Exploring the Meaning of Entimos in Greek

ἔντιμος expresses the idea of what is valued or honored, whether in personal attachment, social standing, communal reception, or God’s estimation. It appears in scenes ranging from a centurion’s care for his servant to teaching about seating at a wedding feast, to apostolic instruction about honoring a fellow worker, and to descriptions of what is precious in God’s plan.

Root and Related Words

ἔντιμος is connected with en (ἐν), “in/on/among” (Strong’s G1722), and with time (τιμή), “honor” (Strong’s G5092). The word’s shape naturally aligns the idea of “honor” with a sense of being “in” honor—marked out within a sphere of esteem.

Occurrences

Luke 7:2: “A certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and at the point of death.”

Here ἔντιμος marks the servant as someone of real worth to the centurion. The sentence gives no status title for the servant beyond his role, but it foregrounds the centurion’s valuation of him: the servant is not treated as disposable labor but as “dear.” The word’s force is relational and concrete—his value is shown precisely as the narrative turns to sickness and the threat of death.

Luke 14:8: ““When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him,”

In this instruction, ἔντιμος describes relative standing in a public setting. The warning depends on comparison: someone “more honorable” may arrive, and seating choices should account for the social recognition that such a person properly receives. The word thus functions within a scale of honor in a shared room, where “the best seat” symbolizes publicly acknowledged worth. The emphasis is not on inward feelings but on visible placement and communal perception.

Philippians 2:29: “Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such people in honor,”

Here ἔντιμος moves from describing a person’s worth to directing a community’s response. The command pairs joyful reception with honoring: the congregation is to treat “him” in a way that fits his value, and the instruction broadens immediately—“such people” are to be held in honor. The word therefore helps define a posture of communal esteem, expressed not merely by private respect but by deliberate, shared acknowledgment.

1 Peter 2:4: “coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious.”

In this line, ἔντιμος is applied to “a living stone,” set within a striking contrast: rejection by human beings versus God’s choice. The word contributes the evaluation that stands on God’s side of the contrast—what people reject is, in God’s regard, precious. The adjective helps press the reader into the tension between human judgment and divine valuation, with the focus on what is genuinely worthy rather than what is socially approved.

1 Peter 2:6: “Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed.””

Again ἔντιμος describes what is precious, now attached to the “chief cornerstone” laid in Zion. The word is joined to “chosen,” so its emphasis falls on the settled worth of what God establishes. In the quotation’s logic, the cornerstone’s preciousness is not an abstract compliment; it grounds the promise that “He who believes in him will not be disappointed.” The adjective thus supports assurance: what is precious and chosen is a dependable object of trust.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, ἔντιμος consistently signals value that calls for fitting recognition. In Luke 7:2, the value is personal and immediate: the centurion’s servant matters to him at the very moment the servant’s life is threatened. In Luke 14:8, the value is socially legible: honor is mapped onto seating, and the word helps define how status is negotiated in communal space. Philippians 2:29 turns the concept into an imperative for the church’s life together, where joy and honor belong together as a proper reception of a person whose worth should be publicly affirmed.

The Petrine uses deepen the frame by putting ἔντιμος in a setting where human and divine evaluations diverge. “Rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious” (1 Peter 2:4) shows that what is honored can be honored in God’s sight even when human beings refuse it. The word’s placement in the contrast teaches that preciousness is not determined by majority approval. Then 1 Peter 2:6 links preciousness with stability: the cornerstone is “chosen and precious,” and therefore the believer “will not be disappointed.” In these lines, ἔντιμος carries evaluative weight with consequences—what is truly valued becomes the foundation for confidence.

Taken together, the occurrences show that ἔντιμος can describe (1) someone valued in close relationship, (2) someone honored within a social order, (3) people whom a Christian community is instructed to honor, and (4) what God has chosen as precious despite human rejection. The word consistently draws attention to worth that ought to be recognized—whether by one person, by a host and guests, by a congregation, or by God himself.

Imagery

Two recurring images anchor ἔντιμος in these texts. One is the everyday image of a “wedding feast” with “the best seat” and the possibility of a guest “more honorable” (Luke 14:8), where honor is visible, spatial, and publicly negotiated. The other is the architectural image of “a living stone” and “a chief cornerstone” that is “chosen and precious” (1 Peter 2:4, 2:6), where preciousness is attached to what holds and supports. In both images, ἔντιμος is not merely a label; it marks worth that shapes how people are placed, received, and relied upon.

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).