To clothe
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Περιβάλλω means to put something around a person, clothe oneself, wrap, or be arrayed. Jesus uses it for the lilies' God-given adornment, contrasting the Father's provision with anxious human striving.
Reader summary
Full entry for περιβάλλω (G4016) · Open the biblical lexicon
Περιβάλλω means to put something around a person, clothe oneself, wrap, or be arrayed. Jesus uses it for the lilies' God-given adornment, contrasting the Father's provision with anxious human striving.
The BSB source-word alignment has 23 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include clothed in (3), dressed (2), dressed in (2), was adorned (2), [They were] wearing (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 6:29. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (12), Matthew (5), Luke (2), Mark (2).
Περιβάλλω means to put something around a person, clothe oneself, wrap, or be arrayed. Jesus uses it for the lilies' God-given adornment, contrasting the Father's provision with anxious human striving. A young follower has only a linen cloth wrapped around him when he flees arrest. Soldiers clothe Jesus in purple as part of their cruel mockery, while an angel commands Peter to wrap on his cloak as he leaves prison.
The verb names clothing or surrounding, but clothing can express beauty, vulnerability, ridicule, ordinary readiness, or symbolic identity. The garment's source, purpose, wearer, and narrative setting determine what the act communicates; the word itself does not make every robe a spiritual symbol.
Περιβάλλω portrays clothing or wrapping around. Lilies, a vulnerable follower, the mocked king, and a freed prisoner show clothing serving provision, exposure, humiliation, and readiness.
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.
The lilies are clothed beyond Solomon's splendor by the Father's providence, supporting Jesus' call to trust rather than anxious preoccupation with clothing.
One young man who had been following Jesus was wearing a linen cloth around his body. They caught hold of him,
The young man's single linen covering emphasizes vulnerability when arrest reaches toward him and he abandons the cloth to escape naked.
Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.
Luke's parallel invites sustained consideration of how God clothes transient grass, grounding confidence in the Father's greater care for His children.
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.
The purple robe outwardly mimics royalty while soldiers mock the true king; their costume cannot overturn the kingship they fail to recognize.
“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
Peter must dress and wrap on his cloak for immediate departure, joining miraculous deliverance to practical, alert obedience.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Means to wrap or clothe by throwing something around; emphasizes the act of covering rather than the state of wearing
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 24 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
Read verseI cast around, clothe
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.
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 24 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 23 lexical occurrence verses.
περιβάλλω is built from these roots:
Clothing can reveal dependence without determining worth. Jesus points to lilies clothed by God in beauty surpassing Solomon, not to romanticize poverty but to free disciples from anxious distrust of their Father. Mark's fleeing young man loses his only covering, making the arrest scene's fear and exposure tangible. John's purple robe is an instrument of mockery, yet the soldiers unknowingly dress the true king.
Acts places clothing inside deliverance: Peter is freed by divine action and told to dress, wrap his cloak, and follow. These scenes resist a single clothing formula. God provides, vulnerable people can be stripped, rulers can weaponize costume, and rescued servants must become ready. Christian teaching should honor bodily need while locating security and dignity in God's care and Christ's reign.
Matt.6.29
Περιβάλλω combines around with throw or put and commonly takes a garment as the object or appears in middle and passive constructions for being clothed. Context determines literal or figurative force.
God clothes Adam and Eve, priests are arrayed for service, and royal garments can display or counterfeit honor. The New Testament centers true glory in Christ and promised clothing in God's gift.