Greek word · G5585

ψηφίζω

psēphizō

to calculate

To count or calculate with pebbles (ψῆφοι) on a counting board, and so to reckon or compute. In classical Athens the related word was also used for voting with pebbles (ψηφίζομαι, to vote).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ψηφίζω

(ψῆφος), [in LXX: 3Ki.3:8 8:5 A (סָפַר ni..) * ;]

to count (prop., with pebbles), reckon, calculate: τ. δαπάνην, Luke 14:28; τ. ἀριθμόν (i.e. calculate the number's meaning), Revelation 13:18 (in cl. chiefly mid., to vote by casting a pebble; cf. συγ-κατα-, συμ-φηφίζω).†

(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 Luke 14:28

Range of meaning

To count or calculate with pebbles (ψῆφοι) on a counting board, and so to reckon or compute. In classical Athens the related word was also used for voting with pebbles (ψηφίζομαι, to vote).

Against the English

KJV, BSB, ESV and WEB have 'count the cost'. NASB has 'calculate' and NIV 'estimate'. 'Estimate' is a little softer than the Greek, which suggests actually doing the arithmetic.

Used elsewhere in the period

It occurs only twice in the New Testament: here and in Revelation 13:18 ('let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast'). Both uses mean working out a figure. It is common in Greek literature and papyri for reckoning accounts.

From the study of Revelation 13:18

Range of meaning

To count with pebbles (psēphoi) on a counting board. More broadly, to reckon, calculate or compute. In civic life it also meant 'to vote', since votes were cast with pebbles. In the New Testament it occurs only here and in Luke 14:28 ('sit down and count the cost').

Against the English

KJV 'count' and BSB/ESV/NIV/NASB 'calculate' are accurate. The NLT's 'solve the meaning of' turns a sum into an interpretation and blurs the plain instruction to compute something.

How it drifted

The verb itself has not drifted. The drift is in how readers treat the command. It is often heard as 'speculate about mysterious future events', when the word means a concrete arithmetic operation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek writers use psēphizō and the related isopsēphos ('of equal numerical value') for letter-sum wordplay. Suetonius (Nero 39) records a Greek lampoon calling the name Nerōn a 'new reckoning' (neopsēphon), because its letters add up to the same total (1005) as 'killed his own mother'. Sibylline Oracles 1.324–331 gives the number of Jesus' name as 888, a riddle of exactly the same kind.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 14:28 ψηφίζει he counts

    Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?

    Here: To work out the figures. The verb comes from ψῆφος, a pebble used for counting, so it suggests actually doing the sums rather than having a rough feeling about it.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 13:18 ψηφισάτω he should count

    Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.

    Here: From psēphos, a small pebble used on counting boards. It means 'reckon, add up'. The command form tells the reader to actually do a sum, not merely to ponder a symbol.

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