adjective
hierem
Strong’sG2411
a temple
stem hier-30 times in the New Testamentin 5 of 27 books3 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 temple — specifically the whole sacred temple complex or precincts, as distinct from the inner sanctuary building itself 2. It denotes a holy place, and is used repeatedly of the Jewish temple in this sense 3. This matches the simple gloss "a temple" 4.
The word is the neuter form of the adjective hieros, "sacred," from which it derives its meaning as "the sacred place" 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
ἱερόν, -οῦ τό, v.s. ἱερός.
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2411 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidhee-er-on'
a sacred place, i.e. the entire precincts (whereas G3485 denotes the central sanctuary itself) of the Temple (at Jerusalem or elsewhere)
Fromneuter of G2413;
King Jamestemple.
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
(for ἱερὸν see. III.2), ά, όν, also ός, όν in the phrase ἱερὸς ἀκτή Refs 8th c.BC+: Ionic dialect and poetry ἱρός, ή, όν (see. entry near the end): Doric dialect and N. Greek ἱᾰρός Refs: Aeolic dialect ἶρος Refs 7th c.BC+, but ἴαρος (correlated from ἴερ-) Refs 7th c.BC+: superlative ἱερώτατος Refs 5th c.BC+
I filled with or manifesting divine power, supernatural, ἱ. ἲς Τηλεμάχοιο Refs 8th c.BC+; ἄλφιτον, ἀλωαί, Refs 8th c.BC+; of natural objects or phenomena, rivers, Refs 8th c.BC+; λιβάς, of the Spercheus, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἱεραὶ βῆσσαι Κίρκης 'faery', Refs 8th c.BC+; ἱ. ἦμαρ, κνέφας, Refs 8th c.BC+; ἱερὸς δίφρος (where δ. perhaps = ἵπποι) Refs 8th c.BC+; ὕπνος, of death, Refs 3rd c.BC+; ἔστι μὲν οὐδὲν ἱ. no great matter, Refs 3rd c.BC+
II of divine things, holy, ἱεροῖς ἐν δώμασι Κίρκης Refs 8th c.BC+; δόσις the gift of God, Refs; πόλεμος holy war, 'crusade', Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 of earthly things, hallowed, consecrated, βωμοί Refs 8th c.BC+; ἱ. δόμος, of the temple of Athena,Refs 8th c.BC+; ἱρὰ γράμματα hieroglyphics, Refs 5th c.BC+; but ἱ. γράμματα of the “Holy Scriptures”, NT; ἱ. βύβλοι Refs 3rd c.BC+; ἱ. ἄγαλμα, τρίπους, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἱ. σώματα, of ἱερόδουλοι, Refs 1st c.BC+; of animals regarded as 'taboo', [κριοί] εἰσί σφι ἱ. διὰ τοῦτο Refs 8th c.BC+; of the Roman Tribunes,= Latin sacrosanctus, ἱ. καὶ ἄσυλος Refs 1st c.AD+; of Augustus, Refs; ἱ. νόμος law of sacrifice, Refs 4th c.BC+; ἱ. λόγος legend, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἱ. γάμος mystical marriage, a religious ceremony, Refs 4th c.BC+ see entry ; opposed to βέβηλος, as sacred to profane, Refs 5th c.BC+; compare ὅσιος.
II.3 under divine protection, frequently of places, Ἴλιος Refs 8th c.BC+; Τροίης ἱερὸν πτολίεθρον, Τροίης ἱερὰ κρήδεμνα, Refs 8th c.BC+; ἱ. κύκλος the judge's seat under the protection of Zeus, Refs 8th c.BC+; χωρίον ὡς -ώτατονRefs; with genitive of a human being, Γναθίου.. ἱ. εἰμι Refs
II.3.b of persons, φυλάκων ἱ. τέλος Refs 8th c.BC+; ἱ. εὐσεβής τε, of Oedipus, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἅνθρωπος ἱ. initiated, Refs 5th c.BC+; with genitive of a divinity, deuoted, dedicated, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.3.c under the Roman Empire,= sacer, imperial, ἐκ τῶν ἱερῶν τοῦ Καίσαρος γραμμάτων Refs 2nd c.AD+, etc.; τὸ -ώτατον βῆμα (of the praefectus Aegypti), Refs 1st c.AD+: generally, worshipful, ἱ. σύνοδος Refs 3rd c.AD+
III as substantive,
III.1 ἱερά, Ionic dialect ἱρά, τά, offerings, victims, ἱερὰ ῥέξας Refs 8th c.BC+
III.1.b after Refs 8th c.BC+, omens afforded by sacrifice, τὰ ἱρὰ οὐ προεχώρεε χρηστά Refs 5th c.BC+; τὰ ἱερὰ καλὰ [ἦν] Refs 5th c.BC+
III.1.c generally, sacred objects or rites, Refs 5th c.BC+; of cult-images, IG Rom.Refs
III.2 after Refs 8th c.BC+, ἱερόν, Ionic dialect ἱρόν, τό, holy place, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to νηός, Refs 5th c.BC+; frequently of a temple, ἔστι δὲ ἐν τῷ τεμένεϊ.. ἱρόν κτλ. Refs 5th c.BC+; of the Jewish temple, LXX+2nd c.BC+
III.3 ἱερὸν τῆς δίκης a sacred principle of right, Refs 5th c.BC+
III.4 ἱερός, ὁ (i.e. μήν), name of month at Delos, Refs 3rd c.BC+
III.5 ἱεροί, οἱ, members of a religious college or guild, Refs 1st c.BC+, etc.; also of women, ἱεραί, αἱ, Refs
III.5.b ={ἱερόδουλος}, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV special phrases, post-Refs 8th c.BC+
IV.1 proverbial, ἱ. ἄγκυρα one's last hope, Refs 1st c.AD+
IV.2 ἱ. βόλος, name of a throw at dice, Refs 4th c.BC+
IV.3 ἱ. βοτάνη, see at {βοτάνη}.
IV.4 ἱ. (i.e. γραμμή) Refs, last line of draught-board, κινήσαις τὸν ἀπ᾽ ἴρας.. λίθον Refs 7th c.BC+; τὴν ἀφ᾽ ἱερᾶς (variant{τὴν ἱεράν}) Refs 1st c.AD+
IV.5 ἱ. ἰχθύς,= ἀνθίας, Refs 4th c.BC+
IV.6 ἱ. λόχος, see at {λόχος}.
IV.7 ἱερά (i.e. νίκη), ἡ, drawn contest, dead heat (because the prize was assigned to the god), Refs 6th c.AD+ 'divide the honours', Refs 2nd c.BC+
IV.8 ἱ. νόσος epilepsy, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV.9 ἡ ἱ. ὁδός the sacred road to Delphi, Refs 5th c.BC+ see entry ; and that from Elis to Olympia, Refs 2nd c.AD+
IV.10 ἱ. ὀστέον, os sacrum, the last bone of the spine, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV.11 ἱ. συμβουλή sacred duty of an adviser, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV.12 ἱ. σῦριγξ spinal canal, Refs 2nd c.AD+
IV.13 ἱερὰ τριήρης, of the Delian ship, or one of the state-ships (Salaminia or Paralos), Refs 4th c.BC+
IV.14 frequently in geographical names, e.g. ἱ ἄκρα, in Lycia, Refs 1st c.BC+; ἱ. ἀκρωτήριον, in Spain, Cape St. Vincent, Refs; ἱ. κώμη, in Lydia, Refs 2nd c.BC+; ἱ. νῆσος, one of the Liparean group, Refs 5th c.BC+; one of the insulae Aegates, Refs 2nd c.BC+
V adverb -ρῶς holily, ἀποθανεῖν variant in Refs 8th c.BC+; ῑερόν in the first foot of a hexameters, Refs 3rd c.BC+; also in compounds ἱεραγωγός, ἱεροθαλλής, ἱερόφωνος: ῑ always in contraction form ἱρός which is used in Epic dialect, Refs 5th c.BC+, and some Ionic dialect inscriptions, as Refs 7th c.BC+, but is rarely found in codices of Refs 5th c.BC+; also in Trag., Refs 4th 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 | masculine singular | feminine singular | neuter singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | hieros | hieras | hierem21×ἱερὸν | hierois | hierais | hiereim |
| object accusative | hieron | hieran | hieroin | hierain | ||
| direct address vocative | hieror | hierar | hieroir | hierair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | hierou | hierau | hiereu5×ἱεροῦ | hieroiu | hieraiu | hiereiu |
| to, for dative | hiero | hiera | hiere4×ἱερῷ | hieroi | hierai | hierei |
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
hier 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.
30 occurrences, every one of them listed
hierem“temple”subject or objectdirect singular21×
Matthew 21:12Kai eiserchata Iēsus eis tem hierem, kai ekbalata pantoin toin pōlarōntoin kai …Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who …
Matthew 21:23Kai ercharantou autou eis tem hierem proserchala auto didaskarōnto tois archierevois kai …When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the …
Mark 11:11Kai eiserchata eis Hierosolumeim eis tem hierem; kai peribleperantos panteim opse ēdē arōntau …… entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything …
Mark 11:15… eis Hierosolumeim. kai eisercharantos eis tem hierem archeta ekbalarō toin pōlarōntoin kai toin …… arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out …
Mark 16:8“sacred”… achri dusiau exapostelata dia autoiu tem hierem kai afthartem kērugmem tau aiōniau sōtērēau. …So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone.
Luke 2:27… erchata en te pneume eis tem hierem; kai en te eisagara toin gonevoin …… the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. And when the parents brought …
Luke 18:10Anthrōpois duo anabainala eis tem hierem proseuchera, tos henos Farisaios kai tos …“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee …
Luke 19:45Kai eisercharantos eis tem hierem archeta ekbalarō toin pōlarōntoin,Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out …
John 7:14… heortau mesarōntau anabainata Iēsus eis tem hierem kai didaskate.… feast, Jesus went up to the temple courts and began to teach.
Acts 3:1… de kai Iōannos anabainale eis tem hierem epi tan hōran tau proseuchau tan …… John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the …
Acts 3:2… eleēmosunan para toiu eisporeuorōntoiu eis tem hierem,… birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was …
Acts 3:3“temple”… kai Iōannon mellarōntoin eiseiarō eis tem hierem erōtate eleēmosunan labara.… saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for …
Acts 3:8… kai eiserchata sun autoi eis tem hierem peripatarōntos kai hallorōntos kai ainarōntos ton …… he went with them into the temple courts, walking and leaping and praising …
Acts 5:21… eiserchala hupo ton orthron eis tem hierem kai didaskale. Paragenerantos de tos archierevos …At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told …
Acts 19:27… kai tem tau megau theau Artemiau hierem eis oudenem logizira, mellarō tē kai …… into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will …
Acts 21:26… sun autoi hagnizirantos eiseiate eis tem hierem, diangelarōntos tan ekplērōsian taiu hēmeraiu tou …… with them. Then he entered the temple to give notice of the date …
Acts 21:28… tē kai Hellēnoin eisagata eis tem hierem kai koinatē ton hagion topon houton.… he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”
Acts 21:29… auto, hon nomizale hoti eis tem hierem eisagata tos Paulos.… Paul had brought him into the temple.
Acts 24:6hos kai tem hierem peirazata bebēlara, hon kai kratana,… he even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.
Acts 25:8… nomon toiu Ioudaioiu oute eis tem hierem oute eis Kaisaron tinem hamartama.… of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.”
John 8:2Orthrou de palin parageneta eis tem hierem, kai pantos tos laos archote kai …… morning He went back into the temple courts. All the people came to …
hiereu“temple”of, belonging togenitive singular5×
Mark 11:16… hina tinos diaferateia skevem dia teu hiereu,… anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.
Mark 13:1Kai ekporeuorōntou autou ek teu hiereu legatō auto henos toiu mathētoiu autou; …As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to …
Mark 13:3… tem Orem taiu Elaiaiu katenanti teu hiereu eperōtate auton kata idian Petros kai …… the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked …
Luke 2:37… ogdoēkonta tessares, has ouk apostēote teu hiereu nēsteiai kai deēsiai latreuarōntas nuktan kai …… of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting …
Luke 4:9… kai stēata epi tem pterugiem teu hiereu, kai legata auto; Ei huios asō …… Him on the pinnacle of the temple. “If You are the Son of …
hiere“temple”to, fordative singular4×
Mark 11:27… palin eis Hierosolumeim. kai en te hiere peripatarōntou autou ercholō pros auton tois …… Jerusalem, Jesus was walking in the temple courts, and the chief priests, scribes …
Mark 12:35… tos Iēsus legate didaskarōntos en te hiere; Pōs legalō tois grammatevois hoti tos …While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, He asked, “How can the …
Mark 14:49… hēmeran ome pros vin en te hiere didaskarōntos kai ouk kratava min; alla …… was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest …
Luke 2:46… hēmerain treis heuriskala auton en te hiere kathezorōnton en mese toiu didaskaloiu kai …… days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening …