What does κλάσμα (klásma) mean in the Bible?
G2801 names a broken piece or fragment and appears in the Gospel feeding narratives. 20, everyone eats and is satisfied, after which twelve baskets of fragments are collected.
Greek · G2801
κλάσμα
A piece (bit)
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κλάσμαG2801
Pronunciationklásma
What does κλάσμα (klásma) mean in the Bible?
G2801 names a broken piece or fragment and appears in the Gospel feeding narratives. 20, everyone eats and is satisfied, after which twelve baskets of fragments are collected.
Reader summary
Full entry for κλάσμα (G2801) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2801?
The BSB source-word alignment has 9 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of broken pieces (6), of broken pieces of bread (1), pieces (1), with the pieces (1).
Where does κλάσμα (klásma) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 14:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (4), John (2), Matthew (2), Luke (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G2801 names a broken piece or fragment and appears in the Gospel feeding narratives. In Matt. 14. 20, everyone eats and is satisfied, after which twelve baskets of fragments are collected. In Mark. 8. 8, a second crowd is satisfied and seven baskets of pieces remain. In John. 6. 12, Jesus tells the disciples to gather the leftover pieces so that nothing is wasted.
G2801 opens teaching on Jesus' abundant provision, orderly participation, memory formed through collected leftovers, and stewardship after need is met. It does not guarantee miraculous food on demand, reduce people to fragments, or justify hoarding leftovers while others remain hungry. Fragments testify to provision already received and to responsibility for what remains after abundance.
How the Bible Uses It
G2801 occurs only in the feeding accounts and refers to broken pieces left after bread is distributed and crowds are satisfied. Basket counts help the disciples remember the scale of provision.
- Matt.14.20
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
The crowd is fully satisfied before twelve baskets of remaining broken pieces are gathered.
- Mark.8.8
The people ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Seven baskets of pieces remain after the second large crowd eats and is satisfied.
- John.6.12
And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
Jesus commands collection of the pieces left over so that nothing from the provision is wasted.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itof broken pieces6×Matthew 14:20, Matthew 15:37, Mark 8:8, Mark 8:19
of broken pieces of bread1×Mark 6:43
pieces1×John 6:12
with the pieces1×John 6:13
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 14:20κλασμάτωνtoof broken piecesNoun - Genitive Neuter PluralMatthew 15:37κλασμάτωνtoof broken piecesNoun - Genitive Neuter PluralMark 6:43κλάσματαtoof broken pieces of breadNoun - Accusative Neuter PluralMark 8:8κλασμάτωνtoof broken piecesNoun - Genitive Neuter PluralMark 8:19κλασμάτωνtoof broken piecesNoun - Genitive Neuter PluralMark 8:20κλασμάτωνtoof broken piecesNoun - Genitive Neuter PluralLuke 9:17κλασμάτωνtoof broken piecesNoun - Genitive Neuter PluralJohn 6:12κλάσματαtopiecesNoun - Accusative Neuter PluralJohn 6:13κλασμάτωνtowith the piecesNoun - Genitive Neuter Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 14:20
Aligned rows9
Books represented4
Matthew2Mark4Luke1John2
Source forms
κλασμάτων7xklasmatōnMatthew 14:20, Matthew 15:37, Mark 8:8, Mark 8:19
κλάσματα2xklasmataMark 6:43, John 6:12
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural7xMatthew 14:20, Matthew 15:37, Mark 8:8, Mark 8:19
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural2xMark 6:43, John 6:12
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not promise a multiplication miracle as a substitute for budgeting, food safety, purchasing, or mutual aid.
- Do not praise surplus while some people were excluded from the meal or received less because of status.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that G2801 refers to broken people or that personal fragmentation is the noun's Gospel meaning.
- Do not claim that exact basket numbers authorize hidden numerical predictions unrelated to the feeding narratives.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Broken piece or fragment, emphasizing result of breaking rather than mere smallness or division
Strong'sG2801
Lexical occurrences9 versesGreek text appearances9 timesWord forms2 forms9 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
a piece (bit)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
9 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 14:20Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
κλασμάτων,klasmatwn
a fragment
Read verseMatthew 15:37Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
κλασμάτων,klasmatwn
a fragment
Read verseMark 6:43Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
κλασμάτωνklasmatwn
a fragment
Read verseMark 8:8Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
κλασμάτωνklasmatwn
a fragment
Read verseMark 8:19Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
κλασμάτωνklasmatwn
a fragment
Read verseMark 8:20Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
κλασμάτωνklasmatwn
a fragment
Read verseLuke 9:17Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
κλασμάτων,klasmatwn
a fragment
Read verseJohn 6:12Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
κλάσματα,klasmata
a fragment
Read verseJohn 6:13Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
κλασμάτωνklasmatwn
a fragment
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 2 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 patterns2Aligned forms9Case patternGenitive (7)Number patternPlural (9)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Plural · NeuterMatt 14:20 · Matt 15:37 · Mark 8:8 · Mark 8:19 · Mark 8:20 · Luke 9:17 · John 6:137×
Accusative · Plural · NeuterMark 6:43 · John 6:122×
Word Origins
κλάσμα is built from this root:
For the Preacher and Teacher
G2801 directs attention to what remains after Jesus feeds a crowd. The pieces are not the meal's failure; they testify that people ate and were satisfied and that provision exceeded immediate consumption. Jesus involves disciples in receiving, distributing, and gathering. John makes stewardship explicit: collect the fragments so that nothing is wasted. Mark later uses the basket counts to confront disciples who have seen abundance yet still reason from scarcity.
Faithful application begins with actual hunger, organizes fair distribution, and then handles surplus responsibly. It neither hoards in advance nor discards after abundance. The fragments can become memory aids, teaching a community to recognize provision and prepare to share again. Yet the feeding signs point beyond efficient catering to Jesus Himself, whose gift calls for faith rather than control of miraculous supply.
Anchor passage
John.6.12
Doctrinal connections
- G2801: Jesus' provision reaches the point of crowd satisfaction before surplus is counted.
- G2801: disciples participate in distribution and collection, joining compassion to practical organization.
- G2801: gathered fragments show that abundance and stewardship belong together.
- G2801: remembered basket counts should correct fear that Jesus lacks resources for the next need.
- G2801: bread signs point to Jesus' identity and cannot be reduced to material technique.
- G2801: leftovers remain gifts to steward, not private trophies proving a leader's power.
G2801 is a neuter Greek noun derived from breaking and means a broken piece or fragment. Its Gospel uses consistently refer to food pieces collected after the feeding crowds.
From Old to New Testament
God feeds Israel in the wilderness and provides bread through prophetic signs, while the Gospel feedings reveal Jesus' compassion and identity and prepare readers for teaching about the bread of life.