adverb
plēsion
Strong’sG4139
near, nearby, a neighbor
stem plēsi-17 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 booksnever changes form
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
Near, close by — the word describes nearness or proximity, used to say that something or someone is close to another 24. Abbott-Smith directs the reader to the related adjective form, which in classical usage means "near" or "close to" and also appears as an adverb meaning "near, hard by" 13.
A neighbor — used as a noun, especially with the article, the word denotes one's neighbor: a fellow person, whether taken as a countryman, a Christian, or simply a friend 234. This use with the article to mean "the one nearby," i.e., one's neighbor, is attested in Greek literature generally 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
πλησίον, v.s. πλησίος.
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4139 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidplay-see'-on
(adverbially) close by; as noun, a neighbor, i.e. fellow (as man, countryman, Christian or friend)
Fromneuter of a derivative of πέλας (near);
King Jamesnear, neighbour.
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
Boeotian dialect πλᾱτίος Refs: (πέλας, πελάζω):— near, close to, with genitive, πλησίοι ἀλλήλων variant in Refs 8th c.BC+
2 with dative, πλησίοι ἀλλήλοισι Refs 8th c.BC+
3 absolutely, near, neighbouring, πλησίαι αἵ γ᾽ ἥσθην Refs 8th c.BC+: substantive, neighbour, ἰδὼν ἐς π. ἄλλον Refs 8th c.BC+
II adverb πλησίον, Aeolic dialect πλάσιον [ᾱ] Refs 7th c.BC+; Doric dialect πλᾱτίον: ={πέλας}, near, hard by, with genitive, τὰ μὲν κατέθεντ᾽ ἐπὶ γαίῃ π. ἀλλήλων Refs 8th c.BC+; κεῖται στενωποῦ π. Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 with the Article, ὁ πλησίον (i.e. ὤν) one's neighbour, Refs 6th c.BC+; Doric dialect, ὁ πλατίον Refs 5th c.BC+; ὁ π. παράδεισος, αἱ π. κῶμαι, etc., Refs 5th c.BC+
III superlative -αίτατος Refs adverb -αιτέρωRefs 5th c.BC+; -αίτερον Refs 5th c.BC+: superlative -αίταταRefs: later comparative -έστεροςRefs 6th c.AD+. adverb -έστερονLXX+4th c.AD+—The adjective is poetry and Ionic dialect; in Attic dialect Prose only the adverb is found.
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.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
17 occurrences, every one of them listed
plēsion17×
Matthew 5:43Akouava hoti legita; Agapasi ton plēsion su kai misasi ton echthron su.… that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’
Matthew 19:19… kai tan mētēran, kai Agapasi ton plēsion su hōs siauton.… father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:39Deuteras de homoias auta; Agapasi ton plēsion su hōs siauton.… second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Mark 12:31deuteras houtas; Agapasi ton plēsion su hōs siauton. megoteras houtaiu allosas …The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is …
Mark 12:33… tau ischuau kai tem agaparō ton plēsion hōs heauton perissoterem atō panteiu teiu …… your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is more important …
Luke 10:27… hola ta dianoia su, kai ton plēsion su hōs siauton.… all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Luke 10:29… ton Iēsun; Kai tinos atō mu plēsion?… asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:36tinos houtoiu toiu treis plēsion dokatō si genarē tou empiptarantou eis …… three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into …
Acts 7:27tos de adikarōntos ton plēsion apōtheta auton legarantos; Tinos sin katastēata …… the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who …
Romans 13:9… houto anakefalaiotō, en to; Agapasi ton plēsion su hōs siauton.… in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Romans 13:10tas agapas to plēsion kakosem ouk ergazotō; plērōmem oun nomou …Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of …
Romans 15:2hekastos nu to plēsion areskatōr eis tem agathem pros oikodoman;Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him …
Galatians 5:14… logo plērotē, en to; Agapasi ton plēsion su hōs siauton.… in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Ephesians 4:25… pseudem lalavōr alētheian hekastos meta tou plēsion autou, hoti anō allēloiu meleim.… falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of …
James 2:8… basilikon kata tan grafan Agapasi ton plēsion su hōs siauton, kalōs poiavō;… law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
James 4:12… de tinos asō, tos krinarōntor ton plēsion?… who are you to judge your neighbor?
John 4:5… eis polan tau Samareiau legorōntan Suchar plēsion teu chōrieu hem dōata Iakōb to …… a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob …