What does αὐθεντέω (authentéō) mean in the Bible?
αὐθεντέω (authentéō): Authority exercised autonomously, with connotation of arrogant or domineering exercise of power over others.
Greek · G831
αὐθεντέω
αὐθεντέω (authentéō): Authority exercised autonomously, with connotation of arrogant or domineering exercise of power over others.
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αὐθεντέωG831
Pronunciationauthentéō
What does αὐθεντέω (authentéō) mean in the Bible?
Full entry for αὐθεντέω (G831) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G831?
The BSB source-word alignment has 1 aligned row for this entry. Common renderings include to exercise authority over (1).
Where does αὐθεντέω (authentéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Timothy 2:12. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (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 Itto exercise authority over1×1 Timothy 2:12
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row1 Timothy 2:12
Aligned rows1
Books represented1
1 Timothy1
Source forms
αὐθεντεῖν1xauthentein1 Timothy 2:12
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Infinitive Active1x1 Timothy 2:12
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Authority exercised autonomously, with connotation of arrogant or domineering exercise of power over others.
Strong'sG831
Lexical occurrences1 verseGreek text appearances1 timeWord forms1 form1 referenceVerse guides0 guides
Study link1 Timothy 2:8-15Source Gloss
to domineer
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Authority exercised autonomously, with connotation of arrogant or domineering exercise of power over others.
(αὐθέντης, i.e. αὐτο- ἕντης, one who acts on his own authority, in π., an autocrat; cf. Wis.12:6; cf. -ία, 3Ma.2:29; -ικος is frequently in vernacular, MM, see word) to govern, exercise authority over: 1Ti.2:12.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
1 Greek text appearance shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
1 Timothy 2:12Verb Present Active Infinitive
αὐθεντεῖνauqentein
I domineer over
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 groups1Aligned forms1TensesPresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Infinitiveverbal noun — the action in abstract1×
Present Active1 Tim 2:121×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 1 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present1
Voice
active1
Mood
infinitive1
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)
Where It Appears in Scripture
Where this word appears in Scripture: passage, original form, and sense in context.
New Testament Witnesses
To assume or exercise governing authority.
Word Origins
αὐθεντέω is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
The term clarifies that the prohibition concerns authoritative teaching within the gathered church context.1 Timothy 2:8-15