Colt
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G4454 names a colt or young animal and in the New Testament refers to the donkey colt used for Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. 2, Jesus directs two disciples to find an unridden colt tied in the village and bring it, giving them a response for those who ask.
Reader summary
Full entry for πῶλος (G4454) · Open the biblical lexicon
G4454 names a colt or young animal and in the New Testament refers to the donkey colt used for Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. 2, Jesus directs two disciples to find an unridden colt tied in the village and bring it, giving them a response for those who ask.
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include colt (5), a colt (3), [her] colt (1), [it] (1), [the] colt (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 21:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (4), Mark (4), Matthew (3), John (1).
G4454 names a colt or young animal and in the New Testament refers to the donkey colt used for Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. In Mark. 11. 2, Jesus directs two disciples to find an unridden colt tied in the village and bring it, giving them a response for those who ask. In Luke. 19. 33, the owners do question the untying, preserving the public and accountable character of the action.
In John. 12. 15, the colt is interpreted through Scripture: Zion's king comes seated on a donkey's colt. G4454 opens teaching on Jesus' deliberate fulfillment of royal hope, obedient service, accountable use of property, and non-imperial kingship. It does not excuse taking property without consent, require harmonizing every narrative detail into one wording, or make humility a performance detached from justice.
G4454 is concentrated in the triumphal-entry accounts. The tied, unridden colt is found, questioned over, brought, covered with cloaks, and ridden by Jesus as the evangelists invoke Zion's promised king.
And said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.
Jesus tells two disciples where an unridden colt will be found, commands them to bring it, and prepares an answer for witnesses.
As they were untying the colt, its owners asked, “Why are you untying the colt?”
The colt's owners ask why it is being untied, and the disciples give the answer Jesus supplied.
“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion. See, your King is coming, seated on the colt of a donkey.”
John connects Jesus seated on the donkey colt with Scripture's call for Zion not to fear as her king comes.
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.
Greek word. Young equine animal; NT specifically denotes an untrained donkey colt, often symbolizing humility or submission.
Young equine animal; NT specifically denotes an untrained donkey colt, often symbolizing humility or submission.
(in cl. also ) [in LXX chiefly for עַיִר ;] a foal, colt, prop., of a horse, then the young of other animals; in NT of the colt of an ass: Mat.21:2, 5" (LXX), Mat.21:7, Mrk.11:2, 4-5 11:7, Luk.19:30, 33 19:35, Jhn.12:15" (LXX) .
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
12 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
Read versea colt, young ass
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 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 12 lexical occurrence verses.
πῶλος is a primary word - no further derivation.
Signals fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy.Luke 19:28–40
G4454 anchors the triumphal entry in an ordinary borrowed animal and a deliberate prophetic claim. Jesus arranges for the colt and enters Jerusalem publicly, receiving acclamation while embodying the humble king promised to Zion. The owner's question shows that discipleship does not erase accountability; the action occurs through Jesus' stated authority and a recognized answer, not secret entitlement.
The colt has not been ridden, heightening the purposeful preparation of the scene. Yet the royal procession moves toward conflict, lament, temple judgment, suffering, and the cross. Jesus does not use the crowd to seize conventional power. Faithful application welcomes His kingship, offers ordinary resources without manipulation, and refuses to equate humility with weakness or optics.
The colt is significant because of the king who rides and the Scripture He fulfills, not because young animals carry a universal spiritual quality.
John.12.15
G4454 is a masculine Greek noun for a colt or young animal and can be used more broadly in Greek, while its New Testament referent is the foal of a donkey. Gospel wording and cited prophecy clarify the species and role.
Zechariah 9 supplies the direct royal background, while Israel's kingly and Zion traditions deepen the event. The Gospels place Jesus' humble entry on the road to crucifixion, resurrection, and universal lordship.