What does θρίξ (thríx) mean in the Bible?
Thrix names hair, an ordinary bodily detail that Scripture uses in several different ways. John the Baptist's camel-hair garment marks prophetic austerity.
Greek · G2359
θρίξ
Of uncertain derivation; hair
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θρίξ G2359
Pronunciation thríx
What does θρίξ (thríx) mean in the Bible?
Thrix names hair, an ordinary bodily detail that Scripture uses in several different ways. John the Baptist's camel-hair garment marks prophetic austerity.
Reader summary
Full entry for θρίξ (G2359) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2359?
The BSB source-word alignment has 15 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include hair (10), hairs (2), [that] (1), a hair (1), her hair (1).
Where does θρίξ (thríx) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 3:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (4), Matthew (3), Revelation (3), John (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Thrix names hair, an ordinary bodily detail that Scripture uses in several different ways. John the Baptist's camel-hair garment marks prophetic austerity. Jesus says the hairs of the disciples' heads are numbered, grounding courage in the Father's care. Mary wipes Jesus' feet with her hair, making humble devotion visible in a costly act. Paul uses the loss of a single hair as a way to assure shipwrecked hearers of God's preserving purpose.
Peter warns that beauty must not rest in outward adornment such as braided hair. Revelation describes the exalted Christ with hair white like wool and snow. Thrix therefore moves across embodiment, care, devotion, modesty, preservation, and glory without carrying one fixed symbol everywhere.
How the Bible Uses It
Thrix names hair in ordinary, prophetic, devotional, pastoral, ethical, and apocalyptic contexts. The passage decides whether hair marks clothing, care, worship, preservation, adornment, or glory.
- Matt.3.4
John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
Matthew describes John the Baptist's garment as made of camel's hair.
- Matt.10.30
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Jesus teaches that even the hairs of the disciples' heads are numbered.
- John.12.3
Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Mary wipes Jesus' feet with her hair after anointing Him with expensive perfume.
- Acts.27.34
So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”
Paul assures those on the ship that not a single hair of their heads will be lost.
- 1Pet.3.3
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes,
Peter warns against grounding beauty in outward adornment such as braided hair.
- Rev.1.14
The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire.
Revelation describes the exalted Christ with hair white like wool and snow.
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 hair 10× Matthew 3:4, Matthew 5:36, Mark 1:6, Luke 7:44
hairs 2× Matthew 10:30, Luke 12:7
[that] 1× Revelation 9:8
a hair 1× Luke 21:18
her hair 1× Luke 7:38
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 3:4 τριχῶν to hair Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural Matthew 5:36 τρίχα to hair Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Matthew 10:30 τρίχες to hairs Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural Mark 1:6 τρίχας to hair Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural Luke 7:38 θριξὶν to her hair Noun - Dative Feminine Plural Luke 7:44 θριξὶν to hair Noun - Dative Feminine Plural Luke 12:7 τρίχες to hairs Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural Luke 21:18 θρὶξ to a hair Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular John 11:2 θριξὶν to hair Noun - Dative Feminine Plural John 12:3 θριξὶν to hair Noun - Dative Feminine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 3:4
Aligned rows 15
Books represented 7
Matthew 3 Mark 1 Luke 4 John 2 Acts 1 1 Peter 1 Revelation 3
Source forms
θριξὶν 4x thrixin Luke 7:38, Luke 7:44, John 11:2, John 12:3
τρίχας 3x trichas Mark 1:6, Revelation 9:8
τρίχες 3x triches Matthew 10:30, Luke 12:7, Revelation 1:14
θρὶξ 2x thrix Luke 21:18, Acts 27:34
τριχῶν 2x trichōn Matthew 3:4, 1 Peter 3:3
τρίχα 1x tricha Matthew 5:36
Parsing patterns
Noun - Dative Feminine Plural 4x Luke 7:38, Luke 7:44, John 11:2, John 12:3
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural 3x Mark 1:6, Revelation 9:8
Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural 3x Matthew 10:30, Luke 12:7, Revelation 1:14
Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural 2x Matthew 3:4, 1 Peter 3:3
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 2x Luke 21:18, Acts 27:34
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 1x Matthew 5:36
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use hair imagery to deepen trust in God's care, not to create anxiety about appearance.
- Apply adornment texts with pastoral care, avoiding harsh rules that exceed the passage.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that thrix carries one symbolic meaning in every passage.
- Do not claim that 1 Peter 3 forbids every form of grooming or adornment.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Hair as the minutest detail of human worth—even one hair counts to God's care.
Strong's G2359
Lexical occurrences 15 verses Greek text appearances 15 times Word forms 6 forms 15 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 7:36-50 Source Gloss
of uncertain derivation; hair
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
15 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 3:4 Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
τριχῶν tricwn
a hair
Read verse Matthew 5:36 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
τρίχα trica
a hair
Read verse Matthew 10:30 Noun Nominative Plural Feminine
τρίχες tricev
a hair
Read verse Mark 1:6 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
τρίχας tricav
a hair
Read verse Luke 7:38 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
θριξὶ qrixin
a hair
Read verse Luke 7:44 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
θριξὶ qrixin
a hair
Read verse Luke 12:7 Noun Nominative Plural Feminine
τρίχες tricev
a hair
Read verse Luke 21:18 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
θρὶξ qrix
a hair
Read verse John 11:2 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
θριξὶν qrixin
a hair
Read verse John 12:3 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
θριξὶν qrixin
a hair
Read verse Acts 27:34 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
θρὶξ qrix
a hair
Read verse 1 Peter 3:3 Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
τριχῶν, tricwn
a hair
Read verse Revelation 1:14 Noun Nominative Plural Feminine
τρίχες tricev
a hair
Read verse Revelation 9:8 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
τρίχας tricav
a hair
Read verse Revelation 9:8 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
τρίχας tricav
a hair
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 15 Case pattern Nominative (5) Number pattern Plural (12)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · Feminine Matt 10:30 · Luke 12:7 · Rev 1:14 3×
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Luke 21:18 · Acts 27:34 2×
Genitive · Plural · Feminine Matt 3:4 · 1 Pet 3:3 2×
Dative · Plural · Feminine Luke 7:38 · Luke 7:44 · John 11:2 · John 12:3 4×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine Mark 1:6 · Rev 9:8 3×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 5:36 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Woman's hair used to wipe Jesus' feet in act of devotion
Metaphorical reference to God's complete knowledge of individual details
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 15 lexical occurrence verses.
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
Thrix shows that Scripture can use the smallest bodily detail to teach large truths without losing proportion. Hair can be part of a prophet's rough clothing, a sign that the Father knows His threatened disciples completely, an instrument of Mary's humble devotion, a way Paul speaks assurance in danger, an example of outward adornment that must not define beauty, or part of John's vision of the glorified Christ.
The word itself is simple. The settings are not. Teachers should let each passage govern the claim. Jesus' numbering of hairs gives courage because the Father is attentive. Mary's hair expresses reverent love because the scene centers on Jesus. Revelation's white hair belongs to apocalyptic vision and glory. The term trains careful attention to embodied, visible details under God's rule.
Anchor passage
Matt.10.30
Doctrinal connections
- G3962 Pater: Matthew 10's numbered hairs reveal the Father's attentive care for threatened disciples.
- G5399 Phobeo: Jesus uses the hair saying to strengthen courage against fear.
- G5548 chrio: Mary's anointing scene joins costly devotion with the use of her hair.
- G4982 Sozo: Acts 27 uses hair-loss language to assure preservation through danger.
- G2889 Kosmos: Peter's adornment warning redirects beauty from outward arrangement to godly character.
- G1391 Doxa: Revelation's vision places hair imagery within the glory of the exalted Christ.
Thrix is a common noun for hair. Plural and singular forms can refer to individual hairs, hair collectively, or hair as part of clothing or appearance.
From Old to New Testament
Hair can mark consecration, mourning, shame, beauty, age, or glory across Scripture. The New Testament uses thrix in several of those streams, but each passage limits the claim it makes.
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