What does κάμπτω (kámptō) mean in the Bible?
κάμπτω (kámptō): To bend the knee in submission or worship, often metonymically representing the bender themselves.
Greek · G2578
κάμπτω
To bend
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κάμπτωG2578
Pronunciationkámptō
What does κάμπτω (kámptō) mean in the Bible?
κάμπτω (kámptō): To bend the knee in submission or worship, often metonymically representing the bender themselves.
Full entry for κάμπτω (G2578) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2578?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include bowed (1), I bow (1), should bow (1), will bow (1).
Where does κάμπτω (kámptō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 11:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (2), Ephesians (1), Philippians (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itbowed1×Romans 11:4
I bow1×Ephesians 3:14
should bow1×Philippians 2:10
will bow1×Romans 14:11
Show sample aligned rows
Romans 11:4ἔκαμψανtobowedVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralRomans 14:11κάμψειtowill bowVerb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularEphesians 3:14κάμπτωtoI bowVerb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person SingularPhilippians 2:10κάμψῃtoshould bowVerb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowRomans 11:4
Aligned rows4
Books represented3
Romans2Ephesians1Philippians1
Source forms
ἔκαμψαν1xekampsanRomans 11:4
κάμπτω1xkamptōEphesians 3:14
κάμψει1xkampseiRomans 14:11
κάμψῃ1xkampsēPhilippians 2:10
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural1xRomans 11:4
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular1xPhilippians 2:10
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xRomans 14:11
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular1xEphesians 3:14
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To bend the knee in submission or worship, often metonymically representing the bender themselves.
Strong'sG2578
Lexical occurrences4 versesGreek text appearances4 timesWord forms2 forms4 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkEphesians 3:14-21Source Gloss
to bend
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To bend the knee in submission or worship, often metonymically representing the bender themselves.
to bend, bow: with accusative of thing(s), γόνυ, τὰ γ.; with dative of person(s), τῇ Βάαλ, Rom.11:4 (LXX); πρὸς τ. πατέρα, Eph.3:14; by meton., πᾶν γόνυ for πᾶς, Rom.14:11 (LXX) Php.2:10 (cf. ἀνα-, συν-κάμπτω).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Romans 11:4Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἔκαμψανekamyan
I bend, bow
Read verseRomans 14:11Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
κάμψειkamyei
I bend, bow
Read verseEphesians 3:14Verb First Person Singular Present Active Indicative
κάμπτωkamptw
I bend, bow
Read versePhilippians 2:10Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
κάμψῃkamyh
I bend, bow
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 groups2Aligned forms4TensesAorist, Future, PresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality3×
Aorist ActiveRom 11:41×
Future ActiveRom 14:111×
Present ActiveEph 3:141×
Subjunctivepossibility, probability, or purpose1×
Aorist ActivePhil 2:101×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 4 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist2present1future1
Voice
active4
Mood
indicative3subjunctive1
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)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Paul bows his knees before God the Father in prayer and worship
Metaphorical bending of the knee in submission to Baal, showing religious allegiance
Every knee will bow at the name of Jesus in universal submission and worship
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 4 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
κάμπτω 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.