What does κολλάω (kolláō) mean in the Bible?
κολλάω (kolláō): Physical adhesion metaphorically applied to close personal attachment or spiritual union with someone or something.
Greek · G2853
κολλάω
To join
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κολλάω G2853
Pronunciation kolláō
What does κολλάω (kolláō) mean in the Bible?
κολλάω (kolláō): Physical adhesion metaphorically applied to close personal attachment or spiritual union with someone or something.
Full entry for κολλάω (G2853) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2853?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include to join (2), unites himself (2), [and] hired himself out (1), are piled (1), be united to (1).
Where does κολλάω (kolláō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 19:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (5), 1 Corinthians (2), Luke (2), Matthew (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 It to join 2× Acts 5:13, Acts 9:26
unites himself 2× 1 Corinthians 6:16, 1 Corinthians 6:17
[and] hired himself out 1× Luke 15:15
are piled 1× Revelation 18:5
be united to 1× Matthew 19:5
cling to 1× Romans 12:9
clings 1× Luke 10:11
joined 1× Acts 17:34
stay by [it] 1× Acts 8:29
to associate with 1× Acts 10:28
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 19:5 κολληθήσεται to be united to Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular Luke 10:11 κολληθέντα to clings Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Accusative Masculine Singular Luke 15:15 ἐκολλήθη to [and] hired himself out Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular Acts 5:13 κολλᾶσθαι to to join Verb - Present Infinitive Middle or Passive Acts 8:29 κολλήθητι to stay by [it] Verb - Aorist Imperative Passive - 2nd Person Singular Acts 9:26 κολλᾶσθαι to to join Verb - Present Infinitive Middle or Passive Acts 10:28 κολλᾶσθαι to to associate with Verb - Present Infinitive Middle or Passive Acts 17:34 κολληθέντες to joined Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural Romans 12:9 κολλώμενοι to cling to Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural 1 Corinthians 6:16 κολλώμενος to unites himself Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 19:5
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 6
Matthew 1 Luke 2 Acts 5 Romans 1 1 Corinthians 2 Revelation 1
Source forms
κολλᾶσθαι 3x kollasthai Acts 5:13, Acts 9:26, Acts 10:28
κολλώμενος 2x kollōmenos 1 Corinthians 6:16, 1 Corinthians 6:17
ἐκολλήθη 1x ekollēthē Luke 15:15
ἐκολλήθησαν 1x ekollēthēsan Revelation 18:5
κολληθέντα 1x kollēthenta Luke 10:11
κολληθέντες 1x kollēthentes Acts 17:34
κολληθήσεται 1x kollēthēsetai Matthew 19:5
κολλήθητι 1x kollēthēti Acts 8:29
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Infinitive Middle or Passive 3x Acts 5:13, Acts 9:26, Acts 10:28
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x 1 Corinthians 6:16, 1 Corinthians 6:17
Verb - Aorist Imperative Passive - 2nd Person Singular 1x Acts 8:29
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x Revelation 18:5
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Luke 15:15
Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Accusative Masculine Singular 1x Luke 10:11
Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Acts 17:34
Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Matthew 19:5
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Physical adhesion metaphorically applied to close personal attachment or spiritual union with someone or something.
Strong's G2853
Lexical occurrences 0 verses Greek text appearances 11 times Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 17:32-34 Source Gloss
to join
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 10:11 Verb Aorist Passive Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
κολληθέντα kollhqenta
I glue, cleave, keep company with
Read verse Luke 15:15 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
ἐκολλήθη ekollhqh
I glue, cleave, keep company with
Read verse Acts 5:13 Verb Present Passive Infinitive
κολλᾶσθαι kollasqai
I glue, cleave, keep company with
Read verse Acts 8:29 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Passive Imperative
κολλήθητι kollhqhti
I glue, cleave, keep company with
Read verse Acts 9:26 Verb Present Passive Infinitive
κολλᾶσθαι kollasqai
I glue, cleave, keep company with
Read verse Acts 10:28 Verb Present Passive Infinitive
κολλᾶσθαι kollasqai
I glue, cleave, keep company with
Read verse Acts 17:34 Verb Aorist Passive Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
κολληθέντες kollhqentev
I glue, cleave, keep company with
Read verse Romans 12:9 Verb Present Passive Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
κολλώμενοι kollwmenoi
I glue, cleave, keep company with
Read verse 1 Corinthians 6:16 Verb Present Passive Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
κολλώμενος kollwmenov
I glue, cleave, keep company with
Read verse 1 Corinthians 6:17 Verb Present Passive Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
κολλώμενος kollwmenov
I glue, cleave, keep company with
Read verse Revelation 18:5 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Passive Indicative
ἐκολλήθησαν ekollhqhsan
I glue, cleave, keep company with
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.
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 11 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 5 aorist 5 future 1
Voice
passive 11
Mood
participle 5 indicative 3 infinitive 2 imperative 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 19:5 κολληθήσεται future passive indicative prospective Luke 10:11 κολληθέντα aorist passive participle participle Luke 15:15 ἐκολλήθη aorist passive indicative completed Acts 5:13 κολλᾶσθαι present passive infinitive infinitive Acts 8:29 κολλήθητι aorist passive imperative imperative Acts 9:26 κολλᾶσθαι present passive infinitive infinitive Acts 17:34 κολληθέντες aorist passive participle participle Romans 12:9 κολλώμενοι present passive participle participle 1 Corinthians 6:16 κολλώμενος present passive participle participle 1 Corinthians 6:17 κολλώμενος present passive participle participle Revelation 18:5 ἐκολλήθησαν aorist passive indicative completed
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)
Sampled Scripture Occurrences
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
New Testament Witnesses
To cling to or associate closely.
Why This Word Matters
Indicates relational commitment alongside belief. Acts 17:32-34
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.
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