adjective
poikilos
Strong’sG4164
various, of different colors
stem poikil-10 times in the New Testamentin 8 of 27 books3 of 26 forms occur
What it means
What the word means, in the words of the lexicons out of copyright — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones, wherever each has an entry for it.
ποικίλος, -η, -ον,
[in LXX for נָקֹד, רִקְמָה, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4164 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidpoy-kee'-los
motley, i.e. various in character
Fromof uncertain derivation;
King Jamesdivers, manifold.
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
many-coloured, spotted, pied, dappled, παρδαλέη Refs 8th c.BC+; δράκων Refs 5th c.BC+; ἴυγξRefs 5th c.BC+; also of cattle, Refs 3rd c.BC+; -ώτερον ταὧ Refs 2nd c.AD+; opposed to ὁμόχρους, Refs 5th c.BC+; λίθος Αἰθιοπικὸς π., of the red granite of Syene, Refs 4th c.BC+; σφαῖρα Refs 5th c.BC+, tattooed.
II wrought in various colours, of woven or embroidered stuffs, in Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐν ποικίλοις.. κάλλεσιν βαίνειν, of a rich carpet, Refs 4th c.BC+; π., τό, a broidered robe, Refs 5th c.BC+; of Cyprian, Carthaginian, and Sicilian stuffs, Refs 5th c.BC+. adverb -λως, ὑφασμένον LXX+4th c.BC+
II.2 of metal work, τεύχεα π. χαλκῷ cunningly wrought in bronze, Refs 8th c.BC+intricate, Refs
II.3 ἡ στοὰ ἡ π. the Refs 4th c.BC+; also Ποικίλη alone, Refs 2nd c.AD+; or ἡ Π., Refs; also π. στοά, at Olympia, Refs 2nd c.AD+; λέσχη π., at Sparta, Refs 3rd c.BC+
II.4 of drugs, complicated, Refs 2nd c.AD+
III metaphorically, changeful, diversified, manifold, εὐμορφία Refs 5th c.BC+; παντοδαπὰς ἡδονὰς καὶ π. καὶ παντοίως ἐχούσαςRefs 2nd c.AD+; π. μῆνες the changing months, Refs 5th c.BC+. adverb -λως in various ways, Refs 5th c.BC+ Herod.middle in Refs but -ώτερον Refs 2nd c.AD+
III.2 of Art, π. ὕμνος a song of changeful strain or full of diverse art, Refs 5th c.BC+; of style, λέξις ποιητικωτέρα καὶ π. Refs 5th c.BC+; σχηματισμοί Refs 1st c.BC+
III.3 intricate, complex, εἱλιγμοὶ -ώτατοι, of a labyrinth, Refs 5th c.BC+; of an oracle, Refs; ὁ θεὸς ἔφυ τι π. Refs 5th c.BC+; π. νόμος, opposed to νοῆσαι ῥᾴδιος, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. μηχάνημα, λόγοι, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to ἁπλούστερος, Refs 4th c.BC+ adverb -λως, αὐδώμενος speaking in double sense, Refs 5th c.BC+
III.3.b of abstruse knowledge, intricate, subtle, εἰδέναι τι π. Refs 5th c.BC+; οὐδὲν π. nothing abstruse or difficult, Refs 5th c.BC+
III.3.c of persons and things, subtle, artful, wily, of Prometheus, Refs 8th c.BC+; of Odysseus, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. λαλήματα, of the Sirens, Refs 5th c.BC+. adverb subtly, artfully, Refs 5th c.BC+
III.4 changeable, unstable, ὁ εὐδαίμων οὐ π. καὶ εὐμετάβολος Refs 4th c.BC+; π. ἐλπίδες doubtful hopes, Refs 2nd c.BC+ adverb -λως, ἔχειν to be different, Refs 5th c.BC+ (Cf. Sanskrit pimśáti 'dress (meat)', 'adorn', péśas 'shape', 'colour', 'embroidery', Lithuanian pi[etilde]šti 'draw', 'write', Slavonic p[icaron]sati 'write'.)
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 | poikilos | poikilas | poikilem | poikilois | poikilais | poikileim |
| object accusative | poikilon | poikilan | poikiloin | poikilain | ||
| direct address vocative | poikilor | poikilar | poikiloir | poikilair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | poikilou | poikilau1×ποικίλης | poikileu | poikiloiu | poikilaiu | poikileiu |
| to, for dative | poikilo | poikila | poikile | poikiloi2×ποικίλοις | poikilai7×ποικίλαις | poikilei |
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
poikil 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.
10 occurrences, every one of them listed
poikilau“varied”of, belonging togenitive singular1×
1 Peter 4:10“varied”… heautoin autem diakonarōntois hōs kalois oikonomois poikilau charitau theou;As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.
poikiloi“various”to, fordative plural2×
James 1:2“various”… hēgevar, adelfoir mu, hotan peirasmoi peripiptaveia poikiloi,Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many …
1 Peter 1:6… oligem arti ei darōntem lupirantois en poikiloi peirasmoi,… have had to suffer grief in various trials
poikilai“various”to, fordative plural7×
Matthew 4:24… prosferala auto pantoin toin kakōs echarōntoin poikilai nosai kai basanai sunechorōntoin, daimonizorōntoin kai …… Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the …
Mark 1:34kai therapeuata polloin kakōs echarōntoin poikilai nosai, kai daimoneim polleim ekbalata, kai …… healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons …
Luke 4:40… hēliou hapantois hosois echale asthenarōntoin nosai poikilai agala autoin pros auton; tos de …… sunset, all who were ill with various diseases were brought to Jesus, and …
2 Timothy 3:6… aichmalōtizarōntois gunaikarieim sōreuorēnteim hamartai, agorōnteim epithumiai poikilai,… with sins and led astray by various passions,
Titus 3:3“various”… apeithois, planorōntois, douleuarōntois epithumiai kai hēdonai poikilai, en kakia kai fthono diagarōntois, stugētois, …… were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures — living in malice and envy, being hated …
Hebrews 2:4… theou sēmei tē kai teratei kai poikilai dunamiai kai pneumeu hagieu merismoi kata …… affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy …
Hebrews 13:9“various”didachai poikilai kai xenai mē paraferovōr; kalem gar …Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by …