Bible word study

Trepho (Strong’s G5142): Meaning in the Bible

Trepho (τρέφω) is the Greek word numbered G5142 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as but perhaps strengthened from the base of G5157 through the idea of convolution); properly, to stiffen, i.e. fatten (by implication, to cherish (with food, etc.), pamper, rear). In the King James Bible it is translated bring up, feed, nourish..

• Original wordτρέφω
• Transliterationtréphō
• Pronunciationtref'-o
• Strong’s numberG5142
• LanguageGreek

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. a primary verb (properly, ;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Trepho appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Trepho (G5142) stands behind 8 English renderings in 8 verses across 5 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Matthew (2), Luke (2), Revelation (2).

How the King James Bible renders Trepho, by count

• nourished3 of 8 (38 percent)
• feedeth2 of 8 (25 percent)
• fed1 of 8 (12 percent)
• feed1 of 8 (12 percent)
• up1 of 8 (12 percent)

Three places to read Trepho

• Matthew 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
• Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
• James 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Trepho in the original Greek lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

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