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Greek verb · G5316

φαίνω

phainofah'-ee-no

to bring to light, cause to appear (so most frequently in cl.).; Absol.

30 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: phaínō

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G5316is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 13 of 27
    New Testament books
  • 19
    spellings
  • 2
    meanings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · G5316

to lighten (shine), i.e. show (transitive or intransitive, literal or figurative)

The King James renders it: appear, seem, be seen, shine, X think.

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

phaino is rendered "to bring to light, cause to appear (so most frequently in cl.).; Absol.". It stands 30 times in the Greek text, across thirteen books.

  • Thirteen of the uses stand in Matthew, more than in any other book.
  • The lexicon lists two meanings for it, beginning with "to bring to light, cause to appear (so most frequently in cl.).".
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Matthew 1:20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
  • The Greek text spells it nineteen different ways.

The first use

But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 1:20ἐφάνη

The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.

Where the word stands

Thirteen of the word's thirty uses are in Matthew.

The other 14 New Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

The word carries two meanings: to bring to light, cause to appear (so most frequently in cl.)., and Absol..

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

The English STEP Bible gives each use, word by word, and how many times.
to bring to light, cause to appear (so most frequently in cl.).Tagged as
  • appeared3
  • appear2
  • appears2
  • may appear2
  • will appear2
  • being visible1
  • does it appear1
  • it may be shown as1

and 7 more, 21 uses in all

WhereMatthew 1:20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and…
Absol.to give lightTagged as
  • shines3
  • shining3
  • appearing2
  • had appeared1
WhereMatthew 2:7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared.

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

All 30, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

19 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • ἐφάνη4
  • φαίνεται4
  • φαίνει3
  • φαίνεσθε2
  • φάνῃ2
  • φανῶσιν2
  • ἐφάνησαν1
  • φαινομένη1
  • φαινομένου1
  • φαινομένων1
  • φαίνονται1
  • φαίνοντι1

and 7 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • verb · aorist passive, indicative · 3rd person singular4V-2API-3S
  • verb · present middle or passive, indicative · 3rd person singular4V-PEI-3S
  • verb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singular3V-PAI-3S
  • verb · aorist active, subjunctive · 3rd person singular2V-2AAS-3S
  • verb · aorist passive, subjunctive · 3rd person plural2V-2APS-3P
  • verb · present middle or passive, indicative · 2nd person plural2V-PEI-2P
  • verb · aorist passive, indicative · 3rd person plural1V-2API-3P
  • verb · aorist passive, subjunctive · 1st person plural1V-2APS-1P
  • verb · aorist passive, subjunctive · 2nd person singular1V-2APS-2S
  • verb · aorist passive, subjunctive · 3rd person singular1V-2APS-3S
  • verb · future passive, indicative · 3rd person singular1V-2FPI-3S
  • verb · future middle form, indicative · 3rd person singular1V-FDI-3S

Matthew

thirteen uses
  • But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

    Matthew 1:20

    • ἐφάνηephaneverb · aorist passive, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: appeared
  • Then Herod called the Magi secretly and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared.

    Matthew 2:7

    • φαινομένουphainomenouverb · present middle or passive, participle · genitive (“of”) · masculine singulartagged: appearing
  • When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”

    Matthew 2:13

    • φαίνεταιphainetaiverb · present middle or passive, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: appears
  • After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

    Matthew 2:19

    • φαίνεταιphainetaiverb · present middle or passive, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: appears
  • And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

    Matthew 6:5

    • φανῶσινphanosinverb · aorist passive, subjunctive · 3rd person pluraltagged: they may be seen
  • When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

    Matthew 6:16

    • φανῶσινphanosinverb · aorist passive, subjunctive · 3rd person pluraltagged: they may appear
  • so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

    Matthew 6:18

    • φανῇςphaneasverb · aorist passive, subjunctive · 2nd person singulartagged: may you appear
  • And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

    Matthew 9:33

    • ἐφάνηephaneverb · aorist passive, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: was it seen
  • When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

    Matthew 13:26

    • ἐφάνηephaneverb · aorist passive, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: appeared
  • Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

    Matthew 23:27

    • φαίνονταιphainontaiverb · present middle or passive, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: appear
  • In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

    Matthew 23:28

    • φαίνεσθεphainestheverb · present middle or passive, indicative · 2nd person pluraltagged: appear
  • For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

    Matthew 24:27

    • φαίνεταιphainetaiverb · present middle or passive, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: shines
  • At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

    Matthew 24:30

    • φανήσεταιphanesetaiverb · future passive, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: will appear

Mark

one use
  • You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.

    Mark 14:64

    • φαίνεταιphainetaiverb · present middle or passive, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: does it appear

Luke

two uses
  • others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that a prophet of old had arisen.

    Luke 9:8

    • ἐφάνηephaneverb · aorist passive, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: had appeared
  • But their words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women.

    Luke 24:11

    • ἐφάνησανephanesanverb · aorist passive, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: appeared

John

two uses
  • The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

    John 1:5

    • φαίνειphaineiverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: shines
  • John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light.

    John 5:35

    • φαίνωνphainonverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: shining

Romans

one use
  • Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Certainly not! But in order that sin might be exposed as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

    Romans 7:13

    • φανῇphaneaverb · aorist passive, subjunctive · 3rd person singulartagged: it may be shown as

2 Corinthians

one use
  • Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not that we will appear to have stood the test, but that you will do what is right, even if we appear to have failed.

    2 Corinthians 13:7

    • φανῶμενphanomenverb · aorist passive, subjunctive · 1st person pluraltagged: may appear

Philippians

one use
  • so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

    Philippians 2:15

    • φαίνεσθεphainestheverb · present middle or passive, indicative · 2nd person pluraltagged: you shine

Hebrews

one use
  • By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

    Hebrews 11:3

    • φαινομένωνphainomenonverb · present middle or passive, participle · genitive (“of”) · neuter pluraltagged: being visible

James

one use
  • You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

    James 4:14

    • φαινομένηphainomeneverb · present middle or passive, participle · nominative (subject) · feminine singulartagged: appearing

1 Peter

one use
  • And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

    1 Peter 4:18

    • φανεῖταιphaneitaiverb · future middle form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: will appear

2 Peter

one use
  • We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

    2 Peter 1:19

    • φαίνοντιphainontiverb · present active, participle · dative (“to / for”) · masculine singulartagged: shining

1 John

one use
  • Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining.

    1 John 2:8

    • φαίνειphaineiverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: shines

Revelation

four uses
  • He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.

    Revelation 1:16

    • φαίνειphaineiverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: shining
  • Then the fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun and moon and stars were struck. A third of the stars were darkened, a third of the day was without light, and a third of the night as well.

    Revelation 8:12

    • φάνῃphaneverb · aorist active, subjunctive · 3rd person singulartagged: may appear
  • The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”

    Revelation 18:23

    • φάνῃphaneverb · aorist active, subjunctive · 3rd person singulartagged: may shine
  • And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.

    Revelation 21:23

    • φαίνωσινphainosinverb · present active, subjunctive · 3rd person pluraltagged: they may shine

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESG (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0), the Brief lexicon based on Abbott-Smith (1922).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →