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γίνομαι

gínomai

G1096 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

to become, to come into being, to happen; primarily denotes the process of transition from one state to another, the coming into existence or reality of something that was not previously so. In various contexts, it can also mean to occur, take place, arise, develop, or change; sometimes serves as a circumlocution for 'to be' when indicating the process or result of becoming, rather than simple existence. Used of events, states, and sometimes of persons or things coming to be in a particular role or status.

Semantic Range

to become, to come into being, to arise, to happen, to come to pass, to be made, to change into, to turn into, to develop, to occur, to be fulfilled, to be married, to be born, to be performed, to take place

Root / Etymology

From the root γίγνομαι (gígnomai) in classical Greek (present stem: γιγν-), meaning 'to come into being, to be born, to arise.' The form γίνομαι is the Koine and later Greek equivalent, with the same basic meaning but used more broadly and frequently in various syntactic constructions.

Historical & Contextual Notes

γίνομαι is widely employed in the Septuagint, New Testament, and Hellenistic Greek more generally. In earlier classical Greek, γίγνομαι carried the primary sense of actual becoming—physical birth, emergence, or event. By Koine Greek, γίνομαι had expanded to serve multiple idiomatic functions: to signify natural or historical events occurring ('it happens,' 'it comes to pass'); to mark change of state ('become something'); or even simply as a periphrasis for ἐστίν (is) in certain contexts. In narrative, it is often used where English would translate 'happen,' 'take place,' or 'come about,' and with complement constructions (γινομαι + nominative predicate) it means 'to become (something).' In LXX and NT, it can also signal fulfillment of something spoken ('it comes to pass'), or a transition into a new social, spiritual, or legal status (e.g., 'become children,' 'be married,' 'be established'). Nuances of γίνομαι may be obscured by translations that substitute simple forms of 'to be,' as the Greek stresses the process rather than mere existence. Does not inherently mean 'create' ex nihilo; more often emphasizes emergence or transformation. Distinct from ποιέω (to make/do), which is more active and causative, whereas γίνομαι centers on the process or the happening itself.

Translation Consistency

primary "become" 352 occurrences

γίνομαι primarily denotes coming into a new state or being — a process of change or coming-into-existence. "Become" is the natural, common English verb that captures that central sense (and naturally yields "became," "becoming," etc.). It also adapts reasonably to related senses (come to be, come to pass, be made, be fulfilled) while keeping a single, consistent base verb across all forms.

Alternatives (316 occurrences):
"became" (176x) "happened" (72x) "came to be" (8x) "happening" (7x) "done" (5x) "(pl.) became" (4x) "having occurred" (3x) "having arrived" (3x) "was" (3x) "came into being" (3x) "there came" (2x) "having arisen" (2x) "there came to be" (2x) "there happened" (1x) "when had taken place" (1x) "having come to be" (1x) "when it had happened" (1x) "inside" (1x) "being" (1x) "when it became" (1x) "there had been" (1x) "having been done" (1x) "things being done" (1x) "coming" (1x) "did you come" (1x) "taking place" (1x) "having fallen" (1x) "having happened" (1x) "made" (1x) "having come to" (1x) "having come to pass" (1x) "occurring" (1x) "having been made" (1x) "come into being" (1x) "never be" (1x) "having come into being" (1x) "arisen" (1x) "occurred" (1x) "existed" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be ("gen"-erate), i.e. (reflexively) to become (come into being), used with great latitude (literal, figurative, intensive, etc.):--arise, be assembled, be(-come, -fall, -have self), be brought (to pass), (be) come (to pass), continue, be divided, draw, be ended, fall, be finished, follow, be found, be fulfilled, + God forbid, grow, happen, have, be kept, be made, be married, be ordained to be, partake, pass, be performed, be published, require, seem, be showed, X soon as it was, sound, be taken, be turned, use, wax, will, would, be wrought.

Root Family

γίνομαι (ginomai) — to become, to come into being, to happen, to occur

Root γιν- to become, to come into being, to happen, to occur

Word Forms

73 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1096-08 ἐγένετο egeneto V AOR MID IND 3P SG it came to pass it became it became 201
G1096-37 γένηται genetai V AOR MID SUBJ 3P SG take place may come to be may become 46
G1096-34 γενέσθαι genesthai V AOR MID INF to become to come into being to become 37
G1096-50 γενομένης genomenes V AOR MID PTCP GEN F SG having come of having become of her having become 33
G1096-23 γέγονεν gegonen V PRF ACT IND 3P SG has become has come into being has become 31
G1096-61 γίνεται ginetai V PRS MID IND 3P SG becomes becomes becomes 26
G1096-54 γενόμενος genomenos V AOR MID PTCP NOM M SG having become having become having become 25
G1096-59 γίνεσθε ginesthe V PRS MID IMP 2P PL be become you all, be becoming 24
G1096-45 γένοιτό genoito V AOR MID OPT 3P SG may it be may it come to be may it become 17
G1096-10 ἐγένοντο egenonto V AOR MID IND 3P PL there were they became they became 14

Occurrences in Scripture

668 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1096-23 Matthew 1:22 γέγονεν gegonen V PRF ACT IND 3P SG has taken place has come into being has become
G1096-57 Matthew 4:3 γένωνται genontai V AOR MID SUBJ 3P PL become they may come to be they may become
G1096-37 Matthew 5:18 γένηται genetai V AOR MID SUBJ 3P SG is accomplished may come to be may become
G1096-35 Matthew 5:45 γένησθε genesthe V AOR MID SUBJ 2P PL you may be you might become you might become
G1096-43 Matthew 6:10 γενηθήτω genetheto V AOR PASS IMP 3P SG be done let it come into being let it become
G1096-59 Matthew 6:16 γίνεσθε ginesthe V PRS MID IMP 2P PL be become you all, be becoming
G1096-08 Matthew 7:28 ἐγένετο egeneto V AOR MID IND 3P SG it came to pass it became it happened
G1096-43 Matthew 8:13 γενηθήτω genetheto V AOR PASS IMP 3P SG let-it-be-done let it come into being let it become
G1096-50 Matthew 8:16 γενομένης genomenes V AOR MID PTCP GEN F SG having come of having become of her having become
G1096-08 Matthew 8:24 ἐγένετο egeneto V AOR MID IND 3P SG arose it became it became
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