What does φίλος (phílos) mean in the Bible?
Philos names a friend, loved companion, or person bound by affection and loyalty. Jesus is accused of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners because He receives people others despise.
Greek · G5384
φίλος
Friendly/friend
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φίλος G5384
Pronunciation phílos
What does φίλος (phílos) mean in the Bible?
Philos names a friend, loved companion, or person bound by affection and loyalty. Jesus is accused of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners because He receives people others despise.
Reader summary
Full entry for φίλος (G5384) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5384?
The BSB source-word alignment has 29 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include friends (15), Friend (5), a friend (4), [a] friend (1), [his] friend (1).
Where does φίλος (phílos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 11:19. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (15), John (6), Acts (3), 3 John (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Philos names a friend, loved companion, or person bound by affection and loyalty. Jesus is accused of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners because He receives people others despise. He calls disciples His friends and tells them not to fear those who kill the body. He warns that parents, relatives, and friends may betray believers during persecution. Pilate is threatened with loss of Caesar's friendship if he releases Jesus, showing friendship language used for political loyalty and patronage.
Third John closes with greetings from friends by name. The noun can express genuine affection, discipleship, social association, or strategic allegiance. Its value depends on the relationship's truth and object.
How the Bible Uses It
Philos ranges from compassionate association and discipleship to family friendship under persecution, political loyalty, and ordinary personal greeting. Friendship can sustain, accuse, betray, or pressure, so Scripture asks whom loyalty serves.
- Matt.11.19
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”
Matthew 11:19 says critics call the Son of Man a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Their slur unintentionally reveals the welcome of Jesus, whose wisdom is vindicated by its fruit.
- Luke.12.4
I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
Luke 12:4 has Jesus address disciples as "my friends" before warning them not to fear those who kill the body. Friendship with Jesus supports courage beneath God's greater authority and care.
- Luke.21.16
You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death.
Luke 21:16 says believers may be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. Natural affection does not guarantee loyalty when allegiance to Jesus becomes costly.
- John.19.12
From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”
John 19:12 says releasing Jesus would mean Pilate is no friend of Caesar. The crowd weaponizes imperial loyalty, and Pilate sacrifices justice under political pressure.
- 3John.1.14
Instead, I hope to see you soon and speak with you face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send you greetings. Greet each of our friends there by name.
Third John 14 sends greetings from the friends and asks that friends be greeted by name. Personal recognition closes a letter concerned with faithful hospitality and domineering leadership.
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 friends 15× Luke 7:6, Luke 12:4, Luke 14:12, Luke 15:6
Friend 5× Luke 11:5, Luke 14:10, John 3:29, John 11:11
a friend 4× Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:34, James 2:23, James 4:4
[a] friend 1× Luke 11:6
[his] friend 1× Luke 11:5
friends [ here ] 1× 3 John 1:14
friends [there] 1× 3 John 1:14
friendship 1× Luke 11:8
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 11:19 φίλος to a friend Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 7:6 φίλους to friends Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 7:34 φίλος to a friend Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 11:5 φίλον to [his] friend Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular Luke 11:5 Φίλε to Friend Noun - Vocative Masculine Singular Luke 11:6 φίλος to [a] friend Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 11:8 φίλον to friendship Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular Luke 12:4 φίλοις to friends Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural Luke 14:10 Φίλε to Friend Noun - Vocative Masculine Singular Luke 14:12 φίλους to friends Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 11:19
Aligned rows 29
Books represented 6
Matthew 1 Luke 15 John 6 Acts 3 James 2 3 John 2
Source forms
φίλος 8x philos Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:34, Luke 11:6, John 3:29
φίλους 8x philous Luke 7:6, Luke 14:12, Luke 15:6, Luke 16:9
φίλοι 4x philoi Luke 23:12, John 15:14, Acts 19:31, 3 John 1:14
φίλων 3x philōn Luke 15:29, Luke 21:16, John 15:13
Φίλε 2x Phile Luke 11:5, Luke 14:10
φίλον 2x philon Luke 11:5, Luke 11:8
φίλας 1x philas Luke 15:9
φίλοις 1x philois Luke 12:4
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural 8x Luke 7:6, Luke 14:12, Luke 15:6, Luke 16:9
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular 8x Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:34, Luke 11:6, John 3:29
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural 4x Luke 23:12, John 15:14, Acts 19:31, 3 John 1:14
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural 3x Luke 15:29, Luke 21:16, John 15:13
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular 2x Luke 11:5, Luke 11:8
Noun - Vocative Masculine Singular 2x Luke 11:5, Luke 14:10
Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural 1x Luke 12:4
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural 1x Luke 15:9
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not treat welcoming or befriending sinners as approval of every belief or practice.
- Do not demand secrecy, silence, or injustice in the name of friendship or institutional loyalty.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not treat welcoming or befriending sinners as approval of every belief or practice.
- Do not demand secrecy, silence, or injustice in the name of friendship or institutional loyalty.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Friend denoting intimate personal relationship, distinct from servant; marks chosen companionship.
Strong's G5384
Lexical occurrences 29 verses Greek text appearances 29 times 16 shown below Word forms 8 forms 29 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
friendly/friend
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 29 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 11:19 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
φίλος filov
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 7:6 Adjective Accusative Plural Masculine
φίλους, filouv
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 7:34 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
φίλος filov
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 11:5 Adjective Accusative Singular Masculine
φίλον, filon
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 11:5 Noun Singular Masculine
Φίλε, file
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 11:6 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
φίλος filov
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 11:8 Adjective Accusative Singular Masculine
φίλον, filon
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 12:4 Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
φίλοις filoiv
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 14:10 Noun Singular Masculine
Φίλε, file
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 14:12 Adjective Accusative Plural Masculine
φίλους filouv
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 15:6 Adjective Accusative Plural Masculine
φίλους filouv
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 15:9 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
φίλας filav
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 15:29 Adjective Genitive Plural Masculine
φίλων filwn
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 16:9 Adjective Accusative Plural Masculine
φίλους filouv
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 21:16 Adjective Genitive Plural Masculine
φίλων, filwn
friendly, a friend
Read verse Luke 23:12 Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
φίλοι filoi
friendly, a friend
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 29 Case pattern Nominative (12) Number pattern Plural (17)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 11:19 · Luke 7:34 · Luke 11:6 · John 3:29 · John 11:11 · John 19:12 · Jas 2:23 · Jas 4:4 8×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Luke 23:12 · John 15:14 · Acts 19:31 · 3 John 1:15 4×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Luke 15:29 · Luke 21:16 · John 15:13 3×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Luke 12:4 1×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Luke 7:6 · Luke 14:12 · Luke 15:6 · Luke 16:9 · John 15:15 · Acts 10:24 · Acts 27:3 · 3 John 1:15 8×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Luke 11:5 · Luke 11:8 2×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine Luke 15:9 1×
Vocative · Singular · Masculine Luke 11:5 · Luke 14:10 2×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 12:4–7 φίλοι phílos
Friends
Showing 1 selected witness from 29 lexical occurrence verses.
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
Philos gives friendship warmth but not automatic innocence. Jesus accepts the insulting label "friend of sinners" by continuing a mission of repentance and mercy among the despised. He calls disciples friends and prepares them for courage when human relationships become dangerous. Some friends will betray, and Pilate's desire to remain Caesar's friend becomes leverage that helps condemn the innocent.
Third John, however, preserves ordinary affection through greetings by name in a church struggling over hospitality and control. Christian friendship is therefore neither mere sociability nor unquestioning loyalty. It welcomes people without joining their sin, tells truth, resists coercion, remembers persons, and places allegiance to Jesus above fear of abandonment or political loss.
Anchor passage
Luke.12.4
Doctrinal connections
- Christology: Jesus receives sinners with merciful purpose and calls disciples His friends.
- Repentance and grace: compassionate association does not mean approval of sin but invitation into God's wisdom.
- Discipleship: friendship with Jesus strengthens courage under persecution.
- Human sin: even intimate relationships can become sites of betrayal when allegiance is tested.
- Justice and politics: loyalty networks can pressure authorities to sacrifice truth and innocence.
- Church fellowship: faithful communities know, greet, and support friends as particular people.
Philos may function as a noun, "friend," or adjective, "dear" or "friendly." The relationship can be personal affection, social association, patronal or political loyalty, or a respectful form of address.
From Old to New Testament
Covenant friendship appears in Abraham's relation to God, David and Jonathan's loyalty, and wisdom's praise of a faithful friend. The prophets also expose alliances that replace trust in God.
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