950. bebaioó
Lexical Summary
bebaioó: To confirm, establish, make firm, secure

Original Word: βεβαιόω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: bebaioó
Pronunciation: beh-bah-YO-oh
Phonetic Spelling: (beb-ah-yo'-o)
KJV: confirm, (e-)stablish
NASB: confirmed, confirm, established, establishes, strengthened
Word Origin: [from G949 (βέβαιος - firm)]

1. to make firm, steadfast
2. (figuratively) to confirm

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
confirm, establish.

From bebaios; to stabilitate (figuratively) -- confirm, (e-)stablish.

see GREEK bebaios

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 950 bebaióō – properly, to walk where it is solid (reliable, guaranteed); hence, make sure (fully reliable). See 949 (bebaios).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from bebaios
Definition
to confirm, secure
NASB Translation
confirm (2), confirmed (3), established (1), establishes (1), strengthened (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 950: βεβαιόω

βεβαιόω, βεβαιω; future βεβαιώσω; 1 aorist ἐβεβαιωσα; passive (present βεβαιοῦμαι); 1 aorist ἐβεβαιωθην; (βέβαιος); to make firm, establish, confirm, make sure: τόν λόγον, to prove its truth and divinity, Mark 16:20; τάς ἐπαγγελίας make good the promises by the event, i. e. fulfil them, Romans 15:8 (so also in Greek writings as Diodorus 1, 5); passive: τό μαρτύριον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, 1 Corinthians 1:6; σωτηρία ... εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐβεβαιώθη,a constructio praegnans (Winer's Grammar, § 66, 2 d.) which may be resolved into εἰς ἡμᾶς παρεδόθη καί ἐν ἡμῖν βέβαιος ἐγένετο, Hebrews 2:3 cf. Hebrews 2:2; see βέβαιος. of men made steadfast and constant in soul: Hebrews 13:9; 1 Corinthians 1:8 (βεβαιώσει ὑμᾶς ἀνεγκλήτους will so confirm you that ye may be unreprovable (Winer's Grammar, § 59, 6 at the end)); 2 Corinthians 1:21 (βεβαιῶν ἡμᾶς εἰς Χριστόν, causing us to be steadfast in our fellowship with Christ; cf. Meyer at the passage); ἐν τῇ πίστει, Colossians 2:7 (L T Tr WH omit ἐν). (In Greek writings from Thucydides and Plato down.) (Compare: διαβεβαιωμαι.)

Topical Lexicon
Canonical Scope

Strong’s 950 underlies eight passages in the Greek New Testament, clustering in the Gospels, Pauline writings, and Hebrews. In every setting the verb highlights God’s action of rendering something firm, reliable, and unassailable, thereby safeguarding the gospel, confirming covenant promises, and securing believers for persevering witness and holy living.

Foundation in God’s Covenantal Faithfulness

Romans 15:8 links the confirming work to the patriarchal promises: “For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs”. The Old Testament commitments of God never waver; they are given final, public attestation in Jesus Christ. The verb underscores that the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants are not merely honored but rendered incontestable in the incarnate Son.

Christ, the Divine Confirmer

2 Corinthians 1:21–22 places the verb at the center of Trinitarian salvation: “Now it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge”. The confirming activity is both Christocentric and relational—believers are stabilized “with you,” knitting Paul, his co-workers, and the Corinthian church into a single Spirit-sealed fellowship.

1 Corinthians 1:6 and 1:8 present an eschatological horizon. The testimony concerning Christ “was confirmed in you” (1:6), and on the Last Day Christ Himself “will sustain you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:8). The initial establishment of the gospel in the church and its ultimate vindication before the judgment seat form one unbroken continuum.

Apostolic Authentication

Mark 16:20 shows the original missionary setting: “And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it”. Hebrews 2:3 echoes the same principle—salvation “was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.” Divine confirmation validates apostolic proclamation through signs, wonders, and Spirit-empowered witness, leaving hearers without excuse.

Stability in Christian Discipleship

Colossians 2:7 exhorts believers to continue “rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness”. Here the verb describes the day-to-day fortifying of the believer’s walk, grounding head and heart in a tradition received from faithful teachers.

Hebrews 13:9 warns, “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. For it is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace”. The variant renderings “confirmed” or “strengthened” indicate that God’s grace, not speculative doctrines, secures the inner life.

The Holy Spirit’s Sealing Work

Three passages (2 Corinthians 1:21, Romans 15:8, Colossians 2:7) frame confirmation as the Spirit’s seal. The Spirit applies the objective work of Christ to subjective assurance, engraving divine ownership and enabling persevering obedience.

Historical Reception

Early Church writers drew pastoral lines from these texts. Irenaeus argued that post-apostolic miracles continued to confirm the same gospel preached by the apostles (Against Heresies 2.32.4). Tertullian cited Hebrews 2:3 against Montanist critics, asserting that authentic prophecy maintains continuity with the message once “confirmed” by apostolic witnesses. Augustine applied 1 Corinthians 1:8 to the doctrine of perseverance, contending that the same God who elects also confirms believers until the end.

Doctrinal and Practical Implications

1. Assurance: God Himself guarantees the believer’s standing; subjective feelings yield to objective confirmation in Christ.
2. Orthodoxy: The gospel is not evolving speculation but a settled deposit, confirmed in history and scripture.
3. Mission: Evangelism relies on divine authentication, whether through signs, transformed lives, or Spirit-empowered proclamation.
4. Perseverance: Final salvation is rooted in the same confirming grace that inaugurated faith, encouraging steadfastness amid trials.
5. Discernment: Novel teachings must be weighed against the once-for-all confirmed apostolic message.

In sum, Strong’s 950 traces a golden thread from patriarchal promise to eschatological fulfillment. The God who binds Himself by oath is the God who, in Christ and by the Spirit, irrevocably confirms His word, His servants, and His people.

Forms and Transliterations
βεβαιουμενοι βεβαιούμενοι βεβαιουντος βεβαιούντος βεβαιοῦντος βεβαιουσθαι βεβαιούσθαι βεβαιοῦσθαι βεβαιων βεβαιών βεβαιῶν βεβαίως βεβαιωσαι βεβαιώσαι βεβαιῶσαι βεβαιωσει βεβαιώσει βεβαίωσόν εβεβαιωθη εβεβαιώθη ἐβεβαιώθη εβεβαίωσάς bebaion bebaiôn bebaiōn bebaiō̂n bebaiosai bebaiôsai bebaiōsai bebaiō̂sai bebaiosei bebaiōsei bebaiṓsei bebaioumenoi bebaioúmenoi bebaiountos bebaioûntos bebaiousthai bebaioûsthai ebebaiothe ebebaiōthē ebebaiṓthe ebebaiṓthē
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Englishman's Concordance
Mark 16:20 V-PPA-GMS
GRK: τὸν λόγον βεβαιοῦντος διὰ τῶν
NAS: worked with them, and confirmed the word
KJV: [them], and confirming the word
INT: the word confirming by the

Romans 15:8 V-ANA
GRK: εἰς τὸ βεβαιῶσαι τὰς ἐπαγγελίας
NAS: of God to confirm the promises
KJV: to confirm the promises
INT: in order to confirm the promises

1 Corinthians 1:6 V-AIP-3S
GRK: τοῦ χριστοῦ ἐβεβαιώθη ἐν ὑμῖν
NAS: concerning Christ was confirmed in you,
KJV: of Christ was confirmed in
INT: of the Christ was confirmed in you

1 Corinthians 1:8 V-FIA-3S
GRK: ὃς καὶ βεβαιώσει ὑμᾶς ἕως
NAS: will also confirm you to the end,
KJV: shall also confirm you unto
INT: who also will confirm you to [the]

2 Corinthians 1:21 V-PPA-NMS
GRK: ὁ δὲ βεβαιῶν ἡμᾶς σὺν
NAS: Now He who establishes us with you in Christ
KJV: Now he which stablisheth us with
INT: he who moreover establishes us with

Colossians 2:7 V-PPM/P-NMP
GRK: αὐτῷ καὶ βεβαιούμενοι τῇ πίστει
NAS: [and now] being built up in Him and established in your faith,
KJV: him, and stablished in the faith,
INT: him and being strengthened in the faith

Hebrews 2:3 V-AIP-3S
GRK: εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐβεβαιώθη
NAS: the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those
KJV: by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us
INT: to us it was confirmed

Hebrews 13:9 V-PNM/P
GRK: γὰρ χάριτι βεβαιοῦσθαι τὴν καρδίαν
NAS: for the heart to be strengthened by grace,
KJV: that the heart be established with grace;
INT: indeed with grace to be confirmed the heart

Strong's Greek 950
8 Occurrences


βεβαιῶν — 1 Occ.
βεβαιῶσαι — 1 Occ.
βεβαιώσει — 1 Occ.
βεβαιούμενοι — 1 Occ.
βεβαιοῦντος — 1 Occ.
βεβαιοῦσθαι — 1 Occ.
ἐβεβαιώθη — 2 Occ.

949
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