What does ποτήριον (potḗrion) mean in the Bible?
Ποτήριον (potḗrion) is a drinking cup and, by extension, the portion assigned to someone. A cup of cold water can embody humble service to a disciple.
Greek · G4221
ποτήριον
Cup
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
ποτήριον G4221
Pronunciation potḗrion
What does ποτήριον (potḗrion) mean in the Bible?
Ποτήριον (potḗrion) is a drinking cup and, by extension, the portion assigned to someone. A cup of cold water can embody humble service to a disciple.
Reader summary
Full entry for ποτήριον (G4221) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4221?
The BSB source-word alignment has 31 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include cup (22), [the] cup (4), [even] a cup (1), a cup (1), cup [is] (1).
Where does ποτήριον (potḗrion) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 10:42. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (8), Matthew (7), Mark (6), Luke (5).
What This Word Actually Means
Ποτήριον (potḗrion) is a drinking cup and, by extension, the portion assigned to someone. A cup of cold water can embody humble service to a disciple. Mark mentions cups as ordinary vessels within debates about ritual washing. At Jesus' final meal, a shared cup becomes part of His enacted interpretation of His approaching death, and Paul says drinking the cup proclaims the Lord's death until He comes.
Revelation uses a cup as the measured portion of Babylon's judgment. The object is concrete, but its significance changes with what it contains, who gives or receives it, and the action the passage commands. The noun does not make every cup sacramental, nor does figurative use erase the reality of divine judgment. Readers must distinguish hospitality, household practice, covenant remembrance, proclamation, and assigned recompense.
How the Bible Uses It
Ποτήριον names a cup used in humble hospitality, ritual washing, Jesus' final meal, the church's proclamation of His death, and Revelation's image of a measured portion of judgment. Contents and context determine its force.
- Matt.10.42
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”
A simple cup of cold water given because the recipient belongs to Jesus receives His notice, dignifying modest service without turning the object into a meritorious ritual.
- Mark.7.4
And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.
Mark lists cups among vessels washed according to inherited traditions, placing the object inside Jesus' dispute about purity, tradition, and the heart.
- Luke.22.17
After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves.
Jesus takes the cup, gives thanks, and directs the disciples to share it, making table fellowship part of His deliberate preparation for the kingdom and cross.
- 1Cor.11.26
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Paul says the congregation proclaims the Lord's death whenever it drinks the cup, joining repeated participation to public remembrance and hope until Christ comes.
- Rev.18.6
Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
Babylon receives a doubled mixture in her own cup, an image of proportionate divine recompense for the violence and luxury with which she treated others.
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 It cup 22× Matthew 20:22, Matthew 20:23, Matthew 23:25, Matthew 23:26
[the] cup 4× Matthew 26:27, Luke 22:17, 1 Corinthians 10:21
[even] a cup 1× Mark 9:41
a cup 1× Matthew 10:42
cup [is] 1× Luke 22:20
of cups 1× Mark 7:4
the cup 1× Mark 14:23
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 10:42 ποτήριον to a cup Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Matthew 20:22 ποτήριον to cup Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Matthew 20:23 ποτήριόν to cup Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Matthew 23:25 ποτηρίου to cup Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Matthew 23:26 ποτηρίου to cup Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Matthew 26:27 ποτήριον to [the] cup Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Matthew 26:39 ποτήριον to cup Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Mark 7:4 ποτηρίων to of cups Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural Mark 9:41 ποτήριον to [even] a cup Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Mark 10:38 ποτήριον to cup Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 10:42
Aligned rows 31
Books represented 6
Matthew 7 Mark 6 Luke 5 John 1 1 Corinthians 8 Revelation 4
Source forms
ποτήριον 23x potērion Matthew 10:42, Matthew 20:22, Matthew 26:27, Matthew 26:39
ποτηρίου 4x potēriou Matthew 23:25, Matthew 23:26, Luke 11:39, 1 Corinthians 11:28
ποτηρίῳ 2x potēriō Revelation 14:10, Revelation 18:6
ποτήριόν 1x potērion Matthew 20:23
ποτηρίων 1x potēriōn Mark 7:4
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 20x Matthew 10:42, Matthew 20:22, Matthew 20:23, Matthew 26:27
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular 4x Matthew 23:25, Matthew 23:26, Luke 11:39, 1 Corinthians 11:28
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular 4x Matthew 26:39, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 10:16, 1 Corinthians 11:25
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular 2x Revelation 14:10, Revelation 18:6
Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural 1x Mark 7:4
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not assume that every cup occurrence refers to the Lord's Supper or that the physical vessel carries holiness apart from the action Christ institutes.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that a cup of water earns salvation or purchases divine reward.
- Do not reduce the Lord's cup to private sentiment when Paul calls the church's action proclamation of Christ's death until He comes.
Evidence Summary
Messiah
Greek word. Metaphorically denotes one's destined experience or lot, especially Christ's suffering or divine judgment.
Strong's G4221
Lexical occurrences 31 verses Greek text appearances 33 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 31 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link John 18:1–11 Source Gloss
cup
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 33 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 10:42 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ποτήριον pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Matthew 20:22 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ποτήριον pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Matthew 20:23 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ποτήριόν pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Matthew 23:25 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
ποτηρίου pothriou
a drinking cup
Read verse Matthew 23:26 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
ποτηρίου pothriou
a drinking cup
Read verse Matthew 26:27 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ποτήριον, pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Matthew 26:39 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
ποτήριον pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Matthew 26:42 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
ποτήριον pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Mark 7:4 Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
ποτηρίων pothriwn
a drinking cup
Read verse Mark 7:8 Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
ποτηρίων· pothriwn
a drinking cup
Read verse Mark 9:41 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ποτήριον pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Mark 10:38 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ποτήριον pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Mark 10:39 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ποτήριον pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Mark 14:23 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ποτήριον pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Mark 14:36 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ποτήριον pothrion
a drinking cup
Read verse Luke 11:39 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
ποτηρίου pothriou
a drinking cup
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 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 31 Case pattern Accusative (20) Number pattern Singular (30)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Neuter Matt 26:39 · Luke 22:20 · 1 Cor 10:16 · 1 Cor 11:25 4×
Genitive · Singular · Neuter Matt 23:25 · Matt 23:26 · Luke 11:39 · 1 Cor 11:28 4×
Genitive · Plural · Neuter Mark 7:4 1×
Dative · Singular · Neuter Rev 14:10 · Rev 18:6 2×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Matt 10:42 · Matt 20:22 · Matt 20:23 · Matt 26:27 · Mark 9:41 · Mark 10:38 · Mark 10:39 · Mark 14:23 · Mark 14:36 · Luke 22:17 · Luke 22:20 · Luke 22:42 · John 18:11 · 1 Cor 10:21 · 1 Cor 11:25 · 1 Cor 11:26 20×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
cup
cup
cup of suffering
Additional Occurrences
John 18:1-11 ποτήιον potḗrion
cup
Luke 22:39–46 ποτήριον potḗrion
Cup
Mark 14:32–42 ποτήριον potḗrion
cup; metaphor for suffering or wrath
Showing 6 selected witnesses from 31 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ποτήριον is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Represents divine judgment borne by Christ. John 18:1–11
Symbolizes divine wrath Christ willingly accepts. Luke 22:39–46
Symbol of divinely appointed suffering and wrath. Mark 14:32–42
Symbolizes divinely appointed suffering.
Canonical Themes
Messiah
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
A cup gathers large theological realities into an object held by the hand. Jesus honors the cup of water offered to a little one, showing that kingdom service need not be conspicuous to matter. Mark's washed cups expose the danger of guarding inherited externals while neglecting the heart from which defilement comes. At the final meal, Jesus receives and shares the cup in conscious movement toward His death.
Paul therefore treats the church's drinking as proclamation: the crucified Lord is remembered and His coming awaited. Revelation gives the image a judicial edge, since Babylon must drink the portion corresponding to her deeds. Teachers should not flatten these scenes into one symbolic formula. Together they show humble generosity, the limits of ritual cleansing, covenant remembrance centered on Christ, and the certainty that God assigns a just portion.
Anchor passage
Matt.10.42
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 10:40-42, humble service offered to Christ's little ones
- Mark 7:1-23, washed vessels and true defilement
- Luke 22:14-20, the shared cup and Jesus' covenant death
- 1 Corinthians 11:23-34, proclamation and discernment at the Lord's table
- Revelation 18:4-8, Babylon's cup and measured judgment
- Psalm 116:12-14, lifting the cup of salvation with thanksgiving
Ποτήριον is a diminutive-form neuter noun for a drinking vessel. Metonymically it can denote the contents or the portion someone receives. The verb governing the cup and the surrounding meal or judgment imagery clarify the sense.
From Old to New Testament
The Old Testament speaks of cups of salvation, blessing, wrath, and staggering. Jesus brings cup imagery into His final meal and suffering, while the church drinks in remembrance and Revelation announces judgment's appointed portion.
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