noun · feminine
diathēkas
Strong’sG1242
a covenant, will, testament
stem diathēk-33 times in the New Testamentin 11 of 27 books6 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
A covenant, agreement, or arrangement — most often between God and humanity, this is the ordinary biblical sense of the word: a solemn agreement or compact, as in the "new covenant" or "old covenant." 1234
A will or testament, disposing of property after death, is the sense the word ordinarily carries in secular Greek. 124 A few New Testament passages are disputed as to which of the two senses applies, with commentators divided over whether they mean a legal will or a covenant. 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
διαθήκη, -ης, ἡ
(< διατίθημι), [freq. in LXX, and nearly always for בְּרִית;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1242 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saiddee-ath-ay'-kay
properly, a disposition, i.e. (specially) a contract (especially a devisory will)
Fromfrom G1303;
King Jamescovenant, testament.
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
(διατίθημι) disposition of property by will, testament, Refs 5th c.BC+; κατὰ διαθήκην by will, Refs 1st c.BC+, etc.: in plural, διαθήκας διαθέσθαι Refs 5th c.BC+
II αἱ ἀπόρρητοι δ. mystic deposits on which the common weal depended, probably oracles (compare διαθέτης), Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2 name of an eyesalve, because the recipe was deposited in a temple, Refs 6th c.AD+
III compact, covenant, ἢν μὴ διαθῶνται διαθήκην ἐμοί LXX+5th c.BC+; καινή, παλαιὰ δ., NT; disposition (with allusion to NT
IV ={διάθεσις}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
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 | diathēkas7×διαθήκη | diathēkais2×διαθῆκαι |
| object accusative | diathēkan5×διαθήκην | diathēkain |
| direct address vocative | diathēkar | diathēkair |
| of, belonging to genitive | diathēkau16×διαθήκης | diathēkaiu1×διαθηκῶν |
| to, for dative | diathēka2×διαθήκῃ | diathēkai |
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
diathēka 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.
33 occurrences, every one of them listed
diathēkas“covenant”subjectnominative singular7×
Luke 22:20… legarōntos; Houtem tem potēriem tas kainas diathēkas en te haime mu, tem huper …… saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured …
Romans 11:27kai houtas autoi tas para mu diathēkas, hotan afairemeia tain hamartain autoiu.And this is My covenant with them when I take away …
1 Corinthians 11:25… legarōntos; Houtem tem potēriem tas kainas diathēkas atō en te ēme haime; houtem …… saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as …
Hebrews 8:10hoti houtas tas diathēkas han diatithemi to oiko Israēl meta …For this is the covenant I will make with the house …
Hebrews 9:16hopou gar diathēkas, thanaton anankas ferorō tou diatitherantou;In the case of a will, it is necessary to establish the …
Hebrews 9:17diathēkas gar epi nekroi bebaias, epei mēpote …because a will does not take effect until the …
Hebrews 10:16Houtas tas diathēkas han diatithemi pros autoin meta tain …“This is the covenant I will make with them after …
diathēkan“covenant”objectaccusative singular5×
Acts 7:8kai dōata auto diathēkan peritomau; kai houtōs gennata ton Isaak …Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the …
Galatians 3:15… kata anthrōpon legamō; homōs anthrōpou kurorēntan diathēkan oudenos athetatō ē epidiatassotō.… in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be …
Galatians 3:17houtem de legamō; diathēkan prokurorēntan hupo tou theou tos meta …… years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as …
Hebrews 8:8… Israēl kai epi ton oikon Ioudou diathēkan kainan,… when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and …
Hebrews 8:9ouk kata tan diathēkan han poiama toi patroi autoiu en …It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when …
diathēkau“covenant”of, belonging togenitive singular16×
Matthew 26:28… gar atō tem haimem mu tau diathēkau tem peri polloiu ekchorōntem eis afesian …This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many …
Mark 14:24… Houtem atō tem haimem mu tau diathēkau tem ekchorōntem huper polloiu.… This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
Luke 1:72… meta toiu patroiu nu kai mimnēskira diathēkau hagiau autou,… fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
Acts 3:25… tois huiois toiu profētoiu kai tau diathēkau hau diatitheta tos theos pros toin …… of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when …
2 Corinthians 3:6hos kai hikanata nin diakonoin kainau diathēkau, ouk grammeu alla pneumeu, tem gar …… us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of …
2 Corinthians 3:14… kalummem epi ta anagnōsia tau palaiau diathēkau menatō mē anakaluptorōntem, hoti en Christo …… at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because …
Hebrews 7:22kata tosoutem kreittonau diathēkau genatē enguos Iēsus.… become the guarantee of a better covenant.
Hebrews 8:6… tuchatē leitourgiau, hose kai kreittonau atō diathēkau mesitos, hotinas epi kreittonai epangeliai nomothetotē.… more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is …
Hebrews 9:4… echarōntas thumiatēriem kai tan kibōtan tau diathēkau perikaluptorēntan pantothen chrusie, en ha stamnas …… and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold …
Hebrews 9:4… tas blastarantas kai tais plakais tau diathēkau,… and the stone tablets of the covenant.
Hebrews 9:15Kai dia houtem diathēkau kainau mesitos atō, hopōs thanatou generantou …… is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called …
Hebrews 9:20legarōntos; Houtem tem haimem tau diathēkau hau enteleta pros vin tos theos;… This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to …
Hebrews 10:29… theou katapatarantos, kai tem haimem tau diathēkau koinem hēgerantos en he hagiazita, kai …… God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the …
Hebrews 12:24kai diathēkau neau mesito Iēso, kai haime rantismou …… Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that …
Hebrews 13:20… teiu probateiu ton megon en haime diathēkau aiōniau, ton kurion nu Iēsun,… through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our …
Revelation 11:19… ourano, kai horita tas kibōtas tau diathēkau autou en to nao autou; kai …… opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there …
diathēka“covenant”to, fordative singular2×
Hebrews 8:9… hoti autois ouk emmenala en ta diathēka mu, kamis amelama autoiu, legatō kurios.… they did not abide by My covenant, and I disregarded them, declares the …
Hebrews 9:15… eis apolutrōsian taiu epi ta prōta diathēka parabasiaiu tan epangelian labaleia tois kalorēntois …… the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
diathēkais“covenants”subjectnominative plural2×
Romans 9:4… huiothesias kai tas doxas kai tais diathēkais kai tas nomothesias kai tas latreias …… theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law …
Galatians 4:24… atō allēgororōnteim; houtais gar alō duo diathēkais, henas men apo oreu Sina, eis …… illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai …
diathēkaiu“covenants”of, belonging togenitive plural1×
Ephesians 2:12… politeiau tou Israēl kai xenois taiu diathēkaiu tau epangeliau, elpidan mē echarōntois kai …… of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and …