δεῖ
Be necessary
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What does δεῖ (deî) mean in the Bible?
δεῖ (deî) is a Greek word meaning "be necessary". δεῖ impersonal (δέω), [in LXX chiefly for infin. Expresses divine necessity. This term runs through the canonical themes of Messiah.
Meaning
Logical necessity or divine imperative, distinct from moral obligation expressed by ὀφείλει
one must, it is necessary: with inf., Mat.26:54, Mrk.13:7, Act.5:29, al.; with accusative and inf., Mat.16:21, Mrk.8:31, Jhn.3:7, Act.25:10, al.; with ellipse of accusative, Mat.23:23; of accusative, and inf., Mrk.13:14, Rom.1:27 8:26; οὐ (μὴ) δεῖ (non licet), ought not, must not: Act.25:24, 2Ti.2:24; impf., ἔδει, of necessity or obligation in past time regarding a past event (Bl., § 63, 4), Mat.18:33, Luk.15:32, Jhn.4:4, Act.27:21, al.; periphr., δέον ἐστίν (as in Attic, χρεών ἐστι = χρή, see: δέον), Act.19:36; id., with ellipse of ἐστίν, 1Pe.1:6 τὰ μὴ δέοντα (= ἃ οὐ δεῖ 1Ti.5:13.
Why This Word Matters
Expresses divine necessity. Acts 17:1-9
Reveals divine necessity in Christ’s mission. Acts 23:11-22
Indicates divine decree behind Christ’s suffering. John 3:22–36
Expresses divine necessity in the Messiah’s suffering. Luke 19:1–10
Reveals divine mission imperative. Luke 22:35–38
Expresses divine necessity rooted in God’s redemptive plan. Luke 24:13–35
Expresses divine necessity of Christ’s exaltation.
Affirms that Christ’s suffering and resurrection were part of God’s redemptive plan.
Indicates divine necessity in Paul’s journey to Rome.
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 16 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)
Canonical Themes
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
New Testament Witnesses
Additional Occurrences
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