What does πενθερά (pentherá) mean in the Bible?
πενθερά (pentherá) is a Greek word meaning "a wife's mother".
Greek · G3994
πενθερά
A wife's mother
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.
πενθερά G3994
Pronunciation pentherá
What does πενθερά (pentherá) mean in the Bible?
πενθερά (pentherá) is a Greek word meaning "a wife's mother".
Full entry for πενθερά (G3994) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3994?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include mother-in-law (6).
Where does πενθερά (pentherá) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 8:14. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (3), Matthew (2), Mark (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 mother-in-law 6× Matthew 8:14, Matthew 10:35, Mark 1:30, Luke 4:38
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 8:14 πενθερὰν to mother-in-law Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Matthew 10:35 πενθερᾶς to mother-in-law Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Mark 1:30 πενθερὰ to mother-in-law Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Luke 4:38 πενθερὰ to mother-in-law Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Luke 12:53 πενθερὰ to mother-in-law Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Luke 12:53 πενθεράν to mother-in-law Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 8:14
Aligned rows 6
Books represented 3
Matthew 2 Mark 1 Luke 3
Source forms
πενθερὰ 3x penthera Mark 1:30, Luke 4:38, Luke 12:53
πενθεράν 1x pentheran Luke 12:53
πενθερὰν 1x pentheran Matthew 8:14
πενθερᾶς 1x pentheras Matthew 10:35
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 3x Mark 1:30, Luke 4:38, Luke 12:53
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 2x Matthew 8:14, Luke 12:53
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 1x Matthew 10:35
Evidence Summary
Greek word. a wife's mother
Strong's G3994
Lexical occurrences 6 verses Greek text appearances 6 times Word forms 3 forms 6 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
a wife's mother
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek 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 8:14 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
πενθερὰν penqeran
a mother-in-law
Read verse Matthew 10:35 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
πενθερᾶς penqerav
a mother-in-law
Read verse Mark 1:30 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
πενθερὰ penqera
a mother-in-law
Read verse Luke 4:38 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
πενθερὰ penqera
a mother-in-law
Read verse Luke 12:53 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
πενθερὰ penqera
a mother-in-law
Read verse Luke 12:53 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
πενθερὰν penqeran
a mother-in-law
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 6 Case pattern Nominative (3) Number pattern Singular (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Mark 1:30 · Luke 4:38 · Luke 12:53 3×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Matt 10:35 1×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 8:14 · Luke 12:53 2×
Word Origins
πενθερά 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.
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