noun · neuter
melem
Strong’sG3196
a limb, member
stem mel-34 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books4 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
μέλος means a limb or part of the body, such as an arm, leg, eye, or tongue 1234. It is used for individual bodily members and for "the members" of the body collectively 13, and in one place is used of dismembering, cutting limb by limb 3.
The word is also used metaphorically of persons belonging to one another as parts of a single body 13. In this sense Christians are called members of one another and of Christ, or of the body of Christ 1, a usage the Greek Bible itself applies to describe how believers relate to each other 3.
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
μέλος, -ους, τό,
[in LXX chiefly for נֵתַח;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3196 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidmel'-os
a limb or part of the body
Fromof uncertain affinity;
King Jamesmember.
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
limb, in early writers always in plural, Refs 8th c.BC+; μελέων ἔντοσθε within my bodily frame, Refs 4th c.BC+; κατὰ μέλη (-εα) limb by limb, like{μελεϊστί}, Refs 5th c.BC+; μέλη ποιεῖν dismember, LXX: later in singular, Refs 1st c.BC+
2 metaphorically, ἐσμὲν.. ἀλλήλων μέλη NT
3 features, form, οὐκέτ᾽ ἐγὼ.. γονέων μ. ὄψομαι Refs
B especially musical member, phrase: hence, song, strain, first in Refs, of the nightingale (the Refs 8th c.BC+; especially of lyric poetry, τὸ Ἀρχιλόχου μ. Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν μέλεϊ ποιέειν to write in lyric strain, Refs 5th c.BC+; μέλη, τά, lyric poetry, choral songs, opposed to Epic or Dramatic verse, Refs 5th c.BC+
B.b lyric portion of the Comic παράβασις, Refs 7th c.AD+
B.2 music to which a song is set, tune, Refs 4th c.BC+; opposed to ῥυθμός, μέτρον, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to ῥυθμός, ῥῆμα, Refs; Κρητικόν, Καρικόν, Ἰωνικὸν μ., Refs 5th c.BC+ properly, correctly, ἐν μ. φθέγγεσθαι Refs 5th c.BC+; παρὰ μέλος incorrectly, inopportunely, πὰρ μ. ἔρχομαι Refs 5th c.BC+
B.3 melody of an instrument, φόρμιγξ δ᾽ αὖ φθέγγοιθ᾽ ἱερὸν μ. ἠδὲ καὶ αὐλός Refs 6th c.BC+: generally, tone, μ. βοῆς Refs 5th c.BC+ is corrupt in epigram cited in 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 or object direct | melem5×μέλος | meleim12×μέλη |
| of, belonging to genitive | meleu | meleiu2×μελῶν |
| to, for dative | mele | melei5×μέλεσιν |
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
mele 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.
34 occurrences, every one of them listed
melem“member”subject or objectdirect singular5×
1 Corinthians 12:14“member”… gar tem sōmem ouk atō henem melem alla polleim.For the body does not consist of one part, but of many.
1 Corinthians 12:19“member”ei de ate teim panteim henem melem, pou tem sōmem?If they were all one part, where would the body be?
1 Corinthians 12:26“member”kai eite paschatō henem melem, sumpaschatō panteim teim meleim; eite doxazotō …If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part …
1 Corinthians 12:26“member”… sumpaschatō panteim teim meleim; eite doxazotō melem, sunchairatō panteim teim meleim.… with it; if one part is honored, every part …
James 3:5“member”houtōs kai tas glōssas mikrem melem atō kai megeim auchatō. Idou hēlikem …… same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark …
meleim“members”subject or objectdirect plural12×
Romans 12:4… sōme polleim meleim echanō, teim de meleim panteim ouk tan autan echatō praxian,… with many members, and not all members have the same function,
Romans 12:5“members”… Christo, tem de kata henos allēloiu meleim.so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.
1 Corinthians 6:15ouk oidavē hoti teim sōmeim vu meleim Christou atō? airarantos oun teim meleim …… not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take …
1 Corinthians 12:12“members”… meleim polleim echatō, panteim de teim meleim teu sōmeu polleim arōnteim henem atō …… composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it …
1 Corinthians 12:20“members”nun de polleim men meleim, henem de sōmem.… there are many parts, but one body.
1 Corinthians 12:22“members”alla polle mallon teim dokarōnteim meleim teu sōmeu asthenotereim huparcharō anankaieim atō,On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
1 Corinthians 12:25… tem autem huper allēloiu merimnaleiō teim meleim.… in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one …
1 Corinthians 12:26“members”… paschatō henem melem, sumpaschatō panteim teim meleim; eite doxazotō melem, sunchairatō panteim teim …If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part …
1 Corinthians 12:26“members”… eite doxazotō melem, sunchairatō panteim teim meleim.… with it; if one part is honored, every part …
1 Corinthians 12:27“members”Vis de avō sōmem Christou kai meleim ek mereu.Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is …
Ephesians 4:25… tou plēsion autou, hoti anō allēloiu meleim.… his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.
Ephesians 5:30hoti meleim anō teu sōmeu autou.For we are members of His body.
meleiu“members”of, belonging togenitive plural2×
Matthew 5:29“members”… gar si hina apoleteia henem teiu meleiu su kai mē holem tem sōmem …… is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be …
Matthew 5:30“members”… gar si hina apoleteia henem teiu meleiu su kai mē holem tem sōmem …… is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart …
melei“members”to, fordative plural5×
Romans 7:5“members”… dia tou nomou energote en tei melei nu eis tem karpoforara to thanato;… lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death.
Romans 7:23“members”blepamō de heteron nomon en tei melei mu antistrateuorōnton to nomo tou nouou …But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin …
Romans 7:23“members”… tau hamartau to arōnto en tei melei mu.… law of sin that dwells within me.
James 3:6“members”… adikiau tas glōssas katastēotō en tei melei nu, tas spilarōntas holem tem sōmem …… of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire …
James 4:1“members”… hēdonaiu vu taiu strateuorōntaiu en tei melei vu?… war within you?
meleim10×
Romans 6:13“members”mēde parastēavōr teim meleim vu hopleim adikiau ta hamarta, alla …Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves …
Romans 6:13“members”… hōsei ek nekroiu zōarōntoin kai teim meleim vu hopleim dikaiosunau to theo.… to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.
Romans 6:19“members”… sarkau vu; hōsper gar parastēava teim meleim vu douleim ta akatharsia kai ta …… weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating …
Romans 6:19“members”… tan anomian, houtōs nun parastēavar teim meleim vu douleim ta dikaiosuna eis hagiasmon.… escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to …
Romans 12:4kathaper gar en hene sōme polleim meleim echanō, teim de meleim panteim ouk …… us has one body with many members, and not all members have the …
1 Corinthians 6:15… meleim Christou atō? airarantos oun teim meleim tou Christou poiameia pornau meleim? mē …… Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with …
1 Corinthians 6:15“members”… teim meleim tou Christou poiameia pornau meleim? mē genetoia.… then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
1 Corinthians 12:12“members”… gar tem sōmem henem atō kai meleim polleim echatō, panteim de teim meleim …The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one …
1 Corinthians 12:18nuni de tos theos titheta teim meleim, henem hekastem auteiu, en te sōme …… in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of …
Colossians 3:5“members”Nekravar oun teim meleim teim epi tau gēau, porneian, akatharsian, …Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil …