adverb
kan
Strong’sG2579
and if, even if
stem kan-16 times in the New Testamentin 8 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
κἄν is a contracted form of "and" plus "if" (kai + an), used in the New Testament in three related ways 13.
Its first and most literal sense is "and if", introducing an ordinary condition 124.
Its second sense is concessive, meaning "even if" — granting something as true or possible despite the difficulty, and equivalent to "though" or "yet" 1234.
Its third sense is purely intensive, functioning simply as a stronger form of "and," meaning "even," "at least," or "so much as," without expressing a real condition 123.
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
κἄν,
by crasis for καὶ ἄν (= ἐάν; WH, App., 145b; Thayer, s.v.), c. subjunc.,
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2579 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
(not κᾄν), by crasis,
I for καὶ ἄν.., variant in Refs 8th c.BC+ is simply copulative, Refs 5th c.BC+; but frequently when καί is intensive, ὅ γε κ. μέγα δοίη even a great thing, Refs 8th c.BC+; sometimes repeated after or before a Verb with ἄν, ἐπεὶ κ. σὺ.., εἴ τίς σε διδάξειεν.., βελτίων ἂν γένοιο Refs 5th c.BC+; frequently in the phrase κ. εἰ, where καί properly belongs to εἰ, even if, and ἄν to the Verb that follows in apodosi, νῦν δέ μοι δοκεῖ, κ. ἀσέβειαν εἰ καταγιγνώσκοι, τὰ προσήκοντα ποιεῖν (for καὶ εἰ καταγιγνώσκοι, ποιεῖν ἄν) Refs 4th c.BC+
I.2 even when the Verb in apodosi was of a tense that could not be joined with ἄν, κ. εἰ πολλαὶ [αἱ ἀρεταί].. εἰσιν, ἕν γέ τι εἶδος ταὐτὸν ἅπασαι ἔχουσι Refs 5th c.BC+
I.3 in later Gr. without εἰ, simply as a stronger form of καί, even, εἴσελθε κ. νῦν NT+5th c.BC+; κ. νῦν now at any rate, Refs 3rd c.AD+; κἂν ὧς even so, nevertheless, Refs 3rd c.AD+; οἷς οὐδὲ κ. ὄνος ὑπῆρξε πώποτε Refs 2nd c.AD+
II for καὶ ἄν (ἐάν), even if, with the same moods as ἐάν, Refs 5th c.BC+, and so probably in Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 κἄν.., κἄν.., whether.., or.., κἂν μεγάλην πόλιν οἰκῶσι κἂν μικράν Refs 4th 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.
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.
16 occurrences, every one of them listed
kan13×
Matthew 21:21… monem tem tau sukau poiavi, alla kan te ore houte legaveia; Airisar kai …… done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be …
Mark 5:28“just”legate gar hoti Ean haptemeia kan teiu himatieiu autou sōzimi.For she kept saying, “If only I touch His garments, I …
Mark 6:56“even”… toin asthenarōntoin, kai parakalale auton hina kan teu kraspedeu teu himatieu autou hapteleia; …… they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all …
John 10:38ei de poiamō, kan mi mē pisteuaveiō tei ergei pisteuavōr, …But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe …
John 11:25“even if”… tas zōas; tos pisteuarōntos eis min kan apothnēskateia zōeti,… resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
2 Corinthians 11:16“at least”… afronon arō ei de mē ge, kan hōs afronon dechevar min, hina kamis …… for a fool. But if you do, then receive me as a fool, so that I too …
Mark 16:18ofioin airali kan thanasimem tinem pinaleia ouk mē autoin …… pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it …
Luke 12:38kan en ta deutera kan en ta …Even if he comes in the second or …
Luke 12:38kan en ta deutera kan en ta trita fulaka erchateia kai …… if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and …
Luke 13:9kan men poiateia karpon eis tem mellarōntem …If it bears fruit next year, fine …
John 8:55… gnōskavē auton, mis de oidamē auton; kan legameia hoti ouk oidamē auton, emi …… know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know …
Acts 5:15… klinarieiu kai krabattoiu, hina erchorōntou Petrou kan tas skias episkiazateia tino autoiu.… on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some …
James 5:15“and if”… kamnarōnton, kai egerati auton tos kurios; kan hamartain ateiō poiarēntos, afiēkiti auto.… who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
Kan3×
Matthew 26:35legatō auto tos Petros; Kan dateiō min sun si apothnēskara, ouk …Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You …
John 8:14apokrinita Iēsus kai legata autoi; Kan mis marturameiō peri miautou, alēthas atō …Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony …
Hebrews 12:20ouk ferale gar tem diastelorōntem; Kan thērem thinganateia teu oreu, lithoboliti;… could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it …