What does ὀφείλω · ὀφείλημα mean in the Bible?
ὀφείλω · ὀφείλημα is a Greek phrase meaning "duty".
Greek · G3784, G3783
ὀφειλήν
To owe · debt
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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant
ὀφείλω G3784 to owe
Pronunciation opheílō
Moral or spiritual obligation, not just financial debt; what one is bound or duty-bound to do
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ὀφείλημα G3783 debt
Pronunciation opheílēma
Sin conceived as debt owed to God; obligation incurred that must be repaid or forgiven.
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What does ὀφειλήν (opheilēn) mean in the Bible?
ὀφείλω · ὀφείλημα is a Greek phrase meaning "duty".
Full entry for ὀφειλήν (G3784, G3783) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How many biblical occurrences are listed for G3784, G3783?
G3784, G3783 is connected to 35 lexical occurrence verses in the lexicon data.
Evidence Summary
Greek phrase. duty
Source Gloss
duty
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 3 Aligned forms 35 Tenses Present, Imperfect Voices Active, Passive
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 30×
Present Active Matt 23:16 · Matt 23:18 · John 19:7 · 1 Cor 7:36 · 1 Cor 9:10 · 1 Cor 11:7 · 1 Cor 11:10 · 2 Cor 12:14 · Phlm 1:18 · Heb 5:3 · 1 John 2:6 · Acts 17:29 · Rom 15:1 · 2 Thess 1:3 · 2 Thess 2:13 · 1 John 3:16 24×
Imperfect Active Matt 18:28 · Luke 7:41 · Heb 2:17 · Luke 17:10 · 1 Cor 5:10 · 2 Cor 12:11 6×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 4×
Present Passive Matt 18:30 · Matt 18:34 2×
Present Active Luke 11:4 · Heb 5:12 2×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Present Active Rom 13:8 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 35 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 29 imperfect 6
Voice
active 33 passive 2
Mood
indicative 30 participle 4 imperative 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 18:28 ὤφειλεν imperfect active indicative background Matthew 18:28 ὀφείλεις present active indicative ongoing Matthew 18:30 ὀφειλόμενον present passive participle participle Matthew 18:34 ὀφειλόμενον present passive participle participle Matthew 23:16 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing Matthew 23:18 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing Luke 7:41 ὤφειλεν imperfect active indicative background Luke 11:4 ὀφείλοντι present active participle participle Luke 16:5 ὀφείλεις present active indicative ongoing Luke 16:7 ὀφείλεις present active indicative ongoing Luke 17:10 ὠφείλομεν imperfect active indicative background John 13:14 ὀφείλετε present active indicative ongoing John 19:7 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing Acts 17:29 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing Romans 13:8 ὀφείλετε present active imperative imperative Romans 15:1 Ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing Romans 15:27 ὀφείλουσιν present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 5:10 ὠφείλετε imperfect active indicative background 1 Corinthians 7:36 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 9:10 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 11:10 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 11:7 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 2 Corinthians 12:11 ὤφειλον imperfect active indicative background 2 Corinthians 12:14 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing Ephesians 5:28 ὀφείλουσιν present active indicative ongoing 2 Thessalonians 1:3 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing 2 Thessalonians 2:13 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing Philemon 1:18 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing Hebrews 2:17 ὤφειλεν imperfect active indicative background Hebrews 5:12 ὀφείλοντες present active participle participle Hebrews 5:3 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 1 John 2:6 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 1 John 3:16 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing 1 John 4:11 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing 3 John 1:8 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing
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)
Word Origins
ὀφειλήν is built from this root:
ὄφελος G3786
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