What does θησαυρός (thēsaurós) mean in the Bible?
Θησαυρός names treasure, stored valuables, a treasury, or a store from which things are brought out. The magi open their treasures to present gifts in worship.
Greek · G2344
θησαυρός
Treasure
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θησαυρός G2344
Pronunciation thēsaurós
What does θησαυρός (thēsaurós) mean in the Bible?
Θησαυρός names treasure, stored valuables, a treasury, or a store from which things are brought out. The magi open their treasures to present gifts in worship.
Reader summary
Full entry for θησαυρός (G2344) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2344?
The BSB source-word alignment has 17 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include treasure (9), treasures (5), store of treasure (2), storeroom (1).
Where does θησαυρός (thēsaurós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:11. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (9), Luke (4), 2 Corinthians (1), Colossians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Θησαυρός names treasure, stored valuables, a treasury, or a store from which things are brought out. The magi open their treasures to present gifts in worship. Jesus promises treasure in heaven to a wealthy man called to relinquish possessions and follow Him, and He speaks of the heart as a store yielding good or evil speech. Paul calls the gospel's light a treasure carried in fragile jars of clay so God's power, not the messenger's strength, is displayed.
Colossians declares that all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. Treasure language identifies concentrated value, but the passage decides whether the store is material, moral, heavenly, entrusted, or found personally in Christ.
How the Bible Uses It
Θησαυρός gathers the ideas of stored value and a storehouse. Material gifts, heavenly wealth, heart contents, gospel trust, and wisdom in Christ reveal what people prize and release.
- Matt.2.11
On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
The magi open material treasures after falling in worship before Jesus, so costly gifts answer recognition of the promised king rather than purchase access to Him.
- Mark.10.21
Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
Jesus promises heavenly treasure while calling the wealthy man to give to the poor and follow, exposing how stored possessions can compete with discipleship.
- Luke.6.45
The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
The heart is pictured as a treasury whose stored moral character issues through speech, joining words to the person being formed within.
- 2Cor.4.7
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
The life-giving knowledge of God's glory in Christ is treasure carried by frail messengers, making clear that surpassing power belongs to God.
- Col.2.3
In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Wisdom and knowledge are treasured in Christ, opposing plausible teaching that would detach fullness, maturity, or spiritual insight from Him.
Passage 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 treasure 9× Matthew 6:21, Matthew 13:44, Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21
treasures 5× Matthew 2:11, Matthew 6:19, Matthew 6:20, Colossians 2:3
store of treasure 2× Matthew 12:35
storeroom 1× Matthew 13:52
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 2:11 θησαυροὺς to treasures Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 6:19 θησαυροὺς to treasures Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 6:20 θησαυροὺς to treasures Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 6:21 θησαυρός to treasure Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 12:35 θησαυροῦ to store of treasure Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular Matthew 12:35 θησαυροῦ to store of treasure Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular Matthew 13:44 θησαυρῷ to treasure Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Matthew 13:52 θησαυροῦ to storeroom Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular Matthew 19:21 θησαυρὸν to treasure Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Mark 10:21 θησαυρὸν to treasure Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 2:11
Aligned rows 17
Books represented 6
Matthew 9 Mark 1 Luke 4 2 Corinthians 1 Colossians 1 Hebrews 1
Source forms
θησαυρὸν 5x thēsauron Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33, Luke 18:22
θησαυροῦ 4x thēsaurou Matthew 12:35, Matthew 13:52, Luke 6:45
θησαυροὺς 3x thēsaurous Matthew 2:11, Matthew 6:19, Matthew 6:20
θησαυροὶ 1x thēsauroi Colossians 2:3
θησαυρός 1x thēsauros Matthew 6:21
θησαυρὸς 1x thēsauros Luke 12:34
θησαυρῷ 1x thēsaurō Matthew 13:44
θησαυρῶν 1x thēsaurōn Hebrews 11:26
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 5x Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33, Luke 18:22
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular 4x Matthew 12:35, Matthew 13:52, Luke 6:45
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural 3x Matthew 2:11, Matthew 6:19, Matthew 6:20
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Matthew 6:21, Luke 12:34
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular 1x Matthew 13:44
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural 1x Hebrews 11:26
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Colossians 2:3
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not call leaders or institutions the treasure when Paul explicitly distinguishes the gospel's glory from the fragile human vessel carrying it.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that heavenly treasure is a guaranteed earthly financial return for giving.
- Do not use hidden treasures in Christ to promote secret knowledge unavailable through the apostolic gospel.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Treasure stored safely reflects one's true values; what the heart treasures reveals character.
Strong's G2344
Lexical occurrences 17 verses Greek text appearances 18 times 16 shown below Word forms 7 forms 17 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 6:43–45 Source Gloss
treasure
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Treasure stored safely reflects one's true values; what the heart treasures reveals character.
(τίθημι), [in LXX chiefly for אוֹצָר ;]
1a place of safe keeping;
aa casket: Mat.2:11;
ba treasury (1Ma.3:29 and frequently in cl.); __(with) a storehouse (Neh.13:12, Deu.28:12, al.): Mat.13:52; metaphorically, of the soul, Mat.12:35; τ. καρδίας, Luk.6:45
2a treasure: Mat.6:18-21 13:44, Luk.12:33-34, Heb.11:26; θ. ἐν οὐρανῷ (see Dalman, Words, 206 ff.), Mat.19:21, Mrk.10:21, Luk.18:22; of the knowledge of God through Christ, 2Co.4:7; τ. σοφίας κ. γνώσεως, Col.2:3.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 18 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 2:11 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
θησαυροὺς qhsaurouv
a treasure, store
Read verse Matthew 6:19 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
θησαυροὺς qhsaurouv
a treasure, store
Read verse Matthew 6:20 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
θησαυροὺς qhsaurouv
a treasure, store
Read verse Matthew 6:21 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
θησαυρὸς qhsaurov
a treasure, store
Read verse Matthew 12:35 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
θησαυροῦ qhsaurou
a treasure, store
Read verse Matthew 12:35 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
θησαυροῦ qhsaurou
a treasure, store
Read verse Matthew 13:44 Noun Dative Singular Masculine
θησαυρῷ qhsaurw
a treasure, store
Read verse Matthew 13:52 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
θησαυροῦ qhsaurou
a treasure, store
Read verse Matthew 19:21 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
θησαυρὸν qhsauron
a treasure, store
Read verse Mark 10:21 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
θησαυρὸν qhsauron
a treasure, store
Read verse Luke 6:45 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
θησαυροῦ qhsaurou
a treasure, store
Read verse Luke 6:45 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
θησαυροῦ qhsaurou
a treasure, store
Read verse Luke 12:33 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
θησαυρὸν qhsauron
a treasure, store
Read verse Luke 12:34 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
θησαυρὸς qhsaurov
a treasure, store
Read verse Luke 18:22 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
θησαυρὸν qhsauron
a treasure, store
Read verse 2 Corinthians 4:7 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
θησαυρὸν qhsauron
a treasure, store
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 7 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 7 Aligned forms 17 Case pattern Accusative (8) Number pattern Singular (12)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 6:21 · Luke 12:34 2×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Col 2:3 1×
Genitive · Singular · Masculine Matt 12:35 · Matt 13:52 · Luke 6:45 4×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Heb 11:26 1×
Dative · Singular · Masculine Matt 13:44 1×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Matt 19:21 · Mark 10:21 · Luke 12:33 · Luke 18:22 · 2 Cor 4:7 5×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Matt 2:11 · Matt 6:19 · Matt 6:20 3×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Additional Occurrences
Luke 12:22–34 θησαυρόν thēsaurós
Treasure
Luke 6:43–49 θησαυρός thēsaurós
Treasure, storehouse
New Testament Witnesses
treasure/storehouse
stored wealth or treasure
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 17 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
θησαυρός is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Illustrates the supreme value of the kingdom.
Symbolizes the inner reservoir of character.
Canonical Themes
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
Treasure directs allegiance and eventually comes out of storage. The magi release wealth in worship of Jesus. The rich man is invited to exchange controlling possessions for heavenly treasure and personal discipleship, but he goes away grieving. Jesus describes the heart as a treasury, explaining why speech exposes cultivated good or evil rather than appearing from nowhere.
Paul sharply distinguishes treasure from vessel: the gospel's light shines through fragile servants so power is credited to God. Colossians brings every search for wisdom home to Christ, in whom the treasures are hidden and truly found. Churches should store truth deeply, give material resources generously, honor weak servants without idolizing them, and refuse any supposed wisdom that makes Christ peripheral.
Anchor passage
Matt.2.11
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 2:1-12, treasure opened in worship of the king
- Mark 10:17-31, possessions, heavenly treasure, and following Jesus
- Luke 6:43-45, the heart's stored good or evil
- 2 Corinthians 4:1-12, gospel treasure in fragile vessels
- Colossians 2:1-10, wisdom and fullness in Christ
- Matthew 6:19-24, treasure, heart, and undivided service
Θησαυρός may denote valuable contents, the container or treasury holding them, or figuratively a store of moral and spiritual value. Context clarifies storehouse and contents.
From Old to New Testament
Kings and temples store wealth, wisdom is prized above silver, and the heart stores God's word. The New Testament centers lasting treasure in Christ and His kingdom.
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