What does λύκος (lýkos) mean in the Bible?
Lykos names a wolf, the predator Jesus uses to describe danger to sheep. His warnings ask readers to attend to what happens to the flock: people are deceived, scattered, recruited or consumed.
Greek · G3074
λύκος
Lykos names a wolf, the predator Jesus uses to describe danger to sheep. His warnings ask readers to attend to what happens to the flock: people are deceived, scattered, recruited or consumed.
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λύκοςG3074
Pronunciationlýkos
What does λύκος (lýkos) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for λύκος (G3074) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3074?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include wolves (4), wolf (2).
Where does λύκος (lýkos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 7:15. Its strongest book concentrations include John (2), Matthew (2), Acts (1), Luke (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Lykos names a wolf, the predator Jesus uses to describe danger to sheep. His warnings ask readers to attend to what happens to the flock: people are deceived, scattered, recruited or consumed. In Matthew 7, sheep's clothing conceals false prophets, and their fruit exposes them. In John 10, the hired worker abandons endangered sheep while the good shepherd gives His life.
Paul likewise warns the Ephesian elders about savage wolves, including trouble arising from their own number. The image calls for watchful care, truthful teaching and protection of vulnerable people. It does not make every critic, outsider or difficult conversation a threat. Jesus sends His disciples among wolves with innocence and wisdom, never with permission to become predators themselves.
How the Bible Uses It
The five local BSB verse witnesses use wolves in flock and mission imagery. Disguise, abandonment, hostile reception and distorted teaching supply different features of the danger; the surrounding passages also specify faithful responses.
- Matt.7.15
Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
False prophets appear harmless, but the following fruit test asks what their teaching and conduct actually produce.
- Matt.10.16
Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Jesus joins danger with wisdom and innocence; His later permission to flee excludes a demand for needless exposure.
- Luke.10.3
Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
The vulnerable messengers announce the kingdom and offer peace; the wolf image describes their setting rather than their methods.
- John.10.12
The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock.
The wolf scatters sheep when the hired worker flees; Jesus contrasts this abandonment with His own costly shepherding.
- Acts.20.29
I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
Paul warns elders to watch both themselves and the flock, because destructive teaching can also emerge from their own circle.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itwolves4×Matthew 7:15, Matthew 10:16, Luke 10:3, Acts 20:29
wolf2×John 10:12
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 7:15λύκοιtowolvesNoun - Nominative Masculine PluralMatthew 10:16λύκωνtowolvesNoun - Genitive Masculine PluralLuke 10:3λύκωνtowolvesNoun - Genitive Masculine PluralJohn 10:12λύκονtowolfNoun - Accusative Masculine SingularJohn 10:12λύκοςtowolfNoun - Nominative Masculine SingularActs 20:29λύκοιtowolvesNoun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 7:15
Aligned rows6
Books represented4
Matthew2Luke1John2Acts1
Source forms
λύκοι2xlykoiMatthew 7:15, Acts 20:29
λύκων2xlykōnMatthew 10:16, Luke 10:3
λύκον1xlykonJohn 10:12
λύκος1xlykosJohn 10:12
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural2xMatthew 10:16, Luke 10:3
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural2xMatthew 7:15, Acts 20:29
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular1xJohn 10:12
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular1xJohn 10:12
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Take credible reports of exploitation seriously without requiring harmed people to submit to the accused for protection.
- Keep disagreement, unfamiliarity and actual predatory conduct distinct when assessing a teacher or community.
Avoid claiming...
- No ethnicity, denomination or group of outsiders becomes a class of wolves merely through this noun.
- Protecting the flock never grants a leader permission to isolate members or retaliate against truthful reporting.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Used figuratively for false teachers and dangerous enemies who deceive the innocent under false appearance of safety.
Strong'sG3074
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms4 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkMatthew 10:16Source Gloss
a wolf
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 7:15Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
λύκοιlukoi
a wolf, jackal
Read verseMatthew 10:16Noun Genitive Plural Masculine
λύκων·lukwn
a wolf, jackal
Read verseLuke 10:3Noun Genitive Plural Masculine
λύκων.lukwn
a wolf, jackal
Read verseJohn 10:12Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
λύκονlukon
a wolf, jackal
Read verseJohn 10:12Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
λύκοςlukov
a wolf, jackal
Read verseActs 20:29Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
λύκοιlukoi
a wolf, jackal
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 patterns4Aligned forms6Case patternNominative (3)Number patternPlural (4)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · MasculineMatt 7:15 · Acts 20:292×
Nominative · Singular · MasculineJohn 10:121×
Genitive · Plural · MasculineMatt 10:16 · Luke 10:32×
Accusative · Singular · MasculineJohn 10:121×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Literal wolves as predators among sheep, metaphor for danger
Literal wolves as predators, figurative image of hostile opposition to disciples
Figurative: false prophets disguised as sheep, deceptive spiritual danger
Figurative: dangerous false teachers who exploit Christian communities after departure
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
λύκος is built from this root:
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
Paul's warning at Miletus places the elders under examination before asking them to guard anyone else. They must watch themselves as well as the flock, and he names distortion that draws disciples after particular people. His own example includes tears, public teaching, refusal to covet and help for the weak. This makes the wolf image a test of leadership, not a shield that leaders can use against accountability.
John supplies an equally searching contrast: the hired worker leaves the sheep to danger, whereas Jesus lays down His life. Matthew requires attention to fruit beneath an attractive appearance. Together these passages call communities to protect people through observable, accountable care, while refusing the suspicion that turns every unfamiliar voice into an enemy.
Anchor passage
Acts.20.29
Doctrinal connections
- Christ identifies Himself as the good shepherd who gives His life for endangered sheep.
- The flock belongs to God; elders receive a responsibility to care rather than an entitlement to possess.
- False prophetic appearance is tested by fruit, not by the impressiveness of religious claims.
- The mission of Jesus combines a realistic account of danger with wisdom and innocence.
- Paul commends the elders to God and the word of grace after warning them about predatory teaching.
- Care for the weak and freedom from covetousness give the warning a positive shape in Acts 20.
Lykos is a noun for a wolf, appearing in singular and plural forms. The familiar animal supplies the picture; surrounding clauses identify the human threat, so false teacher is not an automatic dictionary substitution for every occurrence.
From Old to New Testament
Ezekiel 22:27 compares corrupt officials with wolves whose violence serves dishonest gain, while Ezekiel 34 condemns shepherds who feed themselves and neglect the weak. These Hebrew passages support the concern for exploited people; they are not additional Greek occurrences or a warrant to label an entire people predatory.