noun · feminine
chōras
Strong’sG5561
region, land, fields
stem chōr-28 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books6 of 10 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
χώρα refers to a region, country, or land — an area of territory, which may be more or less extensive and can be understood to include the people living in it as well as the ground itself 2. It is used for naming particular districts or territories, such as Galilee, Judea, or the territory belonging to a people 14.
It can also mean land held as property, an estate or field belonging to someone 1.
It is further used for the countryside, as distinct from the town or city 13.
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
χώρα, -ας, ἡ
[in LXX for אֶרֶץ, מְדִינָה, etc.;]
SYN.: ἄγρος, τόπος (cf. DCG, i, 591a; LS, s.v. χώρα, ad init.).
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G5561 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidkho'-rah
room, i.e. a space of territory (more or less extensive; often including its inhabitants)
Fromfeminine of a derivative of the base of G5490 through the idea of empty expanse;
King Jamescoast, county, fields, ground, land, region.
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 χώρη, ἡ, ={χῶρος}, space or room in which a thing is, defined as partly occupied space, distinguished from κενόν and τόπος, Refs 5th c.BC+ = countryRefs 8th c.BC+; χώραν τινὶ καταλιπεῖν leave room for it, Refs 1st c.AD+
2 generally, place, spot, στρέψεσθ᾽ ἐκ χώρης ὅθι.. Refs 8th c.BC+; χώραν ἐκ χώρας μεταβάλλειν move from place to place, Refs 5th c.BC+; field in a ceiling, Refs 4th c.BC+; ἡ πρώτη χ. the first field (on the chest of Cypselus), Refs 2nd c.AD+; socket or cavity of a joint, Refs 5th c.BC+; of the eye, Refs 4th c.BC+; as euphemism for the genital organs, Refs
3 the position, proper place of a person or thing, ἐνὶ χώρῃ ἕζεται Refs 8th c.BC+: especially a soldier's post, Ἄρης οὐκ ἔνι χώρα is not at his post (or perhaps in the land,Refs 5th c.BC+; χώραν λιπεῖν, προλείπειν, Refs 5th c.BC+; μισθοφορεῖν κεναῖς χ. draw pay for unfilled vacancies, Refs 4th c.BC+ fill a person's place, Refs 6th c.AD+ take a position, find one's place, ἕως ἂν χώραν λάβῃ [τὰ πράγματα] till they are brought into position, into order, Refs 5th c.BC+; οὐκ ἂν ἔχοι χώραν νοήσεως ἡντινοῦν τὸ ἀγαθόν the Good cannot have any possibility of thinking, Refs 3rd c.AD+; σοὶ ἀστρονομεῖν χ. your province is astronomy, Refs 2nd c.AD+ time and place, ἐν ὁποία ἀξία φυτευθῆναι καὶ ὥρὰ καὶ χώρᾳ Refs 5th c.BC+; πρὸς ὥρας καὶ χώρας καὶ διαίταςRefs 4th c.BC+ b. in metric, position of a foot in a verse, τὸ δακτυλικὸν δέχεται δακτύλους καὶ σπονδείους κατὰ πᾶσαν χ. Refs 7th c.AD+
4 metaphorically, station, place, position, ἐν χώρᾳ τινὸς εἶναι to be in his position, be counted the same as he is, ἐν ἀνδραπόδων or μισθοφόρου χώρᾳ εἶναι to be in the position of slaves or mercenaries, to pass or rank as such, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν οὐδεμιᾷ χ. εἶναι to have no place or rank, be in no esteem, Refs 6th c.BC+
5 in senses Refs 5th c.BC+; εἰς τὰς ἑαυτῶν χ. πάρεισι are at their posts, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν χώρᾳ in one's place, at one's post, ἐν ταῖς χ. γενέσθαι Refs; ἐν χώρᾳ πίπτειν, ἀποθνῄσκειν, die at one's post, Refs; ἐπὶ χώρας ἕσσαι set it in its place, Refs 5th c.BC+; also μένειν ἐπὶ χώρας, ={μένειν κατὰ χώραν}, remain in force, Refs 2nd c.BC+; κατὰ χώρην εἶναι be in one's place, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἤλπιζον.. οὐ μενεῖν κατὰ χ. τὰ πράγματαRefsas it was, undisturbed, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐᾶν κατὰ χ. τὴν πόλιν leave in its place, leave as it was, Refs 5th c.BC+; κατὰ χ. ἀπιέναι retire in their old order, Refs 5th c.BC+
II land, i.e. ,
II.1 a land, country, ἅς τινας ἵκεο χώρας ἀνθρώπων Refs 8th c.BC+; territory, ὁ τύραννος ἢ πόλεων ἢ χ. πολλῆς [ἐπιθυμεῖ] Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 landed estate, Refs 5th c.BC+. b. country town, τοὺς κήρυκας διαπέμψαντες ἐς τὰς χ. Refs 5th c.BC+
II.3 the country, opposed to to the town, ἡ πόλις καὶ ἡ χ. Refs 5th c.BC+; ὁ ἐκ τῆς χ. γιγνόμενος σῖτοςRefs; ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ κοιταῖον γίγνεσθαι, opposed to ἐν ἄστει, Decrees cited in Refs 4th c.BC+; ἁ κοινὰ χ. (of two cities) Refs 2nd c.BC+: especially of Egypt as opposed to Alexandria, Refs 3rd c.BC+; ἡ ἄνω χ. καὶ ἡ κάτω, Upper and Lower Egypt, Refs 3rd c.BC+ alone is used in Attic dialect; whereas in signification 1 χῶρος is common, except in the special sense of one's proper place or post (χῶρος and χώρα perhaps cognate with χῆρος, χῆτος).
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 | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | chōras2×χώρα | chōrais |
| object accusative | chōran14×χώραν | chōrain3×χώρας |
| direct address vocative | chōrar | chōrair |
| of, belonging to genitive | chōrau5×χώρας | chōraiu |
| to, for dative | chōra3×χώρᾳ | chōrai1×χώραις |
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
chōra 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
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
28 occurrences, every one of them listed
chōras“land”subjectnominative singular2×
Mark 1:5… ekporeuote pros auton pantas tas Ioudaias chōras kai tois Hierosolumitois pantois, kai baptizole …… from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they …
Luke 12:16“land”… legarōntos; Anthrōpou tinou plousiou euforata tas chōras.… a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an …
chōran“country”objectaccusative singular14×
Matthew 2:12… dia allosau hodau anachōrala eis tan chōran autoiu.… to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.
Matthew 8:28“country”… autou eis tem peran eis tan chōran toiu Gadarēnoiu hupantala auto duo daimonizorōntois …… arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by two demon-possessed men coming …
Mark 5:1“country”… tem peran tau thalassau eis tan chōran toiu Gerasēnoiu.On the other side of the sea, they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes.
Mark 6:55peritrechala holan tan chōran ekeinan kai archela epi toi krabattoi …and ran through that whole region, carrying the sick on mats to …
Luke 8:26“country”Kai kataplala eis tan chōran toiu Gerasēnoiu, hotinas atō antipera tau …Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the …
Luke 15:13… panteim tos neoteros huios apodēmata eis chōran makran, kai ekei diaskorpizata tan ousian …… together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in …
Luke 15:14… panteim geneta limas ischuras kata tan chōran ekeinan, kai autos archeta husterorō.… a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in …
Luke 19:12… oun; Anthrōpos tinos eugenos poreuita eis chōran makran labara heauto basileian kai hupostrefara.… noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship …
John 11:54“region”… Ioudaioi, alla aperchata ekeithen eis tan chōran engus tau erēmau, eis Efraim legorōntan …… no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but He withdrew to a town called Ephraim in an area near the wilderness. And He stayed there with the disciples.
Acts 12:20… eirēnan dia tem treforō autoiu tan chōran apo tau basilikau.… their region depended on the king’s country for food.
Acts 16:6Dierchala de tan Frugian kai Galatikan chōran, kōluirantois hupo teu hagieu pneumeu lalara …… of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.
Acts 18:23… tinon exerchata, dierchorōntos kathexēs tan Galatikan chōran kai Frugian, stērizarōntos pantoin toin mathētoin.… from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all …
Acts 26:20… tē kai Hierosolumei, pantan tē tan chōran tau Ioudaiau, kai tei ethnei apangelame …… Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the …
Acts 27:27… huponoale tois nautois prosagarō tinan autoi chōran.… the sailors sensed they were approaching land.
chōrau“country”of, belonging togenitive singular5×
Mark 5:10“country”… hina mē auteim apostelateia exō tau chōrau.… Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of that region.
Luke 3:1“region”… autou tetraarcharōntou tau Itouraiau kai Trachōnitidau chōrau, kai Lusaniou tau Abilēnau tetraarcharōntou,… Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
Luke 15:15… poreuirantos kollita heno toiu politoiu tau chōrau ekeinau, kai pempata auton eis toin …… out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields …
John 11:55… anabainala pollois eis Hierosolumeim ek tau chōrau pro teu pascha hina hagnizaleia heautoin.… many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to purify themselves before …
Acts 13:49… logos tou kuriou dia holau tau chōrau.… of the Lord spread throughout that region.
chōra“land”to, fordative singular3×
Matthew 4:16… horata megem, kai toi kathorōntoi en chōra kai skia thanatou fōtem anatellata autoi.… light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a …
Luke 2:8“region”Kai poimenois ale en ta chōra ta auta agraularōntois kai fulassarōntois fulakain …And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their …
Acts 10:39… panteiu heiu poiata en tē ta chōra toiu Ioudaioiu kai Ierousalēm; hon kai …… that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem …
chōrain“fields”objectaccusative plural3×
John 4:35… toin ofthalmoin vu kai theasevar tain chōrain hoti leukais alō pros therismon; ēdē… your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.
Acts 8:1“regions”… Hierosolumei; pantois de diasparila kata tain chōrain tau Ioudaiau kai Samareiau plēn toiu …… church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
James 5:4… misthos toiu ergatoiu toiu amarantoiu tain chōrain vu tos afusterorēntos apo vu krazatō, …… from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The …
chōrai“country”to, fordative plural1×
Luke 21:21… autau ekchōralōr, kai tois en tai chōrai mē eisercholōr eis autan,… out, and let those in the country stay out of the city.