- 1 Timothy 1:5, 1:14, 2:15, 4:12, 6:11
- 2 Timothy 1:7, 1:13, 2:22, 3:10
- Titus 2:2
- Philemon 1:5, 1:7, 1:9
- Hebrews 6:10, 10:24
- 1 Peter 4:8, 5:14
- 2 Peter 1:7
- 1 John 2:5, 2:15, 3:1, 3:16, 3:17, 4:7, 4:8, 4:9, 4:10, 4:12, 4:16, 4:17, 4:18, 5:3
- 2 John 1:3, 1:6
- 3 John 1:6
- Jude 1:2, 1:12, 1:21
- Revelation 2:4, 2:19
Source: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), public domain.