Greek word · G2132

εὐνοέω

eunoeō

to reconcile

From eu (well) + noeō (to think, intend). It means to be well-disposed toward someone, to have good will, to be on friendly terms, and by extension to come to terms or make it up with someone. BDAG gives "be well-disposed, make friends".

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

εὐ-νοέω, -ῶ

(εὔνοος, friendly), [in LXX: Esther 8:13 Bא1, Dan LXX 2:43, 3Ma.7:11 * ;]

to be favourable, kindly disposed: with dative, Matthew 5:25.†

(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 Matthew 5:25

Range of meaning

From eu (well) + noeō (to think, intend). It means to be well-disposed toward someone, to have good will, to be on friendly terms, and by extension to come to terms or make it up with someone. BDAG gives "be well-disposed, make friends".

Against the English

KJV and WEB say "agree with". BSB says "reconcile". NASB says "make friends". ESV says "come to terms". NIV says "settle matters". In older English, "agree with" meant "come to an agreement with", but a modern reader hears "share his opinion" or "admit he is right".

How it drifted

The KJV's "agree" has narrowed in modern English to mean "hold the same opinion".

Used elsewhere in the period

The word is rare in the Greek Old Testament: Esther 8:13 (Greek additions), and 3 Maccabees 3:3 and 7:11 for loyal good will. In Hellenistic Greek it is used for good will between allies and between ruler and subjects. In the New Testament it appears only here.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 5:25 εὐνοῶν agreeing

    Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.

    Here: Literally "thinking well" of someone: being friendly, ready to come to terms. This is the only time the word appears in the New Testament. Here it means dropping hostility and seeking a settlement.

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