What does σίναπι (sínapi) mean in the Bible?
σίναπι (sínapi): A proverbial plant symbolizing tiny beginnings that grow into substantial, unexpected greatness in kingdom parables.
Greek · G4615
σίναπι
Mustard (the plant)
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σίναπι G4615
Pronunciation sínapi
What does σίναπι (sínapi) mean in the Bible?
σίναπι (sínapi): A proverbial plant symbolizing tiny beginnings that grow into substantial, unexpected greatness in kingdom parables.
Full entry for σίναπι (G4615) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4615?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a mustard (2), . . . (1), a mustard seed (1), of a mustard seed (1).
Where does σίναπι (sínapi) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 13:31. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (2), Matthew (2), Mark (1).
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 a mustard 2× Matthew 13:31, Matthew 17:20
. . . 1× Mark 4:31
a mustard seed 1× Luke 13:19
of a mustard seed 1× Luke 17:6
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 13:31 σινάπεως to a mustard Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Matthew 17:20 σινάπεως to a mustard Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Mark 4:31 σινάπεως to . . . Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Luke 13:19 σινάπεως to a mustard seed Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Luke 17:6 σινάπεως to of a mustard seed Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 13:31
Aligned rows 5
Books represented 3
Matthew 2 Mark 1 Luke 2
Source forms
σινάπεως 5x sinapeōs Matthew 13:31, Matthew 17:20, Mark 4:31, Luke 13:19
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular 5x Matthew 13:31, Matthew 17:20, Mark 4:31, Luke 13:19
Evidence Summary
Creation
Greek word. A proverbial plant symbolizing tiny beginnings that grow into substantial, unexpected greatness in kingdom parables.
Strong's G4615
Lexical occurrences 5 verses Greek text appearances 5 times Word forms 1 form 5 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 13:18–21 Source Gloss
mustard (the plant)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 13:31 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
σινάπεως, sinapewv
mustard
Read verse Matthew 17:20 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
σινάπεως, sinapewv
mustard
Read verse Mark 4:31 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
σινάπεως, sinapewv
mustard
Read verse Luke 13:19 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
σινάπεως, sinapewv
mustard
Read verse Luke 17:6 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
σινάπεως, sinapewv
mustard
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 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.
Form patterns 1 Aligned forms 5 Case pattern Genitive (5) Number pattern Singular (5)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Singular · Neuter Matt 13:31 · Matt 17:20 · Mark 4:31 · Luke 13:19 · Luke 17:6 5×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
mustard seed
mustard plant
Additional Occurrences
Mark 4:30–34 σινάπι sínapi
mustard plant
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Why This Word Matters
Illustrates humble beginning and expansive growth. Luke 13:18–21
Illustrates small beginnings leading to great expansion. Matthew 13:31–32
Canonical Themes
Creation
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.
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