"to lie near, be adjacent; met. to be at hand, be present, Rom. 7:18, 21*"
Definition and meaning
to lie near, be adjacent; met. to be at hand, be present, Rom. 7:18, 21*
In the original Greek the word is written: παράκειμαι
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 parakeimai (G3873) across the King James Bible.
For I know that in me(that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
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Common questions
Strong's G3873 (parakeimai) is a Greek word that means: to lie near, be adjacent; met. to be at hand, be present, Rom. 7:18, 21* It appears 2 times in the King James Bible.
The word parakeimai (G3873) appears 2 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G3873 is parakeimai, a Greek word defined as: to lie near, be adjacent; met. to be at hand, be present, Rom. 7:18, 21*. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
parakeimai is a Greek word found in the New Testament.