Replete, or covered over; by analogy, complete
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Πλήρης describes something or someone as full, filled, complete, or abounding in a named quality. A basket may be full of fragments, grain may mature in the head, and a person may be full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, faith, grace, or power.
Reader summary
Full entry for πλήρης (G4134) · Open the biblical lexicon
Πλήρης describes something or someone as full, filled, complete, or abounding in a named quality. A basket may be full of fragments, grain may mature in the head, and a person may be full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, faith, grace, or power.
The BSB source-word alignment has 16 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include full (6), . . . (4), [that] ripens (1), [who was] covered (1), [who was] full (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 14:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (8), Luke (2), Mark (2), Matthew (2).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Πλήρης describes something or someone as full, filled, complete, or abounding in a named quality. A basket may be full of fragments, grain may mature in the head, and a person may be full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, faith, grace, or power. John uniquely declares that the incarnate Word is full of grace and truth, not merely displaying occasional gifts but revealing the Father's glory in the flesh.
Because the adjective receives its force from what fills or characterizes its subject, fullness is not automatically good. Acts can also speak of someone full of deceit. The passage must identify the content, source, and fruit of the fullness before teachers draw a theological conclusion.
Πλήρης describes fullness with respect to capacity, maturity, or a defining quality. Material abundance, ripened grain, Spirit-given character, and the incarnate Son's grace and truth belong together only at the level of fullness; their distinct contexts supply the content.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
The twelve full baskets testify to abundant provision after the crowd is satisfied. The fullness concerns gathered fragments and belongs to the sign of Jesus' provision.
All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within.
The full grain in the head marks maturity in an agricultural sequence. The image emphasizes ordered growth before harvest rather than instant completion.
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Jesus enters temptation full of the Holy Spirit and led by the Spirit. His fullness belongs to obedient messianic sonship, not to spectacle or self-protection.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John presents the incarnate Word as full of grace and truth. The phrase identifies the glory revealed in the Son and must be read within the Gospel's witness to His unique identity.
Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will assign this responsibility to them
The seven are to be recognized as full of the Spirit and wisdom. The church looks for visible, Spirit-shaped character when entrusting practical responsibility.
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.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Full of a quality or substance; emphasizes saturation or permeation rather than mere possession
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 17 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
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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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 7 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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 16 lexical occurrence verses.
πλήρης is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Fullness is never an empty religious superlative. The full baskets in Matthew show provision beyond immediate consumption; the full grain in Mark points to maturity reached through growth; Luke's description of Jesus joins Spirit-fullness to obedient testing; Acts joins fullness of the Spirit and wisdom to trustworthy service. John 1:14 stands at the theological center.
The Word who became flesh is full of grace and truth and makes the Father's glory known. His fullness is not a reservoir believers control or a technique they imitate. It is the personal glory of the Son from whom grace is received. Churches should therefore evaluate claims of spiritual fullness by truth, wisdom, holiness, service, and fidelity to Christ, not by intensity, prominence, or self-description.
Matt.14.20
Πλήρης is an adjective whose complement often appears with a genitive, naming what characterizes or fills the subject. It may refer to physical contents, a completed stage, or a dominant quality. The construction does not erase the difference between these kinds of fullness.
The tabernacle and temple are filled with God's glory, wisdom fills skilled servants, and harvest imagery marks ripeness under God's providence. John gathers fulfillment language around the incarnate Son, while Acts shows the Spirit forming truthful and wise servants.