Lexicon
ἔχω
echō
G2192
G:V Greek

to have/be

706
Occurrences
27
Books
Greek
Language

echo denotes possessing or holding something, including possessions, qualities, relationships, and stated conditions.

The verb most often marks possession or the possession of an attribute, gift, or quality; it also describes persons in a relationship or condition and the holding of matters, needs, or inward commitments. Its present, participial, and other supplied forms occur in clauses about what a person possesses, lacks, retains, or has before them.

Senses in use

  1. Possessing possessions, gifts, or qualities · dominant

    Present active forms mark what someone possesses: in 1 Corinthians 14:26 the APB renders each person at the gathering as having a psalm, teaching, revelation, tongue, or interpretation. In 1 John 5:12, the present participle and indicative distinguish the person who has the Son and life from the person who does not; 1 Timothy 6:16 similarly predicates immortality of one person.

  2. Being in a personal relationship or circumstance · common

    The verb can frame a person's relation or situation. In 1 Corinthians 7:12 and 1 Corinthians 7:13, the APB renders a brother as having an unbelieving wife and a woman as having an unbelieving husband; in 1 Corinthians 6:1, a present active participle describes someone having a matter against another.

  3. Holding or lacking an inward commitment or need · occasional

    The verb occurs with inward or evaluative complements. In 1 Corinthians 12:21, the APB renders the eye and head as saying they have no need of other members; in 1 Timothy 1:19, a present participle stands with faith and a good conscience, and in 1 John 2:28 an aorist subjunctive looks to having boldness when he is revealed.

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the verb with forms of “have,” as in possessions, needs, relationships, and qualities. Its wording confirms the clauses' overall possession language rather than establishing a separate rendering for every form.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture