μετά (meta)
meta
with/after
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 445 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The preposition meta functions as a versatile connector in Greek, primarily indicating association or sequence. When joined with the genitive case, it signifies being "with" someone or something, often implying companionship or shared experience. This usage appears frequently in the New Testament to describe physical proximity, such as Jesus dining with tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:10), or spiritual alignment, like Paul’s fellowship with other apostles (Galatians 2:2). It can also denote participation in an abstract quality, such as sharing in joy or anger.
When followed by the accusative case, meta shifts focus to time or order, meaning "after." This construction is common in narrative sequences, marking events that follow previous actions, as seen when John the Baptist speaks of one who will come after him (Matthew 3:11). The sources note that this preposition gradually replaced syn in many contexts of association, carrying a sense of being amidst or among a group rather than just alongside. Its extensive use in composition allows it to form verbs indicating exchange or change, reflecting its core idea of movement from one state or position to another.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Greek preposition meta captures the essence of shared presence. When it takes the genitive case, it describes companionship, such as Jesus dining with those society had rejected or standing alongside his weary disciples. This is more than physical proximity; it implies a bond of fellowship and mutual experience. In Matthew 9:11, the question arises why Jesus eats with tax collectors, highlighting that divine grace often enters through shared meals and ordinary moments of connection.
When meta shifts to the accusative case, it marks time or sequence, meaning 'after.' This usage helps us understand how God’s story unfolds in history. For instance, Matthew 1:12 traces the lineage 'after' the exile, showing that God remains faithful even when circumstances seem broken. Whether indicating who walks beside us or what comes next, this word reminds us that we are never isolated from God’s timing or His people.
In our daily lives, meta invites us to look for Christ in the company of others and to trust the sequence of events in our own journeys. It is a gentle assurance that we are held within a larger narrative of grace, where every 'with' and every 'after' serves a purpose in drawing us closer to Him.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 445 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- with333×
- after62×
- After35×
- [be] with12×
- among4×
- against4×
- [is] with4×
- in3×
- along with3×
- with the2×
- toward2×
- on [the]2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- μετὰ276×
- μετ᾽133×
- μεθ᾽42×
- Μετὰ22×
Key Verses
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Matthew 9:11
When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
This verse uses the genitive case to highlight Jesus’ deliberate choice to share fellowship with outcasts, defining his ministry as one of inclusive presence.
-
Matthew 1:12
After the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel.
Here the accusative case marks a historical sequence, showing how God’s covenant lineage continued after the disruption of the Babylonian exile.
-
Matthew 17:1
After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves.
The genitive usage emphasizes intimate companionship, as Jesus takes only Peter, James, and John into a private moment of revelation on the mountain.
-
Matthew 5:25
Agree with your adversary quickly while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.
This occurrence uses the genitive to describe an ongoing state of being 'with' an adversary, urging immediate reconciliation while the relationship is still active.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does meta mean in the New Testament?
How is meta different from syn?
Why does meta change meaning based on the case?
Every Occurrence (445 verses across 24 books)
Matthew 68 verses
After the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel.
Matthew 1:23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel,” which is,…
Matthew 2:3When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Matthew 2:11They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening…
Matthew 4:21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with…
Matthew 5:25Agree with your adversary quickly while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the…
Matthew 5:41Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
Matthew 8:11I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the…
Matthew 9:11When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Matthew 9:15Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will…
Matthew 12:3But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him:
Matthew 12:4how he entered into God’s house and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were…
Matthew 12:30“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.
Matthew 12:41The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the…
Matthew 12:42The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the…
Matthew 12:45Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The…
Matthew 13:20What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately with joy receives it;
Matthew 14:7Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask.
Matthew 15:30Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down…
Matthew 16:27For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will give to everyone according to…
Matthew 17:1After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by…
Matthew 17:3Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.
Matthew 17:17Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring…
Matthew 18:16But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be…
Matthew 18:23Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
Matthew 19:10His disciples said to him, “If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.”
Matthew 20:2When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Matthew 20:20Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking a certain thing of him.
Matthew 21:2saying to them, “Go into the village that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with…
Matthew 22:16They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach…
Matthew 24:29“But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the…
Matthew 24:30and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will…
Matthew 24:31He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the…
Matthew 24:49and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards,
Matthew 24:51and will cut him in pieces and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth…
Matthew 25:3Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them,
Matthew 25:4but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Matthew 25:10While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and…
Matthew 25:19“Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and settled accounts with them.
Matthew 25:31“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his…
Matthew 26:2“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
Matthew 26:11For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.
Matthew 26:18He said, “Go into the city to a certain person, and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand. I will keep the…
Matthew 26:20Now when evening had come, he was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples.
Matthew 26:23He answered, “He who dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me.
Matthew 26:29But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with…
Matthew 26:32But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.”
Matthew 26:36Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go there and…
Matthew 26:38Then Jesus said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me.”
Matthew 26:40He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What, couldn’t you watch with me for one hour?
Matthew 26:47While he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and…
Matthew 26:51Behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high…
Matthew 26:55In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to seize me? I…
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…
Matthew 26:69Now Peter was sitting outside in the court, and a maid came to him, saying, “You were also with Jesus, the Galilean!”
Matthew 26:71When he had gone out onto the porch, someone else saw him and said to those who were there, “This man also was with…
Matthew 26:72Again he denied it with an oath, “I don’t know the man.”
Matthew 26:73After a little while those who stood by came and said to Peter, “Surely you are also one of them, for your speech makes…
Matthew 27:34they gave him sour wine to drink mixed with gall. When he had tasted it, he would not drink.
Matthew 27:41Likewise the chief priests also mocking with the scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders, said,
Matthew 27:53and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many.
Matthew 27:54Now the centurion and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were…
Matthew 27:62Now on the next day, which was the day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered…
Matthew 27:63saying, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’
Matthew 27:66So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone.
Matthew 28:8They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word.
Matthew 28:12When they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers,
Matthew 28:20teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”…