τίμι-ος G5093
Precious, costly, of great value; honored, esteemed, held in high regard
The adjective τίμιος spans the distance between material worth and personal honor. Most often it describes things of intrinsic or monetary value -- precious stones and gold (1 Cor 3:12, Rev 18:12), the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet 1:19), and the 'precious and very great promises' of God (2 Pet 1:4). But in two notable passages it shifts to describe persons held in social or moral esteem: Gamaliel as 'honored by all the people' (Acts 5:34) and marriage as 'held in honor among all' (Heb 13:4). The multilingual evidence neatly tracks this fork -- Arabic, for instance, uses mukarram ('honored') for the personal sense but thamin ('valuable') for the material one.
Senses
1. precious, costly — Precious, costly, or of great value in a material or intrinsic sense -- describing objects, substances, or realities that command high worth. This covers the bulk of the NT occurrences: precious stones and gold (1 Cor 3:12, Rev 17:4, 18:12, 21:11), the 'precious blood' of Christ as of a lamb without blemish (1 Pet 1:19), God's 'precious and very great promises' (2 Pet 1:4), and the precious fruit of the earth for which the farmer waits (Jas 5:7). Acts 20:24 may also belong here, where Paul counts his life not 'precious' (valuable) to himself. Across languages the glosses cluster around words of monetary or intrinsic worth: 'preciosa/preciosas' (Spanish), 'precieux' (French), 'kostbar' (German). 11×
AR["الثَّمينَ", "الثَّمينَةَ", "بِثَمينٍ", "ثَمينٍ", "ثَمينٍ جِدًّا", "ثَمِينَةً", "كَريمٍ", "كَريمَةً"]·ben["মূল্যবান", "মূল্যবান,", "মূল্যবানতম"]·DE["kostbar", "τιμίαν"]·EN["most-precious", "precious", "with-precious"]·FR["précieux"]·heb["בְּדַם־יָקָר", "יְקָר", "יְקָרָה", "יְקָרָה-בִּיוֹתֵר", "יְקָרוֹת", "יָקָר"]·HI["बहुमूल्य", "बहुमूल्य-का", "बहुमूल्य-की"]·ID["berharga", "dengan-berharga", "mahal", "paling-berharga"]·IT["prezioso"]·jav["adi", "aji", "aji-sanget", "ingkang-larang-sanget", "kanthi-aji", "mulia,", "regeng"]·KO["가장-귀한", "관한", "귀하고", "귀한", "귀한-것으로", "보배로운"]·PT["com-precioso", "preciosa", "preciosas", "precíosíssima"]·RU["драгоценнейшего", "драгоценнейшему", "драгоценного", "драгоценной", "драгоценные", "драгоценный", "драгоценным", "ценной"]·ES["con-preciosa", "preciosa", "preciosas", "precioso", "preciosísima,", "valiosa"]·SW["kwa-damu", "la-thamani", "la-thamani,", "la-thamani-sana,", "vya-thamani", "wa-thamani", "wa-thamani-sana,", "ya-thamani,"]·TR["değerli", "en-değerli", "odun"]·urd["بیش-قیمت", "قیمتی", "قیمتی-ترین"]
2. honored, esteemed — Honored, esteemed, or held in high regard -- describing persons or institutions worthy of respect and social standing. In Acts 5:34 Gamaliel is called τίμιος, 'honored by all the people,' designating his reputation and authority rather than any material value. Heb 13:4 declares marriage τίμιος 'among all,' pointing to moral dignity and communal esteem. The multilingual glosses shift decisively from value-vocabulary to honor-vocabulary: 'Honroso/honrado' (Spanish), 'Honorable/honored' (English), and Arabic mukarram ('honored') -- a clear semantic boundary from the 'precious/costly' sense. 2×
AR["مُكَرَّم", "مُكَرَّمٌ"]·ben["সম্মাননীয়", "সম্মানিত"]·DE["kostbar", "τίμιος"]·EN["Honorable", "honored"]·FR["précieux"]·heb["נִכְבָּד"]·HI["-लोगों-द्वारा", "आदरणीय"]·ID["Terhormat", "dihormati"]·IT["prezioso"]·jav["Luhur", "kinurmatan"]·KO["귀하다", "존경-받는"]·PT["Honrado"]·RU["Честен", "почитаемый"]·ES["Honroso", "honrado"]·SW["Heshimu", "mheshimiwa"]·TR["Değerli", "saygın"]·urd["عزت-دار"]
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
τίμι-ος [τῑ], α, ον, Refs 5th c.BC+; also ος, ον Refs 5th c.BC+: (τιμή):— valued, __I held in honour, worthy, ὅδε πᾶσι φίλος καὶ τ. ἐστι Refs 8th c.BC+; ἄνδρα τ. Refs 4th c.BC+; γενεᾷ τίμιος [Δανάη] Refs 8th c.BC+: frequently in comparative and superlative, τιμιώταται θεῶν Refs 5th c.BC+; as form of address, -ώτατεRefs 1st c.AD+ __II of things, valuable, prized, οὐδὲν κτῆμα -ώτερον NT+5th c.BC+…