What does χαρακτήρ (charaktḗr) mean in the Bible?
χαρακτήρ (charaktḗr): Exact imprint or representation bearing the nature of what it reproduces, not merely a copy.
Greek · G5481
χαρακτήρ
Reproduction
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χαρακτήρ G5481
Pronunciation charaktḗr
What does χαρακτήρ (charaktḗr) mean in the Bible?
χαρακτήρ (charaktḗr): Exact imprint or representation bearing the nature of what it reproduces, not merely a copy.
Full entry for χαρακτήρ (G5481) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5481?
The BSB source-word alignment has 1 aligned row for this entry. Common renderings include [the] exact representation (1).
Where does χαρακτήρ (charaktḗr) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Hebrews 1:3. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (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 It [the] exact representation 1× Hebrews 1:3
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Hebrews 1:3
Aligned rows 1
Books represented 1
Hebrews 1
Source forms
χαρακτὴρ 1x charaktēr Hebrews 1:3
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Hebrews 1:3
Evidence Summary
Messiah
Greek word. Exact imprint or representation bearing the nature of what it reproduces, not merely a copy.
Strong's G5481
Lexical occurrences 1 verse Greek text appearances 1 time Word forms 1 form 1 reference Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Hebrews 1:1-4 Source Gloss
reproduction
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Exact imprint or representation bearing the nature of what it reproduces, not merely a copy.
(χαράσσω, to engrave), [in LXX: Lev.13:28 (צָרֶבֶת), 2Ma.4:10, 4Ma.15:4 א R * ;]
1a tool for graving.
2a stamp or impress: as on a coin or seal; metaphorically, χ. τ. ὑποστάσεως, Heb.1:3.
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.
Hebrews 1:3 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
χαρακτὴρ carakthr
an exact reproduction
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 Nominative (1) Number pattern Singular (1)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Heb 1:3 1×
Where It Appears in Scripture
Where this word appears in Scripture: passage, original form, and sense in context.
New Testament Witnesses
exact imprint/representation
Word Origins
χαρακτήρ is built from this root:
χάραξ G5482
Why This Word Matters
Affirms the Son's precise representation of God's being, grounding high Christology. Wuest lexical comments and Mounce grammar-level help support precise Christological teaching. Hebrews 1:1-4
Canonical Themes
Messiah
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