What does σίναπι (sínapi) mean in the Bible?
Sinapi names mustard in five seed comparisons. Matthew, Mark and Luke compare the kingdom to a small mustard seed that grows, with birds finding room in its branches.
Greek · G4615
σίναπι
Sinapi names mustard in five seed comparisons. Matthew, Mark and Luke compare the kingdom to a small mustard seed that grows, with birds finding room in its branches.
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σίναπιG4615
Pronunciationsínapi
What does σίναπι (sínapi) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for σίναπι (G4615) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4615?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a mustard (2), . . . (1), a mustard seed (1), of a mustard seed (1).
Where does σίναπι (sínapi) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 13:31. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (2), Matthew (2), Mark (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Sinapi names mustard in five seed comparisons. Matthew, Mark and Luke compare the kingdom to a small mustard seed that grows, with birds finding room in its branches. Matthew also uses a mustard seed in Jesus' response after the disciples fail to heal a suffering boy. Luke uses it after instruction about repeated forgiveness and the apostles' request for increased faith.
The same plant supplies comparisons about the kingdom's growth and trust expressed in apparently impossible situations; the purposes should remain distinct. The noun does not establish a modern botanical species, a measurement of saving faith or a method for commanding outcomes. The accounts place trust in relation to Jesus and His instruction, rather than turning seed size into a formula.
Teachers can encourage humble confidence and faithful response while refusing to blame a suffering child, distressed parent or exhausted caregiver for an outcome they cannot control.
How the Bible Uses It
Five direct BSB mustard witnesses include three kingdom-growth comparisons and two seed-sized faith sayings in the settings of a suffering boy and repeated forgiveness.
- Matt.13.31
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field.
A planted mustard seed introduces Jesus' kingdom comparison, which continues with growth and birds sheltering in its branches.
- Mark.4.31
It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
The small seed belongs to an agricultural growth comparison and must be read with the following description of its size when grown.
- Luke.13.19
It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
The garden seed grows and birds nest in its branches; the comparison concerns the kingdom rather than an identified modern plant species.
- Matt.17.20
“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Jesus addresses the disciples after the boy's healing, calling them toward faith without giving teachers permission to blame suffering families.
- Luke.17.6
And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
The apostles' request for faith follows repeated-forgiveness instruction, and Jesus' seed image precedes the account of servants' duty.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ita mustard2×Matthew 13:31, Matthew 17:20
. . .1×Mark 4:31
a mustard seed1×Luke 13:19
of a mustard seed1×Luke 17:6
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 13:31σινάπεωςtoa mustardNoun - Genitive Neuter SingularMatthew 17:20σινάπεωςtoa mustardNoun - Genitive Neuter SingularMark 4:31σινάπεωςto. . .Noun - Genitive Neuter SingularLuke 13:19σινάπεωςtoa mustard seedNoun - Genitive Neuter SingularLuke 17:6σινάπεωςtoof a mustard seedNoun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 13:31
Aligned rows5
Books represented3
Matthew2Mark1Luke2
Source forms
σινάπεως5xsinapeōsMatthew 13:31, Matthew 17:20, Mark 4:31, Luke 13:19
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular5xMatthew 13:31, Matthew 17:20, Mark 4:31, Luke 13:19
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Encourage trust without promising that a spoken command will control circumstances.
- Support forgiving conduct while preserving protection, truth and responsibility for harm.
Avoid claiming...
- A mustard seed cannot measure another person's faith or explain continuing illness.
- These comparisons do not authorize unsafe demonstrations or guaranteed results from a technique.
Evidence Summary
Creation
Greek word. A proverbial plant symbolizing tiny beginnings that grow into substantial, unexpected greatness in kingdom parables.
Strong'sG4615
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms1 form5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkLuke 13:18–21Source Gloss
mustard (the plant)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 13:31Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
σινάπεως,sinapewv
mustard
Read verseMatthew 17:20Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
σινάπεως,sinapewv
mustard
Read verseMark 4:31Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
σινάπεως,sinapewv
mustard
Read verseLuke 13:19Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
σινάπεως,sinapewv
mustard
Read verseLuke 17:6Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
σινάπεως,sinapewv
mustard
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns1Aligned forms5Case patternGenitive (5)Number patternSingular (5)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Singular · NeuterMatt 13:31 · Matt 17:20 · Mark 4:31 · Luke 13:19 · Luke 17:65×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
mustard seed
mustard plant
Additional Occurrences
Mark 4:30–34σινάπιsínapi
mustard plant
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Why This Word Matters
Illustrates humble beginning and expansive growth.Luke 13:18–21
Illustrates small beginnings leading to great expansion.Matthew 13:31–32
Canonical Themes
Creation
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The kingdom comparisons describe something small being planted and growing beyond its initial appearance. Their branches and nesting birds complete the picture, so teaching should retain the movement rather than extract a universal lesson from a seed's size alone. The faith sayings serve other arguments. Matthew reports disciples unable to heal a boy, Jesus healing him and then answering their question.
The text challenges those disciples without making every continuing illness a public measure of someone's trust. Luke begins with offenses, care for little ones and repeated forgiveness; the apostles ask for increased faith before Jesus answers with the mustard comparison and teaches about servants doing their duty. That sequence connects faith to obedient response rather than personal control over a spectacle.
The word can support confidence in Jesus amid work that appears small or difficult. It cannot identify the exact modern plant, assign a fixed meaning to every bird or empower a teacher to demand dangerous demonstrations from vulnerable people.
Anchor passage
Luke.17.6
Doctrinal connections
- The kingdom comparisons describe a planted beginning that grows beyond its initial appearance.
- Birds nesting complete the stated growth images without an assigned universal symbolic identity.
- Matthew places the faith saying after Jesus has healed the suffering boy.
- Luke joins the apostles' request for faith to repeated forgiveness instruction.
- Care for little ones precedes Luke's mustard-seed response to the apostles.
- The following servant teaching directs obedient response toward duty rather than entitlement.
Every direct occurrence is the genitive singular neuter noun in a mustard-seed expression. Its grammatical form names the seed's plant source; neither case nor seed size establishes a quantity of faith or a controlled outcome.
From Old to New Testament
Ezekiel 17:22-24 describes the Lord planting a tender cedar shoot that becomes a noble tree with birds sheltered in its branches. This provides a source-bound comparison of God-given growth, without declaring that Jesus quotes this passage or assigning every bird the same meaning across texts.