Stronger, i.e. (figuratively) better, i.e. nobler
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Κρείττων is a comparative adjective meaning better, superior, stronger, or more advantageous. Its force is always relational: one course, person, covenant reality, or outcome is judged better than another.
Reader summary
Full entry for κρείττων (G2909) · Open the biblical lexicon
Κρείττων is a comparative adjective meaning better, superior, stronger, or more advantageous. Its force is always relational: one course, person, covenant reality, or outcome is judged better than another.
The BSB source-word alignment has 15 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include better (4), a better (3), [it is] better (1), a better [country] (1), a better word (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Corinthians 7:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (12), 1 Corinthians (1), 1 Peter (1), 2 Peter (1).
Κρείττων is a comparative adjective meaning better, superior, stronger, or more advantageous. Its force is always relational: one course, person, covenant reality, or outcome is judged better than another. Paul says marriage is better than burning with uncontrolled passion in a specific pastoral discussion of singleness and marriage. First Peter says suffering for doing good is better than suffering for evil when that suffering falls within God's will.
Second Peter warns that turning away after knowing the way of righteousness leaves a person in a worse condition. Hebrews uses the adjective programmatically to proclaim the Son's superiority, a better hope, covenant, promises, sacrifice, possession, country, and resurrection. The word does not create a universal hierarchy wherever it appears; the compared realities and author's reasons must remain explicit.
Κρείττων marks a contextual comparison of what is better or superior. Hebrews centers its great comparisons on the sufficiency of the Son and His covenant work.
But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
Marriage is called better for those lacking self-control in Paul's immediate counsel, not declared spiritually superior to faithful singleness.
So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs.
The Son's superior name belongs to the argument that He is God's final revelation, Creator, enthroned King, and exact representation.
For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Suffering for good is morally preferable to suffering for evil when suffering occurs, not a command to seek harm.
It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.
The warning compares accountable apostasy with prior ignorance and stresses the seriousness of rejecting known righteousness.
And indisputably, the lesser is blessed by the greater.
Melchizedek's blessing of Abraham supports the argument about priestly superiority within Hebrews' careful scriptural exposition.
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.
Greek word. stronger, i.e. (figuratively) better, i.e. nobler
:--best, better.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 17 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
stronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
Read versestronger, more excellent
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 8 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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 19 lexical occurrence verses.
κρείττων is built from this root:
Emphasizes superiority of fulfillment in Christ. Hebrews 11:30-40
Emphasizes superiority of heavenly homeland. Hebrews 11:8-16
Reinforces superiority of Christ's covenant and blood. Hebrews 12:18-24
Emphasizes covenant superiority in Christ. Hebrews 8:1-6
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
“Better” is not self-interpreting. In 1 Corinthians 7 it serves wise pastoral counsel about desire, marriage, and self-control, without degrading singleness or guaranteeing an easy marriage. In 1 Peter it gives moral shape to unavoidable suffering, not permission to seek or tolerate abuse. In Hebrews, the repeated adjective becomes a sustained confession that the Son, His priesthood, covenant, sacrifice, and promised inheritance surpass the shadows that anticipated Him.
These comparisons train believers to evaluate life by God's revelation rather than comfort, prestige, or novelty. Teachers must keep the terms of each comparison visible. A better covenant does not mean the Old Testament was evil; it means Christ fulfills and surpasses its provisional forms. A better course in one situation need not be a universal mandate. Christian wisdom receives Scripture's reasons and orders choices around Christ.
1Cor.7.9
Κρείττων is the comparative form commonly translated better or superior. It may compare moral advantage, strength, status, or covenantal efficacy. The explicit or implied standard of comparison must be recovered from the sentence and argument.
Wisdom repeatedly names what is better than wealth, pride, or sinful ease. The New Testament gathers the ultimate comparison in Christ, whose person and work fulfill earlier patterns and secure the better country and resurrection promised to God's people.
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