μάχομαι G3164
To fight, quarrel, or dispute; to engage in verbal or physical conflict with another.
This deponent verb spans from physical combat in classical Greek to the verbal quarreling and disputing found in the New Testament. In John 6:52 the Jews 'were quarreling among themselves' over Jesus's teaching about eating his flesh, while in Acts 7:26 Moses finds two Israelites fighting and tries to reconcile them. Paul instructs Timothy that a servant of the Lord must not quarrel (2 Tim 2:24), and James 4:2 bluntly connects fighting with unfulfilled desires. The consistent multilingual rendering -- Spanish 'peleaban, combatís,' French 'se disputer,' German 'streiten' -- confirms the emphasis on contentious disputation.
Senses
1. sense 1 — To quarrel, dispute, or fight, whether physically or verbally. The glosses across languages converge on interpersonal strife: Spanish 'peleaban' (were fighting), French 'se disputer' (to argue), German 'streiten' (to quarrel). In Acts 7:26 it describes a physical altercation between two Hebrews, while in John 6:52 it captures the heated arguing among Jewish listeners. Paul's prohibition in 2 Timothy 2:24 and James's diagnosis in 4:2 both target the disposition toward contentious conflict. 4×
AR["تُخاصِمونَ", "كَانُوا-يَتَخَاصَمُونَ", "مُتَخَاصِمِينَ", "يُشاجِرَ"]·ben["ঝগড়া-করা,", "তর্ক-করছিল", "বিবাদ-করো", "লড়াই-করতে"]·DE["streiten", "μαχομένοις"]·EN["Were-quarreling", "fighting", "to-fight", "you-fight"]·FR["combattre", "se-disputer"]·heb["לְ-רִיב", "נִלְחָמִים", "רָבוּ"]·HI["झगदनअ,", "लड़ते-थे", "लड़ते-हुओं", "लड़ते-हो"]·ID["Bertengkarlah", "berkelahi,", "bertengkar", "kamu-bertengkar"]·IT["emachonto", "lottare", "machesthai", "machesthe"]·jav["Padu", "padu,", "padudon,", "pasulayan"]·KO["다투고-있었다", "싸우고", "싸우기를,", "싸우는-자들-에게"]·PT["brigando", "combateis", "contender"]·RU["Спорили", "дерущимся", "сражаетесь", "ссориться"]·ES["Peleaban", "combatís", "peleando", "pelear"]·SW["Waligombana", "kugombana", "mnapigana", "wakipigana"]·TR["kavga-edersiniz", "kavga-etmek", "onlara", "Çekişiyorlardı"]·urd["جھگڑتے-تھے", "جھگڑنا", "لڑتے-ہو", "لڑتے-ہوئے"]
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
μάχομαι [ᾰ], Ionic dialect present optative μαχέοιτο Refs 8th c.BC+; participle μαχεόμενος variant in Refs 5th c.BC+; Epic dialect μαχειόμενος Refs 8th c.BC+: Epic dialect imperfect μαχέσκετο Refs 8th c.BC+: future μαχήσομαι Refs 5th c.BC+; μαχέσομαι, δια-μαχεσόμεθα (as variant) Refs; also in late Prose, Refs 8th c.BC+: aorist ἐμαχεσάμην Refs 8th c.BC+; infinitive μαχέσασθαι Refs 3rd c.BC+;…