βούλομαι
To plan
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What does βούλομαι (boúlomai) mean in the Bible?
βούλομαι (boúlomai) is a Greek word meaning "to plan". βούλομαι, [in LXX for חפץ, אבה, יעץ, etc.
Full entry for βούλομαι (G1014) · Browse the biblical lexicon
Meaning
Deliberate choice of will between alternatives, stronger volition than θέλω
to will, wish, desire, purpose, be minded, implying more strongly than θέλω (which see), the deliberate exercise of volition (see Hort on Jas.1:18): with inf. (M, Pr., 205; Bl., §69, 4), Mrk.15:15, Act.5:28, 33 12:4 15:37 17:20 18:15, 27 19:30 22:30 23:28 27:43 28:18, 2Co.1:15, 1Ti.6:9, Heb.6:17, II Jhn.12, 3Jo.10, Ju 5; with accusative, 2Co.1:17; with accusative and inf., Php.1:12, 1Ti.2:8 5:14, Tit.3:8, 2Pe.3:9; of the will making choice between alternatives, Mat.1:19 11:27, Luk.10:22, Act.25:20, 1Co.12:11, Jas.3:4 4:4; εἰ βούλει (cl., a courteous phrase = θέλεις, colloq.; Bl., §21, 8; LS, see word), Luk.22:42; with subjc., adding force to a question of deliberation (Bl., §64, 6), Jhn.18:39; βουληθείς, of set purpose (see Hort, in l.), Jas.1:18; impf., ἐβουλόμην (= cl. βουλοίμην ἄν; Bl., §63, 5; Lft., Phm. 13), Act.25:22, Phm 13 (see also Cremer, 143).
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 13×
Indicative states a fact or reality 20×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 3×
Optative wish or remote possibility 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 37 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
Appears In
Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.
Word Pictures (Robertson)
A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain