What does λειτουργέω (leitourgéō) mean in the Bible?
λειτουργέω (leitourgéō): Service in an official capacity or office, particularly priestly ministry or church function, not mere servitude.
Greek · G3008
λειτουργέω
To minister
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
λειτουργέωG3008
Pronunciationleitourgéō
What does λειτουργέω (leitourgéō) mean in the Bible?
λειτουργέω (leitourgéō): Service in an official capacity or office, particularly priestly ministry or church function, not mere servitude.
Full entry for λειτουργέω (G3008) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3008?
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include to minister (2), were worshiping (1).
Where does λειτουργέω (leitourgéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 13:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (1), Hebrews (1), Romans (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 Itto minister2×Romans 15:27, Hebrews 10:11
were worshiping1×Acts 13:2
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowActs 13:2
Aligned rows3
Books represented3
Acts1Romans1Hebrews1
Source forms
λειτουργῆσαι1xleitourgēsaiRomans 15:27
Λειτουργούντων1xLeitourgountōnActs 13:2
λειτουργῶν1xleitourgōnHebrews 10:11
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active1xRomans 15:27
Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Plural1xActs 13:2
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular1xHebrews 10:11
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Service in an official capacity or office, particularly priestly ministry or church function, not mere servitude.
Strong'sG3008
Lexical occurrences3 versesGreek text appearances3 timesWord forms2 forms3 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
to minister
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
3 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 13:2Verb Present Active Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
λειτουργούντωνleitourgountwn
I minister, serve publicly
Read verseRomans 15:27Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
λειτουργῆσαιleitourghsai
I minister, serve publicly
Read verseHebrews 10:11Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
λειτουργῶν,leitourgwn
I minister, serve publicly
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 forms3TensesPresent, AoristVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality2×
Present ActiveActs 13:2 · Heb 10:112×
Infinitiveverbal noun — the action in abstract1×
Aorist ActiveRom 15:271×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 3 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present2aorist1
Voice
active3
Mood
participle2infinitive1
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 Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 1:5–25λειτουργεῖνleitourgéō
To serve in a public or priestly role
Showing 1 selected witness from 3 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
λειτουργέω is built from this root:
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.