What does ἀντίκειμαι (antíkeimai) mean in the Bible?
G480 describes being set against, opposing, or functioning as an adversary. The opposition may come from hostile people, as in Luke 13:17, Luke 21:15, First Corinthians 16:9, and Philippians 1:28.
Greek · G480
ἀντίκειμαι
Be an opponent
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ἀντίκειμαι G480
Pronunciation antíkeimai
What does ἀντίκειμαι (antíkeimai) mean in the Bible?
G480 describes being set against, opposing, or functioning as an adversary. The opposition may come from hostile people, as in Luke 13:17, Luke 21:15, First Corinthians 16:9, and Philippians 1:28.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀντίκειμαι (G480) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G480?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include adversaries (1), adversary (1), are opposed (1), oppose [me] (1), oppose [you] (1).
Where does ἀντίκειμαι (antíkeimai) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 13:17. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (2), Luke (2), 1 Corinthians (1), 2 Thessalonians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G480 describes being set against, opposing, or functioning as an adversary. The opposition may come from hostile people, as in Luke 13:17, Luke 21:15, First Corinthians 16:9, and Philippians 1:28. Galatians 5:17 uses the verb for the flesh and Spirit being opposed to one another. First Timothy applies it to what is contrary to sound teaching and to an adversary seeking occasion for slander.
Second Thessalonians 2:4 uses it of the figure who opposes and exalts himself in the chapter's eschatological warning. The verb identifies opposition; it does not establish that every critic is evil, that resistance proves a ministry is faithful, or that all eight settings describe the same kind of conflict.
How the Bible Uses It
The selected artifact reports about eight New Testament occurrences. G480 describes adversaries of Jesus and His witnesses, opposition to gospel ministry, the conflict of flesh and Spirit, teaching contrary to sound doctrine, an adversary's opportunity, and eschatological self-exaltation.
- 1Cor.16.9
Because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me.
The same sentence names both effective opportunity and many opponents. Paul does not treat resistance as proof that he should leave Ephesus or as automatic proof that any contested work is God's open door.
- 1Tim.1.10
For the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching
The opposition is to sound teaching as defined by the surrounding ethical list and the gospel entrusted to Paul. Leaders may not substitute their own status or preferences for that textual standard.
- 2Thess.2.4
He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
This is a concentrated eschatological use involving opposition to worship and self-exaltation. It should remain within the full argument and not become a lexical shortcut for date-setting or accusation.
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 adversaries 1× Luke 13:17
adversary 1× 1 Timothy 5:14
are opposed 1× Galatians 5:17
oppose [me] 1× 1 Corinthians 16:9
oppose [you] 1× Philippians 1:28
who is averse to 1× 1 Timothy 1:10
will oppose 1× 2 Thessalonians 2:4
your adversaries 1× Luke 21:15
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 13:17 ἀντικείμενοι to adversaries Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural Luke 21:15 ἀντικείμενοι to your adversaries Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural 1 Corinthians 16:9 ἀντικείμενοι to oppose [me] Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural Galatians 5:17 ἀντίκειται to are opposed Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Philippians 1:28 ἀντικειμένων to oppose [you] Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Plural 2 Thessalonians 2:4 ἀντικείμενος to will oppose Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 1 Timothy 1:10 ἀντίκειται to who is averse to Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1 Timothy 5:14 ἀντικειμένῳ to adversary Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Dative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Luke 13:17
Aligned rows 8
Books represented 6
Luke 2 1 Corinthians 1 Galatians 1 Philippians 1 2 Thessalonians 1 1 Timothy 2
Source forms
ἀντικείμενοι 3x antikeimenoi Luke 13:17, Luke 21:15, 1 Corinthians 16:9
ἀντίκειται 2x antikeitai Galatians 5:17, 1 Timothy 1:10
ἀντικείμενος 1x antikeimenos 2 Thessalonians 2:4
ἀντικειμένῳ 1x antikeimenō 1 Timothy 5:14
ἀντικειμένων 1x antikeimenōn Philippians 1:28
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural 3x Luke 13:17, Luke 21:15, 1 Corinthians 16:9
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 2x Galatians 5:17, 1 Timothy 1:10
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Dative Masculine Singular 1x 1 Timothy 5:14
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Plural 1x Philippians 1:28
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x 2 Thessalonians 2:4
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use the surrounding passage to identify the object and standard of opposition before deciding whether resistance is faithful, misguided, or evil.
- Keep ministry opposition distinct from the flesh-Spirit conflict, conduct contrary to teaching, and the eschatological opponent.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not call every critic an opponent of God or use G480 to protect a leader from accountable questions.
- Do not claim that opposition alone confirms or invalidates a ministry; doctrine, conduct, fruit, and the passage's stated standard must be examined.
Passage contextPastoral applicationBook contexttheological_synthesis
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Opposition that involves active resistance or hostility, not mere disagreement
Strong's G480
Lexical occurrences 8 verses Greek text appearances 8 times Word forms 2 forms 8 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 1 Corinthians 16:5-9 Source Gloss
be an opponent
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Opposition that involves active resistance or hostility, not mere disagreement
1to lie opposite to.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 13:17 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀντικείμενοι antikeimenoi
I resist, oppose
Read verse Luke 21:15 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀντικείμενοι antikeimenoi
I resist, oppose
Read verse 1 Corinthians 16:9 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀντικείμενοι antikeimenoi
I resist, oppose
Read verse Galatians 5:17 Verb Third Person Singular Present Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἀντίκειται antikeitai
I resist, oppose
Read verse Philippians 1:28 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀντικειμένων· antikeimenwn
I resist, oppose
Read verse 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀντικείμενος antikeimenov
I resist, oppose
Read verse 1 Timothy 1:10 Verb Third Person Singular Present Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἀντίκειται, antikeitai
I resist, oppose
Read verse 1 Timothy 5:14 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Dative Singular Masculine
ἀντικειμένῳ antikeimenw
I resist, oppose
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 mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 8 Tenses Present Voices Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 6×
Present Middle Luke 13:17 · Luke 21:15 · 1 Cor 16:9 · Phil 1:28 · 2 Thess 2:4 · 1 Tim 5:14 6×
Indicative states a fact or reality 2×
Present Middle Gal 5:17 · 1 Tim 1:10 2×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 7 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 7
Voice
middle 7
Mood
participle 5 indicative 2
NT Occurrences
Luke 13:17 ἀντικείμενοι present middle participle participle Luke 21:15 ἀντικείμενοι present middle participle participle 1 Corinthians 16:9 ἀντικείμενοι present middle participle participle Galatians 5:17 ἀντίκειται present middle indicative ongoing Philippians 1:28 ἀντικειμένων present middle participle participle 1 Timothy 1:10 ἀντίκειται present middle indicative ongoing 1 Timothy 5:14 ἀντικειμένῳ present middle participle participle
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)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Opponents or enemies who resist and hinder apostolic ministry work
Those who resist and speak against Jesus and his healing work on the Sabbath
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 8 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀντίκειμαι is built from these roots:
For the Preacher and Teacher
G480 identifies real opposition without supplying a universal verdict on the opponent. Jesus' adversaries in Luke 13 resist His Sabbath healing, and Luke 21 prepares disciples for hostile contradiction during witness. First Corinthians 16:9 shows that effective ministry and many opponents can coexist, while Philippians 1:28 calls believers not to be frightened.
Galatians 5:17 uses the same verb for the conflict between flesh and Spirit. First Timothy measures what is contrary by sound teaching and warns against giving an adversary occasion for slander. Second Thessalonians 2 applies the verb within a specific eschatological warning. Churches should discern opposition by Scripture and conduct, not by a leader's wounded status.
Resistance may require endurance, correction, or repentance, but conflict alone proves none of them.
Anchor passage
1Cor.16.9
Doctrinal connections
- Luke 13:10-17 governs Jesus' adversaries through His Sabbath healing, His exposure of hypocrisy, and the woman's identity as a daughter of Abraham.
- Luke 21:12-19 joins hostile contradiction to persecution, Spirit-given testimony, endurance, and Jesus' promise of wisdom.
- First Corinthians 16:8-9 holds effective opportunity and many opponents together without making resistance the test of a ministry's legitimacy.
- Galatians 5:16-25 locates opposition between flesh and Spirit inside a call to walk by the Spirit and display the Spirit's fruit.
- Philippians 1:27-30 connects fearlessness before opponents with gospel-worthy conduct, unity, faith, suffering, and the struggle shared with Paul.
- First Timothy 1:8-11 and Second Thessalonians 2:1-12 respectively govern opposition through sound teaching and through the full warning about lawlessness and deception.
G480 is a verb for being set against or opposing. It appears in finite and participial forms and can describe people, conduct, spiritual conflict, or an eschatological figure. Across project witnesses, the broad artifact total is near eight and STEP TAGNT supplies roughly six Pauline uses. Subject, complement, and discourse identify the nature of the opposition.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture often records opposition to God's servants and also rebukes God's people when they oppose His will. Those wider patterns can inform discernment, but G480 does not permit readers to place themselves automatically among the faithful merely because they experience resistance.
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