Language Studies

Greek Thoughts

hUPOMONE* - Part 1 - εχηγεομαι (Strong's #1834)
Patience, endurance, perseverance

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Please note that all Biblical quotes, in this and all other lessons posted to Greek Thoughts, are from The Literal English Translation of the Bible produced by BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America.


This week we begin a study of the Greek noun ὑπομονὴ (Strong's #5281), which means "patience, endurance, perseverance." This word is made up of the preposition ὑπὸ (Strong's #5259), which means "under," and μὲνω (Strong's #3306), which means "to remain." Its meaning expresses a remaining under or an endurance in circumstances. Ancient philosophers listed "to be able to endure (ὑπομονὴ)" as a virtue of ἀνδρεῖος (BADG), "manly courage," or "manly bravery." It is helpful for the understanding of ὑπομονὴ to consider it in contrast to μακροθυμὶα (Strong's #3115), which means patience or longsuffering toward people.

̔Υπομονὴ is used in both the Old and New Testaments: nine times in the Septuagint Old Testament scriptures to translate and represent the Hebrew word QAWAH (Strong's #8615) meaning "to wait eagerly" or "to wait expectantly;" and two times in the gospels, both from Luke. This week's study focuses on ὑπομονὴ as it appears in the two texts from Luke.

Luke 8:15

15)
But the one in the good ground are those, who in a right and good heart, after having heard the Word, retain it and bring forth fruit, in patience (ὑπομονὴ).

While the Parable of the Sower is presented in all three synoptic gospels, only Luke's account uses ὑπομονὴ. The verse quoted above, Luke 8:15, ends the Lord's explanation of the parable. In it, Jesus says that the person with a right and spiritually good heart will retain the word after hearing it and will produce fruit, in remaining under his circumstance.

Luke 21:19

19)
In your patience (ὑπομονὴ), gainF1 your souls.

Chapter 21 of Luke presents the hardships that will come upon those who belong to Christ in the last days. In our study text, Luke 21:19, Jesus commands His followers to gain their souls through the endurance of these hardships. This statement is parallel to one found in Matthew 24:13, "But the one having enduredF2 unto the end shall be saved." Both of these gospel writers present the teaching of Jesus as saying that the one who belongs to Christ will endure unto the end. Patient endurance, according to Jesus, is a characteristic of the one who is saved; it is not the work ethic of the believer.

These two applications of ὑπομονὴ, the endurance of circumstances for growth and a virtue characteristic of the believer, are found in teachings throughout the rest of the New Testament. Next week we will begin an in-depth study of this word from James 1:2-4.

*hUPOMONE is the English font spelling of the Greek word ὑπομονὴ.

F1: Some manuscripts read the future tense κτὴσεσθε here, "You will gain," instead of the aorist imperative, κτὴσασθε, "gain."

F2: Matthew uses the aorist participle of the verb form ὑπομὲνω (Strong's #5278).

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Meet the Author

Bill Klein has been a pastor, counselor, and educator for the past 41 years. He has had extensive training and education in biblical languages, and has authored a Biblical Greek course.

He is currently serving as Professor of Biblical Greek at Master's Graduate School of Divinity, and president of BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America, a non-profit organization located in California that provides Bible study tapes and Greek study materials through their website BTEMinistries.org.