ἱκανός

Matthew 3:11 ἱκανὸς fit

I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Here: 'Adequate' or 'qualified' rather than morally 'worthy'. John says he does not have the standing even for a slave's job.

Matthew 8:8 ἱκανὸς worthy

The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

Here: 'Adequate, of enough standing, fit.' He is saying he is not of the rank or fitness to host this visitor. This is first about standing and propriety, and only partly about moral guilt.

Matthew 28:12 ἱκανὰ many

And after the chief priests had met with the elders and formed a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money

Here: 'A considerable amount,' and also 'enough': a sum big enough to get the job done. The contrast with Judas's fixed thirty coins is probably deliberate. This time the price is generous.

Mark 1:7 ἱκανὸς sufficient

And he proclaimed: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

Here: 'Adequate, of enough standing or fitness for.' John isn't confessing a particular sin. He is saying his rank is too low even for the lowest service to this person. 'Not fit' or 'not qualified' is closer than a purely moral 'not worthy'.

Mark 10:46 ἱκανοῦ large —

Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road.

Here: Used of numbers, the word means 'sizeable, considerable'. This is a big, noisy procession, which explains why the crowd can try to silence Bartimaeus (10:48).

Mark 15:15 ἱκανὸν satisfactory

And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.

Here: Paired with 'to do' it forms an idiom: 'to do enough for someone', meaning to satisfy or appease them. It is widely seen as a copy of the Latin phrase satis facere.

Luke 3:16 ἱκανὸς worthy

John answered all of them: “I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Here: "Fit, qualified, up to it." The point is not that John is morally bad. He is saying he does not rank high enough even to serve this person in the lowest task there is.

Luke 7:6 ἱκανός worthy

So Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends with the message: “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my roof.

Here: 'Enough', 'of sufficient standing'. He sees himself as not adequate to host such a guest. This answers the elders, who called him 'deserving' (axios) in v. 4.

Luke 7:12 ἱκανὸς considerable

As He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.

Here: One of Luke's favourite words for size or number, meaning 'a good-sized' crowd. It is a measured word, not 'huge'. Placed after the noun it adds a little emphasis: 'a crowd, and a sizeable one'.

Luke 8:27 ἱκανῷ a long

When Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothing or lived in a house, but he stayed in the tombs.

Luke 8:32 ἱκανῶν many

There on the hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons begged Jesus to let them enter the pigs, and He gave them permission.

Luke 20:9 ἱκανούς. long.

Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

Here: With 'times' it means 'a good long while', a Lukan idiom (Luke 8:27; Acts 8:11; 14:3). Only Luke adds it. It stresses the long time the tenants were left alone and trusted.

Luke 22:38 ἱκανόν Enough

So they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” “That is enough,” He answered.

Luke 23:8 ἱκανῶν long

When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased. He had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had heard about Him and was hoping to see Him perform a miracle.

Luke 23:9 ἱκανοῖς· many;

Herod questioned Jesus at great length, but He gave no answer.

Acts 8:11 ἱκανῷ long

They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.

Acts 9:23 ἱκαναί, many,

After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him,

Acts 9:43 ἱκανὰς many

And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.

Acts 11:24 ἱκανὸς large

Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Here: Literally 'sufficient', but Luke regularly uses it to mean 'sizable, a good many' (e.g. Acts 11:26; 19:26). The tone is understated: 'quite a crowd'.

Acts 11:26 ἱκανόν, large,

and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Here: 'Considerable, sizeable'. Luke often uses this word for a notable number (see 11:24, 'a considerable crowd was added'). The growth was big enough to be noticed.

Acts 12:12 ἱκανοὶ many

And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.

Here: In Luke's usage, 'a good number', 'quite a few'. It describes the size of the group and says nothing about being 'sufficient'.

Acts 14:3 Ἱκανὸν A long

So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.

Here: With 'time' it means 'a good while' or 'considerable', a phrase Luke likes (Luke 8:27; Acts 8:11; 27:9). It says the stay was long but not how long: weeks or months, not years. It comes first in the sentence for emphasis. Despite the hostility in verse 2, they stayed a long time.

Acts 14:21 ἱκανοὺς many

They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

Here: Basically 'enough, sizeable'. Luke often uses it to mean 'a good number'. It means 'quite a few' rather than 'huge crowds'.

Acts 17:9 ἱκανὸν security

And they collected bond from Jason and the others and then released them.

Acts 18:18 ἱκανάς, many,

Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.

Here: Luke often uses this word to mean 'a fair number, quite a few'. It is a real but unspecified length of time, added to the eighteen months of 18:11.

Acts 19:19 ἱκανοὶ Many

And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books and burned them in front of everyone. When the value of the books was calculated, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.

Acts 19:26 ἱκανὸν a great many

And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.

Here: 'Considerable, sizeable.' A favourite word of Luke's for 'a good many,' here enough people to hurt business.

Acts 20:8 ἱκαναὶ many

Now there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered.

Acts 20:11 ἱκανόν long

Then Paul went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. And after speaking until daybreak, he departed.

Here: "A considerable while." This is one of Luke's favourite words for amounts and lengths of time. Together with "until dawn" it stresses how long the night went on.

Acts 20:37 ἱκανὸς Much

They all wept openly as they embraced Paul and kissed him.

Here: Not "sufficient" but "a great deal of." Luke often uses this word for large amounts or numbers. It puts the size of the weeping first in the sentence for emphasis.

Acts 22:6 ἱκανὸν great

About noon as I was approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.

Acts 27:7 ἱκαναῖς many

After sailing slowly for many days, we arrived off Cnidus. When the wind impeded us, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.

Acts 27:9 ἱκανοῦ When much

By now much time had passed, and the voyage had already become dangerous because it was after the Fast. So Paul advised them,

1 Corinthians 11:30 ἱκανοί. many.

That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

Here: Used of numbers it means 'a fair number' or 'not a few'. Placed last in the Greek sentence, it lands with weight: these deaths are not rare.

1 Corinthians 15:9 ἱκανὸς fit

For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Here: "Enough for the task, qualified." Paul means that by his own record he does not measure up to the office. The word is about fitness for a role more than a feeling of moral unworthiness, though his record of sin is exactly what disqualifies him.

2 Corinthians 2:6 ἱκανὸν Sufficient

The punishment imposed on him by the majority is sufficient for him.

2 Corinthians 2:16 ἱκανός; sufficient?

To the one we are an odor that brings death, to the other a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?

Here: Fit or up to the task. It is a keyword Paul picks up again in 3:5–6: "not that we are adequate in ourselves … our adequacy is from God, who made us adequate as servants of a new covenant."

2 Corinthians 3:5 ἱκανοί sufficient

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.

Here: Fit or qualified for a task, not 'having enough' of something. It picks up the question of 2:16, 'And who is hikanos for these things?', meaning who is fit to carry the message that brings life and death.

2 Timothy 2:2 ἱκανοὶ sufficient

And the things that you have heard me say among many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well.

Here: Adequate or fit for a task. Here it means fit to teach. It covers more than talent: it includes reliability, understanding and fitness of character.