Authority
ἐξουσίαStrong’s G1849exousia
Appears in 93 verses of the New Testament
In short
Exousia is the Greek word usually translated “authority”, “power” and “authorities”. It appears in 93 verses of the New Testament.
“Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.”
Meaning
Usually translated “authority”, “power” and “authorities”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.
How it's translated
- authority 75
- power 9
- authorities 7
- right 6
- having authority 1
- jurisdiction 1
- to the authorities 1
- permission 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Revelation 19
- Luke 15
- Matthew 9
- Mark 9
- 1 Corinthians 9
- Acts 7
16 books in all.
Related words
Explore in Scripture
- Titus 3:1In contextPut them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
- Jude 1:25In contextTo the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
- Matthew 7:29For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
- Matthew 8:9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
- Matthew 9:6But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
- Matthew 9:8But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
All 93 verses, by book
Greek dictionary
ἐξουσία exousia · authority
ἐξουσία, -ας, ἡ (ἔξεστι), [in LXX: 4Ki.20:13, Psa.113 (114):2 135 (136)8, 9, Isa.39:2, Jer.28 (51):28 (מֶמְשָׁלָה), frequently in Da for Aram. שָׁלְטָן, etc., Wis.10:14, Sir.9:13, al. ;] 1. prop., liberty or power to act, freedom to exercise the inward force or faculty expressed by δύναμις (which see): 1Co.9:12; ἐ. ἔχειν, 2Th.3:9; id. before inf., Jhn.10:18, 1Co.9:4, 5; with genitive obj., Rom.9:21; before ἐπί, with accusative, Rev.22:14; περί, 1Co.7:37. …
From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “authority” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
AUTHOR'ITY, noun
[Latin auctoritas.]
- Legal power, or a right to command or to act; as the authority of a prince over subjects, and of parents over children.
- The power derived from opinion, respect or esteem; influence of character or office; credit; as the authority of age or example, which is submitted to or respected, in some measure, as a law, or rule of action.
- Testimony; witness; or the person who testifies; as, the Gospels or the evangelists are our authorities for the miracles of Christ.
- Weight of testimony; credibility; as a historian of no authority
All definitions
- Weight of character; respectability; dignity; as a magistrate of great authority in the city.
- Warrant; order; permission.“By what authority dost thou these things” Matthew 21:23
- Precedents, decisions of a court, official declarations, respectable opinions and says, also the books that contain them, are call authorities, as they influence the opinions of others; and in law, the decisions of supreme courts have a binding force upon inferior courts, and are called authorities.
- Government; the persons or the body exercising power or command; as the local authorities of the states.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.