Lexical Summary se: you (singular) Original Word: σέ Strong's Exhaustive Concordance youAccusative case singular of su; thee -- thee, thou, X thy house. see GREEK su NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originacc. sing. of su, q.v. Topical Lexicon Form and Function σέ is the accented accusative singular of the second-person pronoun. The accent marks it as emphatic, drawing focused attention to the person addressed. While the unaccented form σε appears hundreds of times across the New Testament, the accented σέ itself is not recorded in the extant New Testament text. Its meaning is identical—“you” as direct object—but the accent signals verbal stress, the equivalent of saying “you in particular” or “you yourself.” Biblical Context Because the New Testament manuscripts do not exhibit the accented form, σέ must be studied primarily through: 1. The ubiquitous unaccented σε in the New Testament, whose syntactic role mirrors σέ; and Emphatic Nuance Koine speakers could heighten personal address by adding an accent to otherwise enclitic pronouns. When a psalmist exclaims, “In You I trust,” the accented σέ makes God the unmistakable object of dependence. The Gospel writers achieve the same emphasis by relocating σε to the beginning of a clause or by pairing it with particles such as σὺ (nominative emphatic). In practical exegesis, an emphatic object pronoun alerts the reader to a relational or theological spotlight. Linguistic and Textual Considerations Accents were added to manuscripts centuries after the autographs. An early copyist hearing the text read aloud might have recognized auditory stress and chosen to write σε without an accent; a later scribe, aware of the same stress, could write σέ. Thus the absence of σέ in the New Testament reflects scribal convention, not a different spoken usage. Septuagint Usage The LXX, the Bible of the early Church, contains many clear examples. A few representative passages in Berean Standard Bible wording: These occurrences make the personal dimension of worship unmistakable: God is not an abstract force but the One to whom individuals speak directly. Theological Significance 1. Covenant Relationship: Emphatic address underscores the personal bonds promised in Scripture—“I will be their God, and they will be My people.” Pastoral Application • Prayer: Accented σέ encourages believers to pray with specificity—naming God as “You” rather than speaking about Him in the third person. Relation to Other Pronouns σέ belongs to a family that includes: Each case supplies a different relational angle—identity, possession, benefit—while σέ focuses on direct action toward the person addressed. Conclusion Though σέ does not appear in the printed New Testament text, its emphatic force permeates Scripture through the unaccented σε and through countless LXX passages familiar to the apostles. Recognizing this nuance strengthens exegesis, underscores the personal nature of God’s dealings with His people, and enriches both private devotion and public ministry. Forms and Transliterations σε σέ σὲ se sé sèLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance σάτα — 2 Occ.Σαύλῳ — 1 Occ. Σαῦλον — 4 Occ. Σαῦλος — 8 Occ. Σαύλου — 2 Occ. ἔσβεσαν — 1 Occ. σβέννυνται — 1 Occ. σβέννυται — 3 Occ. σβέννυτε — 1 Occ. σβέσαι — 1 Occ. σεαυτῷ — 5 Occ. σεαυτὸν — 33 Occ. σεαυτοῦ — 5 Occ. ἐσεβάσθησαν — 1 Occ. σέβασμα — 1 Occ. σεβάσματα — 1 Occ. Σεβαστῆς — 1 Occ. Σεβαστὸν — 1 Occ. Σεβαστοῦ — 1 Occ. σέβεσθαι — 1 Occ. |
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