What does φίλημα (phílēma) mean in the Bible?
φίλημα (phílēma): A kiss expressing Christian affection and brotherhood, distinguished from a casual greeting by spiritual significance.
Greek · G5370
φίλημα
A kiss
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φίλημαG5370
Pronunciationphílēma
What does φίλημα (phílēma) mean in the Bible?
φίλημα (phílēma): A kiss expressing Christian affection and brotherhood, distinguished from a casual greeting by spiritual significance.
Full entry for φίλημα (G5370) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5370?
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include kiss (4), with a kiss (2), a kiss (1).
Where does φίλημα (phílēma) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 7:45. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (2), 1 Corinthians (1), 1 Peter (1), 1 Thessalonians (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 Itkiss4×Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:26
with a kiss2×Luke 7:45, Luke 22:48
a kiss1×1 Peter 5:14
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 7:45φίλημάtowith a kissNoun - Accusative Neuter SingularLuke 22:48φιλήματιtowith a kissNoun - Dative Neuter SingularRomans 16:16φιλήματιtokissNoun - Dative Neuter Singular1 Corinthians 16:20φιλήματιtokissNoun - Dative Neuter Singular2 Corinthians 13:12φιλήματιtokissNoun - Dative Neuter Singular1 Thessalonians 5:26φιλήματιtokissNoun - Dative Neuter Singular1 Peter 5:14φιλήματιtoa kissNoun - Dative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLuke 7:45
Aligned rows7
Books represented6
Luke2Romans11 Corinthians12 Corinthians11 Thessalonians11 Peter1
Source forms
φιλήματι6xphilēmatiLuke 22:48, Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12
φίλημά1xphilēmaLuke 7:45
Parsing patterns
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular6xLuke 22:48, Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular1xLuke 7:45
Evidence Summary
Greek word. A kiss expressing Christian affection and brotherhood, distinguished from a casual greeting by spiritual significance.
Strong'sG5370
Lexical occurrences7 versesGreek text appearances7 timesWord forms2 forms7 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
a kiss
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
A kiss expressing Christian affection and brotherhood, distinguished from a casual greeting by spiritual significance.
(φιλέω), [in LXX: Pro.27:6, Sng.1:2 (נְשִׁיקָה) * ;] a kiss: Luk.7:45 22:48; as a token of Christian brotherhood, φ. ἅγιον, Rom.16:16, 1Co.16:20, 2Co.13:12, 1Th.5:26; φ. ἀγάπης, 1Pe.5:14 (see Lft., Notes, 90; DB, DCA, see word "Kiss").
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 7:45Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
φίλημάfilhma
a kiss
Read verseLuke 22:48Noun Dative Singular Neuter
φιλήματιfilhmati
a kiss
Read verseRomans 16:16Noun Dative Singular Neuter
φιλήματιfilhmati
a kiss
Read verse1 Corinthians 16:20Noun Dative Singular Neuter
φιλήματιfilhmati
a kiss
Read verse2 Corinthians 13:12Noun Dative Singular Neuter
φιλήματι.filhmati
a kiss
Read verse1 Thessalonians 5:26Noun Dative Singular Neuter
φιλήματιfilhmati
a kiss
Read verse1 Peter 5:14Noun Dative Singular Neuter
φιλήματιfilhmati
a kiss
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 2 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 patterns2Aligned forms7Case patternDative (6)Number patternSingular (7)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Dative · Singular · NeuterLuke 22:48 · Rom 16:16 · 1 Cor 16:20 · 2 Cor 13:12 · 1 Thess 5:26 · 1 Pet 5:146×
Accusative · Singular · NeuterLuke 7:451×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 22:47–53φιλήματιphílēma
Kiss
Showing 1 selected witness from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
φίλημα 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.