παράκειμαι G3873
to lie beside, be present, be at hand; to be available or adjacent
This verb means to lie beside, be present, or be at hand. Originally a passive form of 'place beside,' it describes what is available, adjacent, or immediately present. Classical usage includes materials lying at hand for craftsmen, choices lying before someone, or pleasures and pains lying side by side. Both New Testament uses appear in Romans 7, where Paul describes the psychological struggle with sin. The verb captures what is immediately present or available to him—particularly the internal presence of evil and the law of God.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Romans 7:18 and 7:21 both use the present indicative to describe what Paul finds 'present' or 'at hand' within himself. In 7:18, 'the will is present with me' but not the ability to do good. In 7:21, 'when I want to do right, evil is present with me.' The translations emphasize presence or availability: English 'is-present,' Spanish 'está-presente,' French 'être-présent.' The verb captures the immediate, inescapable proximity of competing moral forces within Paul's experience—what lies constantly at hand in his inner life. 2×
AR["حَاضِرٌ"]·ben["কাছে-পড়ে-আছে"]·DE["bereitliegen"]·EN["is-present"]·FR["être-présent"]·heb["נִמְצָא"]·HI["उपलब्ध-है"]·ID["hadir", "hadir."]·IT["essere-presente"]·jav["wonten", "wonten."]·KO["함께-있도다", "함께-있으나"]·PT["está-presente", "está-presente."]·RU["-совершать"]·ES["está-presente"]·SW["ipo"]·TR["yakın", "yakındır"]·urd["موجود-ہے", "موجود-ہے۔"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
παράκειμαι, poetry πάρκειμαι Refs 5th c.BC+: Epic dialect imperfect παρεκέσκετο Refs 8th c.BC+ —used as passive to παρατίθημι, lie beside or before, ἔτι καὶ παρέκειτο τράπεζα Refs 8th c.BC+: generally, to be at hand, available, οἷα τέκτοσιν ἡμῖν ὕλη παράκειται Refs 5th c.BC+; to be adjacent, with dative, Refs 2nd c.BC+ the choice is before you, to fight or flee, Refs 8th c.BC+; ἅμα παρακεῖσθαι…