What does γένος (génos) mean in the Bible?
Γένος names a kind, family, lineage, nation, people group, or class sharing some origin or characteristic. Jesus' net gathers every kind of fish before final separation.
Greek · G1085
γένος
"Kin" (abstract or concrete, literal or figurative, individual or collective)
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γένος G1085
Pronunciation génos
What does γένος (génos) mean in the Bible?
Γένος names a kind, family, lineage, nation, people group, or class sharing some origin or characteristic. Jesus' net gathers every kind of fish before final separation.
Reader summary
Full entry for γένος (G1085) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1085?
The BSB source-word alignment has 20 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (3), offspring (3), a native (2), family (2), people (2).
Where does γένος (génos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 13:47. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (9), 1 Corinthians (3), Mark (2), 1 Peter (1).
Are there verse guides for γένος (génos)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Γένος names a kind, family, lineage, nation, people group, or class sharing some origin or characteristic. Jesus' net gathers every kind of fish before final separation. Mark identifies the woman as Syrophoenician by birth, locating her across ethnic and covenant boundaries before Jesus grants her plea. Acts refers to the high priestly family, Paul speaks of kinds of tongues, and he distinguishes dangers from his own people and from Gentiles.
The noun classifies without declaring one group morally superior. Biological descent, household connection, ethnicity, species, and category can all be in view. Context must identify the shared relation and prevent ordinary distinction from becoming prejudice, hierarchy, or a claim about spiritual worth.
How the Bible Uses It
Γένος groups people or things by kind, descent, or shared relation. Fish, ethnic origin, priestly family, languages, and peoples show classification serving different narrative purposes.
- Matt.13.47
Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.
The kingdom net gathers fish of every kind before the final sorting, emphasizing comprehensive reach and eschatological judgment rather than ethnic classification.
- Mark.7.26
Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
The woman's Greek and Syrophoenician origin sharpens the boundary-crossing scene, while her persistent faith receives Jesus' delivering mercy for her daughter.
- Acts.4.6
Along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and many others from the high priest’s family.
The high priestly family appears within the concentrated authority examining the apostles, showing kinship woven into Jerusalem's ruling institution.
- 1Cor.12.10
To another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
Kinds of tongues belong to the Spirit's diverse gifts distributed for the common good, not a hierarchy of ethnic languages or personal value.
- 2Cor.11.26
In my frequent journeys, I have been in danger from rivers and from bandits, in danger from my countrymen and from the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger on the sea and among false brothers,
Paul distinguishes dangers from his own people and from Gentiles as two social fields encountered in mission, without making either group uniformly righteous or hostile.
Passage context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It . . . 3× Acts 4:36, Acts 13:26, Galatians 1:14
offspring 3× Acts 17:28, Acts 17:29, Revelation 22:16
a native 2× Acts 18:2, Acts 18:24
family 2× Acts 4:6, Acts 7:13
people 2× Acts 7:19, 1 Peter 2:9
[and] various 1× 1 Corinthians 12:28
[the] people 1× Philippians 3:5
countrymen 1× 2 Corinthians 11:26
different 1× 1 Corinthians 14:10
kind 1× Mark 9:29
kinds [of fish] 1× Matthew 13:47
origin 1× Mark 7:26
vvv 1× 1 Corinthians 12:10
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 13:47 γένους to kinds [of fish] Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Mark 7:26 γένει to origin Noun - Dative Neuter Singular Mark 9:29 γένος to kind Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Acts 4:6 γένους to family Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Acts 4:36 γένει to . . . Noun - Dative Neuter Singular Acts 7:13 γένος to family Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Acts 7:19 γένος to people Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Acts 13:26 γένους to . . . Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Acts 17:28 γένος to offspring Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Acts 17:29 γένος to offspring Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 13:47
Aligned rows 20
Books represented 9
Matthew 1 Mark 2 Acts 9 1 Corinthians 3 2 Corinthians 1 Galatians 1 Philippians 1 1 Peter 1 Revelation 1
Source forms
γένος 7x genos Mark 9:29, Acts 7:13, Acts 7:19, Acts 17:28
γένει 5x genei Mark 7:26, Acts 4:36, Acts 18:2, Acts 18:24
γένους 5x genous Matthew 13:47, Acts 4:6, Acts 13:26, 2 Corinthians 11:26
γένη 3x genē 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Corinthians 12:28, 1 Corinthians 14:10
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular 6x Mark 9:29, Acts 7:13, Acts 17:28, Acts 17:29
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular 5x Mark 7:26, Acts 4:36, Acts 18:2, Acts 18:24
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular 5x Matthew 13:47, Acts 4:6, Acts 13:26, 2 Corinthians 11:26
Noun - Nominative Neuter Plural 2x 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Corinthians 14:10
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural 1x 1 Corinthians 12:28
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 1x Acts 7:19
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use people-group language descriptively and historically, never to assign fixed moral traits, spiritual capacity, or superior worth to an ethnicity or family.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that γένος always means biological race in the modern sense.
- Do not use group distinctions in these passages to justify segregation, ethnic contempt, or inherited spiritual privilege.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Denotes kinship by descent or belonging to a defined group—family, nation, race, or kind.
Source Gloss
"kin" (abstract or concrete, literal or figurative, individual or collective)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 21 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 13:47 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
γένους genouv
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Matthew 17:21 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
γένος genov
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Mark 7:26 Noun Dative Singular Neuter
γένει· genei
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Mark 9:29 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
γένος genov
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Acts 4:6 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
γένους genouv
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Acts 4:36 Noun Dative Singular Neuter
γένει, genei
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Acts 7:13 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
γένος genov
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Acts 7:19 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
γένος genov
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Acts 13:26 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
γένους genouv
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Acts 17:28 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
γένος genov
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Acts 17:29 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
γένος genov
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Acts 18:2 Noun Dative Singular Neuter
γένει, genei
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse Acts 18:24 Noun Dative Singular Neuter
γένει, genei
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse 1 Corinthians 12:10 Noun Nominative Plural Neuter
γένη genh
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse 1 Corinthians 12:28 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
γένη genh
offspring, family, race, kind
Read verse 1 Corinthians 14:10 Noun Nominative Plural Neuter
γένη genh
offspring, family, race, kind
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 6 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.
Form patterns 6 Aligned forms 20 Case pattern Nominative (8) Number pattern Singular (17)
Nominative · Singular · Neuter Mark 9:29 · Acts 7:13 · Acts 17:28 · Acts 17:29 · 1 Pet 2:9 · Rev 22:16 6×
Nominative · Plural · Neuter 1 Cor 12:10 · 1 Cor 14:10 2×
Genitive · Singular · Neuter Matt 13:47 · Acts 4:6 · Acts 13:26 · 2 Cor 11:26 · Phil 3:5 5×
Dative · Singular · Neuter Mark 7:26 · Acts 4:36 · Acts 18:2 · Acts 18:24 · Gal 1:14 5×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Acts 7:19 1×
Accusative · Plural · Neuter 1 Cor 12:28 1×
Word Origins
γένος is built from this root:
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
Kinds and peoples are real features of the created and historical world, but they do not establish saving rank. The kingdom net gathers broadly before God, not human prejudice, makes the final distinction. The Syrophoenician woman's origin makes Jesus' merciful response more striking and anticipates gospel blessing beyond Israel. A high-priestly family illustrates social authority concentrated through kinship, while spiritual gifts among different kinds of speech serve one body.
Paul's dangers cross the line between his own people and Gentiles, reminding readers that neither familiarity nor difference guarantees safety. Churches should name histories and cultures truthfully, resist stereotypes, welcome boundary-crossing faith, and confess that belonging to Christ rests on grace rather than lineage.
Anchor passage
Matt.13.47
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 13:47-50, every kind gathered and final separation
- Mark 7:24-30, Gentile identity and persistent faith
- Acts 4:5-12, ruling family and witness to Jesus
- 1 Corinthians 12:4-13, diverse gifts in one Spirit and body
- 2 Corinthians 11:23-29, mission across multiple dangers
- Revelation 7:9-12, every people gathered before the Lamb
Γένος is related to birth and becoming and can denote offspring, family, race, nation, kind, or class. Genitives and modifiers identify the basis of grouping.
From Old to New Testament
God creates living things according to kinds, works through Abraham's lineage, and promises blessing to all families. The Lamb gathers a multiethnic people without erasing their histories.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain