verb
aspazomō
Strong’sG782
I greet, salute, pay my respects to
stem aspaz-59 times in the New Testamentin 17 of 27 books12 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
ἀσπάζομαι means to greet, welcome, or salute someone, especially on meeting them, often with warmth or joy 134. It is regularly used with a person as its object ("to greet someone") 1, and can specifically describe greeting with a kiss, as when Paul tells his readers to greet one another this way 1. The underlying notion is of embracing someone in welcome, from which the sense of greeting or saluting develops 2; the word can also mean to take leave of someone, i.e. to bid farewell 2.
The word is also used as a set formula for sending greetings at the close of a letter, a standard way of passing on one's regards to those receiving it 13.
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
ἀσπάζομαι depon.,
[in LXX: Ez 18:7, Jg 18:15 (לְשָׁלוֹם שָׁאַל), Es 5:2, I Mac 7:29, al.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G782 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidas-pad'-zom-ahee
to enfold in the arms, i.e. (by implication) to salute, (figuratively) to welcome
Fromfrom G1 (as a particle of union) and a presumed form of G4685;
King Jamesembrace, greet, salute, take leave.
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
Epic dialect aorist ἀσπάσσατοRefs:—welcome kindly, greet, τινάRefs 8th c.BC+; μεγάλως ἠσπάζοντο αὐτόν received him with great joy, Refs 5th c.BC+: frequently with no modal word, Refs 5th c.BC+; especially as the common form on meeting, Στρεψιάδην ἀσπάζομαιRefs 5th c.BC+; πόρρωθεν ἀ. salute from a distance, Refs 5th c.BC+; πρόσωθεν αὐτὴν ἁγνὸς ὢν ἀ. I salute her at a respectful distance, i. e. keep away from her, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀ. ταῖς κώπαις, of the saluting of ships, Refs 1st c.AD+; ἀ. τινὰ βασιλέα to hail or salute as king, Refs 1st c.BC+ to bid the event welcome, Refs 5th c.BC+
b take leave of, Refs; τὰ ὕστατα ἀ. take a last farewell, Refs 5th c.BC+
c as a formula in closing letters, NT+1st c.AD+
2 from the modes of salutation in use, kiss, embrace, Refs 5th c.BC+; of dogs, fawn, Refs 5th c.BC+; cling fondly to, ἴσον σ᾽ ὡς τεκοῦσ᾽ ἀσπάζομαιRefs 5th c.BC+
3 of things, follow eagerly, cleave to, ἀ. τὸ ὅμοιον, οἶνον, Refs 2nd c.AD+; of dogs, ἀ. τὰ ἴχνηRefs 5th c.BC+
4 ἀ. ὅτι.. to be glad that.., Refs 5th c.BC+
5 with infinitive, to be ready to.., εὐωχεῖσθαιRefs 2nd c.AD+(active ἀσπάζω in letters (cf. I. C), Refs 3rd 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
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| aspazomōἀσπάζομαι | happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | greet | 1× |
| aspazotōἀσπάζεται | happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | greets | 11× |
| aspazolōἀσπάζονται | happening now · theypresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural | greet | 9× |
| aspazoleἠσπάζοντο | was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural | greet | 1× |
| aspazetaἠσπάσατο | happened · he/she/itaorist middle indicative 3rd person singular | greeted | 1× |
| aspazeveiaἀσπάσησθε | happened · yeaorist middle subjunctive 2nd person plural | greet | 2× |
| aspazosōrἀσπάζου | happening now · youpresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person singular | greet | 1× |
| aspazesarἌσπασαι | happened · youaorist middle imperative 2nd person singular | greet | 2× |
| aspazevarἀσπάσασθε | happened · yeaorist middle imperative 2nd person plural | greet | 24× |
| aspazorōἀσπάζεσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive | salute | 1× |
| aspazerantosἀσπασάμενος | happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative singular masculine | greeted | 3× |
| aspazerantoisἀσπασάμενοι | happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative plural masculine | greeted | 3× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 23 occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | aspazomō1×ἀσπάζομαι | aspazome | aspazomē | aspazomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | aspazosō | aspazose | aspazosē | aspazoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | aspazotō11×ἀσπάζεται | aspazote | aspazotē | aspazotelē |
| we 1st person plural | aspazonō | aspazone | aspazonē | aspazonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | aspazovō | aspazove | aspazovē | aspazovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | aspazolō9×ἀσπάζονται | aspazole1×ἠσπάζοντο | aspazolē | aspazolelē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | aspazemi | aspazema |
| you 2nd person singular | aspazesi | aspazesa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | aspazeti | aspazeta1×ἠσπάσατο |
| we 1st person plural | aspazeni | aspazena |
| ye 2nd person plural | aspazevi | aspazeva |
| they 3rd person plural | aspazeli | aspazela |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 2 occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | aspazomeiō | aspazomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | aspazoseiō | aspazoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | aspazoteiō | aspazoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | aspazoneiō | aspazoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | aspazoveiō | aspazoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | aspazoleiō | aspazoleiē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | aspazemeia |
| you 2nd person singular | aspazeseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | aspazeteia |
| we 1st person plural | aspazeneia |
| ye 2nd person plural | aspazeveia2×ἀσπάσησθε |
| they 3rd person plural | aspazeleia |
Commands — imperative mood, 27 occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | aspazosōr1×ἀσπάζου | aspazosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | aspazotōr | aspazotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | aspazovōr | aspazovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | aspazolōr | aspazolēr |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | aspazesar2×Ἄσπασαι |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | aspazetar |
| ye 2nd person plural | aspazevar24×ἀσπάσασθε |
| they 3rd person plural | aspazelar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | aspazomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | aspazosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | aspazotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | aspazonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | aspazovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | aspazoloiō |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | aspazemoia |
| you 2nd person singular | aspazesoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | aspazetoia |
| we 1st person plural | aspazenoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | aspazevoia |
| they 3rd person plural | aspazeloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | aspazorō1×ἀσπάζεσθαι | aspazorē | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | aspazeri | aspazera |
Used as an adjective — participle, 6 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | aspazorōntos | aspazorēntos | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | aspazerintos | aspazerantos6×ἀσπασάμενος |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
aspaz 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.
59 occurrences, every one of them listed
aspazomō“greet”happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular1×
Romans 16:22aspazomō vin mis Tertios tos grafarantos tan …… Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
aspazotō“greets”happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular11×
Romans 16:21“greets”Aspazotō vin Timotheos tos sunergos mu, kai …Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you greetings, as …
Romans 16:23“greets”aspazotō vin Gaios tos xenos mu kai …Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus …
Romans 16:23“greet”… xenos mu kai holau tau ekklēsau. aspazotō vin Erastosos tos oikonomos tau polau …… has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings, as …
1 Corinthians 16:19Aspazolō vin tais ekklēsais tau Asiau. aspazotō vin en kurio polleim Akulos kai …… send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, and …
Colossians 4:10“greets”Aspazotō vin Aristarchos tos sunaichmalōtos mu, kai …My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you greetings, as …
Colossians 4:12“greets”aspazotō vin Epafros tos ek vu, doulos …Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He …
Colossians 4:14“greet”aspazotō vin Loukos tos iatros tos agapētos …Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas send you greetings.
2 Timothy 4:21“greets”Spoudazasar pro cheimōnou erchara. Aspazotō sin Euboulos kai Poudos kai Linos …… effort to come to me before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and …
Philemon 1:23“greets”Aspazotō sin Epafros tos sunaichmalōtos mu en …Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings,
1 Peter 5:13aspazotō vin tas en Babulōna suneklektas kai …… in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does my son Mark.
2 John 1:13“greet”Aspazotō sin teim tekneim tau adelfau su …The children of your elect sister send you greetings.
aspazolō“greet”happening now · theypresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural9×
Romans 16:16“greet”Aspazevar allēloin en filēme hagie. Aspazolō vin tais ekklēsais pantais tou Christou.Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings.
1 Corinthians 16:19Aspazolō vin tais ekklēsais tau Asiau. aspazotō …… churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly …
1 Corinthians 16:20aspazolō vin tois adelfois pantois. aspazevar allēloin …All the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy …
2 Corinthians 13:12“greet”aspazevar allēloin en hagie filēme. aspazolō vin tois hagiois pantois.Greet one another with a holy kiss.
Philippians 4:21“greet”Aspazevar panton hagion en Christo Iēso. aspazolō vin tois sun mi adelfois.Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you greetings.
Philippians 4:22“greet”aspazolō vin pantois tois hagiois, malista de …All the saints send you greetings, especially those from …
Titus 3:15“greet”Aspazolō sin tois meta mu pantois. aspazesar …All who are with me send you greetings. Greet those who …
Hebrews 13:24… hēgorōntoin vu kai pantoin toin hagioin. aspazolō vin tois apo tau Italiau.… all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings.
3 John 1:15“greet”Eirēnas si. aspazolō sin tois filois. aspazosōr toin filoin …
aspazole“greet”was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural1×
Mark 9:15… ochlos horarantois auton ekthambila, kai prostrecharōntois aspazole auton.… filled with awe and ran to greet Him.
aspazeta“greeted”happened · he/she/itaorist middle indicative 3rd person singular1×
Luke 1:40… eiserchata eis ton oikon Zachariou kai aspazeta tan Elisabet.… entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
aspazeveia“greet”happened · yeaorist middle subjunctive 2nd person plural2×
Matthew 5:47kai ean aspazeveia toin adelfoin vu monem, tinem perissem …And if you greet only your brothers, what are you …
Luke 10:4… hupodēmeim, kai mēdenon kata tan hodan aspazeveia.… or bag or sandals. Do not greet anyone along the road.
aspazosōr“greet”happening now · youpresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person singular1×
3 John 1:15“greet”Eirēnas si. aspazolō sin tois filois. aspazosōr toin filoin kata onomem.
aspazesar“greet”happened · youaorist middle imperative 2nd person singular2×
2 Timothy 4:19Aspazesar Priskan kai Akulon kai ton Onēsiforou …Greet Prisca and Aquila, as well as …
Titus 3:15Aspazolō sin tois meta mu pantois. aspazesar toin filarōntoin nin en pistia. tas …… are with me send you greetings. Greet those who love us in the …
aspazevar“greet”happened · yeaorist middle imperative 2nd person plural24×
Matthew 10:12eiserchorōntois de eis tan oikian aspazevar autan;As you enter the home, greet its occupants.
Romans 16:3Aspazevar Priskan kai Akulon toin sunergoin mu …Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers …
Romans 16:5kai tan kata oikon autoiu ekklēsan. aspazevar Epaineton ton agapēton mu, hos atō …… church that meets at their house. Greet my beloved Epenetus, who was the …
Romans 16:6aspazevar Mariam, hotinas polleim kopiata eis vin.Greet Mary, who has worked very hard …
Romans 16:7aspazevar Andronikon kai Iounian toin sungenoin mu …Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow countrymen …
Romans 16:8aspazevar Ampliaton ton agapēton mu en kurio.Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
Romans 16:9aspazevar Ourbanon ton sunergon nu en Christo …Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ …
Romans 16:10aspazevar Apellon ton dokimon en Christo. aspazevar …Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ …
Romans 16:10aspazevar Apellon ton dokimon en Christo. aspazevar toin ek toiu Aristoboulou.… Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household …
Romans 16:11aspazevar Hērōdiōnon ton sungenon mu. aspazevar toin …Greet Herodion, my fellow countryman. Greet those …
Romans 16:11aspazevar Hērōdiōnon ton sungenon mu. aspazevar toin ek toiu Narkissou toin arōntoin …Greet Herodion, my fellow countryman. Greet those from the household of Narcissus …
Romans 16:12aspazevar Trufainan kai Trufōsan tain kopiarōntain en …Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, women who have …
Romans 16:12… kai Trufōsan tain kopiarōntain en kurio. aspazevar Persidan tan agapētan, hotinas polleim kopiata …… have worked hard in the Lord. Greet my beloved Persis, who has worked …
Romans 16:13aspazevar Roufon ton eklekton en kurio kai …Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and …
Romans 16:14aspazevar Asunkriton, Flegōnon, Hermon, Patrobon, Hermaon kai …Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and …
Romans 16:15aspazevar Filologon kai Ioulian, Nērevon kai tan …Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his …
Romans 16:16Aspazevar allēloin en filēme hagie. Aspazolō vin …Greet one another with a holy kiss …
1 Corinthians 16:20aspazolō vin tois adelfois pantois. aspazevar allēloin en filēme hagie.… the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
2 Corinthians 13:12aspazevar allēloin en hagie filēme. aspazolō vin …Greet one another with a holy kiss.
Philippians 4:21Aspazevar panton hagion en Christo Iēso. aspazolō …Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus …
Colossians 4:15“give … greetings”aspazevar toin en Laodikeia adelfoin kai Numfaan …Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the …
1 Thessalonians 5:26aspazevar toin adelfoin pantoin en filēme hagie.Greet all the brothers with a holy …
Hebrews 13:24aspazevar pantoin toin hēgorōntoin vu kai pantoin …Greet all your leaders and all the …
1 Peter 5:14aspazevar allēloin en filēme agapau. eirēnas vi …Greet one another with a kiss of …
aspazorō“salute”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive1×
Mark 15:18kai archela aspazorō auton; Chairasōr, basilevor toiu Ioudaioiu;And they began to salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
aspazerantos“greeted”happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative singular masculine3×
Acts 18:22kai katercharantos eis Kaisareian, anabainarantos kai aspazerantos tan ekklēsan, katabainata eis Antiocheian,… at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem. Then he …
Acts 20:1“saying farewell”… tos Paulos toin mathētoin kai parakalarantos, aspazerantos exerchata poreuorō eis Makedonian.… had ended, Paul sent for the disciples. And after encouraging them, he said goodbye to them and left for Macedonia.
Acts 21:19“greeting”kai aspazerantos autoin exēgote kata henem hekastem heiu …Paul greeted them and recounted one by one the things …
aspazerantois“greeted”happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative plural masculine3×
Acts 21:7… apo Turau katantana eis Ptolemaidan, kai aspazerantois toin adelfoin menana hēmeran henan para …… we landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them …
Acts 25:13“welcome”… basilevos kai Bernikas katantala eis Kaisareian aspazerantois ton Fēston.… had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.
Hebrews 11:13“greeted”… epangeliain, alla porrōthen autain horarantois kai aspazerantois, kai homologarantois hoti xenois kai parepidēmois …… they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on …