adjective
hierem
Strong’sG2413
sacred, holy
stem hier-44 times in the New Testamentin 7 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
Sacred, holy: used as an adjective for what is consecrated to God, set apart as holy 124. It is applied to the Scriptures, called "sacred writings" 13, and more generally describes anything belonging to or hallowed by the deity 3.
As a plural noun, the word can mean sacred rites, sacrifices, or sacred things in general, referring to the things involved in temple worship 13.
As a singular noun with the article, it can also mean a sacred place or temple, either of a pagan deity's temple or, especially in the Gospels and Acts, of the temple at Jerusalem — referring to the temple precincts as a whole rather than to the sanctuary building itself 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
ἱερός, -ά, όν,
[in LXX: Ez 28:18 (מִקְדָּשׁ); τό ἱ., I Ch 29:4 (בַּיִת), Ez 45:19 (עֲזָרָה); very freq. in I Es, I-IV Mac;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2413 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidhee-er-os'
sacred
Fromof uncertain affinity;
King Jamesholy.
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 | hierem | hierois | hierais | hiereim2×ἱερὰ |
| object accusative | hieron | hieran | hieroin | hierain | ||
| direct address vocative | hieror | hierar | hieroir | hierair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | hierou | hierau | hiereu14×ἱεροῦ | hieroiu | hieraiu | hiereiu |
| to, for dative | hiero | hiera | hiere28×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.
44 occurrences, every one of them listed
hiereu“temple”of, belonging togenitive singular14×
Matthew 4:5… stēata auton epi tem pterugiem teu hiereu,… Him on the pinnacle of the temple.
Matthew 12:6legamō de vi hoti teu hiereu megoterem atō hōde.… you that One greater than the temple is here.
Matthew 24:1Kai exercharantos tos Iēsus apo teu hiereu poreuote, kai proserchala tois mathētois autou …As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples …
Matthew 24:1“temple”… autou epideikara auto tain oikodomain teu hiereu;… walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings.
Luke 21:5Kai tinoiu legarōntoiu peri teu hiereu, hoti lithoi kaloi kai anathemei kosmotē …… the disciples were remarking how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and …
Luke 22:52… epi auton archierevoin kai stratēgoin teu hiereu kai presbuteroin; Hōs epi lēston exerchava …… Jesus said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come …
John 2:15… ek schoinieiu pantoin ekbalata ek teu hiereu teim tē probateim kai toin bouoin, …… cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He …
John 8:59… de kruptita kai exerchata ek teu hiereu.… hidden and went out of the temple area.
Acts 3:2… kata hēmeran pros tan thuran teu hiereu tan legorōntan Hōraian teu aitarō eleēmosunan …… to beg from those entering the temple courts.
Acts 3:10… kathorōntos epi ta Hōraia Pula teu hiereu, kai pimplēila thambeu kai ekstasiau epi …… at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder …
Acts 4:1… tois hierevois kai tos stratēgos teu hiereu kai tois Saddoukaiois,… priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up …
Acts 5:24… logoin houtoin tos tē stratēgos teu hiereu kai tois archierevois, diaporale peri autoiu …When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard …
Acts 21:30… tou Paulou helkale auton exō teu hiereu, kai eutheōs kleiila tais thurais.… and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were …
1 Corinthians 9:13… teim hiereim ergazorōntois teim ek teu hiereu esthialō, tois te thusiastērie paredreuarōntois te …… that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those …
hiere“temple”to, fordative singular28×
Matthew 12:5… tei sabbatei tois hierevois en te hiere tem sabbatem bebēlalō kai anaitiois alō?… the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are …
Matthew 21:12“temple”… toin pōlarōntoin kai agorazarōntoin en te hiere kai tain trapezain toiu kollubistoiu katastrefata …… who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of …
Matthew 21:14… auto tuflois kai chōlois en te hiere, kai therapeuata autoin.… lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them.
Matthew 21:15… toin paidoin toin krazarōntoin en te hiere kai legarōntoin; Hōsanna to huio David …… and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of …
Matthew 26:55… sullabara min? kata hēmeran en te hiere kathezome didaskarōntos kai ouk kratava min.… day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest …
Mark 11:15“temple”… pōlarōntoin kai toin agorazarōntoin en te hiere, kai tain trapezain toiu kollubistoiu kai …… they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.
Luke 19:47… didaskarōntos tem kata hēmeran en te hiere; tois de archierevois kai tois grammatevois …Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests …
Luke 20:1… didaskarōntou autou ton laon en te hiere kai euangelizorōntou epistēala tois archierevois kai …… was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the …
Luke 21:37Ate de tain hēmerain en te hiere didaskarōntos, tain de nuktain exerchorōntos aulizote …Every day Jesus taught at the temple, but every evening He went out …
Luke 21:38… laos orthrizate pros auton en te hiere akouarō autou.… come to hear Him at the temple.
Luke 22:53… arōntou mu meta vu en te hiere ouk ekteinava tain cheirain epi min; …… I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay …
Luke 24:53kai ale dia pantou en te hiere eulogarōntois ton theon.praising God continually in the temple.
John 2:14kai heuriskata en te hiere toin pōlarōntoin bouoin kai probateim kai …In the temple courts He found men selling cattle …
John 5:14… heuriskatō auton tos Iēsus en te hiere kai legata auto; Ide hugios genasē; …… Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, “See, you …
John 7:28krazata oun en te hiere didaskarōntos tos Iēsus kai legarōntos; Kamin …Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “You know Me …
John 8:20… en te gazofulakie didaskarōntos en te hiere; kai oudenos piazata auton, hoti oupō …… these words while teaching in the temple courts, near the treasury. Yet no …
John 10:23kai peripatate tos Iēsus en te hiere en ta stoa tou Solomōnou.and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade.
John 11:56… kai legale meta allēloiu en te hiere stēarēntois; Tinem dokatō vi? hoti ouk …… another as they stood in the temple courts, “What do you think? Will …
John 18:20… didaskama en sunagōga kai en te hiere, hopou pantois tois Ioudaiois sunercholō, kai …… in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together …
Acts 2:46… hēmeran tē proskarterarōntois homothumadōs en te hiere, klarōntois tē kata oikon arton, metalabale …… continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from …
Acts 5:20Poreuovōr kai stēirantois lalavōr en te hiere to lao panteim teim rēmeim tau …“Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the …
Acts 5:25… en ta fulaka alō en te hiere stēarēntois kai didaskarōntois ton laon.… in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!”
Acts 5:42pantan tē hēmeran en te hiere kai kata oikon ouk pauole didaskarōntois …Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house …
Acts 21:27… Asiau Ioudaiois theaserantois auton en te hiere sunchale panton ton ochlon kai epibalala …… of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd …
Acts 22:17… Ierousalēm kai proseuchorōntou mu en te hiere genera min en ekstasia… Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
Acts 24:12kai oute en te hiere heuriskala min pros tinon dialegorōnton ē …… me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in …
Acts 24:18… hai heuriskala min hagnizorēnton en te hiere, ouk meta ochlou oude meta thorubou,… time they found me in the temple, I was ceremonially clean and was …
Acts 26:21… houteiu min Ioudaiois sullaberantois en te hiere peirole diacheirizera.… the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
hiereim“holy”subject or objectdirect plural2×
1 Corinthians 9:13“holy”ouk oidavē hoti tois teim hiereim ergazorōntois teim ek teu hiereu esthialō, …Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake …
2 Timothy 3:15“sacred”kai hoti apo brefeu hiereim grammeim oidasē, teim dunorōnteim sin sofizara …From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation …