What does φανερός (phanerós) mean in the Bible?
Φανερός describes what is visible, evident, manifest, public, or plainly recognizable. Jesus commands unclean spirits and healed crowds not to make His identity publicly known on their terms.
Greek · G5318
φανερός
Clear
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φανερός G5318
Pronunciation phanerós
What does φανερός (phanerós) mean in the Bible?
Φανερός describes what is visible, evident, manifest, public, or plainly recognizable. Jesus commands unclean spirits and healed crowds not to make His identity publicly known on their terms.
Reader summary
Full entry for φανερός (G5318) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5318?
The BSB source-word alignment has 18 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include known (3), evident (2), light (2), [ only ] outward (1), [It] is clear (1).
Where does φανερός (phanerós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 12:16. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (3), Mark (3), Romans (3), Acts (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Φανερός describes what is visible, evident, manifest, public, or plainly recognizable. Jesus commands unclean spirits and healed crowds not to make His identity publicly known on their terms. He teaches that hidden things will be brought into the open, the Jerusalem council admits a healing is manifest to everyone, and Paul says what can be known about God is plain because God has made it plain.
Visibility is not the same as faithful interpretation. An event may be undeniable while leaders resist its implication, and premature publicity may distort Jesus' mission. The adjective identifies openness or evidence; agent, timing, content, and response determine whether manifestation serves revelation, judgment, witness, or publicity that Jesus restrains.
How the Bible Uses It
Φανερός names what is open or evident. Jesus governs the timing of disclosure, hidden realities come to light, and undeniable evidence still confronts hearers with a moral response.
- Matt.12.16
Warning them not to make Him known.
Jesus restrains publicity after healings in a passage presenting the quiet servant who fulfills Isaiah rather than pursuing acclaim or political spectacle.
- Mark.3.12
But He warned them sternly not to make Him known.
Unclean spirits correctly identify Jesus but are forbidden to make Him known, showing that true words from hostile witnesses do not control His revelation.
- Luke.8.17
For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light.
Jesus promises that what is hidden will become manifest, pressing hearers to attend carefully because God's truth is not intended to remain fruitless concealment.
- Acts.4.16
“What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it.
The council concedes that the healing is publicly evident throughout Jerusalem, yet clarity of evidence does not overcome their determination to suppress the name of Jesus.
- Rom.1.19
For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
Paul says knowledge of God is plain because God has made it plain, grounding accountability in divine self-disclosure rather than autonomous discovery.
Passage 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 known 3× Matthew 12:16, Mark 3:12, Acts 7:13
evident 2× 1 Corinthians 3:13, 1 Timothy 4:15
light 2× Mark 4:22, Luke 8:17
[ only ] outward 1× Romans 2:28
[It] is clear 1× Acts 4:16
clear 1× Philippians 1:13
disclosed 1× Luke 8:17
distinguished 1× 1 John 3:10
made known 1× 1 Corinthians 14:25
obvious 1× Galatians 5:19
outwardly 1× Romans 2:28
plain 1× Romans 1:19
show 1× 1 Corinthians 11:19
well known 1× Mark 6:14
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 12:16 φανερὸν to known Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular Mark 3:12 φανερὸν to known Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular Mark 4:22 φανερόν to light Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular Mark 6:14 φανερὸν to well known Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular Luke 8:17 φανερὸν to disclosed Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular Luke 8:17 φανερὸν to light Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular Acts 4:16 φανερόν to [It] is clear Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular Acts 7:13 φανερὸν to known Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular Romans 1:19 φανερόν to plain Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular Romans 2:28 φανερῷ to outwardly Adjective - Dative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 12:16
Aligned rows 18
Books represented 10
Matthew 1 Mark 3 Luke 2 Acts 2 Romans 3 1 Corinthians 3 Galatians 1 Philippians 1 1 Timothy 1 1 John 1
Source forms
φανερὸν 7x phaneron Matthew 12:16, Mark 3:12, Mark 6:14, Luke 8:17
φανερόν 3x phaneron Mark 4:22, Acts 4:16, Romans 1:19
φανερὰ 2x phanera 1 Corinthians 14:25, 1 Timothy 4:15
φανερῷ 2x phanerō Romans 2:28
φανερά 1x phanera 1 John 3:10
Φανερὰ 1x Phanera Galatians 5:19
φανεροὶ 1x phaneroi 1 Corinthians 11:19
φανεροὺς 1x phanerous Philippians 1:13
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular 6x Mark 6:14, Luke 8:17, Acts 4:16, Acts 7:13
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural 3x 1 Corinthians 14:25, Galatians 5:19, 1 John 3:10
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular 2x Matthew 12:16, Mark 3:12
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular 2x Mark 4:22, Luke 8:17
Adjective - Dative Neuter Singular 2x Romans 2:28
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural 1x Philippians 1:13
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular 1x 1 Timothy 4:15
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x 1 Corinthians 11:19
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not treat public exposure as a universal good; truth-telling must also honor safety, confidentiality, due process, and Jesus' own restraint of publicity.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that what is manifest is automatically believed or obeyed.
- Do not use φανερός to justify disclosing private information that Scripture and love require believers to protect.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Open to view or exposed; what cannot remain hidden or secret.
Strong's G5318
Lexical occurrences 18 verses Greek text appearances 21 times 16 shown below Word forms 8 forms 18 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
clear
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 21 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 6:4 Adjective Dative Singular Neuter
φανερῷ. fanerw
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Matthew 6:6 Adjective Dative Singular Neuter
φανερῷ. fanerw
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Matthew 6:18 Adjective Dative Singular Neuter
φανερῷ. fanerw
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Matthew 12:16 Adjective Accusative Singular Masculine
φανερὸν faneron
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Mark 3:12 Adjective Accusative Singular Masculine
φανερὸν faneron
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Mark 4:22 Adjective Accusative Singular Neuter
φανερὸν faneron
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Mark 6:14 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
φανερὸν faneron
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Luke 8:17 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
φανερὸν faneron
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Luke 8:17 Adjective Accusative Singular Neuter
φανερὸν faneron
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Acts 4:16 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
φανερόν, faneron
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Acts 7:13 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
φανερὸν faneron
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Romans 1:19 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
φανερόν faneron
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Romans 2:28 Adjective Dative Singular Neuter
φανερῷ fanerw
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse Romans 2:28 Adjective Dative Singular Neuter
φανερῷ fanerw
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse 1 Corinthians 3:13 Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
φανερὸν faneron
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
Read verse 1 Corinthians 11:19 Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
φανεροὶ faneroi
apparent, clear, visible, manifest, clearly
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 8 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 8 Aligned forms 18 Case pattern Nominative (11) Number pattern Singular (13)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Neuter Mark 6:14 · Luke 8:17 · Acts 4:16 · Acts 7:13 · Rom 1:19 · 1 Cor 3:13 6×
Nominative · Plural · Neuter 1 Cor 14:25 · Gal 5:19 · 1 John 3:10 3×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine 1 Cor 11:19 1×
Nominative · Singular · Feminine 1 Tim 4:15 1×
Dative · Singular · Neuter Rom 2:28 2×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Matt 12:16 · Mark 3:12 2×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Mark 4:22 · Luke 8:17 2×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Phil 1:13 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 8:16–18 φανερόν phanerós
Manifest, visible
Showing 1 selected witness from 18 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
φανερός 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
Manifestation is governed by God, not by publicity alone. Jesus refuses to let crowds or demons dictate how His identity becomes known, because accurate labels can still serve distorted expectations and hostile testimony. His sayings about hidden things promise disclosure and demand responsible hearing. Acts presents a striking moral contrast: authorities admit the healing is evident yet seek to silence its witnesses.
Romans locates accountability in what God has made plain about Himself through creation. These texts show that clarity does not mechanically produce obedience. God reveals, evidence confronts, and hearts respond either with faith or suppression. Churches should speak openly where God has spoken, resist image-driven exposure, protect what wisdom requires to remain private, and never confuse wide circulation with truthful witness.
Anchor passage
Matt.12.16
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 12:15-21, the quiet servant and restrained publicity
- Mark 3:7-12, hostile spirits forbidden to disclose Jesus
- Luke 8:16-18, hidden truth brought to light
- Acts 4:13-22, evident healing and suppressed witness
- Romans 1:18-23, divine manifestation and human suppression
- 1 Corinthians 4:5, the Lord exposing hidden motives
Φανερός is an adjective related to appearing or making known and may function predicatively or substantivally. It describes openness or evidence without specifying whether observers interpret it rightly.
From Old to New Testament
God reveals His glory in creation and mighty acts while prophets promise hidden things will be exposed. Jesus embodies revelation yet unfolds His mission according to the Father's time.
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