ἐλάχιστος (eláchistos) is a Greek superlative that marks what is least, smallest, or very little within a comparison. The comparison may concern rank, amount, apparent significance, or physical size.
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Full entry for ἐλάχιστος (G1646) · Open the biblical lexicon
ἐλάχιστος (eláchistos) is a Greek superlative that marks what is least, smallest, or very little within a comparison. The comparison may concern rank, amount, apparent significance, or physical size.
The BSB source-word alignment has 13 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include least (6), very little (2), . . . (1), [ to judge ] trivial (1), a very small (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (5), Luke (4), 1 Corinthians (3), James (1).
G1646 is a Greek superlative that marks what is least, smallest, or very little within a comparison. The comparison may concern rank, amount, apparent significance, or physical size. Paul calls himself the least of the apostles in 1 Corinthians 15:9 because he persecuted the church, yet the next verse directs attention to the grace of God at work in him. Jesus uses the term in Luke 16:10 for faithfulness in very little, where small stewardship exposes character rather than determining a person’s worth.
In Matthew 25:40, “the least of these” names people whose treatment the King receives as treatment of Himself. James 3:4 uses the same lexical family for a very small rudder that directs a large ship. The word therefore does not carry one moral evaluation. Smallness can express humility, an apparently minor responsibility, vulnerable social standing, or a compact instrument with great effect.
Teachers should keep the comparison explicit and resist making “least” a permanent identity assigned to people. G1646 can expose status pride and contempt for small duties, but the surrounding passage determines whether the focus is grace, stewardship, solidarity, or disproportionate influence.
G1646 moves among personal humility, modest responsibilities, socially disregarded people, and physically small instruments. Its canonical usefulness comes from showing that God’s grace, judgment, and kingdom attention are not governed by ordinary estimates of rank or size.
For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Paul’s self-description remembers his persecution of the church, but the following testimony to grace prevents humility from becoming denial of God’s transforming work or apostolic calling.
Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Jesus treats faithfulness in a very small matter as revealing character that will also matter with much, so the verse dignifies ordinary stewardship without promising automatic promotion.
And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
The King identifies Himself with the treatment given to the least of His brothers, making care for the disregarded a matter of allegiance to Him while the passage defines the group and judgment scene.
Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined.
James points to a very small rudder directing a large ship, using physical disproportion to prepare his warning about the tongue’s powerful influence.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Superlative intensity: smallest in rank or value, often emphasizing contempt or insignificance rather than literal size.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
13 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
least, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
Read verseleast, smallest, very little
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.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 9 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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 14 lexical occurrence verses.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
G1646 unsettles the human habit of assigning value by rank and scale. Paul can call himself the least of the apostles because his history of persecution remains morally serious, yet he immediately confesses that God’s grace toward him was not empty. His humility is truthful memory under grace, not a refusal of vocation. Jesus’ saying about very little stewardship turns ordinary responsibilities into a field where faithfulness becomes visible, but it does not make worldly advancement the promised reward for every unnoticed task.
In Matthew 25, the King’s solidarity with the least confronts neglect and makes treatment of the disregarded spiritually consequential. James uses smallness differently: a compact rudder can guide a great ship, warning that apparent size does not measure practical influence. Together these passages invite a careful pastoral movement. Do not despise small duties, overlook people of low status, romanticize marginalization, or use self-deprecation as a badge.
Let grace tell the truth about failure, let faithfulness inhabit modest assignments, let Christ’s authority govern care for vulnerable people, and let small instruments remind the church that influence requires accountable direction.
1Cor.15.9
G1646 is the superlative form associated with smallness or littleness. Depending on its construction, it can function substantivally for the least person, quantify a very small matter, or modify a small object; the comparison class must be supplied by context.
Scripture repeatedly shows God attending to people and responsibilities that dominant cultures minimize, while also calling leaders to truthful humility and faithful stewardship. The New Testament occurrences of G1646 sharpen that pattern around apostolic grace, economic integrity, the King’s solidarity, and the tongue’s influence.