What does φραγέλλιον (phragéllion) mean in the Bible?
φραγέλλιον names a whip or scourge. In John 2:15 Jesus makes a whip of cords and drives the animals and sellers out of the temple.
Greek · G5416
φραγέλλιον
Whip
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
φραγέλλιον G5416
Pronunciation phragéllion
What does φραγέλλιον (phragéllion) mean in the Bible?
φραγέλλιον names a whip or scourge. In John 2:15 Jesus makes a whip of cords and drives the animals and sellers out of the temple.
Reader summary
Full entry for φραγέλλιον (G5416) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5416?
The BSB source-word alignment has 1 aligned row for this entry. Common renderings include a whip (1).
Where does φραγέλλιον (phragéllion) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 2:15. Its strongest book concentrations include John (1).
What This Word Actually Means
φραγέλλιον names a whip or scourge. In John 2:15 Jesus makes a whip of cords and drives the animals and sellers out of the temple. The word does not invite careless imitation of Jesus' action. It identifies the concrete instrument in a unique temple-sign scene where Jesus acts with zeal for His Father's house.
The pastoral value is holy disruption under Christ's authority. The whip belongs to Jesus' enacted judgment on a corrupted worship setting. Teachers should keep the word close to the passage and avoid turning it into a general model for human anger. John presents Jesus as the Son acting in His Father's house; that identity governs the action.
How the Bible Uses It
John 2:15 uses φραγέλλιον for the whip of cords Jesus makes in the temple-cleansing scene.
- The word belongs to an enacted temple sign, not a private emotional outburst.
- Jesus drives out animals and sellers while speaking of His Father's house.
- The term requires caution because Jesus' authority in the scene is not transferable to every reader's anger.
φραγέλλιον is one of the words that makes John 2 impossible to soften into mild disapproval. Jesus acts. Yet the word must be governed by the scene. This is not permission for impulsive religious anger. It is the Son acting in His Father's house, exposing what the temple space has become. The term helps teachers preserve both the force and the limits of the passage.
In John 2, φραγέλλιον contributes to the scene of Jesus' authoritative temple cleansing under the claim of the Father's house.
Passage contextPastoral applicationtheological_synthesis
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 whip 1× John 2:15
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 2:15
Aligned rows 1
Books represented 1
John 1
Source forms
φραγέλλιον 1x phragellion John 2:15
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 1x John 2:15
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Keep the word anchored in John 2:15 and the immediate Gospel of John scene.
- Use the lexical observation to serve the passage, not to replace the passage.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not use the whip as a proof text for uncontrolled anger.
- Do not detach the action from Jesus' zeal for His Father's house.
Passage contextPastoral application
Evidence Summary
Greek word. whip
Strong's G5416
Lexical occurrences 1 verse Greek text appearances 1 time Word forms 1 form 1 reference Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
whip
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
1 Greek text appearance shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
John 2:15 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
φραγέλλιον fragellion
a scourge, lash
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 1 Case pattern Accusative (1) Number pattern Singular (1)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Accusative · Singular · Neuter John 2:15 1×
Word Origins
φραγέλλιον is built from this root:
For the Preacher and Teacher
What this word opens up
This word opens the seriousness of Jesus' temple action without turning His unique authority into ordinary human license.
What it corrects
It corrects tame readings of John 2 that miss the force of Jesus' enacted sign.
Framing suggestions
Frame φραγέλλιον as a concrete instrument in Jesus' temple cleansing, governed by His identity and His words.
Illustrations
- A judge's gavel has force because of the office and setting, not because wood has authority by itself.
Watch points
- Do not use the whip as a proof text for uncontrolled anger.
- Do not detach the action from Jesus' zeal for His Father's house.
Passage contextPastoral application
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