What does ἀρέτη (arétē) mean in the Bible?
ἀρέτη (arétē): Excellence or moral virtue as a quality that produces admiration and recognition in others.
Greek · G703
ἀρέτη
Virtue
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ἀρέτηG703
Pronunciationarétē
What does ἀρέτη (arétē) mean in the Bible?
ἀρέτη (arétē): Excellence or moral virtue as a quality that produces admiration and recognition in others.
Full entry for ἀρέτη (G703) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G703?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include virtue (2), excellence (1), excellent (1), virtues (1).
Where does ἀρέτη (arétē) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Philippians 4:8. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Peter (3), 1 Peter (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 Itvirtue2×2 Peter 1:5
excellence1×2 Peter 1:3
excellent1×Philippians 4:8
virtues1×1 Peter 2:9
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowPhilippians 4:8
Aligned rows5
Books represented3
Philippians11 Peter12 Peter3
Source forms
ἀρετῇ2xaretē2 Peter 1:3, 2 Peter 1:5
ἀρετὰς1xaretas1 Peter 2:9
ἀρετὴ1xaretēPhilippians 4:8
ἀρετήν1xaretēn2 Peter 1:5
Parsing patterns
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular2x2 Peter 1:3, 2 Peter 1:5
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural1x1 Peter 2:9
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular1x2 Peter 1:5
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular1xPhilippians 4:8
Evidence Summary
Messiah
Greek word. Excellence or moral virtue as a quality that produces admiration and recognition in others.
Strong'sG703
Lexical occurrences0 versesGreek text appearances5 timesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkPhilippians 4:8–9Source Gloss
virtue
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Philippians 4:8Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἀρετὴareth
virtue, moral excellence, perfection
Read verse1 Peter 2:9Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
ἀρετὰςaretav
virtue, moral excellence, perfection
Read verse2 Peter 1:3Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
ἀρετῆς·arethv
virtue, moral excellence, perfection
Read verse2 Peter 1:5Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἀρετήν,arethn
virtue, moral excellence, perfection
Read verse2 Peter 1:5Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἀρετῇareth
virtue, moral excellence, perfection
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.
Sampled Scripture Occurrences
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
New Testament Witnesses
moral excellence
Word Origins
ἀρέτη is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Reorients virtue within Christ-centered ethics.Philippians 4:8–9
Canonical Themes
Messiah