"a call, calling, invitation; in NT the call or invitation to the privileges of the Gospel, Rom. 11:29; Eph. 1:18; the favor and privilege of the invitation, 2 Thess. 1:11; 2 Pet. 1:10; the temporal condition in which the call found a person, 1 Cor. 1:26; 7:20"
Definition and meaning
a call, calling, invitation; in NT the call or invitation to the privileges of the Gospel, Rom. 11:29; Eph. 1:18; the favor and privilege of the invitation, 2 Thess. 1:11; 2 Pet. 1:10; the temporal condition in which the call found a person, 1 Cor. 1:26; 7:20
In the original Greek the word is written: κλῆσις
Historical context
Paul wrote Romans from Corinth, one of the most important commercial cities in the empire. Rome had a Jewish population of around 50,000. The letter addresses real tensions between Jewish believers with centuries of Torah tradition and Gentile believers with no such background. Emperor Nero was on the throne. Within ten years he would execute both Paul and Peter.
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 klesis (G2821) across the King James Bible.
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
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Common questions
Strong's G2821 (klesis) is a Greek word that means: a call, calling, invitation; in NT the call or invitation to the privileges of the Gospel, Rom. 11:29; Eph. 1:18; the favor and privilege of the invitation, 2 Thess. 1:11; 2 Pet. 1:10; the temporal co... It appears 11 times in the King James Bible.
The word klesis (G2821) appears 11 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G2821 is klesis, a Greek word defined as: a call, calling, invitation; in NT the call or invitation to the privileges of the Gospel, Rom. 11:29; Eph. 1:18; the favor and privilege of the invit. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
klesis is a Greek word found in the New Testament.