Greek word · G1616

ἐκτένεια

ekteneia

earnestness

From ekteinō, 'to stretch out'. It means strained intensity, sustained earnestness, perseverance and fervour. In civic Greek it was also praised as a virtue: the zealous, unflagging devotion of a benefactor or official.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐκ-τένεια, -ας, ἡ

(ἐκτενής), [in LXX: Judith 4:9, 2Ma.14:38, 3Ma.6:41 * ;]

zeal, intentness, earnestness (cf. Deiss., BS, 262): Acts 26:7.†

(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 26:7

Range of meaning

From ekteinō, 'to stretch out'. It means strained intensity, sustained earnestness, perseverance and fervour. In civic Greek it was also praised as a virtue: the zealous, unflagging devotion of a benefactor or official.

Against the English

KJV 'instantly' meant 'urgently, insistently' in 1611, but today it is heard as 'immediately'. 'Earnestly' (BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV, NASB) is accurate but loses the picture of stretching or straining toward something.

How it drifted

The KJV word 'instantly' (from Latin instanter, 'pressingly') shifted to its modern time sense, 'at once', after the 17th century.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint, Judith 4:9 has Israel crying to God 'with great ekteneia'. 2 Maccabees 14:38 describes Razis risking body and life 'with all ekteneia' for Judaism, and 3 Maccabees 6:41 has the word as well. The related adverb and adjective appear in Luke-Acts for intense prayer: Luke 22:44 (Jesus prayed 'more earnestly'), Acts 12:5 (the church prayed 'earnestly' for Peter). Compare 1 Peter 4:8.

Similar words

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 26:7 ἐκτενείᾳ earnestness

    the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews.

    Here: Literally 'stretched-out-ness'. It means strained, sustained, unrelaxing intensity, the effort of someone reaching forward.

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