Greek word · G1502

εἴκω

eikō

to yield

Eikō means to give way, yield, or give ground. It was used of retreating before an enemy, deferring to a superior, or giving in to persuasion or pressure. Hypotagē is the noun of hypotassō, "to place under": subordination, submission, being in a subordinate position.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

εἴκω,

[in LXX: 2 Samuel 12:7 (ענה), Wisdom of Solomon 18:25, 4Ma.1:6 * ;]

to yield: Galatians 2:5 (cf. ὑπ-είκω).†

(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 Galatians 2:5

Range of meaning

Eikō means to give way, yield, or give ground. It was used of retreating before an enemy, deferring to a superior, or giving in to persuasion or pressure. Hypotagē is the noun of hypotassō, "to place under": subordination, submission, being in a subordinate position. In Paul it can describe a proper relationship (2 Cor 9:13, "submission of your confession"; 1 Tim 2:11; 3:4). Here it means submitting to a demand.

Against the English

KJV "gave place by subjection" keeps both ideas but in archaic wording. BSB, NIV and NLT, "did not give in," keep the yielding and drop the word "submission." ESV and NASB, "did not yield in submission/subjection," keep both.

Used elsewhere in the period

Eikō is common in classical and Hellenistic Greek, for example soldiers "giving way" in battle narratives and people yielding to necessity or to their betters. Wisdom 18:25 uses it in the Septuagint (the destroyer "yielded"). In the New Testament it appears only here. Hypotagē is rare before the New Testament. The verb hypotassō is common, including for political and household subordination.

Where it appears

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 2:5 εἴξαμεν did we yield

    We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

    Here: "We yielded." The verb means to give ground or give way, as one gives way to force, pressure or someone of higher rank. This is its only use in the New Testament. The past tense presents the refusal as a single complete stand. "We" means at least Paul and Barnabas, and possibly Titus too.

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