adjective
filos
Strong’sG5384
friendly, a friend
stem fil-29 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books8 of 26 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
φίλος functions in the New Testament chiefly as a noun meaning a friend – someone bound to another by personal affection, loyalty, or close association 1234. It is often used with a genitive to specify whose friend someone is, as in "friend of the bridegroom," "friend of Caesar," "friend of God," or "friend of the world" 1. It can stand opposite "servant/slave" to mark a closer, more equal relationship 1, and can also serve simply as a form of address, "friend" 3. Strong's adds that in this sense the word can cover an associate or neighbor more broadly, not only an intimate friend 2.
The word can also be used as an adjective meaning friendly, fond, or loving, describing a person's favorable disposition rather than naming them as "a friend" 123. This active sense is rarer and is the one found in the account of the friendly crowd in Acts 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
φίλος, -η, -ον
[in LXX chiefly for רֵעַ, אֹהֵב;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G5384 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidfee'-los
actively, fond, i.e. friendly (still as a noun, an associate, neighbor, etc.)
Fromproperly, dear, i.e. a friend;
King Jamesfriend.
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
also ος, ον Refs 8th c.BC+ with ῑ at the beginning of a verse, see below].
I passive, beloved, dear, Refs 8th c.BC+; frequently with dative, dear to one, μάλα οἱ φ. ἦεν Refs; with neuter nouns, φίλε τέκνον Refs 8th c.BC+; also φίλος for φίλε (Attic dialect, accusative to Refs 8th c.BC+: genitive added to the vocative, φίλ᾽ ἀνδρῶν Refs 5th c.BC+ substantive:
I.a φίλος, ὁ, friend, κουρίδιος φίλος, i.e. husband, Refs 8th c.BC+; φίλοι friends, kith and kin, νόσφιφίλων Refs 8th c.BC+; φ. μέγιστος my greatest friend, Refs 5th c.BC+; φίλοι οἱ ἐγγυτάτω, οἱ ἔγγιστα, Refs 8th c.BC+ frequently with a genitive, ὁ Διὸς φίλος Refs 4th c.BC+; τοὺς ἐμαυτοῦ φ., τοὺς τούτων φ., Refs 5th c.BC+; τῶν ἐμε̄ν φ.Refs 5th c.BC+ a friend is another self, Refs 5th c.BC+; also of friends or allies, opposed to πολέμιοι, Refs 5th c.BC+; of a lover, Refs 5th c.BC+; φίλε my friend, as a form of courteous address, NT; in relation to things, οἱ μουσικῆς φ. Refs 5th c.BC+
I.b φίλη, ἡ, dear one, friend, κλῦτε, φίλαι Refs 8th c.BC+; of a wife, φίλην τινὰ ἄγεσθαι take as one's wife, Refs 8th c.BC+; ἡ Ξέρξου φ., of his mother, Refs 4th c.BC+; of a mistress, Refs 5th c.BC+
I.c φίλον, τό, an object of love, τὸ φ. σέβεσθαι to reverence what the city loves, Refs 5th c.BC+: addressed to persons, darling, φ. ἐμόν Refs 5th c.BC+; τὰ φίλτατα one's nearest and dearest, dear ones, such as wife and children, Refs 5th c.BC+: see at {φίλτατο; τἀμὰ φίλα, τὰ σὰ φ}., Refs
I.d οἱ πρῶτοι φίλοι, a title at the Ptolemaic court, Refs 2nd c.BC+, etc.; or simply οἱ φ. τοῦ βασιλέως Refs one of the king's friends and dioecetes, Refs 2nd c.BC+
I.2 of things, pleasant, welcome, δόσις ὀλίγη τε φ. τε Refs 8th c.BC+; δαίμοσιν πράσσειν φίλα their pleasure, Refs 4th c.BC+
I.2.b frequently as predicate, φίλον ἐστί or γίγνεταί μοι pleases me, it is after my own heart, εἴ πού τοι φίλον ἐστί Refs 8th c.BC+; μὴ φ. Διὶ πατρὶ γένοιτοRefs 8th c.BC+: less frequently with infinitive, οὐ μὲν Τυδέϊ γ᾽ ὧδε φίλον πτωσκαζέμεν Refs 8th c.BC+participle, εἰ τόδ᾽ αὐτῷ φιλον κεκλημένῳ if it please him to be so called, Refs 4th c.BC+: agreeing with plural, αἰεί τοι τὰ κάκ᾽ ἐστὶ φίλα φρεσὶ μαντεύεσθαι Refs 8th c.BC+
I.2.c in Refs 8th c.BC+ and early Poets, one's own; frequently of limbs, life, etc., φίλον δ᾽ ἐξαίνυτο θυμόν he took away dear life, Refs 8th c.BC+; especially of one's nearest kin, πατὴρ φ. Refs 8th c.BC+ angry with his own mother, Refs 8th c.BC+: simply to denote possession, φίλα εἵματα Refs; φ. πόνος their wonted labour, Refs 3rd c.BC+
I.2.d applied to the numbers Refs 4th c.AD+
II less frequently (chiefly poetry) in active sense, loving, friendly, Refs 8th c.BC+ friendly to strangers, Refs 5th c.BC+: of things, kindly, pleasing, φίλα φρεσὶ μήδεα εἰδώς Refs 8th c.BC+; φίλα φρονέειν τινί feel kindly, Refs 8th c.BC+; φ. ποιέεσθαί τινι deal with one in friendly fashion, do one a pleasure, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 fond of a thing, attached to, ἄλλων νόμων Refs 5th c.BC+
III adverb φίλως, once in Refs 8th c.BC+ ye would fain see it, Refs 8th c.BC+; φ. ἐμοί in a manner dear or pleasing to me, Refs
III.2 in a friendly, kindly spirit, τήνδε τὴν πόλιν φ. εἰπών Refs 5th c.BC+
IV φίλος has several forms of comparison:
IV.1 comparative φιλίων [λῐ], ον, genitive ονος, Refs 8th c.BC+: superlative φίλιστος, η, ον, interpolated in Refs 5th c.BC+
IV.2 comparative φίλτερος, superlative φίλτατος, see entry.
IV.3 comparative φιλαίτερος Refs 5th c.BC+: superlative φιλαίτατος Refs 5th c.BC+
IV.4 regular comparative φιλώτερος Refs 5th c.BC+
IV.5 also as comparative, μᾶλλον φίλος Refs 5th c.BC+; superlative, μάλιστα φ. Refs 5th c.BC+
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 | masculine singular | feminine singular | neuter singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | filos8×φίλος | filas | filem | filois4×φίλοι | filais | fileim |
| object accusative | filon2×φίλον | filan | filoin8×φίλους | filain1×φίλας | ||
| direct address vocative | filor2×Φίλε | filar | filoir | filair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | filou | filau | fileu | filoiu3×φίλων | filaiu | fileiu |
| to, for dative | filo | fila | file | filoi1×φίλοις | filai | filei |
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
fil 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
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
29 occurrences, every one of them listed
filos“friend”subjectnominative singular8×
Matthew 11:19… Idou anthrōpos fagos kai oinopotos, telōnoiu filos kai hamartōloiu. kai dikaiita tas sofias …… at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But …
Luke 7:34… legavō; Idou anthrōpos fagos kai oinopotos, filos telōnoiu kai hamartōloiu.… at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Luke 11:6epeidē filos mu parageneta ek hodau pros min …because a friend of mine has come to me …
John 3:29… tan numfan numfios atō; tos de filos tou numfiou tos stēarēntos kai akouarōntos …… bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens …
John 11:11… meta houtem legatō autoi; Lazaros tos filos nu koimotē, alla poreuomō hina exupnizameia …… said this, He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I …
John 19:12… legarōntois; Ean houton apoluaseia, ouk asō filos tou Kaisarou; pantos tos basilevon heauton …… release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself …
James 2:23… kai logizita auto eis dikaiosunan, kai filos theou kalita.… righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.
James 4:4… theou atō? hos ean oun bouliteia filos arō tou kosmou, echthros tou theou …… Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an …
filon“friend”objectaccusative singular2×
Luke 11:5… pros autoin; Tinos ek vu echati filon kai poreueti pros auton mesonuktieu kai …… one of you goes to his friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend …
Luke 11:8“friend”… dōati auto anastēarantos dia tem arō filon autou, dia ge tan anaideian autou …… even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will …
filor“friend”direct addressvocative singular2×
Luke 11:5… pros auton mesonuktieu kai legateia auto; Filor, kichrēasar mi treis artoin,… his friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
Luke 14:10… erchateia tos kalarēntos sin legati si; Filor, prosanabainasar anōterem; tote eti si doxas …… host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place …
filois“friends”subjectnominative plural4×
Luke 23:12genela de filois tos tē Hērōdos kai tos Pilatos …That day Herod and Pilate became friends; before this time they had been …
John 15:14vis filois mu avō ean poiaveiō heim mis …You are My friends if you do what I command …
Acts 19:31… de kai toiu Asiarchoiu, arōntois auto filois, pemparantois pros auton parakalale mē dōara …Even some of Paul’s friends who were officials of the province …
3 John 1:15“friends”Eirēnas si. aspazolō sin tois filois. aspazosōr toin filoin kata onomem.
filoin“friends”objectaccusative plural8×
Luke 7:6… makran apecharōntou apo tau oikiau pempata filoin tos hekatontarchēos legarōntos auto; Kurior, mē …… from the house, the centurion sent friends with the message: “Lord, do not …
Luke 14:12… aristem ē deipnem, mē fōnasōr toin filoin su mēde toin adelfoin su mēde …… a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich …
Luke 15:6… ercharantos eis ton oikon sunkalatō toin filoin kai toin geitonoin, legarōntos autoi; Sunchairivar …comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice …
Luke 16:9kai mis vi legamō, heautoi poiavar filoin ek tou mamōnou tau adikiau, hina …… you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it …
John 15:15… autou tos kurios; vin de legamē filoin, hoti panteim heim akouama para tou …… doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from …
Acts 10:24… toin sungenoin autou kai toin anankaioin filoin.… called together his relatives and close friends.
Acts 27:3… to Paulo chrerantos epitrepata pros toin filoin poreuiranto epimeleiau tuchara.… consideration, allowing him to visit his friends and receive their care.
3 John 1:15“friends”… aspazolō sin tois filois. aspazosōr toin filoin kata onomem.
filoiu“friends”of, belonging togenitive plural3×
Luke 15:29… oudepote dōasa erifon hina meta toiu filoiu mu eufranimeia;… so I could celebrate with my friends.
Luke 21:16… gonevoiu kai adelfoiu kai sungenoiu kai filoiu, kai thanatali ek vu,… parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you will be …
John 15:13… tan psuchan autou tithateia huper toiu filoiu autou.… lay down his life for his friends.
filoi“friends”to, fordative plural1×
Luke 12:4Legamō de vi toi filoi mu, mē fobiveia apo toiu apoktenarōntoiu …I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those …
filain“friends”objectaccusative plural1×
Luke 15:9kai heuriskarantas sunkalatō tain filain kai geitonain legarōntas; Sunchairivar mi hoti …… finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with …