Exploring the Meaning of Timao in Greek

τιμάω expresses the act of honoring. In these Gospel contexts it is used for honoring parents, honoring God, honoring the Son, and for the Father’s honoring of a servant who follows and serves Jesus.

Occurrences

“For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’” (Matthew 15:4)

Here τιμάω stands in a command framed as God’s own instruction. Honoring one’s parents is set alongside the severe opposite—“speaks evil of father or mother”—so the verb carries the weight of a required, settled posture toward father and mother, not a casual courtesy.

“he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition.” (Matthew 15:6)

This scene uses τιμάω to name what is being withheld: the person “shall not honor his father or mother.” The clause is then connected to the charge that tradition has “made the commandment of God void,” so honoring parents is treated as part of concrete obedience rather than an optional social practice.

“‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” (Matthew 15:8)

In this quotation, honor is performed verbally—“with their lips”—while the “heart is far.” τιμάω is therefore shown in a form that can be outward and measurable (speech), yet evaluated as inadequate when disconnected from inward loyalty.

“‘Honor your father and your mother.’ And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” (Matthew 19:19)

Here τιμάω appears as one item among named obligations. Set next to the command to love one’s neighbor, honoring parents functions as a specific relationship-duty within a broader moral frame, not merely private family etiquette.

“Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him upon whom a price had been set, whom some of the children of Israel priced,”” (Matthew 27:9)

In this fulfilled-saying, the focus is on valuation—“the price of him upon whom a price had been set.” Within the flow of the sentence, the language of pricing portrays how a person is appraised; set against the wider uses of τιμάω elsewhere in these occurrences, the scene highlights how treatment of a person can be expressed in the terms one assigns to him.

“He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”” (Mark 7:6)

Mark presents the same contrast as Matthew: honor offered “with their lips” while the heart is distant. τιμάω is again located in speech and public profession, and the accusation “hypocrites” underscores that honor can be performed in a way that fails to match inner reality.

“For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’” (Mark 7:10)

Here the command to honor parents is grounded in “Moses said,” and it is paired with the warning about speaking evil. The pairing sharpens the verb’s seriousness: honor is not a minor virtue but a demanded stance, with the opposite treated as a grave offense.

“You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not give false testimony,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and mother.’ ” (Mark 10:19)

In this list, τιμάω stands among prohibitions against violent and dishonest acts and against defrauding. Its placement gives honoring parents an ethical prominence comparable to the other named commands: it is a recognizable duty that belongs to the shape of faithful conduct.

“You know the commandments: ‘Don’t commit adultery,’ ‘Don’t murder,’ ‘Don’t steal,’ ‘Don’t give false testimony,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” (Luke 18:20)

Luke’s list likewise ends with honoring parents. The verb functions as a clear, concrete requirement in the same moral register as the other commands: it is an expected expression of a life aligned with God’s will.

“that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.” (John 5:23)

John applies τιμάω to divine relations: honoring “the Son” is set “even as” honoring “the Father.” The verse also states the negative implication: refusing honor to the Son constitutes refusing honor to “the Father who sent him.” Honor here is not merely interpersonal respect; it is the fitting response demanded by the Father-Son relationship as presented in the sentence.

“Jesus answered, “I don’t have a demon, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.” (John 8:49)

τιμάω marks Jesus’ own posture—“I honor my Father”—and it is contrasted with the audience’s opposing action: “you dishonor me.” The verb therefore stands in a relational conflict: honor given upward to the Father and dishonor directed toward Jesus, with the contrast exposing competing evaluations of who deserves honor.

“If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:26)

Here honor is promised by the Father to the one who “serves” and “follow[s]” Jesus. τιμάω functions as the Father’s response to loyal service: honor is depicted as conferred, not seized, and it is tied to the servant’s association with Jesus—“Where I am, there my servant will also be.”

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, τιμάω consistently names honor as a relational act with moral and theological weight. In the Synoptic occurrences, it is most often anchored in explicit commandments: “Honor your father and your mother” (Matthew 15:4; Matthew 19:19; Mark 7:10; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20). The settings treat honoring parents as an obligation that can be either upheld or actively undermined. Matthew 15:6 puts the verb in a denial (“he shall not honor his father or mother”) and immediately frames that denial as nullifying “the commandment of God,” showing that honor is not a vague sentiment but something that can be practically refused.

Another cluster shows honor performed in speech yet judged hollow when detached from the heart (Matthew 15:8; Mark 7:6). In those quotations, τιμάω is compatible with public religiosity—people “draw near…with their mouth” and “honor…with their lips.” Yet the same lines expose a mismatch: the heart’s distance renders the lip-honor deficient. The verb therefore can describe outward acts that look like honor, while the wider statement insists that true honoring is not exhausted by verbal forms.

John’s uses press the verb into the center of how persons are to regard God and the Son. John 5:23 sets honoring the Son and honoring the Father in parallel and makes them inseparable in practice: the refusal of one entails the refusal of the other. In John 8:49, honoring the Father is presented as Jesus’ own defining action in the face of accusation, while dishonor toward Jesus becomes the counter-action of his opponents. John 12:26 adds another dimension: honor is something the Father gives to the servant who serves and follows Jesus. Together these verses depict honor as both a duty (what is to be rendered to the Son and the Father) and a gift (what the Father grants to the faithful servant).

Even where the language moves into valuation and “price” (Matthew 27:9), the passage illustrates how treatment can be expressed in what is assigned or reckoned to someone—an idea that stands in sharp tension with the honor-language elsewhere, where the fitting response to God, to the Son, and to parents is not reduction but recognition within the relationship each verse sets before the reader.

Imagery

The verb’s imagery in these texts is concrete and relational: lips and heart (Matthew 15:8; Mark 7:6), father and mother in the household (Matthew 15:4; Mark 7:10), and the Father-Son relationship that demands a corresponding response (John 5:23). John 12:26 adds the picture of a servant following close to his master—“Where I am, there my servant will also be”—with honor coming from the Father as the culminating acknowledgment of that service.

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).