What does φρουρέω (phrouréō) mean in the Bible?
φρουρέω (phrouréō): To guard by active military or protective vigilance; often metaphorically, to keep safe under protective custody.
Greek · G5432
φρουρέω
To guard
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φρουρέω G5432
Pronunciation phrouréō
What does φρουρέω (phrouréō) mean in the Bible?
φρουρέω (phrouréō): To guard by active military or protective vigilance; often metaphorically, to keep safe under protective custody.
Full entry for φρουρέω (G5432) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5432?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [are] shielded (1), secured (1), we were held in custody (1), will guard (1).
Where does φρουρέω (phrouréō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 2 Corinthians 11:32. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Peter (1), 2 Corinthians (1), Galatians (1), Philippians (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 [are] shielded 1× 1 Peter 1:5
secured 1× 2 Corinthians 11:32
we were held in custody 1× Galatians 3:23
will guard 1× Philippians 4:7
Show sample aligned rows
2 Corinthians 11:32 ἐφρούρει to secured Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Galatians 3:23 ἐφρουρούμεθα to we were held in custody Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Plural Philippians 4:7 φρουρήσει to will guard Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1 Peter 1:5 φρουρουμένους to [are] shielded Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 2 Corinthians 11:32
Aligned rows 4
Books represented 4
2 Corinthians 1 Galatians 1 Philippians 1 1 Peter 1
Source forms
ἐφρούρει 1x ephrourei 2 Corinthians 11:32
ἐφρουρούμεθα 1x ephrouroumetha Galatians 3:23
φρουρήσει 1x phrourēsei Philippians 4:7
φρουρουμένους 1x phrouroumenous 1 Peter 1:5
Parsing patterns
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Philippians 4:7
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x 2 Corinthians 11:32
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Plural 1x Galatians 3:23
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural 1x 1 Peter 1:5
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To guard by active military or protective vigilance; often metaphorically, to keep safe under protective custody.
Strong's G5432
Lexical occurrences 4 verses Greek text appearances 4 times Word forms 2 forms 4 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 12:1-5 Source Gloss
to guard
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To guard by active military or protective vigilance; often metaphorically, to keep safe under protective custody.
(φρουρός, a guard), [in LXX: I Est.4:56, Jdth.3:6, Wis.17:16, 1Ma.11:3 * ;] to guard, keep under guard, protect or keep by guarding: 2Co.11:32; metaphorically, Gal.3:23, Php.4:7, 1Pe.1:5.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
2 Corinthians 11:32 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐφρούρει efrourei
I guard, keep
Read verse Galatians 3:23 Verb First Person Plural Imperfect Passive Indicative
ἐφρουρούμεθα, efrouroumeqa
I guard, keep
Read verse Philippians 4:7 Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
φρουρήσει frourhsei
I guard, keep
Read verse 1 Peter 1:5 Verb Present Passive Participle Accusative Plural Masculine
φρουρουμένους frouroumenouv
I guard, keep
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 2 Aligned forms 4 Tenses Imperfect, Future, Present 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 3×
Imperfect Active 2 Cor 11:32 1×
Imperfect Passive Gal 3:23 1×
Future Active Phil 4:7 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Present Passive 1 Pet 1:5 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 4 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
imperfect 2 present 1 future 1
Voice
passive 2 active 2
Mood
indicative 3 participle 1
NT 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)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
To keep watch or guard.
Showing 1 selected witness from 4 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
φρουρέω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Emphasizes the seriousness of Herod’s attempt to prevent escape. Acts 12:1-5
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