What does δημόσιος (dēmósios) mean in the Bible?
δημόσιος (dēmósios): Public activity done openly before all, emphasizing visibility and community witness rather than private action.
Greek · G1219
δημόσιος
Public; (feminine singular dative case as adverb) in public
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
δημόσιος G1219
Pronunciation dēmósios
What does δημόσιος (dēmósios) mean in the Bible?
δημόσιος (dēmósios): Public activity done openly before all, emphasizing visibility and community witness rather than private action.
Full entry for δημόσιος (G1219) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1219?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include publicly (2), [the] public (1), in public [debate] (1).
Where does δημόσιος (dēmósios) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 5:18. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (4).
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 publicly 2× Acts 16:37, Acts 20:20
[the] public 1× Acts 5:18
in public [debate] 1× Acts 18:28
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Acts 5:18
Aligned rows 4
Books represented 1
Acts 4
Source forms
δημοσίᾳ 4x dēmosia Acts 5:18, Acts 16:37, Acts 18:28, Acts 20:20
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Dative Feminine Singular 4x Acts 5:18, Acts 16:37, Acts 18:28, Acts 20:20
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Public activity done openly before all, emphasizing visibility and community witness rather than private action.
Strong's G1219
Lexical occurrences 4 verses Greek text appearances 4 times Word forms 1 form 4 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 16:35-40 Source Gloss
public; (feminine singular dative case as adverb) in public
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Public activity done openly before all, emphasizing visibility and community witness rather than private action.
(δῆμος), [in LXX: 2Ma.6:10, 3Ma.2:27 4:7 * ;] belonging to the people, public: Act.5:18; dative fem. used adverbially (cl.);
aat the public expense, by public consent;
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 5:18 Adjective Dative Singular Feminine
δημοσίᾳ. dhmosia
public, publicly
Read verse Acts 16:37 Adjective Dative Singular Feminine
δημοσίᾳ, dhmosia
public, publicly
Read verse Acts 18:28 Adjective Dative Singular Feminine
δημοσίᾳ, dhmosia
public, publicly
Read verse Acts 20:20 Adjective Dative Singular Feminine
δημοσίᾳ dhmosia
public, publicly
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 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 1 Aligned forms 4 Case pattern Dative (4) Number pattern Singular (4)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Dative · Singular · Feminine Acts 5:18 · Acts 16:37 · Acts 18:28 · Acts 20:20 4×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
In public or openly.
Showing 1 selected witness from 4 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
δημόσιος is built from this root:
δῆμος G1218
Why This Word Matters
Emphasizes the visible injustice and need for public correction. Acts 16:35-40
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