Matthew 22:37-39 in the Original Greek: What English Translations Don't Tell You
When you read Matthew 22:37-39 Greek in its original language, nuances emerge that no English translation can fully capture. The Greek words carry layers of meaning, grammatical relationships, and cultural resonance that shape how we understand this fundamental passage. Whether you read Greek or not, understanding what the original language reveals will deepen your appreciation for what Jesus taught and why these verses have shaped Christianity for two thousand years.
The Verb "Agapeseis": Love as Commanded Future
The Grammar: Future Indicative as Imperative
The Greek verb agapeseis (ἀγαπήσεις) appears in the future indicative mood: "You will love the Lord your God." But Jesus uses it as a command.
In classical Greek, the future would be a simple prediction. In biblical Greek, especially when quoting Scripture, the future indicative can function as an imperative—a command that's binding as law. This is grammatically unusual and intentional.
The effect is powerful: Jesus isn't saying, "Try to feel love for God if you can." He's saying, "You will love God"—a statement of both obligation and destiny. It's a command that's simultaneously a promise.
The Root Verb: Agapao
The verb comes from agapao (ἀγαπάω), meaning "to love" in the sense of choosing to love, directing love, committing to love. This is distinct from other Greek words for love:
Agapao (ἀγαπάω) - Chosen, covenantal love. Volitional. Based on commitment and the good of the other, not on emotional attraction. This is the word Jesus uses.
Phileo (φιλέω) - Affectionate love, friendship-love. Warm, personal, based on mutual regard. "I like you." But you can't command this feeling.
Eros (ἔρως) - Passionate love, romantic love, desire. Compelling and overwhelming. But you can't command it.
Stergeo (στέργω) - Family love, instinctive affection. Natural bonding between parents and children. But you can't command this either.
Why Agape Matters
Jesus chooses agapao deliberately. Love toward God can't be based on warm feelings (which may or may not arise). It must be chosen, committed, covenantal.
This liberates you. You don't have to wait until you feel warm fuzziness toward God to obey this command. You choose love. You commit to it. You practice it. And over time, feelings follow commitment.
This is also why you can love your enemy. You can't feel affection for someone harming you (phileo). But you can choose their good (agape).
"Holos": The Repeated Word That Changes Everything
Repetition for Emphasis
The word holos (ὅλος), meaning "whole" or "all," appears four times in three clauses in Matthew 22:37-38:
"Love the Lord your God with all (holos) your heart and with all (holos) your soul and with all (holos) your mind."
In Greek, such repetition isn't accidental. It's emphatic. It's saying: Don't split this. Don't give God part of yourself while withholding other parts. Give Him everything.
Each repeated "holos" builds the force: WHOLE heart, WHOLE soul, WHOLE mind. Totality. Completeness. Integration.
What "Holos" Means Beyond "All"
Holos (ὅλος) doesn't just mean "each and every part." It carries the sense of:
- Wholeness: Not fragmented or divided
- Integration: Parts working together as a unified whole
- Totality: Nothing excluded, nothing held back
- Integrity: The whole person functioning as one
So "Love God with all your heart" isn't just about giving every emotion. It's about wholeness—your heart functioning in its entirety toward God, integrated with the rest of your being.
"Kardia," "Psyche," "Dianoia": Three Dimensions of Personhood
The three dimensions Jesus lists aren't three separate "parts" of a divided person. They're three angles of understanding the whole person.
Kardia (Heart) - καρδία
In biblical anthropology, the heart (kardia) is the control center. It's the seat of:
- Will: Your choices originate here
- Emotion: Your feelings reside here
- Desire: What you long for comes from your heart
- Identity: Your heart contains your true self
The Old Testament phrases like "with all your heart" (Deuteronomy 6:5, which Jesus quotes) emphasize volitional commitment. Your heart is where you decide what matters most.
To love God with your whole heart means: - Your deepest choices are for God - Your desires orient toward Him - Your will is surrendered to His - Your identity is rooted in relationship with Him
Psyche (Soul) - ψυχή
The soul (psyche) is your animating life-force—your personhood, your consciousness, the fact that you exist and are alive. It's not separate from your body (a Platonic dualism). It's your whole self in its living, breathing reality.
Psyche encompasses: - Your consciousness and awareness - Your personality and individuality - Your life-energy and vitality - Your total existence
To love God with your whole soul means: - Your entire existence is dedicated to Him - Every moment of consciousness is oriented toward Him - Your personality, your uniqueness, your very aliveness is given to Him - Nothing of yourself is withheld
Mark 12:30 adds the fourth dimension: strength (ischus), emphasizing that this is embodied, physical, active love—not merely internal or spiritual.
Dianoia (Mind) - διάνοια
The mind (dianoia) is the thinking faculty—reasoning, understanding, contemplation, intellectual engagement. It's from dianoomai, meaning "to think through," "to consider," "to reason out."
Dianoia is your capacity to: - Process information - Understand truth - Think logically - Reason through complexity - Comprehend meaning
To love God with your whole mind means: - Your intellect is engaged in faith - You don't check your brain at the door - You think carefully about what you believe and why - You use reason to understand God and Scripture - You integrate knowledge with faith
Why These Three?
Notice what Jesus is saying: Love involves your will (heart), your total existence (soul), and your thinking (mind). He's addressing the whole person—not just emotions, not just belief, not just action, but the integrated whole.
Some Christians have wrongly split these. "Just have faith and don't think too much." But Jesus demands the integration of all three. Your faith should be thoughtful, committed, and whole-person.
"Homoios": Similar But Not Identical
The Word and Its Meaning
Jesus says the second commandment is homoios (ὅμοιος) to the first—"like it," "similar to it," "comparable to it."
Homoios means: - Similar in kind - Comparable in nature - Of the same character - Structurally parallel
But it emphatically does NOT mean "identical" (which would be autos or isos).
The Significance of the Distinction
Jesus isn't saying the two commandments are the same. The object of love is different (God vs. neighbor). The direction is different (vertical vs. horizontal). The visible reality is different (invisible God vs. visible people).
But they're like each other in: - The type of love required (agape, not phileo) - The totality demanded (wholeness, not compartmentalization) - The cost involved (sacrifice of self-interest) - The structure (recognition of the other's value and response to it)
The word homoios holds these similarities while preserving the distinction. It's a masterstroke of language.
"Ton Plesion" and "Seauton": The Neighbor and the Self
"Ton Plesion" (The Neighbor)
Plesion (πλησίον) literally means "the near one"—not the distant, but the proximate. It seems to refer to proximity.
But in context, "near" doesn't mean geographically close. Jesus clarifies through the Good Samaritan parable that your neighbor is whoever is in your path, whoever you encounter, whoever has need.
Crucially, in Leviticus 19:33-34, the same command to love your neighbor explicitly includes the foreign resident—someone not of your ethnic group. So plesion transcends tribal boundaries.
The "nearness" is relational and moral, not geographic.
"Seauton" (Yourself)
Seauton (σεαυτόν) is a reflexive pronoun—you, yourself, your own self. Jesus uses it as the measure.
This assumes you have self-regard. You care for yourself. You feed yourself. You seek shelter. The command is: Extend this care to your neighbor.
If you hate yourself and deny your own needs, you can't fulfill this command rightly. It presupposes a baseline of healthy self-regard.
"Kai" and the Connective Logic
A Simple Word With Structural Importance
The Greek word kai (καί) means "and." It appears in "love... your heart and your soul and your mind" and in "the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it."
This simple conjunction does important work. It connects without merging. The repeated "and" keeps distinctions clear while linking them together.
It's not "or"—you must choose. It's not—the second replaces the first. It's "and"—both/and. Together. Inseparable.
Greek Grammatical Structures That Deepen Meaning
The Use of the Nominative
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart" uses the nominative case for "Lord God"—he's the direct object of love, standing in the highlighted position. The structure emphasizes: God is the recipient of this love. This matters.
The Dative of Manner
"With all your heart" uses the dative case—"with" (en) all your heart. This describes the manner, the way, the instrument by which you love. You love through the wholeness of your heart, using your complete heart as the vehicle of love.
The Superlative "Greatest"
Jesus uses megas (μέγας) in the superlative: the "greatest" (megiste) commandment. Not just great. The greatest. The one that towers above all others.
How Mark 12:30 Expands the Picture
The Fourth Dimension: Strength
When Mark records the same teaching, he adds a fourth element: ischus (ἰσχύς)—strength, might, physical power.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
This emphasizes what Luke makes explicit through the Good Samaritan parable: Love is embodied action. It's not merely internal. It manifests in what you do with your body, your strength, your resources.
Matthew's three dimensions (heart, soul, mind) emphasize the integration of will, existence, and intellect. Mark's addition of strength emphasizes that this integrates into action.
The Shema in Greek: Historical Resonance
The Septuagint Version
When Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, He's drawing from a text His Jewish audience knew in two forms: - The Hebrew original: Memorized in daily prayer - The Greek Septuagint: Used in diaspora Jewish communities and in worship
The Greek version emphasizes certain nuances. The repetition of holos (all, whole) is particularly strong in Greek in a way even the Hebrew underscores.
FAQ: Greek Language Questions About Matthew 22:37-39
Q: Does knowing the Greek change what the verse means?
A: It clarifies and enriches meaning rather than changing it. The Greek reveals nuances—like the imperative future tense of "agapeseis," or the emphasis of repeated "holos"—that deepen what the English translation conveys.
Q: Why does agape matter if English translations use "love" anyway?
A: Because agape specifically means chosen, covenantal love, not feeling. This clarifies that Jesus is commanding a volitional commitment, not an emotional state. English "love" is too broad to capture this specificity.
Q: Is the difference between homoios and identical significant?
A: Yes. Jesus is saying the two commandments are similar in nature and structure but distinct in object. They're not the same, but they're inseparable. This both-and relationship is crucial.
Q: Does the Greek word psyche mean something different than "spirit" in other passages?
A: Yes. Psyche is the animating life-force, your personhood. Pneuma (spirit) is different—it refers more to the transcendent, spiritual dimension. Jesus uses psyche here, emphasizing your whole self, not a disembodied spiritual essence.
Q: Why did Jesus use the future indicative instead of the imperative mood for agapeseis?
A: The future indicative functions as a command while also suggesting this is both an immediate obligation and a lifelong trajectory. It's both a demand ("you shall love") and a promise ("you will love")—grace meeting you in your struggle.
Q: How does knowing the Greek help me apply Matthew 22:37-39?
A: It clarifies that this is about volitional commitment (agape), wholeness (holos), and integrated personhood (heart, soul, mind). This means you can choose love even when you don't feel it, you must give God your whole self not compartments, and your faith must engage your intellect along with your will.
The Richness Hidden in English Translation
English translation is admirable and necessary. But the original Greek carries depths—the force of repeated words, the nuance of verb tenses, the precision of grammatical relationships—that shape how we understand this passage.
When you know what the Greek says, Matthew 22:37-39 becomes not just a familiar saying, but a rich, complex, demanding, and beautiful invitation to love that integrates your whole being and breaks down the walls you've built around others.
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Does understanding the Greek of Matthew 22:37-39 change how you read it? What Greek word insights resonate most deeply with you?