What does ἡμέρα (hēméra) mean in the Bible?
Ἡμέρα is a Greek noun for day. It may refer to an ordinary day, today, a span of time, a named or appointed day, the third day, or the last day, depending on context.
Greek · G2250
ἡμέρα
Day
Reading a lexicon entry
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ἡμέρα G2250
Pronunciation hēméra
What does ἡμέρα (hēméra) mean in the Bible?
Ἡμέρα is a Greek noun for day. It may refer to an ordinary day, today, a span of time, a named or appointed day, the third day, or the last day, depending on context.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἡμέρα (G2250) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2250?
The BSB source-word alignment has 389 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include day (153), days (118), [the] day (20), . . . (16), time (11).
Where does ἡμέρα (hēméra) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (94), Luke (83), Matthew (45), John (31).
Are there verse guides for ἡμέρα (hēméra)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Ἡμέρα is a Greek noun for day. It may refer to an ordinary day, today, a span of time, a named or appointed day, the third day, or the last day, depending on context.
Pastorally, this word matters because Scripture uses day language for ordinary dependence, resurrection timing, urgent exhortation, and final hope. Today has enough trouble of its own. Christ was raised on the third day. The Son will raise His people on the last day.
The word itself does not decide whether a passage is ordinary, symbolic, prophetic, or eschatological. The surrounding phrase supplies that force.
Lexical sourcegrammatical
How the Bible Uses It
Hemera is currently counted about 389 times in the local Greek artifact. It can mean day, today, time, appointed day, third day, or last day in context.
- Matt.6.34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.
Jesus speaks about today and tomorrow in ordinary anxiety. The day language keeps discipleship in daily dependence.
- John.6.40
For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Jesus promises to raise believers at the last day. The phrase gives the day eschatological force.
- 1Cor.15.4
That He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
Paul says Christ was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. The day language belongs to resurrection testimony.
- Heb.3.13
But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Believers are to exhort one another as long as it is called today. The day language carries urgent perseverance.
- 2Pet.3.8
Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
Peter compares a day and a thousand years before the Lord. The word serves a warning against measuring God by human impatience.
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 day 153× Matthew 7:22, Matthew 13:1, Matthew 16:21, Matthew 17:23
days 118× Matthew 3:1, Matthew 4:2, Matthew 11:12, Matthew 12:40
[the] day 20× Matthew 10:15, Matthew 11:22, Matthew 11:24, Matthew 12:36
. . . 16× Matthew 28:20, Mark 2:20, Mark 6:21, Mark 13:20
time 11× Luke 1:5, Luke 2:6, Luke 2:22, Luke 4:25
daily 7× Luke 9:23, Acts 2:46, Acts 2:47, Acts 16:5
[the] time 6× Matthew 2:1, Matthew 9:15, Luke 1:80, Luke 5:35
[the] days 5× Luke 19:43, Luke 21:22, Luke 23:29, Hebrews 8:8
a day 4× Matthew 24:50, Luke 12:46, Acts 17:31, Acts 28:23
daylight 4× Luke 6:13, John 11:9, Acts 16:35, Acts 27:39
daybreak 3× Acts 12:18, Acts 27:29, Acts 27:33
days [will be] 3× Matthew 24:19, Mark 13:17, Luke 21:23
years 3× Luke 1:7, Luke 1:18, Luke 2:36
At daybreak 2× Luke 4:42, Luke 22:66
day long 2× Romans 8:36, Romans 10:21
daytime 2× John 9:4, John 11:9
vvv 2× Mark 4:35, Luke 13:14
- 1× Acts 12:3
[a certain] day 1× Romans 14:5
[A few] days 1× Mark 2:1
[a special] day 1× Romans 14:6
[Feast] 1× Acts 20:6
[is the] day 1× 2 Corinthians 6:2
[special] days 1× Galatians 4:10
[the others] 1× Romans 14:5
[the] daytime 1× Romans 13:13
[these] days 1× Luke 1:25
at the end of the day 1× Revelation 21:25
broad daylight 1× 2 Peter 2:13
court 1× 1 Corinthians 4:3
date 1× Acts 21:26
day [alike] 1× Romans 14:5
day [as] 1× Hebrews 4:7
day [long] 1× Matthew 20:6
day [on] 1× Matthew 22:46
day {on} 1× John 11:53
Day after day 1× Hebrews 10:11
days [when] 1× Acts 6:1
for a day 1× Luke 2:44
of [the] day 1× 1 Thessalonians 5:5
of days 1× Hebrews 7:3
the time 1× Mark 2:20
time [there] 1× Acts 21:5
Today 1× Matthew 6:34
when 1× Hebrews 8:9
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 2:1 ἡμέραις to [the] time Noun - Dative Feminine Plural Matthew 3:1 ἡμέραις to days Noun - Dative Feminine Plural Matthew 4:2 ἡμέρας to days Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural Matthew 6:34 ἡμέρᾳ to Today Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Matthew 7:22 ἡμέρᾳ to day Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Matthew 9:15 ἡμέραι to [the] time Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural Matthew 10:15 ἡμέρᾳ to [the] day Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Matthew 11:12 ἡμερῶν to days Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural Matthew 11:22 ἡμέρᾳ to [the] day Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Matthew 11:24 ἡμέρᾳ to [the] day Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 2:1
Aligned rows 389
Books represented 23
Matthew 45 Mark 27 Luke 83 John 31 Acts 94 Romans 11 1 Corinthians 7 2 Corinthians 7 Galatians 2 Ephesians 3 Philippians 4 Colossians 2 1 Thessalonians 6 2 Thessalonians 3 1 Timothy 1 2 Timothy 5 Hebrews 18 James 2 1 Peter 3 2 Peter 12 1 John 1 Jude 1 Revelation 21
Source forms
ἡμέρας 126x hēmeras Matthew 4:2, Matthew 12:40, Matthew 17:1, Matthew 20:12
ἡμέρᾳ 84x hēmera Matthew 6:34, Matthew 7:22, Matthew 10:15, Matthew 11:22
ἡμέραν 58x hēmeran Matthew 20:2, Matthew 20:6, Matthew 25:13, Matthew 26:55
ἡμέραις 49x hēmerais Matthew 2:1, Matthew 3:1, Matthew 23:30, Matthew 24:19
ἡμέραι 26x hēmerai Matthew 9:15, Matthew 15:32, Matthew 24:22, Matthew 24:37
ἡμέρα 23x hēmera Luke 6:13, Luke 9:12, Luke 21:34, Luke 22:7
ἡμερῶν 21x hēmerōn Matthew 11:12, Matthew 24:29, Matthew 26:61, Mark 2:1
Ἡμέρας 1x Hēmeras Acts 16:35
Parsing patterns
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 84x Matthew 6:34, Matthew 7:22, Matthew 10:15, Matthew 11:22
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural 68x Matthew 4:2, Matthew 12:40, Matthew 17:1, Matthew 26:2
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 59x Matthew 20:12, Matthew 22:46, Matthew 24:36, Matthew 24:38
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 58x Matthew 20:2, Matthew 20:6, Matthew 25:13, Matthew 26:55
Noun - Dative Feminine Plural 49x Matthew 2:1, Matthew 3:1, Matthew 23:30, Matthew 24:19
Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural 26x Matthew 9:15, Matthew 15:32, Matthew 24:22, Matthew 24:37
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 23x Luke 6:13, Luke 9:12, Luke 21:34, Luke 22:7
Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural 22x Matthew 11:12, Matthew 24:29, Matthew 26:61, Mark 2:1
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Look for modifiers such as today, third, last, or appointed before deciding what kind of day is in view.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim hemera always points to final judgment or resurrection.
- Do not claim a day phrase proves a detailed timetable beyond what the passage says.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. day
Source Gloss
day
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 389 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 2:1 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
ἡμέραις hmeraiv
a day
Read verse Matthew 3:1 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
ἡμέραις hmeraiv
a day
Read verse Matthew 4:2 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
ἡμέρας hmerav
a day
Read verse Matthew 6:34 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἡμέρᾳ hmera
a day
Read verse Matthew 7:22 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἡμέρᾳ, hmera
a day
Read verse Matthew 9:15 Noun Nominative Plural Feminine
ἡμέραι hmerai
a day
Read verse Matthew 10:15 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἡμέρᾳ hmera
a day
Read verse Matthew 11:12 Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
ἡμερῶν hmerwn
a day
Read verse Matthew 11:22 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἡμέρᾳ hmera
a day
Read verse Matthew 11:24 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἡμέρᾳ hmera
a day
Read verse Matthew 12:36 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἡμέρᾳ hmera
a day
Read verse Matthew 12:40 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
ἡμέρας hmerav
a day
Read verse Matthew 12:40 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
ἡμέρας hmerav
a day
Read verse Matthew 13:1 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἡμέρᾳ hmera
a day
Read verse Matthew 15:32 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
ἡμέρας hmerav
a day
Read verse Matthew 16:21 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἡμέρᾳ hmera
a day
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 8 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 8 Aligned forms 389 Case pattern Dative (133) Number pattern Singular (224)
Nominative · Plural · Feminine Matt 9:15 · Matt 15:32 · Matt 24:22 · Matt 24:37 · Mark 2:20 · Mark 8:2 · Mark 13:19 · Luke 1:23 · Luke 2:6 · Luke 2:21 · Luke 2:22 · Luke 5:35 · Luke 9:28 · Luke 13:14 · Luke 17:22 · Luke 19:43 26×
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Luke 6:13 · Luke 9:12 · Luke 21:34 · Luke 22:7 · Luke 22:66 · Luke 23:54 · Luke 24:29 · John 9:4 · John 19:31 · Acts 27:33 · Acts 27:39 · Rom 13:12 · 1 Cor 3:13 · 2 Cor 6:2 · 1 Thess 5:2 · 1 Thess 5:4 23×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Matt 20:12 · Matt 22:46 · Matt 24:36 · Matt 24:38 · Matt 26:29 · Matt 27:64 · Matt 28:15 · Mark 5:5 · Mark 6:21 · Mark 13:32 · Mark 14:25 · Luke 1:20 · Luke 1:80 · Luke 2:44 · Luke 4:42 · Luke 17:4 59×
Genitive · Plural · Feminine Matt 11:12 · Matt 24:29 · Matt 26:61 · Mark 2:1 · Mark 14:58 · Luke 5:17 · Luke 8:22 · Luke 17:22 · Luke 20:1 · John 12:1 · Acts 1:3 · Acts 5:36 · Acts 7:45 · Acts 15:7 · Acts 20:6 · Acts 21:26 22×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Matt 6:34 · Matt 7:22 · Matt 10:15 · Matt 11:22 · Matt 11:24 · Matt 12:36 · Matt 13:1 · Matt 16:21 · Matt 17:23 · Matt 20:19 · Matt 22:23 · Matt 24:42 · Matt 24:50 · Mark 2:20 · Mark 4:35 · Mark 14:12 84×
Dative · Plural · Feminine Matt 2:1 · Matt 3:1 · Matt 23:30 · Matt 24:19 · Matt 24:38 · Matt 27:40 · Mark 1:9 · Mark 8:1 · Mark 13:17 · Mark 13:24 · Mark 15:29 · Luke 1:5 · Luke 1:7 · Luke 1:18 · Luke 1:25 · Luke 1:39 49×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine Matt 4:2 · Matt 12:40 · Matt 17:1 · Matt 26:2 · Matt 27:63 · Matt 28:20 · Mark 1:13 · Mark 8:31 · Mark 9:2 · Mark 9:31 · Mark 10:34 · Mark 13:20 · Mark 14:1 · Luke 1:24 · Luke 2:43 · Luke 2:46 68×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 20:2 · Matt 20:6 · Matt 25:13 · Matt 26:55 · Mark 4:27 · Mark 14:49 · Luke 2:37 · Luke 9:23 · Luke 11:3 · Luke 16:19 · Luke 19:47 · Luke 22:53 · Luke 24:21 · John 1:39 · John 8:56 · John 12:7 58×
Word Origins
ἡμέρα 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
Hemera marks day or time. Its theological force comes from modifiers like today, third, or last and from the passage argument.
Anchor passage
John.6.40
Doctrinal connections
- σήμερον: today, related to urgent response.
- ἀνάστασις: resurrection, related to third-day and last-day hope.
- κρίσις: judgment, often associated with appointed day language.
- ἐλπίς: hope, related to final resurrection expectation.
Hemera can function in literal, idiomatic, and theologically loaded phrases. Read the whole phrase before deciding the force.
From Old to New Testament
The Bible treats days as created time, appointed seasons, covenant moments, resurrection witness, and final expectation. hemera can mark any of those, but the phrase carries the specific claim.
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