ἔμελεν
mélō
he cared
To be a matter of concern or interest, to have relevance or importance to someone. In Koine Greek, μέλω most commonly appears impersonally in the third person singular, indicating that something 'matters' to someone or is of concern. The sense is often abstract: to be an issue, to be cared about, to be regarded as significant. The verb does not generally convey active care or maintenance (unlike e.g. φροντίζω or ἐπιμελέομαι), but rather the state of something mattering or being of consequence.
John 12:6 · Word #9
Lexicon G3199
| Lemma | μέλω |
| Transliteration | mélō |
| Strong's | G3199 |
| Definition | To be a matter of concern or interest, to have relevance or importance to someone. In Koine Greek, μέλω most commonly appears impersonally in the third person singular, indicating that something 'matters' to someone or is of concern. The sense is often abstract: to be an issue, to be cared about, to be regarded as significant. The verb does not generally convey active care or maintenance (unlike e.g. φροντίζω or ἐπιμελέομαι), but rather the state of something mattering or being of consequence. |
Morphology V IMPF ACT IND 3P SG
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state of being |
| Tense | IMPF — Imperfect — Continuous or repeated past action |
| Voice | ACT — Active — The subject performs the action |
| Mood | IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality |
| Person | 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they") |
| Number | SG — Singular — One |
Common Translation
| Phrase | he cared |
| Literal | it-was-caring |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | μέλω |
| Strong's | G3199 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G3199-01
it was of concern
| Morphological Notes | Verb; imperfect tense, active voice, indicative mood, 3rd person singular; commonly used impersonally. |
| Rendering Rationale | The imperfect active indicative third singular form ἔμελεν denotes an ongoing or past state of mattering or being of concern. Rendering it as "it was of concern" preserves the impersonal sense typical of μέλω and reflects the imperfect tense as a past ongoing state. |
View full lexicon entry for G3199 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
it was of concern
| Same as P1 | Yes |
| Rationale | P1 'it was of concern' fits the impersonal construction of ἔμελεν. No change needed. |