What does δυνατός (dynatós) mean in the Bible?
Dynatos is an adjective meaning able, powerful, strong, or possible. Jesus says what is impossible with people is possible with God.
Greek · G1415
δυνατός
Powerful or capable (literally or figuratively); neuter possible
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δυνατός G1415
Pronunciation dynatós
What does δυνατός (dynatós) mean in the Bible?
Dynatos is an adjective meaning able, powerful, strong, or possible. Jesus says what is impossible with people is possible with God.
Reader summary
Full entry for δυνατός (G1415) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1415?
The BSB source-word alignment has 32 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include possible (8), able (4), powerful (3), strong (3), . . . (1).
Where does δυνατός (dynatós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 19:26. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (6), Mark (5), Romans (5), Luke (4).
What This Word Actually Means
Dynatos is an adjective meaning able, powerful, strong, or possible. Jesus says what is impossible with people is possible with God. Mary praises the Mighty One who has done great things for her. Acts uses the word adverbially for Paul's determination to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost if possible. Paul says the weapons of Christian warfare are powerful through God for demolishing strongholds.
James observes that anyone who does not stumble in speech is a mature person able to bridle the whole body. The adjective may describe God, means empowered by Him, a capable person, or a feasible plan. It does not make every powerful thing divine or every possible plan promised.
How the Bible Uses It
Dynatos qualifies God as mighty, actions as possible, spiritual weapons as effective through God, a person as capable, and a travel plan as feasible. The bearer and source of ability determine the claim.
- Matt.19.26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26 says that with people salvation is impossible, but with God all things in that saving context are possible. The contrast magnifies divine ability rather than human optimism.
- Luke.1.49
For the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is His name.
Luke 1:49 calls God the Mighty One who has done great things for Mary. His power is holy, covenantally merciful, and active in the promised conception of the Messiah.
- Acts.20.16
Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, because he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
Acts 20:16 says Paul hurried, if it were possible for him, to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost. The word marks practical feasibility within a travel plan, not a divine guarantee.
- 2Cor.10.4
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
Second Corinthians 10:4 says apostolic weapons are not fleshly but powerful through God for demolishing strongholds. The following verse defines the conflict in arguments and thoughts raised against knowing God.
- Jas.3.2
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
James 3:2 says the person who does not stumble in speech is mature and able to bridle the whole body. The statement exposes the demanding scope of speech discipline rather than celebrating effortless mastery.
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 possible 8× Matthew 19:26, Matthew 26:39, Mark 13:22, Mark 14:35
able 4× Romans 4:21, Romans 11:23, 2 Timothy 1:12, James 3:2
powerful 3× Luke 24:19, Acts 7:22, 1 Corinthians 1:26
strong 3× Romans 15:1, 2 Corinthians 12:10, 2 Corinthians 13:9
. . . 1× Titus 1:9
[are] possible 1× Mark 10:27
[it were] possible 1× Galatians 4:15
are possible 1× Mark 9:23
can 1× Luke 14:31
could 1× Hebrews 11:19
impossible 1× Acts 2:24
leaders 1× Acts 25:5
Mighty One 1× Luke 1:49
power 1× 2 Corinthians 10:4
power {known} 1× Romans 9:22
that were possible 1× Matthew 24:24
to 1× Acts 11:17
well versed 1× Acts 18:24
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 19:26 δυνατά to possible Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural Matthew 24:24 δυνατὸν to that were possible Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular Matthew 26:39 δυνατόν to possible Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular Mark 9:23 δυνατὰ to are possible Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural Mark 10:27 δυνατὰ to [are] possible Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural Mark 13:22 δυνατὸν to possible Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular Mark 14:35 δυνατόν to possible Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular Mark 14:36 δυνατά to possible Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural Luke 1:49 δυνατός to Mighty One Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 14:31 δυνατός to can Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 19:26
Aligned rows 32
Books represented 12
Matthew 3 Mark 5 Luke 4 Acts 6 Romans 5 1 Corinthians 1 2 Corinthians 3 Galatians 1 2 Timothy 1 Titus 1 Hebrews 1 James 1
Source forms
δυνατὸς 8x dynatos Luke 24:19, Acts 7:22, Acts 11:17, Acts 18:24
δυνατὸν 6x dynaton Matthew 24:24, Mark 13:22, Acts 2:24, Acts 20:16
δυνατός 5x dynatos Luke 1:49, Luke 14:31, Romans 4:21, 2 Corinthians 12:10
δυνατὰ 4x dynata Mark 9:23, Mark 10:27, Luke 18:27, 2 Corinthians 10:4
δυνατόν 3x dynaton Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:35, Romans 12:18
δυνατά 2x dynata Matthew 19:26, Mark 14:36
δυνατοὶ 2x dynatoi Romans 15:1, 2 Corinthians 13:9
δυνατοί 1x dynatoi 1 Corinthians 1:26
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular 13x Luke 1:49, Luke 14:31, Luke 24:19, Acts 7:22
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular 8x Matthew 24:24, Matthew 26:39, Mark 13:22, Mark 14:35
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural 6x Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23, Mark 10:27, Mark 14:36
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural 4x Acts 25:5, Romans 15:1, 1 Corinthians 1:26, 2 Corinthians 13:9
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular 1x Romans 9:22
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not turn "with God all things are possible" into a guarantee for goals outside the passage's saving context.
- Do not use spiritual-warfare language to justify coercion, humiliation, or violence against people.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not turn "with God all things are possible" into a guarantee for goals outside the passage's saving context.
- Do not use spiritual-warfare language to justify coercion, humiliation, or violence against people.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Capable or strong; neuter form denotes what is possible or feasible, emphasizing potential over actuality.
Strong's G1415
Lexical occurrences 32 verses Greek text appearances 35 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 32 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
powerful or capable (literally or figuratively); neuter possible
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 35 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 19:26 Adjective Nominative Plural Neuter
δυνατά dunata
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Matthew 24:24 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
δυνατόν, dunaton
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Matthew 26:39 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
δυνατόν dunaton
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Mark 9:23 Adjective Nominative Plural Neuter
δυνατὰ dunata
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Mark 10:27 Adjective Nominative Plural Neuter
δυνατά dunata
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Mark 13:22 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
δυνατόν, dunaton
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Mark 14:35 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
δυνατόν dunaton
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Mark 14:36 Adjective Nominative Plural Neuter
δυνατά dunata
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Luke 1:49 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
δυνατός, dunatov
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Luke 14:31 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
δυνατός dunatov
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Luke 18:27 Adjective Nominative Plural Neuter
δυνατά dunata
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Luke 24:19 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
δυνατὸς dunatov
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Acts 2:24 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
δυνατὸν dunaton
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Acts 7:22 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
δυνατὸς dunatov
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Acts 11:17 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
δυνατὸς dunatov
powerful, able, possible
Read verse Acts 18:24 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
δυνατὸς dunatov
powerful, able, possible
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 5 Aligned forms 32 Case pattern Nominative (31) Number pattern Singular (22)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Luke 1:49 · Luke 14:31 · Luke 24:19 · Acts 7:22 · Acts 11:17 · Acts 18:24 · Rom 4:21 · Rom 11:23 · 2 Cor 12:10 · 2 Tim 1:12 · Titus 1:9 · Heb 11:19 · Jas 3:2 13×
Nominative · Singular · Neuter Matt 24:24 · Matt 26:39 · Mark 13:22 · Mark 14:35 · Acts 2:24 · Acts 20:16 · Rom 12:18 · Gal 4:15 8×
Nominative · Plural · Neuter Matt 19:26 · Mark 9:23 · Mark 10:27 · Mark 14:36 · Luke 18:27 · 2 Cor 10:4 6×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Acts 25:5 · Rom 15:1 · 1 Cor 1:26 · 2 Cor 13:9 4×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Rom 9:22 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Mark 10:23–31 δύνατος dynatós
possible, powerful
Showing 1 selected witness from 32 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
δυνατός 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
Dynatos does not celebrate power in abstraction. God is the Mighty One whose holy mercy accomplishes what human beings cannot, including salvation and the promised birth of the Messiah. Human plans remain contingent, as Paul's "if possible" travel aim honestly admits. Apostolic weapons are powerful only through God and target arguments, pride, and disobedient thought rather than human bodies.
James makes mature ability visible in disciplined speech, an area where every person stumbles. These uses teach confidence with humility. Believers trust God's unconstrained saving power, hold their schedules open to providence, reject coercive ministry, and pursue Spirit-enabled self-control. Something being powerful or possible is not enough; its source, object, and purpose must accord with God.
Anchor passage
Luke.1.49
Doctrinal connections
- Divine omnipotence: salvation and promise fulfillment are possible because God is mighty.
- Incarnation: the Mighty One acts in Mary's life within the coming of the Messiah.
- Providence: human plans remain conditional even when pursued diligently.
- Spiritual warfare: ministry power comes through God and confronts falsehood and pride.
- Sanctification: maturity includes growing capacity to govern speech and embodied conduct.
- Humility: creaturely ability never becomes autonomy from God's will or grace.
Dynatos is the adjective related to dynamai and dynamis, meaning able, powerful, capable, or possible. It may function substantivally for a powerful person or adverbially in phrases about feasibility.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture repeatedly names God mighty in deed and faithful to covenant promises, while rulers' strength proves limited. Wisdom connects true mastery with control of one's spirit and speech.
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