What does χεῖλος (cheîlos) mean in the Bible?
χεῖλος (cheîlos): Lip as organ of speech; metaphorically, edge or boundary of physical objects like shorelines.
Greek · G5491
χεῖλος
A lip (as a pouring place); figuratively, a margin (of water)
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χεῖλος G5491
Pronunciation cheîlos
What does χεῖλος (cheîlos) mean in the Bible?
χεῖλος (cheîlos): Lip as organ of speech; metaphorically, edge or boundary of physical objects like shorelines.
Full entry for χεῖλος (G5491) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5491?
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include lips (4), [his] lips (1), of lips (1), seashore (1).
Where does χεῖλος (cheîlos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 15:8. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (2), 1 Corinthians (1), 1 Peter (1), Mark (1).
Are there verse guides for χεῖλος (cheîlos)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in 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 lips 4× Matthew 15:8, Mark 7:6, Romans 3:13, 1 Corinthians 14:21
[his] lips 1× 1 Peter 3:10
of lips 1× Hebrews 13:15
seashore 1× Hebrews 11:12
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 15:8 χείλεσίν to lips Noun - Dative Neuter Plural Mark 7:6 χείλεσίν to lips Noun - Dative Neuter Plural Romans 3:13 χείλη to lips Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural 1 Corinthians 14:21 χείλεσιν to lips Noun - Dative Neuter Plural Hebrews 11:12 χεῖλος to seashore Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Hebrews 13:15 χειλέων to of lips Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural 1 Peter 3:10 χείλη to [his] lips Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 15:8
Aligned rows 7
Books represented 6
Matthew 1 Mark 1 Romans 1 1 Corinthians 1 Hebrews 2 1 Peter 1
Source forms
χείλεσίν 2x cheilesin Matthew 15:8, Mark 7:6
χείλη 2x cheilē Romans 3:13, 1 Peter 3:10
χείλεσιν 1x cheilesin 1 Corinthians 14:21
χειλέων 1x cheileōn Hebrews 13:15
χεῖλος 1x cheilos Hebrews 11:12
Parsing patterns
Noun - Dative Neuter Plural 3x Matthew 15:8, Mark 7:6, 1 Corinthians 14:21
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural 2x Romans 3:13, 1 Peter 3:10
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 1x Hebrews 11:12
Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural 1x Hebrews 13:15
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Lip as organ of speech; metaphorically, edge or boundary of physical objects like shorelines.
Source Gloss
a lip (as a pouring place); figuratively, a margin (of water)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 15:8 Noun Dative Plural Neuter
χείλεσί ceilesin
a lip, mouth, shore
Read verse Mark 7:6 Noun Dative Plural Neuter
χείλεσί ceilesin
a lip, mouth, shore
Read verse ceilh
a lip, mouth, shore
Read verse 1 Corinthians 14:21 Noun Dative Plural Neuter
χείλεσιν ceilesin
a lip, mouth, shore
Read verse Hebrews 11:12 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
χεῖλος ceilov
a lip, mouth, shore
Read verse Hebrews 13:15 Noun Genitive Plural Neuter
χειλέων ceilewn
a lip, mouth, shore
Read verse 1 Peter 3:10 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
χείλη ceilh
a lip, mouth, shore
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 7 Case pattern Accusative (3) Number pattern Plural (6)
Genitive · Plural · Neuter Heb 13:15 1×
Dative · Plural · Neuter Matt 15:8 · Mark 7:6 · 1 Cor 14:21 3×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Heb 11:12 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Lips as the organ of speech, emphasis on restraint and wisdom
Lips as instrument of speech producing satisfaction and reward
Lips as productive source of consequences, life and death through speech
Lips associated with heart wisdom, making speech persuasive and instructive
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
χεῖλος 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.
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