River
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Ποταμός (potamos) means river or substantial flowing stream. Matthew and Mark locate John's baptism in the Jordan River, a real geographic place where confessing people receive a preparatory baptism of repentance.
Reader summary
Full entry for ποταμός (G4215) · Open the biblical lexicon
Ποταμός (potamos) means river or substantial flowing stream. Matthew and Mark locate John's baptism in the Jordan River, a real geographic place where confessing people receive a preparatory baptism of repentance.
The BSB source-word alignment has 17 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include River (6), a river (2), rivers (2), torrent (2), torrents (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 3:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (8), Matthew (3), Luke (2), 2 Corinthians (1).
This entry includes 2 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Ποταμός (potamos) means river or substantial flowing stream. Matthew and Mark locate John's baptism in the Jordan River, a real geographic place where confessing people receive a preparatory baptism of repentance. Jesus compares the tested obedient hearer to a deeply founded house that withstands a river's flood, using destructive water rather than tranquil scenery.
In John 7, rivers of living water flow from the believer's inner life, and the evangelist interprets the saying with reference to the Spirit whom believers would receive. Acts locates a prayer gathering beside a river outside Philippi, where Paul speaks to Lydia and other women. A river may be geography, threat, mission setting, or Spirit-interpreted image. The text, not a general symbolism of flowing water, establishes its theological force.
Ποταμός names a river. The selected passages locate John's baptizing work in the Jordan, portray a flood testing foundations, interpret living-water rivers through the Spirit, and place gospel witness beside a river at Philippi.
Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
People confess sins and receive John's baptism in the Jordan River, placing repentance within Israel's geography and expectation of the coming Lord.
People went out to him from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Mark likewise identifies the Jordan as the setting for John's preparatory ministry, while directing hearers toward the stronger One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
The river's flood crashes against the deeply founded house but cannot shake it, illustrating the tested stability of hearing and doing Jesus' words.
Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
Jesus promises rivers of living water flowing from the believer, and John explicitly explains the image as referring to the Spirit not yet given in this covenantal fullness.
On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there.
Outside Philippi, the missionaries find a customary prayer place beside the river, and that ordinary location becomes the setting for Lydia's attentive reception.
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. Flowing water that carries force and power; often symbolizes judgment, testing, or division in biblical narrative.
Flowing water that carries force and power; often symbolizes judgment, testing, or division in biblical narrative.
a river, stream, torrent: Mat.3:5 7:25, 27, Mrk.1:1-45 :, Luk.6:48-49, Act.16:13, 2Co.11:26, Rev.8:10 9:14 12:15-16 16:4, 12 21:1-2. Fig., pl., π. ὕδατος ζῶντος, Jhn.7:38.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
Read versea river, torrent
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 1 selected witness from 17 lexical occurrence verses.
ποταμός is built from these roots:
Imagery of abundant, overflowing Spirit-life.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Rivers can gather people, threaten structures, and carry images of divine life. The Jordan locates John's ministry in Israel's land and story, yet the water points beyond John toward the coming Messiah. Jesus' house image uses a river as a test: deep foundations matter because obedient hearing must survive pressure, not merely admire teaching. John 7 gives the richest metaphor but also its interpretation.
Living water refers to the Spirit whom believers receive through the glorified Christ, not an undefined inner energy. Acts returns to ordinary geography, where a riverside place of prayer becomes the doorway for gospel advance into a household and city. Churches should honor physical settings, build on obedient hearing, receive the Spirit through Christ, and remain ready for ministry outside conventional spaces.
Matt.3.6
Ποταμός is a noun for river or substantial stream. Geographic names may stand in apposition, while metaphorical uses can retain ideas of flow, abundance, or force. Narrative interpretation governs symbolism.
The Jordan marks covenant transitions, psalms celebrate God's river, prophets see life-giving water from the sanctuary, and Revelation ends with the river of life from God's throne.