noun · neuter
etem
Strong’sG2094
a year
stem et-49 times in the New Testamentin 12 of 27 books4 of 6 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
Year — the standard word for a year as a unit of time 1234. It is used to state how long something lasts or how long ago it happened, often together with a preposition meaning "from," "for," "since," "into," "during," or "before" a certain number of years 1. It is also used with numbers to state a person's age, and in phrases such as "having years" or "being so many years old" 13. The phrase "according to a year" or "year by year" means yearly 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
ἔτος, -ους, τό
[in LXX for שָׁנֶה;]
SYN.: ἐνιαυτός, q.v.; cf. LS, s.v. ἐνιαυτός
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2094 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidet'-os
a year
Fromapparently a primary word;
King Jamesyear.
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
irregular dative ἔτῃ Refs:—year, τῶν προτέρων ἐτέων in bygone years, Refs 8th c.BC+; τόδ᾽ ἐεικοστὸν ἔ. ἐστὶν ἐξ οὗRefs 8th c.BC+; ἔ. ἐνιαυτῶν, see at {ἐνιαυτό; ἑκάστου ἔτους} Refs 5th c.BC+; δι᾽ ἔτους πέμπτου every fifth year, Refs 5th c.BC+; κατὰ ἔ. every year, NT+5th c.BC+; ἔ. εἰς ἔ. year after year, Refs 5th c.BC+; δι᾽ ἔτους annually, LXX+3rd c.BC+; παρὰ ἔ. every other year, Refs 2nd c.AD+yearly, Refs 5th c.BC+; τρίτῳ ἔτεϊ τούτων in the third year after this, Refs; frequently in accusative, ἔ. τόδ᾽ ἤδη δέκατον.. βόσκων now for these ten years, Refs 5th c.BC+; of a person's age, γεγονὼς ἔτη τρία ἀπολείποντα τῶν ἑκατόν Refs 5th c.BC+; without γεγονώς, τοὺς ὑπὲρ τετταράκοντα ἔτη Refs, etc.: in genitive, ἐπειδὰν ἐτῶν ᾖ τις τριάκοντα Refs 5th c.BC+; μυρίων ἐτῶν within a period of Refsyears, Refs
2 regnal year, τὸ πέμπτον ἔ. Δομιτιανοῦ Refs 2nd c.AD+. (ϝέτος Refs 6th c.BC+[same place]; cf. Latin vetus.)
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 or object direct | etem | eteim6×ἔτη |
| of, belonging to genitive | eteu | eteiu15×ἐτῶν |
| to, for dative | ete1×ἔτει | etei2×ἔτεσιν |
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
ete 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.
49 occurrences, every one of them listed
ete“year”to, fordative singular1×
Luke 3:1En ete de pentekaidekate tau hēgemoniau Tiberiou Kaisarou, …In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar …
eteim“years”subject or objectdirect plural6×
Hebrews 1:12… de tos autos asō, kai teim eteim su ouk eklipali.… You remain the same, and Your years will never end.”
2 Peter 3:8… henas hēmeras para kurio hōs chilioi eteim kai chilioi eteim hōs hēmeras henas.… a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like …
2 Peter 3:8… kurio hōs chilioi eteim kai chilioi eteim hōs hēmeras henas.… a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
Revelation 20:3… teim ethneim, achri teliteia teim chilioi eteim; meta houteim datō luira auton mikron …… deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must …
Revelation 20:5… ouk zōala achri teliteia teim chilioi eteim. houtas tas anastasias tas prōtas.… back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first …
Revelation 20:7Kai hotan teliteia teim chilioi eteim, luiti tos Satanos ek tau fulakau …When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released …
eteiu“years”of, belonging togenitive plural15×
Mark 5:42… tem korasiem kai peripatate, ate gar eteiu dōdeka. kai ekstēala euthuos ekstasia mega.… to walk around (she was twelve years old). And at once they were …
Luke 2:37“years”kai autas chēras heōs eteiu ogdoēkonta tessares, has ouk apostēote teu …and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but …
Luke 2:42kai hote geneta eteiu dōdeka, anabainarōntoiu autoiu kata tem ethem …And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to …
Luke 3:23Kai autos ate Iēsus archorōntos hōsei eteiu triakonta, arōntos huios, hōs nomizote, Iōsēf …Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry …
Luke 8:42“years”hoti thugatras monogenas ate auto hōs eteiu dōdeka kai autas apothnēskate. En de …because his only daughter, who was about twelve, was dying. As Jesus went …
Luke 8:43… gunaikas arōntas en rusia haimeu apo eteiu dōdeka, hotinas iatroi prosanaliskarantas holon ton …… had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money …
Acts 4:22eteiu gar ate pollotereiu tesserakonta tos anthrōpos …… was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
Acts 7:30Kai plēriranteiu eteiu tesserakonta horita auto en ta erēma …After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to …
Acts 9:33… ekei anthrōpon tinon onome Aineon ek eteiu oktō katakeiorōnton epi krabattou, hos ate …… been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years.
Acts 24:10… auto tou hēgemonou legarō; Ek polleiu eteiu arōnton sin kriton te ethne houte …… judge over this nation for many years, I gladly make my defense.
Acts 24:17dia eteiu de pollotereiu eleēmosunain poiarintos eis tem …After several years, then, I returned to Jerusalem to …
Romans 15:23… teu erchara pros vin apo hikanoiu eteiu,… since I have longed for many years to visit you,
2 Corinthians 12:2oidamē anthrōpon en Christo pro eteiu dekatessares eite en sōme ouk oidamē, …… a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the …
Galatians 2:1Epeita dia dekatessares eteiu palin anabainama eis Hierosolumeim meta Barnabou …Fourteen years later I went up again to …
1 Timothy 5:9Chēras katalegotōr mē elassōnem eteiu hexēkonta genarēntas, henou androu gunaikas,… if she is at least sixty years old, faithful to her husband,
etei“years”to, fordative plural2×
John 2:20… oun tois Ioudaiois; Tesserakonta kai hex etei oikodomita tos naos houtos, kai sis …“This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and …
Acts 13:20hōs etei tetrakosioi kai pentēkonta. kai meta houteim …All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges …
eteim23×
Matthew 9:20Kai idou gunaikas haimorroarōntas dōdeka eteim prosercharantas opisthen hapteta teu kraspedeu teu …… had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched …
Mark 5:25… gunaikas arōntas en rusia haimeu dōdeka eteim… had suffered from bleeding for twelve years.
Luke 2:36… en hēmerai pollai, zōarantas meta androu eteim hepta apo tau partheniau autau,… She had been married for seven years,
Luke 4:25… Israēl, hote kleiita tos ouranos epi eteim treis kai mēnoin hex, hōs geneta …… shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all …
Luke 12:19… Psuchar, echasō polleim agatheim keiorōnteim eis eteim polleim; anapauosōr, esthiasar, pinasar, eufranosōr.… good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and …
Luke 13:7… de pros ton ampelourgon; Idou treis eteim apo hou erchomō zētarōntos karpon en …… vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for …
Luke 13:11kai idou gunaikas pneumem echarōntas astheniau eteim dekaoktō, kai ate sunkuptarōntas kai mē …… disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could …
Luke 13:16… tos Satanos idou deka kai oktō eteim, ouk date luira apo tou desmou …… has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on …
Luke 15:29… legata to patro autou; Idou tosouteim eteim douleuamō si kai oudepote entolan su …… answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have served you and never …
John 5:5… de tinos anthrōpos ekei triakonta oktō eteim echarōntos en ta asthenia autou;… had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
John 8:57… oun tois Ioudaiois pros auton; Pentēkonta eteim oupō echasō kai Abraam horasē?… Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?”
Acts 7:6… allotria, kai doulali autem kai kakali eteim tetrakosioi;… be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
Acts 7:36… Eruthra Thalassa kai en ta erēma eteim tesserakonta.… the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.
Acts 7:42… Mē sfagieim kai thusiain prosferava mi eteim tesserakonta en ta erēma, oikor Israēl?… bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of …
Acts 13:21… huion Kis, andron ek fulau Beniamin, eteim tesserakonta;… tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.
Acts 19:10houtem de geneta epi eteim duo, hōste pantoin toin katoikarōntoin tan …This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in …
Galatians 1:18Epeita meta eteim treis anerchama eis Hierosolumeim historara Kēfon, …Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem …
Galatians 3:17… theou tos meta tetrakosioi kai triakonta eteim genarēntos nomos ouk akuratō, eis tem …… is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant …
Hebrews 3:10“years”tesserakonta eteim; dio prosochthizama ta genea houta kai …Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said …
Hebrews 3:17tinoi de prosochthizata tesserakonta eteim? ouchi toi hamartarantoi, hoiu teim kōleim …… whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who …
Revelation 20:2… tos Satanos, kai data auton chilioi eteim,… and bound him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4… kai basilala meta tou christou chilioi eteim.… reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:6… christou, kai basilali meta autou chilioi eteim.… reign with Him for a thousand years.
etem2×
Luke 2:41Kai poreuole tois gonevois autou kata etem eis Ierousalēm ta heorta teu pascha.Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for …
Luke 13:8… Kurior, afiēkasar autan kai houtem tem etem, heōs hotinou skaptameia peri autan kai …… replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and …