What does φονεύω (phoneúō) mean in the Bible?
φονεύω (phoneúō): Deliberate killing with malice, not accidental death; core commandment against murder in moral law
Greek · G5407
φονεύω
To be a murderer (of)
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φονεύω G5407
Pronunciation phoneúō
What does φονεύω (phoneúō) mean in the Bible?
φονεύω (phoneúō): Deliberate killing with malice, not accidental death; core commandment against murder in moral law
Full entry for φονεύω (G5407) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5407?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Do not murder (5), [and] murdered (1), do commit murder (1), murder (1), murders (1).
Where does φονεύω (phoneúō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (5), James (4), Luke (1), Mark (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 Do not murder 5× Matthew 5:21, Matthew 19:18, Luke 18:20, Romans 13:9
[and] murdered 1× James 5:6
do commit murder 1× James 2:11
murder 1× Mark 10:19
murders 1× Matthew 5:21
who murdered 1× Matthew 23:31
you kill 1× James 4:2
you murdered 1× Matthew 23:35
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:21 φονεύσεις to Do not murder Verb - Future Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular Matthew 5:21 φονεύσῃ to murders Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 19:18 φονεύσεις to Do not murder Verb - Future Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular Matthew 23:31 φονευσάντων to who murdered Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Plural Matthew 23:35 ἐφονεύσατε to you murdered Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural Mark 10:19 φονεύσῃς to murder Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular Luke 18:20 φονεύσῃς to do not murder Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular Romans 13:9 φονεύσεις to Do not murder Verb - Future Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular James 2:11 φονεύσῃς to Do not murder Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular James 2:11 φονεύεις to do commit murder Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:21
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 5
Matthew 5 Mark 1 Luke 1 Romans 1 James 4
Source forms
φονεύσεις 3x phoneuseis Matthew 5:21, Matthew 19:18, Romans 13:9
φονεύσῃς 3x phoneusēs Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, James 2:11
ἐφονεύσατε 2x ephoneusate Matthew 23:35, James 5:6
φονεύεις 1x phoneueis James 2:11
φονεύετε 1x phoneuete James 4:2
φονευσάντων 1x phoneusantōn Matthew 23:31
φονεύσῃ 1x phoneusē Matthew 5:21
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular 3x Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, James 2:11
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular 3x Matthew 5:21, Matthew 19:18, Romans 13:9
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 2x Matthew 23:35, James 5:6
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Plural 1x Matthew 23:31
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Matthew 5:21
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x James 4:2
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x James 2:11
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Deliberate killing with malice, not accidental death; core commandment against murder in moral law
Strong's G5407
Lexical occurrences 12 verses Greek text appearances 12 times Word forms 3 forms 12 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to be a murderer (of)
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Deliberate killing with malice, not accidental death; core commandment against murder in moral law
(φονεύς), [in LXX chiefly for רָצַח ;] to kill, murder. absol., Mat.5:21, Jas.4:2; μὴ (οὐ) φονεύσῃς (-εις), Mat.5:21 19:18, Mrk.10:19, Luk.18:20, Rom.13:9, Jas.2:11 (all from Exo.20:13-14); with accusative, Mat.23:31, 35, Jas.5:6.
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 5:21 Verb Second Person Singular Future Active Indicative
φονεύσεις· foneuseiv
I murder
Read verse Matthew 5:21 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
φονεύσῃ, foneush
I murder
Read verse Matthew 19:18 Verb Second Person Singular Future Active Indicative
φονεύσεις· foneuseiv
I murder
Read verse Matthew 23:31 Verb Aorist Active Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
φονευσάντων foneusantwn
I murder
Read verse Matthew 23:35 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐφονεύσατε efoneusate
I murder
Read verse Mark 10:19 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
φονεύσῃς, foneushv
I murder
Read verse Luke 18:20 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
φονεύσῃς, foneushv
I murder
Read verse Romans 13:9 Verb Second Person Singular Future Active Indicative
φονεύσεις, foneuseiv
I murder
Read verse James 2:11 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
φονεύσῃς· foneushv
I murder
Read verse James 2:11 Verb Second Person Singular Future Active Indicative
φονεύσεις foneuseiv
I murder
Read verse James 4:2 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Indicative
φονεύετε foneuete
I murder
Read verse James 5:6 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐφονεύσατε efoneusate
I murder
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 3 Aligned forms 12 Tenses Future, Aorist, Present Voices 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 7×
Future Active Matt 5:21 · Matt 19:18 · Rom 13:9 3×
Aorist Active Matt 23:35 · Jas 5:6 2×
Present Active Jas 2:11 · Jas 4:2 2×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 4×
Aorist Active Mark 10:19 · Luke 18:20 · Jas 2:11 · Matt 5:21 4×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Aorist Active Matt 23:31 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 11 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 6 future 3 present 2
Voice
active 11
Mood
indicative 6 subjunctive 4 participle 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 5:21 φονεύσεις future active indicative prospective Matthew 5:21 φονεύσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 19:18 φονεύσεις future active indicative prospective Matthew 23:31 φονευσάντων aorist active participle participle Matthew 23:35 ἐφονεύσατε aorist active indicative completed Mark 10:19 φονεύσῃς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 18:20 φονεύσῃς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Romans 13:9 φονεύσεις future active indicative prospective James 2:11 φονεύσῃς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive James 2:11 φονεύεις present active indicative ongoing James 4:2 φονεύετε 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
φονεύω is built from this root:
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