Greek word · G1012

βουλή

boulē

plan

Deliberation, resolve, plan, purpose, intention. Also a council or the decision a council reaches. It refers to the design behind an action.

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

βουλή, -ῆς, ἡ

(βούλομαι), [in LXX frequently for עֵצָה ;]

counsel, purpose (in cl., esp. of the gods): Luke 23:51, Acts 4:28 5:38 19:1 27:12, 42; pl., 1 Corinthians 4:5; of the Divine purpose, Hebrews 6:17; τ. βουλὴν τ. θελήματος αὐτοῦ, Ephesians 1:11; β. τ. Θεοῦ, Luke 7:30, Acts 2:23 13:36 20:27.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Acts 5:38

Range of meaning

Deliberation, resolve, plan, purpose, intention. Also a council or the decision a council reaches. It refers to the design behind an action.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT 'counsel', ESV and NASB 'plan', NIV and BSB 'purpose'. 'Counsel' was accurate in 1611 (a resolved purpose) but now usually suggests advice or therapy.

How it drifted

English 'counsel' has narrowed to 'advice' (and 'counselling'). The older sense, 'a deliberate plan or design', survives only in phrases like 'the counsel of God'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the LXX, boulē translates Hebrew ʿēṣâ, 'plan, counsel', as in Ps 33:11 (LXX 32:11): 'the counsel of the LORD stands forever', and Prov 19:21: 'many plans are in a person's heart, but the boulē of the LORD will stand'. Luke uses it for God's settled purpose: Luke 7:30; Acts 2:23; 4:28; 13:36; 20:27.

From the study of Ephesians 1:11

Range of meaning

Counsel, deliberation, a plan or decision reached by thinking it through. In a Greek city the boulē was the council that deliberated and resolved. Paired with θέλημα ('what one wants'), it brings out the reasoned side of a decision.

Against the English

'Counsel' (KJV, WEB, BSB, ESV, NASB) keeps the sense of deliberation. NIV's 'purpose' risks mixing it up with πρόθεσις earlier in the verse.

How it drifted

'Counsel' today usually means advice someone gives you. Here it is God's own considered decision. He takes no advice (compare Isa 40:13–14; Rom 11:34).

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint uses βουλὴ κυρίου, 'the counsel of the LORD', for God's plan that stands firm: Psalm 33:11 (LXX 32:11), Proverbs 19:21, Isaiah 46:10 ('my counsel shall stand'). Acts 2:23 and 4:28 use it for God's plan in the cross.

From the study of Acts 20:27

Range of meaning

In Greek generally it means deliberation, counsel taken, a decision or resolve, a plan or purpose, and also a council (the city boulē). With God as the subject it means his settled purpose or saving design, not suggestions offered for consideration.

Against the English

NASB's 'purpose' is closest. KJV/ESV/WEB 'counsel' was accurate in 1611, when 'counsel' commonly meant a design or resolve (cf. KJV Ps 33:11, 'the counsel of the LORD standeth for ever'). Today it mostly suggests advice. BSB/NIV 'will' is close, but a modern reader may hear moral commands or 'God's will for my life' rather than God's overarching plan.

How it drifted

In modern English, 'counsel' has narrowed toward advice and counselling. The older sense of 'a purpose decided on' now survives mainly in fixed phrases.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke uses the phrase as a theme: Luke 7:30 (the Pharisees 'rejected the boulē of God for themselves' by refusing John's baptism); Acts 2:23 (Jesus handed over 'by the set boulē and foreknowledge of God'); Acts 4:28 (what God's hand and boulē had decided beforehand); Acts 13:36 (David 'served the boulē of God in his own generation'); Acts 5:38–39 (Gamaliel: 'if this boulē is from men… if it is from God…'). In the Greek Old Testament it often translates Hebrew ʿēṣāh ('plan, counsel'), e.g. Isaiah 46:10, 'my boulē shall stand.'

Where it appears

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 7:30 βουλὴν counsel

    But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.

  2. Luke 23:51 βουλῇ counsel

    who had not consented to their decision or action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea and was waiting for the kingdom of God.

Acts · 7

  1. Acts 2:23 βουλῇ plan

    He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.

    Here: God's deliberate purpose or resolved intention. It is a favourite word of Luke for God's saving design (Luke 7:30; Acts 4:28; 20:27). The dative case gives the cause or ground of the handing over.

  2. Acts 4:28 βουλή purpose

    They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.

    Here: A decision reached by deliberation: a settled plan, not a passing wish and not advice. Luke uses it for God's saving plan (Luke 7:30; Acts 2:23; 13:36; 20:27). It also answers Psalm 2, quoted just before, where the rulers plot together. Their scheming ends up inside God's counsel.

  3. Acts 5:38 βουλὴ plan

    So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail.

    Here: The intention or scheme behind the movement. Elsewhere in Acts Luke uses this word for 'the plan of God' (2:23; 4:28; 20:27), so readers already know whose plan is at work.

  4. Acts 13:36 βουλῇ purpose

    For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.

    Here: God's deliberate plan, a key word in Luke's writings for God's saving purpose running through Israel's history to Jesus. Most likely the thing David served; possibly the cause of his death ("by God's will he fell asleep").

  5. Acts 20:27 βουλὴν counsel

    For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.

    Here: God's settled purpose, what he has decided and is carrying out. In Luke's writings it is God's saving plan worked out through Jesus' death and resurrection, now reaching Jews and Gentiles. It does not mean 'advice.'

  6. Acts 27:12 βουλὴν a decision

    Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, hoping that somehow they could reach Phoenix to winter there. Phoenix was a harbor in Crete facing both southwest and northwest.

  7. Acts 27:42 βουλὴ [the] plan

    The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so none of them could swim to freedom.

1 Corinthians · 1

  1. 1 Corinthians 4:5 βουλὰς motives

    Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

    Here: The deliberate aims and intentions behind what people do. These are the reasons a servant served the way he did, which no human observer can audit.

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 1:11 βουλὴν counsel

    In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,

    Here: A decision reached by deliberation, the kind a council (also called boulē) arrives at. It stresses that God's working is reasoned and intentional, not arbitrary.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 6:17 βουλῆς purpose

    So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.

    Here: God's settled decision or resolved plan. It does not mean "advice". It echoes boulomenos: what God willed is a will that does not move.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.