Word study
Synagogue
4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: synagogue, synagogues. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “synagogue” or one of its forms.
Compare the Greek words side by side
Greek words (New Testament)
- συναγωγή synagōgḗan assembly, congregation, synagoguetranslated this way 55 times of its 56 uses · Strong’s G4864Noun · Translated: synagogue 31, synagogues 24, meeting 1Full study and all 56 verses →
Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Mark 1:21 Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.
- ἀρχισυνάγωγος archisynágōgosa leader of the synagoguetranslated this way 7 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G752Noun · Translated: synagogue leader 6, synagogue leaders 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Mark 5:22 A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived, and seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet
Luke 8:49 While He was still speaking, someone arrived from the house of the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he told Jairus. “Do not bother the Teacher anymore.”
- ἀποσυνάγωγος aposynágōgosaway from the synagogue, excommunicatedtranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G656Adjective · Translated: put out of the synagogue 2, synagogues 1Full study and all 3 verses →
John 9:22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
John 12:42 Nevertheless, many of the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue.
- ἄρχων árchōna ruler, prince, leadertranslated this way 2 times of its 37 uses · Strong’s G758Noun · Translated: rulers 14, prince 7, ruler 6, synagogue leader 2Full study and all 36 verses →
Matthew 9:18 While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.”
Matthew 9:23 When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
What the Bible says about synagogue: passages by topic →
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Short definition: Dodson Greek Lexicon (2010, public domain). Full entry: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922, public domain). Strong’s Greek Dictionary (1890) in the edition by Ulrik Sandborg-Petersen (CC0). These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.