What does δέρω (dérō) mean in the Bible?
G1194 means to strike, beat, or hit. " after being hit during His hearing.
Greek · G1194
δέρω
To beat up
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
δέρω G1194
Pronunciation dérō
What does δέρω (dérō) mean in the Bible?
G1194 means to strike, beat, or hit. " after being hit during His hearing.
Reader summary
Full entry for δέρω (G1194) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1194?
The BSB source-word alignment has 15 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include They beat (3), will be beaten with (2), [and] beat [Him] (1), and had them flogged (1), beat (1).
Where does δέρω (dérō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 21:35. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (5), Acts (3), Mark (3), 1 Corinthians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G1194 means to strike, beat, or hit. In John 18 it appears when Jesus asks, "Why did you strike Me?" after being hit during His hearing. The word marks unjust violence against Jesus in a scene where He answers with calm truth and calls for proper testimony. It helps teachers see that Jesus is not passive in the sense of being morally silent; He exposes the injustice without returning violence.
The word should not be used to glorify abuse or tell victims to accept harm without help. John shows the righteous one struck unjustly, answering truthfully, and moving toward the cross under human injustice and divine purpose.
How the Bible Uses It
G1194 appears in John 18 when Jesus responds to being struck during His hearing. It supports a sober reading of unjust violence and truthful witness.
- John.18.23
Jesus replied, “If I said something wrong, testify as to what was wrong. But if I spoke correctly, why did you strike Me?”
Jesus asks why He was struck and calls for testimony if He spoke wrongly. The word marks unjust violence met by truthful witness.
Passage context
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 They beat 3× Matthew 21:35, Mark 12:5, Acts 16:37
will be beaten with 2× Luke 12:47, Luke 12:48
[and] beat [Him] 1× Luke 22:63
and had them flogged 1× Acts 5:40
beat 1× Acts 22:19
beat [him] 1× Mark 12:3
beat [the servant] 1× Luke 20:10
beaten 1× Mark 13:9
did you strike 1× John 18:23
I am beating 1× 1 Corinthians 9:26
strikes 1× 2 Corinthians 11:20
they beat [him] 1× Luke 20:11
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 21:35 ἔδειραν to They beat Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Mark 12:3 ἔδειραν to beat [him] Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Mark 12:5 δέροντες to they beat Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Mark 13:9 δαρήσεσθε to beaten Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 2nd Person Plural Luke 12:47 δαρήσεται to will be beaten with Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular Luke 12:48 δαρήσεται to will be beaten with Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular Luke 20:10 δείραντες to beat [the servant] Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Luke 20:11 δείραντες to they beat [him] Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Luke 22:63 δέροντες to [and] beat [Him] Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural John 18:23 δέρεις to did you strike Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 21:35
Aligned rows 15
Books represented 7
Matthew 1 Mark 3 Luke 5 John 1 Acts 3 1 Corinthians 1 2 Corinthians 1
Source forms
δείραντες 3x deirantes Luke 20:10, Luke 20:11, Acts 5:40
δαρήσεται 2x darēsetai Luke 12:47, Luke 12:48
δέροντες 2x derontes Mark 12:5, Luke 22:63
δέρων 2x derōn Acts 22:19, 1 Corinthians 9:26
ἔδειραν 2x edeiran Matthew 21:35, Mark 12:3
δαρήσεσθε 1x darēsesthe Mark 13:9
Δείραντες 1x Deirantes Acts 16:37
δέρει 1x derei 2 Corinthians 11:20
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 4x Luke 20:10, Luke 20:11, Acts 5:40, Acts 16:37
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 2x Matthew 21:35, Mark 12:3
Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 2x Luke 12:47, Luke 12:48
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 2x Mark 12:5, Luke 22:63
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Acts 22:19, 1 Corinthians 9:26
Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 2nd Person Plural 1x Mark 13:9
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x John 18:23
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x 2 Corinthians 11:20
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use the word to name unjust violence honestly.
- Do not apply Jesus' suffering in a way that traps harmed people in danger.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not use G1194 to glorify abuse or silence victims.
- Do not present Jesus' truthful challenge as a failure of meekness.
Pastoral applicationPassage context
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Violent beating or flogging; literally to flay skin, metaphorically severe physical punishment in persecution contexts.
Strong's G1194
Lexical occurrences 15 verses Greek text appearances 15 times Word forms 2 forms 15 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 12:47-48 Source Gloss
to beat up
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Violent beating or flogging; literally to flay skin, metaphorically severe physical punishment in persecution contexts.
1to skin, flay.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
15 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 21:35 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἔδειραν, edeiran
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Mark 12:3 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἔδειραν, edeiran
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Mark 12:5 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
δέροντες, derontev
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Mark 13:9 Verb Second Person Plural Second Future Passive Indicative
δαρήσεσθε, darhsesqe
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Luke 12:47 Verb Third Person Singular Second Future Passive Indicative
δαρήσεται darhsetai
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Luke 12:48 Verb Third Person Singular Second Future Passive Indicative
δαρήσεται darhsetai
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Luke 20:10 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
δείραντες deirantev
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Luke 20:11 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
δείραντες deirantev
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Luke 22:63 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
δέροντες. derontev
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse John 18:23 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Indicative
δέρεις; dereiv
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Acts 5:40 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
δείραντες deirantev
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Acts 16:37 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
Δείραντες deirantev
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse Acts 22:19 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
δέρων derwn
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse 1 Corinthians 9:26 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
δέρων· derwn
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
Read verse 2 Corinthians 11:20 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
δέρει. derei
I flay, flog, scourge, beat
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 2 Aligned forms 15 Tenses Aorist, Present, Future Voices Active, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 8×
Aorist Active Luke 20:10 · Luke 20:11 · Acts 5:40 · Acts 16:37 4×
Present Active Mark 12:5 · Luke 22:63 · Acts 22:19 · 1 Cor 9:26 4×
Indicative states a fact or reality 7×
Future Passive Luke 12:47 · Luke 12:48 · Mark 13:9 3×
Aorist Active Matt 21:35 · Mark 12:3 2×
Present Active John 18:23 · 2 Cor 11:20 2×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 13 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 5 aorist 5 future 3
Voice
active 10 passive 3
Mood
indicative 7 participle 6
NT Occurrences
Matthew 21:35 ἔδειραν aorist active indicative completed Mark 12:3 ἔδειραν aorist active indicative completed Mark 12:5 δέροντες present active participle participle Mark 13:9 δαρήσεσθε future passive indicative prospective Luke 12:47 δαρήσεται future passive indicative prospective Luke 12:48 δαρήσεται future passive indicative prospective Luke 20:10 δείραντες aorist active participle participle Luke 22:63 δέροντες present active participle participle John 18:23 δέρεις present active indicative ongoing Acts 5:40 δείραντες aorist active participle participle Acts 16:37 Δείραντες aorist active participle participle 1 Corinthians 9:26 δέρων present active participle participle 2 Corinthians 11:20 δέρει present active indicative ongoing
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 Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
servant receiving punishment, with varying degrees of severity
Showing 1 selected witness from 15 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
δέρω is a primary verb - no further derivation.
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
John 18 uses G1194 in a scene of unjust violence. Jesus has spoken openly, and when He is struck, He asks for testimony if He spoke wrongly and asks why He was struck if He spoke rightly. The word helps teachers hold together suffering and truth. Jesus does not retaliate, but He also does not pretend the blow is righteous. This matters pastorally. The passage should never be used to glorify abuse, silence victims, or make harm appear holy.
It shows Jesus bearing injustice while speaking truth and moving toward the cross in obedience.
Anchor passage
John.18.23
Doctrinal connections
- John.18.23 - Jesus asks why He was struck and calls for testimony if He spoke wrongly. The word marks unjust violence met by truthful witness.
To strike, beat, or hit is a reviewed display gloss for G1194. In this John-focused companion, the local discourse foregrounding data shows 1 John use(s), with tense patterns summarized as Present 1. Use these grammar signals as support for reading the passage, not as a replacement for context.
From Old to New Testament
The broader Scripture connection should remain modest: unjust violence and truthful witness is visible in the cited passage, while the full theological claim must come from the passage's context rather than from the word alone.
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