gonu denotes the bodily joints chiefly portrayed as bent in kneeling or bowing, and also as a point of contact or weakness.

The attested uses chiefly place the term in scenes of kneeling or bending before another, including prayer, worship, and bowing; two verses use it for physical knees as the place where someone falls or as bodily members needing strength.

1. Kneeling or bowing posture · dominant

   The term occurs where people kneel to pray in Acts 20:36 and Acts 7:60, where the speaker bends his knees to the Father in Ephesians 3:14, and where soldiers kneel in Mark 15:19. It also appears in universal bowing scenes: in Philippians 2:10 the APB renders "every knee should bend," and in Romans 14:11, "every knee shall bow to me."

   Acts 20:36Acts 7:60Ephesians 3:14Mark 15:19Philippians 2:10Romans 14:11
2. Physical point of contact or bodily weakness · occasional

   In Luke 5:8, the dative plural occurs in the scene where Simon Peter falls down at Jesus' knees. In Hebrews 12:12, the accusative plural is part of the exhortation that the APB renders "strengthen the drooping hands and the weak knees."

   Luke 5:8Hebrews 12:12

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB presents the term through "knelt," "kneeling," "bend my knees," "every knee," and "weak knees," as well as "Jesus' knees" in Luke 5:8. These are renderings of whole translated clauses rather than definitions.