noun · masculine
stefanos
Strong’sG4735
a crown, garland
stem stefan-18 times in the New Testamentin 10 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 crown or wreath — the garland woven from leaves or flowers that was given as a prize for victory, worn as a festive ornament, or awarded as a mark of honor for public service or personal worth 1234. This is the sense of the crown put on Jesus in mockery, and of the crowns described in visions of heaven 1. Strong's notes it denotes something more conspicuous and elaborate than a plain fillet or headband 2.
The word is also used figuratively for a crown of honor or reward granted for a person's life or conduct, as in a "crown of righteousness," "crown of glory," "crown of life," or "crown of rejoicing" bestowed on someone valued or commended 13.
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
στέφανος, -ου, ὁ
(< στέφω, to encircle), [in LXX chiefly for עֲטָרָה;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4735 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidstef'-an-os
a chaplet (as a badge of royalty, a prize in the public games or a symbol of honor generally; but more conspicuous and elaborate than the simple fillet, G1238), literally or figuratively
Fromfrom an apparently primary στέφω (to twine or wreathe);
King Jamescrown.
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
(στέφω) that which surrounds or encompasses, πάντῃ γάρ σε περὶ σ. πολέμοιο δέδηεν the circling fight, Refs 8th c.BC+; of the wall round a town, Refs 6th c.BC+; καλλίπαις σ. circle of fair children, Refs 5th c.BC+
II crown, wreath, chaplet, Refs 8th c.BC+; δάφνας σ. Refs 3rd c.BC+; ῥόδινος, ῥοδόεις, Refs 6th c.BC+; σ. εἴρειν, πλέκειν, ἀνείρειν, Refs 7th c.BC+; θεῖσα ἀμφὶ βοστρύχοιςRefs 5th c.BC+; μύρα, στεφάνους ἑτοίμασον for a feast, Refs 4th c.BC+; hung at the door on festive occasions, Refs 4th c.BC+
II.b in plural, οἱ σ. the garland-market, Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2 crown of victory at the public games, Refs 5th c.BC+; τῆς ἐλαίης τὸν διδόμενον σ. Refs 5th c.BC+; ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ σ., title of an officer who had charge of these matters in Roman times, Refs
II.2.b honorary wreath or crown, frequently worked in gold, awarded for public services in war or peace, Refs 5th c.BC+: such crowns were frequently dedicated in temples, Refs 3rd c.BC+; περὶ τοῦ σ., title of Refs 4th c.BC+: metaphorically, prize, reward, αὑτῷ μὲν σ. περιθείς, Σαμίοισι δὲ κῦδος epigram cited in Refs 5th c.BC+; τοῦδε γὰρ ὁ σ. his is the prize (or perhaps for (bringing) him the prize is offered), Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2.c σ. πυργωτὸς καὶ οὐαλλάριος,= Latin corona muralis et vallaris, a Roman military decoration, Refs 1st c.AD+
II.3 crown of glory, honour, οὐκ ἂν αἰσχυνθείην εἰπὼν στέφανον τῆς πατρίδος εἶναι τὰς ἐκείνων ψυχάς Refs 4th c.BC+; ἐλευθερίας ἀμφέθετο σ. Refs 5th c.BC+; σ. ζωῆς, δόξης, NT; ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης σ. NT+8th c.BC+
II.4 crown as a badge of office, Refs 4th c.BC+; ὁ σ. οὗτος, of the office of ἀρχιερεὺς Ἀσίας, Refs 2nd c.AD+; ἔχειν τὸν σ. to be in office, Refs 2nd c.BC+; ἀναδήσασθαι τὸν σ. τοῦτον Refs 3rd c.AD+: see at {στεφανηφόρος} Refs
II.5 in Egypt, money gift to the sovereign, levied by the state, Refs 3rd c.BC+; like wise in Syria, LXX; also of similar gifts to a court favourite, Refs 2nd c.BC+
II.6 τὰς εἰς τὸν σ. ἐπαγγελίας οὐκ ἔλαβον,= aurum coronarium non accepi, Mon.Anc.Refs 3rd c.AD+
II.7 donation, euphemism for a bribe, διεθέντος μου ὑπάρξει σοι εἰς σ. τάλαντα δεκαπέντε Refs 3rd c.BC+; gratuity, bonus, Refs 2nd c.AD+
II.8 the constellation Refs 6th c.BC+; σ. τόν τε κλείουσ᾽ Ἀριάδνης Refs 3rd c.BC+
II.9 name of a πηγή in the Chaldaean system, Refs 5th c.AD+
II.10= δάφνη Ἀλεξανδρεία, Refs 1st c.AD+; Ἡλίου σ.,= ἅλιμος, Ps.-Refs 1st 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 | stefanos4×στέφανος | stefanois1×στέφανοι |
| object accusative | stefanon10×στέφανον | stefanoin2×στεφάνους |
| direct address vocative | stefanor1×στέφανός | stefanoir |
| of, belonging to genitive | stefanou | stefanoiu |
| to, for dative | stefano | stefanoi |
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
stefano 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
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
18 occurrences, every one of them listed
stefanos“crown”subjectnominative singular4×
1 Thessalonians 2:19… gar nu elpidas ē charas ē stefanos kauchēsiau ē ouchi kai vis emprosthen …… is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not …
2 Timothy 4:8loipem apokeiotō mi tos tau dikaiosunau stefanos, hon apodōati mi tos kurios en …… is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the …
Revelation 6:2… auton echarōntos toxem, kai dōita auto stefanos, kai exerchata nikarōntos kai hina nikateia.… bow. And he was given a crown, and he rode out to overcome …
Revelation 12:1… autau, kai epi tau kefalau autau stefanos asteroiu dōdeka,… moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
stefanon“crown”objectaccusative singular10×
Matthew 27:29kai plekarantois stefanon ek akanthaiu epitithala epi tau kefalau …And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on …
Mark 15:17… porfuran kai peritithalō auto plekarantois akanthinon stefanon;… a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on …
John 19:2kai tois stratiōtois plekarantois stefanon ek akanthaiu epitithala autou ta kefala, …The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His …
John 19:5… tos Iēsus exō, forarōntos ton akanthinon stefanon kai tem porfurouem himatiem. kai legatō …When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe …
1 Corinthians 9:25… enkrateuotō, ekeinois men oun hina ftharton stefanon labaleia, nis de aftharton.… discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do …
James 1:12… peirasmon, hoti dokimos generantos labeti ton stefanon tau zōau, hon epangeleta toi agaparōntoi …… the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised …
1 Peter 5:4… archipoimēnou komizevi ton amarantinon tau doxau stefanon.… Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade …
Revelation 2:10… achri thanatou, kai dōami si ton stefanon tau zōau.… and I will give you the crown of life.
Revelation 3:11… hem echasō, hina mēdenos labateia ton stefanon su.… that no one will take your crown.
Revelation 14:14… anthrōpou, echarōntos epi tau kefalau autou stefanon chrusouon kai en ta cheira autou …… Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp …
stefanor“crown”direct addressvocative singular1×
Philippians 4:1… mu agapētoir kai epipothētoir, charar kai stefanor mu, houtōs stēkavōr en kurio, agapētoir.… and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand …
stefanois“crowns”subjectnominative plural1×
Revelation 9:7… kai epi tain kefalain autaiu hōs stefanois homoiois chruso, kai teim prosōpeim autaiu …… prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold on their heads; and …
stefanoin“crowns”objectaccusative plural2×
Revelation 4:4… leukei, kai epi tain kefalain autoiu stefanoin chrusouoin.… elders dressed in white, with golden crowns on their heads.
Revelation 4:10… aiōnoin toiu aiōnoiu, kai balali toin stefanoin autoiu enōpion tou thronou, legarōntois;… forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying: