Need
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χρεία (chreía) names need, necessity, lack, or something required in a particular situation. Jesus says the Father knows what His children need before they ask, compares His mission to a physician needed by the sick, feeds a hungry crowd that does not need to be sent away, and says the Lord needs the animals for His entry.
Reader summary
Full entry for χρεία (G5532) · Open the biblical lexicon
χρεία (chreía) names need, necessity, lack, or something required in a particular situation. Jesus says the Father knows what His children need before they ask, compares His mission to a physician needed by the sick, feeds a hungry crowd that does not need to be sent away, and says the Lord needs the animals for His entry.
The BSB source-word alignment has 49 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include need (26), needs (10), in need (3), needed (2), . . . (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 3:14. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (7), Matthew (6), Acts (5), 1 Thessalonians (4).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
χρεία (chreía) names need, necessity, lack, or something required in a particular situation. Jesus says the Father knows what His children need before they ask, compares His mission to a physician needed by the sick, feeds a hungry crowd that does not need to be sent away, and says the Lord needs the animals for His entry. Paul thanks a church for supplying his needs, while Hebrews directs believers to the throne of grace for timely help.
The noun neither denies material need nor makes need a tool for spiritual control. It teaches dependence without anxiety, compassion without paternalism, and generosity without publicity. What is needed changes with the passage: food, healing, an animal, support for ministry, mercy, or grace. A faithful reader asks who identifies the need, what God has promised, and how the community may respond in love.
χρεία keeps need concrete while directing believers to the Father's knowledge and Christ's sufficient grace. Need also creates an ethical question for the church. It can be easier to offer a quick religious phrase than to listen, pray, share resources, or connect someone with durable help. Jesus' care for the crowd and Paul's thankful partnership show that need should not be ignored or exploited.
At the same time, no human helper becomes the ultimate provider. The Father knows, Christ receives the needy, and grace meets believers before God's throne. This keeps practical care humble, wise, and free from the desire to own the people we assist. Receiving help can likewise be an act of faith, because it confesses creaturely dependence and gives the body of Christ an opportunity to practice love.
χρεία appears in Jesus' teaching, scenes of compassion, practical provision, apostolic support, and prayer for grace. It names real lack or necessity, but each context directs readers away from anxious self-sufficiency and toward God's knowledge, wise care, and generous response.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
Jesus grounds prayer in the Father's knowledge of need, not in anxious repetition. The verse encourages trustful asking without implying that material needs are unreal or that prayer makes wise planning unnecessary.
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
Jesus' physician image explains His welcome of sinners and calls for mercy. It is not a dismissal of bodily illness or professional care; it identifies His saving mission to those who know their need.
“They do not need to go away,” Jesus replied. “You give them something to eat.”
Jesus sees the hungry crowd's practical need and involves the disciples in provision. The scene refuses both indifference to material lack and the assumption that disciples possess resources apart from Christ.
If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
The Lord's need for the animals serves His deliberate entry into Jerusalem. The statement belongs to Christ's unique authority and should not be used by leaders to claim whatever another person owns.
For even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs again and again.
Paul receives the Philippians' repeated support with gratitude inside a letter that also teaches contentment. Their provision is partnership in the gospel, not leverage over Paul or a demand for spiritual status.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews directs needy believers to God's throne of grace through the sympathetic high priest. The promised help is mercy and grace, not a guarantee that every difficulty is removed on the timetable we prefer.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Practical lack requiring action or supply, not merely abstract want or desire.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 49 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
need, necessity, business
Read verseneed, necessity, business
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Read verseneed, necessity, business
Read verseneed, necessity, business
Read verseneed, necessity, business
Read verseneed, necessity, business
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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.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 49 lexical occurrence verses.
χρεία is built from these roots:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Need is not a failure of faith. χρεία gives Scripture a plain word for what people require, whether food for a crowd, care for the sick, support for ministry, mercy before God, or grace in a pressing hour. Jesus teaches His disciples to pray because the Father already knows their needs. He feeds hungry people and welcomes sinners who need a physician. Paul gratefully receives support without surrendering contentment, and Hebrews sends believers confidently to the throne of grace.
This pattern keeps the church from two errors: pretending need is embarrassing, or turning need into a way to control others. In Christ, the needy are welcomed, the church is called to generous and wise care, and grace is available for help at the time it is needed. A church formed by this word will neither hide need nor advertise it for power. It will pray honestly, assess wisely, share generously, protect dignity, and keep returning to Christ, whose mercy does not run out when resources or strength feel thin.
That confidence gives courage to ask for help, wisdom to offer it, and patience when the answer includes endurance as well as provision.
Heb.4.16
χρεία is a noun for a need or necessity, and its content must come from the surrounding passage. It can refer to material provision, situational requirement, or divine help, so the word alone never tells a reader what another person needs.
God hears the cry of the needy throughout Scripture and commands His people to practice justice, generosity, and mercy. Jesus reveals the Father's care in teaching and feeding, fulfills His entry into Jerusalem as Lord, and gives Himself as the high priest through whom grace helps in need. The church responds with prayer, practical provision, and humble dependence rather than denial or exploitation.
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