To lie outstretched (literally or figuratively)
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keimai means to lie, be placed, be set, or be appointed. It can describe physical location, as when the infant Jesus lies in a manger, or a settled appointment, as when Simeon says the child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel.
Reader summary
Full entry for κεῖμαι (G2749) · Open the biblical lexicon
keimai means to lie, be placed, be set, or be appointed. It can describe physical location, as when the infant Jesus lies in a manger, or a settled appointment, as when Simeon says the child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel.
The BSB source-word alignment has 24 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include lies ready (2), lying (2), lying [there] (2), - (1), [who] was lying (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 3:10. Its strongest book concentrations include John (7), Luke (6), Matthew (3), Revelation (2).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Keimai means to lie, be placed, be set, or be appointed. It can describe physical location, as when the infant Jesus lies in a manger, or a settled appointment, as when Simeon says the child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel. Paul can use it for the foundation already laid, for his appointment to defend the gospel, and for trials that believers are destined to face.
John can say that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. Pastorally, the word asks teachers to notice whether the passage is speaking about position, placement, appointment, or settled condition. It should not be turned into fatalism, but neither should the text's appointed realities be softened.
Keimai moves from physical lying or placement to appointed role and settled condition. These anchors include the baby lying in a manger, the child appointed for Israel's fall and rising, Christ as the laid foundation, Paul's appointment to gospel defense, believers destined for trials, and the world lying under the evil one's power.
And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
The sign to the shepherds is a baby lying in a manger. keimai describes physical placement in the humility of the incarnation scene.
Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
Simeon says the child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel. The word carries divine appointment and prophetic weight.
For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
No one can lay another foundation than the one already laid, Jesus Christ. The word helps mark the settled foundation of the church.
The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.
Paul says he is appointed for the defense of the gospel. The word names a vocation received within suffering and opposition.
So that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this.
Believers know they are destined for these trials. keimai supports sober expectation without making affliction meaningless.
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
The whole world lies under the power of the evil one. The word describes a grave settled condition contrasted with belonging to God.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Passive state of being positioned or set in place, often with purposeful arrangement or appointed destiny.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 26 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
Read verseI lie, recline, am laid
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.
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.
How this verb appears across 21 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
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 passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 24 lexical occurrence verses.
κεῖμαι is a primary verb - no further derivation.
Keimai helps teachers hold together humility, appointment, and settled reality. The same verb family can describe the baby lying in a manger and Christ as the foundation already laid. It can speak of a child appointed for division in Israel, of Paul appointed for gospel defense, and of believers destined to face trials. Its pastoral force is not that everything is fixed in an abstract way, but that certain realities are set by God or settled in the moral order of the world.
The preacher should use the word to help hearers receive what God has placed before them: Christ as foundation, suffering as expected, and the world's condition as something only God's Son can overcome.
1Cor.3.11
Keimai can be literal, positional, or figurative. It may mean to lie in a place, to be set, to be established, or to be appointed. The subject and context determine whether location or appointment is primary.
Scripture often speaks of what God sets in place: signs, stones, kings, foundations, and appointed times. New Testament keimai passages continue that pattern around Christ, gospel service, suffering, and the world's need for rescue.