adverb
hōsei
Strong’sG5616
as if, as it were, like, about
stem hōsei-20 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 booksnever changes form
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
Ὡσεί is a comparative particle meaning as if, as though, like, just as — used to compare one thing to another 1234. It appears with verbs of becoming or appearing, and generally to describe something resembling something else, such as a form descending "as" a dove or tongues appearing "as" fire 1.
It is also used with numbers and measures of time, distance, or quantity to mean about, approximately 1234, as in giving a rough count of people or an approximate distance or duration 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
ὡσεί
adv.,G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G5616 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
or ὡς εἰ, adverb as if, as though; with various moods:
I with optative, ἴσαν, ὡς εἴ τε πυρὶ χθὼν πᾶσα νέμοιτο Refs 8th c.BC+
I.2 ὡσεί τε with subjunctive, ἐρίλησ᾽ ὡς εἴ τε πατὴρ ὃν παῖδα φιλήσῃ Refs 8th c.BC+
I.3 ὡς εἰ or ὡς εἴ τε, with indicative, ἕπονθ᾽ ὡς εἴ τε μετὰ κτίλον ἕσπετο μῆλα Refs 8th c.BC+
II in comparisons, like, just as, Refs 8th c.BC+, etc.: with participle, Refs 8th c.BC+; with verb supplied, Refs 8th c.BC+; ὡσεί περ with participle, Refs 8th c.BC+; ὡς εἴ πέρ τε with a noun, Refs
II.2 ὡς εἴτε as it were, Refs 5th c.BC+
III with Numerals, or measures of time and space, about, ὡσεὶ τριήκοντα σταδίων μάλιστά κῃ NT+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.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
20 occurrences, every one of them listed
hōsei20×
Matthew 3:16… ouranois, kai horata pneumem theou katabainarōntem hōsei peristeran erchorōntem epi auton;… saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.
Matthew 9:36… autoiu hoti ale skullorēntois kai riptorēntois hōsei probateim mē echarōnteim poimenon.… because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Mark 9:26… kai polleim sparassarantos exerchata; kai geneta hōsei nekros hōste toin polloin legarō hoti …… spirit came out. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said …
Luke 22:44… proseuchote; kai geneta tos hidrōtos autou hōsei thrombois haimeu katabainarōntois epi tan gēan.… more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the …
Luke 24:11kai fanila enōpion autoiu hōsei lēros teim rēmeim houteim, kai apistale …But their words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did …
Acts 2:3“as”kai horila autoi diamerizorōntais glōssais hōsei pureu, kai kathizata epi henon hekaston …They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
Acts 6:15… te sunedrie horala tem prosōpem autou hōsei prosōpem angelou.… they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Romans 6:13… hamarta, alla parastēavar heautoin to theo hōsei ek nekroiu zōarōntoin kai teim meleim …… wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from …
Hebrews 1:12kai hōsei peribolaiem helissasi autoin, hōs himatiem kai …You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they …
Matthew 14:21tois de esthiarōntois ale androis hōsei pentakischilioi chōris gunaikaiu kai paidieiu.About five thousand men were fed, besides …
Luke 3:23Kai autos ate Iēsus archorōntos hōsei eteiu triakonta, arōntos huios, hōs nomizote, …Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began …
Luke 9:14ale gar hōsei androis pentakischilioi. legata de pros toin …(There were about five thousand men.) He told His …
Luke 9:14… toin mathētoin autou; Kataklinavar autoin klisiain hōsei ana pentēkonta.… them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
Luke 9:28Geneta de meta toin logoin houtoin hōsei hēmerais oktō kai paralabarantos Petron kai …About eight days after Jesus had said …
Luke 22:41kai autos apospita apo autoiu hōsei lithou bolan, kai titharantos teim gonueim …And He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, where …
Luke 22:59kai diastēarantau hōsei hōrau henau allosos tinos diischurizote legarōntos; …About an hour later, another man insisted …
Luke 23:44Kai ate ēdē hōsei hōras hektas kai skotem geneta epi …It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came …
Acts 2:41… prostithila en ta hēmera ekeina psuchais hōsei trischilioi.… embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the …
Acts 10:3horata en horame fanerōs hōsei peri hōran enatan tau hēmerau angelon …One day at about the ninth hour, he had a …
Acts 19:7ale de tois pantois androis hōsei dōdeka.There were about twelve men in all.