What does ἱμάτιον (himátion) mean in the Bible?
Ἱμάτιον (himátion) is an outer garment, cloak, or piece of clothing. Jesus uses the cloak in teaching about nonretaliation when a plaintiff seeks a disciple's tunic.
Greek · G2440
ἱμάτιον
A dress (inner or outer)
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ἱμάτιον G2440
Pronunciation himátion
What does ἱμάτιον (himátion) mean in the Bible?
Ἱμάτιον (himátion) is an outer garment, cloak, or piece of clothing. Jesus uses the cloak in teaching about nonretaliation when a plaintiff seeks a disciple's tunic.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἱμάτιον (G2440) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2440?
The BSB source-word alignment has 60 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include cloak (12), garments (12), cloaks (7), clothes (7), garment (4).
Where does ἱμάτιον (himátion) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:40. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (13), Mark (12), Luke (10), Acts (8).
What This Word Actually Means
Ἱμάτιον (himátion) is an outer garment, cloak, or piece of clothing. Jesus uses the cloak in teaching about nonretaliation when a plaintiff seeks a disciple's tunic. A suffering woman reaches for Jesus' garments in hope of healing. Pilgrims spread cloaks on the colt as Jesus enters Jerusalem. Magistrates order Paul and Silas stripped before beating them, making clothing part of public humiliation and injustice.
Revelation sees the conquering Christ with His royal title written on His robe and thigh. Clothing can provide protection, carry social dignity, become an object of generosity, mark honor, or be violently removed. The noun itself does not make fabric sacred and does not promise power in a relic. Actions, persons, and narrative evaluation determine whether the garment serves mercy, faith, acclaim, shame, or royal revelation.
How the Bible Uses It
Ἱμάτιον names an outer garment or cloak. The selected passages place clothing within costly nonretaliation, a desperate approach to Jesus, royal welcome, public humiliation, and the revealed kingship of the returning Christ.
- Matt.5.40
If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well;
Jesus tells a disciple facing a claim for the tunic to release the cloak as well, portraying freedom from retaliatory grasping rather than indifference to every form of injustice.
- Mark.5.28
For she kept saying, “If only I touch His garments, I will be healed.”
The woman believes that touching Jesus' garments will bring healing; Mark directs attention through her touch to Jesus' power, His question, and her faith-filled confession.
- Luke.19.35
Then they led the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it, and put Jesus on it.
Disciples place their cloaks on the colt for Jesus, using ordinary possessions to honor the King as He enters Jerusalem in fulfillment of Scripture.
- Acts.16.22
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods.
The magistrates have Paul and Silas stripped and beaten without due process, turning removal of clothing into bodily exposure and civic abuse later confronted by Paul.
- Rev.19.16
And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND Lord OF LORDS.
The rider's robe bears the title King of kings and Lord of lords, openly declaring the supreme authority of the faithful and true conqueror.
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 cloak 12× Matthew 5:40, Matthew 9:20, Matthew 9:21, Matthew 14:36
garments 12× Matthew 27:35, Mark 5:28, Mark 5:30, Mark 15:24
cloaks 7× Matthew 21:7, Matthew 21:8, Mark 11:7, Mark 11:8
clothes 7× Matthew 17:2, Matthew 26:65, Matthew 27:31, Mark 9:3
garment 4× Matthew 9:16, Mark 2:21, Luke 5:36
robe 3× John 19:2, John 19:5, Revelation 19:16
- 2× Revelation 3:5, Revelation 4:4
a garment 2× Hebrews 1:11, Hebrews 1:12
outer garments 2× John 13:4, John 13:12
. . . 1× Acts 16:22
[one] 1× Luke 5:36
[other] clothing 1× Acts 9:39
a robe 1× Revelation 19:13
cloak {around you} 1× Acts 12:8
clothed 1× Revelation 16:15
clothes [back] 1× Mark 15:20
clothing 1× Luke 8:27
fine clothes 1× 1 Peter 3:3
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:40 ἱμάτιον to cloak Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Matthew 9:16 ἱματίῳ to garment Noun - Dative Neuter Singular Matthew 9:16 ἱματίου to garment Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Matthew 9:20 ἱματίου to cloak Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Matthew 9:21 ἱματίου to cloak Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Matthew 14:36 ἱματίου to cloak Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Matthew 17:2 ἱμάτια to clothes Noun - Nominative Neuter Plural Matthew 21:7 ἱμάτια to cloaks Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural Matthew 21:8 ἱμάτια to cloaks Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural Matthew 24:18 ἱμάτιον to cloak Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:40
Aligned rows 60
Books represented 9
Matthew 13 Mark 12 Luke 10 John 6 Acts 8 Hebrews 2 James 1 1 Peter 1 Revelation 7
Source forms
ἱμάτια 28x himatia Matthew 17:2, Matthew 21:7, Matthew 21:8, Matthew 26:65
ἱμάτιον 15x himation Matthew 5:40, Matthew 24:18, Mark 2:21, Mark 10:50
ἱματίου 8x himatiou Matthew 9:16, Matthew 9:20, Matthew 9:21, Matthew 14:36
ἱματίοις 3x himatiois Luke 7:25, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 4:4
ἱματίων 3x himatiōn Mark 5:28, Mark 5:30, 1 Peter 3:3
ἱμάτιά 1x himatia John 19:24
ἱμάτιόν 1x himation Acts 12:8
ἱματίῳ 1x himatiō Matthew 9:16
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural 26x Matthew 21:7, Matthew 21:8, Matthew 26:65, Matthew 27:31
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 15x Matthew 5:40, Matthew 24:18, Mark 2:21, Mark 10:50
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular 8x Matthew 9:16, Matthew 9:20, Matthew 9:21, Matthew 14:36
Noun - Dative Neuter Plural 3x Luke 7:25, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 4:4
Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural 3x Mark 5:28, Mark 5:30, 1 Peter 3:3
Noun - Nominative Neuter Plural 3x Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:3, James 5:2
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular 1x Matthew 9:16
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular 1x Hebrews 1:11
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not teach that Jesus' garment possessed impersonal magical power; Mark locates healing in Jesus' authority and His encounter with the woman.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that Matthew 5 requires believers to cooperate silently with every abusive demand or prevents lawful appeal.
- Do not claim that Revelation's robe inscription is a dress-code command rather than visionary disclosure of Christ's identity.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Outer garment worn over the tunic; distinguishable from the inner χιτών in biblical dress terminology.
Strong's G2440
Lexical occurrences 60 verses Greek text appearances 62 times 16 shown below Word forms 8 forms 60 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 8:40-56 Source Gloss
a dress (inner or outer)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 62 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 5:40 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ἱμάτιον· imation
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 9:16 Noun Dative Singular Neuter
ἱματίῳ imatiw
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 9:16 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
ἱματίου, imatiou
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 9:20 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
ἱματίου imatiou
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 9:21 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
ἱματίου imatiou
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 11:8 Noun Dative Plural Neuter
ἱματίοις imatioiv
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 14:36 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
ἱματίου imatiou
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 17:2 Noun Nominative Plural Neuter
ἱμάτια imatia
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 21:7 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἱμάτια imatia
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 21:8 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἱμάτια imatia
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 23:5 Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
ἱματίων imatiwn
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 24:18 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἱμάτια imatia
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 26:65 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἱμάτια imatia
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 27:31 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἱμάτια imatia
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 27:35 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἱμάτια imatia
outer garment
Read verse Matthew 27:35 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ἱμάτιά imatia
outer garment
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 60 Case pattern Accusative (41) Number pattern Plural (35)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · Neuter Matt 17:2 · Mark 9:3 · Jas 5:2 3×
Nominative · Singular · Neuter Heb 1:11 1×
Genitive · Singular · Neuter Matt 9:16 · Matt 9:20 · Matt 9:21 · Matt 14:36 · Mark 5:27 · Mark 6:56 · Luke 5:36 · Luke 8:44 8×
Genitive · Plural · Neuter Mark 5:28 · Mark 5:30 · 1 Pet 3:3 3×
Dative · Plural · Neuter Luke 7:25 · Rev 3:5 · Rev 4:4 3×
Dative · Singular · Neuter Matt 9:16 1×
Accusative · Plural · Neuter Matt 21:7 · Matt 21:8 · Matt 26:65 · Matt 27:31 · Matt 27:35 · Mark 11:7 · Mark 11:8 · Mark 15:20 · Mark 15:24 · Luke 19:35 · Luke 19:36 · Luke 23:34 · John 13:4 · John 13:12 · John 19:23 · John 19:24 26×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Matt 5:40 · Matt 24:18 · Mark 2:21 · Mark 10:50 · Mark 13:16 · Luke 5:36 · Luke 6:29 · Luke 8:27 · Luke 22:36 · John 19:2 · John 19:5 · Acts 12:8 · Heb 1:12 · Rev 19:13 · Rev 19:16 15×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Outer cloak touched in crowd seeking healing, physical contact with clothing
Garments of demon-possessed man, indicator of social condition and nakedness
Pledge or security taken as collateral in loan transactions, legal surety
Outer clothing held as pledge for stranger's debt, material security in commerce
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 60 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
Clothing protects the body and communicates social place, which makes its treatment pastorally revealing. Jesus' command about yielding a cloak trains disciples away from vengeance and possessive retaliation, though it does not make exploitation righteous. The suffering woman reaches for His garment, but the narrative does not establish fabric as an independent channel of power; Jesus personally addresses her and names her faith.
Cloaks placed on the colt become ordinary goods offered to honor the arriving King. In Philippi, stripping Paul and Silas exposes the dehumanizing force of unlawful punishment, and Paul's later appeal insists that public authority answer for its conduct. Revelation concludes with clothing no oppressor can take: Christ's robe openly bears His universal royal title.
Teachers can connect generosity, embodied vulnerability, worshipful offering, justice, and kingship while resisting superstition about material objects.
Anchor passage
Matt.5.40
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 5:38-42, nonretaliation and release of the cloak
- Mark 5:25-34, touching Jesus' garment and personal healing
- Luke 19:28-40, cloaks offered in royal welcome
- Acts 16:19-40, stripping, beating, and public injustice
- Revelation 19:11-16, Christ's robe and universal kingship
- Isaiah 61:10, garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness
Ἱμάτιον is a neuter noun commonly used for an outer garment or clothing more generally. Context distinguishes a particular cloak from garments collectively. Possessors and action verbs show whether it is worn, taken, touched, spread, stripped, or inscribed.
From Old to New Testament
Garments cover vulnerability, mark office or mourning, can be taken as pledges, and image salvation or righteousness. Jesus receives honor through offered cloaks and returns clothed with an unmistakable royal name.
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