adjective
xenos
Strong’sG3581
new, novel, a foreigner
stem xen-14 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
Foreigner or alien — someone (or something) from outside one's own people, land, or household, as opposed to a native or a member of the family 1234. It is used of foreign persons, such as strangers needing hospitality or care, and also of foreign things, such as foreign gods or foreign teachings 13.
The word also names one of the two parties joined by a bond of hospitality: usually the guest received by a host, but occasionally the host who receives a guest 123.
Applied to a person's relation to something, it means strange to, estranged from, or ignorant of a thing, used together with the thing one is a stranger to 13.
It can also describe something strange or unusual, out of the ordinary course of events 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
ξένος, -η, -ον,
[in LXX chiefly for נׇכְרִי;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3581 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidxen'-os
foreign (literally, alien, or figuratively, novel); by implication, a guest or (vice-versa) entertainer
Fromapparently a primary word;
King Jameshost, strange(-r).
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
Epic dialect and Ionic dialect ξεῖνος (also frequently in Refs 5th c.BC+, used by Trag. for the sake of meter even in trimeter, mostly in vocative, Refs 5th c.BC+, Aeolic dialect ξέννος Refs; scanned ¯ ?~X and written ξεῖνος in Refs 3rd c.BC+.
I guest-friend, applied to persons and states bound by a treaty or tie of hospitality, Refs 8th c.BC+
I.2 of parties giving or receiving hospitality, Refs 8th c.BC+; mostly of the guest, opposed to the host, ξεινοδόκοι καὶ ξεῖνος Refs, etc.; ἁ ξείνα the visitor, Refs 3rd c.BC+; of guests at a club, opposed to σύνδειπνοι, Refs 2nd c.BC+: less frequently of the host, NT+8th c.BC+
II stranger, especially wanderer, refugee (under the protection of Ζεὺς ξένιος), sometimes coupled with ἱκέτης, Ζεὺς ἐπιτιμήτωρ ἱκετάων τε ξείνων τε ξείνιος Refs 8th c.BC+
III generally, stranger, foreigner, opposed to ἔνδημος, Refs 8th c.BC+; opposed to ἀστός, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to ἐπιχώριος, Refs 5th c.BC+; with ἔπηλυς, Refs 2nd c.AD+; opposed to a member of the family, Refs 6th c.AD+
III.b as a term of address to any stranger, ὦ ξένε Refs 5th c.BC+
III.2 ={βάρβαρος}, at Sparta, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV hireling, Refs 8th c.BC+; especially mercenary soldier, Refs 5th c.BC+: rarely simply, ally, Refs 5th c.BC+
B as adjective ξένος, η, ον (also ος, ον Refs 5th c.BC+, Ionic dialect ξεῖνος, η, ον, foreign, not in Refs 8th c.BC+; frequently in later writers, ξείνα γαῖα Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν ξένῃσι χερσί by foreign hands, Refs; ξ. δόμοι, πόλις, etc., Refs 5th c.BC+; of alien property, ξ. ἄρουραι Refs 6th c.AD+
B.II with genitive of things, strange to a thing, unacquainted with, ignorant of it, ξ. τοῦ λόγου NT+5th c.BC+ adverb ξένως, ἔχω τῆς ἐνθάδε λέξεως I am a stranger to the mode of speech, Refs 5th c.BC+
B.III strange, unusual, λόγοι Refs 5th c.BC+; ὡς ξένου συμβαίνοντος NT.1Pet.4.12 NT: superlative, πράξεων ὡς -οτάτων Refs 1st c.BC+ adverb ξένως, λαλεῖν Refs 1st c.BC+
B.III.2 τοῦ πνεύματος.. ῥύσις ὡς -ωτάτη air as fresh as possible, 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 | xenos3×ξένος | xenas | xenem | xenois4×ξένοι | xenais | xeneim |
| object accusative | xenon2×ξένον | xenan | xenoin1×ξένους | xenain | ||
| direct address vocative | xenor | xenar | xenoir | xenair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | xenou | xenau | xeneu1×ξένου | xenoiu | xenaiu | xeneiu1×Ξένων |
| to, for dative | xeno | xena | xene | xenoi1×ξένοις | xenai1×ξέναις | xenei |
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
xen 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.
14 occurrences, every one of them listed
xenos“stranger”subjectnominative singular3×
Matthew 25:35… mi esthiara, dipsama kai potizava min, xenos ome kai sunagava min,… something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
Matthew 25:43xenos ome kai ouk sunagava min, gumnos …I was a stranger and you did not take Me …
Romans 16:23“host”aspazotō vin Gaios tos xenos mu kai holau tau ekklēsau. aspazotō …Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus …
xenon“stranger”objectaccusative singular2×
Matthew 25:38pote de sin horana xenon kai sunagana, ē gumnon kai peribalana?When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked …
Matthew 25:44… sin horana peinarōnton ē dipsarōnton ē xenon ē gumnon ē asthenon ē en …… You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in …
xeneu“strange”of, belonging togenitive singular1×
1 Peter 4:12… purōsia pros peirasmon vi genorōnta hōs xeneu vi sumbainarōnteu,… come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
xenois“strangers”subjectnominative plural4×
Acts 17:21Athēnaiois de pantois kai tois epidēmarōntois xenois eis oudenem heterem eukairale ē legarō …Now all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time …
Ephesians 2:12… apallotriorēntois tau politeiau tou Israēl kai xenois taiu diathēkaiu tau epangeliau, elpidan mē …… from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise …
Ephesians 2:19ara oun ouketi avō xenois kai paroikois, alla avō sumpolitois toiu …Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with …
Hebrews 11:13… horarantois kai aspazerantois, kai homologarantois hoti xenois kai parepidēmois alō epi tau gēau.… And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
xenoin“strangers”objectaccusative plural1×
3 John 1:5… ergazeseia eis toin adelfoin kai houtem xenoin,… brothers, and especially since they are strangers to you.
xenoi“strangers”to, fordative plural1×
Matthew 27:7“strangers”… Agron tou Keramevou eis tafan toi xenoi.… they used the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.
xenai“strange”to, fordative plural1×
Hebrews 13:9didachai poikilai kai xenai mē paraferovōr; kalem gar charita bebaiorō …… carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for …
xeneiu“foreign”of, belonging togenitive plural1×
Acts 17:18… tos spermologos houtos legarō? tois de; Xeneiu daimoneiu dokatō katangelevos arō; hoti ton …… said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul …