What does χειροποίητος (cheiropoíētos) mean in the Bible?
Made by human hands describes something produced through human workmanship. Its theological importance depends on what has been made and what the passage says about it.
Greek · G5499
χειροποίητος
Made by human hands describes something produced through human workmanship. Its theological importance depends on what has been made and what the passage says about it.
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.
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χειροποίητοςG5499
Pronunciationcheiropoíētos
What does χειροποίητος (cheiropoíētos) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for χειροποίητος (G5499) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5499?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [houses] made by human hands (1), a man-made (1), by human hands) (1), made by [human] hands (1), made by hands (1).
Where does χειροποίητος (cheiropoíētos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 14:58. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (2), Hebrews (2), Ephesians (1), Mark (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Made by human hands describes something produced through human workmanship. Its theological importance depends on what has been made and what the passage says about it. Paul declares that the Creator does not live in humanly constructed temples or depend on people to meet His needs. Ephesians mentions bodily circumcision as Paul recalls the former separation of Gentiles, before describing their reconciliation in Christ.
Hebrews contrasts the earthly sanctuary with Christ's entrance into heaven itself on behalf of His people. These uses do not condemn craftsmanship or declare every material object unholy. They expose limits that human manufacture cannot overcome. The phrase invites confidence in God's life-giving action and Christ's ministry, while resisting the belief that a building, religious achievement, or bodily marker can contain God or secure saving access by itself.
How the Bible Uses It
Acts addresses the Creator's freedom from humanly supplied housing and service. Ephesians situates bodily distinction within reconciliation, while Hebrews places the made sanctuary beside Christ's entrance into God's presence.
- Acts.17.24
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
Paul identifies God as Creator and Lord before denying that humanly made temples contain Him; the following verse also denies divine dependence on human service.
- Eph.2.11
Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—
Circumcision performed in the body appears within the reminder of Gentile alienation that leads into the account of nearness and peace through Christ.
- Heb.9.24
For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.
Christ enters heaven itself rather than a humanly made copy of the sanctuary, appearing before God for His people within the priestly argument.
- Mark.14.58
“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will build another that is made without hands.’”
The phrase occurs in testimony expressly identified as false and inconsistent, so this accusation cannot be treated as an accurate quotation establishing Jesus' intention.
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[houses] made by human hands1×Acts 7:48
a man-made1×Hebrews 9:24
by human hands)1×Ephesians 2:11
made by [human] hands1×Acts 17:24
made by hands1×Hebrews 9:11
man-made1×Mark 14:58
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 14:58χειροποίητονtoman-madeAdjective - Accusative Masculine SingularActs 7:48χειροποιήτοιςto[houses] made by human handsAdjective - Dative Masculine PluralActs 17:24χειροποιήτοιςtomade by [human] handsAdjective - Dative Masculine PluralEphesians 2:11χειροποιήτουtoby human hands)Adjective - Genitive Feminine SingularHebrews 9:11χειροποιήτουtomade by handsAdjective - Genitive Feminine SingularHebrews 9:24χειροποίηταtoa man-madeAdjective - Accusative Neuter Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMark 14:58
Aligned rows6
Books represented4
Mark1Acts2Ephesians1Hebrews2
Source forms
χειροποιήτοις2xcheiropoiētoisActs 7:48, Acts 17:24
χειροποιήτου2xcheiropoiētouEphesians 2:11, Hebrews 9:11
χειροποίητα1xcheiropoiētaHebrews 9:24
χειροποίητον1xcheiropoiētonMark 14:58
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural2xActs 7:48, Acts 17:24
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular2xEphesians 2:11, Hebrews 9:11
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular1xMark 14:58
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural1xHebrews 9:24
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Avoid telling people that maintaining a church building proves dependence on dead religion.
- Teach reconciliation without assigning guilt or inferior worth to a contemporary ethnic community.
Avoid claiming...
- The adjective does not prove that every object made by human hands is an idol.
- Ephesians' reference to bodily circumcision does not authorize contempt toward Jewish neighbors or erase Christ's call to peace.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Human-made object, typically contrasted with God's eternal or spiritual reality in NT theology.
Strong'sG5499
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms4 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkActs 19:21-27Source Gloss
hand-made
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Human-made object, typically contrasted with God's eternal or spiritual reality in NT theology.
(χείρ, ποιέω), [in LXX (of idols) for אֱלִיל ;] made by hand (i.e. of human handiwork): of temples, Mrk.14:58, Act.7:48 17:24, Heb.9:11, 24; of circumcision, Eph.2:11.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 14:58Adjective Accusative Singular Masculine
χειροποίητον,ceiropoihton
done or made with hands
Read verseActs 7:48Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
χειροποιήτοιςceiropoihtoiv
done or made with hands
Read verseActs 17:24Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
χειροποιήτοιςceiropoihtoiv
done or made with hands
Read verseEphesians 2:11Adjective Genitive Singular Feminine
χειροποιήτου,ceiropoihtou
done or made with hands
Read verseHebrews 9:11Adjective Genitive Singular Feminine
χειροποιήτου,ceiropoihtou
done or made with hands
Read verseHebrews 9:24Adjective Accusative Plural Neuter
χειροποίηταceiropoihta
done or made with hands
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 patterns4Aligned forms6Case patternAccusative (2)Number patternPlural (3)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Singular · FeminineEph 2:11 · Heb 9:112×
Dative · Plural · MasculineActs 7:48 · Acts 17:242×
Accusative · Singular · MasculineMark 14:581×
Accusative · Plural · NeuterHeb 9:241×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Handcrafted or manufactured.
Showing 1 selected witness from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
χειροποίητος is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Highlights the impotence of idols.Acts 19:21-27
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
The decisive contrast is supplied by the passage rather than by hostility toward physical things. In Athens, Paul's God is the Maker and Giver of life, not a dependent occupant whom people must house and sustain. In Ephesians, the bodily mark identifies one side of a former division that Christ addresses through His blood and peace. Hebrews directs attention from the earthly copy toward the living Christ appearing in God's presence for His people.
Christian assurance rests there, not in the prestige of a worship building or the performance of an external rite. Yet material service, bodily life, and gathered worship are not thereby discarded. The word describes human manufacture; each surrounding argument determines how that fact bears on worship, identity, or access to God.
Anchor passage
Heb.9.24
Doctrinal connections
- Acts 17 grounds God's independence in His identity as Creator and Lord.
- Acts 17 contrasts human attempts to supply God with His gift of life and breath.
- Ephesians 2 places Gentile nearness in Christ's blood rather than bodily manufacture.
- Ephesians 2 locates peace across former hostility in Christ's reconciling action.
- Hebrews 9 identifies Christ's heavenly appearance as ministry on behalf of His people.
- Mark 14 requires discernment about false testimony before constructing doctrine from an accusation.
The Greek lexical comparison identifies the adjective as describing human manufacture. The noun it modifies and the surrounding contrast determine its force; the compound does not independently declare every crafted object spiritually corrupt.
From Old to New Testament
Israel's sanctuary was constructed according to God's instructions, so human craftsmanship and divine appointment can coexist. Hebrews interprets that sanctuary in relation to Christ's heavenly ministry. The comparison honors the earlier institution while locating saving access in the Son's accomplished work, not in the material structure itself.