What does καταπέτασμα (katapétasma) mean in the Bible?
καταπέτασμα (katapétasma): The Temple's inner veil separating the Holy Place from God's presence in the Holy of Holies.
Greek · G2665
καταπέτασμα
Curtain
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καταπέτασμαG2665
Pronunciationkatapétasma
What does καταπέτασμα (katapétasma) mean in the Bible?
καταπέτασμα (katapétasma): The Temple's inner veil separating the Holy Place from God's presence in the Holy of Holies.
Full entry for καταπέτασμα (G2665) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2665?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include curtain (3), veil (3).
Where does καταπέτασμα (katapétasma) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 27:51. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (3), Luke (1), Mark (1), Matthew (1).
Are there verse guides for καταπέτασμα (katapétasma)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in 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 Itcurtain3×Hebrews 6:19, Hebrews 9:3, Hebrews 10:20
veil3×Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 27:51καταπέτασμαtoveilNoun - Nominative Neuter SingularMark 15:38καταπέτασμαtoveilNoun - Nominative Neuter SingularLuke 23:45καταπέτασμαtoveilNoun - Nominative Neuter SingularHebrews 6:19καταπετάσματοςtocurtainNoun - Genitive Neuter SingularHebrews 9:3καταπέτασμαtocurtainNoun - Accusative Neuter SingularHebrews 10:20καταπετάσματοςtocurtainNoun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 27:51
Aligned rows6
Books represented4
Matthew1Mark1Luke1Hebrews3
Source forms
καταπέτασμα4xkatapetasmaMatthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45, Hebrews 9:3
καταπετάσματος2xkatapetasmatosHebrews 6:19, Hebrews 10:20
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular3xMatthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular2xHebrews 6:19, Hebrews 10:20
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular1xHebrews 9:3
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. The Temple's inner veil separating the Holy Place from God's presence in the Holy of Holies.
Source Gloss
curtain
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
The Temple's inner veil separating the Holy Place from God's presence in the Holy of Holies.
(= cl. παραπέτασμα) [in LXX chiefly for פֹּרֶכֶת (the veil of the Holy of Holies), Exo.26:31, Lev.21:23, al.; also for מָסָךְ (the outer veil), Exo.35:12, Num_3:26, al. (elsewhere κάλυμμα) ;] in NT always the inner veil or curtain of the Temple (or Tabernacle): Mat.27:51, Mrk.15:38, Luk.23:45, Heb.6:19 9:3; figuratively, ἡ σὰρξ αὐτοῦ Heb.10:20.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
katapetasma
a veil, curtain
Read verseMark 15:38Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
καταπέτασμαkatapetasma
a veil, curtain
Read verseLuke 23:45Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
καταπέτασμαkatapetasma
a veil, curtain
Read verseHebrews 6:19Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
καταπετάσματος·katapetasmatov
a veil, curtain
Read verseHebrews 9:3Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
καταπέτασμαkatapetasma
a veil, curtain
Read verseHebrews 10:20Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
καταπετάσματος,katapetasmatov
a veil, curtain
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 3 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 patterns3Aligned forms6Case patternNominative (3)Number patternSingular (6)
Genitive · Singular · NeuterHeb 6:19 · Heb 10:202×
Accusative · Singular · NeuterHeb 9:31×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
temple veil
Additional Occurrences
Mark 15:33–41καταπέτασμαkatapétasma
veil; curtain of temple separating holy places
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
καταπέτασμα is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Symbolizes access to God opened by Christ’s death.Luke 23:44–49