noun · masculine
poimenos
Strong’sG4166
a shepherd
stem poimen-18 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books5 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
A shepherd, one who tends sheep (or other herd animals) 1234.
The word is also used figuratively of a leader or guide of people 13. In the New Testament this figurative sense applies to Christ as shepherd of his followers, and to Christian pastors as shepherds of the church 1. In wider Greek usage the same image describes a chief or captain of a people generally, and even, absolutely, a master or lord 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
ποιμήν, -ένος, ὁ,
[in LXX for רֹעֶה;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4166 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidpoy-mane'
a shepherd (literally or figuratively)
Fromof uncertain affinity;
King Jamesshepherd, pastor.
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
vocative ποιμήν (not -μέν) Hdn.Gr. 2.717:— herdsman, whether of sheep or oxen, Refs 8th c.BC+; opposed to lord or owner (ἄναξ), Refs
2 after Refs 8th c.BC+ always shepherd, βουκόλοι καὶ π. LXX+5th c.BC+
II metaphorically, shepherd of the people, regularly of Agamemnon, Ἀγαμέμνονα π. λαῶν Refs 8th c.BC+: generally, captain, chief, Refs 5th c.BC+; ποιμένες δώρων Κυπρίας, of the Loves, Refs 5th c.BC+: absolutely, master, lord, πλοῦτος ὁ λαχὼν ποιμένα Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2 in LXX+NT (Cf.Lithuanian piemuõ, genitive singular piemeñs 'shepherd'.)
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 | poimenos7×ποιμὴν | poimenois3×ποιμένες |
| object accusative | poimenon6×ποιμένα | poimenoin1×ποιμένας |
| direct address vocative | poimenor | poimenoir |
| of, belonging to genitive | poimenou | poimenoiu1×ποιμένων |
| to, for dative | poimeno | poimenoi |
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
poimeno 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.
18 occurrences, every one of them listed
poimenos“shepherd”subjectnominative singular7×
Matthew 25:32… aforizati autoin apo allēloiu, hōsper tos poimenos aforizatō teim probateim apo toiu erifoiu,… people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
John 10:2tos de eiserchorōntos dia tau thurau poimenos atō teiu probateiu.… enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
John 10:11Mis amō tos poimenos tos kalos; tos poimenos tos kalos …I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His …
John 10:11… amō tos poimenos tos kalos; tos poimenos tos kalos tan psuchan autou tithatō …… am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the …
John 10:12tos misthōtos kai ouk arōntos poimenos, hou ouk atō teim probateim idieim, …The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his …
John 10:14mis amō tos poimenos tos kalos, kai gnōskamō teim ēmeim …I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My …
John 10:16… akouali, kai geneli henas poimnas, henos poimenos.… will be one flock and one shepherd.
poimenon“shepherd”objectaccusative singular6×
Matthew 9:36… kai riptorēntois hōsei probateim mē echarōnteim poimenon.… and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 26:31… nukta houta, grafotē gar; Pataxami ton poimenon, kai diaskorpizili teim probateim tau poimnau;… is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock …
Mark 6:34… hoti ale hōs probateim mē echarōnteim poimenon, kai archeta didaskarō autoin polleim.… they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them …
Mark 14:27… Pantois skandalizivi, hoti grafotē; Pataxami ton poimenon, kai teim probateim diaskorpizili.… is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
Hebrews 13:20… eirēnau, tos anagarantos ek nekroiu ton poimenon teiu probateiu ton megon en haime …… dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
1 Peter 2:25… planorōntois, alla epistrefiva nun epi ton poimenon kai episkopon taiu psuchaiu vu.… now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
poimenois“shepherds”subjectnominative plural3×
Luke 2:8Kai poimenois ale en ta chōra ta auta …And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping …
Luke 2:15… eis ton ouranon tois angelois, tois poimenois lalale pros allēloin; Dierchaneia dē heōs …… them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us …
Luke 2:20kai hupostrefala tois poimenois doxazarōntois kai ainarōntois ton theon epi …The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for …
poimenoin“pastors”objectaccusative plural1×
Ephesians 4:11… profētoin, toin de euangelistoin, toin de poimenoin kai didaskaloin,… be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
poimenoiu“shepherds”of, belonging togenitive plural1×
Luke 2:18… thaumazala peri teiu laliranteiu hupo toiu poimenoiu pros autoin,… it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.