StrongerBible

basileuō

βασιλεύω

GreekG0936“reign, be king, ...”

Appears 21 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 2:22Luk 1:33Luk 19:14Luk 19:27Rom 5:14Rom 5:17 (2×)Rom 5:21 (2×)Rom 6:121Co 4:8 (2×)1Co 15:251Ti 6:15Rev 5:10Rev 11:15Rev 11:17Rev 19:6Rev 20:4Rev 20:6Rev 22:5
Names & words formed with this
Word studybah-see-LEU-ohverb

What basileuō means

to reign as king: to hold the throne and exercise royal power over others

TranslatabilityDirectCertaintySettled

This is the verb behind the noun for a king. Where the noun names the person who wears the crown, this word names what that person does: to sit on the throne and rule. It covers both taking the throne and holding it, so a phrase like "began to reign" and a phrase like "reigns forever" are both this same word.

In the New Testament its subjects range widely. Ordinary human rulers reign, as Archelaus did in Judea. God and Christ reign, and their rule has no end. Strikingly, the redeemed are also said to reign, sharing in Christ's royal rule now and in the age to come.

Paul then stretches the word in a bold picture. In Romans he speaks of death, sin, and grace as if they were kings on a throne, ruling over human life. This is not a different meaning but a vivid image: these forces dominate a person the way a king dominates a realm, and the gospel is the story of one reign replacing another.

English "reign" fits the word closely in every case, which is why it rarely needs explaining. The one thing worth noticing is the active force of it: to reign here is to exercise real power, not merely to hold a ceremonial title.

Nuances

1ato reign as king: a person holds the throne and exercises royal rule
Mat 2:22Luk 1:33Luk 19:14Luk 19:27Rom 5:17 (2×)1Co 4:8 (2×)1Co 15:251Ti 6:15Rev 5:10Rev 11:15Rev 11:17Rev 19:6
1bto reign as a controlling power: figuratively, of death, sin, or grace pictured as a king ruling over human life
Rom 5:14Rom 5:17 (2×)Rom 5:21 (2×)Rom 6:12

What scholars say about basileuō

Formed from βασιλεύς ("king"), the verb means "to be king, to reign," and the standard lexica (BDAG, LSJ) treat it as monosemous. In the New Testament it describes the reign of earthly rulers (Mt 2:22), of God and Christ (Lk 1:33; 1 Cor 15:25; Rev 11:15, 17; 19:6), and of the redeemed who share Christ's rule (1 Cor 4:8; Rev 5:10; 20:4, 6; 22:5). Paul extends it figuratively in Romans 5-6 to the tyrannical reign of death, sin, and grace, a personification that is rhetorical rather than a distinct lexical sense. The aorist is ingressive ("became king, began to reign") in Revelation 11:17 and 19:6, and 1 Corinthians 15:25 gives the word its eschatological weight in the sequence of Christ's mediatorial reign.

Sources

  • BDAG, s.v. βασιλεύωlexicon
  • LSJ, s.v. βασιλεύωlexicon
  • K. L. Schmidt et al., "βασιλεύς κτλ.," TDNT 1:564-593theological-dictionary
  • Louw & Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, 37.64lexicon

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of βασιλεύω

aorist active indicative 3s

ἐβασίλευσεν

Rom 5:14, Rom 5:17, Rom 5:21, Rev 19:6

future active indicative 3p

βασιλεύσουσιν

Rom 5:17, Rev 5:10, Rev 20:6, Rev 22:5

aorist active indicative 2p

ἐβασιλεύσατε

1Co 4:8, 1Co 4:8

aorist active infinitive

βασιλεῦσαι

Luk 19:14, Luk 19:27

future active indicative 3s

βασιλεύσει

Luk 1:33, Rev 11:15

aorist active indicative 2s

ἐβασίλευσας

Rev 11:17

aorist active indicative 3p

ἐβασίλευσαν

Rev 20:4

aorist active subjunctive 3s

βασιλεύσῃ

Rom 5:21

present active imperative 3s

βασιλευέτω

Rom 6:12

present active indicative 3s

βασιλεύει

Mat 2:22

present active infinitive

βασιλεύειν

1Co 15:25

present active participle genitive m p

βασιλευόντων

1Ti 6:15