What does δάκρυ (dákry) mean in the Bible?
G1144 is a Greek noun for a tear. The New Testament uses it in scenes of grief, loving concern, humble service, prayer, repentance-related longing, and promised consolation.
Greek · G1144
δάκρυ
A tear
Reading a lexicon entry
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δάκρυG1144
Pronunciationdákry
What does δάκρυ (dákry) mean in the Bible?
G1144 is a Greek noun for a tear. The New Testament uses it in scenes of grief, loving concern, humble service, prayer, repentance-related longing, and promised consolation.
Reader summary
Full entry for δάκρυ (G1144) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1144?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include tears (7), tear (2), with tears (1).
Where does δάκρυ (dákry) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 7:38. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (2), Hebrews (2), Luke (2), Revelation (2).
What This Word Actually Means
G1144 is a Greek noun for a tear. The New Testament uses it in scenes of grief, loving concern, humble service, prayer, repentance-related longing, and promised consolation. Hebrews 5:7 says that during His earthly life Jesus offered prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears, showing that reverent faith does not exclude profound anguish. Second Corinthians 2:4 explains that Paul wrote from distress and through many tears so the church would know his love, distinguishing painful correction from a desire to wound.
Revelation 21:4 promises that God will wipe away every tear when death, mourning, crying, and pain have passed away. Tears can express genuine love or suffering, but the noun does not certify the truth of every claim or the sincerity of every appeal. Hebrews 12:17 warns that Esau sought the blessing with tears without finding the change he desired. G1144 opens teaching on lament, compassion, prayer, pastoral care, and final restoration.
It corrects both shame about weeping and manipulation that treats visible tears as unquestionable proof.
How the Bible Uses It
G1144 names literal tears in narratives, ministry recollections, prayer, warning, and apocalyptic hope. Tears accompany Jesus' reverent petitions, Paul's pastoral love, a woman's devotion, Timothy's sorrow, and God's promised removal of suffering. Their meaning comes from the person, cause, and response around them.
- Heb.5.7
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
Jesus offers prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears during His earthly life and is heard because of His reverence.
- 2Cor.2.4
For through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you.
Paul explains that his anguished letter and many tears were intended to communicate abundant love rather than simply to cause grief.
- Rev.21.4
‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
God's promised new creation includes the personal wiping away of every tear and the end of death, mourning, crying, and pain.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ittears7×Luke 7:38, Luke 7:44, Acts 20:31, 2 Corinthians 2:4
tear2×Revelation 7:17, Revelation 21:4
with tears1×Acts 20:19
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 7:38δάκρυσινtotearsNoun - Dative Neuter PluralLuke 7:44δάκρυσινtotearsNoun - Dative Neuter PluralActs 20:19δακρύωνtowith tearsNoun - Genitive Neuter PluralActs 20:31δακρύωνtotearsNoun - Genitive Neuter Plural2 Corinthians 2:4δακρύωνtotearsNoun - Genitive Neuter Plural2 Timothy 1:4δακρύωνtotearsNoun - Genitive Neuter PluralHebrews 5:7δακρύωνtotearsNoun - Genitive Neuter PluralHebrews 12:17δακρύωνtotearsNoun - Genitive Neuter PluralRevelation 7:17δάκρυονtotearNoun - Accusative Neuter SingularRevelation 21:4δάκρυονtotearNoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLuke 7:38
Aligned rows10
Books represented6
Luke2Acts22 Corinthians12 Timothy1Hebrews2Revelation2
Source forms
δακρύων6xdakryōnActs 20:19, Acts 20:31, 2 Corinthians 2:4, 2 Timothy 1:4
δάκρυον2xdakryonRevelation 7:17, Revelation 21:4
δάκρυσιν2xdakrysinLuke 7:38, Luke 7:44
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural6xActs 20:19, Acts 20:31, 2 Corinthians 2:4, 2 Timothy 1:4
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular2xRevelation 7:17, Revelation 21:4
Noun - Dative Neuter Plural2xLuke 7:38, Luke 7:44
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not shame, mock, or distrust a person merely for crying, and do not present emotional restraint as a superior level of faith.
- Do not treat tears as sufficient evidence of repentance or use another person's compassion to evade accountability, boundaries, or safety measures.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that tears always demonstrate repentance, saving faith, or truthful intent.
- Do not claim that God's promise to wipe away tears requires believers to stop grieving now or conceal the pain that still remains.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Physical tears as evidence of deep emotional or spiritual distress, grief, or fervent prayer in biblical narrative.
Strong'sG1144
Lexical occurrences0 versesGreek text appearances11 timesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkLuke 7:38Source Gloss
a tear
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 9:24Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
δακρύωνdakruwn
a tear
Read verseLuke 7:38Noun Dative Plural Neuter
δάκρυσι,dakrusin
a tear
Read verseLuke 7:44Noun Dative Plural Neuter
δάκρυσινdakrusin
a tear
Read verseActs 20:19Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
δακρύωνdakruwn
a tear
Read verseActs 20:31Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
δακρύωνdakruwn
a tear
Read verse2 Corinthians 2:4Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
δακρύων,dakruwn
a tear
Read verse2 Timothy 1:4Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
δακρύων,dakruwn
a tear
Read verseHebrews 5:7Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
δακρύωνdakruwn
a tear
Read verseHebrews 12:17Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
δακρύωνdakruwn
a tear
Read verseRevelation 7:17Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
δάκρυονdakruon
a tear
Read verseRevelation 21:4Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
δάκρυονdakruon
a tear
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.
Sampled Scripture Occurrences
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Biblical Witnesses
Woman's tears of repentance and devotion anointing Jesus' feet
Paul's tears shed during his ministry among the Ephesians
Christ's fervent prayers with tears during his earthly suffering
God wiping away all tears in the eschaton, consolation narrative
Word Origins
δάκρυ is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
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
G1144 makes tears part of the New Testament's honest account of faith. Jesus' cries and tears in Hebrews belong to reverent prayer and obedient suffering, so anguish is not evidence that trust has failed. Paul's tears reveal the cost of loving correction; he wants the Corinthians to understand that his painful letter arose from abundant love, not delight in control.
Revelation's promise does not say tears are imaginary. God wipes them away because death, mourning, crying, and pain are real enemies that He will finally remove. Other passages show tears in humble devotion, farewell ministry, remembered affection, and frustrated desire. This range requires both tenderness and discernment. Visible emotion can be sincere without making every request wise, and tears can sometimes accompany manipulation or regret without transformed conduct.
Churches should never mock weeping, demand it as proof of repentance, or hurry grief toward a neat conclusion. They should listen, protect vulnerable people, seek truth, and hold hope without bypassing loss. G1144 points to a Savior who prayed with tears and to a future where God personally ends the causes of lament. Until then, faithful communities can weep with those who weep while refusing to let emotion replace justice or careful judgment.
Anchor passage
Heb.5.7
Doctrinal connections
- G1144: Jesus' tears show that reverent obedience and profound anguish can coexist within faithful prayer.
- G1144: pastoral correction should arise from truthful love and grief over harm rather than from humiliation, anger, or appetite for control.
- G1144: God attends to embodied sorrow and promises not merely to explain tears but to remove death, mourning, crying, and pain.
- G1144: Christian hope validates present lament because the promised end names suffering as something God will overcome.
- G1144: tears may accompany repentance, affection, fear, or frustrated desire, so spiritual discernment must consider truth and resulting fruit.
- G1144: the church is called to compassionate presence that neither shames emotion nor lets emotional display override safety and justice.
G1144 is the ordinary noun for a tear and commonly appears in the plural with verbs of serving, writing, warning, seeking, or wiping away. The noun names the bodily expression; narrative and discourse explain its emotional and moral significance.
From Old to New Testament
Old Testament prayers, laments, and promises of God wiping away tears form the canonical background for New Testament uses. Revelation brings that promise into the new-creation vision, while Hebrews centers faithful tears in Jesus' earthly obedience.