noun · neuter
eidōlem
Strong’sG1497
an idol, false god
stem eidōl-11 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books4 of 6 forms occur
What it means
What the word means, in the words of the lexicons out of copyright — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones, wherever each has an entry for it.
εἴδωλον, -ου, τό
(< εἶδος), [in LXX for אֱלֹוהָּ, גְּלוּלִים, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1497 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidi'-do-lon
an image (i.e. for worship); by implication, a heathen god, or (plural) the worship of such
Fromfrom G1491;
King Jamesidol.
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
(εἶδος) phantom, Refs 8th c.BC+; βροτῶν εἴδωλα καμόντων, of ghosts, Refs 8th c.BC+
2 any unsubstantial form, εἴδωλον σκιᾶς Refs 5th c.BC+; εἴ. ἄλλως a mere form, Refs; αἰῶνος εἴ. Refs 5th c.BC+
3 image reflected in a mirror or in water, Refs 5th c.BC+
4 in the system of Epicurus, film given off by any object and conveying an impression to the eye, Refs 4th c.BC+
II image in the mind, idea, Refs 5th c.BC+; phantom of the mind, fancy, Refs 5th c.BC+
III image, likeness, γυναικὸς εἴ. χρύσεον Refs 5th c.BC+
IV later, image of a god, idol, LXX+NT+6th c.AD+
V εἴ. οὐράνια constellations, Refs 3rd c.BC+
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 or object direct | eidōlem2×εἴδωλον | eidōleim |
| of, belonging to genitive | eidōleu1×εἰδώλου | eidōleiu4×εἰδώλων |
| to, for dative | eidōle1×εἰδώλῳ | eidōlei |
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
eidōle 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.
11 occurrences, every one of them listed
eidōlem“idol”subject or objectdirect singular2×
1 Corinthians 8:4… oun teiu eidōlothuteiu oidanē hoti oudenem eidōlem en kosmo, kai hoti oudenos theos …… to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the …
1 Corinthians 10:19… hoti eidōlothutem tinem atō, ē hoti eidōlem tinem atō?… idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
eidōleu“idols”of, belonging togenitive singular1×
1 Corinthians 8:7… de ta sunētheia heōs arti teu eidōleu hōs eidōlothutem esthialō, kai tas suneidēsias …… people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as …
eidōle“idol”to, fordative singular1×
Acts 7:41… hēmerai ekeinai kai anagala thusian te eidōle, kai eufranole en tei ergei taiu …… and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their …
eidōleiu“idols”of, belonging togenitive plural4×
Acts 15:20… autoi teu apechorō teiu alisgēmeiu teiu eidōleiu kai tau porneiau kai teu pnikteu …… to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat …
2 Corinthians 6:16tinas de sunkatathesias nao theou meta eidōleiu? nis gar naos theou anō zōarōntou; …… between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of …
1 Thessalonians 1:9… epistrefava pros ton theon apo teiu eidōleiu douleuarō theo zōarōnto kai alēthino,… how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true …
1 John 5:21Teknieim, fulassavar heauteim apo teiu eidōleiu.Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
eidōleim3×
Romans 2:22… mē moicheuarō moicheuasō? tos bdelussorōntor teim eidōleim hierosulasō?… you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
1 Corinthians 12:2… hoti hote ethneim ave pros teim eidōleim teim afōneim hōs an agove apagorōntois.… influenced and led astray to mute idols.
Revelation 9:20… mē proskunali teim daimoneim kai teim eidōleim teim chrusoueim kai teim arguroueim kai …… did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and …