Words · Greek Words · Lesson 5, word 3 of 5
εἰρήνηeirene
Peace, concord, security, and the shalom of God.
Why this word is here. The risen Jesus' greeting and the fruit of the Spirit; it is the Septuagint's standard translation of shalom, so it imports shalom's breadth.
What it means
Abbott-Smith: peace. Of public peace, freedom from war (including the church's peace, Acts 9:31). Of peace between persons: concord, agreement. As in the Septuagint (where it renders shalom), of a state of security and safety, hence the greeting formulas ('peace to you', 'go in peace'). And of spiritual peace, the peace of Christ's kingdom: given by Christ (John 14:27), guarding hearts (Philippians 4:7), listed among the Spirit's fruit (Galatians 5:22).
Eirene is thus wider than its classical Greek core (absence of war) because two thousand years of shalom stand behind its biblical use.
Where you meet it
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”
Luke 2:14 (BSB)
'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace (eirene) to men on whom His favour rests.'
It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them.
John 20:19 (BSB)
Anchor verse On resurrection evening Jesus stands among frightened disciples: 'Peace (eirene) be with you.' The shalom greeting, loaded with new fact.
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
John 16:33 (BSB)
'In Me you may have peace (eirene). In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world.' Peace defined as coexistence with trouble, not escape from it.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Galatians 5:22 (BSB)
'The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (eirene)...' Peace as something grown by the Spirit, not manufactured by circumstances.
Why it matters
Eirene shows what the gospel does to the shalom hope: it arrives in a person, in a locked room, on the far side of a crucifixion. Christian peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of the risen Christ and the security of being reconciled to God (Romans 5:1, 'we have peace with God').
Watch out
The over-claim shrinks eirene to a feeling of calm, 'peace is when your heart is quiet'. John 16:33 forbids the equation: peace is promised in the same sentence as tribulation. The lexicon's senses are relational and objective: concord between people, security under God's care, reconciliation accomplished. Feelings may follow; they are not the word's meaning, and believers in storms are not thereby outside the promise.
In this lesson
- kairos (καιρός): A definite, appointed, opportune time.
- zoe (ζωή): Life, natural life, and the life of the age to come.
- doulos (δοῦλος): A slave, owned, and (in Christ) honoured by the title.
- pneumatikos (πνευματικός): 'Spiritual', belonging to, or actuated by, the Spirit.
Sources
- Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (1889)
- STEP Bible lexicon data (Abbott-Smith)
- SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)
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