Greek · G3501

νέος

New

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νέος G3501
Pronunciation néos

What does νέος (néos) mean in the Bible?

Νέος means new, fresh, or young, often emphasizing recentness or youth. Jesus' wineskin saying speaks of new wine whose active fermentation requires suitable skins, illustrating the incompatibility of His kingdom presence with attempts to contain it inside unchanged structures.

Reader summary

Full entry for νέος (G3501) · Open the biblical lexicon

Questions this entry answers

What does νέος (néos) mean in the Bible?

Νέος means new, fresh, or young, often emphasizing recentness or youth. Jesus' wineskin saying speaks of new wine whose active fermentation requires suitable skins, illustrating the incompatibility of His kingdom presence with attempts to contain it inside unchanged structures.

How does the BSB render G3501?

The BSB source-word alignment has 24 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include new (8), younger (3), [and] younger [women] (1), [the] younger [widows] (1), [Treat] younger [men] (1).

Where does νέος (néos) appear in Scripture?

The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:17. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (7), 1 Timothy (4), Acts (2), Mark (2).

What This Word Actually Means

Νέος means new, fresh, or young, often emphasizing recentness or youth. Jesus' wineskin saying speaks of new wine whose active fermentation requires suitable skins, illustrating the incompatibility of His kingdom presence with attempts to contain it inside unchanged structures. John contrasts Peter's freedom when young with the dependence and suffering that will mark old age.

Acts calls the younger men who carry Ananias's body away νέοι, using the word simply for age. Newness is not automatically moral superiority, and youth is not spiritual immaturity by definition. The noun modified, comparison made, and narrative setting determine whether the emphasis is fresh wine, recent condition, chronological youth, or contrast with what is old.

Sources