Greek word · G1355

διόπερ

dioper

therefore

An emphatic inference: 'for which very reason, and that is precisely why.' It is dio ('therefore') with the intensifying particle -per.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

διό-περ conjunct. (διό, which see, strengthened by πέρ),

[in LXX: Judith 8:17; Judith 8.1-36; 2Ma.5:1-27 * ;]

for which very reason: 1 Corinthians 8:13 10:14.†

(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 1 Corinthians 10:14

Range of meaning

An emphatic inference: 'for which very reason, and that is precisely why.' It is dio ('therefore') with the intensifying particle -per.

Against the English

'Therefore' and 'wherefore' are accurate but miss the emphasis. The Greek says something closer to 'this is the very point of everything I have just said.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare in the NT. Paul also uses it in 1 Cor 8:13 ('therefore, if food makes my brother stumble…'), the conclusion of the first part of this same argument about idol food. It is common in literary and educated Koine Greek.

Where it appears

1 Corinthians · 2

  1. 1 Corinthians 8:13 διόπερ Therefore

    Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to stumble.

    Here: A strong 'therefore' that sums up the argument of 8:7–12: since harming a fellow believer is sinning against Christ, this is the conclusion. In the New Testament it appears only here and at 10:14, where Paul says 'therefore, flee idolatry'.

  2. 1 Corinthians 10:14 Διόπερ, Therefore,

    Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

    Here: A stronger form of the ordinary 'therefore' (dio plus the intensifying -per): 'and that is exactly why.' It ties the command to everything just said: Israel's fall into idolatry in the wilderness (10:1–12) and God's promise of a way out (10:13).

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