What does ποικίλος (poikílos) mean in the Bible?
ποικίλος (poikílos): Variety of kinds or types, emphasizing diverse manifestations of the same category rather than mere difference
Greek · G4164
ποικίλος
Various
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ποικίλος G4164
Pronunciation poikílos
What does ποικίλος (poikílos) mean in the Bible?
ποικίλος (poikílos): Variety of kinds or types, emphasizing diverse manifestations of the same category rather than mere difference
Full entry for ποικίλος (G4164) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4164?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include various (3), with various (2), all kinds (1), by various (1), of [the] manifold (1).
Where does ποικίλος (poikílos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 4:24. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Peter (2), Hebrews (2), 2 Timothy (1), James (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 various 3× Matthew 4:24, Hebrews 2:4, 1 Peter 1:6
with various 2× Mark 1:34, Luke 4:40
all kinds 1× Hebrews 13:9
by various 1× 2 Timothy 3:6
of [the] manifold 1× 1 Peter 4:10
of many kinds 1× James 1:2
to all sorts 1× Titus 3:3
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 4:24 ποικίλαις to various Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural Mark 1:34 ποικίλαις to with various Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural Luke 4:40 ποικίλαις to with various Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural 2 Timothy 3:6 ποικίλαις to by various Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural Titus 3:3 ποικίλαις to to all sorts Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural Hebrews 2:4 ποικίλαις to various Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural Hebrews 13:9 ποικίλαις to all kinds Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural James 1:2 ποικίλοις to of many kinds Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural 1 Peter 1:6 ποικίλοις to various Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural 1 Peter 4:10 ποικίλης to of [the] manifold Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 4:24
Aligned rows 10
Books represented 8
Matthew 1 Mark 1 Luke 1 2 Timothy 1 Titus 1 Hebrews 2 James 1 1 Peter 2
Source forms
ποικίλαις 7x poikilais Matthew 4:24, Mark 1:34, Luke 4:40, 2 Timothy 3:6
ποικίλοις 2x poikilois James 1:2, 1 Peter 1:6
ποικίλης 1x poikilēs 1 Peter 4:10
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural 7x Matthew 4:24, Mark 1:34, Luke 4:40, 2 Timothy 3:6
Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural 2x James 1:2, 1 Peter 1:6
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular 1x 1 Peter 4:10
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Variety of kinds or types, emphasizing diverse manifestations of the same category rather than mere difference
Strong's G4164
Lexical occurrences 10 verses Greek text appearances 10 times Word forms 3 forms 10 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 1 Peter 4:7-11 Source Gloss
various
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Variety of kinds or types, emphasizing diverse manifestations of the same category rather than mere difference
many-coloured, variegated. Metaphorical, various, manifold: Mat.4:24, Mrk.1:34, Luk.4:40, 2Ti.3:6, Tit.3:3, Heb.2:4 13:9, Jas.1:2, 1Pe.1:6 4:10.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 4:24 Adjective Dative Plural Feminine
ποικίλαις poikilaiv
various, of different colors
Read verse Mark 1:34 Adjective Dative Plural Feminine
ποικίλαις poikilaiv
various, of different colors
Read verse Luke 4:40 Adjective Dative Plural Feminine
ποικίλαις poikilaiv
various, of different colors
Read verse 2 Timothy 3:6 Adjective Dative Plural Feminine
ποικίλαις, poikilaiv
various, of different colors
Read verse Titus 3:3 Adjective Dative Plural Feminine
ποικίλαις, poikilaiv
various, of different colors
Read verse Hebrews 2:4 Adjective Dative Plural Feminine
ποικίλαις poikilaiv
various, of different colors
Read verse Hebrews 13:9 Adjective Dative Plural Feminine
ποικίλαις poikilaiv
various, of different colors
Read verse James 1:2 Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
ποικίλοις, poikiloiv
various, of different colors
Read verse 1 Peter 1:6 Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
ποικίλοις poikiloiv
various, of different colors
Read verse 1 Peter 4:10 Adjective Genitive Singular Feminine
ποικίλης poikilhv
various, of different colors
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 10 Case pattern Dative (9) Number pattern Plural (9)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Singular · Feminine 1 Pet 4:10 1×
Dative · Plural · Feminine Matt 4:24 · Mark 1:34 · Luke 4:40 · 2 Tim 3:6 · Titus 3:3 · Heb 2:4 · Heb 13:9 7×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Jas 1:2 · 1 Pet 1:6 2×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
diverse, multifaceted
Showing 1 selected witness from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ποικίλος is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
Highlights the rich diversity of God’s grace expressed through different gifts. 1 Peter 4:7-11
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