τέλος
telos
goal/tax
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
SupportedThe Greek word τέλος (telos) is a term with multiple meanings, primarily conveying the concept of a goal or a tax. Its definition as a "goal" suggests a destination or an end-point, implying a sense of completion or fulfillment. On the other hand, its classification as a "tax" indicates a financial or economic aspect, possibly related to the idea of a final payment or contribution. In the Bible, τέλος appears 42 times, demonstrating its significance and versatility across various contexts. Its usage ranges from describing the ultimate goal of human existence (e.g., Matthew 19:21) to referring to a tax or toll (e.g., Matthew 17:24). This dual nature of τέλος highlights its capacity to encompass both abstract and concrete meanings, making it a valuable concept for understanding human aspirations and responsibilities. The frequency and diversity of τέλος' occurrences in the Bible underscore its importance in the narrative and theological themes. By exploring this word's multifaceted nature, we can gain a deeper understanding of the complexities and nuances of human experience, as well as the interconnectedness of spiritual and material aspects of life.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
42 total occurrences across the text
You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 17:25He said, “Yes.” When he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their children, or from strangers?”
Matthew 24:6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet.
Matthew 24:13But he who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 24:14This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 26:58But Peter followed him from a distance, to the court of the high priest, and entered in and sat with the officers, to see the end.
Mark 3:26If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he can’t stand, but has an end.
Mark 13:7“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be troubled. For those must happen, but the end is not yet.
Mark 13:13You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.
Luke 1:33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
Luke 18:5yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.’ ”
Luke 21:9When you hear of wars and disturbances, don’t be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end won’t come immediately.”
Luke 22:37For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’ For that which concerns me has an end.”
John 13:1Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his time had come that he would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
Romans 6:21What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
Romans 6:22But now, being made free from sin and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life.
Romans 10:4For Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Romans 13:7Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Romans 13:7Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
1 Corinthians 1:8who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:11Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
1 Corinthians 15:24Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power.
2 Corinthians 1:13For we write no other things to you than what you read or even acknowledge, and I hope you will acknowledge to the end,
2 Corinthians 3:13and not as Moses, who put a veil on his face, that the children of Israel wouldn’t look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away.
2 Corinthians 11:15It is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
Philippians 3:19whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
1 Thessalonians 2:16forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, to fill up their sins always. But wrath has come on them to the uttermost.
1 Timothy 1:5but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith,
Hebrews 3:6but Christ is faithful as a Son over his house. We are his house, if we hold fast our confidence and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.
Hebrews 3:14For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm to the end,
Hebrews 6:8but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
Hebrews 6:11We desire that each one of you may show the same diligence to the fullness of hope even to the end,
Hebrews 7:3without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God), remains a priest continually.
James 5:11Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
1 Peter 1:9receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 3:8Finally, all of you be like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, courteous,
1 Peter 4:7But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
1 Peter 4:17For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God?
Revelation 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 2:26He who overcomes, and he who keeps my works to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.
Revelation 21:6He said to me, “I have become the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.
Revelation 22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.