preposition
anti
Strong’sG473
instead of, for
stem anti-22 times in the New Testamentin 13 of 27 booksnever changes form
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
ἀντί is a preposition meaning instead of, in place of, for 124. It marks substitution or succession, as when one person or thing takes the place of another 13; it is also used of an exchange or price paid for something 13, and of requital, where one thing is given or done in return for another 1. When combined with the relative pronoun as anth' hōn, it takes on the distinct sense of because or therefore, introducing a reason or consequence rather than a substitution 13. As a prefix attached to other Greek words, ἀντί can further indicate opposition, cooperation, reciprocity, or substitution, depending on the word it is joined to 1.
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
ἀντί
(the ι is elided only in ἀνθ᾽ ὧν), prep. c. gen. (cf. MM, VGT, s.v.);
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G473 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidan-tee'
opposite, i.e. instead or because of (rarely in addition to)
Froma primary particle;
King Jamesfor, in the room of.
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
preposition governing genitive:—originally sense, over against. (Cf. Sanskrit ánti 'opposite', 'facing', Latin ante, etc.)
A USAGE:
A.I of Place, opposite, over against, formerly quoted from several places of Refs 8th c.BC+; so ἄντ᾽ Αἴαντος (i.e. ἄντα)Refs 8th c.BC+; but ἀντί is so used in Refs 5th c.BC+c-l68; αἱ ὀπαὶ αἱ γιγνόμεναι ἀ. τόρμων mortises facing tenons, Refs 2nd c.BC+; ἀντὶ μαιτύρων in the presence of witnesses, Refs 4th c.BC+
A.II of Time, ἀντὶ νυκτός the same night, Refs; ἀντὶ ϝέτεοςRefs 1st c.BC+; ἀνθ᾽ ἡμέρας· δι᾽ ὅλης τῆς ἡμέρας, Refs 5th c.AD+; compare ἀντετοῦς.
A.III instead, in the place of, Ἕκτορος ἀντὶ πεφάσθαιRefs 8th c.BC+: sometimes used elliptically, ἦ 'τολμήσατ᾽ ἀντ᾽ ἐμοῦ δοῦναί τιν; i.e. ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐμοὶ δοῦναι, Refs 5th c.BC+
A.III.2 in Refs 8th c.BC+ he is as good as many men, Refs 8th c.BC+; ἀντὶ κασιγνήτου ξεῖνος.. τέτυκται a guest is as much as a brother, Refs 8th c.BC+; ἀντί τοί εἰμ᾽ ἱκέταο I am as a suppliant, Refs 8th c.BC+; so later τοῦτό σφι ἀντὶ λουτροῦ ἐστί serves as a bath, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὑπάρχειν ἀντὶ τῶν ἔνδον to be as hostages for.., Refs 5th c.BC+; δουλεύειν ἀντὶ ἀργυρωνήτων just like bought slaves, Refs 4th c.BC+
A.III.3 to denote exchange, at the price of, in return for, σοὶ δὲ θεοὶ τῶνδ᾽ ἀντὶ χάριν.. δοῖενRefs 8th c.BC+; νῆσον ἀντὶ χρημάτων παρέλαβον for money paid, Refs 5th c.BC+; δοίην ἀντ᾽ ἀνιῶν ἀνίας grief for grief, Refs 6th c.BC+:—hence ἀνθ᾽ ὧν wherefore, NT+5th c.BC+; ἀντὶ τούτου therefore, NT; but ἀνθ᾽ ὧν also for ἀντὶ τούτων ὄτι.., because, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀντὶ το; wherefore? why? Refs 5th c.BC+; also ἀνθ᾽ ὧν ὅτι ἦτε.. instead of being as you were.., LXX
A.III.4 for the sake of, Refs 5th c.BC+; with Verbs of entreaty, like{πρός} with genitive, ἀντὶ παίδων ἱκετεύομέν σεRefs 5th c.BC+
A.III.5 to mark comparison, ἓν ἀνθ᾽ ἑνός one set against the other, compared with it, Refs 5th c.BC+; χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος, i.e. ever-increasing grace, NT; in preference to, ἀφνεὸν βούλεται ἀντ᾽ ἀγαθοῦRefs 6th c.BC+: even after Comparatives, πλέον ἀντὶ σοῦRefs 5th c.BC+; so (especially after a negative) ἄλλος ἀντ᾽ ἐμοῦRefs 5th c.BC+
B POSITION: ἀντί rarely follows its case, as in Refs 8th c.BC+; but the Grammars hold that it never suffers anastrophe.
C IN COMPOSITION (joined with other words), it signified,
C.1 over against, opposite, as ἀντιβαίνω, ἀντίπορος.
C.2 against, in opposition to, as ἀντιλέγω, ἀντίβιος.
C.3 one against another, mutually, as ἀντιδεξιόομαι.
C.4 in return, as ἀντιβοηθέω.
C.5 instead of, as ἀντιβασιλεύς, ἀνθύπατος.
C.6 equal to, like, as ἀντίθεος, ἀντίπαις, ἀντίδουλος.
C.7 corresponding, counter, as ἀντίφορτος, ἀντίτυπος.
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.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
22 occurrences, every one of them listed
anti22×
Matthew 2:22… de hoti Archelaos basilatō tau Ioudaiau anti tou patrou autou Hērōdou fobita ekei …… that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid …
Matthew 5:38Akouava hoti legita; Ofthalmon anti ofthalmou kai odonton anti odontou.… heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’
Matthew 5:38… legita; Ofthalmon anti ofthalmou kai odonton anti odontou.… said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’
Matthew 17:27… heuriskasi statēron; ekeinon labarantos dōasar autoi anti mu kai su.… it and give it to them for My tax and yours.”
Matthew 20:28… kai dōara tan psuchan autou lutrem anti polloiu.… give His life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45… kai dōara tan psuchan autou lutrem anti polloiu.… give His life as a ransom for many.”
Luke 1:20“because”… lalara achri hau hēmerau geneteia houteim, anti heiu ouk pisteuasa toi logoi mu, …… unable to speak until the day this comes to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will …
Luke 11:11… patron aitati tos huios ichthon, kai anti ichthou ofion auto epidōati?… fish, will give him a snake instead?
Luke 12:3“so then”anti heiu hoseim en ta skotia legava …… have spoken in the dark will be …
Luke 19:44… afiēkali lithon epi lithon en si, anti heiu ouk gnōskasa ton kairon tau …… not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time …
John 1:16… autou nis pantois labana, kai charitan anti charitau;… fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
Acts 12:23parachrēma de pataxata auton angelos kuriou anti heiu ouk dōata tan doxan to …Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to …
Romans 12:17mēdeno kakosem anti kakoseu apodōarōntois; pronoorōntois kaleim enōpion pantoiu …Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right …
1 Corinthians 11:15“for”… doxas auta atō? hoti tas komas anti peribolaieu dōotē.… hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.
Ephesians 5:31anti houteu kataleipati anthrōpos ton patron kai …“For this reason a man will leave …
1 Thessalonians 5:15horavōr mē tinos kakosem anti kakoseu tino apodōateia, alla pantote tem …… sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good …
2 Thessalonians 2:10“in place of”… en panta apata adikiau toi apolorōntoi, anti heiu tan agapan tau alētheiau ouk …and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would …
Hebrews 12:2… pistiau archēgon kai teleiōton Iēsun, hos anti tau prokeiorōntau auto charau hupomenata stauron …… and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured …
Hebrews 12:16… pornos ē bebēlos hōs Ēsau, hos anti brōsiau henau apodōeta teim prōtotokieim heautou.… or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright.
James 4:15anti teu legarō vin; Ean tos kurios …Instead, you ought to say, “If the …
1 Peter 3:9“for”mē apodōarōntois kakosem anti kakoseu ē loidorian anti loidoriau tounantion …Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with …
1 Peter 3:9“for”… apodōarōntois kakosem anti kakoseu ē loidorian anti loidoriau tounantion de eulogarōntois, hoti eis …Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this …