ἐμπορεύομαι
emporeúomai
G1710 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To engage in commerce or trade, especially as an itinerant merchant; to conduct business by traveling from place to place. The term can refer broadly to business dealings, trading goods or commodities, or making profit through commercial activity. In various contexts, it may emphasize either the act of traveling for trade or the process of buying and selling itself.
Semantic Range
to travel for commerce, to trade, to conduct business, to buy and sell as a merchant, to make a profit, to engage in commercial enterprise
Root / Etymology
From ἐν ('in') and πορεύομαι ('to go, to travel'), indicating the idea of 'going about in' a place for business purposes. The verb points to activity involving movement, specifically in a commercial sense.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, ἐμπορεύομαι commonly referred to the business activity of merchants, especially those who traveled to various destinations (emporoi) to conduct trade. Over time, the word maintained this sense of commercial travel but could also denote more generally any kind of business or trade transaction. In the Septuagint and New Testament, ἐμπορεύομαι often refers specifically to acts of buying, selling, and making profit, with a sometimes negative connotation when associated with greed or exploitation (e.g., in James 4:13, Revelation 18:11). Standard English translations like 'to buy and sell' or 'to make merchandise' capture the transactional sense but may not reflect the itinerant or travel-based element inherent in the Greek term, nor always convey the occasional pejorative nuance present in some Jewish and early Christian contexts regarding profit or materialism. In contrast, related terms such as ἀγοράζω ('to purchase') lack the implication of travel or broader commercial activity.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from ἐν and πορεύομαι; to travel in (a country as a pedlar), i.e. (by implication) to trade:--buy and sell, make merchandise.
Root Family
ἐμπορευ- (emporeúomai) — to trade, to do business, to journey as a merchant
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G1710-01 |
ἐμπορευσόμεθα | emporeusometha | V FUT MID IND 1P PL |
engage in business | we will trade as merchants | we will trade as merchants | 1 |
G1710-02 |
ἐμπορεύσονται | emporeusontai | V FUT MID IND 3P PL |
they will exploit | they will trade for themselves | they will trade for themselves | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G1710-01 |
James 4:13 | ἐμπορευσόμεθα | emporeusometha | V FUT MID IND 1P PL |
engage in business | we will trade as merchants | we will trade as merchants |
G1710-02 |
2 Peter 2:3 | ἐμπορεύσονται | emporeusontai | V FUT MID IND 3P PL |
they will exploit | they will trade for themselves | they will trade for themselves |