ἀνήρ G0435
Man, adult male; a man as opposed to woman, a husband in relation to his wife, or generically a human person.
Aner is the Greek word for 'man' in the specifically male sense, as distinct from anthropos which means 'human being' regardless of sex. The New Testament uses it overwhelmingly to address or describe adult males — Peter's Pentecost sermon opens andres Israelitai, 'Men of Israel' (Acts 2:22), and Luke peppers his narrative with andres plus an ethnic or civic label as a formal mode of address. The word's second life as 'husband' emerges naturally from the same semantic root, particularly in Paul's household codes (Eph 5:22-25) and discussions of marriage law (Rom 7:2-3). Korean distinguishes neatly between namja (남자, 'male person') and nampyeon (남편, 'husband'), confirming these as genuine sense divisions rather than contextual shading. The rare generic-person usage at James 1:20 shows the word at the boundary of its semantic range.
1. man, male person — An adult male human being, a man as distinguished from a woman or child — the dominant sense at 202 occurrences. Used in direct address (andres adelphoi, 'men and brothers,' Acts 1:16), narrative description (Luke 5:8, 'Simon Peter, a sinful man'), and general reference to male persons. Spanish varon/hombre, Arabic rajul, Korean namja (남자), and Swahili mtu (with masculine context) all consistently select male-specific vocabulary. The vocative form aner is particularly common in Luke-Acts as a formal rhetorical address to male audiences. This sense includes both individual reference and collective address to groups of men. 202×
AR["رَجُلاً","رَجُلًا","رَجُلٌ","رَجُلٍ","رَجُلُ","رَجُلِ"]·ben["এক-পুরুষ","একজন-পুরুষ","পুরুষ","পুরুষের","মানুষটিকে","ἀνὴρ-পুরুষ"]·DE["Mann"]·EN["a-man","man"]·FR["homme"]·heb["אִישׁ"]·HI["-परमेश्वर","छोड़े-जाने","पुरुष","पुरुष,","पुरुष-के","पुरुष-से","मनुष्य"]·ID["Seorang","itu","laki-laki","laki-laki,","orang","seorang","seorang,","seorang-laki-laki","seorang-laki-laki,"]·IT["uomo"]·jav["Tiyang-jaler","priya","priya,","tiyang","tiyang-jaler","tiyang-kakung","tiyang-kakung,","tiyang-priya"]·KO["남자","남자-를","남자가","사람","사람-을","사람-이","사람에게","사람으로","사람의","사람이"]·PT["homem","um-homem","varão,"]·RU["Муж","Муж-","муж","муж,","мужа","мужа,","мужем","человеку"]·ES["Varón","hombre","varón"]·SW["Mtu","mimi","mtu","mwanaume"]·TR["adam","adama","bir-adam"]·urd["آدمی","آدمی،","بھرا","مجھ","مرد"]
Mark 6:20, Luke 1:34, Luke 5:8, Luke 5:12, Luke 6:8, Luke 8:27, Luke 8:38, Luke 8:41, Luke 9:38, Luke 19:2, Luke 19:7, Luke 23:50 (+38 more)
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
2. husband, married man — Husband, a married man in relation to his wife — 13 occurrences concentrated in the Epistles and John. Paul's marriage theology in Ephesians 5:22-25 and Romans 7:2-3 depends on aner as 'husband,' and the Samaritan woman's dialogue with Jesus turns on 'you have had five husbands' (John 4:17-18). Spanish marido/esposo, Korean nampyeon (남편), and Arabic zauj all select dedicated spousal vocabulary distinct from generic 'man,' and French mari versus homme confirms the lexical boundary. The shift from 'male person' to 'husband' is triggered by relational context — the presence of gyne ('wife/woman') in the immediate discourse. 13×
AR["-أَزواجِهِنَّ","أَزواجِهِنَّ","الأَزواجُ","الأَزواجِ","الخاصّينَ","زَوْجٌ","لِرَجُلٍ","لِرَجُلِها","واحِدٍ"]·ben["পুরুষের-কাছে","পুরুষের-সাথে","স্বামী","স্বামীদের","স্বামীর","স্বামীর-জন্য","স্বামীরা"]·DE["Mann"]·EN["Husband","husband","husbands","to-husband"]·FR["homme"]·heb["אֲנָשִׁים","אִישָׁהּ","אִישׁ","אִשָּׁה","אֶחָד","בַּעֲלִים","בַּעֲלֵיהֶן","בַּעֲלֵיהֶן,","הַבְּעָלִים","לְ-אִישׁ"]·HI["पति","पति-कि","पति-की","पति-के-लिए","पतियो","पतियों-के","पतियोन","पतियोन,","पुरुष-को"]·ID["Para-suami,","Suami","milik-suami","suami","suami,","suami-suami","suami-suami,"]·IT["uomo"]·jav["Semah","dhumateng-garwa","garwa,","garwa-jaler","garwa-jaler,","priya","semah","semahipun,","semahipun;"]·KO["남자-의","남자에게","남편","남편-을","남편들-에게","남편들-이여","남편들에게","남편에게"]·PT["Marido","de-marido","marido","maridos","maridos,","maridos;"]·RU["Мужа","Мужья,","другому","мужа","мужу","мужьям","мужьям,","мужьям;"]·ES["Marido","de-marido","esposo","esposos","maridos","varón"]·SW["-","Mume","mume","mume,","ninyi","wa-mume","waume","zao","zenu"]·TR["Kocalar","Kocam","adama","kocalarina","kocalariniza","kocalarına","kocalarına,","kocalarınıza","kocanın","kocasına"]·urd["خاوند-کے","شوہر-کے-لیے","شوہرو","شوہروں","شوہروں-کے","شوہروں-کے،","شوہروں-کے؛","مرد-سے","کہ"]
3. person, human being — A human being generically, without specific emphasis on male gender — a single occurrence at James 1:20 where 'the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.' Here aner functions much like anthropos, referring to any person rather than specifically to males. The cross-lingual evidence is mixed: Spanish varon and German Mann still use male-specific words, but the theological point is universal. This marginal sense may reflect a stylistic or rhetorical choice by James rather than a fully productive generic meaning of aner in Koine Greek. 1×
AR["الإنسانِ"]·ben["মানুষের"]·DE["Mann"]·EN["of-man"]·FR["homme"]·heb["אִישׁ"]·HI["मनुष्य-का"]·ID["manusia,"]·IT["uomo"]·jav["saking-tiyang-jaler,"]·KO["사람-의,"]·PT["de-homem"]·RU["мужа,"]·ES["de-varón"]·SW["ya-mtu"]·TR["adamın"]·urd["آدمی٬"]
Related Senses
H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0001 1. father, immediate male parent (1031×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H0802 1. woman, female person (519×)G0444 1. human being, person (469×)G3962 1. father or divine Father (413×)G0080 1. brother, fellow believer (343×)H0802 2. wife, spouse (255×)H0517 1. mother, female parent (217×)G1135 1. woman, adult female (190×)H2233 1. offspring, descendants (172×)H0001 2. ancestor, forefather (146×)H5288 1. Youth, young man (122×)H0269 1. sister (female sibling) (113×)H1755 1. generation, contemporaries (96×)G5043 1. child, offspring (89×)G0444 2. people, humankind (86×)H3206 1. child, boy, youth (86×)H2145 1. male (human being) (79×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀνήρ, ὁ, ἀνδρός, ἀνδρί, ἄνδρα, vocative ἄνερ: plural ἄνδρες, -δρῶν, -δράσι [ᾰ], -dras: Aeolic dialect dative plural ἄνδρεσιRefs 7th c.BC+ for οἱ ἄνδρε; the Ionic dialect crasis is ὡνήρ, ὧνδρες, Refs 5th c.BC+ [Epic dialect Poets mostly use ᾱ in arsi, ᾰ in thesi; but in trisyllable forms with stem ἀνέρ- always ; so also Trag. in Lyric poetry, Refs 5th c.BC+ in nominative by analogy; cf. Sanskrit…