adverb
pothen
Strong’sG4159
whence
stem pothen-29 times in the New Testamentin 6 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
πόθεν is an interrogative adverb meaning "from where" / "whence" 1234. It can ask about a literal place of origin, such as where someone has come from 13; about a source or origin more broadly, including a person's parentage or stock 13; and about a cause, in effect asking "why" or "how" something is so 13. It is also used metaphorically to ask about a spiritual or moral condition one has fallen from 1.
The same word can also be used rhetorically to express surprise or amount to a denial, as in "how could that be?" or "impossible!" 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
Strong’s G4159 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidpoth'-en
from which (as interrogative) or what (as relative) place, state, source or cause
Fromfrom the base of G4213 with enclitic adverb of origin;
King Jameswhence.
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
Ionic dialect κόθεν:
I interrogative adverb whence?
I.1 of Place, εἰρώτα.., τίς εἴη καὶ π. ἔλθοι Refs 8th c.BC+
I.2 of origin, π. γένος εὔχεται εἶναι from what stock he avows that he is by descent, Refs 8th c.BC+
I.3 in speaking, π. ἄρξωμα; Refs 5th c.BC+
I.4 of the cause, whence? wherefore? π. χοὰς ἔπεμψε; ἐκ τίνος λόγο; Refs 4th c.BC+; to express surprise or negation, π. γὰρ ἔσται βιοτ; i.e. οὐδαμόθεν, NT+5th c.BC+how can it be? impossible! nonsense! Refs 5th c.BC+; π. γά; Refs 5th c.BC+
I.5 with Verbs of finding, taking, purchasing, etc., π. ἂν πριαίμην ῥῖν; Refs 5th c.BC+
II ποθέν, enclitic adverb from some place or other, εἴ π. Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐκ βιβλίου π. ἀκούσας from some book or other, Refs
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.
29 occurrences, every one of them listed
pothen21×
Matthew 13:27“how”… spermem sperasa en to so agro? pothen oun echatō zizanieim?… didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
Matthew 13:56… autou ouchi pantais pros nin alō? pothen oun houto houteim panteim?… His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all …
Matthew 21:25tem baptismem tem Iōannou pothen ate? ek ouranou ē ek anthrōpoiu? …… source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?” They deliberated …
Mark 12:37autos David legatō auton kurion, kai pothen autou atō huios? kai tos pollos …David himself calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?” And …
Luke 1:43kai pothen mi houtem hina erchateia tas mētēras …And why am I so honored, that the …
Luke 13:25… apokrinirantos legati vi; Ouk oidamē vin pothen avō.… will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
Luke 13:27kai legati legarōntos vi; Ouk oidamē pothen avō; apostēavar apo mu, pantoir ergatoir …… tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’
Luke 20:7kai apokrinila mē oidarē pothen.… answered that they did not know where it was from.
John 2:9… hudem oinon genorēntem, kai ouk oidatelē pothen atō, tois de diakonois oidalelē tois …… into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn …
John 3:8… fōnan auteu akouasō, alla ouk oidasē pothen erchotō kai pou hupagatō; houtōs atō …… sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it …
John 4:11… echasō kai tem freatem atō bathuem; pothen oun echasō tem hudem tem zōarōntem?… with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living …
John 7:27alla houton oidanē pothen atō; tos de christos hotan erchoteiō …But we know where this man is from. When the Christ comes, no one …
John 7:27… de christos hotan erchoteiō oudenos gnōskatō pothen atō.… Christ comes, no one will know where He is from.”
John 7:28… kai legarōntos; Kamin oidavē kai oidavē pothen amō; kai apo miautou ouk erchamē, …… You know Me, and you know where I am from. I have not come of My …
John 8:14… atō tas marturias mu, hoti oidamē pothen erchama kai pou hupagamō; vis de …… because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do …
John 8:14… pou hupagamō; vis de ouk oidavē pothen erchomō ē pou hupagamō.… do not know where I came from or where I am going.
John 9:29… tos theos, houton de ouk oidanē pothen atō.… Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.”
John 9:30… thaumastem atō hoti vis ouk oidavē pothen atō, kai anoigata mu toin ofthalmoin.… man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
James 4:1“from where”Pothen polemois kai pothen machais en vi? ouk enteuthen, ek …What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions …
Revelation 2:5“from where”mnēmoneuasōr oun pothen piptasē, kai metanoasar kai teim prōteim …Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your …
Revelation 7:13… stolain tain leukain tinois alō kai pothen erchala?… he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”
Pothen8×
Matthew 13:54… autoiu, hōste ekplēssorō autoin kai legarō; Pothen houto tas sofias houtas kai tais …… their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom …
Matthew 15:33kai legalō auto tois mathētois; Pothen ni en erēmia artois tosoutois hōste …The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we …
Mark 6:2… kai tois pollois akouarōntois ekplēssole legarōntois; Pothen houto houteim, kai tinas tas sofias …… many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these ideas …
Mark 8:4… apokrinila auto tois mathētois autou hoti Pothen houtoin duneti tinos hōde chortazara artoiu …His disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could anyone …
John 1:48legatō auto Nathanaēl; Pothen min gnōskasō? apokrinita Iēsus kai legata …“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked …
John 6:5… erchotō pros auton legatō pros Filippon; Pothen agorazaneia artoin hina esthialeia houtois?… toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these …
John 19:9… praitōriem palin kai legatō to Iēso; Pothen asō sis? tos de Iēsus apokrisian …… he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked. But Jesus gave no …
James 4:1“what is the source”Pothen polemois kai pothen machais en vi? …What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they …