What does ὕψιστος (hýpsistos) mean in the Bible?
G5310 is the Greek superlative for what is highest. ” Luke 1:32 calls Jesus the Son of the Most High and ties that confession to David’s throne.
Greek · G5310
ὕψιστος
Highest
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ὕψιστοςG5310
Pronunciationhýpsistos
What does ὕψιστος (hýpsistos) mean in the Bible?
G5310 is the Greek superlative for what is highest. ” Luke 1:32 calls Jesus the Son of the Most High and ties that confession to David’s throne.
Reader summary
Full entry for ὕψιστος (G5310) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5310?
The BSB source-word alignment has 13 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Most High (5), of [the] Most High (3), [the] highest (2), highest (2), the Most High (1).
Where does ὕψιστος (hýpsistos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 21:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (7), Acts (2), Mark (2), Hebrews (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G5310 is the Greek superlative for what is highest. In several New Testament settings it functions as the reverent title “the Most High” for God, while other occurrences speak of the highest heavenly realm in acclamations such as “glory in the highest. ” Luke 1:32 calls Jesus the Son of the Most High and ties that confession to David’s throne. Luke 6:35 identifies enemy-loving generosity with being sons of the Most High because God is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Acts 7:48 declares that the Most High is not confined to houses made by human hands. Hebrews 7:1 names Melchizedek priest of God Most High. The title magnifies God’s incomparable sovereignty, but the adjective does not make every occurrence a divine name. Grammar and referent determine whether the text names God or a highest place. Teachers should also resist using divine height as a picture of remote indifference.
Luke joins the Most High’s majesty to promise, mercy, generosity, and redemptive purpose. G5310 therefore helps readers confess God above every rival while attending to the character and action each passage actually reveals.
Passage contextBook contextPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
G5310 speaks of the highest realm and repeatedly serves as a title for God Most High. Its New Testament movement holds transcendence together with Davidic promise, holy conception, enemy-love, freedom from human containment, and priestly blessing.
- Luke.1.32
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
Gabriel names Jesus Son of the Most High and immediately speaks of David’s throne, joining divine-sonship confession to the Gospel’s royal promise rather than offering a free-standing lexical formula.
- Luke.6.35
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Jesus grounds enemy-love and openhanded lending in the Most High’s kindness toward ungrateful and wicked people, so divine supremacy is disclosed through generous character rather than coercive dominance.
- Acts.7.48
However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
Stephen invokes the Most High while denying that human-made houses can contain Him, confronting religious control without denying the scriptural significance of temple worship in its covenant setting.
- Heb.7.1
This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
Melchizedek’s priesthood is identified with God Most High, providing the narrative foundation for Hebrews’ argument while preserving the distinction between the title of God and the priest who serves Him.
Book contextPassage 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 ItMost High5×Mark 5:7, Luke 8:28, Acts 7:48, Acts 16:17
of [the] Most High3×Luke 1:32, Luke 1:35, Luke 1:76
[the] highest2×Luke 2:14, Luke 19:38
highest2×Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:10
the Most High1×Luke 6:35
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 21:9ὑψίστοιςtohighestAdjective - Dative Neuter Plural - SuperlativeMark 5:7ὙψίστουtoMost HighAdjective - Genitive Masculine Singular - SuperlativeMark 11:10ὑψίστοιςtohighestAdjective - Dative Neuter Plural - SuperlativeLuke 1:32Ὑψίστουtoof [the] Most HighAdjective - Genitive Masculine Singular - SuperlativeLuke 1:35Ὑψίστουtoof [the] Most HighAdjective - Genitive Masculine Singular - SuperlativeLuke 1:76Ὑψίστουtoof [the] Most HighAdjective - Genitive Masculine Singular - SuperlativeLuke 2:14ὑψίστοιςto[the] highestAdjective - Dative Neuter Plural - SuperlativeLuke 6:35Ὑψίστουtothe Most HighAdjective - Genitive Masculine Singular - SuperlativeLuke 8:28ὙψίστουtoMost HighAdjective - Genitive Masculine Singular - SuperlativeLuke 19:38ὑψίστοιςto[the] highestAdjective - Dative Neuter Plural - Superlative
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 21:9
Aligned rows13
Books represented5
Matthew1Mark2Luke7Acts2Hebrews1
Source forms
Ὑψίστου8xHypsistouMark 5:7, Luke 1:32, Luke 1:35, Luke 1:76
ὑψίστοις4xhypsistoisMatthew 21:9, Mark 11:10, Luke 2:14, Luke 19:38
Ὕψιστος1xHypsistosActs 7:48
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Singular - Superlative8xMark 5:7, Luke 1:32, Luke 1:35, Luke 1:76
Adjective - Dative Neuter Plural - Superlative4xMatthew 21:9, Mark 11:10, Luke 2:14, Luke 19:38
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular - Superlative1xActs 7:48
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Confess God’s unmatched sovereignty in ways shaped by His revealed kindness, holiness, promise, and freedom from human control.
- Let the title challenge ministry empires that imply God is contained by one building, leader, nation, or institution.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that G5310 always means God Most High; several occurrences describe the highest heavenly realm in praise.
- Do not claim that divine transcendence licenses distant or coercive pastoral leadership; Luke 6 joins the Most High’s identity to generous enemy-love.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Superlative form reserved for God's transcendent supremacy; emphasizes absolute divine sovereignty above all creation.
Strong'sG5310
Lexical occurrences13 versesGreek text appearances13 timesWord forms3 forms13 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
Highest
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
13 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 21:9Adjective Dative Plural Neuter
ὑψίστοις.uyistoiv
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseMark 5:7Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine
ὑψίστου;uyistou
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseMark 11:10Adjective Dative Plural Neuter
ὑψίστοις.uyistoiv
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseLuke 1:32Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine
ὑψίστουuyistou
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseLuke 1:35Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine
ὑψίστουuyistou
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseLuke 1:76Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine
ὑψίστουuyistou
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseLuke 2:14Adjective Dative Plural Neuter
ὑψίστοιςuyistoiv
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseLuke 6:35Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine
ὑψίστου·uyistou
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseLuke 8:28Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine
ὑψίστου;uyistou
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseLuke 19:38Adjective Dative Plural Neuter
ὑψίστοις.uyistoiv
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseActs 7:48Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
ὕψιστοςuyistov
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseActs 16:17Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine
ὑψίστουuyistou
highest, most high, the heights
Read verseHebrews 7:1Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine
ὑψίστου,uyistou
highest, most high, the heights
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 3 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 patterns3Aligned forms13Case patternGenitive (8)Number patternSingular (9)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · MasculineActs 7:481×
Genitive · Singular · MasculineMark 5:7 · Luke 1:32 · Luke 1:35 · Luke 1:76 · Luke 6:35 · Luke 8:28 · Acts 16:17 · Heb 7:18×
Dative · Plural · NeuterMatt 21:9 · Mark 11:10 · Luke 2:14 · Luke 19:384×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 6:27–36Ὑψίστουhýpsistos
Most High
Luke 8:26–39Ὕψιστεhýpsistos
Most High
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 13 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ὕψιστος is built from this root:
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
The New Testament’s use of G5310 refuses to separate God’s incomparable supremacy from His self-revealed ways. Luke’s infancy narrative calls Jesus Son of the Most High within the promise of David’s throne and identifies the overshadowing power of the Most High in the holy conception. The same Gospel later makes enemy-love a family resemblance to the Most High, whose kindness reaches people who are ungrateful and wicked.
That movement prevents divine height from being imagined as aloofness. Acts 7 declares that the Most High cannot be contained by human construction, challenging every attempt to manage God through a building, institution, or claim of possession. Hebrews reaches back to Melchizedek, priest of God Most High, to serve a larger argument about priesthood and blessing.
Other uses of the adjective describe the highest heavenly sphere in praise. The lexical distinction matters: not every “highest” is a title, and the title does not explain every doctrine of God. Yet the canonical pattern is rich. God exceeds every rival and every human container, while His supremacy is known through faithful promise, holy action, undeserved kindness, and blessing.
Churches confess the Most High faithfully when their teaching magnifies Him without copying the coercive ladders of fallen power.
Anchor passage
Luke.6.35
Doctrinal connections
- Luke 1:32 places the title Most High beside Jesus’ sonship and the promised Davidic throne within the annunciation.
- Luke 1:35 connects the power of the Most High with the Spirit’s overshadowing and the holiness of the child to be born.
- Luke 6:35 reveals the Most High’s kindness toward enemies as the pattern for nonreciprocal love among His children.
- Acts 7:48 denies that human-made structures can contain the Most High, limiting institutional claims to possess or manage God.
- Hebrews 7:1 identifies Melchizedek as priest of God Most High and uses that narrative within its christological priesthood argument.
- Highest-realm acclamations in the Gospels direct glory to God while remaining grammatically distinct from occurrences that use G5310 as His title.
G5310 is a superlative adjective meaning highest. With the article or an explicit divine referent it can function as the title Most High; in neuter plural or spatial expressions it can refer to the highest heavenly regions, so morphology and syntax control the reading.
From Old to New Testament
The title continues the Old Testament confession of God Most High, including the Melchizedek narrative and songs that exalt the Lord above every rival. The New Testament applies that confession within the revelation of Jesus, the Spirit’s work, generous enemy-love, and a priesthood that Hebrews reads christologically.
Book contextCanonical parallelPastoral application