What does μέλας (mélas) mean in the Bible?
μέλας (mélas) is a Greek word meaning "black".
Greek · G3189
μέλας
Black
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
μέλας G3189
Pronunciation mélas
What does μέλας (mélas) mean in the Bible?
μέλας (mélas) is a Greek word meaning "black".
Full entry for μέλας (G3189) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3189?
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include black (2), a black (1).
Where does μέλας (mélas) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:36. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (2), Matthew (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 black 2× Matthew 5:36, Revelation 6:12
a black 1× Revelation 6:5
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:36
Aligned rows 3
Books represented 2
Matthew 1 Revelation 2
Source forms
μέλας 2x melas Revelation 6:5, Revelation 6:12
μέλαιναν 1x melainan Matthew 5:36
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Revelation 6:5, Revelation 6:12
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular 1x Matthew 5:36
Evidence Summary
Greek word. black
Strong's G3189
Lexical occurrences 3 verses Greek text appearances 3 times Word forms 2 forms 3 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
black
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
3 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 5:36 Adjective Accusative Singular Feminine
μέλαιναν melainan
black
Read verse Revelation 6:5 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
μέλας, melav
black
Read verse Revelation 6:12 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
μέλας melav
black
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 patterns 2 Aligned forms 3 Case pattern Nominative (2) Number pattern Singular (3)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Rev 6:5 · Rev 6:12 2×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 5:36 1×
Word Origins
μέλας is a primary word - no further derivation.
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