στηρίζω
To establish
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What does στηρίζω (stērízō) mean in the Bible?
στηρίζω (stērízō) is a Greek word meaning "to establish". στηρίζω [in LXX for סָמַךְ, שׂוּם, etc. Assures believers that God secures them in the gospel. This term runs through the canonical themes of Messiah.
Full entry for στηρίζω (G4741) · Browse the biblical lexicon
Meaning
To strengthen or establish someone in faith, character, or commitment through active support and confirmation.
to fix, set fast, make fast: Luk.16:26; τ. πρόσωτον (Eze.6:2 13:17, al.; see Dalman, Words, 30 f.), Luk.9:51. Metaphorical, to confirm, establish: with, accusative, Luk.22:32, Act.18:23, Rom.1:11 16:25, 1Th.3:2 3:13, 2Th.3:3, Jas.5:8, 1Pe.5:10, Rev.3:2; id. before ἐν, 2Th.2:17, 2Pe.1:12.
Why This Word Matters
Assures believers that God secures them in the gospel. Acts 15:30-35
Reveals Christ’s unwavering resolve toward His redemptive mission. Luke 9:51–56
Highlights the stabilizing role of spoken exhortation. Romans 16:25-27
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
Imperative command or strong request 3×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 3×
Indicative states a fact or reality 4×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Optative wish or remote possibility 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 11 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
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)
Canonical Themes
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
Appears In
Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.
Word Pictures (Robertson)
A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain