περί (akin to πέρα, πέραν; (Curtius, § 359)), preposition, joined in the N. T. with the genitive and the accusative (in classical Greek also with the dative), and indicating that the person or thing relative to which an act or state is predicated is as it were encompassed by this act or state; Latin circum, circa; around, about.
I. with the GENITIVE it denotes that around which an act or state revolves; about, concerning, as touching, etc. (Latin de, quod attinet ad, causa with a genitive propter) (cf. Winers Grammar, 372f (349)).
a. about, concerning, (Latin de; in later Latin also circa): after verbs of speaking, teaching, writing, etc., see under ἀναγγέλλω, ἀπαγμαι, διαγνωρίζω, διαλέγομαι, διδάσκω, διηγοῦμαι (Hebrews 11:32), διήγησις, εἶπον and προεῖπον, ἐπερωτάω and ἐρωτάω, κατηχέω, λαλέω, λέγω, λόγον αἰτέω, λόγον ἀποδίδωμι, λόγον δίδωμι, μαρτυρέω, μνεία, μνημονεύω, προκαταγγέλλω, προφητεύω, ὑπομιμνῄσκω, χρηματίζομαι, ἦχος, φήμη, etc.; after verbs of hearing, knowing, ascertaining, inquiring, see under ἀκούω, γινώσκω, ἐπίσταμαι, εἶδον, ἐξετάζω, ζητέω, ἐκζητέω, ἐπιζητέω, ζήτημα, πυνθάνομαι, etc.; after verbs of thinking, deciding, supposing, doubting, etc.; see under διαλογίζομαι, ἐνθυμέομαι, πέπεισμαι, πιστεύω, διαπορέω, ἐλέγχω, etc.
b. as respects (A. V. often (as) touching);
α. with verbs, to indicate that what is expressed by the verb (or verbal noun) holds so far forth as some person or thing is concerned; with regard to, in reference to: Acts 28:21; Hebrews 11:20; ἡ περί σου μνεία, 2 Timothy 1:3; ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν, 1 Corinthians 7:37; ἐπιταγήν ἔχειν, ibid. 25; see ἐντέλλομαι, ἐντολή, παρακαλέω, παραμυθέομαι, πρόφασις, ἔκδικος, λαγχάνω to cast lots.
β. with the neuter plural (and singular) of the article, τά περί τίνος the things concerning a person or thing, i. e. what relates to, can be said about, etc.: τά περί τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ, Acts 1:3; Acts 8:12 (Rec.); Acts 19:8 (here L Tr WH omit τά); τά περί τῆς ὁδοῦ, Acts 24:22; with the genitive of a person one's affairs, his condition or state: Acts 28:15; Ephesians 6:22; Philippians 1:27; Philippians 2:19ff; Colossians 4:8; in a forensic sense, one's cause or case, Acts 24:10; τά περί Ἰησοῦ (or τοῦ κυρίου) (the (rumors) about Jesus (as a worker of miracles), Mark 5:27 T Tr marginal reading brackets WH); the things (necessary to be known and believed) concerning Jesus, Acts 18:25; Acts 23:11; Acts 28:23 Rec., 31; the things that befell Jesus, his death, Luke 24:19; the things in the O. T. relative to him, the prophecies concerning him, Luke 24:27; the career, death, appointed him by God, Luke 22:37 (here T Tr WH τό etc.).
γ. περί τίνος, absolutely, at the beginning of sentences, concerning, as to: 1 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 1 Corinthians 16:1, 12; but in other places it is more properly taken with the following verb, Matthew 22:31; Matthew 24:36; Mark 12:26; 1 Corinthians 7:25; 1 Corinthians 8:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 12:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:1; cf. Winers Grammar, 373 (350).
c. on account of;
α. of the subject matter, which at the same time occasions the action expressed by the verb: so after verbs of accusing, see ἐγκαλέω, κατηγορέω, κρίνω τινα περί τίνος, etc.; after verbs expressing emotion, see θαυμάζω, ἀγανακτέω, καυχάομαι, σπλαγχνίζομαι, εὐχαριστέω, εὐχαριστία, αἰνέω, μέλειμοι μεριμνάω; also after εὔχομαι, 3 John 1:2, see πᾶς II. 2 b. θ'.
β. of the cause for (on account of) which a tiring is done, or of that which gave occasion for the action or occurrence: Mark 1:44; Luke 5:14; John 10:33 (περί τῆς βλασφημίας λάβετε αὐτόν, Ev. Nic c. 4, p. 546, Thilo edition (p. 221, Tdf. edition)); Acts 15:2; Acts 19:23; Acts 25:15, 18, 24; Colossians 2:1 (R G).
γ. on account of i. e. for, for the benefit or advantage of: Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24 R G; Luke 4:38; John 16:26; John 17:9, 20; Hebrews 5:3; Hebrews 11:40; περί and ὑπέρ alternate in Ephesians 6:18f (cf. Winers Grammar, 383 (358) n. also § 50, 3; Buttmann, § 147, 21, 22; Wieseler, Meyer, Lightfoot, Ellicott on Galatians 1:4).
δ. περί is used of the design or purpose for removing something or taking it away: περί ἁμαρτίας, to destroy sin, Romans 8:3 [al. find here the same idiom as in Hebrews 10:6 below (cf. R. B. txt.)]; διδόναι ἑαυτόν περί τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, to expiate, atone for, sins, Galatians 1:4 (where R WH text ὑπέρ (see as in γ above, and cf. ὑπέρ, I. 6)); also to offer sacrifices, and simply sacrifices, περί ἁμαρτιῶν. Hebrews 5:3 (R G ὑπέρ; see as above); Hebrews 10:18,26; περί ἁμαρτιῶν ἔπαθε (ἀπέθανεν), 1 Peter 3:18; περί ἁμαρτίας namely, θυσίαι, sacrifices for sin, expiatory sacrifices, Hebrews 10:6 (from Psalm 39:7 (Ps. 40:7); cf. Numbers 8:8; see ἁμαρτία, 3; τά περί τῆς ἁμαρτίας Leviticus 6:25; τό περί τῆς ἁμαρτίας, Leviticus 14:19); ἱλασμός περί τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10.
II. with the ACCUSATIVE (Winers Grammar, 406 (379));
a. of place; about, around: as, about parts of the body, Matthew 3:4; (Matthew 18:6 L T Tr WH); Mark 1:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2; Revelation 15:6. about places: Luke 13:8; Acts 22:6; Jude 1:7; τά περί τόν τόπον ἐκεῖνον, the neighborhood of that place, Acts 28:7; οἱ περί with an accusative of place, those dwelling about a place or in its vicinity, Mark 3:8 (T Tr WH omit; L brackets οἱ). οἱ περί τινα, those about one, i. e. with him, his companions, associates, friends, etc., Mark 4:10; Luke 22:49; (add, Mark 16 WH (rejected) Shorter Conclusion); according to Greek idiom οἱ περί τόν Παῦλον, Paul and his companions (German die Paulusgesellschaft) (cf. Winers Grammar, 406 (379); Buttmann, § 125, 8), Acts 13:13; according to a later Greek usage αἱ περί Μάρθαν denotes Martha herself, John 11:19 (although others (e. g. Meyer, Weiss, Keil, Godet, others) understand by it Martha and her attendants or domestics; but L Tr WH read πρός τήν (for τάς περί) Μάρθαν); cf. Matthiae, § 583, 2; Bernhardy (1829), p. 263; Kühncr ii., p. 230f; (Winers Grammar, and Buttmann, as above). in phrases the underlying notion of which is that of revolving about sometiring: of persons engaged in any occupation, οἱ περί τά τοιαῦτα ἐργάται (A. V. the workmen of like occupation), Acts 19:25; περισπᾶσθαι, πυρβάζεσθαι περί τί, Luke 10:40, 41 (but here L T Tr WIt text θορυβάζῃ which see (and WH marginal reading omits περί πολλά)) (περί τήν γεωργίαν γίνεσθαι, 2 Macc. 12:1).
b. as to, in reference to, concerning: so after ἀδόκιμος, 2 Timothy 3:8; ἀστόχειν, 1 Timothy 6:21; 2 Timothy 2:18; ναυάγειν, 1 Timothy 1:19; νόσειν, 1 Timothy 6:4; περί πάντα ἑαυτόν παρέχεσθαι τύπον, Titus 2:7; τά περί ἐμέ, the state of my affairs, Philippians 2:23; αἱ περί τά λοιπά ἐπιθυμίαι Mark 4:19 (αἱ περί τό σῶμα ἐπιθυμίαι, Aristotle, rhet. 2, 12, 3; τά περί ψυχήν καί σῶμα ἀγαθά, eth. Nic. 1, 8); cf. Winers Grammar, § 30, 3 N. 5; (Buttmann, § 125, 9).
c. of Time; in a somewhat indefinite specification of time, about, near: περί τρίτην ὥραν, Matthew 20:3; add, Matthew 20:5f,9; Matthew 27:46; Mark 6:48; Acts 10:(Acts 10:3 L T Tr WH),Acts 10:9; Acts 22:6.
III. in COMPOSITION περί in the N. T. signifies:
1. in a circuit, round about, all around, as περιάγω, περιβάλλω, περιαστράπτω, περίκειμαι, περιοικέω, etc., etc.
2. beyond (because that which surrounds a thing does not belong to the thing itself but is beyond it): περίεργος, περιεργάζομαι, περιλείπω, περιμένω, περιούσιος, περισσός, περισσεύω.
3. through ((?) — intensive, rather (cf. περιάπτω, 2)): περιπείρω.

BLB Scripture Index of Thayer's