δύναμις,
-εως,
ἡ; [from Homer down];
Sept. for
חַיִל,
גְּבוּרָה,
עֹז,
כֹּחַ,
צָבָא (an army, a host);
strength, ability, power;
a. universally,
inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or
which a person or
thing exerts and puts forth: Luke 1:17;
Acts 4:7;
1 Corinthians 4:20;
2 Corinthians 4:7;
2 Corinthians 12:9 (
ἡ δύναμις ἐν ἀσθένείᾳ τελεῖται [R G τελειοῦται]);
2 Cor 13:4;
1 Thessalonians 1:5;
Hebrews 7:16;
Hebrews 11:34;
Revelation 1:16;
Revelation 17:13;
ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει,
Acts 3:12;
μεγάλῃ δυνάμει,
Acts 4:33;
ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν δύναμιν,
Matthew 25:15;
ὑπὲρ δύναμιν, beyond our power,
2 Corinthians 1:8;
ἐν δυνάμει namely,
ὤν, endued with power,
Luke 4:36;
1 Corinthians 15:43; so in the phrase
ἔρχεσθαι ἐν δυνάμει,
Mark 9:1;
powerfully, Colossians 1:29;
2 Thessalonians 1:11; contextually, equivalent to
evidently, Romans 1:4;
ἐν δυνάμει σημείων κ.
τεράτων, through the power which I exerted upon their souls by performing miracles,
Romans 15:19;
δύν.
εἴς τι,
Hebrews 11:11;
δύν.
ἐπὶ τὰ δαιμόνια καὶ νόσους θεραπεύειν,
Luke 9:1;
ἡ δύναμις τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ νόμος, sin exercises its power (upon the soul) through the law,
i. e. through the abuse of the law,
1 Corinthians 15:56;
τῆς ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ, the power which the resurrection of Christ has, for instructing, reforming, elevating, tranquilizing, the soul,
Philippians 3:10;
τῆς εὐσεβείας, inhering in godliness and operating upon souls,
2 Timothy 3:5;
δυνάμεις μέλλοντος αἰῶνος (see
αἰών, 3),
Hebrews 6:5;
τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς δυνάμεως (see
πνεῦμα, 5),
1 Peter 4:14 Lachmann;
2 Timothy 1:7;
δύναμις is used of the power of angels:
Ephesians 1:21 [cf. Meyer at the passage];
2 Peter 2:11; of the power of the devil and evil spirits,
1 Corinthians 15:24;
τοῦ ἐχθροῦ,
i. e. of the devil,
Luke 10:19;
τοῦ δράκοντος,
Revelation 13:2; angels, as excelling in power, are called
δυνάμεις [cf. (Philo de mutat. nora. § 8
δυνάμεις ἀσωματοι) Meyer as above; Bp. Lightfoot on
Colossians 1:16; see
ἄγγελος]:
Romans 8:38;
1 Peter 3:22.
ἡ δύναμις τοῦ θεοῦ, universally,
the power of God:
Matthew 22:29;
Mark 12:24;
Luke 22:69;
Acts 8:10;
Romans 1:20;
Romans 9:17;
1 Corinthians 6:14;
δύναμις ὑψίστου,
Luke 1:35;
ἡ δύναμις, especially in doxologies, the kingly power of God,
Matthew 6:13 Rec.;
Revelation 4:11;
Revelation 7:12;
Revelation 11:17;
Revelation 12:10;
Revelation 15:8;
Revelation 19:1; and the abstract for the concrete (as
הַגְּבוּרָה in Jewish writings; cf.
Buxtorf, Lex. talm. col. 385 [p. 201f, Fischer edition]) equivalent to
ὁ δυνατός,
Matthew 26:64;
Mark 14:62;
δύναμις τοῦ θεοῦ is used of the divine power considered as acting upon the minds of men,
1 Corinthians 2:5;
2 Corinthians 6:7;
Ephesians 3:7,
20; [
2 Timothy 1:8;
1 Peter 1:5];
εἴς τινα,
2 Corinthians 13:4 [but WH in brackets];
Ephesians 1:19;
ἐνδύεσθαι δύναμιν ἐξ υψους,
Luke 24:49; by metonymy, things or persons in which God's saving power shows its efficacy are called
δυνάμεις θεοῦ: thus,
ὁ Χριστος,
1 Corinthians 1:24;
ὁ λόγος τοῦ σταυροῦ,
1 Corinthians 1:18;
τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, with the addition
εἰς σωτηρίαν παντί, etc.
Romans 1:16 [cf. Winer's Grammar, § 36, 3 b.].
δύναμις is ascribed to Christ, now in one sense and now in another: a power to heal disease proceeds from him,
Mark 5:30;
Luke 5:17;
Luke 6:19;
Luke 8:46 the kingly power of the Messiah is his,
Matthew 24:30; [
Mark 13:26];
Luke 21:27;
2 Peter 1:16;
Revelation 5:12;
ἄγγελοι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ (see
ἄγγελος, 2), ministering to his power,
2 Thessalonians 1:7 [Winer's Grammar, § 34, 3 b. note]; metaphysical [or essential] power, viz. that which belongs to him as
ὁ θεῖος λόγος, in the expression
τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς δυνάμ.
αὐτοῦ, the word uttered by his power, equivalent to his most powerful will and energy,
Hebrews 1:3; moral power, operating on the soul,
2 Corinthians 12:9 R G; and called
ἡ θεῖα αὐτοῦ δύναμις in
2 Peter 1:3;
ἡ δύναμις τοῦ κυρίου, the power of Christ invisibly present and operative in Christian church formally assembled,
1 Corinthians 5:4.
δύναμις τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος:
Acts 1:8 [Winer's Grammar, 125 (119)];
πν.
ἅγιον κ.
δύναμις,
Acts 10:38;
ἀπόδειξις πνεύματος καὶ δυνάμεως (see
ἀπόδειξις, b.),
1 Corinthians 2:4;
ἐν τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ πνεύματος, under or full of the power of the Holy Spirit,
Luke 4:14;
ἐν δυνάμει πνεύματος ἁγίου, by the power and influence of the Holy Spirit,
Romans 15:13; by the power which, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, I exerted upon their souls,
Romans 15:19.
b. specifically,
the power of performing miracles:
Acts 6:8;
πᾶσα δύναμις, every kind of power of working miracles (with the addition of
καὶ σημείοις κ.
τέρασι),
2 Thessalonians 2:9; plural: [
Matthew 13:54;
Matthew 14:2;
Mark 6:14];
1 Corinthians 12:28;
Galatians 3:5;
ἐνεργήματα δυνάμεων,
1 Corinthians 12:10; by metonymy, of the cause for the effect,
a mighty work [cf. Winers Grammar, 32; Trench, § xci.]:
δύναμιν ποιεῖν,
Mark 6:5;
Mark 9:39; so in the plural,
Mark 6:2;
Luke 19:37; joined with
σημεῖα,
Acts 8:13; with
σημεῖα κ.
τέρατα,
Acts 2:22;
2 Corinthians 12:12;
Hebrews 2:4 [?];
ποιεῖν δυνάμεις,
Matthew 7:22; [
Matthew 13:58];
Acts 19:11;
γίνονται δυνάμεις,
Matthew 11:20f,
23;
Luke 10:13.
c. moral power and excellence of soul:
1 Corinthians 4:19;
2 Corinthians 4:7;
Ephesians 3:16;
Colossians 1:11.
d. the power and influence which belong to riches; (pecuniary
ability),
wealth:
τοῦ στρήνους, 'riches ministering to luxury' (Grotius),
Revelation 18:3;
κατὰ δύναμιν καὶ ὑπὲρ [others,
παρὰ]
δύναμιν, according to their means, yea, beyond their means,
2 Corinthians 8:3; (in this sense, for
חַיִל,
Sept. Deuteronomy 8:17;
Ruth 4:11; not infrequent in Greek writings, as Xenophon, Cyril 8, 4, 34; an. 7, 7, 21 (36)).
e. power and resources arising from numbers:
Revelation 3:8.
f. power consisting in or
resting upon armies, forces, hosts, (so, both in singular and in plural, often in Greek writings from Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, on; in the
Sept. and in Apocrypha); hence,
δυνάμεις τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, the
hosts of heaven, Hebraistically the
stars:
Matthew 24:29;
Luke 21:26; and
δ.
ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς,
Mark 13:25; equivalent to
הַשָּׁמַיִם צְבָא,
2 Kings 17:16;
2 Kings 23:4;
Isaiah 34:4;
Jeremiah 8:2;
Daniel 8:10, etc. [cf.
σαβαώθ].
g. Like the Latin
vis and
potestas, equivalent to the (
force i. e.) meaning of a word or expression:
1 Corinthians 14:11; (Plato, Crat., p. 394 h.; Polybius 20, 9, 11; Dionysius Halicarnassus 1, 68; Dio Cuss. 55, 3; others).
[
Synonyms: Βία δύναμις,
ἐνέργεια,
ἐξουσία,
ἰσχύς,
κράτος Βια force, effective, often opressive power, exhibiting itself in single deeds of violence;
δύν.
power, natural ability, general and inherent;
ἐνέργ.
working, power in exercise, operative power;
ἐξουσ. primarily liberty of action; then,
authority—either as delegated power, or as unrestrained, arbitrary power;
ἰσχ.
strength, power (especially, physical) as an endowment;
κράτος,
might, relative and manifested power—in the
N. T. chiefly of God;
τὸ κράτος τῆς ἰσχ.
Ephesians 6:10,
ἡ ἐνέργ.
τῆς δυν.
Ephesians 3:7,
ἡ ἐνέργ.
τοῦ κρ.
τῆς ἰσχ.
Ephesians 1:19. Cf. Schmidt ch. 148; Bp. Lightfoot on
Colossians 1:16; Meyer on
Ephesians 1:19.]
THAYER’S GREEK LEXICON, Electronic Database.
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