adjective
chēras
Strong’sG5503
a widow
stem chēr-26 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books6 of 26 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
A widow — a woman whose husband has died 124. Within the early Christian community the word could also refer to one belonging to a recognized group of widows 1.
The word can also be used figuratively, applied to a city pictured as forsaken or left desolate, as if widowed 12.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
χήρα, -ας, ἡ
[in LXX chiefly for אַלְמָנָה;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G5503 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidkhay'-rah
a widow (as lacking a husband), literally or figuratively
Fromfeminine of a presumed derivative apparently from the base of G5490 through the idea of deficiency;
King Jameswidow.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Ionic dialect χήρη, ἡ, widow, χῆραι γυναῖκες Refs 8th c.BC+; as a name of Hera, Refs 2nd c.AD+
2 Comedy texts, of a dish, widowed, i.e. without sauce, Refs 4th c.BC+
3 later masculine χῆρος, widower, Refs 4th c.BC+
II χῆρος, α, ον, Adj, metaphorically, bereaved, χῆρα μέλαθρα Refs 5th c.BC+; εὐνή Refs 3rd c.BC+; δρυμοὶ χ. bereft of men, Refs 8th c.BC+ Sanskrit jáhāti 'abandon, renounce'.)
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | masculine singular | feminine singular | neuter singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | chēros | chēras10×χήρα | chērem | chērois | chērais3×χῆραι | chēreim |
| object accusative | chēron | chēran3×χήραν | chēroin | chērain6×χήρας | ||
| direct address vocative | chēror | chērar | chēroir | chērair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | chērou | chērau | chēreu | chēroiu | chēraiu2×χηρῶν | chēreiu |
| to, for dative | chēro | chēra | chēre | chēroi | chērai2×χήραις | chērei |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
chēr is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
26 occurrences, every one of them listed
chēras“widow”subjectnominative singular10×
Mark 12:42kai ercharantas henas chēras ptōchas balata lepteim duo, hem atō …Then one poor widow came and put in two small …
Mark 12:43… autoi; Amēn legamō vi hoti tas chēras houtas tas ptōchas polloterem pantoiu balata …… Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all the …
Luke 2:37kai autas chēras heōs eteiu ogdoēkonta tessares, has ouk …and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She …
Luke 7:12… ta mētēra autou, kai autas ate chēras, kai ochlos tau polau hikanos ate …… his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the …
Luke 18:3chēras de ate en ta pola ekeina …And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing …
Luke 21:3… legata; Alēthōs legamō vi hoti tas chēras tas ptōchas houtas polloterem pantoiu balata;… tell you,” He said, “this poor widow has put in more than all …
1 Timothy 5:4ei de tinas chēras tekneim ē ekgoneim echatō, mathalōr prōton …But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must …
1 Timothy 5:5tas de ontōs chēras kai monorēntas elpizatē epi theon kai …The widow who is truly in need and …
1 Timothy 5:9Chēras katalegotōr mē elassōnem eteiu hexēkonta genarēntas, …A widow should be enrolled if she is …
Revelation 18:7… autau legatō hoti Kathomō basilissas, kai chēras ouk amō, kai penthem ouk mē …… as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’
chēran“widow”objectaccusative singular3×
Luke 4:26… eis Sarepta tau Sidōniau pros gunaikan chēran.… any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.
Luke 18:5… ge tem parecharō mi kopon tan chēran houtan ekdikami autan hina mē eis …yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give …
Luke 21:2horata de tinan chēran penichran balarōntan ekei lepteim duo,and He saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
chērais“widows”subjectnominative plural3×
Luke 4:25epi alētheiau de legamō vi, pollais chērais ale en tai hēmerai Ēliaou en …… you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of …
Acts 6:1… en ta diakonia ta kathēmerina tais chērais autoiu.… against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily …
Acts 9:39… huperōem, kai parastēala auto pantais tais chērais klaiarōntais kai epideikorōntais chitōnoin kai himatieim …… to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, weeping and showing …
chērain“widows”objectaccusative plural6×
Acts 9:41… fōnarantos de toin hagioin kai tain chērain parastēata autan zōarōntan.… Then he called the saints and widows and presented her to them alive.
1 Timothy 5:3Chērain timasōr tain ontōs chērain.Honor the widows who are truly widows.
1 Timothy 5:3Chērain timasōr tain ontōs chērain.Honor the widows who are truly widows.
1 Timothy 5:11neoterain de chērain paraitosōr; hotan gar katastrēnialeia tou Christou, …But refuse to enroll younger widows. For when their passions draw them …
1 Timothy 5:16ei tinas pistas echatō chērain, eparkatōr autai, kai mē barotōr tas …If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not …
James 1:27… patro houtas atō, episkeptorō orfanoin kai chērain en ta thlipsia autoiu, aspilon heauton …… this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep …
chēraiu“widows’”of, belonging togenitive plural2×
Mark 12:40tois katesthiarōntois tain oikiain taiu chēraiu kai profasia makreim proseuchorōntois; houtois labeli …They defraud widows of their houses, and for a …
Luke 20:47hois katesthialō tain oikiain taiu chēraiu kai profasia makreim proseucholō; houtois labeli …They defraud widows of their houses, and for a …
chērai“widows”to, fordative plural2×
1 Corinthians 7:8Legamō de toi agamoi kai tai chērai, kalem autoi ean menaleia hōs kamis;Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good …
1 Timothy 5:16… barotōr tas ekklēsas, hina tai ontōs chērai eparkateia.… so that it can help the widows who are truly in need.