φῐλᾰδελφ-ία G5360
Brotherly love; the warm affection and mutual care shared among members of a spiritual or familial community.
Philadelphia literally means 'love of brothers' (philos + adelphos), and in the New Testament it denotes the distinctive warmth believers are to show one another as members of God's family. Romans 12:10 urges Christians to be devoted to one another in philadelphia, while 2 Peter 1:7 places it as the penultimate virtue before agape in a chain of spiritual growth. The translations across languages are remarkably consistent—Spanish amor fraternal, French amour fraternel, German Bruderliebe—all capturing sibling-like affection extended beyond blood ties to the household of faith.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Mutual love and affection among spiritual siblings—believers united in community. Unlike generic friendship, philadelphia carries the weight of family obligation and tenderness. In 1 Thessalonians 4:9 Paul says the Thessalonians have been 'taught by God' to practice it, and Hebrews 13:1 commands that it 'continue.' The multilingual glosses (Spanish amor-fraternal, German Bruderliebe) all converge on this single familial-communal sense of love. 6×
AR["المَحَبَّةَ-الأخَويَّةَ", "المَحَبَّةِ-الأخَويَّةِ", "الْمَحَبَّةِ-الأَخَوِيَّةِ", "مَحَبَّةُ-الإِخْوَة", "مَحَبَّةِ-الأخَوِيَّةِ", "مَحَبَّةِ-الإخوَةِ"]·ben["ভ্রাতৃপ্রেম", "ভ্রাতৃপ্রেমে", "ভ্রাতৃপ্রেমের"]·DE["Bruderliebe"]·EN["brotherly-love"]·FR["Bruderliebe", "amour-fraternel"]·heb["אַהֲבַת-אַחִים"]·HI["भऐचअर-प्रेम", "भरातृ-प्रेम", "भाईचारे-का-प्रेम", "भाईचारे-के-प्रेम", "भ्रातृ-प्रेम"]·ID["kasih-persaudaraan", "kasih-persaudaraan,", "kasih-persaudaraan;", "persaudaraan"]·IT["amore-fraterno"]·jav["katresnan-sadherekan", "katresnan-sadhèrèk,", "katresnan-sadhèrèk;", "katresnan-sedhèrèk", "tresna-sadhèrèk"]·KO["형제-사랑", "형제-사랑,", "형제-사랑에-대하여", "형제-사랑에서", "형제-사랑을;", "형제-사랑이"]·PT["amor-fraternal", "amor-fraterno", "fraternidade"]·RU["Братолюбие", "братолюбие", "братолюбии", "братолюбию", "к-"]·ES["amor-fraternal"]·SW["upendano", "upendo-wa-kindugu", "upendo-wa-ndugu"]·TR["Kardeş-sevgisi", "kardeş-sevgisine", "kardeş-sevgisini", "kardeş-sevgisinin", "kardeş-sevgisiyle"]·urd["بھائی-چارہ", "بھائی-چارہ؛", "بھائی-چارے-میں،", "بھائی-چارے-کی", "بھائی-چارے-کی-محبت"]
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
φῐλᾰδελφ-ία, ἡ, brotherly love, Refs 1st c.AD+; in NT, love of the brethren, NT