noun · feminine
polas
Strong’sG4172
a city
stem pol-162 times in the New Testamentin 13 of 27 books9 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 city or town, properly one enclosed by walls, of greater or lesser size 1234. The word is used generally for a city as a place, including the city of Jerusalem, called "the holy city," and for a city envisioned in heaven 13. It can also denote simply the city or place where a person lives or was born 1.
By extension, πόλις can refer not to the place itself but to its inhabitants collectively, so that "the city" means the people living there rather than the buildings 1.
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
πόλις, -εως, ἡ,
[in LXX chiefly and very freq. for עִיר;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4172 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Epic dialect also πτόλις (found sometimes in Trag. etc., see at {πτόλις}), ἡ: Epic dialect forms, accusative singular πόληα Refs 8th c.BC+; genitive πόλιος or πτόλιος, Refs 8th c.BC+ P.(scanned ?~X ?~X ?~X ¯ Refs 8th c.BC+: Ionic dialect forms, genitive πόλεως Refs 6th c.BC+; dative mostly πόλει, but πόλῑ Refs 5th c.BC+; accusative πόλῑς Refs: Doric dialect genitive singular πόλιος Refs 2nd c.BC+; dative singular πόλι Refs 4th c.BC+; dative plural πολίεσι Refs 5th c.BC+; πολίεσσι Foed.Lac. cited in Refs 5th c.BC+; Cretan dialect πόλιθι Refs: Aeolic dialect genitive πόλιος Refs 7th c.BC+ disyllable (as also in Comedy texts, except Refs 5th c.BC+; Attic dialect dual πόλη Refs 5th c.BC+:—city, Refs 8th c.BC+; π. ἄκρη, ἀκροτάτη, ={ἀκρόπολις}, the citadel, Refs 8th c.BC+; which at Athens also was in early times called simply π., while the rest of the city was called ἄστυ, καλεῖται.. ἡ ἀκρόπολις μέχρι τοῦδε ἔτι ὑπ᾽ Ἀθηναίων π. Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν πόλει in treaties, Refs 5th c.BC+; so Ἰνάχου π. the citadel of Argos, Refs 5th c.BC+; of the Cadmea at Thebes, Refs 1st c.BC+; of Alexandria, Refs; π. ἡ ἁγία, of Jerusalem, LXX the city of.., Refs 5th c.BC+; also in apposition, ἡ Μένδη π. Refs 5th c.BC+
2 one's city or country, πόθι τοι π. ἠδὲ τοκῆε; Refs 8th c.BC+
3 ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς πόλεως city governor, Refs 3rd c.BC+; στρατηγὸς πόλεως Refs 1st c.BC+; στρατηγὸς κατὰ πόλιν, = Latin praetor urbanus, Refs 1st c.BC+
II country, as dependent on and called after its city, ἀνθρώπων οἳ τήνδε π. καὶ γαῖαν ἔχουσιν Refs 8th c.BC+; especially of islands peopled by men, Αῆμνον π. Θόαντος Refs 8th c.BC+; π. Αἴαντος, ={Σαλαμίς}, Refs 5th c.BC+
III community or body of citizens (opposed to ἄστυ, their dwellings, Refs 8th c.BC+ denotes the town), ὧν π. ἀνάριθμος ὄλλυται Refs 5th c.BC+
III.2 state or community, ξύμπασα π. κακοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀπηύρα Refs 8th c.BC+; especially free state, republic, Refs 5th c.BC+state affairs, government, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὴν π. φεύγειν shun one's public duties, Refs 4th c.BC+; assembly of citizens, Refs 5th c.BC+
III.3 rights of citizenship, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV πόλιν παίζειν, a game resembling backgammon, Refs 5th c.BC+, perhaps alluded to in Refs 5th c.BC+. (Cf. Sanskrit pūr, Lithuanian pilìs 'fortrees'.)
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 | polas19×πόλις | polais2×πόλεις |
| object accusative | polan63×πόλιν | polain10×πόλεις |
| direct address vocative | polar3×πόλις | polair |
| of, belonging to genitive | polau36×πόλεως | polaiu6×πόλεων |
| to, for dative | pola21×πόλει | polai2×πόλεσιν |
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
pola 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.
162 occurrences, 100 of them printed here — the rest are in the reader
polas“city”subjectnominative singular19×
Matthew 5:14… tem fōtem tou kosmou. ouk dunotō polas kruptira epanō oreu keiorōntas;… the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:35… podoiu autou; mēte eis Hierosolumeim, hoti polas atō tou megou basilevou;… by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Matthew 8:34kai idou pantas tas polas exerchata eis hupantēsian to Iēso, kai …Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And …
Matthew 12:25… merizirantas kata heautau erēmotō, kai pantas polas ē oikias merizirantas kata heautau ouk …… will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will …
Matthew 21:10… autou eis Hierosolumeim seiita pantas tas polas legarōntas; Tinos atō houtos?… Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is …
Mark 1:33“city”kai ate holas tas polas episunagorēntas pros tan thuran.and the whole town gathered at the door.
Luke 4:29… ofruau teu oreu epi heu tas polas oikodomotelē autoiu, hōste katakrēmnizara auton;… of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw …
Acts 13:44… de erchorōnte sabbate schedōs pantas tas polas sunagita akouara ton logon tou kuriou.… the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of …
Acts 16:12… hotinas atō prōtas tau meridau Makedoniau polas, kolōnias. ane de en houta ta …… Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And …
Acts 19:29kai pimplēita tas polas tau sunchusiau, hormala tē homothumadōs eis …Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together …
Acts 21:30kinita tē tas polas holas kai geneta sundromas tou laou, …The whole city was stirred up, and the people …
Acts 27:8“city”… kalorōnton Kaloin Limēnoin ho engus ate polas Lasaias.… a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
Revelation 16:19kai geneta tas polas tas megas eis treis mereim, kai …The great city was split into three parts, and …
Revelation 17:18… tas gunaikas han horasa atō tas polas tas megas tas echarōntas basileian epi …… woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of …
Revelation 18:19… kai pentharōntois legarōntois; Ouai ouai, tas polas tas megas, en ha ploutala pantois …… out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on …
Revelation 18:21… Houtōs hormēme baliti Babulōnas tas megas polas, kai ouk mē heuriskiteia ēti.… saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down …
Revelation 21:16kai tas polas tetragōnas keiotō, kai tem mēkem autau …The city lies foursquare, with its width the …
Revelation 21:18… teu teicheu autau iaspias, kai tas polas chrusiem katharem homoiem hualo katharo;… was made of jasper, and the city itself of pure gold, as pure …
Revelation 21:23kai tas polas ouk chreian echatō tou hēliou oude …And the city has no need of sun or …
polan“city”objectaccusative singular63×, 20 shown
Matthew 2:23kai ercharantos katoikata eis polan legorōntan Nazaret, hopōs plēriteia tem legirantem …… he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what …
Matthew 4:5… auton tos diabolos eis tan hagian polan, kai stēata auton epi tem pterugiem …… devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle …
Matthew 8:33“city”… boskarōntois fugala, kai apercharantois eis tan polan apangelala panteim kai teim toiu daimonizorōntoiu.Those tending the pigs ran off into the town and reported all this, including the account of the demon-possessed men.
Matthew 9:1… diaperata kai erchata eis tan idian polan.… over, and came to His own town.
Matthew 10:5… hodan ethneiu mē aperchaveia kai eis polan Samaritoiu mē eiserchaveia;… of the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
Matthew 10:11eis han de an polan ē kōman eiserchaveia, exetazavar tinos en …Whatever town or village you enter, find out …
Matthew 21:18Prōi de epanagarōntos eis tan polan peinata.… as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry.
Matthew 22:7… apolata toin fonevoin ekeinoin kai tan polan autoiu empimprēata.… destroy those murderers and burn their city.
Matthew 23:34… vu kai diōkavi apo polau eis polan;… synagogues and persecute from town to town.
Matthew 26:18tos de legata; Hupagavōr eis tan polan pros ton deinon kai legavar auto; …He answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell …
Matthew 27:53… egersian autou eiserchala eis tan hagian polan kai emfanizila polloi.… the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.
Matthew 28:11… tinois tau koustōdiau ercharantois eis tan polan apangelala toi archierevoi hapanteim teim generanteim.… of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests …
Mark 1:45… hōste mēketi auton dunorō fanerōs eis polan eiserchara, alla exō epi erēmoi topoi …… Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed …
Mark 5:14“city”… autoin fugala kai apangelala eis tan polan kai eis toin agroin; kai erchala …… the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went …
Mark 14:13… kai legatō autoi; Hupagavōr eis tan polan, kai apantati vi anthrōpos keramiem hudeu …… and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jug …
Mark 14:16… tois mathētois kai erchala eis tan polan kai heuriskala kathōs legata autoi, kai …… disciples left and went into the city, where they found everything as Jesus …
Luke 1:26… angelos Gabriēl apo tou theou eis polan tau Galilaiau ha onomem Nazareth… sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
Luke 1:39… eis tan oreinan meta spoudau eis polan Ioudou,… got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah,
Luke 2:3… pantois apograforō, hekastos eis tan heautou polan.And everyone went to his own town to register.
Luke 2:4… polau Nazareth eis tan Ioudaian eis polan David hotinas kalotō Bēthleem, dia tem …… in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he …
polar“city”direct addressvocative singular3×
Revelation 18:10… basanismou autau legarōntois; Ouai ouai, tas polar tas megar, Babulōnar tas polar tas …… out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For …
Revelation 18:10… tas polar tas megar, Babulōnar tas polar tas ischurar, hoti hena hōra erchata …… to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single …
Revelation 18:16legarōntois; Ouai ouai, tas polar tas megar, tas peribalorēntar bussinem kai …saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple …
polau“city”of, belonging togenitive singular36×, 19 shown
Matthew 10:14… exerchorōntois exō tau oikiau ē tau polau ekeinau ektinassavar ton koniorton toiu podoiu …… when you leave that home or town.
Matthew 21:17kai kataleiparantos autoin exerchata exō tau polau eis Bēthanian, kai aulizita ekei.… them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the …
Matthew 23:34… tai sunagōgai vu kai diōkavi apo polau eis polan;… in your synagogues and persecute from town to town.
Mark 11:19… hotan opse geneta, ekporeuole exō tau polau.… His disciples went out of the city.
Luke 2:4“town”… kai Iōsēf apo tau Galilaiau ek polau Nazareth eis tan Ioudaian eis polan …So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house …
Luke 4:29kai anastēarantois ekbalala auton exō tau polau, kai agala auton heōs ofruau teu …… up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow …
Luke 7:12hōs de engizata ta pula tau polau, kai idou ekkomizote thnēskarēntos monogenos huios …As He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man …
Luke 7:12… autas ate chēras, kai ochlos tau polau hikanos ate sun auta.… And a large crowd from the town was with her.
Luke 8:27“city”… gēan hupantata andros tinos ek tau polau echarōntos daimoneim; kai chrono hikano ouk …… He was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothing or lived in a house, but he stayed in the tombs.
Luke 9:5… mē decholeiō vin, exerchorōntois apo tau polau ekeinau ton koniorton apo toiu podoiu …… your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”
Luke 10:11… koniorton ton kolliranton ni ek tau polau vu eis toin podoin apomassonō vi; …‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we …
Luke 14:21… eis tain plateiain kai rumain tau polau, kai toin ptōchoin kai anapēroin kai …… the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the …
Luke 23:51… kai ta praxia autoiu apo Harimathaiau polau toiu Ioudaioiu, hos prosdechote tan basileian …… action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea and was waiting for …
John 1:44“city”… tos Filippos apo Bēthsaida, ek tau polau Andreou kai Petrou.Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.
John 4:30exerchala ek tau polau kai archole pros auton.So they left the town and made their way toward Jesus.
John 4:39Ek de tau polau ekeinau pollois pisteuala eis auton toiu …Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the …
John 19:20… hoti engus ate tos topos tau polau hopou staurita tos Iēsus; kai ate …… Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew …
Acts 7:58kai ekbalarantois exō tau polau lithobolale. kai tois marturois apotithela teim …They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile …
Acts 13:50… tain euschēmōnain kai toin prōtoin tau polau kai epegerala diōgmon epi ton Paulon …… and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul …
pola“city”to, fordative singular21×, 19 shown
Matthew 10:15… Gomorreiu en hēmera krisiau ē ta pola ekeina.… day of judgment than for that town.
Matthew 10:23hotan de diōkaleiō vin en ta pola houta, fugavōr eis tan heteran; amēn …When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly I …
Luke 2:11… sōtēros hos atō christos kurios en pola David;Today in the city of David a Savior has been …
Luke 7:37“city”… idou gunaikas hotinas ate en ta pola hamartōlas, kai epignōskarantas hoti katakeiotō en …When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there …
Luke 10:12… hēmera ekeina anektoterem eti ē ta pola ekeina.… day for Sodom than for that town.
Luke 18:2“city”legarōntos; Kritos tinos ate en tina pola ton theon mē foborōntos kai anthrōpon …“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected …
Luke 18:3“city”chēras de ate en ta pola ekeina kai erchote pros auton legarōntas; …And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me …
Luke 23:19… dia stasian tinan generantan en ta pola kai fonon balirantos en ta fulaka.… imprisoned for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
Luke 24:49… vin; vis de kathizavar en ta pola heōs hou endueveia ek hupseu dunamian.… upon you. But remain in the city until you have been clothed with …
Acts 4:27sunagila gar epi alētheiau en ta pola houta epi ton hagion paidon su …In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired …
Acts 8:8geneta de pollas charas en ta pola ekeina.… there was great joy in that city.
Acts 8:9… tinos onome Simōnos prouparchate en ta pola mageuarōntos kai ekstēarōntos tem ethnem tau …… Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria …
Acts 10:9… de epaurion hodoiporarōntoiu ekeinoiu kai ta pola engizarōntoiu anabainata Petros epi tem dōmem …… as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up …
Acts 11:5Mis ome en pola Ioppa proseuchorōntos kai horama en ekstasia …“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a …
Acts 16:12“city”… kolōnias. ane de en houta ta pola diatribarōntois hēmerain tinain.… to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
Acts 18:10… laos atō mi pollos en ta pola houta.… I have many people in this city.”
Acts 21:29… proorarēntois Trofimon ton Efesion en ta pola sun auto, hon nomizale hoti eis …… the Ephesian with him in the city, and they assumed that Paul had …
Acts 22:3… tau Kilikiau, anatreforēntos de en ta pola houta para toin podoin Gamaliēl, paideuorēntos …… of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet …
2 Corinthians 11:26… geneu, kindunoi ek ethneiu, kindunoi en pola, kindunoi en erēmia, kindunoi en thalassa, …… the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger …
polais“cities”subjectnominative plural2×
Jude 1:7… kai Gomorras kai tais peri autain polais, ton homoion tropon houtoi ekporneuarantais kai …… manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual …
Revelation 16:19… megas eis treis mereim, kai tais polais teiu ethneiu piptala; kai Babulōnas tas …… split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God …
polain“cities”objectaccusative plural10×
Matthew 9:35“cities”Kai periagate tos Iēsus tain polain pantain kai tain kōmain, didaskarōntos en …Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of …
Matthew 10:23… legamō vi, ouk mē telaveia tain polain tou Israēl heōs an erchateia tos …… you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of …
Matthew 11:20Tote archeta oneidizarō tain polain en hai genela tais pollotatais dunamiais …Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles …
Mark 6:56“cities”… an eisporeuote eis kōmain ē eis polain ē eis agroin en tai agorai …… wherever He went — villages and towns and countrysides — they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them …
Luke 13:22Kai diaporeuote kata polain kai kōmain didaskarōntos kai poreian poiorōntos …Then Jesus traveled throughout the towns and villages, teaching as He made …
Acts 8:40… eis Azōtan, kai dierchorōntos euangelizote tain polain pantain heōs teu erchara auton eis …… preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Acts 14:6sunorarantois katafugala eis tain polain tau Lukaoniau Lustran kai Derban kai …… it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to …
Acts 16:4“cities”hōs de diaporeuole tain polain, paradōale autoi fulassarō teim dogmeim teim …As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions handed down by the apostles and …
Acts 26:11… diōkame heōs kai eis tain exō polain.… them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
2 Peter 2:6kai polain Sodomeiu kai Gomorrau tefrarantos katastrofa katakrinata, …if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction …
polaiu“towns”of, belonging togenitive plural6×
Matthew 14:13… ochlois akolouthala auto pezē apo taiu polaiu.… followed Him on foot from the towns.
Mark 6:33… pollois, kai pezē apo pantaiu taiu polaiu suntrechala ekei kai proerchala autoin.… together on foot from all the towns and arrived before them.
Luke 5:12“cities”… te arō auton en hena taiu polaiu kai idou andros plēros leprau; kai …While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown and begged Him …
Luke 19:17… genesa, asōr exousian echarōntos epanō deka polaiu.… you shall have authority over ten cities.’
Luke 19:19… houto; Kai sis epanō genosōr pente polaiu.… You shall have authority over five cities.’
Acts 5:16… de kai tem plēthem taiu perix polaiu Ierousalēm, ferarōntois asthenoin kai ochlorōntoin hupo …Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and …
polai“towns”to, fordative plural2×
Matthew 11:1… teu didaskarō kai kērussarō en tai polai autoiu.… to teach and preach in their cities.
Luke 4:43… pros autoin hoti Kai tai heterai polai euangelizera min datō tan basileian tou …… kingdom of God to the other towns as well, because that is why …