πολιτεύομαι
politeúomai
G4176 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To conduct oneself as a citizen; to fulfill the duties, responsibilities, and behaviors appropriate to a recognized member of a community or civic body. In specific contexts, particularly in Hellenistic and New Testament usage, it can also connote living according to the regulations or standards of a particular community, including metaphorical or spiritual citizenship (e.g., belonging to a heavenly commonwealth).
Semantic Range
to act as a citizen, to fulfill civic duties, to participate in civic life, to conduct oneself as a member of a community, to live in accordance with the law or norms of a group, to behave in accordance with a recognized standard (literal and figurative); to live as a member of a heavenly or spiritual commonwealth
Root / Etymology
Derived from πολίτης (citizen), which itself comes from πόλις (city, city-state), plus the reflexive middle-passive ending -ομαι, indicating the subject participates in the action of the verb.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, πολιτεύομαι primarily denoted active participation in civic life, including holding office, voting, or otherwise engaging as a citizen of the πόλις. By the Hellenistic and Roman periods, its usage expanded to moral or ethical conduct expected of citizens. In the Septuagint, the term is rare, reflecting the Israelite context as distinct from Hellenistic city-state citizenry. In the New Testament (notably Philippians 1:27), πολιτεύομαι carries a metaphorical sense: living in accordance with the values and norms of a community, often the "heavenly commonwealth" or the body of believers. Standard English translations typically render it as "conduct oneself" or "live," sometimes using "conversation" (an older English sense meaning "way of life"), which fails to capture the term's specific political and communal background. The underlying imagery involves not just behavior but behavior befitting recognized membership in a civic or larger communal body, whether literal or metaphorical.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
middle voice of a derivative of πολίτης; to behave as a citizen (figuratively):--let conversation be, live.
Root Family
πολιτεύομαι (politeuomai) — to be a citizen, to live as a citizen, to participate in civic life
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G4176-02 |
πολιτεύεσθε | politeuesthe | V PRS MID IMP 2P PL |
conduct yourselves | Live as citizens | conduct yourselves as citizens | 1 |
G4176-01 |
πεπολίτευμαι | pepoliteumai | V PRF MID IND 1P SG |
have lived | I have conducted myself as a citizen | I have conducted myself as a citizen | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G4176-01 |
Acts 23:1 | πεπολίτευμαι | pepoliteumai | V PRF MID IND 1P SG |
have lived | I have conducted myself as a citizen | I have conducted myself as a citizen |
G4176-02 |
Philippians 1:27 | πολιτεύεσθε | politeuesthe | V PRS MID IMP 2P PL |
conduct yourselves | Live as citizens | conduct yourselves as citizens |