noun · feminine
machairas
Strong’sG3162
a sword
stem machair-29 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 books6 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
a large knife, used especially for slaughtering or preparing sacrifices 13.
More commonly, a short sword or dagger carried as a weapon, distinguished from a larger broad sword and from a straight thrusting sword 1; this is the ordinary sense found throughout the New Testament, including phrases like "the edge of the sword" and "the sword of the Spirit" 1. Strong's and Dodson likewise give the plain sense a sword or a knife used as a weapon 24. Beyond the literal weapon, the word is also used figuratively for war or for the exercise of judicial punishment or authority, as in bearing "the sword" as a symbol of power to punish 12.
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
μάχαιρα, -ης
(Att. -ας; v. WH, App., 156a; Bl., § 7, 1), ἡ, [in LXX chiefly for חֶרֶב; also for מַאֲכֶלֶת, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3162 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidmakh'-ahee-rah
a knife, i.e. dirk; figuratively, war, judicial punishment
Fromprobably feminine of a presumed derivative of G3163;
King Jamessword.
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
(later -ης, dative -ῃ, NT+2nd c.BC+, ἡ, large knife or dirk, Refs 8th c.BC+; carving-knife, Refs 5th c.BC+; sacrificial knife, Refs 5th c.BC+ —ἡ Δελφικὴ μ. a knife adapted to various purposes, Refs 4th c.BC+ see at {Δελφικὴ μ}.; proverbial, of greedy persons, because Delphian sacrificers claimed a share for the knife, Refs
2 as a weapon, short sword, dagger, Refs 5th c.BC+; used by jugglers, Refs 5th c.BC+; later, sabre, opposed to the straight sword (ξίφος), NT+5th c.BC+; οἱ ἐπὶ τῆς μ., of a bodyguard, Refs 2nd c.AD+; but, ἐπὶ μ. τασσόμενοι possessing power of life and death (jus gladii), Cat.Codex Astr.Refs; μ. ἱππική cavalry sabre, Refs 3rd c.BC+
3 μ. κουρίδες, shears or scissors, Refs 5th c.BC+; κεκαρμένος μοιχὸν μιᾶ μ., i.e. with one blade, Refs 5th c.BC+ see entry {μιᾷ μαχαίρ; μ. κουρικαί} Refs 1st c.AD+
4 metaphorically, διὰ μαχαιρῶν καὶ πυρός NT+3rd c.BC+
II name of a precious stone, Refs 4th c.BC+
III part of the liver, 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 | machairas2×μάχαιρα | machairais1×μάχαιραι |
| object accusative | machairan12×μάχαιραν | machairain |
| direct address vocative | machairar | machairair |
| of, belonging to genitive | machairau4×μαχαίρης | machairaiu5×μαχαιρῶν |
| to, for dative | machaira5×μαχαίρῃ | machairai |
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
machaira 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.
29 occurrences, every one of them listed
machairas“sword”subjectnominative singular2×
Romans 8:35… limos ē gumnotas ē kindunos ē machairas?… famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Revelation 6:4… hina allēloin sfazali, kai dōita auto machairas megas.… And he was given a great sword.
machairan“sword”objectaccusative singular12×
Matthew 10:34… gēan; ouk erchama balara eirēnan alla machairan.… come to bring peace, but a sword.
Matthew 26:51… Iēsu ekteinarantos tan cheiran apospata tan machairan autou kai pataxarantos ton doulon tou …… one of Jesus’ companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the …
Matthew 26:52… legatō auto tos Iēsus; Apostrefasar tan machairan su eis ton topon autau, pantois …“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said …
Matthew 26:52… topon autau, pantois gar tois labarantois machairan en machaira apoleli;… him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
Mark 14:47… de tinos toiu parastēarēntoiu sperantos tan machairan paiata ton doulon tou archierevou kai …… one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the servant of the …
Luke 22:36… pōlatar tem himatiem autou kai agorazatar machairan.… bag; and the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy …
John 18:10Simōnos oun Petros echarōntos machairan helkata autan kai paiata ton tou …Then Simon Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the …
John 18:11… tos Iēsus to Petro; Balasar tan machairan eis tan thēkan; tem potēriem hem …“Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said …
Acts 16:27… tain thurain tau fulakau sperantos tan machairan mellate heauton anairarō, nomizarōntos ekfeugarē toin …… prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself …
Romans 13:4… poiaseiō, fobosōr; ouk gar eikē tan machairan foratō; theou gar diakonos atō, ekdikos …… for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant …
Ephesians 6:17… perikefalaian teu sōtērieu dechevar, kai tan machairan teu pneumeu, hem atō rēmem theou,… the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the …
Hebrews 4:12… kai energos kai tomōteros huper pantan machairan distoman kai diiknorōntos achri merismou psuchau …… and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul …
machairau“sword”of, belonging togenitive singular4×
Luke 21:24kai pipteli stome machairau kai aichmalōtizili eis teim ethneim panteim, …… fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all …
Hebrews 11:34sbennuala dunamian pureu, fugala stomeim machairau, dunamila apo astheniau, genila ischurois en …… and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became …
Hebrews 11:37lithazila, prizila, en fono machairau apothnēskala, perierchala en mēlōtai, en aigeiei …… were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and …
Revelation 13:14… thēre, hos echatō tan plēgan tau machairau kai zōata.… that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.
machaira“sword”to, fordative singular5×
Matthew 26:52… pantois gar tois labarantois machairan en machaira apoleli;… the sword will die by the sword.
Luke 22:49“sword”… erintem legala; Kurior, ei pataxani en machaira?… about to happen and said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”
Acts 12:2anairata de Iakōbon ton adelfon Iōannou machaira.… John, put to death with the sword.
Revelation 13:10… eis aichmalōsian hupagatō; ei tinos en machaira apoktenira auton en machaira apoktenira. hōde …… anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be …
Revelation 13:10… tinos en machaira apoktenira auton en machaira apoktenira. hōde atō tas hupomonas kai …… die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is …
machairais“swords”subjectnominative plural1×
Luke 22:38tois de legala; Kurior, idou machairais hōde duo. tos de legata autoi; …… said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” “That is enough,” He answered.
machairaiu“swords”of, belonging togenitive plural5×
Matthew 26:47… kai meta autou ochlos pollos meta machairaiu kai xuleiu apo toiu archierevoiu kai …… by a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief …
Matthew 26:55… ochloi; Hōs epi lēston exerchava meta machairaiu kai xuleiu sullabara min? kata hēmeran …… crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as …
Mark 14:43… dōdeka kai meta autou ochlos meta machairaiu kai xuleiu para toiu archierevoiu kai …… accompanied by a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief …
Mark 14:48… autoi; Hōs epi lēston exerchava meta machairaiu kai xuleiu sullabara min?… crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as …
Luke 22:52… presbuteroin; Hōs epi lēston exerchava meta machairaiu kai xuleiu?… Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against …