What does φιλέω · μισέω · ψυχή mean in the Bible?
φιλέω · μισέω · ψυχή is a Greek phrase meaning "love life / hate life by comparison".
Greek · G5368, G3404, G5590
φιλέω / μισέω τὴν ψυχήν
To love · to detest (especially to persecute); by extension, to love less · soul
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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant
φιλέω G5368 to love
Pronunciation philéō
Emotional, affectionate love of friendship and preference, contrasting ἀγαπάω's love of duty and respect
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μισέω G3404 to detest (especially to persecute); by extension, to love less
Pronunciation miséō
To hate intensely; also means to love less or regard as inferior by comparison.
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ψυχή G5590 soul
Pronunciation psychḗ
The animating life-principle that encompasses will, desires, and affections as the seat of personal identity
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What does φιλέω / μισέω τὴν ψυχήν (phileō / miseō tēn psychēn) mean in the Bible?
φιλέω · μισέω · ψυχή is a Greek phrase meaning "love life / hate life by comparison".
Full entry for φιλέω / μισέω τὴν ψυχήν (G5368, G3404, G5590) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How many biblical occurrences are listed for G5368, G3404, G5590?
G5368, G3404, G5590 is connected to 25 lexical occurrence verses in the lexicon data.
Evidence Summary
Greek phrase. love life / hate life by comparison
Source Gloss
love life / hate life by comparison
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 25 Tenses Present, Imperfect, Aorist, Perfect Voices Active
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 6×
Present Active Matt 10:37 · John 12:25 · Rev 22:15 · Luke 20:46 · Titus 3:15 6×
Indicative states a fact or reality 15×
Present Active John 5:20 · John 16:27 · 1 Cor 16:22 · John 11:3 · John 21:17 · John 21:15 · John 21:16 · Matt 6:5 · Matt 23:6 11×
Imperfect Active John 11:36 · John 15:19 · John 20:2 3×
Perfect Active John 16:27 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 3×
Aorist Active Matt 26:48 · Mark 14:44 2×
Present Active Rev 3:19 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Aorist Active Luke 22:47 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 35 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 21 aorist 6 future 5 perfect 2 imperfect 1
Voice
active 34 passive 1
Mood
indicative 22 participle 10 subjunctive 2 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 5:43 μισήσεις future active indicative prospective Matthew 6:24 μισήσει future active indicative prospective Matthew 24:10 μισήσουσιν future active indicative prospective Luke 1:71 μισούντων present active participle participle Luke 6:22 μισήσωσιν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 6:27 μισοῦσιν present active participle participle Luke 14:26 μισεῖ present active indicative ongoing Luke 16:13 μισήσει future active indicative prospective Luke 19:14 ἐμίσουν imperfect active indicative background John 3:20 μισεῖ present active indicative ongoing John 7:7 μισεῖν present active infinitive infinitive John 7:7 μισεῖ present active indicative ongoing John 12:25 μισῶν present active participle participle John 15:18 μισεῖ present active indicative ongoing John 15:18 μεμίσηκεν perfect active indicative resultant John 15:19 μισεῖ present active indicative ongoing John 15:23 μισῶν present active participle participle John 15:23 μισεῖ present active indicative ongoing John 15:25 Ἐμίσησάν aorist active indicative completed John 17:14 ἐμίσησεν aorist active indicative completed Romans 7:15 μισῶ present active indicative ongoing Romans 9:13 ἐμίσησα aorist active indicative completed Ephesians 5:29 ἐμίσησεν aorist active indicative completed Titus 3:3 μισοῦντες present active participle participle Hebrews 1:9 ἐμίσησας aorist active indicative completed 1 John 2:11 μισῶν present active participle participle 1 John 2:9 μισῶν present active participle participle 1 John 3:13 μισεῖ present active indicative ongoing 1 John 3:15 μισῶν present active participle participle 1 John 4:20 μισῇ present active subjunctive subjunctive Jude 1:23 μισοῦντες present active participle participle Revelation 2:6 μισεῖς present active indicative ongoing Revelation 2:6 μισῶ present active indicative ongoing Revelation 17:16 μισήσουσι future active indicative prospective Revelation 18:2 μεμισημένου perfect passive participle participle
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
φιλέω / μισέω τὴν ψυχήν is built from this root:
Cross-Language Connections
Hebrew roots and equivalents that share conceptual or etymological ground with this Greek word.
נֶפֶשׁ nafsho H5315 Related Hebrew
properly, a breathing creature , i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality ; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
רוּחַ rûaḥ H7307 Related Hebrew
wind ; by resemblance breath , i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation ; figuratively, life , anger , unsubstantiality ; by extension, a region of the sky ; by resemblance spirit , but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions)
חַי ḥay H2416 Related Hebrew
alive ; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong ; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively
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