What does γονεύς (goneús) mean in the Bible?
γονεύς names a parent, and in John 9 the plural centers on the blind man's parents. The disciples first ask whether the man's blindness is connected to his sin or his parents' sin.
Greek · G1118
γονεύς
A parent
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γονεύς G1118
Pronunciation goneús
What does γονεύς (goneús) mean in the Bible?
γονεύς names a parent, and in John 9 the plural centers on the blind man's parents. The disciples first ask whether the man's blindness is connected to his sin or his parents' sin.
Reader summary
Full entry for γονεύς (G1118) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1118?
The BSB source-word alignment has 20 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include parents (16), [their] parents (3), to [their] parents (1).
Where does γονεύς (goneús) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 10:21. Its strongest book concentrations include John (6), Luke (6), 2 Corinthians (2), 2 Timothy (1).
What This Word Actually Means
γονεύς names a parent, and in John 9 the plural centers on the blind man's parents. The disciples first ask whether the man's blindness is connected to his sin or his parents' sin. Later, the parents are questioned by the authorities and answer cautiously because they fear being put out of the synagogue. The word keeps family, suffering, testimony, and fear in the same chapter.
The pastoral value is sober compassion. John 9 does not let readers turn suffering into a neat blame chart. It also shows how fear can press even close family members into guarded speech. The healed man moves toward confession while his parents remain cautious under social pressure.
How the Bible Uses It
John 9:2 uses γονεύς in the disciples' question about whether the man's blindness was caused by his sin or his parents' sin.
- John 9:2 introduces parents in a question about sin and congenital blindness.
- John 9:18-23 places the man's parents before hostile questioning and explains their fear of synagogue exclusion.
- The word helps readers trace family pressure and public witness in the chapter.
- The term should not be used to blame parents for suffering where Jesus refuses that frame.
γονεύς appears in a chapter where family is pulled into the question of suffering and testimony. The disciples ask about the parents because they assume blindness must fit a blame category.
Jesus redirects the frame. Later, the authorities summon the parents, and their answers are cautious because they fear exclusion.
The word helps teachers handle the chapter carefully. The parents matter, but not as villains to be blamed for blindness. They show how fear can shape speech while the healed man is drawn into clearer witness.
In John 9, γονεύς moves from a mistaken blame question to a public-pressure scene where the healed man's parents speak cautiously while their son becomes a witness.
Passage contexttheological_synthesisPastoral application
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 parents 16× Luke 2:27, Luke 2:41, Luke 2:43, Luke 8:56
[their] parents 3× Matthew 10:21, Mark 13:12, Romans 1:30
to [their] parents 1× 2 Timothy 3:2
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 10:21 γονεῖς to [their] parents Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Mark 13:12 γονεῖς to [their] parents Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 2:27 γονεῖς to parents Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 2:41 γονεῖς to parents Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural Luke 2:43 γονεῖς to parents Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural Luke 8:56 γονεῖς to parents Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural Luke 18:29 γονεῖς to parents Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 21:16 γονέων to parents Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural John 9:2 γονεῖς to parents Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural John 9:3 γονεῖς to parents Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 10:21
Aligned rows 20
Books represented 9
Matthew 1 Mark 1 Luke 6 John 6 Romans 1 2 Corinthians 2 Ephesians 1 Colossians 1 2 Timothy 1
Source forms
γονεῖς 14x goneis Matthew 10:21, Mark 13:12, Luke 2:27, Luke 2:41
γονεῦσιν 5x goneusin Romans 1:30, 2 Corinthians 12:14, Ephesians 6:1, Colossians 3:20
γονέων 1x goneōn Luke 21:16
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural 9x Luke 2:41, Luke 2:43, Luke 8:56, John 9:2
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural 5x Matthew 10:21, Mark 13:12, Luke 2:27, Luke 18:29
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural 5x Romans 1:30, 2 Corinthians 12:14, Ephesians 6:1, Colossians 3:20
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural 1x Luke 21:16
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use this word to handle family and suffering with compassion.
- Do not turn the chapter into blame before listening to Jesus' answer.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that parental sin explains the man's blindness.
- Do not claim that cautious speech always equals unbelief. John gives the specific reason: fear of synagogue exclusion.
Pastoral applicationPassage context
Evidence Summary
Greek word. a parent
Strong's G1118
Lexical occurrences 20 verses Greek text appearances 19 times 16 shown below Word forms 4 forms 20 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
a parent
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 19 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 10:21 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς, goneiv
a parent
Read verse Mark 13:12 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς, goneiv
a parent
Read verse Luke 2:27 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς goneiv
a parent
Read verse Luke 2:41 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς goneiv
a parent
Read verse Luke 8:56 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς goneiv
a parent
Read verse Luke 18:29 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς, goneiv
a parent
Read verse Luke 21:16 Noun Genitive Plural Masculine
γονέων gonewn
a parent
Read verse John 9:2 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς goneiv
a parent
Read verse John 9:3 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς goneiv
a parent
Read verse John 9:18 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς goneiv
a parent
Read verse John 9:20 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς goneiv
a parent
Read verse John 9:22 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς goneiv
a parent
Read verse John 9:23 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς goneiv
a parent
Read verse Romans 1:30 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
γονεῦσιν goneusin
a parent
Read verse 2 Corinthians 12:14 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
γονεῦσι goneusin
a parent
Read verse 2 Corinthians 12:14 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
γονεῖς goneiv
a parent
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 4 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 4 Aligned forms 20 Case pattern Nominative (9) Number pattern Plural (20)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Luke 2:41 · Luke 2:43 · Luke 8:56 · John 9:2 · John 9:3 · John 9:20 · John 9:22 · John 9:23 · 2 Cor 12:14 9×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Luke 21:16 1×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Rom 1:30 · 2 Cor 12:14 · Eph 6:1 · Col 3:20 · 2 Tim 3:2 5×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Matt 10:21 · Mark 13:12 · Luke 2:27 · Luke 18:29 · John 9:18 5×
Word Origins
γονεύς 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
What this word opens up
This word opens John 9 as a chapter about suffering, family pressure, fear, and witness. It helps teachers reject simplistic blame while still noticing how public pressure affects testimony.
What it corrects
It corrects readings that blame parents for suffering, and readings that ignore the social cost attached to confessing Jesus.
Framing suggestions
Frame γονεύς through John 9:2 and John 9:18-23. The parents are part of both the suffering question and the witness-pressure scene.
Illustrations
- A family can be drawn into a person's suffering and testimony, but the passage must decide what that involvement means.
- Fear can make even true answers sound carefully limited.
Watch points
- Do not use John 9:2 to make parents the cause of the man's blindness.
- Do not flatten the parents into caricatures. John names their fear and the pressure behind it.
Passage contextPastoral application
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