What does δόγμα (dógma) mean in the Bible?
δόγμα (dógma): Official decree or ruling with binding authority, whether civil, religious, or apostolic
Greek · G1378
δόγμα
A law (civil, ceremonial or ecclesiastical)
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δόγμαG1378
Pronunciationdógma
What does δόγμα (dógma) mean in the Bible?
δόγμα (dógma): Official decree or ruling with binding authority, whether civil, religious, or apostolic
Full entry for δόγμα (G1378) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1378?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include decrees (3), a decree (1), decisions (1).
Where does δόγμα (dógma) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 2:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (2), Colossians (1), Ephesians (1), Luke (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 Itdecrees3×Acts 17:7, Ephesians 2:15, Colossians 2:14
a decree1×Luke 2:1
decisions1×Acts 16:4
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLuke 2:1
Aligned rows5
Books represented4
Luke1Acts2Ephesians1Colossians1
Source forms
δόγμασιν2xdogmasinEphesians 2:15, Colossians 2:14
δόγμα1xdogmaLuke 2:1
δόγματα1xdogmataActs 16:4
δογμάτων1xdogmatōnActs 17:7
Parsing patterns
Noun - Dative Neuter Plural2xEphesians 2:15, Colossians 2:14
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural1xActs 16:4
Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural1xActs 17:7
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular1xLuke 2:1
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Official decree or ruling with binding authority, whether civil, religious, or apostolic
Strong'sG1378
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms4 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkLuke 2:1-20Source Gloss
a law (civil, ceremonial or ecclesiastical)
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Official decree or ruling with binding authority, whether civil, religious, or apostolic
(δοκέω), [in LXX chiefly for דָּת, טְעֵם ;]
1an opinion.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 2:1Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
δόγμαdogma
a decree, edict, ordinance
Read verseActs 16:4Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
δόγματαdogmata
a decree, edict, ordinance
Read verseActs 17:7Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
δογμάτωνdogmatwn
a decree, edict, ordinance
Read verseEphesians 2:15Noun Dative Plural Neuter
δόγμασι,dogmasin
a decree, edict, ordinance
Read verseColossians 2:14Noun Dative Plural Neuter
δόγμασιν,dogmasin
a decree, edict, ordinance
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 forms5Case patternDative (2)Number patternPlural (4)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · NeuterLuke 2:11×
Genitive · Plural · NeuterActs 17:71×
Dative · Plural · NeuterEph 2:15 · Col 2:142×
Accusative · Plural · NeuterActs 16:41×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Roman imperial edict or official governmental ordinance issued by Caesar
Jewish ceremonial and civil law, particularly regulations separating Jews from Gentiles
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
δόγμα is built from this root: