703. areté
Lexical Summary
areté: Virtue, excellence, moral goodness

Original Word: ἀρετή
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: areté
Pronunciation: ah-reh-TAY
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-et'-ay)
KJV: praise, virtue
NASB: excellence, moral excellence, excellencies
Word Origin: [probably from G142 (αἴρω - take), by way of G730 (ἄρῥην - Male)]

1. (properly) manliness (valor), i.e. excellence (intrinsic or attributed)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
praise, virtue.

From the same as arrhen; properly, manliness (valor), i.e. Excellence (intrinsic or attributed) -- praise, virtue.

see GREEK arrhen

HELPS Word-studies

703 arétē – properly, virtue ("moral excellence") which is displayed to enrich life.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of uncertain origin
Definition
moral goodness, i.e. virtue
NASB Translation
excellence (2), excellencies (1), moral excellence (2).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 703: ἀρετή

ἀρετή, ἀρετῆς, (see ἄρα at the beginning), a word of very wide signification in Greek writings; any excellence of a person (in body or mind) or of a thing, an eminent endowment, property or quality. Used of the human mind and in an ethical sense, it denotes:

1. a virtuous course of thought, feeling and action; virtue, moral goodness (Wis. 4:1 Wis. 5:13; often in 4 Macc. and in Greek writings): 2 Peter 1:5 (others take it here specifically, viz. moral vigor; cf. next entry).

2. any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity; hence (plural αἱ ἀρεταί, Wis. 8:7; often in 4 Macc. and in the Greek philosophers) τίς ἀρετή, Philippians 4:8. Used of God, it denotes a. his power: 2 Peter 1:3.

b. in the plural his excellences, perfections, 'which shine forth in our gratuitous calling and in the whole work of our salvation' (John Gerhard): 1 Peter 2:9. (In the Sept. for הוד splendor, glory, Habakkuk 3:3, of God; Zechariah 6:13, of the Messiah; in plural for תְּהִלּות praises, of God, Isaiah 43:21; Isaiah 42:12; Isaiah 63:7.)

Topical Lexicon
Word Overview

Strong’s Greek 703 refers to the moral and spiritual excellence that both belongs to God and is cultivated in believers. While rare in the New Testament, its five appearances form a carefully placed thread, weaving divine character into Christian conduct and community witness.

Distribution of the Word

1 Peter 2:9; Philippians 4:8; 2 Peter 1:3; 2 Peter 1:5 (twice). Each occurrence either attributes excellence to God or urges believers to embody it, showing inseparable union between God’s nature and the Christian’s calling.

God’s Excellence Proclaimed (1 Peter 2:9)

Peter assigns “virtues” to God Himself: “that you may proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”. The Church’s first evangelistic duty is doxological—the declaration of God’s excellencies. Evangelism, therefore, is not merely information transfer but celebration of divine moral splendor.

Excellence as a Christian Mind-Set (Philippians 4:8)

Paul directs believers to fill their thoughts with whatever is “excellent.” Here the word functions as a mental filter, safeguarding holiness by focusing the heart on qualities congruent with God’s own character. This protects against both apathy and moral compromise in a pagan society.

Excellence Granted and Demanded (2 Peter 1:3-5)

Peter presents a two-sided truth:
2 Peter 1:3—God “called us by His own glory and excellence,” thus excellence is a divine gift wrapped in the calling itself.
2 Peter 1:5—Believers are to “add to your faith virtue,” making excellence the first step in a growth sequence toward love. The repetition (once in the dative, once in the accusative) underscores both possession and pursuit—what is received must be developed.

Old Testament and Greco-Roman Echoes

The Septuagint uses related terms for valor and praise (e.g., Judges 5:10; Isaiah 42:8), linking excellence with heroic deeds and divine honor. In the wider Greco-Roman world, ἀρετή was the summit of civic and philosophical ideals. The New Testament transforms this cultural aspiration by rooting it in God’s nature and empowering it through the Spirit.

Doctrinal Significance

1. Revelation of God: His excellence is not abstract; it is historically displayed in redemptive acts culminating in Christ.
2. Sanctification: Excellence leads Peter’s list of virtues because moral beauty is foundational; spiritual growth begins with the earnest pursuit of Christ-like quality.
3. Apologetics: A life marked by excellence validates the gospel before a watching world (compare 1 Peter 2:12).

Practical Ministry Applications

• Preaching: Proclaim God’s excellencies to foster worship-driven mission.
• Discipleship: Establish “virtue” as the first benchmark in spiritual formation curricula.
• Counseling: Direct counselees to Philippians 4:8 meditation as a strategic tool against anxiety and moral temptation.
• Leadership: Model excellence in character and administration; it flows from communion with the Excellent One, not from mere competence.

Historical Reception

Early church fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria, invoked ἀρετή to challenge believers toward moral earnestness amid persecution. Reformers stressed its inseparability from faith, countering antinomian tendencies. Contemporary evangelical scholarship likewise sees in 703 a synthesis of doctrinal orthodoxy and ethical obedience.

Key Cross References for Study

Proverbs 31:10-31; Isaiah 42:12 (LXX); Titus 2:7; Hebrews 13:18; 1 Peter 2:12.

Summary

Strong’s Greek 703 encapsulates the radiant moral quality inherent in God and imparted to His people. Its brief New Testament footprint leaves a lasting mandate: receive divine excellence, rehearse it in worship, and reproduce it in daily life so that the praises of God resound and the watching world sees His light.

Forms and Transliterations
αρετας αρετάς ἀρετὰς αρετη αρετή ἀρετὴ ἀρετῇ αρετην αρετήν ἀρετήν αρετης αρετής ἀρετῆς aretas aretàs arete aretē aretḕ aretêi aretē̂i areten aretēn aretḗn
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Philippians 4:8 N-NFS
GRK: εἴ τις ἀρετὴ καὶ εἴ
NAS: there is any excellence and if
KJV: if [there be] any virtue, and
INT: if any excellence and if

1 Peter 2:9 N-AFP
GRK: ὅπως τὰς ἀρετὰς ἐξαγγείλητε τοῦ
NAS: that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called
KJV: ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called
INT: that the virtues you might set forth of the [one]

2 Peter 1:3 N-GFS
GRK: δόξῃ καὶ ἀρετῇ
NAS: us by His own glory and excellence.
KJV: glory and virtue:
INT: glory and excellence

2 Peter 1:5 N-AFS
GRK: ὑμῶν τὴν ἀρετήν ἐν δὲ
NAS: supply moral excellence, and in [your] moral excellence,
KJV: your faith virtue; and to
INT: of you the virtue in moreover

2 Peter 1:5 N-DFS
GRK: δὲ τῇ ἀρετῇ τὴν γνῶσιν
NAS: moral excellence, and in [your] moral excellence, knowledge,
KJV: and to virtue knowledge;
INT: moreover the virtue the knowledge

Strong's Greek 703
5 Occurrences


ἀρετὰς — 1 Occ.
ἀρετὴ — 3 Occ.
ἀρετήν — 1 Occ.

702
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