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στρατεία

strateía

G4752 noun

SILEX Entry

Root στρατ- to wage war, to make a campaign, to serve as a soldier

Definition

A military campaign, expedition, or service — the engagement in organized armed conflict or warfare; figuratively, an endeavor or struggle marked by disciplined effort, challenge, or opposition, such as a personal, moral, or apostolic undertaking involving hardship or perseverance.

Semantic Range

military campaign, expedition, warfare, military service, figurative: struggle or undertaking involving discipline and hardship, apostolic or spiritual struggle

Root / Etymology

From the verb στρατεύομαι ('to wage war, to serve as a soldier'), itself derived from the root στρατ-, related to στρατός ('army'). Indicates the act or state of performing military service.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, στρατεία primarily denoted a military campaign or service with an army, including all aspects of organizing, embarking on, and engaging in military actions. In Hellenistic and Koine usage (including the Septuagint), the term broadly covered 'military service' or 'a campaign.' In the New Testament (e.g., 1 Timothy 1:18; 2 Corinthians 10:4), the meaning becomes largely metaphorical: it describes the Christian or apostolic life as a kind of disciplined struggle or warfare, emphasizing endurance, discipline, and opposition to spiritual or moral adversaries. Figurative usage is rooted in established Greco-Roman metaphorical applications of military vocabulary to personal, philosophical, or ethical endeavors. Standard English translations often render the figurative meaning with 'warfare,' 'fight,' or 'struggle,' but the word retains its base sense of organized, purposeful engagement in conflict, whether literal or metaphorical. There is a notable contrast with στρατίωτης ('soldier'), which refers to the individual, while στρατεία refers to the campaign or undertaking as a whole.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from στρατεύομαι; military service, i.e. (figuratively) the apostolic career (as one of hardship and danger):--warfare.

Root Family

στρατεία (strateía) — military campaign, expedition, military service, warfare, disciplined struggle

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G4752-01 στρατείαν strateian N ACC F SG warfare military campaign warfare 1
G4752-02 στρατείας strateias N GEN F SG warfare of military campaign military campaign 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G4752-02 2 Corinthians 10:4 στρατείας strateias N GEN F SG warfare of military campaign military campaign
G4752-01 1 Timothy 1:18 στρατείαν strateian N ACC F SG warfare military campaign warfare
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