2540. kairos
Strong's Lexicon
kairos: Time, season, opportunity

Original Word: καιρός
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: kairos
Pronunciation: kah-ee-ROS
Phonetic Spelling: (kahee-ros')
Definition: Time, season, opportunity
Meaning: fitting season, season, opportunity, occasion, time.

Word Origin: Derived from the primary Greek verb κεῖμαι (keimai), meaning "to lie outstretched" or "to be set."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: - H6256 עֵת (eth) – time, season

- H4150 מוֹעֵד (moed) – appointed time, place, or meeting

Usage: In the New Testament, "kairos" refers to a specific, appointed time or season, often implying a divinely ordained moment or opportunity. Unlike "chronos," which denotes chronological or sequential time, "kairos" signifies a moment of significance or a period marked by a particular characteristic. It is used to describe times of fulfillment, opportunity, or crisis.

Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Greek culture, "kairos" was associated with the right or opportune moment. It was often depicted as a fleeting, decisive moment that required action. In the biblical context, "kairos" is used to convey God's timing and the importance of recognizing and responding to His divine appointments. The concept underscores the belief that God orchestrates events in human history according to His sovereign plan.

HELPS Word-studies

2540 kairóstime as opportunity. 2540 /kairós ("opportune time") is derived from kara ("head") referring to things "coming to a head" to take full-advantage of. 2540 (kairós) is "the suitable time, the right moment (e.g. Soph., El. 1292), a favorable moment" (DNTT, 3, 833).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. word
Definition
time, season
NASB Translation
age (1), epochs (2), occasion (1), opportune time (1), opportunity (3), proper time (5), right time (1), season (1), seasons (4), short* (1), time (54), times (11), while (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2540: καιρός

καιρός, καιροῦ, (derived by some from κάρα or κάρη, τό, the head, summit (others besides; cf. Vanicek, p. 118)); the Sept. for עֵת and מועֵד; in Greek writings (from Hesiod down):

1. due measure; nowhere so in the Biblical writings.

2. a measure of time; a larger or smaller portion of time; hence,

a. universally, a fixed and definite time: Romans 13:11; 2 Corinthians 6:2; ὕστεροι καιροί, 1 Timothy 4:1; ἄχρι καιροῦ, up to a certain time, for a season, Luke 4:13 (but in ἄχρι, 1 b. referred apparently to b. below; cf. Fritzsche, Romans, i., p. 309f); Acts 13:11; πρός καιρόν, for a certain time only, for a season, Luke 8:13; 1 Corinthians 7:5; πρός καιρόν ὥρας, for the season of an hour, i. e. for a short season, 1 Thessalonians 2:17; κατά καιρόν, at certain seasons (from time to time), John 5:4 (R G L); at the (divinely) appointed time, Romans 5:6 (others bring this under b.); before the time appointed, Matthew 8:29; 1 Corinthians 4:5; ἔσται καιρός, ὅτε etc. 2 Timothy 4:3; ὀλίγον καιρόν ἔχει, a short time (in which to exercise his power) has been granted him, Revelation 12:12; ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ καιρῷ, Matthew 11:25; Matthew 12:1; Matthew 14:1; Ephesians 2:12; κατ' ἐκεῖνον τῷ καιρῷ, Acts 12:1; Acts 19:23; κατά τῷ καιρῷ τοῦτον, Romans 9:9; ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ Luke 13:1; ἐν καιρῷ, Acts 7:20; ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ, Romans 3:26; Romans 11:5; 2 Corinthians 8:14 (13); ἐν παντί καιρῷ always, at every season (Aristotle, top. 3, 2, 4, p. 117{a}, 35), Luke 21:36; Ephesians 6:18; εἰς τινα καιρόν, 1 Peter 1:11. with the genitive of a thing, the time of etc. i. e. at which it will occur: τῆς ἐμῆς ἀναλύσεώς, 2 Timothy 4:6; τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς, 1 Peter 5:6 Lachmann; Luke 19:44; περιασμου, Luke 8:13; τοῦ ἄρξασθαι τό κρίμα, for judgment to begin, 1 Peter 4:17; καιροί τῶν λόγων, of the time when they shall be proved by the event, Luke 1:20; — or when a thing usually comes to pass: τοῦ θερισμοῦ, Matthew 13:30; τῶν καρπῶν, when the fruits ripen, Matthew 21:34, 41; σύκων, Mark 11:13. with the genitive of a person: καιποι ἐθνῶν, the time granted to the Gentiles, until God shall take vengeance on them, Luke 21:24; ἑαυτοῦ (T Tr WH αὐτοῦ) καιρῷ, the time when antichrist shall show himself openly, 2 Thessalonians 2:6; καιρός μου, the time appointed for my death, Matthew 26:18; τῶν νεκρῶν κριθῆναι, the time appointed for the dead to be recalled to life and judged, Revelation 11:18 (Buttmann, 260 (224)); ἐμός, ὑμέτερος, the time for appearing in public, appointed (by God) for me, for you, John 7:6, 8; καιρῷ ἰδίῳ, the time suited to the thing under consideration, at its proper time, Galatians 6:9; plural, 1 Timothy 2:6; 1 Timothy 6:15; Titus 1:3. καιρός alone, the time when things are brought to a crisis, the decisive epoch waited for: so of the time when the Messiah will visibly return from heaven, Mark 13:33; καιρός ἤγγικεν, Luke 21:8; ἐγγύς ἐστιν, Revelation 1:3; Revelation 22:10.

b. opportune or seasonable time: with verbs suggestive of the idea of advantage, καιρόν μεταλαμβάνειν, Acts 24:25; ἔχειν, Galatians 6:10 (Plutarch, Luc. 16); ἐξαγοράζεσθαι, Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5, see ἐξαγοράζω, 2; followed by an infinitive, opportunity to do something, Hebrews 11:15; παρά καιρόν ἡλικίας, past the opportunity of life (A. V. past age), Hebrews 11:11 (simply παρά καιρόν, Pindar Ol. 8, 32; several times in Plato, cf. Ast, Platonic Lexicon, ii., p. 126).

c. the right time: ἐν καιρῷ (often in classical Greek), in due season, Matthew 24:45; Luke 12:42; Luke 20:10 R G L ((stereotype edition only)); 1 Peter 5:6; also καιρῷ, Luke 20:10 L T Tr WH; τό καιρῷ, Mark 12:2.

d. a (limited) period of time: (1 Corinthians 7:29); plural the periods prescribed by God to the nations, and bounded by their rise and fall, Acts 17:26; καιροί καρποφοροι, the seasons of the year in which the fruits grow and ripen, Acts 14:17 (cf. Genesis 1:14, the Sept.); καιρόν καί καιρούς καί ἥμισυ καιροῦ, a year and two years and six months (A. V. a time, and times, and half a time; cf. Winer's Grammar, § 27, 4), Revelation 12:14 (cf. 6; from Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7); stated seasons of the year solemnly kept by the Jews, and comprising several days, as the passover, pentecost, feast of tabernacles, Galatians 4:10 (2 Chronicles 8:13; cf. Baruch 1:14). in the divine arrangement of time adjusted to the economy of salvation: καιρός (πεπλήρωται), the preappointed period which according to the purpose of God must elapse before the divine kingdom could be founded by Christ, Mark 1:15; plural, the several parts of this period, Ephesians 1:10; καιρός ἐνεστως, the present period, equivalent to αἰών οὗτος (see αἰών, 3), Hebrews 9:9, opposed to καιρός διορθώσεως, the time when the whole order of things will be reformed (equivalent to αἰών μέλλων), Hebrews 9:10; καιρός οὗτος, equivalent to αἰών οὗτος (see αἰών, 3), Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30; νῦν καιρός, Romans 8:18; ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ, the last period of the present age, the time just before the return of Christ from heaven (see ἔσχατος, 1 under the end, etc.), 1 Peter 1:5; καιροί ἀναψύξεως ἀπό προσώπου τοῦ κυρίου, denotes the time from the return of Christ on, the times of the consummated divine kingdom, Acts 3:20 (19).

e. as often in Greek writings, and like the Latintempus, καιρός; is equivalent to what time brings, the state of the times, the things and events of time: Luke 12:56; δουλεύειν τῷ καιρῷ, Latintempori servire (see δουλεύω, 2 a.), Romans 12:11 Rec.st; τά σημεῖα τῶν καιρῶν, equivalent to οἱ καιροί σημαινουσι, Matthew 16:3 (here T brackets WH reject the passage); καιροί χαλεποί, 2 Timothy 3:1; χρονοι καιροί (times or seasons, German Zeitumstände), Acts 1:7; οἱ χρονοι καί οἱ καιροί 1 Thessalonians 5:1; and in the opposite order, Daniel 2:21 the Sept.; Wis. 8:8. [SYNONYMS: καιρός, χρόνος: χρόνος time, in general; καιρός a definitely limited portion of time, with the added notion of suitableness. Yet while, on the one hand, its meaning may be so sharply marked as to permit such a combination as χρόνου καιρός 'the nick of time,' on the other, its distinctive sense may so far recede as to allow it to be used as nearly equivalent to χρόνος; cf. Thomas Magister, Ritschl edition, p. 206, 15ff (after Ammonius under the word); p. 215, 10ff καιρός οὐ μόνον ἐπί χρόνου ἁπλῶς τίθεται, ἀλλά καί ἐπί τοῦ ἁρμοδιου καί πρεποντος, κτλ.; Schmidt, chapter 44; Trench, § lvii.; Tittmann i. 41ff; Cope on Aristotle, rhet. l, 7, 32. "In modern Greek καιρός means weather, χρόνος year. In both words the kernel of meaning has remained unaltered; this in the case of καιρός is changeableness, of χρόνος duration." Curtius, Etym., p. 110f]

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
appointed time

Of uncertain affinity; an occasion, i.e. Set or proper time -- X always, opportunity, (convenient, due) season, (due, short, while) time, a while. Compare chronos.

see GREEK chronos

Forms and Transliterations
καιροι καιροί καιροὶ καιροις καιροίς καιροῖς καιρον καιρόν καιρὸν καιρος καιρός καιρὸς καιρου καιρού καιροῦ καιρους καιρούς καιροὺς καιρω καιρώ καιρῷ καιρων καιρών καιρῶν kairo kairō kairoi kairoì kairôi kairō̂i kairois kairoîs kairon kairón kairòn kairôn kairōn kairō̂n kairos kairós kairòs kairou kairoû kairous kairoùs
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Englishman's Concordance
Matthew 8:29 N-GMS
GRK: ὧδε πρὸ καιροῦ βασανίσαι ἡμᾶς
NAS: to torment us before the time?
KJV: us before the time?
INT: here before [the] time to torment us

Matthew 11:25 N-DMS
GRK: ἐκείνῳ τῷ καιρῷ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ
NAS: At that time Jesus said,
KJV: At that time Jesus answered
INT: that time having answered

Matthew 12:1 N-DMS
GRK: ἐκείνῳ τῷ καιρῷ ἐπορεύθη ὁ
NAS: At that time Jesus went
KJV: At that time Jesus went
INT: that time went

Matthew 13:30 N-DMS
GRK: καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τοῦ θερισμοῦ
NAS: the harvest; and in the time of the harvest
KJV: and in the time of harvest I will say
INT: and in the time of the harvest

Matthew 14:1 N-DMS
GRK: ἐκείνῳ τῷ καιρῷ ἤκουσεν Ἡρῴδης
NAS: At that time Herod the tetrarch
KJV: At that time Herod the tetrarch
INT: that the time heard Herod

Matthew 16:3 N-GMP
GRK: σημεῖα τῶν καιρῶν οὐ δύνασθε
NAS: [discern] the signs of the times?
KJV: not [discern] the signs of the times?
INT: [the] signs of the times not you are able

Matthew 21:34 N-NMS
GRK: ἤγγισεν ὁ καιρὸς τῶν καρπῶν
NAS: the harvest time approached,
KJV: when the time of the fruit
INT: drew near the season of the fruits

Matthew 21:41 N-DMP
GRK: ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς αὐτῶν
NAS: him the proceeds at the [proper] seasons.
KJV: in their seasons.
INT: in the seasons of them

Matthew 24:45 N-DMS
GRK: τροφὴν ἐν καιρῷ
NAS: them their food at the proper time?
KJV: meat in due season?
INT: food in season

Matthew 26:18 N-NMS
GRK: λέγει Ὁ καιρός μου ἐγγύς
NAS: says, My time is near;
KJV: saith, My time is at hand;
INT: says the time of me near

Mark 1:15 N-NMS
GRK: Πεπλήρωται ὁ καιρὸς καὶ ἤγγικεν
NAS: and saying, The time is fulfilled,
KJV: saying, The time is fulfilled, and
INT: Has been fulfilled the time and has drawn near

Mark 10:30 N-DMS
GRK: ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τούτῳ οἰκίας
NAS: in the present age, houses
KJV: in this time, houses, and
INT: in the time this houses

Mark 11:13 N-NMS
GRK: ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς οὐκ ἦν
NAS: but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
KJV: leaves; for the time of figs was
INT: the indeed season not it was

Mark 12:2 N-DMS
GRK: γεωργοὺς τῷ καιρῷ δοῦλον ἵνα
NAS: At the [harvest] time he sent a slave
KJV: And at the season he sent to
INT: tenants at the season a servant that

Mark 13:33 N-NMS
GRK: πότε ὁ καιρός ἐστιν
NAS: when the [appointed] time will come.
KJV: not when the time is.
INT: when the time is

Luke 1:20 N-AMS
GRK: εἰς τὸν καιρὸν αὐτῶν
NAS: will be fulfilled in their proper time.
KJV: in their season.
INT: in the season of them

Luke 4:13 N-GMS
GRK: αὐτοῦ ἄχρι καιροῦ
NAS: he left Him until an opportune time.
KJV: him for a season.
INT: him until opportune time

Luke 8:13 N-AMS
GRK: οἳ πρὸς καιρὸν πιστεύουσιν καὶ
NAS: they believe for a while, and in time
KJV: which for a while believe, and
INT: who for a time believe and

Luke 8:13 N-DMS
GRK: καὶ ἐν καιρῷ πειρασμοῦ ἀφίστανται
NAS: for a while, and in time of temptation
KJV: and in time of temptation fall away.
INT: and in time of testing fall away

Luke 12:42 N-DMS
GRK: διδόναι ἐν καιρῷ τὸ σιτομέτριον
NAS: them their rations at the proper time?
KJV: in due season?
INT: to give in season the measure of food

Luke 12:56 N-AMS
GRK: δοκιμάζειν τὸν καιρὸν δὲ τοῦτον
NAS: do you not analyze this present time?
KJV: discern this time?
INT: to discern the time moreover this

Luke 13:1 N-DMS
GRK: αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ ἀπαγγέλλοντες αὐτῷ
NAS: on the same occasion there were some
INT: the same time telling him

Luke 18:30 N-DMS
GRK: ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τούτῳ καὶ
NAS: at this time and in the age
KJV: in this present time, and in
INT: in the time this and

Luke 19:44 N-AMS
GRK: ἔγνως τὸν καιρὸν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς
NAS: you did not recognize the time of your visitation.
KJV: not the time of thy
INT: you knew the season the of visitation

Luke 20:10 N-DMS
GRK: καὶ καιρῷ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς
NAS: At the [harvest] time he sent a slave
KJV: And at the season he sent a servant
INT: And [in the] season he sent to

Strong's Greek 2540
86 Occurrences


καιρῷ — 24 Occ.
καιρῶν — 3 Occ.
καιροὶ — 3 Occ.
καιροῖς — 5 Occ.
καιρὸν — 22 Occ.
καιρὸς — 17 Occ.
καιροῦ — 7 Occ.
καιροὺς — 5 Occ.















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