Original Word: πῶς
Part of Speech: Adverb; Adverb, Interrogative
Transliteration: pós
Phonetic Spelling: (poce)
Short Definition: how, in what manner
Definition: how, in what manner, by what means.STRONGS NT 4459: πῶς

πῶς (from the obsolete ΠΟΣ, whence ποῦ, ποῖ, etc. (cf. Curtius, § 631)), adverb (from Homer down);

I. in interrogation; how? in what way? — in a direct question, followed by a. the indicative, it is the expression α. of one seeking information and desiring to be taught: Luke 1:34; Luke 10:26; John 3:9; John 9:26; 1 Corinthians 15:35 (cf. Winer's Grammar, 266 (250)); πῶς οὖν, John 9:10 Tdf. (but L WH brackets οὖν), John 9:19; Romans 4:10. β. of one about to controvert another, and emphatically deny that the thing inquired about has happened or been done: Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:23; Luke 11:18; John 3:4, 12; John 5:44, 47; John 6:52; John 9:16; 1 John 3:17; 1 John 4:20; Romans 3:6; Romans 6:2; 1 Corinthians 14:7, 9, 16; 1 Timothy 3:5; Hebrews 2:3; καί πῶς, Mark 4:13; John 14:5 (here L text Tr WH omit καί); πῶς οὖν, Matthew 12:26; Romans 10:14 R G; πῶς δέ, Romans 10:14a R G L marginal reading, 14b R G T, 15 R G (on this see in b. below). where something is asserted and an affirmative answer is expected, πῶς οὐχί is used: Romans 8:32; 2 Corinthians 3:8. γ. of surprise, intimating that what has been done or is said could not have been done or said, or not rightly done or said — being equivalent to how is it, or how has it come to pass, that etc.: Galatians 2:14 G L T Tr WH; Matthew 22:12; John 4:9; John 6:52; John 7:15; πῶς λέγεις, λέγουσι, κτλ., Mark 12:35; Luke 20:41; John 8:38; καί πῶς, Luke 20:44; Acts 2:8; καί πῶς σύ λέγεις, John 12:34; John 14:9 (here L T WH omit; Tr brackets καί); πῶς οὖν, John 6:42 (here T WH Tr text πῶς νῦν); Matthew 22:43; πῶς οὐ, how is it that ... not, why not? Matthew 16:11; Mark 8:21 R G L marginal reading; (R G T); Luke 12:56.

b. the deliberative subjunctive (where the question is, how that can be done which ought to be done): πῶς πληρωθῶσιν αἱ γραφαί, how are the Scriptures (which ought to be fulfilled) to be fulfilled? Matthew 26:54; πῶς φύγητε, how shall ye (who wish to escape) escape etc. Matthew 23:33; add, πῶς οὖν, Romans 10:14 L T Tr WH; πῶς δέ, Romans 10:14a L text T Tr WH; 14{b} L Tr WH; 15 L T Tr WH (Sir. 49:11); cf. Fritzsche on Romans, vol. ii., 405f c. followed by ἄν with the optative: πῶς γάρ ἄν δυναίμην; Acts 8:31 (on which see ἄν, III., p. 34b).

II. By a somewhat negligent use, occasionally met with, even in Attic writings, but more frequent in later authors, πῶς is found in indirect discourse, where regularly ὅπως ought to have stood; cf. Winers Grammar, § 57, 2 at the end; (Liddell and Scott, under the word, IV.).

a. with the indicative — present: Matthew 6:28; Mark 12:41; Luke 12:27; Acts 15:36; 1 Corinthians 3:10; Ephesians 5:15; Colossians 4:6; 1 Timothy 3:15; τό πῶς (on the article see ὁ, II. 10 a.); with the imperfect Luke 14:7; with the perfect, Revelation 3:3; with the aorist, Matthew 12:4; Mark 2:26 (here Tr WH brackets πῶς); Luke 8:36; Acts 9:27, etc.; after ἀναγινώσκειν, Mark 12:26 T Tr WH; how it came to pass that, etc. John 9:15; with the future: μέριμνα, πῶς ἀρέσει (because the direct question would be πῶς ἀρέσω;), 1 Corinthians 7:32-34 (but L T Tr WH ἀρέσῃ); ἐζήτουν πῶς αὐτόν ἀπολέσουσιν, how they shall destroy him (so that they were in no uncertainty respecting his destruction, but were only deliberating about the way in which they will accomplish it), Mark 11:18 R G (but the more correct reading here, according to the best manuscripts, including codex Siniaticus, is ἀπολέσωσιν 'how they should destroy him' (cf. Winers Grammar, § 41 b. 4 b.; Buttmann, § 139, 61; see the next entry)).

b. with the subjunctive, of the aorist and in deliberation: Mark 11:18 L T Tr WH; Mark 14:1, 11 (R G); Matthew 10:19; Luke 12:11; τό πῶς, Luke 22:2, 4; Acts 4:21.

III. in exclamation, how: πῶς δύσκολόν ἐστιν, Mark 10:24; πῶς παραχρῆμα, Matthew 21:20; πῶς δυσκόλως, Mark 10:23; Luke 18:24; with a verb, how (greatly): πῶς συνέχομαι, Luke 12:50; πῶς ἐφίλει αὐτόν, John 11:36.

at all, somehow

Adverb from the base of pou; an interrogative particle of manner; in what way? (sometimes the question is indirect, how?); also as exclamation, how much! -- how, after (by) what manner (means), that. (Occasionally unexpressed in English).

see GREEK pou

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