What does δεξιός (dexiós) mean in the Bible?
Δεξιός means right, right-hand, or on the right side. It can identify a body part, physical position, favored place, or symbol of authority.
Greek · G1188
δεξιός
The right side or (feminine) hand (as that which usually takes)
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δεξιός G1188
Pronunciation dexiós
What does δεξιός (dexiós) mean in the Bible?
Δεξιός means right, right-hand, or on the right side. It can identify a body part, physical position, favored place, or symbol of authority.
Reader summary
Full entry for δεξιός (G1188) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1188?
The BSB source-word alignment has 54 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include right hand (18), right (16), [the] right hand (12), [His] right (3), [the] right side (1).
Where does δεξιός (dexiós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:29. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (12), Revelation (9), Acts (7), Mark (7).
What This Word Actually Means
Δεξιός means right, right-hand, or on the right side. It can identify a body part, physical position, favored place, or symbol of authority. Jesus' severe teaching about the right eye uses a valued member to demand decisive resistance to sin. James and John seek seats at Jesus' right and left, but kingdom honor belongs to God's preparation and follows the cup of suffering.
David speaks of the Lord at his right hand as secure presence, and Hebrews proclaims the Son seated at God's right hand in unique royal supremacy. Revelation also names the right hand as one location for the beast's mark. The adjective's significance comes from its setting, not from the side alone.
How the Bible Uses It
Δεξιός marks the right side or hand and can carry associations of value, support, honor, authority, or controlled allegiance. Context defines the symbolism.
- Matt.5.29
If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
Jesus names the right eye as a valued member in hyperbolic warning, calling for uncompromising action against sin rather than literal self-injury as a cure for the heart.
- Mark.10.40
But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
Seats at Jesus' right and left represent desired kingdom honor, but Jesus redirects the disciples toward suffering service and the Father's appointment.
- Acts.2.25
David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
David's confession of the Lord at his right hand expresses sustaining nearness that keeps him secure and supports Peter's resurrection argument.
- Heb.1.13
Yet to which of the angels did God ever say: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”?
The enthroned Son alone receives the invitation to sit at God's right hand until enemies are subdued, demonstrating superiority over angels and royal messianic authority.
- Rev.13.16
And the second beast required all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,
The beast's mark on right hand or forehead signifies comprehensive economic and public allegiance, not an assertion that the right hand is inherently evil.
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 right hand 18× Matthew 6:3, Matthew 20:21, Matthew 22:44, Matthew 27:29
right 16× Matthew 5:29, Matthew 5:30, Matthew 5:39, Matthew 20:23
[the] right hand 12× Matthew 26:64, Mark 14:62, Mark 16:19, Luke 22:69
[His] right 3× Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27, Luke 23:33
[the] right side 1× Luke 1:11
right side 1× Mark 16:5
the right [hand] 1× Acts 7:56
the right hand 1× Acts 7:55
Your right hand 1× Mark 10:37
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:29 δεξιὸς to right Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 5:30 δεξιά to right Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular Matthew 5:39 δεξιὰν to right Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular Matthew 6:3 δεξιά to right hand Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular Matthew 20:21 δεξιῶν to right hand Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural Matthew 20:23 δεξιῶν to right Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural Matthew 22:44 δεξιῶν to right hand Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural Matthew 25:33 δεξιῶν to right Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural Matthew 25:34 δεξιῶν to right Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural Matthew 26:64 δεξιῶν to [the] right hand Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:29
Aligned rows 54
Books represented 13
Matthew 12 Mark 7 Luke 6 John 2 Acts 7 Romans 1 2 Corinthians 1 Galatians 1 Ephesians 1 Colossians 1 Hebrews 5 1 Peter 1 Revelation 9
Source forms
δεξιῶν 23x dexiōn Matthew 20:21, Matthew 20:23, Matthew 22:44, Matthew 25:33
δεξιᾷ 13x dexia Matthew 27:29, Acts 2:33, Acts 5:31, Romans 8:34
δεξιὰν 4x dexian Matthew 5:39, Revelation 1:17, Revelation 5:1, Revelation 10:5
δεξιᾶς 4x dexias Acts 3:7, Revelation 1:20, Revelation 5:7, Revelation 13:16
δεξιά 2x dexia Matthew 5:30, Matthew 6:3
δεξιὰ 2x dexia Luke 6:6, John 21:6
δεξιόν 2x dexion Luke 22:50, John 18:10
δεξιὰς 1x dexias Galatians 2:9
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural 23x Matthew 20:21, Matthew 20:23, Matthew 22:44, Matthew 25:33
Adjective - Dative Feminine Singular 13x Matthew 27:29, Acts 2:33, Acts 5:31, Romans 8:34
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular 4x Matthew 5:39, Revelation 1:17, Revelation 5:1, Revelation 10:5
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular 4x Acts 3:7, Revelation 1:20, Revelation 5:7, Revelation 13:16
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular 3x Matthew 5:30, Matthew 6:3, Luke 6:6
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular 2x Luke 22:50, John 18:10
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Plural 1x Galatians 2:9
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular 1x Revelation 10:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not turn right-hand imagery into contempt for left-handed people, partisan politics, or speculative identification of modern technologies with the beast's mark.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that δεξιός always carries a positive moral meaning.
- Do not teach literal self-mutilation as Jesus' remedy for lust or other heart-level sin.
Evidence Summary
Messiah
Greek word. Right hand signifies power, honor, and favored position, especially Christ's heavenly exaltation at God's right hand.
Strong's G1188
Lexical occurrences 54 verses Greek text appearances 53 times 16 shown below Word forms 10 forms 54 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 7:54-60 Source Gloss
the right side or (feminine) hand (as that which usually takes)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 53 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 5:29 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
δεξιὸς dexiov
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 5:30 Adjective Nominative Singular Feminine
δεξιά dexia
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 5:39 Adjective Accusative Singular Feminine
δεξιάν dexian
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 6:3 Adjective Nominative Singular Feminine
δεξιά dexia
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 20:21 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 20:23 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 22:44 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 25:33 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 25:34 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 26:64 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 27:29 Adjective Accusative Singular Feminine
δεξιὰν dexian
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Matthew 27:38 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Mark 10:37 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Mark 10:40 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Mark 12:36 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
Read verse Mark 14:62 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
δεξιῶν dexiwn
on the right hand, right hand, right
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 10 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 10 Aligned forms 54 Case pattern Genitive (27) Number pattern Singular (27)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Matt 5:30 · Matt 6:3 · Luke 6:6 3×
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 5:29 1×
Genitive · Plural · Neuter Matt 20:21 · Matt 20:23 · Matt 22:44 · Matt 25:33 · Matt 25:34 · Matt 26:64 · Matt 27:38 · Mark 10:37 · Mark 10:40 · Mark 12:36 · Mark 14:62 · Mark 15:27 · Mark 16:19 · Luke 1:11 · Luke 20:42 · Luke 22:69 23×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Acts 3:7 · Rev 1:20 · Rev 5:7 · Rev 13:16 4×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Matt 27:29 · Acts 2:33 · Acts 5:31 · Rom 8:34 · Eph 1:20 · Col 3:1 · Heb 1:3 · Heb 8:1 · Heb 10:12 · Heb 12:2 · 1 Pet 3:22 · Rev 1:16 · Rev 2:1 13×
Dative · Plural · Neuter Mark 16:5 1×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 5:39 · Rev 1:17 · Rev 5:1 · Rev 10:5 4×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Luke 22:50 · John 18:10 2×
Accusative · Plural · Neuter John 21:6 1×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine Gal 2:9 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Position of honor and authority.
Additional Occurrences
Luke 20:41–44 δεξιῶν dexiós
Right hand
Luke 22:63–71 δεξιῶν dexiós
Right hand
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 54 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
δεξιός is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Christ’s position signifies divine vindication and supreme authority. Acts 7:54-60
Canonical Themes
Messiah
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
The right side can carry value and honor, but Scripture uses that association in several directions. Jesus' right-eye warning presses disciples to treat sin seriously without teaching mutilation as heart transformation. Ambitious disciples seek places beside His throne, yet He joins glory to suffering and service. Psalm language at Pentecost confesses God's stabilizing presence, while Hebrews reserves the right-hand throne for the victorious Son above angels.
Revelation turns the hand into a sphere of coerced allegiance under the beast. Teachers must therefore resist symbolic shortcuts. The central confession is not that one side is sacred, but that Jesus reigns at God's right hand and calls embodied lives away from sin and counterfeit lordship.
Anchor passage
Matt.5.29
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 5:27-30, decisive resistance to heart-level sin
- Mark 10:35-45, right-hand honor and servant greatness
- Acts 2:22-36, resurrection and the Lord at the right hand
- Hebrews 1:1-14, the Son enthroned above angels
- Revelation 13:11-18, embodied allegiance to beastly power
- Psalm 110:1-4, the Messiah at God's right hand
Δεξιός is an adjective for the right side and may function substantivally for right hand or right side. Cultural associations of strength and honor arise from context and idiom.
From Old to New Testament
God's right hand symbolizes saving power, kings are seated in honor, and the promised Messiah reigns beside the Lord. Jesus fulfills this royal hope through cross and resurrection.
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