725. harpagmos
Lexical Summary
harpagmos: Grasping, robbery, something to be seized

Original Word: ἁρπαγμός
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: harpagmos
Pronunciation: har-pag-MOS
Phonetic Spelling: (har-pag-mos')
KJV: robbery
NASB: thing to be grasped
Word Origin: [from G726 (ἁρπάζω - caught)]

1. (properly, concrete) plunder

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
plunder

From harpazo; plunder (properly concrete) -- robbery.

see GREEK harpazo

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 725 harpagmós – to seize, especially by an open display of force. See 726 (harpazō).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from harpazó
Definition
the act of seizing or the thing seized
NASB Translation
thing to be grasped (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 725: ἁρπαγμός

ἁρπαγμός, ἁρπαγμου, (ἁρπάζω);

1. the act of seizing, robbery (so Plutarch, de book educ. c. 15 (others 14, 37), vol. 2:12 a. the only instance of its use noted in secular authors).

2. a thing seized or to be seized, booty: ἁρπαγμόν ἡγεῖσθαι τί to deem anything a prlze — a thing to be seized upon or to be held fast, retained, Philippians 2:6; on the meaning of this passage see μορφή; (ἡγεῖσθαι or ποιεῖσθαι τί ἅρπαγμα, Eusebius, h. e. 8, 12, 2; vit. Const. 2, 31; (commentaries in Luc. vi., cf. Mai, Nov. Biblical Patr. iv., p. 165); Heliodorus 7, 11 and 20; 8, 7; (Plutarch, de Alex. virt. 1, 8, p. 330d.);utomniumbonapraedamtuamduceres, Cicero, Verr. 2:5, 15, 39; (see Lightfoot on Phil., p. 133f (cf. p. 111); Wetstein at the passage; Cremer, 4te Aufl., p. 153f)).

Topical Lexicon
Term and Canonical Occurrence

Harpagmos (ἁρπαγμός) appears once in the New Testament, in Philippians 2:6, within Paul’s Christological hymn.

Cultural and Linguistic Background

In secular Greek writings the noun family conveys seizing spoils, clutching prey, or tenaciously holding advantage. Military victory, civic privilege, and even courtroom disputes employed the image of grasping what one either desired or believed was already his. When Paul selects this rare word, he places Jesus’ attitude against the backdrop of triumphal self-assertion familiar to Greco-Roman ears.

Context within Philippians 2:5–11

The surrounding passage commands, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The word harpagmos becomes the hinge:

• Pre-existent glory: “existing in the form of God.”
• Chosen restraint: Christ “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped”.
• Resulting action: “but emptied Himself.”

Paul’s structure shows that the Son possessed equality, yet refused to treat it as a trophy to guard for His own advantage. The downward movement (form of God → servant → death) is thus deliberate, not coerced.

Christological Significance

1. Full Deity Affirmed: Only one who is truly equal with God can forgo the prerogatives of that equality.
2. Second Adam Contrast: Adam reached to become “like God” (Genesis 3:5); Christ, already equal, relinquished.
3. Kenosis Clarified: The self-emptying of verse 7 concerns external privilege, never the essence of divine attributes.
4. Trinitarian Harmony: Voluntary submission underscores unity, not inferiority, within the Godhead (John 10:30; John 17:5).

Historical Theological Reception

• Irenaeus invoked the verse against Gnostic demotion of the Son.
• Athanasius argued that only the true God could lay aside glory without loss of deity, striking at Arian claims.
• Chalcedon echoed Philippians 2 by confessing Christ “truly God and truly man” while insisting the two natures remain without confusion.
• Reformation and post-Reformation theologians defended a non-attrition view of kenosis: Christ veiled, but never surrendered, divine perfections.

Ethical and Pastoral Implications

• Humble Service: Believers refuse to cling to personal rights, mirroring Christ (Philippians 2:3–4).
• Unity in Community: Letting go of status disarms rivalry and fosters “one mind” (Philippians 2:2).
• Leadership Paradigm: Church authority imitates the Lord who serves (Mark 10:45).
• Missional Motivation: The Incarnate Son’s self-lowering propels cross-cultural, sacrificial witness (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Devotional Reflection

Harpagmos presses each reader to ask: Do I cling to position, recognition, or comfort? The eternal Son counted none of these worth grasping when souls hung in the balance. The Spirit who formed that mindset in Him now forms it in all who are “in Christ Jesus.”

Summary

Though occurring but once, harpagmos powerfully encapsulates the gospel paradox: the Highest stoops lower than all to lift many to Himself. It anchors a cornerstone passage for orthodox Christology and supplies a perpetual call to Christ-like humility.

Forms and Transliterations
αρπαγμον αρπαγμόν ἁρπαγμὸν arpagmon harpagmon harpagmòn
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Philippians 2:6 N-AMS
GRK: ὑπάρχων οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ
NAS: with God a thing to be grasped,
KJV: thought it not robbery to be equal
INT: subsisting not something to be grasped esteemed it

Strong's Greek 725
1 Occurrence


ἁρπαγμὸν — 1 Occ.

724
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