What does ποιμήν · πρόβατον · μέγας mean in the Bible?
ποιμήν · πρόβατον · μέγας is a Greek phrase meaning "great Shepherd of the sheep".
Greek · G4166, G4263, G3173
ποιμένα τῶν προβάτων τὸν μέγαν
A shepherd (literally or figuratively) · sheep · big (literally or figuratively, in a very wide application)
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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant
ποιμήν G4166 a shepherd (literally or figuratively)
Pronunciation poimḗn
Shepherd metaphor emphasizes protective, personal care for a flock; applied to Christ and church leaders.
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πρόβατον G4263 sheep
Pronunciation próbaton
In NT metaphor, denotes Christ's vulnerable followers dependent on their shepherd's protective care and guidance.
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μέγας G3173 big (literally or figuratively, in a very wide application)
Pronunciation mégas
Describes size, intensity, rank, or importance—applies broadly across physical, moral, and spiritual dimensions
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What does ποιμένα τῶν προβάτων τὸν μέγαν (poimena tōn probatōn ton megan) mean in the Bible?
ποιμήν · πρόβατον · μέγας is a Greek phrase meaning "great Shepherd of the sheep".
Full entry for ποιμένα τῶν προβάτων τὸν μέγαν (G4166, G4263, G3173) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How many biblical occurrences are listed for G4166, G4263, G3173?
G4166, G4263, G3173 is connected to 18 lexical occurrence verses in the lexicon data.
Evidence Summary
Greek phrase. great Shepherd of the sheep
Source Gloss
great Shepherd of the sheep
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 18 Case pattern Nominative (10) Number pattern Singular (13)
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 25:32 · John 10:2 · John 10:11 · John 10:12 · John 10:14 · John 10:16 7×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Luke 2:8 · Luke 2:15 · Luke 2:20 3×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Luke 2:18 1×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Matt 9:36 · Matt 26:31 · Mark 6:34 · Mark 14:27 · Heb 13:20 · 1 Pet 2:25 6×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Eph 4:11 1×
Word Origins
ποιμένα τῶν προβάτων τὸν μέγαν is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
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