What does λέων (léōn) mean in the Bible?
λέων (léōn): A lion represents both the threatening enemy devouring believers and the conquering Christ-figure in Revelation.
Greek · G3023
λέων
A "lion"
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λέων G3023
Pronunciation léōn
What does λέων (léōn) mean in the Bible?
λέων (léōn): A lion represents both the threatening enemy devouring believers and the conquering Christ-figure in Revelation.
Full entry for λέων (G3023) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3023?
The BSB source-word alignment has 9 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of lions (3), a lion (2), lion (2), of a lion (1), of the lion (1).
Where does λέων (léōn) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 2 Timothy 4:17. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (6), 1 Peter (1), 2 Timothy (1), Hebrews (1).
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 of lions 3× Hebrews 11:33, Revelation 9:8, Revelation 9:17
a lion 2× Revelation 4:7, Revelation 13:2
lion 2× 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 5:5
of a lion 1× Revelation 10:3
of the lion 1× 2 Timothy 4:17
Show sample aligned rows
2 Timothy 4:17 λέοντος to of the lion Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular Hebrews 11:33 λεόντων to of lions Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural 1 Peter 5:8 λέων to lion Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Revelation 4:7 λέοντι to a lion Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Revelation 5:5 Λέων to Lion Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Revelation 9:8 λεόντων to of lions Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural Revelation 9:17 λεόντων to of lions Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural Revelation 10:3 λέων to of a lion Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Revelation 13:2 λέοντος to a lion Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 2 Timothy 4:17
Aligned rows 9
Books represented 4
2 Timothy 1 Hebrews 1 1 Peter 1 Revelation 6
Source forms
λεόντων 3x leontōn Hebrews 11:33, Revelation 9:8, Revelation 9:17
λέοντος 2x leontos 2 Timothy 4:17, Revelation 13:2
λέων 2x leōn 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 10:3
λέοντι 1x leonti Revelation 4:7
Λέων 1x Leōn Revelation 5:5
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural 3x Hebrews 11:33, Revelation 9:8, Revelation 9:17
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 3x 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 5:5, Revelation 10:3
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular 2x 2 Timothy 4:17, Revelation 13:2
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular 1x Revelation 4:7
Evidence Summary
Greek word. A lion represents both the threatening enemy devouring believers and the conquering Christ-figure in Revelation.
Strong's G3023
Lexical occurrences 9 verses Greek text appearances 9 times Word forms 4 forms 9 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Proverbs 28:1 Source Gloss
a "lion"
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
9 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
2 Timothy 4:17 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
λέοντος. leontov
a lion
Read verse Hebrews 11:33 Noun Genitive Plural Masculine
λεόντων, leontwn
a lion
Read verse 1 Peter 5:8 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
λέων lewn
a lion
Read verse Revelation 4:7 Noun Dative Singular Masculine
λέοντι, leonti
a lion
Read verse Revelation 5:5 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
λέων lewn
a lion
Read verse Revelation 9:8 Noun Genitive Plural Masculine
λεόντων leontwn
a lion
Read verse Revelation 9:17 Noun Genitive Plural Masculine
λεόντων, leontwn
a lion
Read verse Revelation 10:3 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
λέων lewn
a lion
Read verse Revelation 13:2 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
λέοντος· leontov
a lion
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 4 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 4 Aligned forms 9 Case pattern Genitive (5) Number pattern Singular (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine 1 Pet 5:8 · Rev 5:5 · Rev 10:3 3×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Heb 11:33 · Rev 9:8 · Rev 9:17 3×
Genitive · Singular · Masculine 2 Tim 4:17 · Rev 13:2 2×
Dative · Singular · Masculine Rev 4:7 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Bold courage and fearlessness, the righteous as brave as a lion
Metaphor for a ruler's wrath and terrible power to destroy
God's judgment through destructive force, devouring people for their sins
Divine punishment and devastation, shepherd and flock destroyed by divine wrath
Imaginary threat used as excuse for laziness and avoidance of work
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 9 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
λέων is a primary word - 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.
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