noun · masculine
sōtēros
Strong’sG4990
a savior, deliverer, preserver
stem sōtēr-24 times in the New Testamentin 11 of 27 books4 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
Savior, deliverer, preserver — one who rescues, saves, or keeps a person safe from danger, harm, or destruction 1234. In the New Testament this title is applied to God as the one who saves 1, and to Christ as savior of the world and of those who believe 1.
The same word was also used more broadly in the Greek-speaking world as an honorific title: it was a common epithet given to kings, especially in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods 13, and it was used of gods such as Zeus and other deities regarded as protectors or guardians 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
σωτήρ, -ῆρος, ὁ
(< σώζω), [in LXX for יֵשַׁע and cognate forms;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4990 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidso-tare'
a deliverer, i.e. God or Christ
Fromfrom G4982;
King Jamessaviour.
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 σῶτερ (see. below 1.2): poetry σᾰωτήρ Refs 4th c.BC+: (σῴζω):— saviour, deliverer, with genitive of person etc. saved, σ. ἀνθρώπων, νηῶν, Refs 5th c.BC+; but also with genitive of things, [νόσου], κακῶν, βλάβης, a preserver from disease, ills, hurt, Refs 5th c.BC+; σ. δόμοις. Refs; of a philosopher or guide, ὁδηγόν.. ὅν φησι σωτῆρα μόνον Refs 1st c.BC+; especially of Epicurus, ὁ σ. ὁ ἡμέτερος Refs 3rd c.BC+
2 epithet of Ζεύς, Refs 5th c.BC+; to whom persons after a safe voyage offered sacrifice, Refs 4th c.BC+; there was often a temple of Ζεὺς Σ. at harbours, e.g. the Piraeus, Refs 1st c.BC+; to Ζεὺς Σωτήρ the third cup of wine was dedicated, τρίτον Σωτῆρι σπένδειν Refs 5th c.BC+; to drink this cup became a symbol of good luck, and the third time came to mean the lucky time, τρίτος ἦλθέ ποθεν--σωτῆρ᾽ ἢ μόρον εἴπ; Refs 4th c.BC+; whence the proverb τὸ τρίτον τῷ σωτῆρι the third (i.e. the lucky) time, Refs 5th c.BC+; and Zeus was himself called τρίτος σ., Παλλάδος καὶ Λοξίου ἕκατι καὶ τοῦ πάντα κραίν οντος τρίτου σωτῆρος Refs 4th c.BC+
2.b epithet of other gods, as of Apollo, Refs; of Hermes, Refs; of Asclepios, Refs 3rd c.AD+; σ. εὐρυχόρου Λακεδαίμονος Refs 3rd c.BC+; of the Dioscuri, Refs 3rd c.BC+; even with feminine deities, Τύχη σωτήρ, for σώτειρα, Refs 5th c.BC+: generally, of guardian or tutelary gods, Refs 5th c.BC+
3 applied to rulers, διὰ σέ, βασιλεῦ (viz. Ptolemy IV Philopator), τὸν πάντων κοινὸν σ. Refs 3rd c.BC+; Πτολεμαῖος Σ. Refs 1st c.AD+
4 in LXX+NT
II in Poets, as adjective, σ. ναὸς πρότονος Refs 5th c.BC+; with a feminine noun, γονῆς σωτῆρος (as Refs 4th c.BC+; τιμαὶ σωτῆρες the office or prerogative of saving, of the Dioscuri, Refs 5th c.BC+
III name of a month created by Caligula, 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 | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | sōtēros4×σωτὴρ | sōtērois |
| object accusative | sōtēron4×σωτῆρα | sōtēroin |
| direct address vocative | sōtēror | sōtēroir |
| of, belonging to genitive | sōtērou14×σωτῆρος | sōtēroiu |
| to, for dative | sōtēro2×σωτῆρί | sōtēroi |
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
sōtēro 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.
24 occurrences, every one of them listed
sōtēros“savior”subjectnominative singular4×
Luke 2:11hoti tiktita vi sēmeron sōtēros hos atō christos kurios en pola …… in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He …
John 4:42… oidanē hoti houtos atō alēthōs tos sōtēros tou kosmou.… that this man truly is the Savior of the world.”
Ephesians 5:23… tos Christos kefalas tau ekklēsau, autos sōtēros teu sōmeu.… body, of which He is the Savior.
1 Timothy 4:10… elpizanē epi theo zōarōnto, hos atō sōtēros pantoiu anthrōpoiu, malista pistoiu.… the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those …
sōtēron“savior”objectaccusative singular4×
Acts 5:31houton tos theos archēgon kai sōtēron hupsata ta dexa autou, teu dōara …… His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and …
Acts 13:23… spermeu kata epangelian agata to Israēl sōtēron Iēsun,… God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised.
Philippians 3:20… en ouranoi huparchatō, ek hou kai sōtēron apekdechonō kurion Iēsun Christon,… heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
1 John 4:14… hoti tos patros apostelatē ton huion sōtēron tou kosmou.… sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
sōtērou“savior”of, belonging togenitive singular14×
1 Timothy 1:1… apostolos Christou Iēsu kata epitagan theou sōtērou nu kai Christou Iēsu tau elpidau …… by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
1 Timothy 2:3houtem kalem kai apodektem enōpion tou sōtērou nu theou,… in the sight of God our Savior,
2 Timothy 1:10… de nun dia tau epifaneiau tou sōtērou nu Iēsu Christou, katargarantou men ton …… grace through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death …
Titus 1:3… hem pisteuima mis kata epitagan tou sōtērou nu theou,… by the command of God our Savior.
Titus 1:4… theou patrou kai Christou Iēsu tou sōtērou nu.… the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus 2:10… agathan, hina tan didaskalian tan tou sōtērou nu theou kosmaleiō en pantei.… adorn the teaching about God our Savior.
Titus 2:13… tau doxau tou megou theou kai sōtērou nu Iēsu Christou,… appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Titus 3:4… chrēstotas kai tas filanthrōpias epifanita tou sōtērou nu theou,… when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
Titus 3:6… nin plousiōs dia Iēsu Christou tou sōtērou nu,… us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
2 Peter 1:1… en dikaiosuna tou theou nu kai sōtērou Iēsu Christou;… the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith …
2 Peter 1:11… aiōnian basileian tou kuriou nu kai sōtērou Iēsu Christou.… eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 2:20… kosmou en epignōsia tou kuriou kai sōtērou Iēsu Christou houtei de palin emplekirantois …… the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled …
2 Peter 3:2… apostoloiu vu entolau tou kuriou kai sōtērou,… and commanded by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
2 Peter 3:18… kai gnōsia tou kuriou nu kai sōtērou Iēsu Christou. auto tas doxas kai …… and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the …
sōtēro“savior”to, fordative singular2×
Luke 1:47… pneumem mu epi to theo to sōtēro mu;… my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
Jude 1:25mono theo sōtēro nu dia Iēsu Christou tou kuriou …to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority …