Greek · G1344, G1438 · unreviewed

δικαιῶσαι ἑαυτὸν

To justify · themself

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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant

δικαιόω G1344 to justify

Pronunciation dikaióō

To declare or pronounce righteous, not merely to make righteous; forensic acquittal rather than moral transformation.

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ἑαυτοῦ G1438 themself

Pronunciation heautoû

Reflexive pronoun emphasizing the subject's action upon itself; also used reciprocally for "one another

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What does δικαιῶσαι ἑαυτὸν (dikaiōsai heauton) mean in the Bible?

δικαιόω · ἑαυτοῦ is a Greek word meaning "to justify himself, declare himself righteous".

Full entry for δικαιῶσαι ἑαυτὸν (G1344, G1438) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

to justify himself, declare himself righteous

Grammatical Forms

How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.

Tenses

Aorist Present Future Perfect

Voices

Passive Active

Indicative states a fact or reality 23×

Aorist Passive Matt 11:19 · Luke 7:35 · Rom 4:2 · 1 Tim 3:16 · Jas 2:21 · Jas 2:25 · 1 Cor 6:11 7×

Present Passive Acts 13:39 · Gal 2:16 · Gal 3:11 · Jas 2:24 · Gal 5:4 5×

Future Passive Rom 3:20 · Gal 2:16 · Matt 12:37 · Rom 2:13 4×

Aorist Active Rom 8:30 · Luke 7:29 3×

Perfect Passive Rom 6:7 · 1 Cor 4:4 2×

Future Active Rom 3:30 1×

Present Active Gal 3:8 1×

Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 9×

Present Active Rom 3:26 · Rom 4:5 · Luke 16:15 · Rom 8:33 4×

Aorist Passive Rom 5:1 · Rom 5:9 · Titus 3:7 3×

Perfect Passive Luke 18:14 1×

Present Passive Rom 3:24 1×

Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 4×

Aorist Passive Acts 13:38 · Gal 2:17 2×

Aorist Active Luke 10:29 1×

Present Passive Rom 3:28 1×

Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 3×

Aorist Passive Gal 2:16 · Gal 3:24 · Rom 3:4 3×

Discourse Aspect

How this verb appears across 39 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).

Aspect

completed 10 ongoing 6 prospective 5 resultant 2 subjunctive 3 infinitive 4 participle 9

Tense

aorist 19 present 12 future 5 perfect 3

Voice

passive 29 active 10

Mood

indicative 23 participle 9 infinitive 4 subjunctive 3

NT Occurrences

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)

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.

1 Corinthians 14 — Pursue Love, Desire Gifts, and Let All Things Be Done for Edification and Order 1 Corinthians 6 — Judge Righteously, Flee Sexual Immorality, and Glorify God in Your Body Acts 13 — The Spirit Sends the Mission and the Word Turns to the Gentiles Ephesians 5 — Walking in Love, Light, Wisdom, and Spirit-Filled Order Galatians 2 — Justified by Faith: Gospel Unity, Apostolic Confrontation, and Life in Christ John 21 — The Risen Lord Restores, Commissions, Shepherds, and Testifies through His Witness Luke 10 — The Kingdom Mission Expanded, Mercy Defined, and the Better Portion Chosen Luke 16 — Faithful Stewardship, the Danger of Wealth, and the Finality of Judgment Luke 18 — Persistent Faith, Humble Mercy, and the King on the Road to Jerusalem Luke 7 — The Compassionate Lord Who Heals, Raises, Confirms, and Forgives Luke 9 — The Christ Revealed, the Cross Announced, and the Jerusalem Road Begun Mark 8 — Seeing Jesus Clearly: Bread, Blindness, Confession, Cross, and Discipleship Matthew 16 — The Confession of the Christ, the Church Christ Builds, and the Cross-Shaped Way of Discipleship Philippians 2 — The Mind of Christ and the Humility of Gospel Witness Romans 11 — The Remnant, the Grafted Gentiles, and the Mercy of God Toward Israel Romans 12 — Living Sacrifices, Renewed Minds, Humble Service, and Love Without Hypocrisy Romans 3 — All Under Sin and the Righteousness of God Revealed Through Faith in Christ Romans 5 — Peace with God, Rejoicing in Grace, and Life Through the One Man Jesus Christ Romans 6 — Dead to Sin and Alive to God in Christ Jesus Romans 8 — No Condemnation, Life in the Spirit, and the Unbreakable Love of God in Christ

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

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

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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