What does ἔτος (étos) mean in the Bible?
Ἔτος names a year, a measured span of time used to locate age, elapsed experience, or a sequence of events. Paul does not turn the noun into a philosophy of time.
Greek · G2094
ἔτος
A year
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.
ἔτος G2094
Pronunciation étos
What does ἔτος (étos) mean in the Bible?
Ἔτος names a year, a measured span of time used to locate age, elapsed experience, or a sequence of events. Paul does not turn the noun into a philosophy of time.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἔτος (G2094) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2094?
The BSB source-word alignment has 49 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include years (38), years [old] (5), year (3), . . . (2), years old (1).
Where does ἔτος (étos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (15), Acts (11), Revelation (6), Galatians (3).
What This Word Actually Means
Ἔτος names a year, a measured span of time used to locate age, elapsed experience, or a sequence of events. Paul does not turn the noun into a philosophy of time. In 1 Timothy 5 it helps set a prudent threshold for the church's enrollment of widows. In 2 Corinthians 12 it marks the long interval between Paul's extraordinary experience and his restrained telling of it.
In Galatians 1 it orders the history of his early ministry and Jerusalem visit. The word therefore serves truthful memory and responsible chronology. It reminds teachers that dates and durations can matter to an argument without becoming its controlling doctrine. Biblical faith is rooted in acts God has performed in history, yet G2094 itself simply helps the writer say when, how long, or how old.
How the Bible Uses It
Paul uses ἔτος to measure age and elapsed time in concrete narratives and instructions. Its value lies in locating events faithfully, not in assigning spiritual power to a number of years.
- 1Tim.5.9
A widow should be enrolled if she is at least sixty years old, faithful to her husband,
The sixty-year threshold belongs to Paul's practical instructions for a recognized roll of widows; it is not a universal measure of mature womanhood or usefulness in the church.
- 2Cor.12.2
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows.
Paul's reference to fourteen years underscores the distance and restraint surrounding his account of being caught up, keeping the focus on weakness and the sufficiency of Christ's grace.
- Gal.1.18
Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days.
The three-year interval helps establish the historical sequence of Paul's gospel ministry and supports his argument that his gospel was not learned as a humanly transmitted invention.
Passage contextBook context
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 years 38× Matthew 9:20, Mark 5:25, Luke 2:36, Luke 4:25
years [old] 5× Luke 2:42, Luke 3:23, John 8:57, Acts 4:22
year 3× Luke 2:41, Luke 3:1, Luke 13:8
. . . 2× Luke 2:37, Luke 8:42
years old 1× Mark 5:42
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 9:20 ἔτη to years Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural Mark 5:25 ἔτη to years Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural Mark 5:42 ἐτῶν to years old Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural Luke 2:36 ἔτη to years Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural Luke 2:37 ἐτῶν to . . . Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural Luke 2:41 ἔτος to year Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Luke 2:42 ἐτῶν to years [old] Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural Luke 3:1 ἔτει to year Noun - Dative Neuter Singular Luke 3:23 ἐτῶν to years [old] Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural Luke 4:25 ἔτη to years Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 9:20
Aligned rows 49
Books represented 12
Matthew 1 Mark 2 Luke 15 John 3 Acts 11 Romans 1 2 Corinthians 1 Galatians 3 1 Timothy 1 Hebrews 3 2 Peter 2 Revelation 6
Source forms
ἔτη 29x etē Matthew 9:20, Mark 5:25, Luke 2:36, Luke 4:25
ἐτῶν 15x etōn Mark 5:42, Luke 2:37, Luke 2:42, Luke 3:23
ἔτεσιν 2x etesin John 2:20, Acts 13:20
ἔτος 2x etos Luke 2:41, Luke 13:8
ἔτει 1x etei Luke 3:1
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural 23x Matthew 9:20, Mark 5:25, Luke 2:36, Luke 4:25
Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural 15x Mark 5:42, Luke 2:37, Luke 2:42, Luke 3:23
Noun - Nominative Neuter Plural 6x Hebrews 1:12, 2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:5
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 2x Luke 2:41, Luke 13:8
Noun - Dative Neuter Plural 2x John 2:20, Acts 13:20
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular 1x Luke 3:1
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Explain what the stated years establish in the passage before drawing an application from the duration.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not treat sixty in 1 Timothy 5:9 as a universal boundary for ministry, dignity, or spiritual maturity.
- Do not turn Paul's three or fourteen years into a hidden prophetic timetable; the contexts use them to establish historical sequence.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. a year
Strong's G2094
Lexical occurrences 49 verses Greek text appearances 49 times 16 shown below Word forms 6 forms 49 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
a year
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 49 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 9:20 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἔτη, eth
a year
Read verse Mark 5:25 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἔτη eth
a year
Read verse Mark 5:42 Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
ἐτῶν etwn
a year
Read verse Luke 2:36 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἔτη eth
a year
Read verse Luke 2:37 Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
ἐτῶν etwn
a year
Read verse Luke 2:41 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ἔτος etov
a year
Read verse Luke 2:42 Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
ἐτῶν etwn
a year
Read verse Luke 3:1 Noun Dative Singular Neuter
ἔτει etei
a year
Read verse Luke 3:23 Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
ἐτῶν etwn
a year
Read verse Luke 4:25 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἔτη eth
a year
Read verse Luke 8:42 Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
ἐτῶν etwn
a year
Read verse Luke 8:43 Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
ἐτῶν etwn
a year
Read verse Luke 12:19 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἔτη eth
a year
Read verse Luke 13:7 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἔτη eth
a year
Read verse Luke 13:8 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ἔτος, etov
a year
Read verse Luke 13:11 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἔτη eth
a year
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 6 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 6 Aligned forms 49 Case pattern Accusative (25) Number pattern Plural (46)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · Neuter Heb 1:12 · 2 Pet 3:8 · Rev 20:3 · Rev 20:5 · Rev 20:7 6×
Genitive · Plural · Neuter Mark 5:42 · Luke 2:37 · Luke 2:42 · Luke 3:23 · Luke 8:42 · Luke 8:43 · Acts 4:22 · Acts 7:30 · Acts 9:33 · Acts 24:10 · Acts 24:17 · Rom 15:23 · 2 Cor 12:2 · Gal 2:1 · 1 Tim 5:9 15×
Dative · Plural · Neuter John 2:20 · Acts 13:20 2×
Dative · Singular · Neuter Luke 3:1 1×
Accusative · Plural · Neuter Matt 9:20 · Mark 5:25 · Luke 2:36 · Luke 4:25 · Luke 12:19 · Luke 13:7 · Luke 13:11 · Luke 13:16 · Luke 15:29 · John 5:5 · John 8:57 · Acts 7:6 · Acts 7:36 · Acts 7:42 · Acts 13:21 · Acts 19:10 23×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Luke 2:41 · Luke 13:8 2×
Word Origins
ἔτος is a primary word - no further derivation.
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
Scripture's theology unfolds in real history, but a chronological noun must not be made to carry more than chronology gives it. In 1 Timothy 5, years help the church apply wisdom to an ordered ministry of care. In 2 Corinthians 12, fourteen years contribute to Paul's sober, delayed account of an experience he refuses to exploit for self-exaltation. In Galatians 1, three years locate his visit to Cephas within an argument about the divine origin of the gospel he preached.
These uses teach a valuable pastoral habit: notice dates because they can verify sequence, maturity, patience, or distance, while letting the paragraph explain their significance. Faithfulness honors historical detail without turning numbers into codes, predictions, or shortcuts to spiritual authority.
Anchor passage
1Tim.5.9
Doctrinal connections
- Galatians 1:11-24, the historical sequence supporting Paul's gospel testimony
- 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, elapsed time and restrained testimony about extraordinary experience
- 1 Timothy 5:3-16, wise and accountable care for widows
- Luke 3:1-2, chronological markers locating God's word in public history
- Psalm 90:12, numbering days as wisdom rather than numerology
Ἔτος is the ordinary Greek noun for a year. The cited genitive plurals accompany numbers such as three or fourteen, while the accusative plural in 1 Timothy 5:9 belongs to an expression of age. The grammar measures duration or age; it does not signal a symbolic calendar by itself.
From Old to New Testament
The Old Testament regularly dates reigns, journeys, judgments, and covenant events because God's works occur in history. The New Testament continues that historical care as it locates Christ's coming, apostolic witness, church order, and patient hope. G2094 participates in that chronology without making every year symbolically charged.
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