What does πληθύνω (plēthýnō) mean in the Bible?
πληθύνω (plēthýnō): Growth that multiplies or increases, emphasizing abundance rather than mere addition or change.
Greek · G4129
πληθύνω
To increase (transitively or intransitively)
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πληθύνω G4129
Pronunciation plēthýnō
What does πληθύνω (plēthýnō) mean in the Bible?
πληθύνω (plēthýnō): Growth that multiplies or increases, emphasizing abundance rather than mere addition or change.
Full entry for πληθύνω (G4129) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4129?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include multiply (3), be multiplied (2), . . . (1), greatly in number (1), grew (1).
Where does πληθύνω (plēthýnō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 24:12. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (5), Hebrews (2), 1 Peter (1), 2 Corinthians (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 multiply 3× Acts 12:24, 2 Corinthians 9:10, Hebrews 6:14
be multiplied 2× 2 Peter 1:2, Jude 1:2
. . . 1× Hebrews 6:14
greatly in number 1× Acts 7:17
grew 1× Acts 6:7
in abundance 1× 1 Peter 1:2
numbers 1× Acts 9:31
the multiplication 1× Matthew 24:12
were increasing in number 1× Acts 6:1
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 24:12 πληθυνθῆναι to the multiplication Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive Acts 6:1 πληθυνόντων to were increasing in number Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Plural Acts 6:7 ἐπληθύνετο to grew Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Acts 7:17 ἐπληθύνθη to greatly in number Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular Acts 9:31 ἐπληθύνετο to numbers Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Acts 12:24 ἐπληθύνετο to multiply Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 2 Corinthians 9:10 πληθυνεῖ to multiply Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Hebrews 6:14 πληθύνων to multiply Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Hebrews 6:14 πληθυνῶ to . . . Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 1 Peter 1:2 πληθυνθείη to in abundance Verb - Aorist Optative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 24:12
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 7
Matthew 1 Acts 5 2 Corinthians 1 Hebrews 2 1 Peter 1 2 Peter 1 Jude 1
Source forms
ἐπληθύνετο 3x eplēthyneto Acts 6:7, Acts 9:31, Acts 12:24
πληθυνθείη 3x plēthyntheiē 1 Peter 1:2, 2 Peter 1:2, Jude 1:2
ἐπληθύνθη 1x eplēthynthē Acts 7:17
πληθυνεῖ 1x plēthynei 2 Corinthians 9:10
πληθυνθῆναι 1x plēthynthēnai Matthew 24:12
πληθυνόντων 1x plēthynontōn Acts 6:1
πληθυνῶ 1x plēthynō Hebrews 6:14
πληθύνων 1x plēthynōn Hebrews 6:14
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Optative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 3x 1 Peter 1:2, 2 Peter 1:2, Jude 1:2
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 3x Acts 6:7, Acts 9:31, Acts 12:24
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Acts 7:17
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive 1x Matthew 24:12
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 1x Hebrews 6:14
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x 2 Corinthians 9:10
Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Plural 1x Acts 6:1
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Hebrews 6:14
Evidence Summary
Revelation
Greek word. Growth that multiplies or increases, emphasizing abundance rather than mere addition or change.
Strong's G4129
Lexical occurrences 12 verses Greek text appearances 12 times Word forms 4 forms 12 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 12:20-25 Source Gloss
to increase (transitively or intransitively)
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Growth that multiplies or increases, emphasizing abundance rather than mere addition or change.
(causal of πληθύω, to be full, πληθύς, Ion. for πλῆθος), [in LXX chiefly for רָבָה hi. ;]
1trans., to increase, multiply: 2Co.9:10 6:14" (LXX) ; pass., to be increased, to multiply: Mat.24:12, Act.6:7 7:17 9:31 12:24; with dative of person(s) (Dan LXX TH 3:31(98) al.), 1Pe.1:2, 2Pe.1:2, Ju 2.
2Intrans., to be increased, to multiply: Act.6:1.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
12 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 24:12 Verb Aorist Passive Infinitive
πληθυνθῆναι plhqunqhnai
I increase, multiply
Read verse Acts 6:1 Verb Present Active Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
πληθυνόντων plhqunontwn
I increase, multiply
Read verse Acts 6:7 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Passive Indicative
ἐπληθύνετο eplhquneto
I increase, multiply
Read verse Acts 7:17 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
ἐπληθύνθη eplhqunqh
I increase, multiply
Read verse Acts 9:31 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Passive Indicative
ἐπληθύνοντο. eplhqunonto
I increase, multiply
Read verse Acts 12:24 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Passive Indicative
ἐπληθύνετο. eplhquneto
I increase, multiply
Read verse 2 Corinthians 9:10 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Optative
πληθύναι plhqunai
I increase, multiply
Read verse Hebrews 6:14 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
πληθύνων plhqunwn
I increase, multiply
Read verse Hebrews 6:14 Verb First Person Singular Future Active Indicative
πληθυνῶ plhqunw
I increase, multiply
Read verse 1 Peter 1:2 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Optative
πληθυνθείη. plhqunqeih
I increase, multiply
Read verse 2 Peter 1:2 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Optative
πληθυνθείη plhqunqeih
I increase, multiply
Read verse Jude 1:2 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Optative
πληθυνθείη. plhqunqeih
I increase, multiply
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 4 Aligned forms 12 Tenses Imperfect, Aorist, Present, Future Voices Passive, Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 6×
Imperfect Passive Acts 6:7 · Acts 9:31 · Acts 12:24 3×
Future Active 2 Cor 9:10 · Heb 6:14 2×
Aorist Passive Acts 7:17 1×
Optative wish or remote possibility 3×
Aorist Passive 1 Pet 1:2 · 2 Pet 1:2 · Jude 1:2 3×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Aorist Passive Matt 24:12 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Present Active Acts 6:1 · Heb 6:14 2×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 9 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 4 present 2 imperfect 2 future 1
Voice
passive 6 active 3
Mood
optative 3 indicative 3 participle 2 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 24:12 πληθυνθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive Acts 6:1 πληθυνόντων present active participle participle Acts 6:7 ἐπληθύνετο imperfect passive indicative background Acts 9:31 ἐπληθύνετο imperfect passive indicative background Hebrews 6:14 πληθύνων present active participle participle Hebrews 6:14 πληθυνῶ future active indicative prospective 1 Peter 1:2 πληθυνθείη aorist passive optative optative 2 Peter 1:2 πληθυνθείη aorist passive optative optative Jude 1:2 πληθυνθείη aorist passive optative optative
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.
New Testament Witnesses
To increase or grow in number.
Showing 1 selected witness from 12 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
πληθύνω is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Reinforces the unstoppable expansion of God’s word. Acts 12:20-25
Canonical Themes
Revelation
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.
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