Exploring the Meaning of Aphorao in Greek

Aphorao means “to consider.” It appears in Philippians 2:23 and Hebrews 12:2, where the contexts frame it as a deliberate act of mental orientation shaped by the speaker’s situation and by Christ himself.

Root and Related Words

Aphorao is related to the verb horao (ὁράω), “to see” (Strong’s G3708), and to the preposition apo (ἀπό), “away from” (Strong’s G575). These relationships place the verb in the sphere of sight-language, with a directional element that naturally lends itself to describing attention that is set with intention rather than drifting.

Occurrences

“Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.” (Philippians 2:23)

In Philippians 2:23, the verb is embedded in a sentence of planning and timing: “I hope to send him at once” is qualified by a condition—“as soon as I see how it will go with me.” Here Aphorao contributes the idea of a careful assessment before action. The speaker is not merely waiting for events to unfold; he is watching their course so that his decision to “send him” is made with informed judgment. The surrounding language is concrete and practical: a dispatch (“send him”) hinges on the moment when the speaker can “see” the outcome of his own situation (“how it will go with me”). Aphorao thus functions as the mental step between uncertainty and resolve: consideration that reads circumstances in order to act responsibly.

“looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

In Hebrews 12:2, Aphorao is expressed in the participial phrase “looking to Jesus,” and the rest of the verse immediately supplies the content that shapes that looking: Jesus is named “the author and perfecter of faith,” and his path is described in a sequence—joy set before him; endurance of the cross; disdain for shame; enthronement at God’s right hand. Within this tightly packed description, Aphorao contributes more than a passing glance. The act of considering is focused and sustained, because it holds together multiple facets of Jesus’ identity and experience. The verse invites attention that keeps Jesus in view as the defining reference point: his role in relation to faith (“author and perfecter”), his endurance (“endured the cross”), his evaluation of disgrace (“despising its shame”), and his present exaltation (“has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”). The verb’s force in this sentence is to direct consideration toward a particular person with a particular story, so that the mind’s gaze is filled by what the verse narrates about him.

Sense and Usage

Across these two occurrences, Aphorao’s sense “to consider” operates as a chosen alignment of attention. In Philippians 2:23, the consideration is situational and provisional: it is tethered to developments in the speaker’s own case, and it aims at prudent timing—“as soon as I see how it will go with me.” Consideration here is evaluative: it weighs what is happening so that a concrete next step can be taken promptly (“at once”) when the relevant picture becomes clear.

In Hebrews 12:2, the consideration is not directed toward changing circumstances but toward a fixed object—“Jesus”—whose identity and completed course provide the material for contemplation. The verse itself models what such consideration entails by naming and narrating: it considers Jesus as “author and perfecter of faith,” and it considers the movement from joy, through cross and shame, to enthronement. This makes the act of considering both personal (centered on Jesus) and comprehensive (holding together his purpose, his endurance, and his present position). Because the verse supplies a chain of clauses, the reader’s consideration is meant to track a whole arc rather than isolating a single detail.

Taken together, these uses show Aphorao functioning where decisions and perseverance depend on what the mind is set upon. In one case, consideration is directed toward understanding “how it will go” so that plans can be executed wisely; in the other, consideration is directed toward Jesus so that attention is anchored in who he is and what he has done. The common thread is intentionality: Aphorao depicts attention that is directed, not accidental, and consideration that shapes subsequent action—whether the action is sending someone “at once” or maintaining a steady orientation toward the one described.

Imagery

The imagery carried by Aphorao in these passages is the imagery of fixed regard. Philippians 2:23 pictures a watcher waiting for the decisive moment when the situation can be truly appraised, a kind of alert readiness that turns observation into timely action. Hebrews 12:2 pictures attention fastened on Jesus as the defining figure in view, with the cross and the throne standing as the stark markers of the story being considered: endurance in suffering and arrival at the right hand of God’s throne.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).