λειτουργία
public office
‘public office’ is one of 3 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Thayer's Greek Lexicon
From Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Where this word appears
See every Genitive-case word in the Greek New Testament →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Case
- Genitive
- The case of source, possession, or “of” — answers “whose / from what.”
- Dative
- The case of the indirect object, means, or location — “to / for / with / in.”
Gender
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Genitive, Singular, Feminine 5 times (83%)
- Noun, Dative, Singular, Feminine 1 time (17%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (Robinson–Tischendorf, public domain), counted across 6 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where G3009 appears — 6 distinct verses across 4 books. 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.
Luke 1 verse
2 Corinthians 1 verse
Philippians 2 verses
- Philippians 2:17 λειτουργίᾳ n dat sg fem Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.
- Philippians 2:30 λειτουργίας n gen sg fem because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
Hebrews 2 verses
- Hebrews 8:6 λειτουργίας n gen sg fem But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.
- Hebrews 9:21 λειτουργίας n gen sg fem Moreover he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry in like manner with the blood.
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.
At its core, λειτουργια (leitourgía) means “public office.” First canonically at Luke 1:23, it enters the text early. With 6 verses in 4 books, it is an uncommon word in the Greek New Testament. Its uses concentrate in Philippians (33% of all occurrences). Catalogued under 3 senses, its meaning is not single-sense. Dig into 6-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's G3009 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 →
- 6
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 6 distinct verses.
- 4 / 27
- NT books
- The word appears in 4 of 27 New Testament books.
- #1,476
- by frequency
- Top 2500 most frequent Greek words (rank 1,476 of 5,347 Greek words by occurrence).
View all 6 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Philippians 2 verses 33%
- Hebrews 2 verses 33%
- Luke 1 verse 17%
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 6 distinct verses.
- Pauline corpus 3 verses · 50%
- Hebrews 2 verses · 33%
- Gospels 1 verse · 17%
- Lukan (Luke–Acts) 1 verse · 17%
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: Service 3×, Ministry 2×
- American Standard Version: Service 3×, Ministry 2×
- Berean Standard Bible: Service 4×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Service 4×, Of 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders G3009 across 6 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.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders G3009 across 7 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 2 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders G3009 across 6 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 2 renderings that appear 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 G3009 across 9 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 3 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in Thayer's
The 3 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.
- a public office which a citizen undertakes to administer at his own expense
- any service
- biblical usage
Word origin
Derived from λειτουργεω (leitourgéō) (G3008) — to serve.
From G3008 ; public function (as priest [liturgy] or almsgiver): - ministration (-try) service.
— Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (1890), public domain.
Forms in the corpus
The 2 distinct written forms G3009 takes in the Greek New Testament, most frequent first — each parse links to that case’s occurrences in the concordance.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| λειτουργίας leitourgías | Noun, Genitive, Singular, Feminine | Luke 1:23 | 5 |
| λειτουργίᾳ leitourgía | Noun, Dative, Singular, Feminine | Philippians 2:17 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other Thayer's entries built from the same root as G3009, 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
Shares the same root
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint usage
The same Greek word λειτουργια appears 43 times in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), across 41 verses in 7 books.
- 43
- LXX occurrences
- Tagged occurrences of this Greek word in the Septuagint.
- 41
- verses
- Distinct Septuagint verses containing this word.
- 7 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 7 of the 39 Old Testament books.
Sample Septuagint occurrences
- Exodus 37:19 λειτουργία
- Numbers 4:24 λειτουργία
- 2 Samuel 19:19 λειτουργία
- 1 Chronicles 6:17 λειτουργία
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 λειτουργία
- Ezra 7:19 λειτουργία
- Ezekiel 29:20 λειτουργία
Septuagint occurrences (same lexeme)
Every verse where the same Strong’s number (G3009) appears in the Greek Septuagint. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context; the Greek form is the matched word — the English is not keyword-highlighted.
- Exodus 37:19 λειτουργία three cups made like almond-blossoms in one branch, a bud and a flower, and three cups made like almond-blossoms in the other branch, a bud and a flower: so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.
- Numbers 4:24 λειτουργία This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:
- Numbers 4:27 λειτουργία At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burden, and in all their service; and you shall appoint to them in charge all their burden.
- Numbers 4:28 λειτουργία This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
- Numbers 4:33 λειτουργία This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest."
- Numbers 7:5 λειτουργία "Accept these from them, that they may be used in doing the service of the Tent of Meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service."
- Numbers 7:7 λειτουργία He gave two wagons and four oxen to the sons of Gershon, according to their service:
- Numbers 7:8 λειτουργία and he gave four wagons and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
- Numbers 8:22 λειτουργία 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 8:25 λειτουργία and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting on the work, and shall serve no more,
- Numbers 16:9 λειτουργία [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 18:4 λειτουργία They shall be joined to you, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the Tent: and a stranger shall not come near to you.
- Numbers 18:6 λειτουργία 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 λειτουργία 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 λειτουργία 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 λειτουργία 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.
- Numbers 18:31 λειτουργία You shall eat it in every place, you and your households: for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting.
- 2 Samuel 19:19 λειτουργία He said to the king, Don't let my lord impute iniquity to me, neither do you remember that which your servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart.
- 1 Chronicles 6:17 λειτουργία These are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei.
- 1 Chronicles 6:33 λειτουργία These are those who waited, and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,
- 1 Chronicles 9:13 λειτουργία and their brothers, heads of their fathers' houses, one thousand seven hundred sixty; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.
- 1 Chronicles 9:19 λειτουργία Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brothers, of his father's house, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent: and their fathers had been over the camp of Yahweh, keepers of the entry.
- 1 Chronicles 9:28 λειτουργία Certain of them had charge of the vessels of service; for by count were these brought in and by count were these taken out.
- 1 Chronicles 23:24 λειτουργία These were the sons of Levi after their fathers' houses, even the heads of the fathers' [houses] of those of those who were counted, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the house of Yahweh, from twenty years old and upward.
- 1 Chronicles 23:26 λειτουργία and also the Levites shall no more have need to carry the tent and all the vessels of it for the service of it.
- 1 Chronicles 23:28 λειτουργία For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Yahweh, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God;
- 1 Chronicles 24:3 λειτουργία David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their ordering in their service.
- 1 Chronicles 24:19 λειτουργία This was the ordering of them in their service, to come into the house of Yahweh according to the ordinance [given] to them by Aaron their father, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
- 1 Chronicles 26:30 λειτουργία Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brothers, men of valor, one thousand seven hundred, had the oversight of Israel beyond the Jordan westward, for all the business of Yahweh, and for the service of the king.
- 1 Chronicles 28:13 λειτουργία also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of Yahweh, and for all the vessels of service in the house of Yahweh;
- 1 Chronicles 28:20 λειτουργία David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: don't be afraid, nor be dismayed; for Yahweh God, even my God, is with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of Yahweh is finished.
- 1 Chronicles 28:21 λειτουργία Behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with you in all manner of work every willing man who has skill, for any manner of service: also the captains and all the people will be entirely at your command.
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 λειτουργία He appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the divisions of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their offices, to praise, and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required; the doorkeepers also by their divisions at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.
- 2 Chronicles 31:2 λειτουργία Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites after their divisions, every man according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of Yahweh.
- 2 Chronicles 31:4 λειτουργία Moreover he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the law of Yahweh.
- 2 Chronicles 31:16 λειτουργία besides those who were reckoned by genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even everyone who entered into the house of Yahweh, as the duty of every day required, for their service in their offices according to their divisions;
- 2 Chronicles 35:10 λειτουργία So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites by their divisions, according to the king's commandment.
- 2 Chronicles 35:15 λειτουργία The singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the porters were at every gate: they didn't need to depart from their service; for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.
- 2 Chronicles 35:16 λειτουργία So all the service of Yahweh was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover, and to offer burnt-offerings on the altar of Yahweh, according to the commandment of king Josiah.
- Ezra 7:19 λειτουργία The vessels that are given you for the service of the house of your God, deliver you before the God of Jerusalem.
- Ezekiel 29:20 λειτουργία I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompense for which he served, because they worked for me, says the Lord Yahweh.
These are occurrences of the same Greek lexeme (G3009) 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.
