πόλις
A town (properly, with walls, of greater or less size)
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What does πόλις (pólis) mean in the Bible?
πόλις (pólis) is a Greek word meaning "a town (properly, with walls, of greater or less size)". πόλις, -εως, ὁ, [in LXX chiefly and very frequently for עִיר ;] a city: Mat.
Meaning
A fortified urban center distinct from villages and countryside, often metonymously representing its inhabitants.
a city: Mat.2:23, Mrk.1:45, Luk.4:29, Jhn.4:8, al. mult.; opposite to κῶμαι (κ. καὶ ἀγροί), Mat.9:35 10:11, Mrk.6:56, Luk.8:1 13:22; with nom. propr. in appos. (cl.), Act.11:5 16:14; with id. in genitive appos. (BL, §35, 5), Act.8:5, 2Pe.2:6; genitive, of the region, Luk.1:26 4:31, Jhn.4:5; of the inhabitants, Mat.10:5, 23 Luk.23:51, Act.19:35, 2Co.11:32; with genitive of person(s), of one's residence or native place, Mat.22:7, Luk.2:4, 11 4:29 10:11, Jhn.1:45, Act.16:20, Rev.16:9; of Jerusalem: ἡ ἁγία π., Mat.4:5 27:53, Rev.11:2; ἡ ἠγαπημένη, Rev.20:19; π. τοῦ μεγάλου, Mt 5 ̈35 (cf. Ps 47 (48):2); of the heavenly city in the Apocalyptic visions, Rev.3:12 21:2, 10 14ff. 22:14, 19. By meton., of the inhabitants of a city: Mat.8:34 12:25 21:10, Mrk.1:33, Act.14:21 21:30.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
Biblical Witnesses
Appears In
Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.
Word Pictures (Robertson)
A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain