What does δώδεκα (dṓdeka) mean in the Bible?
Dodeka is the Greek number twelve. It can count ordinary years, hours, baskets, or groups, but in the New Testament it often stands near apostolic and covenantal structure.
Greek · G1427
δώδεκα
Twelve
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δώδεκα G1427
Pronunciation dṓdeka
What does δώδεκα (dṓdeka) mean in the Bible?
Dodeka is the Greek number twelve. It can count ordinary years, hours, baskets, or groups, but in the New Testament it often stands near apostolic and covenantal structure.
Reader summary
Full entry for δώδεκα (G1427) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1427?
The BSB source-word alignment has 75 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include twelve (55), 12,000 {} (13), Twelve {aside} (2), [for] twelve (1), [the] (1).
Where does δώδεκα (dṓdeka) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (23), Mark (15), Matthew (13), Luke (12).
What This Word Actually Means
Dodeka is the Greek number twelve. It can count ordinary years, hours, baskets, or groups, but in the New Testament it often stands near apostolic and covenantal structure. Jesus calls the twelve disciples, appoints the Twelve to be with Him and to preach, rebukes the Twelve when one betrays Him, and appears to the Twelve after His resurrection. Revelation then pictures the new Jerusalem with twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The number should not be treated as a loose symbol detached from the text. Its pastoral force comes from the passages where twelve identifies the apostolic circle, remembers Israel's covenantal shape, marks abundance after the feeding sign, or frames the consummated people of God.
How the Bible Uses It
Dodeka is a number with ordinary counting uses and strong covenantal-apostolic associations. In the Gospels and Revelation, twelve often points to Jesus' chosen apostolic witnesses and the ordered people of God.
- Matt.10.1
And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness.
Jesus calls His twelve disciples and gives them authority, making the number part of His appointed mission structure.
- Mark.3.14
He appointed twelve of them, whom He designated as apostles, to accompany Him, to be sent out to preach,
Mark stresses that Jesus appointed the Twelve to be with Him and to be sent out, joining presence with commission.
- John.6.70
Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”
Jesus' choice of the Twelve includes the grief of betrayal, so the number does not romanticize the apostolic circle.
- John.6.13
So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
The twelve baskets after the feeding sign mark abundance that exceeds the original small supply.
- 1Cor.15.5
And that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.
Paul names the Twelve among resurrection witnesses, tying the group to public apostolic testimony.
- Rev.21.14
The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The twelve foundations bear the names of the twelve apostles, giving the number eschatological and ecclesial weight.
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 twelve 55× Matthew 10:1, Matthew 10:2, Matthew 10:5, Matthew 11:1
12,000 {} 13× Revelation 7:5, Revelation 7:6, Revelation 7:7, Revelation 7:8
Twelve {aside} 2× Mark 10:32, Luke 18:31
[for] twelve 1× Matthew 9:20
[the] 1× Revelation 21:14
for twelve 1× Mark 5:25
of twelve 1× Revelation 12:1
Twelve {to Him} 1× Mark 6:7
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 9:20 δώδεκα to [for] twelve Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural Matthew 10:1 δώδεκα to twelve Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 10:2 δώδεκα to twelve Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural Matthew 10:5 δώδεκα to twelve Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 11:1 δώδεκα to twelve Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural Matthew 14:20 δώδεκα to twelve Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 19:28 δώδεκα to twelve Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 19:28 δώδεκα to twelve Adjective - Accusative Feminine Plural Matthew 20:17 δώδεκα to twelve Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 26:14 δώδεκα to Twelve Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 9:20
Aligned rows 75
Books represented 8
Matthew 13 Mark 15 Luke 12 John 6 Acts 4 1 Corinthians 1 James 1 Revelation 23
Source forms
δώδεκα 74x dōdeka Matthew 9:20, Matthew 10:1, Matthew 10:2, Matthew 10:5
Δώδεκα 1x Dōdeka Mark 8:19
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural 21x Matthew 10:1, Matthew 10:5, Matthew 14:20, Matthew 19:28
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural 16x Matthew 10:2, Matthew 26:14, Matthew 26:20, Matthew 26:47
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Plural 13x John 11:9, Revelation 7:5, Revelation 7:6, Revelation 7:7
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural 7x Luke 8:1, Luke 9:12, Luke 9:17, Acts 6:2
Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural 5x Mark 5:42, Luke 2:42, Luke 8:42, Luke 8:43
Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural 4x Matthew 11:1, Mark 4:10, John 6:67, 1 Corinthians 15:5
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural 3x Matthew 9:20, Mark 5:25, Revelation 21:14
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Plural 3x Matthew 26:53, Acts 24:11, Revelation 21:12
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Where the passage names the Twelve, teach Jesus' deliberate appointment, their witness, and their dependence on Him.
- Let Revelation 21:14 strengthen confidence in apostolic testimony while keeping the Lamb at the center of the city.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that dodeka always means completion in a symbolic sense. The passage must show that the number carries covenantal or apostolic weight.
- Do not claim that the Twelve are the foundation apart from Christ. Revelation calls them apostles of the Lamb.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Symbolic number representing God's people; especially designates the Twelve Apostles as foundational to Jesus' covenant community.
Strong's G1427
Lexical occurrences 75 verses Greek text appearances 72 times 16 shown below Word forms 10 forms 75 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
twelve
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Symbolic number representing God's people; especially designates the Twelve Apostles as foundational to Jesus' covenant community.
numeral, twelve: Mat.9:20 10:1, al.; οἱ δ., the apostles, Mat.10:5, Mrk.4:10, al.; in Act.19:7 24:11, for Rec. δεκαδύο.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 72 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 9:20 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 10:1 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 10:2 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 10:5 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 11:1 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 14:20 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 19:28 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 19:28 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 20:17 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 26:14 Numeral
δώδεκα, dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 26:20 Numeral
δώδεκα. dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 26:47 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Matthew 26:53 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Mark 3:14 Numeral
δώδεκα, dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Mark 4:10 Numeral
δώδεκα dwdeka
twelve
Read verse Mark 5:25 Numeral
δώδεκα, dwdeka
twelve
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 75 Case pattern Accusative (27) Number pattern Plural (75)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · Feminine John 11:9 · Rev 7:5 · Rev 7:6 · Rev 7:7 · Rev 7:8 13×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Luke 8:1 · Luke 9:12 · Luke 9:17 · Acts 6:2 · Acts 19:7 · Rev 21:21 7×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Matt 10:2 · Matt 26:14 · Matt 26:20 · Matt 26:47 · Mark 6:43 · Mark 11:11 · Mark 14:10 · Mark 14:17 · Mark 14:20 · Mark 14:43 · Luke 22:3 · Luke 22:47 · John 6:71 · John 20:24 · Rev 12:1 · Rev 21:14 16×
Genitive · Plural · Neuter Mark 5:42 · Luke 2:42 · Luke 8:42 · Luke 8:43 · Rev 21:16 5×
Genitive · Plural · Feminine Acts 24:11 · Rev 21:12 2×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Matt 11:1 · Mark 4:10 · John 6:67 · 1 Cor 15:5 4×
Dative · Plural · Feminine Jas 1:1 1×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Matt 10:1 · Matt 10:5 · Matt 14:20 · Matt 19:28 · Matt 20:17 · Mark 3:14 · Mark 3:16 · Mark 6:7 · Mark 8:19 · Mark 9:35 · Mark 10:32 · Luke 6:13 · Luke 9:1 · Luke 18:31 · John 6:13 · John 6:70 21×
Accusative · Plural · Neuter Matt 9:20 · Mark 5:25 · Rev 21:14 3×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine Matt 19:28 · Matt 26:53 · Luke 22:30 3×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Mark 3:13–19 δώδεκα dṓdeka
twelve
Showing 1 selected witness from 75 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
δώδεκα is built from these roots:
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 pastoral value of dodeka is ordered witness. Jesus does not gather a vague crowd and call that the foundation of His mission. He appoints the Twelve to be with Him and to be sent, gives them authority, endures betrayal from within their number, appears after resurrection, and finally names their witness in the foundations of the new Jerusalem. The number carries echoes of Israel's twelve tribes, but the New Testament applies it through Jesus' own appointment and fulfillment.
That means teachers should avoid both extremes. Do not make twelve a free-floating code for completeness wherever it appears. Do not ignore its weight when the passage plainly presents the Twelve as Christ's chosen apostolic witness. The number serves the Lord who calls, sends, and builds.
Anchor passage
Matt.10.1
Doctrinal connections
- G652 Apostolos - the Twelve become apostolic witnesses by Jesus' call and sending, not by numerical symbolism alone.
- G2474 Israel - twelve carries covenantal resonance because of Israel's tribal structure, fulfilled and reordered around Christ.
- G1849 Exousia - Matthew 10:1 connects the Twelve with delegated authority over unclean spirits and disease.
- G3144 Martys - 1 Corinthians 15:5 places the Twelve in the resurrection witness sequence.
- G721 Arnion - Revelation 21:14 names the twelve apostles of the Lamb, keeping the apostolic foundation Christ-centered.
- John 6 - the same number can hold abundance in the baskets and sobering betrayal in the chosen circle.
Dodeka is a cardinal numeral. Its meaning is twelve, but its function depends on the referent: baskets, years, hours, tribes, disciples, apostles, foundations, or gates.
From Old to New Testament
The Old Testament's twelve tribes give covenantal shape to Israel, and Jesus' appointment of the Twelve signals a gathered and renewed people around Himself. Revelation completes the arc by picturing the city with twelve foundations named for the apostles of the Lamb.
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