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G1060 · Greek · New Testament
γαμέω
Gameō
Verb
To marry, to take a wife/husband

Definition

Gameō (γαμέω) means to marry — to enter into the covenant of marriage. The active form typically means for a man to take a wife; the passive or middle can refer to a woman being married. Jesus uses this verb in his teachings on divorce, remarriage, and the age to come, while Paul discusses its wisdom in the context of the present distress (1 Corinthians 7).

Theological Significance

Jesus' teaching on marriage reveals its origin in creation (Matthew 19:4-6) and its binding, covenantal nature: "what God has joined together, let not man separate." Paul's nuanced counsel in 1 Corinthians 7 ("it is better to marry than to burn with passion") was not a denigration of marriage but practical wisdom in a specific context — Paul himself affirmed marriage as honorable in Hebrews 13:4.

Key Scripture Passages

Matthew 19:5
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
Matthew 22:30
"For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven."
1 Corinthians 7:9
But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
1 Corinthians 7:28
But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned.
1 Timothy 5:14
So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander.

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