ἀγάπ-η G0026
Love -- God's self-giving love, believers' mutual love, and (rarely) the communal love-feast of the early church.
Agape is the New Testament's signature word for love, carrying a depth and selflessness that distinguished early Christian vocabulary. It encompasses God's love for humanity (Rom 5:8; 1 John 4:8-10), believers' responsive love for God, and the 'new commandment' of mutual love among disciples (John 13:34-35). Every translation tradition renders it with its most exalted love-word: English 'love,' Spanish 'amor,' French 'amour,' German 'Liebe.' Paul's famous hymn in 1 Corinthians 13 defines agape's character. In a single passage, Jude 1:12, the word appears as a concrete plural -- the 'love-feasts' (agapai) of early Christian communal meals, where Spanish 'fiestas de amor,' French 'agapes,' and German 'Liebesmahlen' all preserve the distinct communal sense.
2. love feasts — A rare concrete plural usage (1x) denoting the communal 'love-feasts' of early Christianity -- shared meals expressing fellowship and charity. Jude 1:12 warns about false teachers who are 'hidden reefs at your love-feasts.' French 'agapes' preserves the Greek loanword directly, Spanish 'fiestas de amor' and German 'Liebesmahlen' both render the communal-meal sense explicitly. This usage provides precious evidence of early church liturgical practice, distinguishing the communal event from the theological virtue. 1×
amh["የፍቅር-ግብዣዎቻችሁ"]·AR["ولائم-محبة"]·ben["ভোজে"]·ces["hodech-lásky"]·dan["kærlighedsmåltider"]·DE["Liebesmahlen"]·ell["αγάπαις"]·EN["love-feasts"]·FR["agapes"]·guj["પ્રેમભોજનોમાં"]·hat["fèt-lanmou"]·hau["bukukuwan-ƙauna"]·heb["סעודות-אהבה"]·HI["प्रेम-भोजों-में"]·hun["szeretetvendégségeitekben"]·ID["perjamuan-kasihmu"]·IT["agapi"]·jav["pasugatan-katresnan"]·JA["愛餐"]·KO["사랑의-잔치에서"]·mar["प्रीतीभोजनांत"]·mya["ချစ်ခြင်းမေတ္တာပွဲများ"]·nld["liefdemalen"]·nor["kjærlighetsmåltider"]·pnb["محبت-دیاں-دعوتاں"]·pol["ucztach-miłości"]·PT["festas-de-amor"]·ron["agapele"]·RU["вечерях-любви"]·ES["fiestas-de-amor"]·SW["karamu-za-upendo"]·swe["kärleksmåltider"]·tam["அன்புவிருந்துகளில்"]·tel["ప్రేమవిందులలో"]·tgl["piging-ng-pag-ibig"]·TH["งานเลี้ยงแห่งความรัก"]·TR["sevgi-şölenlerinizde"]·ukr["бенкетах-любові"]·urd["محبت-کی-ضیافتوں"]·VI["bữa-tiệc-yêu-thương"]·yor["àsè-ìfẹ́"]·yue["愛筵"]·ZH["爱筵"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. of love — The overarching concept of love (115x), spanning divine love, human love for God, and mutual love among believers. This is the word behind 'God is love' (1 John 4:8), Jesus' promise that love will identify his disciples (John 13:35), and Paul's declaration that nothing can separate us from God's love (Rom 8:35-39). Multilingual evidence is strikingly uniform -- Spanish 'amor,' French 'amour,' German 'Liebe' -- reflecting how universally translators recognized agape as the definitive word for self-giving love. Matthew 24:12's warning that 'the love of many will grow cold' shows it can also describe love that fails. 115×
AR["-المَحَبَّةُ","-مَحَبَّةِ","المَحَبَّةُ","الْمَحَبَّةُ","مَحَبَّةً","مَحَبَّةٌ","مَحَبَّةٍ","مَحَبَّةَ","مَحَبَّةُ","مَحَبَّةِ","مَحَبَّتَهُ"]·ben["প্রেম","প্রেম।","প্রেমে","প্রেমে,","প্রেমের","ভালোবাসা","ভালোবাসার"]·DE["Liebe"]·EN["love"]·FR["amour"]·heb["אַהֲבַת","אַהֲבָה"]·HI["प्रेम","प्रेम-के"]·ID["Kasih","kasih","kasih."]·IT["amore"]·jav["katresnan","katresnan,","katresnan.","katresnanipun","sih-tresna","sih-tresna."]·KO["사랑","사랑-을","사랑-의","사랑-이","사랑에서","사랑은","사랑을","사랑이","사랑이라"]·PT["amor","amor."]·RU["-Бога","-Христа","-ближнему","излита","к-","любви","любовь","нелицемерная","подвизаться-вместе-со-","ходишь"]·ES["amor"]·SW["Upendo","upendo","upendo,","upendo.","wa-"]·TR["ama-","sevgi","sevgide","sevgimde","sevgisi","sevgisinde","sevgisinden","sevgisini","sevgiyle","ve-"]·urd["محبت","محبت-کو","محبت-کے","محبت-ہے","محبّت"]
Matt 24:12, Luke 11:42, John 5:42, John 13:35, John 15:9, John 15:10, John 15:10, John 15:13, John 17:26, Rom 5:5, Rom 5:8, Rom 8:35 (+38 more)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀγάπ-η, ἡ, love, LXX+2nd c.BC+ O; of the love of husband and wife, Refs 2nd c.AD+ __2 especially love of God for man and of man for God, LXX+1st c.AD+:—also brotherly love, charity, NT __II in plural, love-feast, NT __III alms, charity, Refs 4th c.AD+ __IV ἀγάπη θεῶν, title of Isis, Refs 2nd c.AD+