What does φύσις (phýsis) mean in the Bible?
G5449 names nature, natural order, or an inherent condition. In Paul, the word can speak about created order, moral awareness, ethnic or covenantal position, and the logic of a metaphor.
Greek · G5449
φύσις
Nature
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φύσις G5449
Pronunciation phýsis
What does φύσις (phýsis) mean in the Bible?
G5449 names nature, natural order, or an inherent condition. In Paul, the word can speak about created order, moral awareness, ethnic or covenantal position, and the logic of a metaphor.
Reader summary
Full entry for φύσις (G5449) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5449?
The BSB source-word alignment has 14 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include by nature (3), nature (3), . . . (1), by birth (1), kinds (1).
Where does φύσις (phýsis) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 1:26. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (7), Galatians (2), James (2), 1 Corinthians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G5449 names nature, natural order, or an inherent condition. In Paul, the word can speak about created order, moral awareness, ethnic or covenantal position, and the logic of a metaphor. Romans 1 uses it in a serious judgment context, Romans 2 uses it in a discussion of Gentile moral witness, and Romans 11 uses it inside the cultivated and wild olive tree image.
The word therefore requires careful teaching. It should not be flattened into modern slogans or detached from the argument where Paul uses it. G5449 helps readers ask what kind of nature claim is being made in the passage: created order, moral awareness, social identity, or metaphorical fit.
How the Bible Uses It
G5449 is a flexible Pauline word for nature, natural condition, or created-order reasoning. Its meaning must be governed by the local argument rather than by a single modern debate.
- Rom.1.26
For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
Paul uses the word in a judgment passage about exchanging what is natural for what is contrary to nature. The claim must stay inside Paul's argument about idolatry, disorder, and divine judgment.
- Rom.2.14
Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
Gentiles who do not have the law may by nature do what the law requires, showing that Paul can use nature language for moral awareness as well as created order.
- Rom.11.24
For if you were cut from a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into one that is cultivated, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
Paul uses nature language in the olive tree image to distinguish wild and cultivated branches. The word supports the metaphor but does not turn the metaphor into biology.
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 It by nature 3× Romans 2:14, Galatians 4:8, Ephesians 2:3
nature 3× Romans 11:24, 1 Corinthians 11:14, 2 Peter 1:4
. . . 1× James 3:7
by birth 1× Galatians 2:15
kinds 1× James 3:7
natural 1× Romans 11:21
natural [branches] 1× Romans 11:24
physically 1× Romans 2:27
unnatural 1× Romans 1:26
vvv 1× Romans 11:24
Show sample aligned rows
Romans 1:26 φύσιν to unnatural Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Romans 2:14 φύσει to by nature Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Romans 2:27 φύσεως to physically Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Romans 11:21 φύσιν to natural Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Romans 11:24 φύσιν to vvv Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Romans 11:24 φύσιν to nature Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Romans 11:24 φύσιν to natural [branches] Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 1 Corinthians 11:14 φύσις to nature Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Galatians 2:15 φύσει to by birth Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Galatians 4:8 φύσει to by nature Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Romans 1:26
Aligned rows 14
Books represented 6
Romans 7 1 Corinthians 1 Galatians 2 Ephesians 1 James 2 2 Peter 1
Source forms
φύσει 5x physei Romans 2:14, Galatians 2:15, Galatians 4:8, Ephesians 2:3
φύσιν 5x physin Romans 1:26, Romans 11:21, Romans 11:24
φύσεως 2x physeōs Romans 2:27, 2 Peter 1:4
φύσις 2x physis 1 Corinthians 11:14, James 3:7
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 5x Romans 1:26, Romans 11:21, Romans 11:24
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 5x Romans 2:14, Galatians 2:15, Galatians 4:8, Ephesians 2:3
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 2x Romans 2:27, 2 Peter 1:4
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 2x 1 Corinthians 11:14, James 3:7
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Name the kind of nature claim being made before applying the passage.
- Handle Romans 1 with seriousness, restraint, and pastoral clarity rather than with rhetorical heat.
Avoid claiming...
Book contextPastoral applicationPassage context
Evidence Summary
Greek word. nature
Strong's G5449
Lexical occurrences 14 verses Greek text appearances 14 times Word forms 4 forms 14 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
nature
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
14 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Romans 1:26 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
φύσιν· fusin
nature, inherent nature
Read verse Romans 2:14 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
φύσει fusei
nature, inherent nature
Read verse Romans 2:27 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
φύσεως fusewv
nature, inherent nature
Read verse Romans 11:21 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
φύσιν fusin
nature, inherent nature
Read verse Romans 11:24 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
φύσιν fusin
nature, inherent nature
Read verse Romans 11:24 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
φύσιν fusin
nature, inherent nature
Read verse Romans 11:24 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
φύσιν, fusin
nature, inherent nature
Read verse 1 Corinthians 11:14 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
φύσις fusiv
nature, inherent nature
Read verse Galatians 2:15 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
φύσει fusei
nature, inherent nature
Read verse Galatians 4:8 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
φύσει fusei
nature, inherent nature
Read verse Ephesians 2:3 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
φύσει fusei
nature, inherent nature
Read verse James 3:7 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
φύσις fusiv
nature, inherent nature
Read verse James 3:7 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
φύσει fusei
nature, inherent nature
Read verse 2 Peter 1:4 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
φύσεως, fusewv
nature, inherent nature
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 4 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 4 Aligned forms 14 Case pattern Accusative (5) Number pattern Singular (14)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine 1 Cor 11:14 · Jas 3:7 2×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Rom 2:27 · 2 Pet 1:4 2×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Rom 2:14 · Gal 2:15 · Gal 4:8 · Eph 2:3 · Jas 3:7 5×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Rom 1:26 · Rom 11:21 · Rom 11:24 5×
Word Origins
φύσις 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
G5449 requires slow and careful teaching because Paul uses nature language in more than one way. In Romans 1, it belongs to an argument about idolatry, disordered desire, and judgment. In Romans 2, it appears as Paul discusses Gentiles and the work of the law. In Romans 11, it serves the olive tree image, where wild and cultivated branches illustrate God's mercy and warning.
The same word therefore cannot be treated as a loose slogan. Teachers should identify the claim tier in each passage: created order, moral witness, ethnic or covenantal identity, or metaphor. The word is useful precisely because it makes readers ask how creation, conscience, and covenant imagery are functioning in context.
Anchor passage
Rom.2.14
Doctrinal connections
- Rom.1.26 - Paul uses the word in a judgment passage about exchanging what is natural for what is contrary to nature. The claim must stay inside Paul's argument about idolatry, disorder, and divine judgment.
- Rom.2.14 - Gentiles who do not have the law may by nature do what the law requires, showing that Paul can use nature language for moral awareness as well as created order.
- Rom.11.24 - Paul uses nature language in the olive tree image to distinguish wild and cultivated branches. The word supports the metaphor but does not turn the metaphor into biology.
Nature, natural order, or inherent condition is the reviewed display gloss for G5449. In this Pauline-focused companion, local STEP TAGNT evidence shows about 11 Pauline use(s), with common forms including N-ASF 5, N-DSF 4, N-GSF 1, N-NSF 1. Treat these form signals as support for reading the passage, not as a replacement for context.
From Old to New Testament
The Pauline trajectory keeps nature language under the rule of the immediate argument. Created order, moral witness, and covenant imagery each matter, but they must not be blended carelessly.
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