What does παροιμία (paroimía) mean in the Bible?
paroimia means a figure of speech, veiled saying, proverb, or proverb-like illustration. In the New Testament it appears only a few times, mainly in John's Gospel and once in 2 Peter.
Greek · G3942
παροιμία
Proverb
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παροιμία G3942
Pronunciation paroimía
What does παροιμία (paroimía) mean in the Bible?
paroimia means a figure of speech, veiled saying, proverb, or proverb-like illustration. In the New Testament it appears only a few times, mainly in John's Gospel and once in 2 Peter.
Reader summary
Full entry for παροιμία (G3942) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3942?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include figures of speech (2), [this way] (1), illustration (1), proverbs (1).
Where does παροιμία (paroimía) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 10:6. Its strongest book concentrations include John (4), 2 Peter (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Paroimia means a figure of speech, veiled saying, proverb, or proverb-like illustration. In the New Testament it appears only a few times, mainly in John's Gospel and once in 2 Peter. John uses it for Jesus' figurative speech that the hearers do not yet understand and for His promise that an hour is coming when He will speak plainly about the Father. The disciples think they have moved beyond figures of speech, though John's narrative still presses readers to understand through Jesus' death, resurrection, and the Spirit's teaching.
Second Peter uses the term for proverbs that expose false teachers returning to corruption. This companion should use all direct witnesses and distinguish paroimia from parable while preserving overlap in figurative speech.
How the Bible Uses It
The selected passages use every direct New Testament witness: Jesus' misunderstood illustration, His promise of plain speech about the Father, the disciples' response, and Peter's proverb warning about corruption.
- John.10.6
Jesus spoke to them using this illustration, but they did not understand what He was telling them.
Jesus uses a paroimia about sheep, shepherd, and gate, but His hearers do not understand. The term marks figurative speech that requires interpretation under Jesus' guidance.
- John.16.25
I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. An hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you this way, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
Jesus says He has spoken in figures of speech but will speak plainly about the Father. The contrast highlights veiled teaching giving way to clearer post-resurrection understanding.
- John.16.29
His disciples said, “See, now You are speaking plainly and without figures of speech.
The disciples say Jesus is now speaking plainly and without figures of speech. Their response must be read within the farewell discourse, where understanding is still being tested.
- 2Pet.2.22
Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”
Peter says the proverbs are true of false teachers who return to corruption. paroimia can refer to proverb testimony that exposes moral and doctrinal relapse.
Passage contextBook context
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 figures of speech 2× John 16:25, John 16:29
[this way] 1× John 16:25
illustration 1× John 10:6
proverbs 1× 2 Peter 2:22
Show sample aligned rows
John 10:6 παροιμίαν to illustration Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular John 16:25 παροιμίαις to figures of speech Noun - Dative Feminine Plural John 16:25 παροιμίαις to [this way] Noun - Dative Feminine Plural John 16:29 παροιμίαν to figures of speech Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 2 Peter 2:22 παροιμίας to proverbs Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 10:6
Aligned rows 5
Books represented 2
John 4 2 Peter 1
Source forms
παροιμίαις 2x paroimiais John 16:25
παροιμίαν 2x paroimian John 10:6, John 16:29
παροιμίας 1x paroimias 2 Peter 2:22
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 2x John 10:6, John 16:29
Noun - Dative Feminine Plural 2x John 16:25
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 1x 2 Peter 2:22
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Encourage patience with difficult biblical figures while directing readers to Jesus' own explanation and the larger context.
- Use proverb warnings soberly, especially when addressing false teaching and moral relapse.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim paroimia is simply the normal Gospel word for parable.
- Do not claim figurative speech is less truthful than plain speech.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Figurative or parabolic discourse in John; wayside saying or proverb elsewhere in NT usage.
Strong's G3942
Lexical occurrences 5 verses Greek text appearances 5 times Word forms 3 forms 5 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 2 Peter 2:22 Source Gloss
proverb
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
John 10:6 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
παροιμίαν paroimian
an allegory, proverb
Read verse John 16:25 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
παροιμίαις paroimiaiv
an allegory, proverb
Read verse John 16:25 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
παροιμίαις paroimiaiv
an allegory, proverb
Read verse John 16:29 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
παροιμίαν paroimian
an allegory, proverb
Read verse 2 Peter 2:22 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
παροιμίας, paroimiav
an allegory, proverb
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 3 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 3 Aligned forms 5 Case pattern Accusative (2) Number pattern Singular (3)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Singular · Feminine 2 Pet 2:22 1×
Dative · Plural · Feminine John 16:25 2×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine John 10:6 · John 16:29 2×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
A traditional wayside saying or maxim illustrating a truth about behavior
Figurative or allegorical discourse used to convey spiritual meaning indirectly
Figurative language in contrast to plain or direct speech about divine truth
Allegorical or metaphorical discourse distinguished from plainly spoken words
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
παροιμία is built from these roots:
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
Paroimia is a low-occurrence word, so every direct witness matters. In John 10, Jesus speaks a figurative saying about sheep, gate, and shepherd, but the hearers do not understand. In John 16, He tells His disciples that He has spoken in figures of speech but that an hour is coming when He will speak plainly about the Father. Their reply that He is now speaking plainly must be heard within a night when their confidence will soon be tested.
Second Peter broadens the word toward proverbs, using vivid sayings to expose false teachers who return to corruption. The word therefore helps readers respect figurative speech without dismissing it as decorative. Jesus' veiled sayings require patient interpretation under the light of His completed work and the Spirit's teaching, while proverb speech can bear sharp moral witness.
Anchor passage
John.16.25
Doctrinal connections
- G3850 Parabole, parable: a related comparison word that overlaps with but is not identical to paroimia.
- G3962 Pater, Father: John 16 promises plain speech about the Father.
- G5319 Phaneroo, reveal or make plain: John 16 contrasts veiled figures with plain disclosure.
- G4166 Poimen, shepherd: John 10's figurative saying concerns shepherd and sheep imagery.
- G5572 pseudodidaskalos, false teacher: 2 Peter applies proverb language to corrupt teachers.
- G1097 Ginosko, know: the Johannine context repeatedly presses the issue of true understanding.
Paroimia can mean figure of speech, veiled saying, proverb, or proverb-like illustration. In John it is tied to figurative speech needing interpretation; in 2 Peter it refers to proverb testimony. Do not simply substitute parable in every context.
From Old to New Testament
Wisdom literature and the prophets use proverbs, riddles, images, and figurative sayings to reveal and test understanding. Jesus' Johannine figures continue that biblical pattern while moving toward plain revelation of the Father through His death, resurrection, and Spirit-given teaching.
Canonical synthesisPastoral application
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