noun · feminine
koilias
Strong’sG2836
belly, womb, the inner man
stem koili-23 times in the New Testamentin 10 of 27 books5 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
κοιλία refers most basically to the belly — the stomach, intestines, or the abdominal cavity generally 1234.
It is also used for the womb 1234, as in the phrase "from the womb of the mother" 1.
Beyond its physical sense, the word is used figuratively of the inner person, or the heart 124, describing the seat of inner life rather than a bodily organ 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
κοιλία, -ας, ἡ
(< κοῖλος, hollow), [in LXX chiefly for בֶּטֶן, מֵעִים, קֶרֶב, De 7:13, II Ki 7:12, Ge 41:21, al.; also (Jb 3:11 10:18 31:15 38:8) for רֶחֶם;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2836 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidkoy-lee'-ah
a cavity, i.e. (especially) the abdomen; by implication, the matrix; figuratively, the heart
Fromfrom κοῖλος ("hollow");
King Jamesbelly, womb.
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
Ionic dialect κοιλί-η, ἡ, (κοῖλος) cavity of the body, i.e. thorax with abdomen, Refs 5th c.BC+, = thorax, ἡ κάτω, = abdomen, accusative to Refs 2nd c.AD+; τὰ κατὰ κ. νουσήματα diseases of the thoracic cavity, Refs 5th c.BC+
2 belly, abdomen, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to ἡ ἄνω κ., stomach, Refs 5th c.BC+[same place]; κ. alone frequently = stomach, Refs; of birds, Refs; also, paunch or rumen of animals, NT
3 intestines, κ. κείνη Refs 5th c.BC+, etc.; of animals, κ. ὑεία pig's tripe, Refs 5th c.BC+: plural, tripe and puddings, Refs 5th c.BC+
3.b phrases, κ. σκληρὰν ἔχειν to be costive, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὴν κ. λύειν to relax the bowels, Refs 4th c.BC+; αἱ κ. λύονται, ἀναλύονται,Refs; εὔλυτοί [εἰσι] Refs 5th c.BC+; [οἶνος] κοιλίας μαλακτικός, κοιλίας ἐφεκτικά, Mnesith. cited in Refs 2nd c.AD+; κ. ἐκλύειν, ὑπάγειν, μαλάσσειν, Refs 1st c.BC+
4 excrement, especiallyin plural, κ. συνεστηκυῖαι excrements of firm consistency, Refs 5th c.BC+
II any cavity in the body, ventricle, chamber, as in the lungs, heart, liver, brain, κ. αἱ τὸ πνεῦμα δεχόμεναι καὶ προπέμπουσαι Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2 socket of a bone, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.3 supposed cavities inside the muscles, Refs 3rd c.BC+; compare νηδύς.
II.4 womb, NT+5th c.BC+
III any hollow or cavity, in the earth, Refs 4th c.BC+; in the clouds,Refs
IV perhaps finger-tip, Refs 2nd c.AD+
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 | koilias4×κοιλία | koiliais1×κοιλίαι |
| object accusative | koilian5×κοιλίαν | koiliain |
| direct address vocative | koiliar | koiliair |
| of, belonging to genitive | koiliau7×κοιλίας | koiliaiu |
| to, for dative | koilia6×κοιλίᾳ | koiliai |
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
koilia 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.
23 occurrences, every one of them listed
koilias“stomach”subjectnominative singular4×
Luke 11:27… tou ochlou legata auto; Makarias tas koilias tas bastazarantas sin kai mastois hoin …… voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are …
1 Corinthians 6:13teim brōmeim ta koilia, kai tas koilias tei brōmei; tos de theos kai …“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy …
Philippians 3:19“stomach”… telem apōleias, hoiu tos theos tas koilias kai tas doxas en ta aischuna …Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds …
Revelation 10:10… kai hote esthiama autem, pikranita tas koilias mu.… when I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter.
koilian“stomach”objectaccusative singular5×
Matthew 15:17… eisporeuorōntem eis tem stomem eis tan koilian chōratō kai eis afedrōnon ekbalotō?… enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?
Mark 7:19… eis tan kardian alla eis tan koilian, kai eis ton afedrōnon ekporeuotō? katharizarōntos …… heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all …
Luke 15:16“stomach”kai epithumate gemizara tan koilian autou apo teiu keratieiu heiu esthiale …He longed to fill his belly with the pods the pigs were eating, but no …
John 3:4… gerōnos arōntos? mē dunotō eis tan koilian tau mētērau autou deuterem eiserchara kai …… asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”
Revelation 10:9… katesthiasar autem, kai pikranati su tan koilian, alla en te stome su eti …… he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it …
koiliau“womb”of, belonging togenitive singular7×
Matthew 19:12“womb”alō gar eunouchois hotinois ek koiliau mētērau gennila houtōs, kai alō eunouchois …For there are eunuchs who were born that way; others were made that way by men; and still others live like eunuchs for the …
Luke 1:15… kai pneumeu hagieu pimplēiti ēti ek koiliau mētērau autou,… Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
Luke 1:42… gunaikai, kai eulogorēntos tos karpos tau koiliau su.… blessed is the fruit of your womb!
John 7:38“heart”… legata tas grafas, potamois ek tau koiliau autou rali hudeu zōarōnteu.… Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within …
Acts 3:2“womb”kai tinos andros chōlos ek koiliau mētērau autou huparcharōntos bastazote, hon tithale …And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the …
Acts 14:8“womb”… Lustrei toi podoi kathote, chōlos ek koiliau mētērau autou, hos oudepote peripatata.In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.
Galatians 1:15… de eudokata tos aforizarantos min ek koiliau mētērau mu kai kalarantos dia tau …… set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace …
koilia“womb”to, fordative singular6×
Matthew 12:40hōsper gar ate Iōnos en ta koilia teu kēteu treis hēmerain kai treis …… days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the …
Luke 1:41… Elisabet, skirtata tem brefem en ta koilia autau, kai pimplēita pneumeu hagieu tas …… greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the …
Luke 1:44… en agalliasia tem brefem en ta koilia mu.… my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
Luke 2:21“womb”… pro teu sullabira auton en ta koilia.… given Him before He was conceived.
Romans 16:18… Christo ouk douleualō alla ta heautoiu koilia, kai dia tau chrēstologiau kai eulogiau …… our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they …
1 Corinthians 6:13teim brōmeim ta koilia, kai tas koilias tei brōmei; tos …“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but …
koiliais“wombs”subjectnominative plural1×
Luke 23:29… legali Makariais tais steirais kai tais koiliais hais ouk gennala kai mastois hois …… Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that …