A people (in general; thus differing from , which denotes one's own populace)
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laos names a people, often God's people in covenantal or redemptive context. In the New Testament the term can refer to Israel, to crowds or public groups, and to the people God saves and gathers through Christ.
Reader summary
Full entry for λαός (G2992) · Open the biblical lexicon
laos names a people, often God's people in covenantal or redemptive context. In the New Testament the term can refer to Israel, to crowds or public groups, and to the people God saves and gathers through Christ.
The BSB source-word alignment has 142 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include people (119), a people (5), peoples (4), . . . (2), [the] people (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (48), Luke (36), Matthew (14), Hebrews (13).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Laos names a people, often God's people in covenantal or redemptive context. In the New Testament the term can refer to Israel, to crowds or public groups, and to the people God saves and gathers through Christ. Matthew 1:21 announces that Jesus will save His people from their sins. Luke 1:68 blesses the God of Israel for visiting and redeeming His people. Acts 15:14 speaks of Gentiles being taken as a people for God's own name, while Romans 9, Hebrews 8, and 1 Peter 2 draw covenant language into the church's identity in Christ.
The word must not be used to erase Israel's story or to make ethnic possession the basis of salvation. It points to God's initiative in redeeming, naming, and forming a people who belong to Him.
Laos traces God's saving ownership of a people from Israel's hope to Gentile inclusion and covenant renewal in Christ. The selected passages preserve continuity with Israel while showing that belonging is created by God's redeeming action.
She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
Jesus' name is tied to His mission to save His people from their sins. laos is defined here by need and redemption, not by self-sufficiency.
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.
Zechariah blesses the God of Israel for visiting and redeeming His people. The word carries covenant memory and hope fulfilled in God's merciful visitation.
Simon has told us how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.
James describes God's taking from the Gentiles a people for His own name. The verse is crucial for Gentile inclusion without making inclusion a replacement slogan.
As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”
Paul cites Hosea to speak of those called My People who were not My people. The passage emphasizes God's merciful calling and warns against pride.
For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
The new covenant promise includes the declaration, They will be My people. laos here is tied to God's law written within and covenant belonging renewed by divine initiative.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Peter calls believers a chosen people and a people for God's possession so they may proclaim His virtues. Identity leads to witness, not status display.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. A people unified by race and language, especially Israel as God's covenant people, distinct from nations.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 143 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
Read versea people, the crowd
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.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 7 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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 141 lexical occurrence verses.
λαός is a primary word - no further derivation.
Affirms that the Lord has chosen people who will respond in faith. Acts 18:5-11
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Laos teaches that God's saving purpose forms a people, not merely isolated religious consumers. Matthew 1:21 places the term under Jesus' mission: His people need saving from their sins. Luke 1 hears that mission in Israel's covenant hope, as God visits and redeems His people. Acts 15 then shows the surprise of Gentile inclusion, where God takes from the nations a people for His name.
Romans 9 warns that this identity rests on mercy, while Hebrews 8 ties it to new covenant transformation. First Peter 2 turns the identity outward: a chosen people proclaim the virtues of the one who called them from darkness into light. The pastoral center is therefore neither ethnic pride nor church marketing. God's people exist because He redeems, claims, renews, and sends them to bear witness to His mercy in Christ.
1Pet.2.9
Laos normally points to a people as a collective body. It may refer to Israel, to the people in a public scene, or to God's redeemed people according to context. It is not the same as ethnos, which often emphasizes nation or Gentile identity, though the two terms can meet when God gathers Gentiles as a people for His name.
Exodus, covenant, and prophetic restoration language all shape laos. God redeems a people from bondage, claims them for Himself, and promises renewed hearts after covenant failure. The New Testament announces that this people-forming mercy comes through Christ and extends to Gentiles without erasing the story of Israel's promises.
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