PEACE — A Word-Study Dossier εἰρήνη in John 14:27 and John 16:33, with their threads, related words, and the LXX background This dossier assembles the texts. It does not deliver a verdict. The occurrences stand first, the related words and the background second, the open question last. ———————————————————————————— I. THE TWO TEXTS "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don't let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful." (John 14:27, WEB) "I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33, WEB) One noun stands in both passages: εἰρήνη (eirēnē, Strong's 1515) — peace. In John 14 it stands under two verbs of giving. In John 16 it stands inside a prepositional phrase of place. The dossier keeps those two grammars separate, because the texts keep them separate. ———————————————————————————— II. EVERY OCCURRENCE IN THE JOHN 14 THREAD (John 14:25–31) The thread is the close of the first farewell discourse: the promise of the Counselor who will teach and remind (John 14:25–26), the gift of peace (John 14:27), the departure and return stated again (John 14:28–29), the coming of the prince of the world (John 14:30), and the rising to go (John 14:31). εἰρήνη occurs twice in the range, both times in John 14:27, in the same form, under two different verbs. 1. John 14:27a — Εἰρήνην (Eirēnēn) εἰρήνη, noun, accusative feminine singular (N-AFS). Εἰρήνην ἀφίημι ὑμῖν. "Peace I leave with you" (John 14:27, WEB). The noun stands bare: no article, no possessive pronoun. Its syntactic role is direct object of ἀφίημι (aphiēmi, Strong's 863) — present active indicative, 1st person singular (V-PIA-1S): "I leave." ἀφίημι is a verb of leaving behind, of letting go, of sending away; here its object is peace, and its indirect object is ὑμῖν, "with you / to you" (dative plural). The peace of this clause is the peace of a departure: it is what remains with the disciples as the Speaker goes. 2. John 14:27b — εἰρήνην (eirēnēn), with τὴν ἐμήν εἰρήνη, noun, accusative feminine singular (N-AFS), now with the article and the possessive: τὴν ἐμήν (tēn emēn) — "the … of mine," article accusative feminine singular with the 1st-person possessive pronoun, accusative feminine singular. εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν. "My peace I give to you" (John 14:27, WEB). Its syntactic role is direct object of δίδωμι (didōmi, Strong's 1325) — present active indicative, 1st person singular (V-PIA-1S): "I give." Where the first occurrence was bare, this one is owned: the peace is named as His before it is given. The verse then measures the giving against another giver: οὐ καθὼς ὁ κόσμος δίδωσιν ἐγὼ δίδωμι ὑμῖν — "not as the world gives, I give to you" (John 14:27, WEB). The governing verbs, distinguished. The verse carries two verbs over the noun, and they are not the same verb. — ἀφίημι (863): to leave, to let go, to send away. One occurrence in the verse, present active indicative 1st person singular. Its object is the bare εἰρήνην. The direction is backward, toward what stays behind at a departure. — δίδωμι (1325): to give. Three occurrences in the verse, all present active indicative: δίδωμι, "I give" (1st person singular); δίδωσιν, "gives" (3rd person singular, whose subject is ὁ κόσμος, the world); δίδωμι again, "I give" (1st person singular, with ἐγώ expressed: "I give to you"). The world's giving is stated in the same tense and the same verb, and is set apart by the negative and the comparison: οὐ καθώς, "not as." The dossier records the grammar: the distinction the verse draws between the two givings is not drawn by tense, and not drawn by verb. Both give in the present indicative of δίδωμι. Checked and excluded: no further εἰρήνη occurs in John 14:25–31. Two neighbouring verbs in John 14:27 itself are not εἰρήνη and are recorded so the count is exact. — ταρασσέσθω (tarassesthō), from ταράσσω (Strong's 5015), present imperative, 3rd person singular: μὴ ταρασσέσθω ὑμῶν ἡ καρδία — "Don't let your heart be troubled" (John 14:27, WEB). ταράσσω names a stirring up, a troubling; it is the state the verse commands against, not the gift the verse gives. — δειλιάτω (deiliatō), from δειλιάω (Strong's 1168), present active imperative, 3rd person singular: μηδὲ δειλιάτω — "neither let it be fearful" (John 14:27, WEB). δειλιάω names fearfulness, timidity. It also is not εἰρήνη. Summary of the thread: two occurrences, both accusative feminine singular, both in one verse. The first stands bare as the object of a leaving; the second stands with article and possessive as the object of a giving. Every verb that governs the noun in John 14:27 is present tense. Nothing in the thread puts the giving in the future. ———————————————————————————— III. EVERY OCCURRENCE IN THE JOHN 16 THREAD (John 16:25–33) The thread is the close of the farewell discourse: plain speech promised (John 16:25), asking in that day (John 16:26–28), the disciples' confession and its testing (John 16:29–31), the scattering foretold (John 16:32), and the final sentence of the discourse (John 16:33). εἰρήνη occurs once in the range, in John 16:33. 1. John 16:33 — εἰρήνην (eirēnēn) εἰρήνη, noun, accusative feminine singular (N-AFS). ταῦτα λελάληκα ὑμῖν ἵνα ἐν ἐμοὶ εἰρήνην ἔχητε. "I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace" (John 16:33, WEB). Its syntactic role is direct object of ἔχητε (echete) — ἔχω, present active subjunctive, 2nd person plural — inside the purpose clause opened by ἵνα. The peace is not governed here by a verb of giving. It is governed by a verb of having, in the subjunctive of purpose, and it is placed by a prepositional phrase: ἐν ἐμοί — ἐν with the dative of the 1st-person pronoun, "in me." The phrase stands first in its clause, before the noun and the verb: ἐν ἐμοὶ εἰρήνην ἔχητε. Set beside it, in the same sentence: ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ θλῖψιν ἔχετε — "In the world you have trouble" (John 16:33, WEB). The construction is parallel and the grammar is not identical. — ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ: ἐν with the dative, the article, and κόσμος (kosmos, Strong's 2889), noun, dative masculine singular — "in the world," answering ἐν ἐμοί point for point. — θλῖψιν (thlipsin), from θλῖψις (thlipsis, Strong's 2347), noun, accusative feminine singular — tribulation, trouble, pressure. It is the object in its clause, as εἰρήνην is the object in its clause. — ἔχετε (echete): ἔχω, present active indicative, 2nd person plural. The same verb as ἔχητε, in a different mood. The having of peace stands in the subjunctive, inside the purpose of the speaking (ἵνα); the having of trouble stands in the indicative, as a stated fact of the world. (A textual note: some witnesses read ἕξετε, the future of ἔχω, for ἔχετε. Nestle 1904 reads ἔχετε, the present indicative, and this dossier follows that text and records the variant without merging it.) Related words in the verse, parsed briefly and distinguished: — λελάληκα (lelalēka), from λαλέω (Strong's 2980), perfect active indicative, 1st person singular: "I have told." The speaking that aims at the peace is a perfect: spoken, and standing spoken. — θαρσεῖτε (tharseite), from θαρσέω (Strong's 2293), present active imperative, 2nd person plural: "cheer up" (John 16:33, WEB). An imperative, not a noun and not a state: courage is commanded in the verse, where peace is purposed and trouble is stated. — νενίκηκα (nenikēka), from νικάω (Strong's 3528), perfect active indicative, 1st person singular: "I have overcome." Its object is τὸν κόσμον, the world in the accusative — the same κόσμος that in the dative, two clauses earlier, is the place of trouble. The verb is perfect: overcome, with the overcoming standing complete as the sentence is spoken, on the near side of the cross in the discourse's own order. Checked and excluded: no further εἰρήνη occurs in John 16:25–32. The noun κόσμος occurs in the thread at John 16:28 (twice, of coming into the world and leaving it) and twice in John 16:33 (dative, then accusative); it is not εἰρήνη and is listed here only because John 16:33 sets it against ἐν ἐμοί. Summary of the thread: one occurrence, accusative feminine singular, the object of a present subjunctive of ἔχω inside a purpose clause, located by ἐν ἐμοί. Beside it, one occurrence of θλῖψις, accusative feminine singular, the object of a present indicative of the same verb, located by ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. The verse's other tenses are a perfect of speaking (λελάληκα), a present imperative of courage (θαρσεῖτε), and a perfect of overcoming (νενίκηκα). ———————————————————————————— IV. RELATED WORDS DISTINGUISHED — AND THE LXX BACKGROUND A. Related words in the New Testament These words stand near εἰρήνη. They are not εἰρήνη, and this dossier does not merge them into it. 1. ἡσυχία (hēsychia, Strong's 2271) — quietness, rest, an undisturbed manner of life. A noun, feminine. It names quietness as a condition of conduct: in 2 Thess 3:12 the readers are charged to work "with quietness" and eat their own bread (paraphrased; the form there is ἡσυχίας, genitive feminine singular, after μετά). ἡσυχία is nowhere in the New Testament the object of a verb of giving in the manner of John 14:27. It describes how a life is carried on; εἰρήνη in the anchor threads is a thing left, given, and had. 2. ἀσφάλεια (asphaleia, Strong's 803) — safety, security, certainty. A noun, feminine. It names security against harm, or firmness of fact. It stands beside εἰρήνη once, as a second and separate noun, in the cry reported at 1 Thess 5:3 — "Peace and safety" (paraphrased) — where the two words are joined by καί and are not one word: Εἰρήνη καὶ ἀσφάλεια, both nominative feminine singular, as the words of the cry itself. The dossier distinguishes them: ἀσφάλεια speaks of being unharmed and unshaken; εἰρήνη in the LXX background below carries the wider weight of the Hebrew word it renders. B. The LXX background εἰρήνη is the Septuagint's standing rendering of the Hebrew שָׁלוֹם (šālôm) — wholeness, welfare, peace. Three settings, verified in the LXX text, show the word at work before John: a blessing commanded to priests, a covenant parting between men, and a promise sworn by God. 1. A blessing — Numbers 6:26 (LXX). ἐπάραι κύριος τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ δῴη σοι εἰρήνην. "The Lord lift up his face toward you, and give you peace" (Num 6:26, LXX, in the Brenton rendering). The form is εἰρήνην, accusative feminine singular — the same form as both Johannine threads — and it is the object of δῴη (dōē), the aorist optative, 3rd person singular, of δίδωμι: "may he give." In the blessing, peace is the last-named gift of the lifted face, and the verb that carries it is the giving verb of John 14:27, in the optative of the blessing rather than the indicative of the farewell discourse. 2. A covenant parting — Genesis 26:29 (LXX). ἐξαπεστείλαμέν σε μετ᾿ εἰρήνης. "We sent you away in peace" (Gen 26:29, LXX, in the Brenton rendering). The form is εἰρήνης, genitive feminine singular, after μετά: "with peace." The words stand inside the covenant negotiation between Abimelech's party and Isaac (Gen 26:28–31): an oath is proposed, a feast is eaten, and the parties swear and part. The peace here is the stated term of a parting between former adversaries — spoken of a sending-away, by men, under oath. (Checked at the next verse: the LXX's word for the actual departure in Gen 26:31 is not εἰρήνη but σωτηρία — they departed μετὰ σωτηρίας, "with safety." The translator's two words are recorded side by side and are not merged.) 3. A prophetic promise — Isaiah 54:10 (LXX). οὐδὲ ἡ διαθήκη τῆς εἰρήνης σου οὐ μὴ μεταστῇ. "Neither shall the covenant of your peace be removed" (Isa 54:10, LXX, in the Brenton rendering). The form is εἰρήνης, genitive feminine singular, inside the phrase ἡ διαθήκη τῆς εἰρήνης σου — "the covenant of your peace." The peace is a covenant's content, and the sentence is a promise about removal: mountains may be moved and hills shaken, and this, God says, shall not be. Where Genesis 26 set εἰρήνη as the term of a parting, Isaiah 54 sets it as the thing that does not part. ———————————————————————————— V. THE THREADS, SET SIDE BY SIDE John 14 thread (giving): — The Counselor is promised first: He will teach all things and bring the words to remembrance (John 14:26). The peace sentence follows the promise of the Reminder. — Peace is left: Εἰρήνην ἀφίημι ὑμῖν — the noun bare, the verb a verb of departure, the tense present (John 14:27). — Peace is given as His own: εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν — the noun now articular and possessed, the verb the ordinary verb of giving, the tense present (John 14:27). — The world's giving is named in the same verb and the same tense, and set apart only by the comparison: not as the world gives (John 14:27). — The commands that close the verse are against the neighbours of peace, not against peace: let not your heart be troubled (ταράσσω), neither let it be fearful (δειλιάω) (John 14:27). — The thread then resumes the departure: going away, coming back, told beforehand so that they may believe, and the rising to go (John 14:28–31). The giving of peace stands inside a discourse of leaving, and its verbs are presents. John 16 thread (location): — Plain speech is promised, and the asking of that day (John 16:25–26); the Father's love stated (John 16:27); the coming from the Father and the leaving of the world stated as one movement (John 16:28). — The disciples' belief is tested in the same hour it is confessed (John 16:31), and their scattering is foretold (John 16:32). The peace sentence is spoken to men about to scatter. — Peace is located: ἐν ἐμοὶ εἰρήνην ἔχητε — in me, peace, in the subjunctive of the purpose of all the speaking (John 16:33). — Trouble is located: ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ θλῖψιν ἔχετε — in the world, trouble, in the indicative (John 16:33). — The sentence ends not with a location but with a person and a perfect tense: θαρσεῖτε — ἐγὼ νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον (John 16:33). Set beside each other: in John 14 the noun is twice accusative and twice governed — left, and given; the possessive τὴν ἐμήν carries the ownership. In John 16 the noun is once accusative and once governed — had, under ἵνα, in a named place; the pronoun ἐμοί carries the location. Chapter 14 does not use ἐν ἐμοί of the peace, and chapter 16 does not use δίδωμι of it. The giving thread has no θλῖψις; the location thread has no ἀφίημι. Each grammar stands on its own page of the discourse, and the dossier leaves them standing so. ———————————————————————————— VI. THE CRUX, LEFT OPEN The crux stays open: John 14 calls peace Christ's own gift, given not as the world gives. John 16 places peace in Christ and tribulation in the world in one sentence. Is εἰρήνη in these threads a present location in Christ that coexists with θλῖψις, or a future condition announced ahead of its arrival — and what in the grammar of giving and location decides it? This dossier assembles the text under that question. It does not answer it. ———————————————————————————— Sources: Greek text and parsing — Nestle 1904 via BibleHub text analysis and lexicon pages (John 14:27; John 16:33), verified 2026-10-26. English — World English Bible (public domain), via Bible Gateway WEB texts (John 14; John 16), verified 2026-10-26. LXX texts — Num 6:26; Gen 26:29, 31; Isa 54:10 (Rahlfs text as carried by ebible.org's LXX and the Isaiah polyglot, with the Brenton rendering), verified 2026-10-26. John 16:33: Nestle 1904 reads ἔχετε (present indicative) where some witnesses read ἕξετε (future); both readings are recorded in section III.