"to please, Mt. 14:6; to be pleasing, acceptable, Acts 6:5; to consult the pleasure of any one, Rom. 15:1, 2, 3; 1 Cor. 10:33; to seek favor with, Gal. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:4"
Definition and meaning
to please, Mt. 14:6; to be pleasing, acceptable, Acts 6:5; to consult the pleasure of any one, Rom. 15:1, 2, 3; 1 Cor. 10:33; to seek favor with, Gal. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:4
In the original Greek the word is written: ἀρέσκω
Historical context
Rome had controlled Judea since 63 BC. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple into one of the most magnificent structures in the ancient world — and simultaneously murdered members of his own family. The common people paid multiple layers of taxation and were politically powerless. Into that world a carpenter from Galilee began teaching that the kingdom of God had arrived.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of aresko (G700) across the King James Bible.
But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.
There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
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Common questions
Strong's G700 (aresko) is a Greek word that means: to please, Mt. 14:6; to be pleasing, acceptable, Acts 6:5; to consult the pleasure of any one, Rom. 15:1, 2, 3; 1 Cor. 10:33; to seek favor with, Gal. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:4 It appears 16 times in the King James Bible.
The word aresko (G700) appears 16 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G700 is aresko, a Greek word defined as: to please, Mt. 14:6; to be pleasing, acceptable, Acts 6:5; to consult the pleasure of any one, Rom. 15:1, 2, 3; 1 Cor. 10:33; to seek favor with, Gal.. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
aresko is a Greek word found in the New Testament.