aspazomai · greet

What it means

aspazomai (ἀσπάζομαι) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “greet”.

To greet.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To welcome someone or bid them farewell with words of peace and affection.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

To greet: to address someone with words or gestures of greeting on meeting him, on taking leave, or by letter. Its noun is ἀσπασμός (‘greeting’).

• Greetings at the end of the letters Romans 16:3Colossians 4:101 Peter 5:13
• “Greet one another with a holy kiss” 2 Corinthians 13:121 Thessalonians 5:26
• Greeting on arriving at a house Luke 1:40Acts 21:7
• Greeting only one’s brothers Matthew 5:47
• “Greet no one on the road” Luke 10:4

Historical and cultural background

Hebrews 11:13 uses the verb for those who died without receiving the promises, but saw them “from a distance and greeted {them}”.

How we translate it

“Greet” 42 times, “greets” 9, “greeted” 4. Almost half of the cases are in Romans 16, Paul’s list of greetings. In Acts 20:1, where the greeting is one of leave-taking, “said farewell”.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• Greet ×42
• greets ×9
• greeted ×4
• after greeting ×1
• said farewell ×1
• salute ×1
• they were greeting ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×2
• Mark×2
• Luke×2
• Acts×5
• Romans×21
• 1 Corinthians×4
• 2 Corinthians×2
• Philippians×3
• Colossians×4
• 1 Thessalonians×1
• 2 Timothy×2
• Titus×2
• Philemon×1
• Hebrews×3
• 1 Peter×2
• 2 John×1
• 3 John×2

• Matthew 5:47

  And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

• Matthew 10:12

  As you enter the house, greet it.

• Mark 9:15

  And at once all the crowd, seeing him, were greatly amazed, and running up, they were greeting him.

• Mark 15:18

  And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

• Luke 1:40

  and she entered into the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

• Luke 10:4

  Do not carry a money bag, nor a bag, nor sandals; and greet no one on the road.

• Acts 18:22

  And when he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch.

• Acts 20:1

  And after the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and having encouraged them and said farewell, he departed to go to Macedonia.

• Acts 21:7

  And we, having completed the voyage from Tyre, arrived at Ptolemais, and having greeted the brothers, we stayed one day with them.

• Acts 21:19

  And after greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the nations through his service.

• Acts 25:13

  And when some days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to greet Festus.

• Romans 16:3

  Greet Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in the Messiah Jesus,

• Romans 16:5

  and greet the assembly in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Asia for the Messiah.

• Romans 16:6

  Greet Mary, who has labored much for you.

• Romans 16:7

  Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners, who are notable among the apostles, who also were in the Messiah before me.

• Romans 16:8

  Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

• Romans 16:9

  Greet Urbanus, our coworker in the Messiah, and my beloved Stachys.

• Romans 16:10

  Greet Apelles, approved in the Messiah. Greet those of the household of Aristobulus.

• Romans 16:11

  Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

• Romans 16:12

  Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who has labored much in the Lord.

• Romans 16:13

  Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

• Romans 16:14

  Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers with them.

• Romans 16:15

  Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints with them.

• Romans 16:16

  Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the assemblies of the Messiah greet you.

• Romans 16:21

  Timothy, my coworker, greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.

• Romans 16:22

  I, Tertius, who wrote the letter, greet you in the Lord.

• Romans 16:23

  Gaius, my host and the host of the whole assembly, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, the brother.

• 1 Corinthians 16:19

  The assemblies of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, with the assembly in their house.

• 1 Corinthians 16:20

  All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

• 2 Corinthians 13:12

  Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

• Philippians 4:21

  Greet every saint in the Messiah Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you.

• Philippians 4:22

  All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

• Colossians 4:10

  Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and so does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),

• Colossians 4:12

  Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of the Messiah, greets you, always struggling on behalf of you in his prayers, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

• Colossians 4:14

  Luke the beloved physician greets you, and so does Demas.

• Colossians 4:15

  Greet the brothers in Laodicea, and Nympha and the assembly in her house.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:26

  Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

• 2 Timothy 4:19

  Greet Prisca and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.

• 2 Timothy 4:21

  Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.

• Titus 3:15

  All who are with me greet you. Greet those who hold us dear in the faith. Grace be with all of you.

And 19 more times.