καίω G2545
Burn, be on fire, be ablaze (intransitive/passive); light, kindle (transitive/causative).
The Greek verb kaio is one of Scripture's elemental words — fire in verbal form. Its NT occurrences divide between the intransitive state of burning and the transitive act of kindling. Lamps burn in readiness for the master's return (Luke 12:35), the Emmaus disciples' hearts 'burned within them' as Jesus opened the Scriptures (Luke 24:32), and John the Baptist was 'a burning and shining lamp' (John 5:35). At its most fearsome, branches are thrown into fire and 'burned' (John 15:6) and Mount Sinai blazes with flame (Heb 12:18). Spanish ardiendo, French bruler, and German brennen capture the fire-state sense. The single transitive occurrence — 'they do not light a lamp and put it under a basket' (Matt 5:15) — shifts kaio from describing flame to causing it, a distinction Spanish encienden and German anzuenden mark with dedicated causative vocabulary.
Senses
1. burn, be on fire — To burn, be on fire, be ablaze — the intransitive or passive state of being consumed by or radiating fire, whether literal flame or metaphorical ardor. This dominant sense (10 occurrences) spans from the practical to the apocalyptic: lamps burning in readiness (Luke 12:35), the Emmaus disciples' hearts 'burning within' as Jesus expounded Scripture (Luke 24:32), John the Baptist as 'the burning and shining lamp' (John 5:35), fruitless branches 'burned' in the fire (John 15:6), and Mount Sinai 'blazing with fire' at the giving of the Law (Heb 12:18). Revelation 21:8 completes the arc with the lake 'burning with fire and sulfur.' Spanish ardiendo/encendido, French brulant, and German brennend converge on present-participial fire vocabulary. The metaphorical extension to hearts burning (Luke 24:32) is cross-linguistically preserved — Spanish ardiendo, German brannte — suggesting the fire-as-emotion metaphor is deeply universal. 10×
AR["المُتَّقِدَةِ", "تَحْتَرِقُ", "مُتَقِّدَةٌ", "مُتَّقِدُ", "مُشْتَعِلٌ", "مُشْتَعِلٍ", "مُشْتَعِلَة", "مُلْتَهِبًا", "مُوقَدَةً"]·ben["জ্বলছে", "জ্বলছে,", "জ্বলত", "জ্বলন্ত", "পোড়ে"]·DE["brennen", "brennt"]·EN["burning", "having-been-burned", "it-is-burned"]·FR["brûler"]·heb["בָּעֵר", "בֹּעֵר", "בּוֹעֲרוֹת", "בּוֹעֵר", "הַ-בּוֹעֶרֶת", "הַבּוֹעֵר", "נִשְׂרָף"]·HI["जलता-हुआ", "जलती-हुई", "जलती-है", "जलते-हुए"]·ID["berkobar", "menyala", "menyala,", "terbakar", "yang-menyala"]·IT["bruciare"]·jav["ingkang-murub", "kaobong", "kobong.", "murub"]·KO["불타는", "타고-있는", "타는", "타는다", "타오르던"]·PT["ardendo", "que-arde", "queimam"]·RU["горящая", "горящая,", "горящее", "горящем", "горящему", "горящий", "горящими", "горящих", "сгорают"]·ES["ardiendo", "encendidas", "encendido", "son-quemados"]·SW["ikiwaka", "inayowaka", "linawaka", "liwakalo", "ukiwaka,", "uliwaka", "unaowaka", "yanateketea", "zikiwa-zinawaka", "zinawaka"]·TR["yanan", "yananın", "yanar", "yanıyor"]·urd["جلتا", "جلتا ہے", "جلتا-ہوا", "جلتی-ہوئی", "جلتے-ہوئے"]
2. light, kindle — To light or kindle a flame — the transitive, causative action of bringing fire or light into being. Only 1 clear NT occurrence: Matt 5:15, where Jesus observes that people 'light a lamp' (kaiousin lychnon) not to hide it under a basket but to set it on a stand so it illuminates the whole house. Spanish encienden, with its dedicated causative 'en-' prefix, distinguishes this neatly from the intransitive ardiendo of sense 1, as does German anzuenden versus brennen. French allumer similarly reserves a separate verb for kindling. The semantic distinction is real though subtle: sense 1 describes an ongoing state of combustion, while sense 2 captures the initiating act — the moment spark becomes flame. Jesus' parable depends on this causative meaning: the point is not that the lamp burns, but that someone deliberately lights it. 1×
AR["يُوقِدُونَ"]·ben["জ্বালান"]·DE["brennt"]·EN["do-they-light"]·FR["brûler"]·heb["מַדְלִיקִים"]·HI["जलाते-हैं"]·ID["orang-menyalakan"]·IT["bruciare"]·jav["nyumed"]·KO["켜다"]·PT["acendem"]·RU["зажигают"]·ES["encienden"]·SW["hawashiki"]·TR["yakarlar"]·urd["جلاتے-ہیں"]
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H6083 1. dust, dry earth, soil (108×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G5457 1. light (illumination) (71×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H4306 1. rain, showers (38×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
καίω, Attic dialect κάω [ᾱ], imperfect ἔκαιον Refs 8th c.BC+, Epic dialect καῖον Refs 8th c.BC+: future καύσω Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist 1 ἔκαυσα Refs 5th c.BC+; Epic dialect ἔκηα (certain active and middle forms have κει- in codices of Refs 8th c.BC+; 3rd.pers. singular ἔκηε (ν) Refs; unaugm. κῆεν Refs; 3rd.pers. plural ἔκηαν (variant{ἔκειαν}) Refs 8th c.BC+ codices; 1st pers. plural subjunctive…