What does ποίμνιον (poímnion) mean in the Bible?
G4168, poímnion, is a Greek noun for a flock. Its five New Testament uses all describe people in relation to God's pastoral care.
Greek · G4168
ποίμνιον
Flock
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ποίμνιονG4168
Pronunciationpoímnion
What does ποίμνιον (poímnion) mean in the Bible?
G4168, poímnion, is a Greek noun for a flock. Its five New Testament uses all describe people in relation to God's pastoral care.
Reader summary
Full entry for ποίμνιον (G4168) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4168?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include flock (5).
Where does ποίμνιον (poímnion) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 12:32. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Peter (2), Acts (2), Luke (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G4168, poímnion, is a Greek noun for a flock. Its five New Testament uses all describe people in relation to God's pastoral care. Jesus calls His disciples a little flock and grounds their courage in the Father's pleasure to give them the kingdom. Paul tells Ephesian overseers to watch themselves and the whole flock, identifying the Holy Spirit's appointment and God's costly ownership. Peter tells elders to shepherd God's flock among them. The image emphasizes belonging, vulnerability, provision, protection, and accountable care rather than inferiority.
Acts 20 holds care and danger together. Overseers must first watch themselves, then the entire flock, because savage wolves will enter and distort teaching. The flock belongs to God, not to its leaders, and its purchase cost is named in divine terms. Peter makes the leadership ethic explicit: shepherd willingly, eagerly rather than greedily, and never lord authority over those entrusted to you. Elders lead by example while remaining under the Chief Shepherd. Pastoral office is stewardship with limits, not ownership, immunity, or access to every private decision.
The flock metaphor can be abused when people are called helpless sheep to suppress questions, restrict movement, or demand loyalty. The texts move in the opposite direction. Jesus reduces fear by speaking of the Father's gift. Paul warns leaders and the congregation about predators. Peter forbids domination and financial exploitation. G4168 opens a pastoral vision in which people are known, fed, protected, taught, and equipped without losing agency or voice. Safeguarding, doctrinal vigilance, transparent finances, plural accountability, and accessible reporting are not distractions from shepherding. They are practical ways to honor people who belong to God and are only entrusted, never possessed, by human leaders.
source_lexiconPassage contextBook contextCanonical parallel
How the Bible Uses It
G4168 names the Father's little flock, the whole church entrusted to overseers, people threatened by predatory teachers, and God's flock to be shepherded eagerly without greed or domination.
- Luke.12.32
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Jesus addresses a small and vulnerable community with the Father's generous pleasure. Their security rests in divine gift rather than institutional size, wealth, or a leader's control.
- Acts.20.28
Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
Overseers must watch their own lives as well as the whole church. The Spirit appoints them to shepherd people who belong to God at incalculable cost, eliminating any claim of personal ownership.
- Acts.20.29
I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
Paul names predatory danger both from outsiders and, in the next verse, from within the leadership community. Vigilance must include doctrine, conduct, power, and protection from internal abuse.
- 1Pet.5.2
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
Elders shepherd God's flock among them with willing and eager service, not resentment or financial appetite. Motive and money are explicit parts of pastoral accountability.
- 1Pet.5.3
Not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
Peter directly prohibits domination and defines leadership through example. Entrustment gives responsibility for care, never possession of another person's conscience, body, finances, testimony, or relationships.
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 Itflock5×Luke 12:32, Acts 20:28, Acts 20:29, 1 Peter 5:2
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLuke 12:32
Aligned rows5
Books represented3
Luke1Acts21 Peter2
Source forms
ποίμνιον2xpoimnionLuke 12:32, 1 Peter 5:2
ποιμνίου2xpoimniouActs 20:29, 1 Peter 5:3
ποιμνίῳ1xpoimniōActs 20:28
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular2xActs 20:29, 1 Peter 5:3
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular1x1 Peter 5:2
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular1xActs 20:28
Noun - Vocative Neuter Singular1xLuke 12:32
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Build pastoral systems that watch leaders as well as members, make reporting accessible, address conflicts of interest, and protect people from retaliation.
- Practice authority through example, truthful teaching, shared accountability, transparent stewardship, and respect for conscience rather than control.
- When harm may involve abuse or crime, prioritize safety, follow reporting law, preserve evidence, and use qualified independent processes.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that flock language makes members a pastor's property or removes their right to ask questions, leave, report harm, or seek outside counsel.
- Do not claim that appointment by the Spirit makes an overseer immune from examination; Acts begins by commanding leaders to watch themselves.
- Do not claim that guarding doctrine is enough while misconduct, greed, intimidation, or unsafe systems remain unaddressed.
- Do not claim that church unity requires handling suspected abuse only inside the congregation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Metaphorical designation for Christians as God's flock requiring pastoral care and protection.
Strong'sG4168
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms4 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkLuke 12:32Source Gloss
flock
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 12:32Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
ποίμνιον·poimnion
a little flock
Read verseActs 20:28Noun Dative Singular Neuter
ποιμνίῳ,poimniw
a little flock
Read verseActs 20:29Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
ποιμνίου·poimniou
a little flock
Read verse1 Peter 5:2Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ποίμνιονpoimnion
a little flock
Read verse1 Peter 5:3Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
ποιμνίου.poimniou
a little flock
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 4 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 patterns4Aligned forms5Case patternGenitive (2)Number patternSingular (5)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · NeuterLuke 12:321×
Genitive · Singular · NeuterActs 20:29 · 1 Pet 5:32×
Dative · Singular · NeuterActs 20:281×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter1 Pet 5:21×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Metaphorical reference to Christians as Jesus's flock, emphasizing care and protection
Showing 1 selected witness from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ποίμνιον 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
G4168 concentrates New Testament pastoral ethics into five verses. Jesus speaks to a little flock whose courage rests in the Father's delight to give the kingdom. Paul tells overseers to watch themselves before and while guarding the whole flock, because predators may come from outside or arise among leaders. The church belongs to God and is purchased at divine cost, so no pastor can turn entrustment into possession.
Peter then names the positive and negative form of shepherding: serve willingly and eagerly, reject greedy motives, never lord authority over those entrusted, and become an example under the coming Chief Shepherd. The flock image therefore dignifies care while sharply limiting power. It does not call members unintelligent, voiceless, or permanently dependent on one leader.
Healthy shepherding nourishes discernment, welcomes questions, makes reporting safe, shares authority, opens finances, and acts quickly when people are threatened. It also watches the shepherd's own doctrine, conduct, limits, and conflicts of interest. A church protects the flock best when everyone remembers whose people they are and when leaders can be examined, corrected, removed, and cared for within accountable community.
Anchor passage
Acts.20.28
Doctrinal connections
- Luke 12 grounds the little flock's courage in the Father's pleased gift of the kingdom, not in size, resources, or institutional security.
- Acts 20 binds oversight to self-watch, whole-flock care, the Spirit's appointment, and God's costly ownership of the church.
- Paul's wolf warning includes danger arising from among the elders themselves, requiring safeguards that do not assume leadership innocence by office.
- First Peter 5 makes willing service and eager care positive qualifications while naming greed as a direct corruption of shepherding.
- Peter's prohibition of lording authority over entrusted people aligns pastoral leadership with Jesus' rejection of Gentile-style domination.
- The promised appearance of the Chief Shepherd places every elder under Christ's evaluation and keeps pastoral honor from becoming unchecked status.
G4168 is a diminutive-related noun in the poimēn word family for sheep and shepherding, commonly rendered flock. Its five governed forms include nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, and dative singular uses, showing the flock addressed, protected, entrusted, and governed. The noun names the people; related verbs describe shepherding and overseeing. That distinction matters because being a flock does not transfer divine ownership to the human shepherd.
From Old to New Testament
The Old Testament names the Lord as Israel's Shepherd and condemns shepherds who feed themselves, scatter the flock, fail to seek the lost, or rule harshly. It promises that God will gather and shepherd His people and raise a faithful Davidic shepherd. Jesus identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. Acts and First Peter place church elders inside that canonical pattern as accountable under-shepherds, never replacements for the Shepherd who owns, saves, and judges His flock.
Canonical parallelBook context