What does καύχησις (kaúchēsis) mean in the Bible?
G2746 names boasting, pride, or the ground on which someone claims honor. In Paul, the word is never a simple ban on all glad testimony.
Greek · G2746
καύχησις
Pride
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καύχησις G2746
Pronunciation kaúchēsis
What does καύχησις (kaúchēsis) mean in the Bible?
G2746 names boasting, pride, or the ground on which someone claims honor. In Paul, the word is never a simple ban on all glad testimony.
Reader summary
Full entry for καύχησις (G2746) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2746?
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include boasting (4), boast (1), boasting [of mine] (1), I boast (1), I exult (1).
Where does καύχησις (kaúchēsis) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 3:27. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Corinthians (6), Romans (2), 1 Corinthians (1), 1 Thessalonians (1).
Are there verse guides for καύχησις (kaúchēsis)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
G2746 names boasting, pride, or the ground on which someone claims honor. In Paul, the word is never a simple ban on all glad testimony. Romans 3 excludes boasting before God because justification rests on faith and grace, not human achievement. Second Corinthians shows that Paul can still speak of a boast when the ground is God's grace at work in conscience, weakness, and ministry fruit.
The word helps teachers ask what a person is resting on. Boasting becomes deadly when it makes the self the basis of standing before God or superiority over others. It becomes rightly ordered only when the Lord, His grace, and His work carry the weight.
How the Bible Uses It
G2746 appears in Paul's letters where boasting is either excluded by grace or redirected toward what God has done. The word helps readers distinguish self-grounded pride from grace-grounded testimony.
- Rom.3.27
Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith.
Paul asks where boasting is and answers that it is excluded by the law of faith. The word is controlled by the justification argument, not by a general suspicion of every kind of glad testimony.
- 2Cor.1.12
For this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.
Paul can speak of boasting when the ground is the testimony of conscience under God's grace, not self-made status. The word must distinguish self-exaltation from grace-governed testimony.
- 1Thess.2.19
After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
Paul calls the Thessalonian believers his hope, joy, and crown of boasting before the Lord Jesus. The word can name ministry joy when the glory belongs to Christ and the people are not treated as trophies.
Passage contextBook 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 boasting 4× Romans 3:27, 2 Corinthians 7:14, 2 Corinthians 11:10, James 4:16
boast 1× 2 Corinthians 1:12
boasting [of mine] 1× 2 Corinthians 11:17
I boast 1× 1 Corinthians 15:31
I exult 1× Romans 15:17
of boasting 1× 1 Thessalonians 2:19
pride 1× 2 Corinthians 7:4
the reason for our boasting 1× 2 Corinthians 8:24
Show sample aligned rows
Romans 3:27 καύχησις to boasting Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Romans 15:17 καύχησιν to I exult Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 1 Corinthians 15:31 καύχησιν to I boast Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 1:12 καύχησις to boast Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 7:4 καύχησις to pride Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 7:14 καύχησις to boasting Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 8:24 καυχήσεως to the reason for our boasting Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 11:10 καύχησις to boasting Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 11:17 καυχήσεως to boasting [of mine] Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 1 Thessalonians 2:19 καυχήσεως to of boasting Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Romans 3:27
Aligned rows 11
Books represented 5
Romans 2 1 Corinthians 1 2 Corinthians 6 1 Thessalonians 1 James 1
Source forms
καύχησις 6x kauchēsis Romans 3:27, 2 Corinthians 1:12, 2 Corinthians 7:4, 2 Corinthians 7:14
καυχήσεως 3x kauchēseōs 2 Corinthians 8:24, 2 Corinthians 11:17, 1 Thessalonians 2:19
καύχησιν 2x kauchēsin Romans 15:17, 1 Corinthians 15:31
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 6x Romans 3:27, 2 Corinthians 1:12, 2 Corinthians 7:4, 2 Corinthians 7:14
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 3x 2 Corinthians 8:24, 2 Corinthians 11:17, 1 Thessalonians 2:19
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 2x Romans 15:17, 1 Corinthians 15:31
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Ask what the boast rests on: self, status, performance, or the grace of God.
- Keep ministry testimony from turning people into evidence of the teacher's greatness.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not use G2746 to shame every testimony of God's grace as pride. Paul can speak of boasting when the Lord remains the ground.
- Do not use G2746 to defend self-promotion, status-seeking, or ministry comparison. Romans 3 excludes boasting that competes with grace.
Book contextPastoral applicationPassage context
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Boasting or glorying; Paul contrasts false self-glorying with legitimate glorying in Christ alone.
Source Gloss
pride
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Boasting or glorying; Paul contrasts false self-glorying with legitimate glorying in Christ alone.
(καυχάομαι), [in LXX for תִּפְאָרָה (1Ch.29:13, Eze.16:12, al) ;] a boasting, glorying: Rom.3:27, 2Co.11:10 11:17, Jas.4:16; before ὑπέρ, 2Co.7:4 8:24; ἐτί, with genitive, 2Co.7:14; ἔχω τὴν κ. ἐν Χρ. Ἰησ., Rom.15:17; στέφανος καυχήσεως (Ez. l.with, al.), 1Th.2:19; of the cause of glorying, a boast ( = καύχημα), 2Co.1:12.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
12 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
kauchsiv
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse Romans 15:17 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
καύχησιν kauchsin
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse 1 Corinthians 15:31 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
καύχησιν, kauchsin
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse 2 Corinthians 1:12 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
καύχησις kauchsiv
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse 2 Corinthians 7:4 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
καύχησις kauchsiv
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse 2 Corinthians 7:14 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
καύχησις kauchsiv
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse 2 Corinthians 8:24 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
καυχήσεως kauchsewv
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse 2 Corinthians 9:4 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
καυχήσεως. kauchsewv
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse 2 Corinthians 11:10 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
καύχησις kauchsiv
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse 2 Corinthians 11:17 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
καυχήσεως. kauchsewv
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse 1 Thessalonians 2:19 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
καυχήσεως; kauchsewv
the act of boasting, exultation
Read verse James 4:16 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
καύχησις kauchsiv
the act of boasting, exultation
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 3 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 3 Aligned forms 11 Case pattern Nominative (6) Number pattern Singular (11)
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Rom 3:27 · 2 Cor 1:12 · 2 Cor 7:4 · 2 Cor 7:14 · 2 Cor 11:10 · Jas 4:16 6×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine 2 Cor 8:24 · 2 Cor 11:17 · 1 Thess 2:19 3×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Rom 15:17 · 1 Cor 15:31 2×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
boasting
Boasting, grounds for pride.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
καύχησις is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Salvation by faith removes every human basis for self-exaltation. James 4:13–17
Identifies prideful self-reliance as sinful. Romans 3:27-31
Canonical Themes
For the Preacher and Teacher
G2746 helps teachers handle Paul's careful theology of boasting. Romans 3 closes the door on every claim that would make justification rest on human distinction, law-keeping, ethnic advantage, or moral achievement. Yet Paul does not flatten the word into silence about all joy or testimony. He can speak of boasting in conscience, in the churches, and in people who will stand before Christ, because that boasting is governed by grace and ordered toward the Lord.
The pastoral issue is the ground of confidence. If the self is the ground, boasting competes with grace. If the Lord is the ground, testimony becomes a way of honoring His work without stealing His glory.
Anchor passage
Rom.3.27
Doctrinal connections
- Rom.3.27 - Paul asks where boasting is and answers that it is excluded by the law of faith. The word is controlled by the justification argument, not by a general suspicion of every kind of glad testimony.
- 2Cor.1.12 - Paul can speak of boasting when the ground is the testimony of conscience under God's grace, not self-made status. The word must distinguish self-exaltation from grace-governed testimony.
- 1Thess.2.19 - Paul calls the Thessalonian believers his hope, joy, and crown of boasting before the Lord Jesus. The word can name ministry joy when the glory belongs to Christ and the people are not treated as trophies.
Boasting or grounds for pride is the reviewed display gloss for G2746. In this Pauline-focused companion, local STEP TAGNT evidence shows about 11 Pauline use(s), with common forms including N-NSF 5, N-GSF 4, N-ASF 2. Treat these form signals as support for reading the passage, not as a replacement for context.
From Old to New Testament
The Pauline trajectory moves from the exclusion of human boasting before God to a restrained, grace-governed testimony in the Lord. The word should never be used to rebuild the self-confidence that the gospel has already shut down.
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