μνάομαι
mnáomai
G3415
SILEX Entry
Definition
To remember, recall, or call to mind; in some contexts, to be mindful of someone or something with implication for obligation or appropriate response. The middle voice emphasizes the subject's personal engagement or affective involvement in the act of remembering. Typical uses include the recollection of persons, events, or statements, as well as being mindful of responsibilities, promises, or prior actions—sometimes with the ancillary sense of taking appropriate action based on what is remembered.
Semantic Range
to remember, to recall, to mention, to be mindful of, to keep in mind (with or without implication of subsequent action), to recollect, to remind oneself, (rarely) to commemorate
Root / Etymology
The verb μνάομαι is the middle-passive form related to the stem μνα-/μνη- (compare μιμνήσκω, 'to remind, recall'). The common root appears in several Greek words denoting memory, recollection, and remembrance. Connection to μένω ('to remain') is etymologically uncertain and less likely. There is no secure relationship to μασσάομαι. The word is directly linked to the idea of internal memory or mental fixation, as in 'to cause oneself to remember'.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, μνάομαι occurs primarily in the middle voice, emphasizing personal or emotional recollection (e.g., Homer, tragedians), and often relates to keeping someone or something present in one's mind or heart. In Hellenistic and Koine usage—including the Septuagint and New Testament—the term can acquire a nuance of covenantal or relational remembrance (e.g., God 'remembering' promises, or requesting God 'to remember' a person), implicitly joined with action (e.g., to act graciously or justly based on what is remembered). The sense of 'to reward' or 'to punish' is not inherent in the verb itself, but arises contextually from extension of the act of remembering to its consequences. English translations often use 'remember,' 'be mindful,' or similar terms, but these may not fully convey the relational or affective character of the Greek usage. Contrast with ἐπιλανθάνομαι ('to forget'); note also related terms such as μνημονεύω ('to keep in mind, to remember'). In the LXX and NT, the term can reflect both Greek linguistic tradition and distinctively Judean/Jewish religious thought regarding memory and obligation.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
middle voice of a derivative of μένω or perhaps of the base of μασσάομαι (through the idea of fixture in the mind or of mental grasp); to bear in mind, i.e. recollect; by implication, to reward or punish:--be mindful, remember, come (have) in remembrance. Compare μιμνήσκω.
Word Forms
0 distinct forms
No word forms found for this Strong's number.
Occurrences in Scripture
0 occurrences
No occurrences found.