What does μακρόθεν (makróthen) mean in the Bible?
At a distance describes where someone stands, watches, follows, or sees. In Jesus' parable, the tax collector stands at a distance and asks God for mercy rather than boasting about his achievements.
Greek · G3113
μακρόθεν
At a distance describes where someone stands, watches, follows, or sees. In Jesus' parable, the tax collector stands at a distance and asks God for mercy rather than boasting about his achievements.
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μακρόθενG3113
Pronunciationmakróthen
What does μακρόθεν (makróthen) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for μακρόθεν (G3113) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3113?
The BSB source-word alignment has 14 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a distance (8), at a distance (3), a great distance (1), afar (1), the distance (1).
Where does μακρόθεν (makróthen) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 26:58. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (5), Luke (4), Revelation (3), Matthew (2).
What This Word Actually Means
At a distance describes where someone stands, watches, follows, or sees. In Jesus' parable, the tax collector stands at a distance and asks God for mercy rather than boasting about his achievements. Peter follows Jesus at a distance after His arrest, within an account that will expose Peter's failure. Revelation portrays people standing far from Babylon because they fear sharing her torment.
These scenes have different moral weight. The location itself does not prove humility, cowardice, or faithfulness; the surrounding speech and actions supply that judgment. Mark also names women watching the crucifixion from a distance and recalls their prior service to Jesus. Physical separation must be described accurately without becoming a quick measure of a person's spiritual loyalty.
How the Bible Uses It
Distance locates a humble petitioner, Peter following an arrested Jesus, and Babylon's fearful mourners, with each scene deriving its moral significance from its surrounding actions.
- Luke.18.13
But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’
The tax collector's distant posture accompanies his plea for mercy, contrasted with the Pharisee's self-exaltation and followed by Jesus' judgment about justification.
- Matt.26.58
But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. And he went in and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
Peter follows at a distance into the high priest's courtyard to see the outcome, within the account of arrest and approaching denial.
- Rev.18.10
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
The kings stand far away explicitly because they fear Babylon's torment, while lamenting the fall of the city with which they shared luxury.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ita distance8×Matthew 26:58, Matthew 27:55, Mark 5:6, Mark 14:54
at a distance3×Luke 18:13, Luke 22:54, Luke 23:49
a great distance1×Mark 8:3
afar1×Luke 16:23
the distance1×Mark 11:13
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 26:58μακρόθενtoa distanceAdverbMatthew 27:55μακρόθενtoa distanceAdverbMark 5:6μακρόθενtoa distanceAdverbMark 8:3μακρόθενtoa great distanceAdverbMark 11:13μακρόθενtothe distanceAdverbMark 14:54μακρόθενtoa distanceAdverbMark 15:40μακρόθενtoa distanceAdverbLuke 16:23μακρόθενtoafarAdverbLuke 18:13μακρόθενtoat a distanceAdverbLuke 22:54μακρόθενtoat a distanceAdverb
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 26:58
Aligned rows14
Books represented4
Matthew2Mark5Luke4Revelation3
Source forms
μακρόθεν14xmakrothenMatthew 26:58, Matthew 27:55, Mark 5:6, Mark 8:3
Parsing patterns
Adverb14xMatthew 26:58, Matthew 27:55, Mark 5:6, Mark 8:3
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not assess a person's spiritual loyalty by their place in a room.
- Avoid turning narrative distance into a reason to pressure vulnerable people toward unsafe proximity.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim standing far away earns justification; Jesus contrasts humble mercy-seeking with self-exaltation.
- Do not claim every distant witness has abandoned Jesus; Mark expressly recalls the women's following and service.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Spatial separation emphasizing distance; often signals emotional remoteness or reluctant observation in narrative contexts.
Strong'sG3113
Lexical occurrences14 versesGreek text appearances14 timesWord forms1 form14 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkLuke 22:54–62Source Gloss
from a distance or afar
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Spatial separation emphasizing distance; often signals emotional remoteness or reluctant observation in narrative contexts.
(μακρός), adv. (chiefly late), [in LXX for רָחוֹק, רָחַק, etc. ;] from afar, afar: Luk.18:13 22:54; ἀπὸ μ. (Psa.138:6, Est.3:13, al.), Mat.26:58 27:55, Mrk.5:6 8:3 11:13 14:54 15:40, Luk.16:23 23:49, Rev.18:10, 15 18:17.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
14 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 26:58Adverb
μακρόθεν,makroqen
from a distance
Read verseMatthew 27:55Adverb
μακρόθενmakroqen
from a distance
Read verseMark 5:6Adverb
μακρόθεν,makroqen
from a distance
Read verseMark 8:3Adverb
μακρόθενmakroqen
from a distance
Read verseMark 11:13Adverb
μακρόθεν,makroqen
from a distance
Read verseMark 14:54Adverb
μακρόθενmakroqen
from a distance
Read verseMark 15:40Adverb
μακρόθενmakroqen
from a distance
Read verseLuke 16:23Adverb
μακρόθεν,makroqen
from a distance
Read verseLuke 18:13Adverb
μακρόθενmakroqen
from a distance
Read verseLuke 22:54Adverb
μακρόθεν.makroqen
from a distance
Read verseLuke 23:49Adverb
μακρόθεν,makroqen
from a distance
Read verseRevelation 18:10Adverb
μακρόθενmakroqen
from a distance
Read verseRevelation 18:15Adverb
μακρόθενmakroqen
from a distance
Read verseRevelation 18:17Adverb
μακρόθενmakroqen
from a distance
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 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns1Aligned forms14
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Matt 26:58 · Matt 27:55 · Mark 5:6 · Mark 8:3 · Mark 11:13 · Mark 14:54 · Mark 15:40 · Luke 16:23 · Luke 18:13 · Luke 22:54 · Luke 23:49 · Rev 18:10 · Rev 18:15 · Rev 18:1714×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
from afar
Showing 1 selected witness from 14 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
μακρόθεν is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Indicates spiritual distancing preceding denial.Luke 22:54–62
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 tax collector does not go home justified because he has discovered the correct distance to stand from other worshipers. Jesus contrasts his appeal for mercy with the Pharisee's exaltation of himself. Matthew's Peter and Revelation's mourners demonstrate why the same spatial word must not become a moral formula. Peter's distance belongs to a developing narrative of discipleship failure.
Babylon's mourners name their fear while grieving a city whose wealth benefited them. Mark's women, however, watch from afar and are identified as people who had followed and served Jesus. A faithful teacher preserves these distinctions. The word can make a scene visible, but only the text's words and actions explain whether distance accompanies humility, fear, care, or failure.
Anchor passage
Luke.18.13
Doctrinal connections
- Luke 18:13-14 places the distant tax collector's mercy plea within Jesus' contrast of humility and self-exaltation.
- Matthew 26:58 situates Peter's distant following within Jesus' arrest and the courtyard narrative.
- Revelation 18:9-10 explicitly connects distant mourning with fear of the judged city's torment.
- Mark 15:40-41 identifies distant women witnesses as prior followers who had ministered to Jesus.
- Mark 8:3 includes travel distance among the reasons Jesus expresses compassion for the hungry crowd.
- Mark 5:6 places seeing Jesus from afar before the distressed man's approach and the deliverance account.
The Greek comparator supports from afar or at a distance. The adverb describes spatial separation; motivations such as humility or fear must be established independently from the surrounding text.
From Old to New Testament
Spatial distance and spiritual estrangement can be compared only when the actual passage warrants it. The tax collector's mercy plea participates in biblical teaching on grace, but this distance adverb is not a synonym for alienation from God.