adjective
pneumatikos
Strong’sG4152
spiritual
stem pneumatik-26 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books11 of 26 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
Spiritual — belonging to, produced by, or having the character of the Spirit, as opposed to what is carnal, bodily, or merely "soulish" 1234. It describes created spiritual beings, such as unseen spiritual powers or hosts 1; whatever relates to the human spirit rather than to the soul 1; and, most often, persons or things that belong to or are governed by the Divine Spirit, such as spiritual people, spiritual gifts, a spiritual body, spiritual song, or a spiritual house, in contrast to what is fleshly 1. Strong's adds that the word can also describe something that is, in a concrete sense, itself a spirit 2.
In classical and later Greek writing outside the Bible, the word could also simply mean of wind or air, or of breath — describing things moved, caused, or characterized by air or wind, such as a wind-driven device or a windy or vaporous quality 13. This sense is not the one found in the biblical usage of the word.
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
* πνευματικός, -ή, -όν
(< πνεῦμα),
SYN.: ψυχικός, q.v., and cf. DB, ii, 410, iv, 612.
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4152 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidpnyoo-mat-ik-os'
non-carnal, i.e. (humanly) ethereal (as opposed to gross), or (dæmoniacally) a spirit (concretely), or (divinely) supernatural, regenerate, religious
Fromfrom G4151;
King Jamesspiritual.
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
of wind or air, κινήσεις Refs 4th c.BC+; π. [ὄργανον] a machine moved by wind, Refs 1st c.BC+
2 of the nature of wind or air, τὰ π. Refs 4th c.BC+; π. ξηρότης, i. e. a dry vapour, Refs 1st c.AD+
2.b of subtle substance, τὸ π. Refs 1st c.BC+; οὐσία, opposed to ὑγρά, Refs 1st c.AD+
3 inflated, distended with air, ὑστέραι Refs 4th c.BC+
4 active (= πνευματώδης Refs, causing flatulence, οἶνος Refs 3rd c.BC+. adverb -κῶς by flatulence, Refs 2nd c.AD+
5 breathing, exhaling, εὐοσμία Refs 4th c.BC+
II of the breath or breathing, τὸ π. μόριον, ὁ π. τόπος, Refs 4th c.BC+
III of spirit, spiritual, interpolated in Refs 1st c.AD+; opposed to σαρκικός, ψυχικός, NT adverb -κῶςRefs
IV οἱ Π. a school of physicians who referred all questions of health to pneumatic agencies, Refs 2nd c.AD+
V conveying πνεῦμα, κοιλία, of the left ventricle of the heart (opposed to αἱματική), Refs 3rd c.BC+
VI Rhet., adverb -κῶς in one breath (compare πνεῦμα VI), ἀποτείνεσθαι 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 | masculine singular | feminine singular | neuter singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | pneumatikos4×πνευματικός | pneumatikas | pneumatikem7×πνευματικόν | pneumatikois1×πνευματικοὶ | pneumatikais | pneumatikeim4×πνευματικὰ |
| object accusative | pneumatikon | pneumatikan | pneumatikoin | pneumatikain1×πνευματικὰς | ||
| direct address vocative | pneumatikor | pneumatikar | pneumatikoir | pneumatikair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | pneumatikou | pneumatikau1×πνευματικῆς | pneumatikeu | pneumatikoiu | pneumatikaiu | pneumatikeiu1×πνευματικῶν |
| to, for dative | pneumatiko | pneumatika2×πνευματικῇ | pneumatike | pneumatikoi1×πνευματικοῖς | pneumatikai2×πνευματικαῖς | pneumatikei2×πνευματικοῖς |
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
pneumatik 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.
26 occurrences, every one of them listed
pneumatikos“spiritual”subjectnominative singular4×
Romans 7:14Oidanē gar hoti tos nomos pneumatikos atō; mis de sarkinos amō, pipraskorēntos …We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as …
1 Corinthians 2:15tos de pneumatikos anakrinatō teim panteim, autos de hupo …The spiritual man judges all things, but he …
1 Corinthians 14:37Ei tinos dokatō profētos arō ē pneumatikos, epignōskatōr heim grafamō vi hoti kuriou …… anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual person, let him acknowledge that what …
1 Peter 2:5… autois hōs lithois zōarōntois oikodomovō oikos pneumatikos eis hierateumem hagiem, anaferara pneumatikain thusiain …… stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood …
pneumatikau“spiritual”of, belonging togenitive singular1×
1 Corinthians 10:4… pneumatikem pinala pomem, pinale gar ek pneumatikau akoloutharōntau petrau, tas petras de ate …… drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that …
pneumatika“spiritual”to, fordative singular2×
Ephesians 1:3… tos eulogarantos nin en panta eulogia pneumatika en tei epouranei en Christo,… blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
Colossians 1:9… autou en panta sofia kai sunesia pneumatika,… knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
pneumatikem“spiritual”subject or objectdirect singular7×
Romans 1:11… vin, hina tinem metadōameia charismem vi pneumatikem eis tem stērizira vin,… I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,
1 Corinthians 10:3kai pantois tem autem pneumatikem brōmem esthialaThey all ate the same spiritual food
1 Corinthians 10:4kai pantois tem autem pneumatikem pinala pomem, pinale gar ek pneumatikau …and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the …
1 Corinthians 15:44sperotō sōmem psuchikem, egerotō sōmem pneumatikem. Ei atō sōmem psuchikem, atō kai …… natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural …
1 Corinthians 15:44… Ei atō sōmem psuchikem, atō kai pneumatikem.… natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
1 Corinthians 15:46alla ouk prōtem tem pneumatikem alla tem psuchikem, epeita tem pneumatikem.The spiritual, however, was not first, but the …
1 Corinthians 15:46… pneumatikem alla tem psuchikem, epeita tem pneumatikem.… but the natural, and then the spiritual.
pneumatikois“spiritual”subjectnominative plural1×
Galatians 6:1… anthrōpos en tine paraptōme, vis tois pneumatikois katartizavōr ton toiouton en pneume prautau, …… in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit …
pneumatikoi“spiritual”to, fordative plural1×
1 Corinthians 3:1… adelfoir, ouk dunima lalara vi hōs pneumatikoi alla hōs sarkinoi, hōs nēpioi en …… I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly — as infants in …
pneumatikain“spiritual”objectaccusative plural1×
1 Peter 2:5… oikos pneumatikos eis hierateumem hagiem, anaferara pneumatikain thusiain euprosdektain theo dia Iēsu Christou;… to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus …
pneumatikai“spiritual”to, fordative plural2×
Ephesians 5:19… heautoi psalmoi kai humnoi kai ōdai pneumatikai, adarōntois kai psallarōntois ta kardia vu …… one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in …
Colossians 3:16… kai nouthetarōntois heautoin psalmoi, humnoi, ōdai pneumatikai en charita, adarōntois en tai kardiai …… as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts …
pneumatikeim“spiritual”subject or objectdirect plural4×
1 Corinthians 2:13… logoi, alla en didaktoi pneumeu, pneumatikei pneumatikeim sunkrinarōntois.… the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
1 Corinthians 9:11ei nis vi teim pneumatikeim sperana, megem ei nis vu teim …If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too …
1 Corinthians 14:1Diōkavōr tan agapan, zēlavōr de teim pneumatikeim, mallon de hina profēteuaveiō.Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
Ephesians 6:12… kosmokratōroin teu skoteu houteu, pros teim pneumatikeim tau ponēriau en tei epouranei.… this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly …
pneumatikeiu“spiritual”of, belonging togenitive plural1×
1 Corinthians 12:1Peri de teiu pneumatikeiu, adelfoir, ouk thelamō vin agnoarō.Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want …
pneumatikei“spiritual”to, fordative plural2×
Romans 15:27… ofeiletois alō autoiu; ei gar tei pneumatikei autoiu koinōnala teim ethneim, ofeilalō kai …… the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they are obligated to minister …
1 Corinthians 2:13… sofiau logoi, alla en didaktoi pneumeu, pneumatikei pneumatikeim sunkrinarōntois.… words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.