What does ὀρθοτομέω (orthotoméō) mean in the Bible?
ὀρθοτομέω (orthotoméō): To cut straight; metaphorically, to handle Scripture accurately without distortion or deviation.
Greek · G3718
ὀρθοτομέω
:--Rightly divide.
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ὀρθοτομέω G3718
Pronunciation orthotoméō
What does ὀρθοτομέω (orthotoméō) mean in the Bible?
ὀρθοτομέω (orthotoméō): To cut straight; metaphorically, to handle Scripture accurately without distortion or deviation.
Full entry for ὀρθοτομέω (G3718) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3718?
The BSB source-word alignment has 1 aligned row for this entry. Common renderings include who accurately handles (1).
Where does ὀρθοτομέω (orthotoméō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 2 Timothy 2:15. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Timothy (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 who accurately handles 1× 2 Timothy 2:15
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 2 Timothy 2:15
Aligned rows 1
Books represented 1
2 Timothy 1
Source forms
ὀρθοτομοῦντα 1x orthotomounta 2 Timothy 2:15
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular 1x 2 Timothy 2:15
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To cut straight; metaphorically, to handle Scripture accurately without distortion or deviation.
Strong's G3718
Lexical occurrences 1 verse Greek text appearances 1 time Word forms 1 form 1 reference Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 2 Timothy 2:14-19 Source Gloss
:--rightly divide.
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To cut straight; metaphorically, to handle Scripture accurately without distortion or deviation.
(- ὀρθός, τέμνω), [in LXX: Pro.3:6 11:6 (יָשַׁר pi.)* ;] to cut straight, as a road (τ. ὁδούς, figuratively, Pr, ll with). Metaphorical, τ. λόγον τ. ἀληθείας, 2Ti.2:15 (V. Ellic. and CGT, in l; not found elsewhere).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
1 Greek text appearance shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
2 Timothy 2:15 Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
ὀρθοτομοῦντα orqotomounta
I cut straight, handle correctly
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 groups 1 Aligned forms 1 Tenses Present Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Present Active 2 Tim 2:15 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 1 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 1
Voice
active 1
Mood
participle 1
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)
Where It Appears in Scripture
Where this word appears in Scripture: passage, original form, and sense in context.
New Testament Witnesses
to cut straight, to guide accurately, to handle correctly
Word Origins
ὀρθοτομέω is built from these roots:
τομώτερος G5114
Why This Word Matters
The phrase emphasizes precise and faithful interpretation of Scripture. 2 Timothy 2:14-19
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