"to gladden, 2 Cor. 2:2; pass. to be glad, exult, rejoice, Lk. 12:19; Acts 2:26; mid. to feast in token of joy, keep a day of rejoicing, Lk. 15:23, 24, 29, 32"
Definition and meaning
to gladden, 2 Cor. 2:2; pass. to be glad, exult, rejoice, Lk. 12:19; Acts 2:26; mid. to feast in token of joy, keep a day of rejoicing, Lk. 15:23, 24, 29, 32
In the original Greek the word is written: εὐφραίνω
Historical context
Luke wrote as a historian addressing a Greek audience. He carefully interviewed eyewitnesses and arranged events in order. The social and economic realities he describes — Roman taxation, Jewish religious hierarchy, the marginalization of women and the poor — are consistent with first-century Judea under Roman administration.
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 euphraino (G2165) across the King James Bible.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?
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Common questions
Strong's G2165 (euphraino) is a Greek word that means: to gladden, 2 Cor. 2:2; pass. to be glad, exult, rejoice, Lk. 12:19; Acts 2:26; mid. to feast in token of joy, keep a day of rejoicing, Lk. 15:23, 24, 29, 32 It appears 14 times in the King James Bible.
The word euphraino (G2165) appears 14 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G2165 is euphraino, a Greek word defined as: to gladden, 2 Cor. 2:2; pass. to be glad, exult, rejoice, Lk. 12:19; Acts 2:26; mid. to feast in token of joy, keep a day of rejoicing, Lk. 15:23, 24,. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
euphraino is a Greek word found in the New Testament.