What does κιβωτός (kibōtós) mean in the Bible?
Ark names an object whose identity must be read from the account. Four Greek witnesses refer to Noah's ark, while Hebrews 9 and Revelation 11 name the ark of the covenant.
Greek · G2787
κιβωτός
Ark names an object whose identity must be read from the account. Four Greek witnesses refer to Noah's ark, while Hebrews 9 and Revelation 11 name the ark of the covenant.
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κιβωτόςG2787
Pronunciationkibōtós
What does κιβωτός (kibōtós) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for κιβωτός (G2787) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2787?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include ark (4), [while the] ark (1), an ark (1).
Where does κιβωτός (kibōtós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 24:38. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (2), 1 Peter (1), Luke (1), Matthew (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Ark names an object whose identity must be read from the account. Four Greek witnesses refer to Noah's ark, while Hebrews 9 and Revelation 11 name the ark of the covenant. Hebrews describes Noah building an ark after a warning, to save his household. The Gospels recall ordinary activities continuing until he entered it and the flood came. Hebrews 9 instead lists the covenant ark within its description of the tabernacle, and Revelation reports its appearance in the opened heavenly temple.
A shared Greek noun does not make these the same object or grant every detail the same symbolism. First Peter makes an explicit connection from Noah's setting to baptism through Jesus' resurrection; that argument must be read in its own words. Do not reduce it to a lexical code or use ark language to claim automatic safety through membership in a modern group.
How the Bible Uses It
All six Greek occurrences distinguish Noah's ark from the covenant ark. Warnings, faithful construction, baptismal comparison, tabernacle description and Revelation's temple scene preserve different purposes for naming each object.
- Heb.11.7
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Noah responds in godly fear to a warning about unseen things and builds an ark to save his family, within Hebrews' stated account of faith.
- Heb.9.4
Containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
The ark of the covenant is named and its contents listed within the tabernacle description; it is not Noah's vessel or a general image of any safe institution.
- 1Pet.3.20
Who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.
Peter names eight people saved through water in Noah's ark, then explicitly connects the water with baptism through Jesus' resurrection while distinguishing it from removing bodily dirt.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itark4×Matthew 24:38, Luke 17:27, Hebrews 9:4, Revelation 11:19
[while the] ark1×1 Peter 3:20
an ark1×Hebrews 11:7
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 24:38κιβωτόνtoarkNoun - Accusative Feminine SingularLuke 17:27κιβωτόνtoarkNoun - Accusative Feminine SingularHebrews 9:4κιβωτὸνtoarkNoun - Accusative Feminine SingularHebrews 11:7κιβωτὸνtoan arkNoun - Accusative Feminine Singular1 Peter 3:20κιβωτοῦto[while the] arkNoun - Genitive Feminine SingularRevelation 11:19κιβωτὸςtoarkNoun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 24:38
Aligned rows6
Books represented5
Matthew1Luke1Hebrews21 Peter1Revelation1
Source forms
κιβωτόν2xkibōtonMatthew 24:38, Luke 17:27
κιβωτὸν2xkibōtonHebrews 9:4, Hebrews 11:7
κιβωτὸς1xkibōtosRevelation 11:19
κιβωτοῦ1xkibōtou1 Peter 3:20
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular4xMatthew 24:38, Luke 17:27, Hebrews 9:4, Hebrews 11:7
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular1x1 Peter 3:20
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular1xRevelation 11:19
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Teach readiness and faithful response without assigning a flood-based date or declaring a living person's final destiny.
- Allow safety and accountability questions rather than claiming a leader's organization is an unquestionable ark.
Avoid claiming...
- Every Greek occurrence refers exclusively to the ark of the covenant.
- The shared noun guarantees salvation by modern institutional membership or explains every disputed detail in First Peter.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. ark: covenant
Strong'sG2787
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms3 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
ark: covenant
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.
Matthew 24:38Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
κιβωτόν,kibwton
an ark
Read verseLuke 17:27Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
κιβωτόν,kibwton
an ark
Read verseHebrews 9:4Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
κιβωτὸνkibwton
an ark
Read verseHebrews 11:7Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
κιβωτὸνkibwton
an ark
Read verse1 Peter 3:20Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
κιβωτοῦ,kibwtou
an ark
Read verseRevelation 11:19Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
κιβωτὸςkibwtov
an ark
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 patternAccusative (4)Number patternSingular (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · FeminineRev 11:191×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine1 Pet 3:201×
Accusative · Singular · FeminineMatt 24:38 · Luke 17:27 · Heb 9:4 · Heb 11:74×
Word Origins
κιβωτός is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
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
The same object-name does not supply the same lesson everywhere. Hebrews 11 presents Noah's construction as a response of faith to a warning and names the saving of his household. Matthew and Luke use his entering the ark within comparisons about the coming judgment, not as a condemnation of ordinary meals or marriage in themselves. Hebrews 9 names a different ark as part of the tabernacle's arrangement.
Revelation locates the ark of God's covenant in an opened heavenly temple. Peter supplies an explicit comparison involving Noah, water, baptism and Jesus' resurrection, which must retain both its saving language and its distinction from bodily washing. Teach the argument each author actually makes. Avoid invented one-to-one symbolism, a complete sacramental system derived from the noun, or a leader's claim that a modern group uniquely functions as an ark beyond questioning.
Anchor passage
Heb.11.7
Doctrinal connections
- Hebrews 11:7 names warning, godly fear, construction for the household and righteousness by faith, describing Noah's response within the chapter's argument.
- Matthew 24:36-39 recalls Noah entering the ark and the flood's arrival while explicitly saying the day and hour are not known, resisting date calculation.
- Luke 17:25-29 places Noah's ark within the Son of Man comparison alongside the days of Lot, keeping the narrated judgment central.
- First Peter 3:18-22 connects Noah's water setting with baptism that saves through Jesus' resurrection and distinguishes this from removing dirt, preserving the whole stated comparison.
- Hebrews 9:2-6 identifies the covenant ark within the tabernacle description and lists its contents while limiting detailed discussion of the furnishings.
- Revelation 11:17-19 reports God's reign and judgment before the covenant ark appears in the opened heavenly temple, keeping it within the vision's actual setting.
The licensed Greek record explicitly includes Noah's ark and the ark of the covenant. The six tagged witnesses distinguish these referents by their accounts; the word's shared use does not merge the Hebrew object names or assign every occurrence one theological symbol.
From Old to New Testament
Genesis 6:14-19 gives Noah construction instructions and names entry with his household and living creatures. Exodus 25:10-22 instead instructs construction of the covenant chest and places the Testimony under the mercy seat. These are distinct Hebrew accounts. The Greek witnesses recall the named objects, while Peter's explicit comparison and Hebrews' tabernacle argument govern further teaching rather than unrestricted symbolic invention.