noun · neuter
grammem
Strong’sG1121
a letter, writings, learning
stem gramm-14 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books5 of 6 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
γράμμα most basically means a written character or letter of the alphabet 1234 — the individual mark used in writing, as opposed to speech 1.
More broadly it means a piece of writing or document 123: this can be a bill or financial note 13, a letter or epistle 123, or a body of writings such as a book or treatise 3. In the plural it can refer to the Jewish sacred writings, i.e. the Old Testament 13. It is also used, especially as τὸ γράμμα ("the letter"), for the written law taken as an external rule, set in contrast to the inward work of the Spirit 1.
In the plural it can also mean learning or education 1234, as in the ability to read and write or general schooling 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
γράμμα, -τος, τό
(< γράφω), [in LXX for סֵפֶר, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1121 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidgram'-mah
a writing, i.e. a letter, note, epistle, book, etc.; plural learning
Fromfrom G1125;
King Jamesbill, learning, letter, scripture, writing, written.
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
Doric dialect γράθμα, probably in Refs 6th c.BC+, but γράσσμα, Refs 5th c.BC+: late Aeolic dialect plural γρόππατα, Refs: (γράφω):— that which is drawn: plural, lines of a drawing, picture, etc., Refs 5th c.BC+; picture, Ἀπέλλεω γ. Refs 3rd c.BC+: singular, drawing, picture, Refs 5th c.BC+: plural, figures in a picture, Refs 5th c.AD+
II written character, letter, Refs 5th c.BC+: in plural, letters, characters, γραμμάτων τε συνθέσεις NT+4th c.BC+; the letters, the alphabet, Refs 5th c.BC+; Ἀσσύρια, Ἑλληνικά, Refs 5th c.BC+; μαθεῖν to have learnt to read, Refs; ἐδίδασκες γράμματα, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐφοίτων you kept school—I went there, Refs 4th c.BC+; τέχνη ἡμῶν γ. our profession is that of the scribe, Refs 1st c.AD+
II.b articulate sound, letter, Refs 5th c.BC+; γράμματα φθέγγεσθαιRefs
II.c παρὰ γράμμα λέγοντα.. σκοπεῖν etymologically, Refs; τὰ παρὰ γ. σκώμματα puns, Refs; but ἀρετὴν παρὰ γ. διώκοντες, with reference to Νικαρέτη, the mistress of Stilpo, Refs 4th c.BC+
II.d inscription, τὸ Δελφικὸν γ. Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 in plural, notes in music, Refs 1st c.AD+
II.3 mathematical diagram, epigram cited in Refs 3rd c.AD+
II.4 letter inscribed on the lots which the δικασταί drew, Refs 5th c.BC+; practically, = division of dicasts, ἐν ὁποίῳ γ. δειπνεῖ Refs 5th c.BC+; ἁ κατὰ γράμμα φυλακά the roster of guards, Refs 3rd c.BC+
II.4.b quarters of a town, Refs; accent, Refs
II.5 a small weight, 1/24 ounce, scruple, Refs 1st c.AD+
III in plural, set of written characters, piece of writing, Refs 5th c.BC+: hence, letter, Refs 5th c.BC+; inscription, epitaph, etc., ἐκόλαψε ἐς τὸν τάφον γράμματα λέγοντα τάδε Refs 5th c.BC+
III.2 papers, documents, Refs 5th c.BC+; τούτων τὰ γ. the documents to prove this, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὰ δημόσια γ. the public records, Decrees cited in Refs 4th c.BC+; title-deeds, Refs 2nd c.AD+; account of loans, Refs 5th c.BC+; contract or estimate, Refs; catalogue, Refs 5th c.BC+: in singular, bond, NT; note of hand, Refs 1st c.AD+
III.3 a man's writings, i.e. book, treatise, τὰ τοῦ Ζήνωνος γ. Refs 5th c.BC+: plural, books, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὰ ἱερὰ γ. the Holy NT+3rd c.BC+; ἱερὰ γ., = Imperial rescripts, Refs 3rd c.AD+; = hieroglyphics, Refs 2nd c.BC+: in singular, the NT+2nd c.AD+; opposed to πνεῦμα, Refsarticle of a treaty, Refs 5th c.BC+
III.4 laws or rules, Refs 5th c.BC+; κατὰ γράμματα ἄρχειν, opposed to ἄνευ γραμμάτων, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV in plural, also, letters, learning, ἀπείρους γραμμάτων Refs 5th 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 | grammem1×γράμμα | grammeim1×γράμματα |
| of, belonging to genitive | grammeu3×γράμματος | grammeiu |
| to, for dative | gramme1×γράμματι | grammei3×γράμμασιν |
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
gramme 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.
14 occurrences, every one of them listed
grammem“letter”subject or objectdirect singular1×
2 Corinthians 3:6… ouk grammeu alla pneumeu, tem gar grammem apoktenatō, tem de pneumem zōopoiatō.… but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
grammeu“letter”of, belonging togenitive singular3×
Romans 2:27… ton nomon telarōntas sin ton dia grammeu kai peritomau parabaton nomou.… who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
Romans 7:6“letter”… en kainota pneumeu kai ouk palaiota grammeu.… we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of …
2 Corinthians 3:6… hikanata nin diakonoin kainau diathēkau, ouk grammeu alla pneumeu, tem gar grammem apoktenatō, …… a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the …
gramme“letter”to, fordative singular1×
Romans 2:29“letter”… kai peritomas kardiau en pneume ouk gramme, hou tos epainos ouk ek anthrōpoiu …… one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from …
grammeim“learning”subject or objectdirect plural1×
Acts 26:24… fēatō; Mainosō, Paulor; teim polleim sin grammeim eis manian peritrepatō.… You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”
grammei“letters”to, fordative plural3×
John 5:47“writings”ei de tei ekeinou grammei ouk pisteuavō, pōs tei ēmei rēmei …But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you …
2 Corinthians 3:7… de tas diakonias tou thanatou en grammei entuporēntas lithoi genita en doxa, hōste …… of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory …
Galatians 6:11Horavar pēlikei vi grammei grafama ta ēma cheira.See what large letters I am using to write to …
grammeim5×
Luke 16:6… de legata auto; Dechesar su teim grammeim kai kathizarantos tacheōs grafasar pentēkonta.… olive oil,’ he answered. ‘Take your bill,’ said the manager, ‘sit down quickly …
Luke 16:7… sitou; legatō auto; Dechesar su teim grammeim kai grafasar ogdoēkonta.… of wheat,’ he replied. ‘Take your bill and write eighty,’ he told him.
John 7:15“letters”… oun tois Ioudaiois legarōntois; Pōs houtos grammeim oidatē mē matharēntos?The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man attain such learning without having studied?”
Acts 28:21… de pros auton legala; Nis oute grammeim peri su dechena apo tau Ioudaiau, …… replied, “We have not received any letters about you from Judea, nor have …
2 Timothy 3:15“writings”kai hoti apo brefeu hiereim grammeim oidasē, teim dunorōnteim sin sofizara eis …From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through …