Greek word · G1917

ἐπιβουλή

epiboulē

plot

A plan made against someone: plot, conspiracy, treacherous design, ambush. In Hellenistic political writing it is a standard word for court intrigue and attempts on officials' lives.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐπι-βουλή, -ῆς, ἡ

[in LXX: Esther 2:22, I Est.5:73, 2Ma.5:7, al. ;]

a plan against, a plot: Acts 9:24 20:3, 19 23:30.†

(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 4 Maccabees 4:13

Range of meaning

A plan made against someone: plot, conspiracy, treacherous design, ambush. In Hellenistic political writing it is a standard word for court intrigue and attempts on officials' lives.

Against the English

Brenton/WEB 'human device' is accurate but dated. 'Device' once meant 'scheme'. Modern readers may hear 'gadget' or something vague, and 'plot' or 'treachery' is clearer.

How it drifted

'Device' in the sense 'scheme, stratagem' (as in KJV 'devices of the crafty') has faded in modern English.

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 9:24; 20:3, 19; 23:30 uses it for Jewish plots against Paul. It is frequent in Polybius and Josephus for conspiracies at the Hellenistic courts.

From the study of Acts 20:19

Range of meaning

A plot, scheme or secret plan against someone. It often means a plot to kill.

Against the English

"Plots" (BSB, ESV, WEB, NIV) is exact. The KJV's "lying in wait" describes ambush, which is one kind of plot. YLT's "counsels... against [me]" keeps the root idea of planning (boulē, 'counsel').

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke uses the word for the plot to kill Paul in Damascus (Acts 9:24), the plot just before this speech as Paul was about to sail from Greece (Acts 20:3), and the ambush plot in Jerusalem (Acts 23:30). It is common in Josephus and Greek historians for conspiracies.

Where it appears

Acts · 4

  1. Acts 9:24 ἐπιβουλὴ plot

    but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him.

  2. Acts 20:3 ἐπιβουλῆς a plot

    where he stayed three months. And when the Jews formed a plot against him as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.

  3. Acts 20:19 ἐπιβουλαῖς plots

    I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, especially in the trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews.

    Here: Secret plans against someone, often against their life. It is plural: there was more than one scheme.

  4. Acts 23:30 ἐπιβουλῆς a plot that

    When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also instructed his accusers to present their case against him before you.

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