μόλις (G3433) — Greek Lexicon

μόλις

mólis

G3433 adverb

SILEX Entry

Definition

With difficulty, only just, scarcely—denoting an action accomplished with effort, against obstacles, or nearly not achieved. It often indicates that something almost did not happen, or that it happened but only after considerable difficulty.

Semantic Range

with difficulty, hardly, scarcely, barely, only just, almost not, with much effort

Root / Etymology

Formed probably as a variant of μόγις, both adverbs of similar meaning; the original root is uncertain, but likely related to ancient Greek expressions denoting difficulty or labor.

Historical & Contextual Notes

μόλις appears occasionally in classical Greek, but is more typical in Hellenistic and later periods, including the Septuagint and the New Testament. While μόγις and μόλις are used interchangeably in some authors, μόλις becomes the more prevalent Koine form. In the New Testament, it communicates the idea of something barely happening or occurring with great trouble (e.g., Acts 14:18, ‘they scarcely restrained the crowds’). English translations such as ‘hardly,’ ‘scarcely,’ or ‘with difficulty’ attempt to capture this, but sometimes lose the sense of near-failure present in the Greek. There is no theological nuance; the adverb simply describes the degree of difficulty in an action’s fulfillment.

Translation Consistency

primary "hardly" 6 occurrences

μόλις denotes something done with difficulty or almost not done. “Hardly” is the most natural, idiomatic single-word English adverb that covers ‘with difficulty,’ ‘scarcely,’ and ‘only just,’ so it provides consistent, readable renderings across all occurrences.

✓ All renderings match approved senses

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably by variation for μόγις; with difficulty:--hardly, scarce(-ly), + with much work.

Root Family

μόλις (molis) — with difficulty, hardly, scarcely

Root μολ- with difficulty, hardly, scarcely

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2	Occurrences
`G3433-01`	μόλις	molis	`ADV`	scarcely	with difficulty	hardly	6

Occurrences in Scripture

6 occurrences

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2
`G3433-01`	Acts 14:18	μόλις	molis	`ADV`	with difficulty	with difficulty	hardly
`G3433-01`	Acts 27:7	μόλις	molis	`ADV`	with difficulty	with difficulty	hardly
`G3433-01`	Acts 27:8	μόλις	molis	`ADV`	with difficulty	with difficulty	hardly
`G3433-01`	Acts 27:16	μόλις	molis	`ADV`	scarcely	with difficulty	hardly
`G3433-01`	Romans 5:7	μόλις	molis	`ADV`	scarcely	with difficulty	hardly
`G3433-01`	1 Peter 4:18	μόλις	molis	`ADV`	scarcely	with difficulty	hardly

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