What does μετά (metá) mean in the Bible?
Meta is a Greek preposition that can mean with, among, or after, depending on case and context. It can describe accompaniment, fellowship, shared presence, sequence, or association.
Greek · G3326
μετά
With/after
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μετά G3326
Pronunciation metá
What does μετά (metá) mean in the Bible?
Meta is a Greek preposition that can mean with, among, or after, depending on case and context. It can describe accompaniment, fellowship, shared presence, sequence, or association.
Reader summary
Full entry for μετά (G3326) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3326?
The BSB source-word alignment has 468 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include with (245), After (71), . . . (25), [be] with (12), vvv (12).
Where does μετά (metá) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:12. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (71), Acts (65), Luke (63), John (55).
What This Word Actually Means
Meta is a Greek preposition that can mean with, among, or after, depending on case and context. It can describe accompaniment, fellowship, shared presence, sequence, or association. Matthew uses it in the name Immanuel, God with us, and again in the risen Christ's promise to be with His disciples as they obey the mission He gave. John 3 uses the word in an ordinary travel and ministry setting after this, while First John speaks of fellowship with the Father and with His Son.
Revelation 21 brings the theme to its final hope: God's dwelling place is with man. Second Corinthians 13 closes with grace, love, and fellowship be with all of you. Meta is not a magical presence word, but it helps trace companionship, communion, sequence, and covenant hope.
How the Bible Uses It
Meta can express with, among, or after. Its New Testament uses range from ordinary sequence to divine presence, fellowship, mission companionship, and final dwelling with God.
- Matt.1.23
“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
Matthew's Immanuel citation uses with-language to announce the significance of Jesus' birth.
- Matt.28.20
And teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The risen Jesus promises to be with His disciples as they teach obedience to all He commanded.
- John.3.22
After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside, where He spent some time with them and baptized.
John uses the word in an ordinary sequence and companionship setting as Jesus goes with His disciples into Judea.
- 1John.1.3
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Apostolic proclamation aims at fellowship with believers and with the Father and His Son.
- Rev.21.3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
The final hope is God's dwelling place with man and God Himself with His people.
- 2Cor.13.14
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
Paul's benediction asks that grace, love, and fellowship be with all of them.
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 with 245× Matthew 1:23, Matthew 2:3, Matthew 2:11, Matthew 4:21
After 71× Matthew 1:12, Matthew 17:1, Matthew 24:29, Matthew 25:19
. . . 25× Matthew 12:3, Matthew 12:4, Matthew 12:45, Matthew 15:30
[be] with 12× Romans 15:33, Romans 16:20, 1 Corinthians 16:23, 1 Corinthians 16:24
vvv 12× Luke 12:58, John 11:56, John 13:7, John 16:19
along with 10× Matthew 22:16, Matthew 25:4, Mark 10:30, Acts 15:35
later 9× Luke 18:4, Luke 22:58, John 20:26, John 21:1
- 8× Matthew 5:25, Matthew 27:41, Mark 6:50, Mark 15:1
against 8× 1 Corinthians 6:6, Revelation 2:16, Revelation 12:7, Revelation 13:4
to 8× Luke 1:72, Acts 1:26, Ephesians 4:25, Ephesians 6:24
in 6× Matthew 28:8, Luke 14:9, Luke 17:15, Acts 2:28
[is] with 4× Luke 22:21, 1 John 1:3, Revelation 21:3, Revelation 22:12
among 4× Luke 24:5, John 6:43, 1 Corinthians 6:7, 1 John 4:17
[and] 3× Matthew 19:10, John 3:25, Acts 14:23
afterward 3× Luke 17:8, John 5:14, Acts 7:7
and 3× Mark 15:31, Luke 11:7, 2 Thessalonians 1:7
[armed] with 2× Matthew 26:47, Mark 14:43
accompanied by 2× Matthew 26:47, Galatians 2:1
away 2× Matthew 26:2, Mark 14:1
by 2× Luke 22:28, Acts 5:26
through 2× Acts 14:27, Acts 15:4
When 2× Acts 15:13, Acts 20:1
[accompanied by] 1× Mark 14:43
[and posting] 1× Matthew 27:66
[and] joyfully 1× Colossians 1:11
[and] was not {inciting} 1× Acts 24:18
[before] 1× Acts 27:14
[can exist] between 1× 2 Corinthians 6:16
[carrying] 1× John 18:3
[First] 1× Hebrews 10:15
[I was] with 1× Acts 20:18
[over you] at 1× 1 Timothy 4:14
[so that] 1× Luke 9:39
[that] after 1× 2 Peter 1:15
[to pay] 1× Matthew 20:2
[was] with 1× John 20:26
After that 1× Revelation 20:3
along 1× Matthew 18:16
as did 1× Hebrews 11:9
Behind 1× Hebrews 9:3
beside 1× Matthew 21:2
close behind 1× Revelation 6:8
companions 1× Matthew 26:51
from 1× John 20:7
He will be accompanied by 1× Revelation 17:14
Some time later 1× John 5:1
together with 1× 2 Timothy 2:22
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 1:12 Μετὰ to After Preposition Matthew 1:23 Μεθ’ to with Preposition Matthew 2:3 μετ’ to with Preposition Matthew 2:11 μετὰ to with Preposition Matthew 4:21 μετὰ to with Preposition Matthew 5:25 μετ’ to - Preposition Matthew 5:41 μετ’ to with Preposition Matthew 8:11 μετὰ to with Preposition Matthew 9:11 μετὰ to with Preposition Matthew 9:15 μετ’ to with Preposition
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 1:12
Aligned rows 468
Books represented 24
Matthew 71 Mark 55 Luke 63 John 55 Acts 65 Romans 6 1 Corinthians 9 2 Corinthians 7 Galatians 7 Ephesians 7 Philippians 7 Colossians 2 1 Thessalonians 3 2 Thessalonians 5 1 Timothy 9 2 Timothy 6 Titus 4 Philemon 1 Hebrews 23 1 Peter 2 2 Peter 1 1 John 7 2 John 2 Revelation 51
Source forms
μετὰ 262x meta Matthew 2:11, Matthew 4:21, Matthew 8:11, Matthew 9:11
μετ’ 131x met’ Matthew 2:3, Matthew 5:25, Matthew 5:41, Matthew 9:15
μεθ’ 41x meth’ Matthew 12:45, Matthew 14:7, Matthew 15:30, Matthew 17:1
Μετὰ 32x Meta Matthew 1:12, Matthew 25:19, Matthew 26:32, Matthew 26:73
«μεθ’ 1x meth’ John 14:16
Μεθ’ 1x Meth’ Matthew 1:23
Parsing patterns
Preposition 468x Matthew 1:12, Matthew 1:23, Matthew 2:3, Matthew 2:11
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not make every use of meta a promise of divine presence.
- Do not treat Christ's promise to be with His disciples as detached from the mission and obedience named in Matthew 28.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim meta always means intimate fellowship.
- Do not claim Matthew 28:20 promises comfort while excluding the command to teach obedience.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Marks association/companionship with persons or divine presence; gradually replaced σύν in NT usage.
Strong's G3326
Lexical occurrences 470 verses Greek text appearances 474 times 16 shown below Word forms 1 form 470 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 11:14-28 Source Gloss
with/after
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 474 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 1:12 Preposition
Μετὰ meta
with, after
Read verse Matthew 1:23 Preposition
Μεθ᾽ meq
with, after
Read verse Matthew 2:3 Preposition
μετ᾽ met
with, after
Read verse Matthew 2:11 Preposition
μετὰ meta
with, after
Read verse Matthew 4:21 Preposition
μετὰ meta
with, after
Read verse Matthew 5:25 Preposition
μετ᾽ met
with, after
Read verse Matthew 5:41 Preposition
μετ᾽ met
with, after
Read verse Matthew 8:11 Preposition
μετὰ meta
with, after
Read verse Matthew 9:11 Preposition
μετὰ meta
with, after
Read verse Matthew 9:15 Preposition
μετ᾽ met
with, after
Read verse Matthew 12:3 Preposition
μετ᾽ met
with, after
Read verse Matthew 12:4 Preposition
μετ᾽ met
with, after
Read verse Matthew 12:30 Preposition
μετ᾽ met
with, after
Read verse Matthew 12:30 Preposition
μετ᾽ met
with, after
Read verse Matthew 12:41 Preposition
μετὰ meta
with, after
Read verse Matthew 12:42 Preposition
μετὰ meta
with, after
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 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 1 Aligned forms 470
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Matt 1:12 · Matt 1:23 · Matt 2:3 · Matt 2:11 · Matt 4:21 · Matt 5:25 · Matt 5:41 · Matt 8:11 · Matt 9:11 · Matt 9:15 · Matt 12:3 · Matt 12:4 · Matt 12:30 · Matt 12:41 · Matt 12:42 · Matt 12:45 470×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Association and opposition, either with someone or against them
Companionship and association, dwelling or being together with someone
Temporal sequence, indicating what comes after a particular time or event
Divine accompaniment and presence, God being with someone in support
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 470 lexical occurrence verses.
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Meta teaches readers to slow down around the word with. Sometimes it is ordinary: Jesus goes with His disciples, or one event happens after another. Sometimes it carries deep covenant comfort: Jesus is Immanuel, and the risen Lord promises to be with His disciples to the end of the age. First John uses with-language for fellowship grounded in apostolic witness to the Son.
Revelation 21 shows the final dwelling of God with His people, the hope toward which Scripture moves. Second Corinthians 13 blesses the church with grace, love, and fellowship. The word does not create a doctrine of presence by itself, but it frequently stands in passages where relationship, communion, mission, and hope are made explicit by the surrounding text.
Anchor passage
Matt.28.20
Doctrinal connections
- G1694 Emmanouel: Matthew 1:23 identifies Jesus' birth with God-with-us fulfillment.
- G3100 matheteuo: Matthew 28:20 connects Christ's presence with disciple-making obedience.
- G2842 Koinonia: First John 1:3 clarifies fellowship with believers, the Father, and the Son.
- G4633 Skene: Revelation 21:3 joins with-language to God's dwelling place among His people.
- G5485 Charis: Second Corinthians 13:14 places grace with the church in benediction.
- G3326 Meta with accusative: The same preposition can mark after, so sequence and association must not be confused.
Meta shifts according to grammatical case. With the genitive it commonly marks with or association; with the accusative it often marks after. Context keeps the reader from turning every use into the same claim.
From Old to New Testament
The Bible moves from God's presence with His people in covenant signs and tabernacle language to Immanuel, the risen Christ's mission promise, fellowship with the Father and Son, and the final dwelling of God with humanity.
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