Exploring the Meaning of Kenoo in Greek

κενόω means “to empty.” In the New Testament it appears in Paul’s letters in settings where faith, proclamation, boasting, and the self-giving of Christ are all described with imagery of being emptied or rendered ineffective.

Root and Related Words

κενόω is related to kenos (κενός), “empty” (Strong’s G2756).

Occurrences

Romans 4:14 — “For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect.”

Here κενόω is used to describe what happens to “faith” under a particular condition: “if those who are of the law are heirs.” The verse pairs two results: “faith is made void” and “the promise is made of no effect.” Within that parallelism, κενόω contributes the idea of something being emptied in its force—faith, in this argument, would be left without the efficacy it is meant to have, and that voiding corresponds to the promise being stripped of effect. The word’s imagery fits the logic of the sentence: a stated arrangement would drain faith of its operative role.

1 Corinthians 1:17 — “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News—not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void.”

In this setting κενόω is tied to Paul’s manner of preaching: “not in wisdom of words.” The concern is expressed with a purpose clause: he avoids a kind of rhetorical approach “so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void.” The “cross of Christ” is the focal point of his proclamation, and κενόω depicts the danger of that focal point being emptied—its impact thinned out or drained—by a style of speech that would shift attention away from it. The verb therefore frames a pastoral and rhetorical choice as a matter of preserving the cross from being “emptied” in the public hearing of the message.

1 Corinthians 9:15 — “But I have used none of these things, and I don’t write these things that it may be done so in my case; for I would rather die, than that anyone should make my boasting void.”

κενόω here applies to “my boasting.” The verse is personal and resolute: Paul says he has “used none of these things” and is not writing in order to secure some benefit “in my case.” The climax is his preference—“I would rather die”—over a scenario where “anyone should make my boasting void.” In this scene, κενόω portrays the nullifying of something he regards as meaningful; another person’s action could drain his boasting of its substance. The verb gives sharpness to the contrast: he would not trade away the integrity of what he can boast in for the advantages he has declined.

2 Corinthians 9:3 — “But I have sent the brothers that our boasting on your behalf may not be in vain in this respect, that, just as I said, you may be prepared,”

Although this verse uses the language of boasting and the fear of it being “in vain,” κενόω’s contribution is felt in the same conceptual field: boasting can be emptied of its worth if circumstances show it to be hollow. Paul acts to prevent that outcome: “I have sent the brothers” so that “our boasting on your behalf may not be in vain.” The preventative measure is practical—ensuring readiness: “that, just as I said, you may be prepared.” In this context, the emptiness imagery connects to public credibility. If the Corinthians were unprepared, the prior confidence expressed about them could be emptied out, exposed as lacking the reality it claimed.

Philippians 2:7 — “but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.”

Here κενόω is used in a direct reflexive sense: “emptied himself.” The verse immediately supplies accompanying descriptions—“taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men”—which frame the “emptying” as something expressed in what he took on and what he became in relation to humanity. The verb is not presented as an isolated act; it is narrated together with concrete, relational movement: a shift into “the form of a servant” and into “the likeness of men.” In this scene κενόω bears strong imagery of self-emptying: a chosen lowering and assuming of servant form, described as the manner in which this emptying is carried out.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, “to empty” functions as a vivid way to speak about something being drained of its effective content. In Romans 4:14, the emptying is argumentative and covenantal in tone: “faith” can be emptied, and alongside it the “promise” can be rendered ineffective. The verb thus works in tandem with the verse’s second clause to describe a state where what should carry weight is left without operative power.

In 1 Corinthians 1:17, κενόω is attached to proclamation. The concern is not merely that preaching be delivered, but that it be delivered in a way that does not empty “the cross of Christ.” The verb gives a diagnostic category for communicative practice: certain ways of speaking can, in effect, hollow out the hearer’s perception of what is central, leaving the cross diminished by comparison.

In 1 Corinthians 9:15 and 2 Corinthians 9:3, the object is “boasting,” first singular (“my boasting”) and then communal (“our boasting on your behalf”). In both, κενόω’s emptiness imagery fits the social and relational stakes of public speech: boasting can be emptied when it is undermined, contradicted, or shown to lack a corresponding reality. Paul’s refusal to take certain supports (1 Corinthians 9:15) and his sending of “the brothers” for preparedness (2 Corinthians 9:3) are different kinds of actions, yet both aim at preventing an “emptying” outcome—speech reduced to something hollow or fruitless in the very “respect” under discussion.

Philippians 2:7 stands out because the emptying is reflexive and attached to a sequence of descriptive participles. The verb is not used to negate a concept (faith, promise, cross, boasting) by making it void; it narrates an action undertaken by Christ: “emptied himself.” Even there, however, the word’s basic imagery of emptying is preserved. It portrays a self-directed relinquishing or lowering that is then expressed in the subsequent phrases: “taking the form of a servant” and “being made in the likeness of men.” The usage suggests that κενόω can depict both an effect on something’s force (made void) and an enacted self-emptying described in concrete terms.

Imagery

κενόω carries the picture of a container being drained: something that should be full of weight or effect becomes “void.” In Romans and Corinthians, the imagery serves warnings about outcomes—faith voided, the cross voided, boasting voided or rendered vain—where the result is a kind of hollowness that contradicts the intended reality. In Philippians, the imagery becomes personal and active: an “emptying” that is narrated as taking “the form of a servant,” giving the verb a scene-like concreteness rather than an abstract negation.

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).