εὐδοκ-ία G2107
Good pleasure, gracious will, or delight — especially God's sovereign benevolent purpose and favorable disposition toward humanity.
Eudokia captures something deeply personal about the heart of God: his good pleasure, his willing delight, his gracious purpose. When the angels proclaim peace on earth to people of his eudokia (Luke 2:14), the word conveys not mere approval but active, joyful intention. Jesus himself uses it in prayer — 'Yes, Father, for such was your good pleasure' (Matt 11:26; Luke 10:21) — revealing a sovereign will that is also warm and personal. Paul deploys it for God's predestining purpose (Eph 1:5,9) and for his own heart's desire toward Israel (Rom 10:1), showing the word bridges divine sovereignty and human longing. Across languages, translations reach for 'bienveillance' (French), 'Wohlgefallen' (German), and 'buena voluntad' (Spanish), each capturing a different facet of this rich term.
Senses
1. good pleasure, gracious will, delight — The benevolent purpose, sovereign delight, or gracious will of God (or of a person), denoting the favorable disposition that motivates action. In its nine NT occurrences, it refers predominantly to God's good pleasure — his joyful, purposeful will behind salvation and blessing. The multilingual evidence (French 'bienveillance,' German 'Wohlgefallen,' Spanish 'buena voluntad') confirms the sense hovers between active goodwill and deep personal satisfaction. Key passages include the angelic declaration at Christ's birth (Luke 2:14), Jesus's prayer of praise (Matt 11:26), and Paul's description of God's predestining purpose (Eph 1:5). 9×
AR["المَسَرَّةِ", "ذَوِي-الرِّضَا", "رَغْبَةُ", "رِضَاً", "مَسَرَّةٌ", "مَسَرَّةٍ", "مَسَرَّةِ", "مَسَرَّتِهِ"]·ben["সদিচ্ছা", "সদিচ্ছা-র", "সদিচ্ছার", "সন্তুষ্টি", "সন্তুষ্টির", "সন্তোষ"]·DE["Wohlgefallen", "εὐδοκία", "εὐδοκίας"]·EN["desire", "good-pleasure", "goodwill", "of-good-will", "well-pleasing"]·FR["bienveillance"]·heb["רְצוֹן", "רְצוֹן־הַטּוֹב.", "רְצוֹנְךָ", "רְצוֹנוֹ", "רָצוֹן", "רָצוֹן-טוֹבנוּ-"]·HI["अचछि-इचछ-", "अचछि-इचछ.", "इच्छा", "प्रसन्नत", "प्रसन्नतअ", "प्रसन्नता-के", "प्रसन्न्त", "भली-इच्छा"]·ID["kehendak baik", "keinginan", "kerelaan", "kesenangan", "kesenangan-Nya", "yang-diperkenan-Nya"]·IT["buon-proposito", "buona-volonta", "eudokia", "eudokias"]·jav["ingkang-dipun-keparengaken!", "karsa", "karsa-becik", "karsa-saé", "karsanipun", "kasengseman", "kepareng", "keparenging"]·KO["기뻐하심.", "기뻐하심이", "기뽐하심이", "기쁘-의", "기쁘신-뜻의", "기쁘이하심을", "선의-", "소원은"]·PT["beneplácito", "boa-vontade", "de-boa-vontade", "foi-bom", "propósito"]·RU["благоволение", "благоволению", "благоволения", "моего"]·ES["agrado", "buen-deseo", "buena-voluntad", "de-buena-voluntad"]·SW["furaha", "hamu", "kusudi-jema", "mapenzi-mema", "nia-njema", "radhi", "wa-radhi-yake"]·TR["arzusu", "hoşnutluk", "hoşnutluğu", "iyi-istegine", "iyi-niyet", "iyi-niyeti", "iyi-niyetinin", "rızasının"]·urd["خواہش", "خوشنودی", "خوشنودی-کے", "خوشی", "رضامندی-کے", "پسند"]
Related Senses
G2309 1. want, desire (166×)G0025 1. to love actively (133×)H0157 1. love (verb, active Qal) (129×)H8055 1. Qal: rejoice, be glad (123×)H7453 1. neighbor, fellow man (120×)G0026 1. of love (115×)H1058 1. Qal: to weep, cry (112×)H0954 1. to be ashamed, feel shame (Qal) (95×)H8057 1. joy, gladness, delight (90×)H2781 1. disgrace, shame, dishonor (68×)G2307 1. will, desire, purpose (63×)G5463 1. rejoice, be glad (63×)G0027 1. beloved (61×)H8130 1. Qal: to hate, detest (60×)G5479 1. (59×)G1680 1. (53×)H8130 2. Qal ptcp: hater, enemy (53×)H0014 1. be willing, want (51×)H0157 2. lover, friend (Qal participle substantive) (51×)H1945 1. woe (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
εὐδοκ-ία, ἡ, ={εὐδόκησις}, especially of God, LXX+NT; good will, NT; contentment, Refs 1st c.BC+ __2 object of desire, LXX __3 variant for{εὐδοκιμίη} in Refs 5th c.BC+