verb
helkamō
Greekἕλκω (helkō)
Strong’sG1670
I drag, draw, pull, persuade
stem helk-8 times in the New Testamentin 3 of 27 books7 forms occur
Translated as
What it means
ἕλκω
(Hellenistic form ἑλκύω in Jo, ll. c., Ac 16:19), [in LXX for מָשַׁךְ, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1670 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidhel-koo'-o
to drag (literally or figuratively)
Fromprobably akin to G138;
King Jamesdraw.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Forms in the New Testament
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| helkalōἕλκουσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | drag | 1× |
| helkaleεἷλκον | was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural | dragged | 1× |
| helkamiἑλκύσω | will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular | draw | 1× |
| helkataεἵλκυσεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | drew | 2× |
| helkalaεἵλκυσαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | dragged | 1× |
| helkateiaἑλκύσῃ | happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular | draws | 1× |
| helkaraἑλκύσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | haul … in | 1× |
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, 6 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | helkamō | helkame | helkami1×ἑλκύσω | helkama | helkamē | helkamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | helkasō | helkase | helkasi | helkasa | helkasē | helkaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | helkatō | helkate | helkati | helkata2×εἵλκυσεν | helkatē | helkatelē |
| we 1st person plural | helkanō | helkane | helkani | helkana | helkanē | helkanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | helkavō | helkave | helkavi | helkava | helkavē | helkavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | helkalō1×ἕλκουσιν | helkale1×εἷλκον | helkali | helkala1×εἵλκυσαν | helkalē | helkalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | helkameiō | helkameia | helkameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | helkaseiō | helkaseia | helkaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | helkateiō | helkateia1×ἑλκύσῃ | helkateiē |
| we 1st person plural | helkaneiō | helkaneia | helkaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | helkaveiō | helkaveia | helkaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | helkaleiō | helkaleia | helkaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | helkasōr | helkasar | helkasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | helkatōr | helkatar | helkatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | helkavōr | helkavar | helkavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | helkalōr | helkalar | helkalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | helkamoiō | helkamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | helkasoiō | helkasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | helkatoiō | helkatoia |
| we 1st person plural | helkanoiō | helkanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | helkavoiō | helkavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | helkaloiō | helkaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | helkarō | helkari | helkara1×ἑλκύσαι | helkarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | helkarōtos | helkaritos | helkaratos | helkarētos |
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
helk 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
Where it appears
8 occurrences, every one of them listed
helkalō“drag”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural1×
James 2:6“drag”vis de atimazava ton ptōchon. ouk tois plousiois katadunasteualō vu, kai autois helkalō vin eis kritērieim?But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
helkale“dragged”was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Acts 21:30“dragged”kinita tē tas politas holas kai gineta sundromas tou laou, kai epilamberatois tou Paulou helkale auton exō teu hiereu, kai eutheōs kleiila tais thurais.The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.
helkami“draw”will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular1×
John 12:32“draw”kamis ean hupsimeia ek tau gēau, pantoin helkami pros miauton.And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself.”
helkata“drew”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular2×
John 18:10“drew”Simōnos oun Petros echarōtos machairan helkata autan kai paiata ton tou archierevou doulon kai apokoptata autou tem ōtariem tem dexem. ate de onomem to doulo Malchos.Then Simon Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
John 21:11“hauled”anabainata oun Simōnos Petros kai helkata tem diktuem eis tan gēan mestem ichthoiu megoiu hekaton pentēkonta treis; kai tosoutoiu arōtoiu ouk schizita tem diktuem.So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.
helkala“dragged”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Acts 16:19“dragged”Horaratois de tois kuriois autau hoti exerchata tas elpias tau ergasiau autoiu epilamberatois ton Paulon kai ton Silaon helkala eis tan agoran epi toin archōnoin,When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.
helkateia“draws”happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
John 6:44“draws”oudenos dunetō erchara pros min ean mē tos patēros tos pemparatos min helkateia auton, kamis anistanami auton en ta eschata hēmera.“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
helkara“haul … in”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive1×
John 21:6“haul … in”tos de legata autoi; Ballavar eis teim dexeim mereim teu ploieu tem diktuem, kai heuriskavi. ballala oun, kai ouketi autem helkara ischuale apo teu plētheu toiu ichthoiu.He told them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it there, and they were unable to haul it in because of the great number of fish.