noun · masculine
naos
Strong’sG3485
a temple, shrine
stem na-45 times in the New Testamentin 10 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
Temple, shrine 1234 — a place where a deity is believed to dwell 23. The word covers the temple building as a whole 13, but is often used more specifically for the innermost sanctuary of a temple, the shrine housing the image of the god, as distinct from the wider temple precinct or courts 13.
In the New Testament this narrower sense is important: at Jerusalem the word regularly refers to the actual sanctuary building where God was understood to dwell, as opposed to the whole temple enclosure with its outer courts 1. It is used both of the earthly temple at Jerusalem and of the temple seen in visionary scenes 1.
The word can also refer to a small model shrine, such as the silver shrines made and sold in connection with pagan worship 13.
Beyond literal buildings, the word is used figuratively of Christians, described as themselves being God's temple, and of the body of Christ, spoken of in the same way 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
ναός, -οῦ, ὁ,
(Att. νεώς; < ναίω, to inhabit), [in LXX (νεώς, II Mac 6:2, al.) chiefly for הֵיכָל;]
SYN.: ἱερόν.
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3485 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidnah-os'
a fane, shrine, temple
Fromfrom a primary ναίω (to dwell);
King Jamesshrine, temple.
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
Doric dialect, Thess., etc. form, Refs 5th c.BC+, rare in Attic dialect Prose and Comedy texts, LXX+5th c.BC+ only in 2 Ma.), Refs 2nd c.BC+; Ionic dialectνηός, always in Refs 8th c.BC+; dative νειῴ Refs 4th c.BC+; Attic dialect νεώς (Attic Inscrr. of see-3rd c.BC (see. below), once in Trag. (see. above), frequently in Prose authors and found in Comedy texts (see. below)); declension, nominative νεώς Refs 5th c.BC+; dative νεῴ Refs 5th c.BC+; accusative νεών LXX+5th c.BC+; on the accent see Hdn.Gr.1.8: Aeolic dialect ναῦος Refs 7th c.BC+; Spartan ναϝός [prev. work]5(1).1564 (plural, found at Delos, 5th-4th c.BC):—temple, Refs 8th c.BC+
II inmost part of a temple, shrine containing the image of the god, Refs 5th c.BC+
III portable shrine carried in processions, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV metaphorically, of Christians, ν. θεοῦ ἐστε NT; of the body of Christ, NT+2nd c.BC+; elsewhere ᾱ.] (Perh. from νᾰσ-ϝός, compare ναίω.)
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 | naos10×ναὸς | naois |
| object accusative | naon13×ναὸν | naoin1×ναοὺς |
| direct address vocative | naor | naoir |
| of, belonging to genitive | naou12×ναοῦ | naoiu |
| to, for dative | nao8×ναῷ | naoi1×ναοῖς |
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
nao 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.
45 occurrences, every one of them listed
naos“temple”subjectnominative singular10×
Matthew 23:17… megoteros atō, tos chrusos ē tos naos tos hagiazarantos ton chruson?… is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?
John 2:20… Tesserakonta kai hex etei oikodomita tos naos houtos, kai sis en treis hēmerai …“This temple took forty-six years to build,” the …
1 Corinthians 3:16Ouk oidavē hoti naos theou avō kai tem pneumem tou …… know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in …
1 Corinthians 3:17… ftherati houton tos theos; tos gar naos tou theou hagios atō, hotinois avō …… God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that …
1 Corinthians 6:19… ouk oidavē hoti tem sōmem vu naos teu en vi hagieu pneumeu atō, …… know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is …
2 Corinthians 6:16… nao theou meta eidōleiu? nis gar naos theou anō zōarōntou; kathōs legata tos …… and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God …
Revelation 11:19Kai anoigita tos naos tou theou tos en to ourano, …Then the temple of God in heaven was opened …
Revelation 15:5… meta houteim horama, kai anoigita tos naos tau skēnau teu marturieu en to …After this I looked, and the temple — the tabernacle of the Testimony — was …
Revelation 15:8kai gemizita tos naos kapnou ek tau doxau tou theou …And the temple was filled with smoke from the …
Revelation 21:22… gar kurios, tos theos, tos pantokratoros, naos autau atō, kai tem arniem.… Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
naon“temple”objectaccusative singular13×
Matthew 26:61legala; Houtos fēate; Dunomō kataluara ton naon tou theou kai dia treis hēmeraiu …… I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in …
Matthew 27:5kai riptarantos teim argurieim eis ton naon anachōrata, kai apercharantos apancheta.… Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away …
Matthew 27:40kai legarōntois; Tos kataluarōntor ton naon kai en treis hēmerai oikodomarōntor, sōzasar …… who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days …
Mark 14:58… autou legarōntou hoti Mis kataluami ton naon houton ton cheiropoiēton kai dia treis …… say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will …
Mark 15:29… kai legarōntois; Oua tos kataluarōntor ton naon kai oikodomarōntor en treis hēmerai,… who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
Luke 1:9… lanchanata teu thumiara eisercharantos eis ton naon tou kuriou,… of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
John 2:19… Iēsus kai legata autoi; Luavar ton naon houton kai en treis hēmerai egerami …Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will …
1 Corinthians 3:17ei tinos ton naon tou theou ftheratō, ftherati houton tos …If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s …
Ephesians 2:21… ho pantas oikodomas sunarmologorōntas auxatō eis naon hagion en kurio,… together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
2 Thessalonians 2:4… ē sebasmem, hōste auton eis ton naon tou theou kathizara apodeikarōnton heauton hoti …… he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be …
Revelation 11:1… rabda, legarōntos; Egerasōr kai metrasar ton naon tou theou kai tem thusiastēriem kai …… was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and …
Revelation 15:8… kai oudenos dunote eiserchara eis ton naon achri telileia tais hepta plēgais toiu …… and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the …
Revelation 21:22Kai naon ouk horama en auta, tos gar …But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord …
naou“temple”of, belonging togenitive singular12×
Matthew 23:16… an omnuateia en to chruso tou naou ofeilatō.… swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
Matthew 23:35… huiou Barachiou, hon foneuava metaxu tou naou kai teu thusiastērieu.… Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Matthew 27:51kai idou tem katapetasmem tou naou schizita apo anōthen heōs katō eis …… that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top …
Mark 15:38kai tem katapetasmem tou naou schizita eis duo apo anōthen heōs …And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top …
Luke 23:45… ekliparantou, schizita de tem katapetasmem tou naou mesem.… darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.
John 2:21ekeinos de legate peri tou naou teu sōmeu autou.But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body.
Revelation 11:2kai tan aulan tan exōthen tou naou ekbalasar exōthen, kai mē autan metraseia, …But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it …
Revelation 14:15kai allosos angelos exerchata ek tou naou krazarōntos en fōna mega to kathorōnto …… another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice …
Revelation 14:17Kai allosos angelos exerchata ek tou naou tou en to ourano, echarōntos kai …… another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had …
Revelation 15:6… echarōntois tain hepta plēgain ek tou naou, enduorēntois linem katharem lamprem kai perizōnorēntois …And out of the temple came the seven angels with the …
Revelation 16:1Kai akouama megau fōnau ek tou naou legarōntau toi hepta angeloi; Hupagavōr kai …… heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go …
Revelation 16:17… kai exerchata fōnas megas ek tou naou apo tou thronou legarōntas; Genatē… came from the throne in the temple, saying, “It is done!”
nao“temple”to, fordative singular8×
Matthew 23:16… legarōntoir; Hos an omnuateia en to nao, oudenem atō, hos de an omnuateia …… say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone …
Matthew 23:21kai tos omnuarantos en to nao omnuatō en auto kai en to …And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the …
Luke 1:21… thaumazale en te chronizarō en to nao auton.… he took so long in the temple.
Luke 1:22… epignōskala hoti optasian horatē en to nao; kai autos ate dianeuarōntos autoi, kai …… had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them …
2 Corinthians 6:16tinas de sunkatathesias nao theou meta eidōleiu? nis gar naos …What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we …
Revelation 3:12… nikarōntos poiami auton stulon en to nao tou theou mu, kai exō ouk …… will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will …
Revelation 7:15… auto hēmerau kai nuktau en to nao autou, kai tos kathorōntos epi tou …… Him day and night in His temple; and the One seated on the …
Revelation 11:19… kibōtas tau diathēkau autou en to nao autou; kai genela astrapais kai fōnais …… of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning …
naoin“shrines”objectaccusative plural1×
Acts 19:24Dēmētrios gar tinos onome, argurokopos, poiarōntos naoin argurouoin Artemiau parechote toi technitoi ouk …… silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to …
naoi“temples”to, fordative plural1×
Acts 17:24… gēau huparcharōntos kurios ouk en cheiropoiētoi naoi katoikatō… earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.