λειτουργέω
to serve
‘to serve’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Thayer's Greek Lexicon
From Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Tense
- Aorist
- Action viewed as a simple whole, without regard to duration — often past (perfective aspect).
- Present
- Ongoing or general action in present time (imperfective aspect).
Voice
- Active
- The subject performs the action.
Mood
- Infinitive
- A verbal noun (“to write”), unmarked for person or number.
- Participle
- A verbal adjective (“writing,” “having written”).
Case
- Genitive
- The case of source, possession, or “of” — answers “whose / from what.”
- Nominative
- The case of the subject (and the predicate nominative).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one.
- Singular
- One.
Every verse where G3008 appears in the Book of Hebrews — 1 distinct verse. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Greek form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Greek New Testament; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences of this word are not indexed here.
Hebrews
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
λειτουργεω — transliterated leitourgéō — is a Greek verb carrying the sense “to serve.” It occurs a mere 3 verses across Scripture. More than a third of its appearances fall in Acts. Its earliest occurrence is Acts 13:2. Thayer's distinguishes 2 senses for it. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's G3008 catalogs a Greek word from the Greek New Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Greek New Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 3
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 3 distinct verses.
- 3 / 27
- NT books
- The word appears in 3 of 27 New Testament books.
- #2,203
- by frequency
- Top 2500 most frequent Greek words (rank 2,203 of 5,347 Greek words by occurrence).
View all 3 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the New Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Some books belong to more than one corpus (Luke is in both the Gospels and the Lukan corpus, and so on), so these shares overlap and need not total 100%. Each figure is a share of the word’s 3 distinct verses.
- Lukan (Luke–Acts) 1 verse · 33%
- Pauline corpus 1 verse · 33%
- Hebrews 1 verse · 33%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Minister 1×, Ministered 1×, Ministering 1×
- American Standard Version: Minister 1×, Ministered 1×, Ministering 1×
- Berean Standard Bible: Minister 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Minister 1×, Serving 1×, Were ministering 1×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders G3008 across 3 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders G3008 across 3 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders G3008 across 3 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders G3008 across 4 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Senses in Thayer's
The 2 senses Thayer's distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency or importance). The full entry — with sub-senses — is in the Lexicon Entry tab.
- to serve the state at one's own cost
- to do a service, perform a work
Word origin
Derived from λειτουργος (leitourgós) (G3011) — minister.
From G3011 ; to be a public servant that is (by analogy) to perform religious or charitable functions ( worship obey relieve ): - minister.
— Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (1890), public domain.
Forms in the corpus
The 3 distinct written forms G3008 takes in the Greek New Testament, most frequent first — each parse links to that tense’s occurrences in the concordance.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| λειτουργούντων leitourgoúntōn | Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Genitive, Plural, Masculine | Acts 13:2 | 1 |
| λειτουργῆσαι leitourgē̂sai | Verb, Aorist, Active, Infinitive | Romans 15:27 | 1 |
| λειτουργῶν leitourgō̂n | Verb, Present, Active, Participle, Nominative, Singular, Masculine | Hebrews 10:11 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other Thayer's entries built from the same root as G3008, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint usage
The same Greek word λειτουργεω appears 89 times in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), across 84 verses in 13 books.
- 89
- LXX occurrences
- Tagged occurrences of this Greek word in the Septuagint.
- 84
- verses
- Distinct Septuagint verses containing this word.
- 13 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 13 of the 39 Old Testament books.
Sample Septuagint occurrences
- Exodus 28:35 λειτουργέω
- Numbers 1:50 λειτουργέω
- Deuteronomy 10:8 λειτουργέω
- 1 Samuel 2:11 λειτουργέω
- 1 Kings 1:4 λειτουργέω
- 2 Kings 25:14 λειτουργέω
- 1 Chronicles 6:17 λειτουργέω
- 2 Chronicles 5:14 λειτουργέω
- Ezra 20:37 λειτουργέω
- Psalms 100:6 λειτουργέω
- Jeremiah 52:18 λειτουργέω
- Ezekiel 40:46 λειτουργέω
Septuagint occurrences (same lexeme)
Every verse where the same Strong’s number (G3008) appears in the Greek Septuagint — showing the first 50 of 84. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context; the Greek form is the matched word — the English is not keyword-highlighted.
- Exodus 28:35 λειτουργέω It shall be on Aaron to minister: and the sound of it shall be heard when he goes in to the holy place before Yahweh, and when he comes out, that he not die.
- Exodus 28:43 λειτουργέω They shall be on Aaron, and on his sons, when they go in to the tent of meeting, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy place; that they don't bear iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute forever to him and to his descendants after him.
- Exodus 29:30 λειτουργέω Seven days shall the son who is priest in his place put them on, when he comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.
- Exodus 30:20 λειτουργέω When they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, that they not die; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
- Exodus 35:19 λειτουργέω the finely worked garments, for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.'"
- Exodus 36:33 λειτουργέω He made the middle bar to pass through in the midst of the boards from the one end to the other.
- Exodus 38:27 λειτουργέω The one hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; one hundred sockets for the one hundred talents, a talent for a socket.
- Exodus 39:11 λειτουργέω and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;
- Exodus 39:12 λειτουργέω and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
- Numbers 1:50 λειτουργέω but appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle, and all its furnishings; and they shall take care of it, and shall encamp around it.
- Numbers 3:6 λειτουργέω "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.
- Numbers 3:31 λειτουργέω Their charge shall be the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the screen, and all its service.
- Numbers 4:3 λειτουργέω from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:9 λειτουργέω They shall take a blue cloth, and cover the lampstand of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it.
- Numbers 4:12 λειτουργέω They shall take all the vessels of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame.
- Numbers 4:14 λειτουργέω They shall put on it all its vessels, with which they minister about it, the fire pans, the flesh hooks, the shovels, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin, and put in its poles.
- Numbers 4:23 λειτουργέω from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shall you number them; all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:24 λειτουργέω This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:
- Numbers 4:26 λειτουργέω and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them. Therein shall they serve.
- Numbers 4:30 λειτουργέω from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old shall you number them, everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:35 λειτουργέω from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:37 λειτουργέω These are those who were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.
- Numbers 4:39 λειτουργέω from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting,
- Numbers 4:41 λειτουργέω These are those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Yahweh.
- Numbers 4:43 λειτουργέω from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting,
- Numbers 8:22 λειτουργέω After that, the Levites went in to do their service in the Tent of Meeting before Aaron, and before his sons: as Yahweh had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
- Numbers 8:26 λειτουργέω but shall minister with their brothers in the Tent of Meeting, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites concerning their duties."
- Numbers 16:9 λειτουργέω [seems it but] a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tent of Yahweh, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;
- Numbers 18:2 λειτουργέω Your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring you near with you, that they may be joined to you, and minister to you: but you and your sons with you shall be before the tent of the testimony.
- Numbers 18:6 λειτουργέω I, behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are a gift, given to Yahweh, to do the service of the tent of meeting.
- Numbers 18:7 λειτουργέω You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar, and for that within the veil; and you shall serve: I give you the priesthood as a service of gift: and the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.
- Numbers 18:21 λειτουργέω To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting.
- Numbers 18:23 λειτουργέω But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations; and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
- Deuteronomy 10:8 λειτουργέω At that time Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, to stand before Yahweh to minister to him, and to bless in his name, to this day.
- Deuteronomy 17:12 λειτουργέω The man who does presumptuously, in not listening to the priest who stands to minister there before Yahweh your God, or to the judge, even that man shall die: and you shall put away the evil from Israel.
- Deuteronomy 18:5 λειτουργέω For Yahweh your God has chosen him out of all your tribes, to stand to minister in the name of Yahweh, him and his sons for ever.
- Deuteronomy 18:7 λειτουργέω then he shall minister in the name of Yahweh his God, as all his brothers the Levites do, who stand there before Yahweh.
- 1 Samuel 2:11 λειτουργέω Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. The child did minister to Yahweh before Eli the priest.
- 1 Samuel 2:18 λειτουργέω But Samuel ministered before Yahweh, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
- 1 Samuel 3:1 λειτουργέω The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. The word of Yahweh was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision.
- 1 Kings 1:4 λειτουργέω The young lady was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king didn't know her intimately.
- 1 Kings 1:15 λειτουργέω Bathsheba went in to the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king.
- 1 Kings 8:11 λειτουργέω so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.
- 1 Kings 19:21 λειτουργέω He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.
- 2 Kings 25:14 λειτουργέω The pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered, took they away.
- 1 Chronicles 6:17 λειτουργέω These are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei.
- 1 Chronicles 15:2 λειτουργέω Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them has Yahweh chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister to him forever.
- 1 Chronicles 16:4 λειτουργέω He appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of Yahweh, and to celebrate and to thank and praise Yahweh, the God of Israel:
- 1 Chronicles 16:37 λειτουργέω So he left there, before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, Asaph and his brothers, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required;
- 1 Chronicles 23:13 λειτουργέω The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to minister to him, and to bless in his name, forever.
These are occurrences of the same Greek lexeme (G3008) in the Septuagint — not a translation of any one Hebrew word. The store carries no word-level Hebrew↔Greek alignment, so no Hebrew original is asserted here. Counts come from the recovered LXX Strong's tagging — high-frequency vocabulary is well covered, while rare or late forms may be untagged — so they reflect tagged occurrences and may slightly undercount.
