adjective
hikanos
Strong’sG2425
sufficient, worthy, many, much
stem hikan-40 times in the New Testamentin 8 of 27 books13 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
Sufficient, competent, fit — describing a person who has enough ability or standing to do something. This sense is used with an infinitive or similar construction to mean fit or competent to do a certain thing 13, and can also describe being a match for a task or situation 3. Strong's captures the same idea with "competent" and "worthy" 2, and Dodson lists "sufficient, worthy" 4.
Sufficient in amount, number, or size; much, many — describing things (or groups of people) that are enough or considerable in quantity, size, or duration. This covers crowds, sums of money, lamps, words, light, and stretches of time, all described as "enough" or "many/much" 1. Strong's similarly glosses this range as ample in amount, "enough," "great," "large," "long," "many," "much" 2, and LSJ likewise treats it as sufficient or adequate in amount, and, of time or number, considerable or long 3. A related idiom uses the word for giving or taking a guarantee or security, as in "satisfy" a crowd or "give/take security" 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
ἱκανός, -ή, -όν
(< ἵκω, ἱκάνω, to reach, attain), [in LXX for דַּי, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2425 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidhik-an-os'
competent (as if coming in season), i.e. ample (in amount) or fit (in character)
Fromfrom ἵκω (ἱκάνω or ἱκνέομαι, akin to G2240) (to arrive);
King Jamesable, + content, enough, good, great, large, long (while), many, meet, much, security, sore, sufficient, worthy.
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
(ἱκνέομαι) sufficing, becoming, befitting; prose adjective, used two or three times by Trag. (see. below):
I of persons, sufficient, competent to do a thing, with infinitive, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἱ. τεκμηριῶσαι sufficient to prove a point, Refs 5th c.BC+; τίς σοῦ -ώτερος πεῖσα; Refs 5th c.BC+; ἱ. ζημιοῦν with sufficient power to punish, Refs 5th c.BC+ with accusative _of things_, ἀνὴρ γνώμην ἱ. a man of sufficient prudence, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἱ. τὴν ἰατρικήν sufficiently versed in medicine, Refs 5th c.BC+: with dative person, a match for, equivalent to, εἷς ἔχων ἰατρικὴν πολλοῖς ἱ. ἰδιώταις Refs 5th c.BC+; αὐληταὶ ἱ. ὡς πρὸς ἰδιώτας very tolerable in comparison with.., Refs 2nd c.AD+; ὁ Ἱ. the Almighty, LXX
I.2 in bad sense, capable, ἱ. εἶ λαλῶν κατακόψαι πάντα Refs 4th c.BC+
II of things, in amount, sufficient, adequate, τὰ ἀρκοῦνθ᾽ ἱ. τοῖς γε σώφροσιν Refs 5th c.BC+; ἱκανὰ τοῖς πολεμίοις ηὐτύχηται they have had successes enough, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἱ. εἴς, ἐπί, πρός τι, Refs 5th c.BC+; of size, large enough, οὐχ ἱκανῆς οὔσης τῆς Ἁττικῆς Refs 5th c.BC+; οὐδ᾽ ἦν ἱκανά σοι.. μέλαθρα.. ἐγκαθυβρίζειν not large enough to riot in, Refs 5th c.BC+; of number or magnitude, considerable, λῦπαι Refs 5th c.BC+, etc.; of Time, considerable, long, ἱ. χρόνον Refs 5th c.BC+: with personal construction, ἔφη ἱκανὸς αὐτὸς ἀτυχῶν εἶναι Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2 sufficient, satisfactory, ἱ. μαρτυρίαν παρέχεσθαι Refs 5th c.BC+; τὸ ἱ. λαμβάνειν to take security or bail, NT+2nd c.AD+; τὸ ἱ. ποιεῖν give security, Refs 2nd c.BC+ (but simply, satisfy, τῷ ὄχλῳ NT+3rd c.BC+; ἐφ᾽ ἱκανόν,= ἱκανῶς, Refs 2nd c.BC+
III adverb -νῶς sufficiently, adequately, Refs 5th c.BC+; λαγόνες λαπαραὶ ἱ. Refs 5th c.BC+; later, considerably, amply, Refs 2nd c.AD+; fully, μιᾶς ὥρας ἱ. παρελθούσης Refs 1st c.BC+
III.b excessively, οὔτε γὰρ ἱ. ὑγρόν ἐστι not too moist, Refs 2nd c.AD+
III.2 ἱ. ἔχειν to be sufficient, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἱ. ἐχέτω let this be enough, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἱ. ἔχειν τινί to be sufficiently supplied with.. , Refs 5th c.BC+: superlative -ωτάτωςRefs 5th c.BC+; -ώτατα 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.
3 rarer renderings are not shown; every occurrence below carries the English it was given there.
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 | hikanos10×ἱκανὸς | hikanas | hikanem5×ἱκανὸν | hikanois5×ἱκανοὶ | hikanais2×ἱκαναί | hikaneim1×ἱκανὰ |
| object accusative | hikanon4×ἱκανόν | hikanan | hikanoin2×ἱκανούς | hikanain2×ἱκανὰς | ||
| direct address vocative | hikanor | hikanar | hikanoir | hikanair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | hikanou2×ἱκανοῦ | hikanau | hikaneu | hikanoiu3×ἱκανῶν | hikanaiu | hikaneiu |
| to, for dative | hikano2×ἱκανῷ | hikana | hikane | hikanoi1×ἱκανοῖς | hikanai1×ἱκαναῖς | hikanei |
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
hikan 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.
40 occurrences, every one of them listed
hikanos“worthy”subjectnominative singular10×
Matthew 3:11… ischuroteros mu atō, hou ouk amō hikanos teim hupodēmeim bastazara; autos vin baptizati …… I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you …
Matthew 8:8… tos hekatontarchos fēate; Kurior, ouk amō hikanos hina mu hupo tan stegan eiserchaseia; …… centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my …
Mark 1:7… mu opisō mu, hou ouk amō hikanos kuptarantos luara ton himanton teiu hupodēmeiu …… of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
Luke 3:16… tos ischuroteros mu, hou ouk amō hikanos luara ton himanton teiu hupodēmeiu autou; …… of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you …
Luke 7:6… auto; Kurior, mē skullosōr, ouk gar hikanos amō hina hupo tan stegan mu …… trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my …
Luke 7:12… ate chēras, kai ochlos tau polau hikanos ate sun auta.… she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with …
Acts 11:24“large”… hagieu kai pistiau. kai prostithita ochlos hikanos to kurio.… of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Acts 20:37“much”hikanos de klauthmos geneta pantoiu, kai epipiptarantois …They all wept openly as they embraced Paul and kissed him.
1 Corinthians 15:9“worthy”… elachistos toiu apostoloiu, hos ouk amō hikanos kalorō apostolos, dioti diōkama tan ekklēsan …… am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
2 Corinthians 2:16“sufficient”… eis zōan. kai pros houteim tinos hikanos?To the one we are an odor that brings death, to the other a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a …
hikanon“large”objectaccusative singular4×
Acts 11:26… en ta ekklēsa kai didaskara ochlon hikanon, chrēmatizara tē prōtōs en Antiocheia toin …… together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were …
Acts 14:3“long”hikanon men oun chronon diatribala parrēsiazorōntois epi …So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord …
Acts 19:26“large”… Asiau tos Paulos houtos peitharantos metastēata hikanon ochlon, legarōntos hoti ouk alō theois …… province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods …
Acts 20:11“a long while”… klarantos ton arton kai geuerantos epi hikanon tē homilarantos achri augau, houtōs exerchata.… upstairs, broke bread, and ate. And after speaking until daybreak, he …
hikanou“much”of, belonging togenitive singular2×
Mark 10:46… kai toiu mathētoiu autou kai ochlou hikanou tos huios Timaiou Bartimaios tuflos prosaitos …… disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus …
Acts 27:9Hikanou de chronou diagenerantou kai arōntou ēdē …By now much time had passed, and the voyage …
hikano“long”to, fordative singular2×
Luke 8:27… tau polau echarōntos daimoneim; kai chrono hikano ouk endueta himatiem, kai en oikia …… man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn …
Acts 8:11prosechale de auto dia tem hikano chrono tai mageiai ekstēarē autoin.… he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.
hikanem“great”subject or objectdirect singular5×
Mark 15:15… de Pilatos boulorōntos to ochlo tem hikanem poiara apoluata autoi ton Barabbon, kai …And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to …
Acts 17:9“security”kai labarantois tem hikanem para tou Iasōnou kai toiu loipoiu …And they collected bond from Jason and the others and then …
Acts 22:6“great”… exaifnōs ek tou ouranou periastraptara fōtem hikanem peri min,… approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.
Luke 22:38… hōde duo. tos de legata autoi; Hikanem atō.… here are two swords.” “That is enough,” He answered.
2 Corinthians 2:6hikanem to toiouto tas epitimias houtas tas …… on him by the majority is sufficient for him.
hikanois“many”subjectnominative plural5×
Acts 12:12… Iōannou tou epikalorōntou Markou, hou ale hikanois sunathroizorēntois kai proseuchorōntois.… of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were …
Acts 19:19“many”hikanois de toiu teim periergeim prassarantoiu sumferarantois …And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books …
1 Corinthians 11:30“many”… pollois asthenois kai arrōstois kai koimolō hikanois.… is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number …
2 Corinthians 3:5ouk hoti apo heautoiu hikanois anō logizera tinem hōs ek heautoiu, …Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything …
2 Timothy 2:2“able”… marturoiu, houteim paratithesar pistoi anthrōpoi, hotinois hikanois eli kai heteroin didaskara.… among many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well.
hikanoin“long”objectaccusative plural2×
Luke 20:9… ekdōeta auton geōrgoi, kai apodēmata chronoin hikanoin.… tenants, and went away for a long time.
Acts 14:21… tē tan polan ekeinan kai mathēteuarantois hikanoin hupostrefala eis tan Lustran kai eis …… gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra …
hikanoiu“long”of, belonging togenitive plural3×
Luke 8:32Ate de ekei agelas choiroiu hikanoiu boskorōntas en te ore; kai parakalala …There on the hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. So …
Luke 23:8… Iēsun chairita liōs, ate gar ek hikanoiu chronoiu thelarōntos horara auton dia tem …… wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had heard about …
Romans 15:23… echarōntos teu erchara pros vin apo hikanoiu eteiu,… and since I have longed for many years to visit you,
hikanoi“some”to, fordative plural1×
Luke 23:9“some”eperōtate de auton en logoi hikanoi; autos de oudenem apokrineta auto.Herod questioned Jesus at great length, but He gave no answer.
hikanais“many”subjectnominative plural2×
Acts 9:23Hōs de plērole hēmerais hikanais, sumbouleuela tois Ioudaiois anairara auton;After many days had passed, the Jews conspired …
Acts 20:8ale de lampadais hikanais en te huperōe hou ane sunagorēntois;Now there were many lamps in the upper room where …
hikanain“many”objectaccusative plural2×
Acts 9:43“many”geneta de hēmerain hikanain menara en Ioppa para tino Simōno …And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.
Acts 18:18“many”Tos de Paulos ēti prosmenarantos hēmerain hikanain toi adelfoi apotasserantos ekplate eis tan …Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied …
hikanai“many”to, fordative plural1×
Acts 27:7en hikanai de hēmerai braduploarōntois kai molis generantois …After sailing slowly for many days, we arrived off Cnidus. When …
hikaneim“a large sum of”subject or objectdirect plural1×
Matthew 28:12… toiu presbuteroiu sumbouliem tē labarantois argurieim hikaneim dōala toi stratiōtoi… a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money