Sober
νηφαλέοςStrong’s G3524nēphaleos
Appears in 3 verses of the New Testament
In short
Nēphaleos is the Greek word usually translated “sober”, “clear-minded” and “sober-minded”. It appears in 3 verses of the New Testament.
“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;”
Meaning
Usually translated “sober”, “clear-minded” and “sober-minded”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.
How it's translated
- sober 1
- clear-minded 1
- sober-minded 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- 1 Timothy 2
- Titus 1
2 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
Greek dictionary
νηφαλέος nēphaleos · sober
νηφάλιος (-λεος, Rec., in 1Ti, ll. with), -ον (in cl., -α, -ον), (νήφω), 1. in cl., of drink, not mixed with wine. 2. In later writers (Plut., al.), of persons, sober, temperate: 1Ti.3:2 3:11, Tit.2:2.† (AS)
From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “sober” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
SO'BER, adjective
[Latin sobrius.]
- Temperate in the use of spiritous liquors; habitually temperate; as a sober man.
- Not intoxicated or overpowered by spiritous liquors; not drunken.
- Not mad or insane; not wild, visionary or heated with passion; having the regular exercise of cool dispassionate reason.
- Regular; calm; not under the influence of passion; as sober judgment; a man in his sober senses.
All definitions and other forms of “sober”
- Serious; solemn; grave; as the sober livery of autumn.
SO'BER, verb transitive
TO make sober; to cure of intoxication. There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain and drinking largely sobers us again.
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.