noun · feminine
fialas
Strong’sG5357
a shallow and flat bowl
stem fial-12 times in the New Testament2 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
φιάλη (phialē) refers to a shallow, flat bowl, used especially for pouring out liquids such as libations 134. Strong's describes it simply as a broad, shallow cup, sometimes rendered in English as a vial 2. In the New Testament it denotes such a bowl made of gold, used in scenes of pouring out contents 13. Abbott-Smith notes that in the Septuagint it chiefly translates a Hebrew word for a similar kind of bowl 1.
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
Strong’s G5357 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidfee-al'-ay
a broad shallow cup ("phial")
Fromof uncertain affinity;
King Jamesvial.
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
bowl or pan used as a saucepan for boiling liquids, ἀμφίθετος φ. ἀπύρωτος Refs 8th c.BC+; also used as a cinerary urn, [ὀστέα] ἐν χρυσεῃ φ. καὶ δίπλακι δημῷ θείομεν Refs
2 after Refs 8th c.BC+, broad, fiat bowl or saucer for drinking or pouring libations, φιάλας τε καὶ ἄλλα ἐκπώματα Refs 5th c.BC+; of gold, NT+5th c.BC+; of silver, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀργυρηλάτους χρυσέας τε φ. Refs 5th c.BC+; as a votive offering, Refs 5th c.BC+, etc.; πίνειν ἐκ φ. μεγάλης ἐπὶ δεξιά Refs 5th c.BC+
2.b used for unguents, ἄλλος δ᾽ εὐῶδες μύρον ἐν φ. παρατείνει Refs 6th c.BC+; for administering medicines, Refs 4th c.BC+
2.c τὸ ἐκ φιάλης revenue, perhaps from a collecting-bowl, Refs 3rd c.BC+
II from its broad flat shape, φιάλη Ἄρεως metaphorically for ἀσπίς, shield, cited from Refs 4th c.BC+
III ornament used in a coffered ceiling, Refs 2nd c.BC+.—The form φιέλη was less Attic dialect, Refs
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 | fialas | fialais |
| object accusative | fialan7×φιάλην | fialain5×φιάλας |
| direct address vocative | fialar | fialair |
| of, belonging to genitive | fialau | fialaiu |
| to, for dative | fiala | fialai |
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
fiala 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.
12 occurrences, every one of them listed
fialan“bowl”objectaccusative singular7×
Revelation 16:2… aperchata tos prōtos kai ekchata tan fialan autou eis tan gēan; kai geneta …… angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and loathsome, malignant …
Revelation 16:3Kai tos deuteros ekchata tan fialan autou eis tan thalassan; kai geneta …… the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned …
Revelation 16:4Kai tos tritos ekchata tan fialan autou eis toin potamoin kai tain …… the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of …
Revelation 16:8Kai tos tetartos ekchata tan fialan autou epi ton hēlion; kai dōita …… the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was …
Revelation 16:10Kai tos pemptos ekchata tan fialan autou epi ton thronon teu thēreu; …… the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast …
Revelation 16:12Kai tos hektos ekchata tan fialan autou epi ton potamon ton megon …… the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and …
Revelation 16:17Kai tos hebdomos ekchata tan fialan autou epi ton aeron kai exerchata …… the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud …
fialain“bowls”objectaccusative plural5×
Revelation 5:8… teu arnieu, echarōntois hekastos kitharan kai fialain chrusouain gemarōntain thumiameiu, hais alō tais …… harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the …
Revelation 15:7… zōeiu dōata toi hepta angeloi hepta fialain chrusouain gemarōntain tou thumou tou theou …… gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God …
Revelation 16:1… angeloi; Hupagavōr kai ekchavōr tain hepta fialain tou thumou tou theou eis tan …… out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.”
Revelation 17:1… hepta angeloiu toiu echarōntoiu tain hepta fialain, kai lalata meta mu legarōntos; Deuro, …… the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come …
Revelation 21:9… hepta angeloiu toiu echarōntoiu tain hepta fialain, teiu gemarōnteiu taiu hepta plēgaiu taiu …… the seven angels with the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues …