What does ἐντολή (entolḗ) mean in the Bible?
Entolē means a command, order, injunction, or commandment. Its broad New Testament distribution prevents one formula from governing every use.
Greek · G1785
ἐντολή
Commandment
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ἐντολή G1785
Pronunciation entolḗ
What does ἐντολή (entolḗ) mean in the Bible?
Entolē means a command, order, injunction, or commandment. Its broad New Testament distribution prevents one formula from governing every use.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐντολή (G1785) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1785?
The BSB source-word alignment has 67 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include commandment (26), commandments (21), command (4), instructions (2), [one] (1).
Where does ἐντολή (entolḗ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:19. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 John (14), John (10), Romans (7), Mark (6).
Are there verse guides for ἐντολή (entolḗ)?
This entry includes 3 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Entolē means a command, order, injunction, or commandment. Its broad New Testament distribution prevents one formula from governing every use. The noun can name an ordinary instruction or official order, such as the authorities' directive about Jesus in John 11:57. It names commandments in the Mosaic law, including the great commandment and individual prohibitions.
John uses it for commands the Father gives Jesus and for commands Jesus gives His disciples, especially the command to love one another as He loved them. Paul can speak of commandments summed up in neighbor-love, while Titus 1:14 warns about human commands associated with turning from the truth. The authority, recipient, covenant setting, and content must therefore be identified in every passage.
The noun itself does not make every command divine, teach that obedience earns justification, or reduce love to sentiment detached from concrete instruction.
How the Bible Uses It
The local index counts about sixty-six G1785 uses spanning ordinary orders, Mosaic commandments, the Father's command to Jesus, Jesus' commands to disciples, apostolic instruction, and human commands.
- John.11.57
But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should report it, so that they could arrest Him.
An order from hostile authorities shows that G1785 does not identify divine authority by itself.
- Matt.22.38
This is the first and greatest commandment.
Jesus identifies wholehearted love for God as the first and greatest commandment before naming love of neighbor as the second.
- John.12.49
I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it.
Jesus describes the Father as the source of His command concerning what He speaks.
- John.13.34
A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
Jesus commands mutual love measured by His own love within the farewell setting.
- Rom.13.9
The commandments Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not covet, and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Paul says named commandments are summed up in neighbor-love; his next statement explains that love does no wrong to a neighbor.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It commandment 26× Matthew 22:36, Matthew 22:38, Mark 7:8, Mark 10:5
commandments 21× Matthew 5:19, Matthew 19:17, Matthew 22:40, Mark 10:19
command 4× Matthew 15:3, Mark 7:9, John 12:50, 1 Corinthians 14:37
instructions 2× Acts 17:15, Colossians 4:10
[one] 1× 1 John 2:7
[to the] commands 1× Titus 1:14
a commandment 1× Luke 15:29
charge 1× John 10:18
commanded 1× 2 Peter 3:2
commandment [is] 1× Romans 7:12
commandments [is what counts] 1× 1 Corinthians 7:19
commands 1× Hebrews 7:5
has commanded 1× 2 John 1:4
has commanded Me 1× John 12:49
He commanded 1× 1 John 3:23
of commandments 1× Ephesians 2:15
of succession 1× Hebrews 7:16
orders 1× John 11:57
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:19 ἐντολῶν to commandments Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural Matthew 15:3 ἐντολὴν to command Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Matthew 19:17 ἐντολάς to commandments Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural Matthew 22:36 ἐντολὴ to commandment Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Matthew 22:38 ἐντολή to commandment Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Matthew 22:40 ἐντολαῖς to commandments Noun - Dative Feminine Plural Mark 7:8 ἐντολὴν to commandment Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Mark 7:9 ἐντολὴν to command Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Mark 10:5 ἐντολὴν to commandment Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Mark 10:19 ἐντολὰς to commandments Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:19
Aligned rows 67
Books represented 16
Matthew 6 Mark 6 Luke 4 John 10 Acts 1 Romans 7 1 Corinthians 2 Ephesians 2 Colossians 1 1 Timothy 1 Titus 1 Hebrews 4 2 Peter 2 1 John 14 2 John 4 Revelation 2
Source forms
ἐντολὴν 16x entolēn Matthew 15:3, Mark 7:8, Mark 7:9, Mark 10:5
ἐντολὰς 13x entolas Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, John 11:57, John 14:15
ἐντολὴ 10x entolē Matthew 22:36, Mark 12:28, Mark 12:31, John 12:50
ἐντολῆς 9x entolēs Romans 7:8, Romans 7:9, Romans 7:11, Romans 7:13
ἐντολάς 4x entolas Matthew 19:17, John 14:21, John 15:10, Colossians 4:10
ἐντολή 4x entolē Matthew 22:38, Romans 13:9, 1 Corinthians 14:37, 2 John 1:6
ἐντολαῖς 3x entolais Matthew 22:40, Luke 1:6, Titus 1:14
ἐντολῶν 3x entolōn Matthew 5:19, 1 Corinthians 7:19, Ephesians 2:15
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 19x Matthew 15:3, Mark 7:8, Mark 7:9, Mark 10:5
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural 18x Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, John 11:57
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 14x Matthew 22:36, Matthew 22:38, Mark 12:28, Mark 12:31
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 9x Romans 7:8, Romans 7:9, Romans 7:11, Romans 7:13
Noun - Dative Feminine Plural 3x Matthew 22:40, Luke 1:6, Titus 1:14
Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural 3x Matthew 5:19, 1 Corinthians 7:19, Ephesians 2:15
Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural 1x 1 John 5:3
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Identify who gives a command and to whom before applying it directly.
- Join love and obedience where the passage joins them, while keeping salvation grounded in Christ rather than moral performance.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every command or tradition deserves obedience merely because G1785 names it.
- Do not claim that love fulfills the law by making concrete moral instructions optional.
- Do not claim that imperfect obedience automatically proves the absence of saving faith.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
John 13:34 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐντολὴν entolen commandment The form identifies the commandment as the object Jesus gives before the verse explains its content. Read verse guide Matthew 5:19 Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
ἐντολῶν entolon commandment The form narrows the sense to one commandment within a larger set, which strengthens the verse's caution against minimizing any part of the instruction. Read verse guide Revelation 22:14 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
ἐντολὰς entolas commandment The form clarifies that the verse speaks of a recognized set of commands being carried out, which sharpens the ethical shape of the blessing. Read verse guide Greek word. Authoritative directive from God or Christ requiring obedience; often religious precepts or moral rules.
Source Gloss
commandment
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 71 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
entolwn
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Matthew 15:3 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐντολὴν entolhn
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Matthew 15:6 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐντολὴν entolhn
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Matthew 19:17 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
ἐντολάς. entolav
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Matthew 22:36 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἐντολὴ entolh
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Matthew 22:38 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἐντολή. entolh
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Matthew 22:40 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
ἐντολαῖς entolaiv
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Mark 7:8 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐντολὴν entolhn
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Mark 7:9 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐντολὴν entolhn
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Mark 10:5 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐντολὴν entolhn
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Mark 10:19 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
ἐντολὰς entolav
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Mark 12:28 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἐντολή; entolh
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Mark 12:29 Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
ἐντολῶν, entolwn
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Mark 12:30 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἐντολή. entolh
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Mark 12:31 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἐντολὴ entolh
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verse Luke 1:6 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
ἐντολαῖς entolaiv
an ordinance, injunction, command
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 7 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 7 Aligned forms 66 Case pattern Accusative (37) Number pattern Singular (41)
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Matt 22:36 · Matt 22:38 · Mark 12:28 · Mark 12:31 · John 12:50 · John 15:12 · Rom 7:10 · Rom 7:12 · Rom 13:9 · Eph 6:2 · 1 John 2:7 · 1 John 3:23 · 2 John 1:6 13×
Nominative · Plural · Feminine 1 John 5:3 1×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Rom 7:8 · Rom 7:9 · Rom 7:11 · Rom 7:13 · Heb 7:16 · Heb 7:18 · Heb 9:19 · 2 Pet 2:21 · 2 Pet 3:2 9×
Dative · Plural · Feminine Matt 22:40 · Luke 1:6 · Titus 1:14 3×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 15:3 · Mark 7:8 · Mark 7:9 · Mark 10:5 · Luke 15:29 · Luke 23:56 · John 10:18 · John 12:49 · John 13:34 · Acts 17:15 · 1 Tim 6:14 · Heb 7:5 · 1 John 2:7 · 1 John 2:8 · 1 John 3:23 · 1 John 4:21 19×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine Matt 19:17 · Mark 10:19 · Luke 18:20 · John 11:57 · John 14:15 · John 14:21 · John 15:10 · Col 4:10 · 1 John 2:3 · 1 John 2:4 · 1 John 3:22 · 1 John 3:24 · 1 John 5:2 · 1 John 5:3 · 2 John 1:6 · Rev 12:17 18×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Authoritative instructions given by God, particularly as fulfilled and clarified in Christ.
An authoritative directive rooted in God’s will and revealed through Christ.
Authoritative directive expressing God’s will.
Authoritative directives expressing God’s will.
Additional Occurrences
1-john Command entolḗ
authoritative directive rooted in covenant obligation
1-john Command entolḗ
authoritative directive
1-john Commandments entolḗ
authoritative directives
John 12:37-50 ντολή entolḗ
commandment
Showing 8 selected witnesses from 66 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἐντολή is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
The commandment reveals sin but is not itself sinful. 1 John 2:3-6
Father's directive resulting in eternal life. 1 John 2:7-11
Highlights continuity between the foundational gospel message and the ethical demand of love. 1 John 3:19-24
Summarized as faith in Jesus and love for one another, uniting belief and practice. 1 John 5:1-5
Obedience demonstrates love for God and evidences genuine regeneration.
Obedience to God’s revealed will is the concrete evidence of genuine faith, not an optional extra for advanced believers.
Love is not optional sentiment but divine mandate, inseparable from true obedience.
John condenses God’s will into faith in Christ and love, uniting doctrine and ethics.
Obedience is the practical expression of love for God.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
G1785 does not carry a single authority level in every verse. It can name an official order, a human command that turns from truth, a Mosaic commandment, the Father's command to Jesus, or Jesus' command to His disciples. This breadth guards against treating the noun itself as proof that an instruction is divine. In passages about God's and Christ's commands, love and obedience belong together.
Jesus names love for God and neighbor as the organizing commandments, gives disciples a new command to love one another as He loved them, and joins love for Him with keeping His commands. Paul likewise says specific prohibitions are summed up in neighbor-love because love does no wrong. Preaching should call for concrete obedience without making performance the ground of justification, and it should preach love without dissolving the commands that define faithful action.
Anchor passage
John.13.34
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 22:36-40 identifies love for God and neighbor as the great commandments.
- John 12:49-50 and 14:31 describe the Father's command in relation to Jesus' words and obedience.
- John 13:34 and 15:12 command disciples to love one another as Jesus loved them.
- Romans 13:8-10 explains how neighbor-love fulfills named commandments by doing no wrong.
- Titus 1:14 warns that human commands can turn people away from the truth.
The noun can denote a specific order, injunction, or religious commandment. Possessors and modifiers identify whose command it is, while verbs such as give, receive, have, keep, or transgress show the relationship to it.
From Old to New Testament
The Septuagint commonly uses the noun for Hebrew commandment language, providing covenant background. New Testament passages still determine how Mosaic, paternal, Christ-given, apostolic, and human commands relate.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain