adjective
timios
Strong’sG5093
of great price, precious, honored
stem timi-13 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books8 of 26 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
Precious or costly, describing something of great value—used literally of money value, such as a gem or gold 13, and also more broadly of things like fruit, blood, or promises that are precious in a extended, non-monetary sense 1. Strong's likewise gives this objective sense of being costly or valuable 2, and Dodson's gloss "of great price, precious" reflects the same idea 4.
Honored or held in esteem, describing a person or thing regarded as worthy of respect—used of someone honored among others, of marriage held in honor, and of a soul spoken of as precious in this sense of worth 1. Strong's similarly notes the subjective sense of being honored, esteemed, or beloved 2, and LSJ records the same use of being held in honor, sometimes as a form of address, or of things that confer honor, such as an honorable position or privilege 3. Dodson's gloss "honored" reflects this sense as well 4.
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
τίμιος, -α, -ον
(< τιμή), [in LXX chiefly for יָקָר;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G5093 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidtim'-ee-os
valuable, i.e. (objectively) costly, or (subjectively) honored, esteemed, or (figuratively) beloved
Fromfrom G5092;
King Jamesdear, honourable, (more, most) precious, had in reputation.
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
Refs 5th c.BC+; also ος, ον Refs 5th c.BC+: (τιμή):— valued,
I held in honour, worthy, ὅδε πᾶσι φίλος καὶ τ. ἐστι Refs 8th c.BC+; ἄνδρα τ. Refs 4th c.BC+; γενεᾷ τίμιος [Δανάη] Refs 8th c.BC+: frequently in comparative and superlative, τιμιώταται θεῶν Refs 5th c.BC+; as form of address, -ώτατεRefs 1st c.AD+
II of things, valuable, prized, οὐδὲν κτῆμα -ώτερον NT+5th c.BC+
II.2 of high price, costly, dear, Refs 5th c.BC+; πωλεῖται τίμιος is sold dearly,Refs 3rd c.BC+; χρυσίον ὅταν πολὺ παραφανῇ, τὸ ἀργύριον -ώτερον ποιεῖ Refs 5th c.BC+. adverb -ίως, πρίασθαι Refs 6th c.AD+
II.3 conferring honour, honourable, τιμία ἕδρα a seat of honour, Refs 4th c.BC+; τ. γέρας an honourable privilege, Refs; οὑπιρρέων γὰρ -ώτερος χρόνος ἔσται πολίταις more full of honour, Refs; -ωτέρα χώρα a higher place, Refs 5th c.BC+ ={τιμαί}, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὰ τ. τῶν ἱερῶν Refs 2nd c.BC+; also in singular, Refs 2nd c.BC+; τὰ -ώτατα, ={τὰ φίλτατα}, Refs 4th c.BC+; αἱ καλούμεναι τίμιαι τέσσαρες τέχναι Zos.Alch.p.239 Refs 5th c.BC+
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 | masculine singular | feminine singular | neuter singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | timios2×τίμιος | timias | timiem | timiois | timiais | timieim1×τίμια |
| object accusative | timion1×τίμιον | timian1×τιμίαν | timioin1×τιμίους | timiain | ||
| direct address vocative | timior | timiar | timioir | timiair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | timiou1×τιμίου | timiau | timieu | timioiu | timiaiu | timieiu |
| to, for dative | timio3×τιμίῳ | timia | timie1×τιμίῳ | timioi | timiai | timiei |
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
timi 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.
13 occurrences, every one of them listed
timios“in honor”subjectnominative singular2×
Acts 5:34“respected”… te sunedrie Farisaios onome Gamaliēl, nomodidaskalos timios panto to lao, keleuata exō brachuem …But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a …
Hebrews 13:4“in honor”timios tos gamos en pantoi kai tas …Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed …
timion“precious”objectaccusative singular1×
James 5:7… kuriou. idou tos geōrgos ekdechotō ton timion karpon tau gēau, makrothumarōntos epi auto …… See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil — how patient …
timiou“precious”of, belonging togenitive singular1×
Revelation 18:12gomon chrusou kai argurou kai lithou timiou kai margaritoiu kai bussineu kai porfurau …cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen …
timio“precious”to, fordative singular3×
Revelation 17:4… kokkinem, kai chrusorēntas chrusie kai litho timio kai margaritoi, echarōntas potēriem chrusouem en …… scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in …
Revelation 18:16… kokkinem kai chrusorēntar chrusie kai litho timio kai margarito,… and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
Revelation 21:19… teu teicheu tau polau panto litho timio kosmorēntois; tos themelios tos prōtos iaspias, …… were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper …
timian“value”objectaccusative singular1×
Acts 20:24alla oudenou logou poiomō tan psuchan timian miauto hōs teleiara ton dromon mu …… I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may …
timie“precious”to, fordative singular1×
1 Peter 1:19alla timie haime hōs amnou amōmou kai aspilou …but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without …
timioin“precious”objectaccusative plural1×
1 Corinthians 3:12… epi ton themelion chruson, arguron, lithoin timioin, xuleim, chorton, kalamēan,… on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,
timieim“precious”subject or objectdirect plural1×
2 Peter 1:4dia heiu teim timieim kai megotateim ni epangelmeim dōrotē, hina …… these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through …
timiotateu1×
Revelation 18:12“costly”… elefantinem kai pantem skevem ek xuleu timiotateu kai chalkou kai sidērou kai marmarou,… every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;
timiotato1×
Revelation 21:11… theou; tos fōstēros autau homoios litho timiotato, hōs litho iaspia krustallizarōnto;… Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear …