ἱκανόω
hikanóō
G2427 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To make sufficient or adequate, to empower, or to render fit for a task or office. In Koine usage, this primarily means to provide someone with the necessary ability, capacity, or qualification for a specific role or requirement. Semantic range includes: making someone adequate for a standard, empowering for responsibility, granting the necessary ability or competence, or qualifying for participation.
Semantic Range
to make or render sufficient, to qualify, to empower, to make fit or competent, to endow with requisite ability, to grant adequacy
Root / Etymology
Formed from the adjective ἱκανός ('sufficient, adequate, competent') with the verb-forming suffix -όω, meaning 'to make sufficient or adequate.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
The verb ἱκανόω appears rarely in Greek literature prior to the Hellenistic period and is most notable in Koine texts such as the New Testament (e.g., Colossians 1:12, 2 Corinthians 3:6). Its use often involves someone being granted the necessary abilities or qualifications by another (typically God in the New Testament context) to perform a duty or to be worthy of a privilege. The term implies not innate ability but rather sufficiency or fitness imparted from an outside source. Septuagintal and extra-biblical usage is limited, with the semantic focus remaining on conferring adequacy, competence, or fitness. English Bible translations frequently render it 'to make able,' 'to qualify,' or 'to make sufficient,' and traditional terms like 'make meet' reflect the earlier sense of making someone fit or appropriate, but may obscure the specific nuance of conferral or empowerment characterizing the Koine usage. The verb is related to but more agency-focused than its cognate noun/adjective, indicating an active bestowal rather than a quality possessed by default.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from ἱκανός; to enable, i.e. qualify:--make able (meet).
Root Family
ἱκανόω (hikanóō) — to make sufficient, to make fit, to empower
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G2427-01 |
ἱκανώσαντι | ikanosanti | V AOR ACT PTCP DAT M SG |
who has qualified | to the one having empowered | has qualified | 1 |
G2427-02 |
ἱκάνωσεν | ikanosen | V AOR ACT IND 3P SG |
made | he made sufficient | made us sufficient | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G2427-02 |
2 Corinthians 3:6 | ἱκάνωσεν | ikanosen | V AOR ACT IND 3P SG |
made | he made sufficient | made us sufficient |
G2427-01 |
Colossians 1:12 | ἱκανώσαντι | ikanosanti | V AOR ACT PTCP DAT M SG |
who has qualified | to the one having empowered | has qualified |