Kingdom
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Basileia names kingdom, reign, royal rule, or the realm and reality of kingship. In the New Testament, the word is especially weighty in the proclamation of Jesus: the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God is near because God is acting in the King.
Reader summary
Full entry for βασιλεία (G932) · Open the biblical lexicon
Basileia names kingdom, reign, royal rule, or the realm and reality of kingship. In the New Testament, the word is especially weighty in the proclamation of Jesus: the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God is near because God is acting in the King.
The BSB source-word alignment has 162 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include kingdom (144), a kingdom (5), [the] kingdom (4), kingdoms (3), [it] (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 3:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (55), Luke (46), Mark (20), Revelation (9).
This entry includes 4 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Basileia names kingdom, reign, royal rule, or the realm and reality of kingship. In the New Testament, the word is especially weighty in the proclamation of Jesus: the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God is near because God is acting in the King. The word is not merely a private feeling, a political program, or a synonym for the institutional church. It includes God's saving reign, the call to repent and believe, the present arrival of kingdom power in Jesus' works, the hidden growth and costly value of the kingdom, the new-birth necessity of seeing it, and the final inheritance of God's people.
Basileia therefore helps readers hold together rule, salvation, discipleship, conflict, and hope under the reign of God in Christ.
Basileia is central to Jesus' proclamation and stretches across the New Testament from John the Baptist and Jesus to apostolic teaching. The kingdom is announced as near, sought first, displayed in Jesus' Spirit-empowered victory over demons, entered only by new birth, and described as the realm into which believers are transferred through the beloved Son.
And saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
John the Baptist announces that the kingdom of heaven is near. The word begins in Matthew with repentance because God's reign is pressing near in fulfillment.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Jesus commands disciples to seek first God's kingdom and righteousness. Basileia here orders desire, anxiety, provision, and allegiance.
But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Jesus says the kingdom has come upon His hearers if He drives out demons by the Spirit of God. The word marks present royal victory in His ministry.
“The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”
Jesus announces fulfilled time, near kingdom, repentance, and faith in the gospel. The kingdom is not optional background; it frames the response Jesus requires.
Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom unless born again. The word is tied to divine life and spiritual rebirth, not human status.
He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,
Paul says believers have been transferred from darkness into the kingdom of the beloved Son. Kingdom language includes rescue, new allegiance, and Christ's rule.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. kingdom
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 162 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
kingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
Read versekingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, kingdom
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.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 8 selected witnesses from 162 lexical occurrence verses.
βασιλεία is built from this root:
Reorients priorities toward God’s redemptive rule.2 Timothy 4:16-18
Defines the nature of Jesus’ mission as kingly authority.Acts 28:23-28
Central to Jesus’ proclamation.Acts 28:29-31
Indicates the reign of God.Hebrews 12:25-29
Refers to God’s sovereign rule inaugurated in Christ.Luke 12:22–34
Central theme of Christ’s reign.
Defines the primary pursuit of disciples.
Refers to the reign and rule of God inaugurated through Christ.
Defines God’s sovereign rule inaugurated in Christ.
Centers the narrative on Christ’s royal reign.
Refers to God’s sovereign reign drawing near in fulfillment.
Refers to Christ’s promised reign shared with His people.
Defines the reign of God inaugurated in Christ.
Christ's sovereign rule not sourced from earthly systems.
Identifies the eternal reign believers receive.
Defines the central theme of Paul’s exposition.
Summarizes the message proclaimed at the empire’s center.
Paul anticipates final entrance into God's heavenly reign.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Basileia is one of the New Testament's great organizing words because it says that God saves by reigning. The kingdom is not less than heaven, not less than future inheritance, and not less than transformed life now, but it cannot be reduced to any one of those pieces. In Jesus, God's royal rule draws near, confronts evil, demands repentance, gives new birth, orders discipleship, and promises inheritance.
That means kingdom teaching should not become vague idealism or political projection. It should bring hearers under the claims of the King: repent, believe the gospel, seek first God's righteousness, and live as those rescued into the reign of the beloved Son.
Mark.1.15
Basileia can refer to royal rule, kingdom realm, or kingship depending on context. In Jesus' proclamation, the dynamic sense of God's reign is often central, but concrete realm and future inheritance language also belong to the word's New Testament range.
The Old Testament expectation that the Lord reigns, that David's throne matters, and that the nations will be judged and blessed comes to focus in Christ. The New Testament announces that God's reign has drawn near in Jesus, is already at work among His people, and will be openly consummated when the kingdom is handed over in final victory.