What does ἔχιδνα (échidna) mean in the Bible?
ἔχιδνα (échidna): Venomous snake used metaphorically for morally corrupt people producing evil speech and deception.
Greek · G2191
ἔχιδνα
An adder or other poisonous snake (literally or figuratively)
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ἔχιδναG2191
Pronunciationéchidna
What does ἔχιδνα (échidna) mean in the Bible?
ἔχιδνα (échidna): Venomous snake used metaphorically for morally corrupt people producing evil speech and deception.
Full entry for ἔχιδνα (G2191) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2191?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of vipers (4), a viper (1).
Where does ἔχιδνα (échidna) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 3:7. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (3), Acts (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 Itof vipers4×Matthew 3:7, Matthew 12:34, Matthew 23:33, Luke 3:7
a viper1×Acts 28:3
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 3:7ἐχιδνῶνtoof vipersNoun - Genitive Feminine PluralMatthew 12:34ἐχιδνῶνtoof vipersNoun - Genitive Feminine PluralMatthew 23:33ἐχιδνῶνtoof vipersNoun - Genitive Feminine PluralLuke 3:7ἐχιδνῶνtoof vipersNoun - Genitive Feminine PluralActs 28:3ἔχιδναtoa viperNoun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 3:7
Aligned rows5
Books represented3
Matthew3Luke1Acts1
Source forms
ἐχιδνῶν4xechidnōnMatthew 3:7, Matthew 12:34, Matthew 23:33, Luke 3:7
ἔχιδνα1xechidnaActs 28:3
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural4xMatthew 3:7, Matthew 12:34, Matthew 23:33, Luke 3:7
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular1xActs 28:3
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Venomous snake used metaphorically for morally corrupt people producing evil speech and deception.
Strong'sG2191
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms2 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkActs 28:1-10Source Gloss
an adder or other poisonous snake (literally or figuratively)
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.
Matthew 3:7Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
ἐχιδνῶν,ecidnwn
a serpent, snake, viper
Read verseMatthew 12:34Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
ἐχιδνῶν,ecidnwn
a serpent, snake, viper
Read verseMatthew 23:33Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
ἐχιδνῶν,ecidnwn
a serpent, snake, viper
Read verseLuke 3:7Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
ἐχιδνῶν,ecidnwn
a serpent, snake, viper
Read verseActs 28:3Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἔχιδναecidna
a serpent, snake, viper
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 2 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 patterns2Aligned forms5Case patternGenitive (4)Number patternPlural (4)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · FeminineActs 28:31×
Genitive · Plural · FeminineMatt 3:7 · Matt 12:34 · Matt 23:33 · Luke 3:74×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Venomous snake.
Showing 1 selected witness from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἔχιδνα is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
Represents sudden danger overturned by divine preservation.Acts 28:1-10
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.