Curated Lexicon
16 entries drawn from the text, with occurrences across the full corpus. Growth stays evidence-gated: no new curated entries are added without corpus evidence. No lexicon text is copied from any published lexicon.
ἀκατασκεύαστος
unformed, unfurnished, unprepared · semantic shift · confidence: medium
Forms: ἀκατασκεύαστος
Paired with ἀόρατος in 1:2 to render the Hebrew pair tohu wabohu (formless and void). In classical use the word means 'unprepared, unequipped' (e.g. of troops); the cosmic 'unformed' sense is the translators' extension. Outstanding check: LSJ attestations before the Septuagint, and whether any earlier cosmic use exists.
1 occurrence(s): genesis 1:2
ἀόρατος
unseen, invisible · ordinary Koine · confidence: high
Forms: ἀόρατος
Ordinary classical word; its interest here is only in the pairing with ἀκατασκεύαστος for tohu wabohu in 1:2.
2 occurrence(s): genesis 1:2, Aristeas §156
στερέωμα
firmament, solid expanse · semantic shift · confidence: medium
Forms: στερέωμα, στερεώματι, στερεώματος
Classical sense 'solid structure, foundation, firmness'; the translators press it into service for Hebrew raqia (the beaten-out expanse). No claim of first attestation: the word predates the Septuagint. Outstanding check: LSJ for the earliest 'firmament' use.
28 occurrence(s): 1-esdras 8:78, 1-maccabees 9:14, esther 9:29, ezekiel 1:22, genesis 1:6, genesis 1:7, genesis 1:8, genesis 1:20, psalms 18:2, psalms 72:4, sirach 43:1, daniel-og 3:56, daniel-th 3:56, ezekiel 13:5, genesis 1:14, genesis 1:15, genesis 1:17, odes 10:56, psalms 150:1, sirach 43:8, daniel-th 12:3, deuteronomy 33:26, exodus 24:10, ezekiel 1:23, ezekiel 1:25, ezekiel 10:1
ἐπιφέρω
bring upon, move over · semantic shift · confidence: medium
Forms: ἐπεφέρετο
The imperfect middle ἐπεφέρετο in 1:2 renders Hebrew rachaph ('hover, flutter'). The 'hovering' nuance is the translators' extension of an ordinary verb. Outstanding check: pre-LXX uses of ἐπιφέρω with ἐπάνω and a genitive.
2 occurrence(s): genesis 1:2, genesis 7:18
παράδεισος
garden, park, paradise · semantic shift · confidence: high
Forms: παράδεισον, παραδείσου, παραδείσῳ
Persian loanword (Old Persian pairidaeza, a walled enclosure), attested in Xenophon for a royal park well before the Septuagint; NOT a Septuagint coinage. The LXX shift is using it for Eden, the garden of God — the sense from which 'paradise' descends.
34 occurrence(s): genesis 2:8, genesis 2:10, isaiah 51:3, sirach 24:30, 2-esdras 12:8, ezekiel 28:13, ezekiel 31:9, genesis 3:1, genesis 3:2, genesis 3:3, genesis 3:8, genesis 3:23, genesis 3:24, susanna-og 1:54, susanna-th 1:17, susanna-th 1:18, susanna-th 1:20, susanna-th 1:25, susanna-th 1:36, susanna-th 1:38, 2-chronicles 33:20, ezekiel 31:8, genesis 2:9, genesis 2:15, genesis 2:16, genesis 3:10, susanna-og 1:7, susanna-og 1:36, susanna-th 1:7, susanna-th 1:26
χερουβίμ
cherubim · loanword (transliteration) · confidence: high
Forms: χερουβὶν
Indeclinable transliteration of Hebrew keruvim, not a translation. Listed separately from calque: the translators borrowed the word rather than rendering it.
1 occurrence(s): genesis 3:24
εἰκών
image · ordinary Koine · confidence: high
Forms: εἰκόνα
Ordinary classical word; its weight here is theological (man made 'according to the image of God'), not lexical novelty.
20 occurrence(s): 2-chronicles 33:6, daniel-og 2:34, daniel-og 2:35, daniel-og 3:1, daniel-th 2:34, daniel-th 2:35, daniel-th 3:1, deuteronomy 4:16, genesis 1:26, genesis 1:27, genesis 5:1, genesis 5:3, hosea 13:2, isaiah 40:19, isaiah 40:20, psalms 72:20, sirach 17:3, wisdom 2:23, wisdom 14:15, wisdom 14:17
ὁμοίωσις
likeness · ordinary Koine · confidence: high
Forms: ὁμοίωσιν
Ordinary classical word, paired with εἰκών in 1:26 ('according to our image and likeness').
3 occurrence(s): daniel-og 7:5, genesis 1:26, psalms 57:5
ἀποστροφή
turning, recourse · semantic shift · confidence: medium
Forms: ἀποστροφή
Classical sense 'turning away, retreat'; in 3:16 ('thy turning shall be to thy husband') it renders Hebrew teshuqah (desire, turning toward). Brenton's own footnote reads 'Gr. turning'. Outstanding check: other LXX uses of ἀποστροφή for teshuqah, and pre-LXX senses.
1 occurrence(s): genesis 3:16
ἄβυσσος
deep, abyss · semantic shift · confidence: medium
Forms: ἀβύσσου
Classical ἄβυσσος is an adjective, 'bottomless'; the Septuagint substantivizes it (ἡ ἄβυσσος) for Hebrew tehom, the primeval deep. Outstanding check: earliest substantival use.
8 occurrence(s): genesis 1:2, genesis 7:11, isaiah 51:10, isaiah 63:13, job 38:16, job 41:23, sirach 24:29, wisdom 10:19
φωστήρ
luminary · semantic shift · confidence: medium
Forms: φωστῆρα, φωστῆρας, φωστῆρες
A classical, chiefly poetic word for a light-giver; the Septuagint gives it a technical, calendrical role (sun, moon, stars 'for signs and seasons'). Outstanding check: pre-LXX prose uses.
8 occurrence(s): 1-esdras 8:76, genesis 1:16, psalms-of-solomon 18:12, wisdom 13:2, daniel-og 12:3, genesis 1:14
ἀρχή
beginning, rule, dominion · ordinary Koine · confidence: high
Forms: ἀρχάς, ἀρχὰς, ἀρχὴν, ἀρχῇ
Ordinary classical word. Note the plural in 1:16, εἰς ἀρχὰς τῆς ἡμέρας ('for dominion over the day'): 'rule' as a created office, not only 'beginning' as in 1:1.
71 occurrence(s): 1-kingdoms 11:11, ezekiel 29:15, genesis 2:10, judges 7:16, judges 9:43, nahum 1:6, psalms-of-solomon 2:34, 3-kingdoms 7:21, 4-maccabees 8:7, amos 6:1, genesis 1:16, lamentations 2:19, nahum 3:10, psalms 101:26, psalms 118:152, sirach 16:27, 2-esdras 8:18, 2-esdras 19:17, 2-maccabees 8:27, 4-maccabees 4:15, daniel-og 2:37, daniel-og 7:27, daniel-th 7:26, ecclesiastes 7:8, exodus 34:22, ezekiel 31:14, ezekiel 48:20, genesis 40:21, genesis 43:18, genesis 43:20, hosea 1:11, isaiah 19:15, isaiah 41:27, jeremiah 30:2, judges 7:11, numbers 1:2, numbers 4:22, numbers 26:2, proverbs 8:22, wisdom 7:18, 1-chronicles 16:7, 2-chronicles 13:12, 2-esdras 4:6, 2-kingdoms 17:9, 2-kingdoms 21:9, 2-kingdoms 21:10, 2-maccabees 4:50, 3-kingdoms 20:9, 4-kingdoms 17:25, daniel-og 9:23, daniel-th 6:26, daniel-th 9:21, daniel-th 9:23, ezekiel 16:31, ezekiel 21:20, ezekiel 36:11, ezekiel 42:10, genesis 1:1, isaiah 51:9, jeremiah 26:1, jeremiah 28:58, jeremiah 33:1, judges 7:17, judges 7:19, judges 20:18, proverbs 8:23, psalms 136:6, sirach 36:20
γένεσις
generation, origin · ordinary Koine · confidence: high
Forms: γενέσεως
Ordinary classical word; 2:4 ('the book of the generation of heaven and earth') is the verse that gives the book its Greek name, Γένεσις.
15 occurrence(s): genesis 2:4, genesis 5:1, genesis 31:13, genesis 32:9, genesis 40:20, hosea 2:3, psalms-of-solomon 3:11, ruth 2:11, susanna-og 1:35a, susanna-th 1:42, wisdom 6:22, wisdom 7:5, wisdom 14:6, wisdom 14:26, wisdom 19:10
ψυχή
soul, living creature, life · semantic shift · confidence: high
Forms: ψυχὴν, ψυχῶν
Classical ψυχή is the soul, the seat of life; the Septuagint extends it, after Hebrew nefesh, to every living creature — including animals (1:20–21, 1:24: 'living soul' of reptiles and beasts) — and to the 'living soul' man becomes in 2:7. The animal extension is the distinctively Septuagintal use.
201 occurrence(s): 1-kingdoms 2:33, 1-kingdoms 19:5, 1-kingdoms 19:11, 1-kingdoms 20:17, 1-kingdoms 23:20, 1-maccabees 10:33, 2-chronicles 1:11, 2-kingdoms 5:8, 2-kingdoms 17:3, 2-kingdoms 19:5, 2-maccabees 3:16, 2-maccabees 6:30, 2-maccabees 14:38, 3-kingdoms 1:12, 3-kingdoms 16:33, 3-kingdoms 19:2, 3-kingdoms 19:3, 3-kingdoms 19:4, 3-kingdoms 19:10, 3-maccabees 6:6, 4-kingdoms 7:7, 4-maccabees 1:20, 4-maccabees 7:4, 4-maccabees 9:25, amos 2:14, amos 2:15, deuteronomy 11:18, deuteronomy 19:21, deuteronomy 24:6, deuteronomy 24:7, deuteronomy 27:25, exodus 21:23, exodus 23:9, ezekiel 3:21, ezekiel 18:27, ezekiel 33:5, ezekiel 33:9, ezekiel 44:25, genesis 1:21, genesis 1:24, genesis 1:30, genesis 2:7, genesis 2:19, genesis 9:5, genesis 12:5, habakkuk 2:5, isaiah 5:14, isaiah 38:17, isaiah 44:20, isaiah 47:14, isaiah 49:7, isaiah 58:5, isaiah 58:10, jeremiah 3:11, jeremiah 4:30, jeremiah 20:13, jeremiah 25:17, jeremiah 28:6, jeremiah 38:14, jeremiah 38:25, jeremiah 45:16, jeremiah 47:15, jeremiah 51:30, job 2:6, job 13:14, job 21:8, job 31:39, job 33:28, jonah 4:8, joshua 20:3, joshua 20:9, judges 5:18, judges 9:17, judges 18:25, judith 10:15, judith 16:9, lamentations 3:17, lamentations 3:51, leviticus 17:10, leviticus 20:6, leviticus 22:11, leviticus 24:17, leviticus 24:18, leviticus 26:16, numbers 31:28, numbers 35:11, numbers 35:15, odes 1:9, odes 7:17, proverbs 1:19, proverbs 6:30, proverbs 10:3, proverbs 13:25, proverbs 14:25, proverbs 16:3, proverbs 19:16, proverbs 21:23, proverbs 22:5, proverbs 22:9a, proverbs 23:14, proverbs 29:10, psalms-of-solomon 4:19, psalms-of-solomon 5:14, psalms-of-solomon 9:12, psalms-of-solomon 12:1, psalms-of-solomon 12:6, psalms-of-solomon 16:12, psalms-of-solomon 16:14, psalms-of-solomon 18:5, psalms 15:10, psalms 16:9, psalms 23:4, psalms 24:20, psalms 27:3, psalms 30:8, psalms 30:14, psalms 34:7, psalms 34:13, psalms 34:17, psalms 37:13, psalms 38:12, psalms 39:15, psalms 40:5, psalms 53:5, psalms 56:5, psalms 58:4, psalms 69:3, psalms 73:19, psalms 85:4, psalms 88:49, psalms 93:19, psalms 93:21, psalms 105:15, psalms 106:9, psalms 108:31, psalms 119:2, psalms 130:2, psalms 142:11, ruth 4:15, sirach 4:2, sirach 6:32, sirach 7:20, sirach 10:29, sirach 14:16, sirach 19:4, sirach 20:22, sirach 21:28, sirach 24:1, sirach 27:16, sirach 29:15, sirach 30:21, sirach 30:23, sirach 34:20, sirach 37:27, sirach 38:34, sirach 40:29, susanna-og 1:55, wisdom 1:4, wisdom 4:11, wisdom 10:16, wisdom 15:11, wisdom 15:14, wisdom 16:14, Aristeas §14, Aristeas §17, Aristeas §108, Aristeas §161, Aristeas §214, Aristeas §273, Aristeas §282, Aristeas §292, 1-kingdoms 22:22, 1-maccabees 2:38, 1-maccabees 3:21, 1-maccabees 9:44, exodus 12:4, exodus 16:16, exodus 30:15, exodus 30:16, genesis 1:20, isaiah 1:16, jeremiah 2:34, job 1:5, joshua 9:30, leviticus 17:11, psalms 77:50, sirach 30:7, wisdom 2:22, wisdom 3:13, wisdom 12:6, wisdom 14:26
πνεῦμα
spirit, breath, wind · semantic shift · confidence: medium
Forms: πνεῦμα
Classical πνεῦμα is wind or breath; 1:2 ('the Spirit of God moved over the water') renders Hebrew ruach and carries the theological weight the word later bears. Outstanding check: pre-LXX divine-spirit uses.
211 occurrence(s): 1-chronicles 5:26, 1-chronicles 12:18, 1-esdras 2:2, 1-esdras 2:7, 1-kingdoms 10:6, 1-kingdoms 10:10, 1-kingdoms 11:6, 1-kingdoms 16:13, 1-kingdoms 16:14, 1-kingdoms 16:15, 1-kingdoms 16:16, 1-kingdoms 16:23, 1-kingdoms 19:9, 1-kingdoms 19:20, 1-kingdoms 19:23, 1-kingdoms 30:12, 1-maccabees 13:7, 2-chronicles 18:20, 2-chronicles 18:21, 2-chronicles 18:22, 2-chronicles 18:23, 2-chronicles 20:14, 2-chronicles 24:20, 2-chronicles 36:22, 2-esdras 1:1, 2-esdras 1:5, 2-kingdoms 13:21, 2-kingdoms 23:2, 2-maccabees 7:23, 3-kingdoms 17:17, 3-kingdoms 18:12, 3-kingdoms 19:11, 3-kingdoms 20:4, 3-kingdoms 22:21, 3-kingdoms 22:22, 3-kingdoms 22:23, 3-kingdoms 22:24, 4-kingdoms 2:15, 4-kingdoms 2:16, 4-kingdoms 3:17, 4-maccabees 11:11, amos 4:13, baruch 2:17, baruch 3:1, daniel-og 2:3, daniel-og 3:50, daniel-og 5:12, daniel-og 6:3, daniel-og 10:8, daniel-og 10:17, daniel-th 2:1, daniel-th 3:50, daniel-th 4:6, daniel-th 4:15, daniel-th 5:11, daniel-th 5:12, daniel-th 5:14, daniel-th 6:3, daniel-th 10:17, deuteronomy 2:30, ecclesiastes 1:6, ecclesiastes 3:19, ecclesiastes 3:21, ecclesiastes 8:8, ecclesiastes 10:4, ecclesiastes 12:7, epistle-of-jeremiah 1:24, epistle-of-jeremiah 1:60, esther 4:8b, exodus 31:3, exodus 35:31, ezekiel 1:4, ezekiel 1:12, ezekiel 1:20, ezekiel 2:2, ezekiel 3:12, ezekiel 3:14, ezekiel 3:24, ezekiel 8:3, ezekiel 10:17, ezekiel 11:1, ezekiel 11:5, ezekiel 11:19, ezekiel 11:24, ezekiel 13:11, ezekiel 18:31, ezekiel 20:31, ezekiel 21:7, ezekiel 27:26, ezekiel 36:26, ezekiel 37:8, ezekiel 37:9, ezekiel 37:10, ezekiel 43:5, genesis 1:2, genesis 6:17, genesis 7:15, genesis 8:1, genesis 41:38, habakkuk 1:11, haggai 1:14, hosea 12:1, isaiah 11:2, isaiah 11:3, isaiah 19:3, isaiah 19:14, isaiah 25:4, isaiah 26:18, isaiah 30:28, isaiah 34:16, isaiah 37:7, isaiah 42:5, isaiah 48:16, isaiah 57:16, isaiah 59:21, isaiah 63:10, isaiah 63:11, isaiah 63:14, jeremiah 4:12, jeremiah 10:14, jeremiah 28:11, jeremiah 28:17, job 1:19, job 4:15, job 8:2, job 10:12, job 12:10, job 20:3, job 27:3, job 30:15, job 32:18, job 33:4, job 34:14, job 41:7, jonah 1:4, joshua 2:11, judges 3:10, judges 6:34, judges 8:3, judges 9:23, judges 13:25, judges 14:6, judges 14:19, judges 15:14, judges 15:19, judith 7:19, judith 10:13, judith 14:6, micah 2:7, micah 2:11, numbers 5:14, numbers 5:30, numbers 11:25, numbers 11:26, numbers 11:29, numbers 11:31, numbers 14:24, numbers 23:6, numbers 24:2, numbers 27:18, odes 14:79, psalms-of-solomon 8:15, psalms 10:6, psalms 50:12, psalms 50:13, psalms 50:19, psalms 76:4, psalms 77:8, psalms 77:39, psalms 102:16, psalms 103:29, psalms 105:33, psalms 106:25, psalms 118:31, psalms 134:17, psalms 145:4, psalms 147:7, psalms 148:8, susanna-og 1:44, susanna-og 1:62b, susanna-th 1:45, tobit 6:8, wisdom 1:5, wisdom 1:6, wisdom 1:7, wisdom 2:3, wisdom 5:11, wisdom 5:23
σκότος
darkness · ordinary Koine · confidence: high
Forms: σκότος, σκότους
Ordinary classical word; listed because 1:2 sets it as a primordial reality ('darkness was over the deep'), not merely absence of light.
83 occurrence(s): 2-kingdoms 1:9, 2-kingdoms 22:12, 2-kingdoms 22:29, amos 5:18, amos 5:20, daniel-og 3:72, daniel-th 3:68, deuteronomy 4:11, deuteronomy 5:22, ecclesiastes 2:13, exodus 10:21, exodus 10:22, exodus 14:20, ezekiel 32:8, genesis 1:2, genesis 1:5, isaiah 5:20, isaiah 5:30, isaiah 8:22, isaiah 42:16, isaiah 45:7, isaiah 47:1, isaiah 47:5, isaiah 50:3, isaiah 58:10, isaiah 59:9, isaiah 60:2, jeremiah 13:16, jeremiah 28:34, job 3:4, job 3:5, job 3:6, job 5:14, job 12:25, job 15:30, job 18:6, job 18:18, job 19:8, job 20:26, job 22:11, job 23:17, job 24:14, job 24:15, joel 2:31, lamentations 3:2, nahum 1:8, odes 10:72, proverbs 20:10, psalms-of-solomon 14:6, psalms-of-solomon 15:11, psalms 17:12, psalms 17:29, psalms 34:6, psalms 103:20, psalms 104:28, psalms 138:11, sirach 23:18, tobit 4:10, tobit 14:10, ecclesiastes 11:8, esther prologue:7, genesis 1:4, genesis 1:18, job 10:21, job 12:22, job 15:22, job 17:12, job 26:10, job 37:15, job 38:19, joel 2:2, proverbs 2:13, psalms 106:14, wisdom 17:2, wisdom 17:18, wisdom 17:21, zephaniah 1:15