What does δεῖπνον (deîpnon) mean in the Bible?
Δεῖπνον (deipnon) means dinner, supper, or the principal meal, often an evening banquet. Jesus condemns leaders who love places of honor at banquets, exposing meals as stages for status.
Greek · G1173
δεῖπνον
Dinner
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δεῖπνον G1173
Pronunciation deîpnon
What does δεῖπνον (deîpnon) mean in the Bible?
Δεῖπνον (deipnon) means dinner, supper, or the principal meal, often an evening banquet. Jesus condemns leaders who love places of honor at banquets, exposing meals as stages for status.
Reader summary
Full entry for δεῖπνον (G1173) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1173?
The BSB source-word alignment has 16 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include supper (5), banquet (3), banquets (3), a banquet (2), a dinner (1).
Where does δεῖπνον (deîpnon) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 23:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (5), John (4), 1 Corinthians (2), Mark (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Δεῖπνον (deipnon) means dinner, supper, or the principal meal, often an evening banquet. Jesus condemns leaders who love places of honor at banquets, exposing meals as stages for status. Herod's birthday supper gathers elites and becomes the setting for a rash oath and John's execution, showing how feasting can mask corrupt power. Jesus tells hosts not to build guest lists around reciprocal advantage but to welcome people unable to repay.
At Bethany, friends make a supper for Jesus where Martha serves, Lazarus reclines, and Mary honors Him before burial. Paul rebukes Corinth because their divided meal cannot rightly be called the Lord's Supper. A supper can express hierarchy, violence, generosity, friendship, worship, or congregational failure; guests, host, conduct, and purpose decide its meaning.
How the Bible Uses It
Δεῖπνον names a supper or banquet. It can become a stage for honor-seeking, elite violence, nonreciprocal hospitality, loving fellowship with Jesus, or a divided meal that contradicts the Lord's Supper.
- Matt.23.6
They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,
Religious leaders love the most honored places at banquets, using meals to secure visible rank while neglecting humble service.
- Mark.6.21
On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
Herod's elite birthday banquet creates the social pressure and opportunity through which an oath leads to John the Baptist's death.
- Luke.14.12
Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid.
Jesus commands hosts to invite poor and excluded people unable to repay, relocating hospitality from social exchange toward resurrection reward.
- John.12.2
So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him.
Bethany's supper gathers Jesus, the serving Martha, the raised Lazarus, and Mary's costly anointing within fellowship before the passion.
- 1Cor.11.20
Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat.
Corinthian gathering fails to become the Lord's Supper because faction, private eating, hunger, and drunkenness contradict the meal's proclamation.
Passage contextBook 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 supper 5× John 13:4, John 21:20, 1 Corinthians 11:20, Revelation 19:9
banquet 3× Luke 14:16, Luke 14:17, Luke 14:24
banquets 3× Matthew 23:6, Mark 12:39, Luke 20:46
a banquet 2× Mark 6:21, Luke 14:12
a dinner 1× John 12:2
meal 1× 1 Corinthians 11:21
The evening meal 1× John 13:2
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 23:6 δείπνοις to banquets Noun - Dative Neuter Plural Mark 6:21 δεῖπνον to a banquet Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Mark 12:39 δείπνοις to banquets Noun - Dative Neuter Plural Luke 14:12 δεῖπνον to a banquet Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Luke 14:16 δεῖπνον to banquet Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Luke 14:17 δείπνου to banquet Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Luke 14:24 δείπνου to banquet Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Luke 20:46 δείπνοις to banquets Noun - Dative Neuter Plural John 12:2 δεῖπνον to a dinner Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular John 13:2 δείπνου to The evening meal Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 23:6
Aligned rows 16
Books represented 6
Matthew 1 Mark 2 Luke 5 John 4 1 Corinthians 2 Revelation 2
Source forms
δεῖπνον 8x deipnon Mark 6:21, Luke 14:12, Luke 14:16, John 12:2
δείπνου 4x deipnou Luke 14:17, Luke 14:24, John 13:2, John 13:4
δείπνοις 3x deipnois Matthew 23:6, Mark 12:39, Luke 20:46
δείπνῳ 1x deipnō John 21:20
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 8x Mark 6:21, Luke 14:12, Luke 14:16, John 12:2
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular 4x Luke 14:17, Luke 14:24, John 13:2, John 13:4
Noun - Dative Neuter Plural 3x Matthew 23:6, Mark 12:39, Luke 20:46
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular 1x John 21:20
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not call a church meal the Lord's Supper if its actual practice humiliates poorer believers or entrenches faction.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not use Jesus' hospitality command merely as a technique for earning future reward; it exposes self-serving reciprocity.
- Do not romanticize Herod's banquet as celebration when the narrative reveals corrupt power and murder.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. The chief meal of the day, typically evening; theologically significant for communion and eschatological banquet imagery.
Strong's G1173
Lexical occurrences 16 verses Greek text appearances 16 times Word forms 4 forms 16 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
dinner
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 23:6 Noun Dative Plural Neuter
δείπνοις, deipnoiv
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse Mark 6:21 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
δεῖπνον deipnon
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse Mark 12:39 Noun Dative Plural Neuter
δείπνοις· deipnoiv
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse Luke 14:12 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
δεῖπνον, deipnon
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse Luke 14:16 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
δεῖπνον deipnon
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse Luke 14:17 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
δείπνου deipnou
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse Luke 14:24 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
δείπνου. deipnou
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse Luke 20:46 Noun Dative Plural Neuter
δείπνοις· deipnoiv
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse John 12:2 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
δεῖπνον deipnon
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse John 13:2 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
δείπνου deipnou
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse John 13:4 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
δείπνου, deipnou
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse John 21:20 Noun Dative Singular Neuter
δείπνῳ deipnw
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse 1 Corinthians 11:20 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
δεῖπνον deipnon
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse 1 Corinthians 11:21 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
δεῖπνον deipnon
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse Revelation 19:9 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
δεῖπνον deipnon
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
Read verse Revelation 19:17 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
δεῖπνον deipnon
a dinner, an afternoon or evening meal
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 16 Case pattern Accusative (8) Number pattern Singular (13)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Singular · Neuter Luke 14:17 · Luke 14:24 · John 13:2 · John 13:4 4×
Dative · Plural · Neuter Matt 23:6 · Mark 12:39 · Luke 20:46 3×
Dative · Singular · Neuter John 21:20 1×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Mark 6:21 · Luke 14:12 · Luke 14:16 · John 12:2 · 1 Cor 11:20 · 1 Cor 11:21 · Rev 19:9 · Rev 19:17 8×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 14:15–24 δεῖπνον deîpnon
Banquet, supper
Showing 1 selected witness from 16 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
δεῖπνον 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
Meals disclose the social order their hosts and guests cherish. The scribes turn supper seating into a public ranking system. Herod's banquet gathers power, pleasure, and fear of losing face until an innocent prophet's life is sacrificed to the room. Jesus imagines a different table, one widened toward people who cannot return the invitation and therefore cannot serve the host's advancement.
Bethany offers affectionate fellowship around the One who gives life, though Mary's act also points toward His burial. Corinth shows that even the correct title cannot sanctify a divided meal; humiliating the poor contradicts proclamation of the Lord's death. Churches should practice tables of welcome, protect the vulnerable from social power, and celebrate the Lord's Supper as one body under Christ rather than a private or status-marked feast.
Anchor passage
Matt.23.6
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 23:1-12, banquet honor and servant humility
- Mark 6:14-29, Herod's banquet and John's death
- Luke 14:7-24, humble seating and hospitality without repayment
- John 12:1-8, supper, service, life, and anointing
- 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, division and the Lord's Supper
- Isaiah 25:6-9, the Lord's feast and the swallowing of death
Δεῖπνον is a noun for the main meal or supper and can denote an ordinary dinner, formal banquet, or the Lord's Supper. Social and covenant context establish its force.
From Old to New Testament
Covenant meals celebrate deliverance, wisdom hosts a feast, prophets anticipate the Lord's banquet, Jesus welcomes outsiders, and the church remembers His death at one table.
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