Original Word: εἰρήνη
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: eiréné
Pronunciation: ay-RAY-nay
Phonetic Spelling: (i-ray'-nay)
Definition: Peace
Meaning: peace, peace of mind; invocation of peace a common Jewish farewell, in the Hebraistic sense of the health (welfare) of an individual.

Word Origin: Derived from the primary verb εἴρω (eirō), meaning "to join" or "to tie together into a whole."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: - 7965. שָׁלוֹם (shalom): Often translated as peace, completeness, welfare, or safety.

- 7999. שָׁלֵם (shalem): To be complete or sound.

Usage: In the New Testament, "eiréné" primarily denotes a state of tranquility, harmony, and well-being. It is used to describe both the absence of conflict and the presence of positive blessings, such as safety, prosperity, and spiritual peace. The term is often associated with the peace that comes from a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ, as well as the peace that believers are called to maintain with one another.

Cultural and Historical Background: In the Greco-Roman world, "eiréné" was commonly understood as the absence of war and conflict, a concept highly valued in a time of frequent military campaigns. However, the biblical concept of peace extends beyond mere absence of strife to encompass a holistic sense of well-being and fulfillment. In the Hebrew tradition, this aligns with the concept of "shalom," which includes completeness, soundness, and welfare. The New Testament writers, influenced by this rich Hebrew understanding, present "eiréné" as a divine gift, often linked to the work of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

1515 eirḗnē (from eirō, "to join, tie together into a whole") – properly, wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; peace (God's gift of wholeness).

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation, perhaps from eiró (to join): lit. or fig. peace, by impl. welfare
NASB Translation
peace (91), undisturbed* (1).

STRONGS NT 1515: εἰρήνη

εἰρήνη, εἰρήνης, ἡ (apparently from εἴρω, to join; (others from εἴρω equivalent to λέγω; Etym. Magn. 803, 41; Vanicek, p. 892; Lob. Path. Proleg., p. 194; Benfey, Wurzellex. ii., p. 7)), the Sept. chiefly for שָׁלום; (from Homer down); peace, i. e.

1. a state of national tranquility; exemption from the rage and havoc of war: Revelation 6:4; πολλή εἰρήνη, Acts 24:2 (3); τά (WH text omits τά) πρός εἰρήνην, things that look toward peace, as an armistice, conditions for the restoration of peace Luke 14:32; αἰτεῖσθαι εἰρήνην, Acts 12:20; ἔχειν εἰρήνην, of the church free from persecutions, Acts 9:31.

2. peace between individuals, i. e. harmony, concord: Matthew 10:34; Luke 12:51; Acts 7:26; Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 7:15; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 2:17; Ephesians 4:3; equivalent to the anthor of peace, Ephesians 2:14 (cf. Buttmann, 125 (109)); ἐν εἰρήνη, where harmony prevails, in a peaceful mind, James 3:18; ὁδός εἰρήνης, way leading to peace, a course of life promoting harmony, Romans 3:17 (from Isaiah 59:8); μετ' εἰρήνης, in a mild and friendly spirit, Hebrews 11:31; ποιεῖν εἰρήνην, to promote concord, James 3:18; to effect it, Ephesians 2:15; ζητεῖν, 1 Peter 3:11; διώκειν, 2 Timothy 2:22; with μετά πάντων added, Hebrews 12:14; τά τῆς εἰρήνης διώκειν, Romans 14:19 (cf. Buttmann, 95 (83); Winers Grammar, 109 (103f)). Specifically, good order, opposed to ἀκαταστασία, 1 Corinthians 14:33.

3. after the Hebrew שָׁלום, security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous): Luke 19:42; Hebrews 7:2; εἰρήνη καί ἀσφάλεια, opposed to ὄλεθρος, 1 Thessalonians 5:3; ἐν εἰρήνη ἐστι τά ὑπάρχοντα, αὐτοῦ, his goods are secure from hostile attack, Luke 11:21; ὕπαγε εἰς εἰρήνην, Mark 5:34, and πορεύου εἰς εἰρήνην Luke 7:50; Luke 8:48, a formula of wishing well, blessing, addressed by the Hebrews to departing friends (לְשָׁלום לֵך 1 Samuel 1:17; 1 Samuel 20:42, etc.; properly, depart into a place or state of peace; (cf. Buttmann, 184 (160))); πορεύεσθαι ἐν εἰρήνη, Acts 16:36, and ὑπάγετε ἐν εἰρήνη, James 2:16, go in peace, i. e. may happiness attend you; ἀπολύειν τινα μετ' εἰρήνης, to dismiss one with good wishes, Acts 15:33; ἐν εἰρήνη, with my wish fulfilled, and therefore happy, Luke 2:29 (see ἀπολύω, 2 a.); προπέμπειν τινα ἐν εἰρήνη free from danger, safe, 1 Corinthians 16:11 (others take it of inward peace or of harmony; cf. Meyer at the passage). The Hebrews in invoking blessings on a man called out לְך שָׁלום (Judges 6:23; Daniel 10:19); from this is to be derived the explanation of those expressions which refer apparently to the Messianic blessings (see 4 below): εἰρήνη τῷ οἴκῳ τούτῳ, let peace, blessedness, come to this household, Luke 10:5; υἱός εἰρήνης, worthy of peace (cf. Winers Grammar, § 34, 3 N. 2; Buttmann, 161f (141)), Luke 10:6; ἐλθέτω ἡ εἰρήνη ἐπ' αὐτόν, let the peace which ye wish it come upon it, i. e. be its lot, Matthew 10:13; to the same purport ἐπαναπαήσεται ἡ εἰρήνη ὑμῶν ἐπ' αὐτόν, Luke 10:6; ἡ εἰρήνη ὑμῶν πρός ὑμᾶς ἐπιστραφήτω, let your peace return to you, because it could not rest upon it, i. e. let it be just as if ye had not uttered the wish, Matthew 10:13.

4. Specifically, the Messiah's peace: Luke 2:14; ὁδός εἰρήνης, the way that leads to peace (salvation), Luke 1:79; εἰρήνης ἐν οὐρανῷ, peace, salvation, is prepared for us in heaven, Luke 19:38; εὐαγγελίζεσθαι εἰρήνην, Acts 10:36.

5. according to a conception distinctly peculiar to Christianity, "the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoerer sort that is": Romans 8:6; ἐν εἰρήνη namely, ὄντες; is used of those who, assured of salvation, tranquilly await the return of Christ and the transformation of all things which will accompany that event, 2 Peter 3:14; (πληροῦν πάσης ... εἰρήνης ἐν τῷ πιστεύειν, Romans 15:13 (where L marginal reading ἐν πιστεύειν εἰρήνη)); ἔχειν ἐν Χριστῷ εἰρήνην (opposed to ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ θλῖψιν ἔχειν), John 16:33; ἔχειν εἰρήνην πρός τόν Θεόν, with God, Romans 5:1, (εἰρήνη πρός τινα, Plato, rep. 5, p. 465 b.; cf. Diodorus 21, 12; cf. Meyer on Romans, the passage cited; Winer's Grammar, 186 (175); 406 (379))); εὐαγγελίζεσθαι εἰρήνην, Romans 10:15 (R G Tr marginal reading in brackets); τό εὐαγγέλιον τῆς εἰρήνης, Ephesians 6:15; in the expression εἰρήνην ἀφίημι κτλ., John 14:27, in which Christ, with allusion to the usual Jewish formula at leave-taking (see 3 above), says that he not merely wishes, but gives peace; ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Χριστοῦ, which comes, from Christ, Colossians 3:15 (Rec. θεοῦ; τοῦ Θεοῦ, Philippians 4:7 (cf. Winers Grammar, 186 (175)). Comprehensively, of every kind of peace (blessing), yet with a predominance apparently of the notion of peace with God, εἰρήνη is used — in the salutations of Christ after his resurrection, εἰρήνη ὑμῖν (לָכֶם שָׁלום, Luke 24:36 (T omits; WH reject the clause); John 20:19, 21, 26; in the phrases ὁ κύριος τῆς εἰρήνης, the Lord who is the author and promoter of peace, 2 Thessalonians 3:16; ὁ Θεός τῆς εἰρήνης Romans 15:33; Romans 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:1; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:20; in the salutations at the beginning and the close of the apostolic Epistles: Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Galatians 6:16; Ephesians 1:2; Ephesians 6:23; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; (Philemon 1:3); 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Peter 5:14; 2 Peter 1:2; 2 John 1:3; 3 John 1:15 (14); (Jude 1:2); Revelation 1:4. Cf. Kling in Herzog iv., p. 596f under the words Friede mit Gott; Weiss, Biblical Theol. d. N. T. § 83 b.; (Otto in the Jahrbb. fur deutsch. Theol. for 1867, p. 678ff; cf. Winer's Grammar, 549 (511)).

6. of the blessed state of devout and upright men after death (Wis. 3:3): Romans 2:10.

one, peace, quietness, rest.

Probably from a primary verb eiro (to join); peace (literally or figuratively); by implication, prosperity -- one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again.

ειρη΄νην ειρηνη ειρήνη εἰρήνη εἰρήνῃ ειρηνην ειρήνην εἰρήνην ειρηνης ειρήνης εἰρήνης eirene eirēnē eirḗne eirḗnē eirḗnei eirḗnēi eirenen eirēnēn eirḗnen eirḗnēn eirenes eirēnēs eirḗnes eirḗnēsInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts