What does διάφορος (diáphoros) mean in the Bible?
διάφορος (diáphoros): Denotes both "different" and "superior/excellent," with comparative form emphasizing Christ's transcendent superiority.
Greek · G1313
διάφορος
Varying; also surpassing
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διάφοροςG1313
Pronunciationdiáphoros
What does διάφορος (diáphoros) mean in the Bible?
διάφορος (diáphoros): Denotes both "different" and "superior/excellent," with comparative form emphasizing Christ's transcendent superiority.
Full entry for διάφορος (G1313) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1313?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [is] excellent (1), different (1), more excellent (1), special (1).
Where does διάφορος (diáphoros) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 12:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (3), Romans (1).
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[is] excellent1×Hebrews 1:4
different1×Romans 12:6
more excellent1×Hebrews 8:6
special1×Hebrews 9:10
Show sample aligned rows
Romans 12:6διάφοραtodifferentAdjective - Accusative Neuter PluralHebrews 1:4διαφορώτερονto[is] excellentAdjective - Accusative Neuter Singular - ComparativeHebrews 8:6διαφορωτέραςtomore excellentAdjective - Genitive Feminine Singular - ComparativeHebrews 9:10διαφόροιςtospecialAdjective - Dative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowRomans 12:6
Aligned rows4
Books represented2
Romans1Hebrews3
Source forms
διάφορα1xdiaphoraRomans 12:6
διαφόροις1xdiaphoroisHebrews 9:10
διαφορωτέρας1xdiaphorōterasHebrews 8:6
διαφορώτερον1xdiaphorōteronHebrews 1:4
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural1xRomans 12:6
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular - Comparative1xHebrews 1:4
Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural1xHebrews 9:10
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular - Comparative1xHebrews 8:6
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Denotes both "different" and "superior/excellent," with comparative form emphasizing Christ's transcendent superiority.
Strong'sG1313
Lexical occurrences4 versesGreek text appearances4 timesWord forms4 forms4 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
varying; also surpassing
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Denotes both "different" and "superior/excellent," with comparative form emphasizing Christ's transcendent superiority.
(διαφέρω), [in LXX for שְׁנָא (Dan.7:7, 19); also as in Polyb., iv, 188, al., Τὸ δ., τὰ δ., money: Sir.27:1 42:5, 2Ma.3:6 ;]
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Romans 12:6Adjective Accusative Plural Neuter
διάφορα,diafora
differing, different, excellent
Read verseHebrews 1:4Adjective Accusative Singular Neuter
διαφορώτερονdiaforwteron
differing, different, excellent
Read verseHebrews 8:6Adjective Genitive Singular Feminine
διαφορωτέραςdiaforwterav
differing, different, excellent
Read verseHebrews 9:10Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
διαφόροιςdiaforoiv
differing, different, excellent
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 patterns4Aligned forms4Case patternAccusative (2)Number patternPlural (2)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Singular · FeminineHeb 8:61×
Dative · Plural · MasculineHeb 9:101×
Accusative · Plural · NeuterRom 12:61×
Accusative · Singular · NeuterHeb 1:41×
Word Origins
διάφορος is built from this root: