Bible Lexicons

While περί, literally ";round about"; as distinguished from ἀμφί (not in NT) ";on both sides,"; is found c. dat. in classical Greek and the LXX, in the NT it occurs only c. gen. (291 times) and c. acc. (38 times) : see Proleg. p. 105 and cf. p. 98.

1. For the commonest use c. gen. = ";concerning,’ ";about,"; see P Lille I. 17.4 (mid. iii/B.C.) ἐπιστολὴν περὶ σιταρ [ί ]ου, ib. 26.1 (iii/B.C.) ἔγραψάς μοι περὶ τῆς εἰς τὴν σησαμείαν γῆς, P Par 44.7 (B.C. 153) ἀγωνιῶ γὰρ περί σου P Lips I. 104.13 (B.C. 96–5) περὶ ὧν ἂν αἱρῆσθε, γράφετ μοι, P Oxy IV. 743.31 (B.C. 2) περὶ πάντων αὐτῷ τὴν ἐπι τροπὴν δέδωκα, ";I have entrusted to him the care of the whole matter"; (Edd), ib. XII. 1583.11 (ii/A.D.) γράψον μοι περὶ τῶν ὄντων, ";write me regarding the present state of affairs,"; and BGU II. 632.12 (ii/A.D.) (= LAE, p. 173) ο [ὐ ]χ ὀκνῶ σοι γράψαι περὶ τῆ [ς ] σωτηρίας μου καὶ τῶν ἐμῶν, ";I am not delaying to write you regarding the health of me and mine."; In P Par 48.5 (B.C. 153) (= Witkowski Epp..2 p. 91) ἀκούσαντες. . τὰ περὶ σου συνβεβηκότα, we have a mixture of ἀκούσαντες περὶ σοῦ and ἀκούσαντες τά (σοι) συνβεβηκότα.

Περί, ";with regard to,"; at the beginning of a new clause (as in 1 Corinthians 7:1) may be illustrated from the headings in the Mysteries inscr. from Andania Syll 653 ( = .3736).1 (B.C. 91) περὶ ἱε ]ρῶν καὶ ἱερᾶν, al. See also P Eleph 13.4 f. (B.C. 223–2) περὶ δὲ τῶν εἴκοσι δραχμῶν οὔπω ἐκεκόμιστο Φίλων. . . περὶ δὲ τοῦ οἰναρίου Πραξιάδης οὔπω εἰσελήλυθεν ἐξ ἀγροῦ, BGU IV. 1097.5 (time of Claudius or Nero) περὶ δὲ Σαραπᾶτος τοῦ υἱου ̣̑ οὐ καταλ ̣έλυκε παρ᾽ ἐμὲ ὅλως, and ib. I. 246.13 (ii/iii A.D.) περὶ δὲ Νείλου οὐδ [ὲ π ]αρασφαλίσματά μοι ἐδίδου οὐδὲ καταγραφήν. . .17 περὶ Ἑρμιόνης μελησάτω ὑμῖν, πῶς ἄλυπος ἦν.

The transition to the meaning ";on account of,"; ";for,"; is easy, when περί becomes practically identical with ὑπέρ (q.v.) : cf. in the NT Mark 14:24, Galatians 1:4, 1 Corinthians 1:13, Hebrews 5:3, al., where the two words are variae lectiones, and for περί in this sense in the papyri see P Oxy X. 1298.4 (iv/A.D.) πρὸ πάντων εὔχομε τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ περὶ τῆς ὁλοκληρίας σου καὶ τῶν φιλτάτων σου, and ib. XII. 1494.6 (early iv/A.D.) μά [[λ ]]λειστα μὲν δεήσει καὶ ὑμᾶς εὔχεσθαι περεὶ ἡμῶν, ";it will be most necessary for you too to pray on my behalf"; (Edd.) On the preposition placed after its noun in Acts 19:40 see Field Notes, p. 131.

Περί is frequent c. gen. of the articular inf., e.g. P Tebt I. 56.6 (c. B.C. 130–121) γ ̣ε ̣ι ̣ν ̣[ωσ ]κε δε ̣̣ περὶ τοῦ κατακεκλῦσθαι τὸ πεδίον ὑμῶν (l. ἡμῶν), ";you must hear about our plain having been inundated"; (Edd.), and P Ryl II. 230.3 (A.D. 40) ἐκομισάμην ἐπιστολὴ (ν) περὶ τοῦ πέμψαι με ἐπὶ τοῦς ἄρτους τῇ ε ̄, ";I received a letter regarding my sending for the loaves on the 5th.";

2. For the local use of περί c. acc. cf. P Tebt I. 56.12 (c. B.C. 130–121) ζητή [σ ]α ̣[ς ] μοι περὶ τὴν κώμην σου εἰς τὴν τροφὴν ἡμῶν γῆς ἀρούρος πέ [ν ]τε, ";by seeking out in the neighbourhood of your village 5 arourae for our maintenance"; (Edd.), P Oxy II. 246.14 (A.D. 66) περὶ τὴν αὐτὴν Φθῶχιν, ";in the neighbourhood of the said Phthochis."; See also from the inscrr. Preisigke 1568.6 (ii/B.C.) οἱ περὶ αὐλήν (";court-officials"; ).

With Mark 4:10 οἱ περὶ αὐτόν, ";his disciples,"; cf. P Petr II. 45ii. 7 (B.C. 246) τοῖς περὶ τὸν Λαοδίκην, ";to the party of Laodike,"; P Grenf I. 10.17 (B.C. 174) οἱ περὶ τὸν Δρύτωνα, and for the classical idiom in Acts 13:13 οἱ περὶ Παῦλον, ";Paul and his company,"; cf. ib. I. 21.16 (B.C. 126) αἱ περὶ Απολλωνίαν, ";Apollonia and her sisters"; as joint beneficiaries under a Will, and P Fay 34.11 (A.D. 161) τοῖ [ς ] περὶ τὸν Πανεσνέα, ";to Panesneus and his partners.";

With Philippians 2:23 τὰ περὶ ἐμέ, cf. P Par 44.6 (B.C. 153) τὰ περὶ Απολλώνιον, and see also ib. 15.17 (B.C. 120) τῇ περὶ ἑαυτοὺς βίᾳ χρώμενοι, P Ryl II. 153.45 (A.D. 138–161) διὰ τὴν περὶ ἐμὲ ἀσθένιαν, and the magic formula P Oxy VI. 886.5 (iii/A.D.) ὁ δὲ τρόπος ἐστὶν τὰ περ [ὶ ] τὰ γράμματα κ ̄θ ̄, ";the method is concerned with the 29 letters,";

The temporal use of περί c. acc., as in Matthew 20:3, Acts 10:3; Acts 10:9 al., may be illustrated by BGU I. 246.20 (ii/iii A.D.) περὶ τὸν Χοιάκ, PSI III. 184.5 (A.D. 292) χθὲς περὶ ἕκτην ὥραν.

Further instances of the different uses of περί will be found in the monographs of Kuhring and Rossberg (see Abbreviations I.).