noun · feminine
anankas
Strong’sG318
necessity, constraint, compulsion
stem anank-17 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 books5 of 10 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
Necessity, compulsion, or constraint — a binding requirement or obligation, often expressed with phrases meaning "to be compelled" or "of necessity," describing something that must happen or must be done 1234. This sense also covers being under an inescapable obligation laid upon a person, such as a duty one cannot avoid 1.
Distress, hardship, or pain — a related sense describing suffering, trouble, or affliction brought about by pressing circumstances rather than by choice 123.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
ἀνάγκη, -ης, ἡ
[in LXX chiefly for מָצוֹק, צַר;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G318 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidan-ang-kay'
constraint (literally or figuratively); by implication, distress
Fromfrom G303 and the base of G43;
King Jamesdistress, must needs, (of) necessity(-sary), needeth, needful.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Ionic dialect and Epic dialect ἀναγκαίη, ἡ, force, constraint, necessity, κρατερὴ δ᾽ ἐπικείσετ᾽ ἀ.Refs 8th c.BC+; ἀναγκαίη γὰρ ἐπείγειRefs 8th c.BC+adverb, ἀνάγκῃ perforce, of necessity, ἀείδεινRefs 8th c.BC+: in active sense, forcibly, by force, ἴσχειν, ἄγειν, Refs 8th c.BC+; opposed to ἑκόντες, Refs 5th c.BC+ with infinitive, it must be that.., is necessary that..,Refs 8th c.BC+: with dative person, ἀ. μοι σχεθεῖνRefs 4th c.BC+ —in Trag. frequently in answers and arguments, πολλή γ᾽ ἀνάγκη, πολλή᾽ στ᾽ ἀνάγκη, or πολλή μ᾽ ἀνάγκη, with which an infinitive may always be supplied, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀνάγκη μεγάλη [ἐστίRefs 5th c.BC+ with infinitive, NT
2 necessity in the philosophical sense, Refs 4th c.BC+; logical necessity, MetaphoricalRefslaws of nature, τίσιν ἀνάγκαις ἕκαστα γίγνεται τῶν οὐρανίωνRefs 5th c.BC+
2.b natural need, γαστρὸς ἀνάγκαιςRefs 5th c.BC+
2.c ἡ ἀ. τοῦ τόπου the lie of the ground as a necessary condition, Refs
2.d ἀνάγκη δαιμόνων, αἱ ἐκ θεῶν ἀνάγκαι, fate, destiny, Refs 5th c.BC+: frequently personified in Poets, Refs 5th c.BC+
3 compulsion exerted by a superior, ἀ. προστιθέναι, ἐπιτιθέναι, Refs 5th c.BC+
3.b violence, punishment, especially of torture, mostly plural, ἐς ἀνάγκας ἄγεσθαιRefs 5th c.BC+; τὰ πρὸς ἀνάγκας ὄργανα instruments of torture, Refs 2nd c.BC+: later in singular, ἡ ἀ. τῶν βασάνωνRefs 1st c.AD+under torture, Refs 5th c.BC+; δολοποιὸς ἀ., i. e. the stratagem of Nessus, Refs 5th c.BC+
3.c duress, 'force majeure', ὅρκους οὓς ποιέονται ἐν ἀνάγκῃ ὄντεςRefs 3rd c.AD+; stress of circumstances, ἀκούσιοι ἀ.Refs 5th c.BC+
3.d treatment by mechanical force, τῶν ἀναγκῶν τινὰ προσφέρεινRefs 5th c.BC+
4 bodily pain, anguish, κατ᾽ ἀνάγκην ἕρπειν painfully, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὑπ᾽ ἀνάγκης βοᾶνRefs 5th c.BC+: generally, distress, ἐν ἀνάγκαις γλυκὺ γίνεται καὶ τὸ σκληρόνNT+4th c.BC+
II tie of blood, kindred, Refs 5th c.BC+
III ={ἡ δικαστικὴ κλεψύδρα}, Refs 5th c.AD+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | anankas6×ἀνάγκη | anankais |
| object accusative | anankan6×ἀνάγκην | anankain |
| direct address vocative | anankar | anankair |
| of, belonging to genitive | anankau2×ἀνάγκης | anankaiu |
| to, for dative | ananka1×ἀνάγκῃ | anankai2×ἀνάγκαις |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
ananka is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
17 occurrences, every one of them listed
anankas“must”subjectnominative singular6×
Matthew 18:7ouai to kosmo apo teiu skandaleiu; anankas gar erchara teim skandaleim, plēn ouai …… causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man …
Luke 21:23… en ekeinai tai hēmerai; eti gar anankas megas epi tau gēau kai orgas …… mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against …
Romans 13:5“must”dio anankas hupotassorō, ouk monem dia tan organ …Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid …
1 Corinthians 9:16“necessity”… gar euangelizomeiō, ouk atō mi kauchēmem, anankas gar mi epikeiotō; ouai gar mi …… when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I …
Hebrews 9:16“must”hopou gar diathēkas, thanaton anankas ferorō tou diatitherantou;… of a will, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made it,
Hebrews 9:23Anankas oun teim men hupodeigmeim teiu en …So it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly …
anankan“*”objectaccusative singular6×
Luke 14:18“*”… legata auto; Agron agorazama kai echamō anankan exercharantos horara auton; erōtamō sin, echasōr …… first one said, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse …
1 Corinthians 7:26“distress”… houtem kalem huparcharō dia tan enstēarēntan anankan, hoti kalem anthrōpo tem houtōs arō.Because of the present crisis, I think it is good for a man to remain as he is.
1 Corinthians 7:37“necessity”… ta kardia autou hedraios mē echarōntos anankan, exousian de echatō peri teu idieu …But the man who is firmly established in his heart and under no constraint, with control over his will and …
Philemon 1:14… thelama poiara, hina mē hōs kata anankan tem agathem su ateiō alla kata …… goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.
Hebrews 7:27hos ouk echatō kata hēmeran anankan, hōsper tois archierevois, proterem huper taiu …… other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for …
Jude 1:3… vi peri tau koinau nu sōtērēau anankan echama grafara vi parakalarōntos epagōnizorō ta …… salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to …
anankau“necessity”of, belonging togenitive singular2×
2 Corinthians 9:7… kardia, mē ek lupau ē ek anankau; hilaron gar doton agapatō tos theos.… give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
Hebrews 7:12“necessity”metatithorōntau gar tau hierōsunau ek anankau kai nomou metathesias genotō.For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be …
ananka“distress”to, fordative singular1×
1 Thessalonians 3:7… adelfoir, epi vi epi panta ta ananka kai thlipsia nu dia tau vu …… this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured …
anankai“hardships”to, fordative plural2×
2 Corinthians 6:4… en hupomona polla, en thlipsiai, en anankai, en stenochōriai,… way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships, and calamities;
2 Corinthians 12:10… eudokamō en astheniai, en hubriai, en anankai, en diōgmoi kai stenochōriai, huper Christou; …… delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when …