What does προσφέρω (prosphérō) mean in the Bible?
G4374 can mean to bring, present, or offer. In John, its sharpest use comes in Jesus' warning that some will kill His disciples while thinking they are offering service to God.
Greek · G4374
προσφέρω
To bring to
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προσφέρω G4374
Pronunciation prosphérō
What does προσφέρω (prosphérō) mean in the Bible?
G4374 can mean to bring, present, or offer. In John, its sharpest use comes in Jesus' warning that some will kill His disciples while thinking they are offering service to God.
Reader summary
Full entry for προσφέρω (G4374) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4374?
The BSB source-word alignment has 47 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include offer (5), offered (3), to offer (3), was brought (3), [and] presented (2).
Where does προσφέρω (prosphérō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:11. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (20), Matthew (15), Luke (4), Acts (3).
What This Word Actually Means
G4374 can mean to bring, present, or offer. In John, its sharpest use comes in Jesus' warning that some will kill His disciples while thinking they are offering service to God. That is a sobering use of offering language. Religious intention does not make an act righteous when it opposes Christ and harms His people. John also uses the verb in the crucifixion scene when sour wine is lifted to Jesus' mouth. The word therefore needs careful handling: it can describe bringing something toward someone, presenting something, or offering service, but the moral value comes from the act's relation to God and His truth.
For John-focused use, the safest path is to let the immediate passage set the claim, then let the word clarify how the scene moves toward witness, faith, resistance, or worship.
How the Bible Uses It
G4374 carries bringing or offering language. In John it exposes false religious zeal in John 16:2 and appears in the physical action of bringing sour wine to Jesus at the cross.
- John.16.2
They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
Jesus warns that persecutors will think killing His disciples is an offering of service to God. The word exposes zeal that is religious but false.
- John.19.29
A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth.
At the cross, sour wine is lifted to Jesus' mouth. The physical act of bringing something to Him belongs to the crucifixion scene.
- Matt.5.23
So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
Matthew's altar language shows the broader offering sense of the verb, while John's use warns that not every claimed offering to God is faithful.
Passage contextCanonical parallel
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 offer 5× Matthew 5:24, Matthew 8:4, Hebrews 5:1, Hebrews 8:3
offered 3× Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 10:1, Hebrews 11:4
to offer 3× Luke 23:36, Hebrews 8:3, Hebrews 10:11
was brought 3× Matthew 9:32, Matthew 12:22, Matthew 18:24
[and] presented 2× Matthew 2:11, Matthew 25:20
[people] brought 2× Matthew 4:24, Matthew 14:35
he offered 2× Acts 8:18, Hebrews 9:7
present the offering 2× Mark 1:44, Luke 5:14
were brought 2× Matthew 8:16, Matthew 19:13
. . . 1× Hebrews 10:2
[and] lifted 1× John 19:29
[people] were bringing 1× Mark 10:13
[people] were even bringing 1× Luke 18:15
[some men] brought 1× Matthew 9:2
being offered 1× Hebrews 9:9
Did you bring 1× Acts 7:42
had offered 1× Hebrews 10:12
he is offering 1× John 16:2
He offered up 1× Hebrews 5:7
I brought 1× Matthew 17:16
is treating 1× Hebrews 12:7
offered up 1× Hebrews 11:17
they are offered 1× Hebrews 10:8
they brought 1× Matthew 22:19
to get to 1× Mark 2:4
to offer sacrifices 1× Hebrews 5:3
was offered 1× Hebrews 9:28
was ready to offer 1× Hebrews 11:17
who offer 1× Hebrews 8:4
would be made 1× Acts 21:26
you are offering 1× Matthew 5:23
You brought 1× Luke 23:14
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 2:11 προσήνεγκαν to [and] presented Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 4:24 προσήνεγκαν to [people] brought Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 5:23 προσφέρῃς to you are offering Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular Matthew 5:24 πρόσφερε to offer Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular Matthew 8:4 προσένεγκον to offer Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular Matthew 8:16 προσήνεγκαν to were brought Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 9:2 προσέφερον to [some men] brought Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 9:32 προσήνεγκαν to was brought Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 12:22 προσηνέχθη to was brought Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 14:35 προσήνεγκαν to [People] brought Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 2:11
Aligned rows 47
Books represented 6
Matthew 15 Mark 3 Luke 4 John 2 Acts 3 Hebrews 20
Source forms
προσήνεγκαν 7x prosēnenkan Matthew 2:11, Matthew 4:24, Matthew 8:16, Matthew 9:32
προσήνεγκεν 4x prosēnenken Matthew 25:20, Acts 8:18, Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 11:4
προσφέρειν 3x prospherein John 16:2, Hebrews 5:3, Hebrews 8:3
προσενέγκας 2x prosenenkas Hebrews 5:7, Hebrews 10:12
προσένεγκε 2x prosenenke Mark 1:44, Luke 5:14
προσέφερον 2x prosepheron Matthew 9:2, Mark 10:13
προσηνέχθη 2x prosēnechthē Matthew 12:22, Acts 21:26
προσφέρῃ 2x prospherē Hebrews 5:1, Hebrews 9:25
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 7x Matthew 2:11, Matthew 4:24, Matthew 8:16, Matthew 9:32
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 4x Matthew 25:20, Acts 8:18, Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 11:4
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular 3x Matthew 8:4, Mark 1:44, Luke 5:14
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 3x Matthew 12:22, Matthew 18:24, Acts 21:26
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 3x Matthew 9:2, Mark 10:13, Luke 18:15
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 3x John 16:2, Hebrews 5:3, Hebrews 8:3
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 2x Luke 23:14, Acts 7:42
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Hebrews 5:7, Hebrews 10:12
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use John 16:2 to warn against zeal detached from Christ, not to create suspicion toward all acts of service.
- Keep John 19:29 in the crucifixion scene. The physical action should not be turned into a theory of merit.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that persecutors in John 16:2 were truly serving God. Jesus presents their claim as tragically false.
- Do not treat every use of G4374 as sacrificial worship. The verb can also describe bringing or presenting something physically.
- Do not use John 19:29 to assign saving value to the sour wine action. The saving work belongs to Christ, not to the object lifted to Him.
Pastoral applicationPassage context
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to bring to
Strong's G4374
Lexical occurrences 47 verses Greek text appearances 48 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 47 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to bring to
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 48 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 2:11 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
προσήνεγκαν proshnegkan
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 4:24 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
προσήνεγκαν proshnegkan
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 5:23 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Subjunctive
προσφέρῃς prosferhv
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 5:24 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Imperative
πρόσφερε prosfere
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 8:4 Verb Second Person Singular Second Aorist Active Imperative
προσένεγκε prosenegke
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 8:16 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
προσήνεγκαν proshnegkan
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 9:2 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
προσέφερον proseferon
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 9:32 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
προσήνεγκαν proshnegkan
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 12:22 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
προσηνέχθη proshnecqh
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 14:35 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
προσήνεγκαν proshnegkan
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 17:16 Verb First Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
προσήνεγκα proshnegka
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 18:24 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
προσηνέχθη proshnecqh
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 19:13 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
προσηνέχθη proshnecqh
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 22:19 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
προσήνεγκαν proshnegkan
I bring to, offer
Read verse Matthew 25:20 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
προσήνεγκεν proshnegken
I bring to, offer
Read verse Mark 1:44 Verb Second Person Singular Second Aorist Active Imperative
προσένεγκε prosenegke
I bring to, offer
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 5 Aligned forms 47 Tenses Aorist, Imperfect, Present, Perfect Voices Active, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 28×
Aorist Active Matt 2:11 · Matt 4:24 · Matt 8:16 · Matt 9:32 · Matt 14:35 · Matt 22:19 · John 19:29 · Matt 25:20 · Acts 8:18 · Heb 9:14 · Heb 11:4 · Luke 23:14 · Acts 7:42 · Matt 17:16 14×
Imperfect Active Matt 9:2 · Mark 10:13 · Luke 18:15 · Heb 11:17 4×
Aorist Passive Matt 12:22 · Matt 18:24 · Acts 21:26 · Matt 19:13 4×
Present Passive Heb 9:9 · Heb 10:8 · Heb 12:7 3×
Present Active Heb 9:7 · Heb 10:1 2×
Perfect Active Heb 11:17 1×
Imperative command or strong request 4×
Aorist Active Matt 8:4 · Mark 1:44 · Luke 5:14 3×
Present Active Matt 5:24 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 4×
Present Active John 16:2 · Heb 5:3 · Heb 8:3 3×
Aorist Active Mark 2:4 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 4×
Present Active Heb 5:1 · Heb 9:25 · Matt 5:23 3×
Aorist Active Heb 8:3 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 7×
Present Active Luke 23:36 · Heb 8:4 · Heb 10:11 3×
Aorist Active Heb 5:7 · Heb 10:12 2×
Aorist Passive Heb 9:28 1×
Present Passive Heb 10:2 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 47 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 26 present 16 imperfect 4 perfect 1
Voice
active 38 passive 9
Mood
indicative 28 participle 7 subjunctive 4 infinitive 4 imperative 4
NT Occurrences
Matthew 2:11 προσήνεγκαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 4:24 προσήνεγκαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 5:23 προσφέρῃς present active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 5:24 πρόσφερε present active imperative imperative Matthew 8:16 προσήνεγκαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 8:4 προσένεγκον aorist active imperative imperative Matthew 9:2 προσέφερον imperfect active indicative background Matthew 9:32 προσήνεγκαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 12:22 προσηνέχθη aorist passive indicative completed Matthew 14:35 προσήνεγκαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 17:16 προσήνεγκα aorist active indicative completed Matthew 18:24 προσηνέχθη aorist passive indicative completed Matthew 19:13 προσηνέχθησαν aorist passive indicative completed Matthew 22:19 προσήνεγκαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 25:20 προσήνεγκεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 1:44 προσένεγκε aorist active imperative imperative Mark 2:4 προσενέγκαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Mark 10:13 προσέφερον imperfect active indicative background Luke 5:14 προσένεγκε aorist active imperative imperative Luke 18:15 Προσέφερον imperfect active indicative background Luke 23:14 Προσηνέγκατέ aorist active indicative completed Luke 23:36 προσφέροντες present active participle participle John 16:2 προσφέρειν present active infinitive infinitive John 19:29 προσήνεγκαν aorist active indicative completed Acts 7:42 προσηνέγκατέ aorist active indicative completed Acts 8:18 προσήνεγκεν aorist active indicative completed Acts 21:26 προσηνέχθη aorist passive indicative completed Hebrews 5:1 προσφέρῃ present active subjunctive subjunctive Hebrews 5:3 προσφέρειν present active infinitive infinitive Hebrews 5:7 προσενέγκας aorist active participle participle Hebrews 8:3 προσφέρειν present active infinitive infinitive Hebrews 8:3 προσενέγκῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Hebrews 8:4 προσφερόντων present active participle participle Hebrews 9:14 προσήνεγκεν aorist active indicative completed Hebrews 9:25 προσφέρῃ present active subjunctive subjunctive Hebrews 9:28 προσενεχθεὶς aorist passive participle participle Hebrews 9:7 προσφέρει present active indicative ongoing Hebrews 9:9 προσφέρονται present passive indicative ongoing Hebrews 10:1 προσφέρουσιν present active indicative ongoing Hebrews 10:11 προσφέρων present active participle participle
+7 more 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)
Word Origins
προσφέρω is built from these roots:
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
This word opens a serious pastoral distinction between offering and obedience. John 16:2 shows that people may imagine they are presenting service to God while actually resisting God's Son and persecuting His witnesses. The verb does not condemn offering language itself; Scripture can speak faithfully of gifts and service brought before God. But John forces the question of alignment.
Is the act brought to God in truth, or is religious language being used to baptize violence and unbelief? At the cross, the word also remains physical and concrete: something is lifted toward Jesus' mouth. Teachers should keep both senses bounded by their passages.
Anchor passage
John.16.2
Doctrinal connections
- John.16.2 - primary John anchor for offering, presenting, and misdirected zeal.
- John.19.29 - supporting passage for offering, presenting, and misdirected zeal.
- Matt.5.23 - supporting passage for offering, presenting, and misdirected zeal.
To bring, present, or offer is a reviewed display gloss for G4374. In this John-focused companion, the local discourse foregrounding data shows 2 John use(s), with tense patterns summarized as present 1, aorist 1. Use these grammar signals as support for reading the passage, not as a replacement for context.
From Old to New Testament
The broader Scripture connection should remain modest: offering, presenting, and misdirected zeal is visible in the cited passages, while the full theological claim must come from each passage's context rather than from the word alone.
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