verb
machemō
Greekμάχομαι (machomai)
Strong’sG3164
I engage in battle, fight, strive
stem mach-4 times in the New Testamentin 4 of 27 books4 forms occur
Translated as
What it means
μάχομαι,
[in LXX chiefly for ריב, also for נצה ni., etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3164 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidmakh'-om-ahee
to war, i.e. (figuratively) to quarrel, dispute
Frommiddle voice of an apparently primary verb;
King Jamesfight, strive.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| machevōμάχεσθε | happening now · yepresent middle indicative 2nd person plural | fight | 1× |
| macheleἘμάχοντο | was happening · theyimperfect middle indicative 3rd person plural | disputed | 1× |
| macherōμάχεσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle infinitive | quarrel | 1× |
| macherōtoiμαχομένοις | happening now · to, forpresent middle participle dative plural masculine | fighting | 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, 2 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | machemō | macheme | machemi | machema | machemē | machemelē |
| you 2nd person singular | machesō | machese | machesi | machesa | machesē | macheselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | machetō | machete | macheti | macheta | machetē | machetelē |
| we 1st person plural | machenō | machene | macheni | machena | machenē | machenelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | machevō1×μάχεσθε | macheve | machevi | macheva | machevē | machevelē |
| they 3rd person plural | machelō | machele1×Ἐμάχοντο | macheli | machela | machelē | machelelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | machemeiō | machemeia | machemeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | macheseiō | macheseia | macheseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | macheteiō | macheteia | macheteiē |
| we 1st person plural | macheneiō | macheneia | macheneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | macheveiō | macheveia | macheveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | macheleiō | macheleia | macheleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | machesōr | machesar | machesēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | machetōr | machetar | machetēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | machevōr | machevar | machevēr |
| they 3rd person plural | machelōr | machelar | machelēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | machemoiō | machemoia |
| you 2nd person singular | machesoiō | machesoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | machetoiō | machetoia |
| we 1st person plural | machenoiō | machenoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | machevoiō | machevoia |
| they 3rd person plural | macheloiō | macheloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on or for itself middle voice | macherō1×μάχεσθαι | macheri | machera | macherē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on or for itself middle voice | macherōtos1× | macheritos | macheratos | macherētos |
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
mach 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
4 occurrences, every one of them listed
machevō“fight”happening now · yepresent middle indicative 2nd person plural1×
James 4:2“fight”epithumavō, kai ouk echavō; foneuavō kai zēlavō, kai ouk dunevō epitunchanara; machevō kai polemavō. ouk echavō dia tem mē aiterō vin;You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.
machele“disputed”was happening · theyimperfect middle indicative 3rd person plural1×
John 6:52“disputed”Machele oun pros allēloin tois Ioudaiois legarōtois; Pōs dunetō houtos ni dōara tan sarxan autou esthiara?At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
macherō“quarrel”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle infinitive1×
2 Timothy 2:24“quarrel”doulon de kuriou ouk datō macherō, alla ēpion arō pros pantoin, didaktikon, anexikakon,And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.
macherōtoi“fighting”happening now · to, forpresent middle participle dative plural masculine1×
Acts 7:26“fighting”ta tē epeiarōta hēmera horita autoi macherōtoi kai sunallassate autoin eis eirēnan legaratos; Anēroir, adelfois avō; hinati adikavō allēloin?The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’