hyparchō · be, exist

What it means

hyparchō (ὑπάρχω) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “be, exist”.

Be present; "what one has", one's possessions.

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 exist, or to be already in a condition.
2. What one has, one's belongings.

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

Word study

To exist, to be there, to be (in fact, beforehand); as a neuter plural participle, τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, what one has: one’s possessions. It is formed with ὑπό and ἄρχω (‘begin’).

• “Being in the form of God” Philippians 2:6Acts 17:24
• To be: “our citizenship is in heaven” Philippians 3:20Luke 8:41
• Someone’s possessions Luke 8:3Luke 19:8Luke 12:15
• The master puts the slave in charge of his possessions Matthew 24:47Luke 12:44

Historical and cultural background

The women who followed Jesus “were serving them out of their own means” (Luke 8:3), and Zacchaeus gave to the poor “half of my possessions” (Luke 19:8).

How we translate it

As a verb, “being” (13 times) or the form of ‘be’ that the sentence requires (“was” 9, “is” 5, “are” 5); as a noun, “possessions” (12) or “means” (Luke 8:3). English has no verb that sets this ‘be’ apart from the ordinary one, so the nuance remains in the context.

How it is translated

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

• being ×13
• possessions ×12
• was ×9
• are ×5
• is ×5
• were ×4
• be ×3
• had ×2
• he is ×2
• have ×1
• others ×4

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Matthew×3
• Luke×15
• Acts×25
• Romans×1
• 1 Corinthians×5
• 2 Corinthians×2
• Galatians×2
• Philippians×2
• Hebrews×1
• James×1
• 2 Peter×3

• Matthew 19:21

  Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give them to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

• Matthew 24:47

  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

• Matthew 25:14

  For it is just as a man going on a journey called his own slaves and handed over to them his possessions.

• Luke 7:25

  But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Look, those who live in splendid clothing and luxury are in royal palaces.

• Luke 8:3

  and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who were serving them out of their own means.

• Luke 8:41

  And look, there came a man whose name was Jairus, and he was a leader of the synagogue; and falling at Jesus’ feet, he begged him to come into his house,

• Luke 9:48

  and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all, this one is great.”

• Luke 11:13

  So if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father who is from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

• Luke 11:21

  When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are in peace;

• Luke 12:15

  And he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves from all greed, because even when someone has abundance, his life is not from his possessions.”

• Luke 12:33

  Sell your possessions and give alms; make for yourselves money bags that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.

• Luke 12:44

  I tell you truly that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

• Luke 14:33

  So then, every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.

• Luke 16:1

  And he was also saying to the disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager, and this man was accused to him of squandering his possessions.

• Luke 16:14

  Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were hearing all these things, and they were ridiculing him.

• Luke 16:23

  And in Hades, lifting up his eyes, being in torment, he sees Abraham from far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.

• Luke 19:8

  But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor; and if I have extorted anything from anyone by false accusation, I pay back four times as much.”

• Luke 23:50

  And look, there was a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man

• Acts 2:30

  So, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one from the fruit of his loins on his throne,

• Acts 3:2

  And a certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they used to set every day at the gate of the temple called Beautiful, to ask alms from those entering into the temple.

• Acts 3:6

  But Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have, this I give you: in the name of Jesus the Messiah the Nazarene, walk!”

• Acts 4:32

  And the multitude of those who had believed was of one heart and soul, and not even one said that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

• Acts 4:34

  For there was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds of what was sold

• Acts 4:37

  since he had a field, sold it, brought the money and laid it at the feet of the apostles.

• Acts 5:4

  While it remained unsold, did it not remain yours? And after it was sold, was it not under your authority? Why did you put this deed in your heart? You did not lie to people but to God.”

• Acts 7:55

  But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

• Acts 8:16

  for the Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them; they had only been immersed into the name of the Lord Jesus.

• Acts 10:12

  in which were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and birds of the sky.

• Acts 16:3

  Paul wanted this man to go out with him, and taking him, he circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

• Acts 16:20

  And bringing them to the magistrates, they said, “These men, being Jews, are greatly disturbing our city

• Acts 16:37

  But Paul said to them, “They beat us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Romans, and threw us into prison, and now are they throwing us out secretly? No indeed! Rather, let them come themselves and bring us out.”

• Acts 17:24

  The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by hands,

• Acts 17:27

  to seek God, if perhaps they might grope for him and find him; and yet he is not far from each one of us.

• Acts 17:29

  Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine is like gold or silver or stone, a sculpture of human art and imagination.

• Acts 19:36

  Since then these things are undeniable, it is necessary for you to be calm and to do nothing rash.

• Acts 19:40

  For indeed we are in danger of being charged with rioting over today’s events, since there is no cause for it, about which we will not be able to give an account for this commotion.” And having said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

• Acts 21:20

  And when they heard it, they glorified God, and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many tens of thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law;

• Acts 22:3

  “I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today.

• Acts 27:12

  And because the harbor was unsuitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

• Acts 27:21

  And as there was much lack of food, then Paul, standing in their midst, said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete and so spared yourselves this damage and loss.

And 20 more times.