What does πλῆθος (plēthos) mean in the Bible?
Πλῆθος (plēthos) names a multitude, a large number, or a gathered crowd. The noun can count people without approving their response.
Greek · G4128
πλῆθος
Multitude
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πλῆθος G4128
Pronunciation plēthos
What does πλῆθος (plēthos) mean in the Bible?
Πλῆθος (plēthos) names a multitude, a large number, or a gathered crowd. The noun can count people without approving their response.
Reader summary
Full entry for πλῆθος (G4128) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4128?
The BSB source-word alignment has 31 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include number (5), crowd (3), a multitude (2), assembly (2), congregation (2).
Where does πλῆθος (plēthos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 3:7. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (16), Luke (8), John (2), Mark (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Πλῆθος (plēthos) names a multitude, a large number, or a gathered crowd. The noun can count people without approving their response. Crowds follow Jesus because of His works, disciples praise God as a multitude, and people bring the sick to the apostles. Yet Acts also shows public opposition affecting a gathered audience, while Peter uses the same word for the multitude of sins covered by earnest love.
Number can make testimony conspicuous, need overwhelming, conflict public, or mercy expansive. The word itself does not turn a crowd into the church, make popularity proof of truth, or imply that love conceals wrongdoing from God. Readers must identify what fills the multitude, what joins its members, and how the passage evaluates its actions.
How the Bible Uses It
Πλῆθος describes a large gathering or quantity. It can name crowds drawn to Jesus and the apostles, a multitude of praising disciples, a public audience affected by opposition, or the many sins over which persevering love refuses to keep a retaliatory record.
- Mark.3.7
So Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, accompanied by a large crowd from Galilee, Judea,
A large crowd follows Jesus from several regions after hearing what He is doing, displaying the reach of His ministry without yet defining the crowd as faithful disciples.
- Luke.19.37
And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:
The whole multitude of disciples praises God for the mighty works it has seen, giving public and joyful testimony as Jesus approaches Jerusalem.
- Acts.5.16
Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.
Crowds from towns around Jerusalem bring suffering people, and the report stresses both the breadth of need and the completeness of God's healing mercy through the apostles.
- Acts.19.9
But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
When some synagogue hearers malign the Way before the multitude, Paul separates the disciples and continues daily instruction, refusing to let public hostility govern the mission.
- 1Pet.4.8
Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Peter says earnest love covers a multitude of sins, calling believers away from retaliatory exposure and toward durable fellowship, not away from repentance or truth.
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 number 5× Luke 5:6, Luke 6:17, Luke 23:27, Acts 14:1
crowd 3× Mark 3:7, Mark 3:8, Acts 21:36
a multitude 2× James 5:20, 1 Peter 4:8
assembly 2× Acts 15:12, Acts 23:7
congregation 2× Luke 1:10, Acts 15:30
multitude 2× Luke 19:37, Acts 4:32
people 2× Luke 8:37, Acts 14:4
[and] publicly 1× Acts 19:9
a crowd 1× Acts 2:6
a great multitude 1× Luke 2:13
a great number 1× John 5:3
all 1× Acts 6:2
bundle 1× Acts 28:3
community 1× Acts 25:24
council 1× Luke 23:1
Crowds 1× Acts 5:16
great number 1× John 21:6
group 1× Acts 6:5
large numbers 1× Acts 5:14
numerous 1× Hebrews 11:12
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 3:7 πλῆθος to crowd Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Mark 3:8 πλῆθος to crowd Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Luke 1:10 πλῆθος to congregation Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Luke 2:13 πλῆθος to a great multitude Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Luke 5:6 πλῆθος to number Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Luke 6:17 πλῆθος to number Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Luke 8:37 πλῆθος to people Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Luke 19:37 πλῆθος to multitude Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Luke 23:1 πλῆθος to council Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Luke 23:27 πλῆθος to number Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 3:7
Aligned rows 31
Books represented 7
Mark 2 Luke 8 John 2 Acts 16 Hebrews 1 James 1 1 Peter 1
Source forms
πλῆθος 25x plēthos Mark 3:7, Mark 3:8, Luke 1:10, Luke 2:13
πλήθους 4x plēthous John 21:6, Acts 4:32, Acts 6:5, Acts 19:9
πλήθει 1x plēthei Hebrews 11:12
πλήθη 1x plēthē Acts 5:14
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular 18x Mark 3:7, Mark 3:8, Luke 1:10, Luke 2:13
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 7x Luke 5:6, Acts 6:2, Acts 14:1, Acts 15:30
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular 4x John 21:6, Acts 4:32, Acts 6:5, Acts 19:9
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular 1x Hebrews 11:12
Noun - Nominative Neuter Plural 1x Acts 5:14
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not infer conversion, church membership, or divine approval merely because a passage mentions a multitude near Jesus or the apostles.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that numerical growth is sufficient evidence of faithful ministry.
- Do not claim that love covering many sins requires hiding abuse, refusing correction, or denying the truth.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. A collective body or crowd, often implying the common people as distinct from leaders or authorities.
Strong's G4128
Lexical occurrences 31 verses Greek text appearances 32 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 31 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
multitude
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 32 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 3:7 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse Mark 3:8 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse Luke 1:10 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse Luke 2:13 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse Luke 5:6 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse Luke 6:17 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse Luke 8:37 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse Luke 19:37 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse Luke 23:1 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse Luke 23:27 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse John 5:3 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse John 21:6 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
πλήθους plhqouv
a multitude
Read verse Acts 2:6 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
Read verse Acts 4:32 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
πλήθους plhqouv
a multitude
Read verse Acts 5:14 Noun Nominative Plural Neuter
πλήθη plhqh
a multitude
Read verse Acts 5:16 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πλῆθος plhqov
a multitude
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 5 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 5 Aligned forms 31 Case pattern Nominative (19) Number pattern Singular (30)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Neuter Mark 3:7 · Mark 3:8 · Luke 1:10 · Luke 2:13 · Luke 6:17 · Luke 8:37 · Luke 19:37 · Luke 23:1 · Luke 23:27 · John 5:3 · Acts 2:6 · Acts 5:16 · Acts 14:4 · Acts 15:12 · Acts 17:4 · Acts 21:36 18×
Nominative · Plural · Neuter Acts 5:14 1×
Genitive · Singular · Neuter John 21:6 · Acts 4:32 · Acts 6:5 · Acts 19:9 4×
Dative · Singular · Neuter Heb 11:12 1×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Luke 5:6 · Acts 6:2 · Acts 14:1 · Acts 15:30 · Acts 28:3 · Jas 5:20 · 1 Pet 4:8 7×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Mark 3:7–12 πλῆθος plēthos
multitude, crowd
Showing 1 selected witness from 31 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
πλῆθος 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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Biblical ministry often unfolds amid more need and noise than one person can master. Mark's crowd shows Jesus' widening fame, but physical nearness to Him must not be confused with discipleship. Luke's multitude of disciples turns witnessed mighty works into praise, while Acts portrays whole communities bringing sufferers into the apostles' path. Numbers can therefore magnify both need and testimony.
They can also amplify resistance: public slander before a multitude requires patient separation and sustained teaching rather than surrender to the loudest voices. Peter's phrase about a multitude of sins moves from persons to quantity and shows how earnest love preserves fellowship by refusing vindictive scorekeeping. It does not excuse abuse or erase the need for confession.
Teachers should let each passage determine whether πλῆθος highlights reach, response, pressure, or abundance, and should measure ministry by faithfulness rather than applause.
Anchor passage
Mark.3.7
Doctrinal connections
- Mark 3:7-12, crowds, need, and Jesus' authority
- Luke 19:35-40, a multitude of disciples praising God
- Acts 5:12-16, public witness and widespread healing
- Acts 19:8-10, opposition before a multitude and sustained teaching
- 1 Peter 4:7-11, earnest love covering many sins
- Psalm 35:18, praise of God in the great congregation
Πλῆθος is a neuter noun for a large number, mass, or crowd. A genitive or surrounding clause identifies what is numerous. It can be grammatically singular while referring to many people, and it can quantify nonpersonal realities such as sins.
From Old to New Testament
Israel gathers as a congregation before the Lord, the nations assemble, and worship rises in the great congregation. The New Testament shows large gatherings around Jesus and the gospel while refusing to make numerical scale the measure of truth.
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