Word study · Greek
phileō
to love, to have affection for
Say it: fil-EH-oh (approximate)
φιλέω
What it means
To love as a friend, to have affection for, to like, and also to kiss. In John 21:15-17 Jesus asks Peter "Do you love (agapaō) me?" twice, and then "Do you love (phileō) me?" while Peter always answers with phileō. Many scholars think the two verbs are interchangeable in John, but some read the shift as meaningful.
Open question Debated
Whether the change between agapaō and phileō in John 21 carries a meaning is debated; many scholars read them as synonyms.
Range of meaning
- Love as a friendHave affection.
- KissGreet with a kiss.
In John
- Chapter 21
"You know that I have affection for you" (21:15-17).
Every verse (10)
Verses where G5368 is tagged in the Hebrew text: STEPBible Data (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. About our sources