What does θερμαίνω (thermaínō) mean in the Bible?
G2328 means to warm or keep warm. The governed witness contains six forms in five verses across Mark, John, and James.
Greek · G2328
θερμαίνω
To heat (oneself)
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θερμαίνω G2328
Pronunciation thermaínō
What does θερμαίνω (thermaínō) mean in the Bible?
G2328 means to warm or keep warm. The governed witness contains six forms in five verses across Mark, John, and James.
Reader summary
Full entry for θερμαίνω (G2328) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2328?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include warming himself (2), stay warm (1), to keep warm (1), warmed himself (1), warming himself [there] (1).
Where does θερμαίνω (thermaínō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 14:54. Its strongest book concentrations include John (3), Mark (2), James (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G2328 means to warm or keep warm. The governed witness contains six forms in five verses across Mark, John, and James. Mark and John place Peter at a fire during Jesus' examination and denial. John 18:18 contains two forms: servants and officers warm themselves, and Peter stands with them warming himself. Verse 25 returns to Peter at the fire when he denies being Jesus' disciple.
James 2:16 uses an imperative in an example of useless speech: telling a poorly clothed person to stay warm and well fed while withholding bodily provision. The verb names a legitimate physical need and an ordinary action. The narratives and exhortation provide the moral setting; warmth itself neither causes Peter's denial nor substitutes for the practical mercy James requires.
How the Bible Uses It
G2328 appears at the fires where Peter is questioned and in James's example of words that fail to meet bodily need. The common action is warming; the passages supply denial, social setting, and mercy.
- Mrk.14.54
Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the officers and warmed himself by the fire.
The verb provides a concrete setting for Peter's presence among the officers.
- Jhn.18.18
Because it was cold, the servants and officers were standing around a charcoal fire they had made to keep warm. And Peter was also standing with them, warming himself.
John states the physical reason for the fire and uses two forms without making warmth the cause of denial.
- Jhn.18.25
Simon Peter was still standing and warming himself. So they asked him, “Aren’t you also one of His disciples?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”
The action locates Peter when the discipleship question and denial occur.
- Jas.2.16
If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that?
James contrasts benevolent speech with withheld material care.
Passage context
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 warming himself 2× John 18:18, John 18:25
stay warm 1× James 2:16
to keep warm 1× John 18:18
warmed himself 1× Mark 14:54
warming himself [there] 1× Mark 14:67
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 14:54 θερμαινόμενος to warmed himself Verb - Present Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular Mark 14:67 θερμαινόμενον to warming himself [there] Verb - Present Participle Middle - Accusative Masculine Singular John 18:18 ἐθερμαίνοντο to to keep warm Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Plural John 18:18 θερμαινόμενος to warming himself Verb - Present Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular John 18:25 θερμαινόμενος to warming himself Verb - Present Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular James 2:16 θερμαίνεσθε to stay warm Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 14:54
Aligned rows 6
Books represented 3
Mark 2 John 3 James 1
Source forms
θερμαινόμενος 3x thermainomenos Mark 14:54, John 18:18, John 18:25
ἐθερμαίνοντο 1x ethermainonto John 18:18
θερμαίνεσθε 1x thermainesthe James 2:16
θερμαινόμενον 1x thermainomenon Mark 14:67
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular 3x Mark 14:54, John 18:18, John 18:25
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x John 18:18
Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural 1x James 2:16
Verb - Present Participle Middle - Accusative Masculine Singular 1x Mark 14:67
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Honor bodily needs through practical care while helping believers prepare for truthful witness under social pressure.
- Keep the physical act of warming distinct from the moral actions surrounding it.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to heat (oneself)
Source Gloss
to heat (oneself)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 14:54 Verb Present Middle Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
θερμαινόμενος qermainomenov
I warm
Read verse Mark 14:67 Verb Present Middle Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
θερμαινόμενον, qermainomenon
I warm
Read verse John 18:18 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἐθερμαίνοντο· eqermainonto
I warm
Read verse John 18:18 Verb Present Middle Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
θερμαινόμενος. qermainomenov
I warm
Read verse John 18:25 Verb Present Middle Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
θερμαινόμενος· qermainomenov
I warm
Read verse James 2:16 Verb Second Person Plural Present Middle or Passive Imperative
θερμαίνεσθε qermainesqe
I warm
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.
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 4 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 3 imperfect 1
Voice
middle 4
Mood
participle 2 imperative 1 indicative 1
NT Occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Word Origins
θερμαίνω is built from this root:
θέρμη G2329
For the Preacher and Teacher
G2328 keeps discipleship close to ordinary bodies. Peter is cold, the servants and officers are cold, and a poorly clothed person in James needs warmth. Scripture does not shame the need. It does, however, show how the setting of comfort can expose allegiance and how caring words can become empty when material help is withheld. At the charcoal fire, Peter's denial is his moral failure; the fire is not.
In James, the failure is not the wish that someone be warm, but the refusal to provide what is needed. Churches can therefore teach courageous identification with Jesus and tangible mercy together. People need truthful companions under social pressure and practical provision in physical need. Neither application requires inventing a hidden symbolism of spiritual temperature.
Anchor passage
Jhn.18.18
Doctrinal connections
- Mrk.14.54-72 - Peter's place by the fire belongs to the narrative setting of his denial.
- Jhn.18.18 - servants, officers, and Peter warm themselves because it is cold.
- Jhn.18.25-27 - Peter's denial occurs while he remains at the fire.
- Jhn.21.9-19 - John's later charcoal-fire scene should be interpreted from its own restoration dialogue.
- Jas.2.14-17 - claimed faith without practical provision is dead.
- Jas.2.16 - warmth and food name bodily needs that words alone do not meet.
Four morphological patterns account for the six attested verbs. Four middle or passive forms describe people warming themselves, John 18:18 includes an imperfect plural for the group, and James 2:16 uses a present middle imperative.
From Old to New Testament
No broad fire symbolism is required. Wider biblical teaching about care for exposed and poor neighbors should be developed through the passages that command such provision.
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