Greek word · G73

ἀγών

agōn

fight

First a gathering or assembly, then the contest held at such a gathering, especially the athletic games (running, wrestling, boxing, the pankration), but also contests in music and speeches.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀγών, -ῶνος, ὁ

(ἄγω), [in LXX: Isaiah 7:13 (לאה), Esther 4:17, Wisdom of Solomon 4:2 10:12, II Mac.6, 4Mac .5 * ;]

1. a gathering, esp. for games.

2. a place of assembly.

3. a contest, struggle, trial; metaphorically (MM, VGT, see word),

(a) of the Christian life as a contest and struggle: Philippians 1:30, 1 Thessalonians 2:2, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 4:7 Hebrews 12:1;

(b) solicitude, anxiety: Colossians 2:1.

† (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 2 Timothy 4:7

Range of meaning

First a gathering or assembly, then the contest held at such a gathering, especially the athletic games (running, wrestling, boxing, the pankration), but also contests in music and speeches. By extension it means any strenuous struggle, effort or anxiety: legal battles, political conflict, inner moral struggle, and the struggle of someone facing death.

Against the English

English "fight" first calls up combat: war, brawling, conflict with an enemy. Agōn first calls up the stadium, where an athlete trains, competes under rules before spectators and a judge, and wins a wreath. "Contest" or "struggle" (YLT "strife") is closer. "Fight" is not wrong, since boxing and wrestling were agōnes, but it moves the picture from the arena to the battlefield.

How it drifted

The KJV's "a good fight" became a proverb, and John Monsell's hymn "Fight the good fight with all thy might" (1863) reinforced it. In common English, "fighting the good fight" now means battling for any worthy cause. The athletic setting faded from view.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in classical and Hellenistic Greek for the games. 2 Maccabees 4:18 uses it of the five-yearly games at Tyre. Wisdom of Solomon 4:2 pictures virtue crowned after winning "the contest for prizes that are undefiled". 4 Maccabees 17:11–16 calls the Jewish martyrs' endurance under torture a "divine contest" (agōn theios), with the tyrant as opponent, the world as spectators, and godliness winning and crowning its athletes. Philo and Stoic writers (Seneca, Epictetus, Dio Chrysostom's Diogenes speeches) use the games for the moral life. Paul uses agōn of his labour and opposition (1 Thess 2:2; Phil 1:30; Col 2:1).

From the study of Hebrews 12:1

Range of meaning

A gathering for games; an athletic contest (race, wrestling); by extension any hard struggle, fight or ordeal, including legal and moral struggle. The source of English 'agony', by way of a later sense.

Against the English

Most versions say 'race', which suits the verb 'run'. YLT's 'contest' keeps the wider sense of a hard competitive struggle that 'race' can make feel like a casual jog.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paul: 1 Cor 9:25 (verb form), Phil 1:30, 1 Tim 6:12 and 2 Tim 4:7 ('the good contest'). 4 Maccabees 17:11–16 calls the martyrs' suffering 'a divine contest' with the tyrant as opponent and the world as spectators. Philo often uses the athletic contest as a picture of the struggle for virtue.

From the study of 1 Thessalonians 2:2

Range of meaning

Originally an assembly, then the contest held there: an athletic competition, a race, a legal trial, a battle. By extension any intense struggle, whether against outside opposition or as inner effort and anxiety.

Against the English

KJV "much contention"; YLT/WEB "much conflict"; ESV "much conflict"; NASB/NIV/NLT/BSB "opposition." "Opposition" captures the outward hostility but loses the athletic picture. KJV "contention" now sounds like quarrelsomeness, as if the preachers were arguing.

How it drifted

"Contention" in 1611 meant striving or struggle. Today it mostly means dispute or argumentativeness.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek games, athletes "contend" (agōnizomai) for the crown. Paul uses the imagery often: 1 Cor 9:25; Phil 1:30 ("the same agōn you saw in me", written to Philippi itself!); Col 2:1 ("how great an agōn I have for you", an inner striving); 1 Tim 6:12 ("fight the good fight"). 4 Maccabees 17:11-16 calls the Jewish martyrs' endurance under torture a "divine contest." See Pfitzner, Paul and the Agon Motif.

Where it appears

Philippians · 1

  1. Philippians 1:30 ἀγῶνα conflict

    since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

    Here: The key word. It was first a word for the athletic games or a contest in the arena, then for any hard struggle against opposition. Here it means the opposition and suffering that come with loyalty to Christ (v. 29). It continues the sports language of 'contending together' in v. 27.

Colossians · 1

  1. Colossians 2:1 ἀγῶνα a struggle

    For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face,

    Here: An athletic or combat contest: hard, costly exertion toward a goal. It picks up the verb 'striving' (agōnizomenos) in 1:29, so noun echoes verb.

1 Thessalonians · 1

  1. 1 Thessalonians 2:2 ἀγῶνι. conflict.

    As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.

    Here: "Contest" or "struggle," a word from the athletic games and the law courts. It describes the opposition they met in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-9) and possibly also the strain and effort it cost them.

1 Timothy · 1

  1. 1 Timothy 6:12 ἀγῶνα fight

    Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.

    Here: The noun from the same root as the verb, so the phrase is 'contest the contest'. The basic picture is the athletic competition in a stadium.

2 Timothy · 1

  1. 2 Timothy 4:7 ἀγῶνα fight

    I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

    Here: An athletic contest in the games: wrestling, boxing, running. By extension it means any hard struggle. The race in the next clause and the victor's wreath in verse 8 keep the picture in the stadium.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 12:1 ἀγῶνα race

    Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.

    Here: An athletic contest. Here, because of 'run', it means a footrace, but the word also carries a sense of struggle and hard effort. Jewish writers used it for the ordeal of martyrs.

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