What does γαμέω (gaméō) mean in the Bible?
Gameō means to marry or enter a marriage. Jesus uses it in teaching about divorce and remarriage, where covenant faithfulness and sexual integrity are at stake.
Greek · G1060
γαμέω
To wed (of either sex)
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γαμέω G1060
Pronunciation gaméō
What does γαμέω (gaméō) mean in the Bible?
Gameō means to marry or enter a marriage. Jesus uses it in teaching about divorce and remarriage, where covenant faithfulness and sexual integrity are at stake.
Reader summary
Full entry for γαμέω (G1060) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1060?
The BSB source-word alignment has 28 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include marries (6), to marry (5), married (2), marry (2), marrying (2).
Where does γαμέω (gaméō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:32. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (9), Luke (6), Matthew (6), Mark (4).
What This Word Actually Means
Gameō means to marry or enter a marriage. Jesus uses it in teaching about divorce and remarriage, where covenant faithfulness and sexual integrity are at stake. Mark says Herod married Herodias, his brother's wife, within a narrative condemning that union. Jesus describes people marrying before the flood to emphasize ordinary life continuing until sudden judgment.
Paul says a married man is concerned with pleasing his wife, acknowledging real marital responsibility within counsel about undistracted devotion. First Timothy encourages younger widows to marry, bear children, and manage households in a particular pastoral setting. The verb names marriage but does not by itself define every duty, validate every union, or make marriage the required calling for all believers.
How the Bible Uses It
Gameō refers to entering or living within marriage across teachings on covenant fidelity, an unlawful royal union, ordinary life before judgment, divided responsibilities, and pastoral counsel to younger widows. Each context supplies the moral evaluation.
- Matt.5.32
But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 5:32 says marrying a woman wrongfully divorced implicates the new union in adultery. Jesus protects covenant faithfulness and the vulnerable rather than giving casual permission for abandonment.
- Mark.6.17
For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.
Mark 6:17 says Herod had married Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. John's rebuke identifies the union as unlawful, and the marriage becomes part of a story about power silencing truth.
- Luke.17.27
People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:27 says people were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage until the flood came. Marriage is ordinary life here; the fault is heedlessness before sudden judgment.
- 1Cor.7.33
But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife,
First Corinthians 7:33 says a married man is concerned about worldly matters and how to please his wife. Paul recognizes legitimate marital care while explaining the practical advantages of undivided singleness.
- 1Tim.5.14
So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.
First Timothy 5:14 counsels younger widows to marry, bear children, and manage households so opponents have no occasion for slander. The counsel addresses a concrete pastoral problem, not every woman's universal vocation.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It marries 6× Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:11, Luke 16:18
to marry 5× Matthew 19:10, 1 Corinthians 7:9, 1 Corinthians 7:39, 1 Timothy 5:11
married 2× Matthew 22:25, 1 Corinthians 7:10
marry 2× Luke 20:34, Luke 20:35
marrying 2× Matthew 24:38, Luke 17:27
[and] marries 1× Mark 10:12
[Herod] had married 1× Mark 6:17
[people] will neither marry 1× Matthew 22:30
I have married 1× Luke 14:20
let them marry 1× 1 Corinthians 7:9
marriage 1× 1 Timothy 4:3
married man 1× 1 Corinthians 7:33
married woman 1× 1 Corinthians 7:34
they should get married 1× 1 Corinthians 7:36
they will neither marry 1× Mark 12:25
you do marry 1× 1 Corinthians 7:28
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:32 γαμήσῃ to marries Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 19:9 γαμήσῃ to marries Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 19:10 γαμῆσαι to to marry Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Matthew 22:25 γήμας to married Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 22:30 γαμοῦσιν to [people] will neither marry Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 24:38 γαμοῦντες to marrying Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Mark 6:17 ἐγάμησεν to [Herod] had married Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 10:11 γαμήσῃ to marries Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 10:12 γαμήσῃ to [and] marries Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 12:25 γαμοῦσιν to they will neither marry Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:32
Aligned rows 28
Books represented 5
Matthew 6 Mark 4 Luke 6 1 Corinthians 9 1 Timothy 3
Source forms
γαμήσῃ 4x gamēsē Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:11, Mark 10:12
γαμοῦσιν 4x gamousin Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25, Luke 20:34, Luke 20:35
γαμεῖν 3x gamein 1 Timothy 4:3, 1 Timothy 5:11, 1 Timothy 5:14
γαμῶν 2x gamōn Luke 16:18
γαμείτωσαν 1x gameitōsan 1 Corinthians 7:36
γαμηθῆναι 1x gamēthēnai 1 Corinthians 7:39
γαμῆσαι 1x gamēsai Matthew 19:10
γαμῆσαι* 1x gamēsai 1 Corinthians 7:9
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular 5x Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:11, Mark 10:12
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 4x Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25, Luke 20:34, Luke 20:35
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 3x 1 Timothy 4:3, 1 Timothy 5:11, 1 Timothy 5:14
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 2x Matthew 19:10, 1 Corinthians 7:9
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Matthew 22:25, 1 Corinthians 7:33
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Luke 16:18
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x 1 Corinthians 7:9
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 1x Luke 14:20
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not apply divorce and remarriage texts mechanically without hearing the full history, safety concerns, and relevant canonical teaching.
- Do not present marriage as the only mature Christian vocation or pressure people into it.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not apply divorce and remarriage texts mechanically without hearing the full history, safety concerns, and relevant canonical teaching.
- Do not present marriage as the only mature Christian vocation or pressure people into it.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To marry as a man takes a wife; for women, to give oneself in marriage or marry.
Strong's G1060
Lexical occurrences 29 verses Greek text appearances 29 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 29 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 1 Corinthians 7:39-40 Source Gloss
to wed (of either sex)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 29 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 5:32 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
γαμήσῃ gamhsh
I marry
Read verse Matthew 19:9 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
γαμήσῃ gamhsh
I marry
Read verse Matthew 19:9 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
γαμήσας gamhsav
I marry
Read verse Matthew 19:10 Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
γαμῆσαι. gamhsai
I marry
Read verse Matthew 22:25 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
γαμήσας gamhsav
I marry
Read verse Matthew 22:30 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
γαμοῦσιν, gamousin
I marry
Read verse Matthew 24:38 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
γαμοῦντες gamountev
I marry
Read verse Mark 6:17 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐγάμησεν. egamhsen
I marry
Read verse Mark 10:11 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
γαμήσῃ gamhsh
I marry
Read verse Mark 10:12 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Subjunctive
γαμηθῇ gamhqh
I marry
Read verse Mark 12:25 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
γαμοῦσιν, gamousin
I marry
Read verse Luke 14:20 Verb First Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἔγημα, eghma
I marry
Read verse Luke 16:18 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
γαμῶν gamwn
I marry
Read verse Luke 16:18 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
γαμῶν gamwn
I marry
Read verse Luke 17:27 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐγάμουν, egamoun
I marry
Read verse Luke 20:34 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
γαμοῦσι gamousin
I marry
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 5 Aligned forms 29 Tenses Aorist, Present, Imperfect, Perfect Voices Active, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 6×
Aorist Active Matt 5:32 · Matt 19:9 · Mark 10:11 · Mark 10:12 · 1 Cor 7:28 6×
Indicative states a fact or reality 7×
Present Active Matt 22:30 · Mark 12:25 · Luke 20:34 · Luke 20:35 4×
Aorist Active Mark 6:17 · Luke 14:20 2×
Imperfect Active Luke 17:27 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 8×
Aorist Active Matt 19:9 · Matt 22:25 · 1 Cor 7:33 · 1 Cor 7:34 4×
Present Active Luke 16:18 · Matt 24:38 3×
Perfect Active 1 Cor 7:10 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 6×
Present Active 1 Tim 4:3 · 1 Tim 5:11 · 1 Tim 5:14 3×
Aorist Active Matt 19:10 · 1 Cor 7:9 2×
Aorist Passive 1 Cor 7:39 1×
Imperative command or strong request 2×
Aorist Active 1 Cor 7:9 1×
Present Active 1 Cor 7:36 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 25 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 16 present 7 perfect 1 imperfect 1
Voice
active 24 passive 1
Mood
participle 7 infinitive 6 subjunctive 6 indicative 4 imperative 2
NT Occurrences
Matthew 5:32 γαμήσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 19:10 γαμῆσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Matthew 19:9 γαμήσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 19:9 γαμήσας aorist active participle participle Matthew 22:25 γήμας aorist active participle participle Mark 6:17 ἐγάμησεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 10:11 γαμήσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 10:12 γαμήσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 12:25 γαμοῦσιν present active indicative ongoing Luke 14:20 ἔγημα aorist active indicative completed Luke 16:18 γαμῶν present active participle participle Luke 16:18 γαμῶν present active participle participle Luke 17:27 ἐγάμουν imperfect active indicative background 1 Corinthians 7:10 γεγαμηκόσιν perfect active participle participle 1 Corinthians 7:28 γαμήσῃς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive 1 Corinthians 7:28 γήμῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive 1 Corinthians 7:33 γαμήσας aorist active participle participle 1 Corinthians 7:34 γαμήσασα aorist active participle participle 1 Corinthians 7:36 γαμείτωσαν present active imperative imperative 1 Corinthians 7:39 γαμηθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive 1 Corinthians 7:9 γαμησάτωσαν aorist active imperative imperative 1 Corinthians 7:9 γαμῆσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive 1 Timothy 4:3 γαμεῖν present active infinitive infinitive 1 Timothy 5:11 γαμεῖν present active infinitive infinitive 1 Timothy 5:14 γαμεῖν present active infinitive infinitive
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)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Woman's option to marry again after husband's death, or remain unmarried
Man divorcing wife and marrying another constitutes adultery against her
Ordinary life activities including marriage continuing before Christ's coming
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 29 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
γαμέω is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Gameō identifies marriage, but the passages resist making the institution a sentimental abstraction. Jesus confronts divorce practices that expose spouses to betrayal and insists that new unions cannot erase covenant accountability. Herod's marriage shows that legal or royal recognition does not make an unlawful relationship righteous. The flood saying treats marriage as good ordinary life that can still become absorbed in heedlessness.
Paul honors a spouse's responsibility to please and care for the other while also commending singleness for undistracted service. Timothy gives situational counsel to younger widows facing concrete pressures. Churches should therefore uphold marriage faithfully without idolizing it, honor singleness, protect vulnerable spouses, and apply difficult texts with full-context pastoral wisdom rather than slogans.
Anchor passage
1Cor.7.33
Doctrinal connections
- Creation and covenant: marriage belongs to God's design and carries faithful, embodied responsibility.
- Sexual ethics: remarriage cannot be separated from the justice and covenant status of a prior divorce.
- Prophetic witness: John confronts a powerful ruler's unlawful marriage at great personal cost.
- Eschatology: ordinary family life must not dull readiness for God's coming judgment.
- Vocation: marriage and singleness are distinct gifts and callings for serving the Lord.
- Household discipleship: marital and household responsibilities require concrete care, wisdom, and integrity.
Gameō is the ordinary verb for marrying or taking a spouse and may describe entering a union or being married. Related passive and causative forms can refer to being given in marriage; context and voice matter.
From Old to New Testament
Genesis grounds marriage in creation and one-flesh covenant, while the Law and prophets protect marital fidelity and condemn exploitation. Jesus restores marriage teaching to God's purpose while the apostles honor both marriage and celibate service.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain