What does χιτών (chitṓn) mean in the Bible?
G5509 names a tunic, a basic garment worn close to the body beneath or instead of an outer cloak. Luke 3:11 makes a spare tunic a concrete measure of abundance that can be shared with someone who has none.
Greek · G5509
χιτών
A tunic or shirt
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χιτώνG5509
Pronunciationchitṓn
What does χιτών (chitṓn) mean in the Bible?
G5509 names a tunic, a basic garment worn close to the body beneath or instead of an outer cloak. Luke 3:11 makes a spare tunic a concrete measure of abundance that can be shared with someone who has none.
Reader summary
Full entry for χιτών (G5509) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5509?
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include tunic (5), [It] (1), [the] tunics (1), clothes (1), clothing (1).
Where does χιτών (chitṓn) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:40. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (3), John (2), Mark (2), Matthew (2).
What This Word Actually Means
G5509 names a tunic, a basic garment worn close to the body beneath or instead of an outer cloak. Luke 3:11 makes a spare tunic a concrete measure of abundance that can be shared with someone who has none. Matthew 5:40 names the tunic in Jesus' teaching about a lawsuit and the surprising relinquishment of an outer cloak as well. John 19:23 records soldiers dividing Jesus' garments and handling His seamless tunic at the crucifixion.
Acts 9:39 shows widows displaying tunics and other clothing Dorcas made while they grieve her death. The noun is materially specific, but the passages place it within generosity, vulnerability, dispossession, violence, labor, memory, and care. G5509 does not make poverty romantic or command people to remain exposed to abuse. Jesus' nonretaliatory teaching must be interpreted with His wider concern for justice and without giving aggressors unrestricted access.
The crucifixion text centers the soldiers' action against Jesus, not speculative symbolism in the tunic's construction. Acts honors Dorcas's skilled service and the widows' testimony without reducing her life to unpaid production.
Passage contextgrammaticalCanonical parallelPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
G5509 appears in instructions about travel and sharing, sayings about legal seizure and nonretaliation, the high priest's torn tunic, Jesus' crucifixion, and Dorcas's remembered work. A basic garment becomes a concrete measure of need, loss, and embodied care.
- Luke.3.11
John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”
John names a second tunic as shareable abundance and pairs clothing with food, making repentance visible in material care for a person who lacks necessities.
- Matt.5.40
If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well;
Jesus imagines a lawsuit seeking a tunic and calls for a startling response involving the cloak as well, exposing grasping conflict without authorizing continued abuse or abolishing every legal protection.
- John.19.23
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
At the crucifixion the soldiers divide Jesus' clothing and preserve the seamless tunic from being torn, showing material dispossession within His public humiliation and death.
- Acts.9.39
So Peter got up and went with them. On his arrival, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, weeping and showing him the tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
The widows show Peter tunics and other clothing Dorcas made, allowing tangible work and communal grief to testify to relationships formed through her service.
Passage contextBook 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 Ittunic5×Matthew 5:40, Matthew 10:10, Mark 6:9, Luke 6:29
[It]1×John 19:23
[the] tunics1×Acts 9:39
clothes1×Mark 14:63
clothing1×Jude 1:23
tunic [remaining]1×John 19:23
tunics1×Luke 3:11
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:40χιτῶνάtotunicNoun - Accusative Masculine SingularMatthew 10:10χιτῶναςtotunicNoun - Accusative Masculine PluralMark 6:9χιτῶναςtotunicNoun - Accusative Masculine PluralMark 14:63χιτῶναςtoclothesNoun - Accusative Masculine PluralLuke 3:11χιτῶναςtotunicsNoun - Accusative Masculine PluralLuke 6:29χιτῶναtotunicNoun - Accusative Masculine SingularLuke 9:3χιτῶναςtotunicNoun - Accusative Masculine PluralJohn 19:23χιτῶναtotunic [remaining]Noun - Accusative Masculine SingularJohn 19:23χιτὼνto[It]Noun - Nominative Masculine SingularActs 9:39χιτῶναςto[the] tunicsNoun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 5:40
Aligned rows11
Books represented6
Matthew2Mark2Luke3John2Acts1Jude1
Source forms
χιτῶνας6xchitōnasMatthew 10:10, Mark 6:9, Mark 14:63, Luke 3:11
χιτῶνα3xchitōnaLuke 6:29, John 19:23, Jude 1:23
χιτὼν1xchitōnJohn 19:23
χιτῶνά1xchitōnaMatthew 5:40
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural6xMatthew 10:10, Mark 6:9, Mark 14:63, Luke 3:11
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular4xMatthew 5:40, Luke 6:29, John 19:23, Jude 1:23
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular1xJohn 19:23
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Share clothing through dignified choice and also address wages, housing, weather exposure, disability access, and the reasons people lack necessities.
- Teach costly nonretaliation alongside protection of vulnerable people, truthful reporting, lawful process, and freedom from coercion.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that possessing more than one tunic is inherently sinful; Luke 3 calls abundance toward concrete sharing.
- Do not claim that Jesus' tunic proves an unstated doctrine because it was seamless and not torn.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Inner garment worn next to skin, distinguished from ἱμάτιον (outer cloak).
Strong'sG5509
Lexical occurrences11 versesGreek text appearances11 timesWord forms3 forms11 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkMatthew 10:10Source Gloss
a tunic or shirt
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Inner garment worn next to skin, distinguished from ἱμάτιον (outer cloak).
the garment worn next the skin (though two tunics were sometimes worn, see Swete, Mk., 117), a tunic: Mat.10:10, Mrk.6:9 14:63, Luk.3:11 9:3, Ju 23; dieting. from ἱμάτιον (which see), Mat.5:40, Luk.6:29, Jhn.19:23, Act.9:39 (see DCG, i, 338, 340, 499)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 5:40Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
χιτῶνάcitwna
a tunic, garment, undergarment
Read verseMatthew 10:10Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
χιτῶνας,citwnav
a tunic, garment, undergarment
Read verseMark 6:9Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
χιτῶνας.citwnav
a tunic, garment, undergarment
Read verseMark 14:63Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
χιτῶναςcitwnav
a tunic, garment, undergarment
Read verseLuke 3:11Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
χιτῶναςcitwnav
a tunic, garment, undergarment
Read verseLuke 6:29Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
χιτῶναcitwna
a tunic, garment, undergarment
Read verseLuke 9:3Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
χιτῶναςcitwnav
a tunic, garment, undergarment
Read verseJohn 19:23Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
χιτῶνα·citwna
a tunic, garment, undergarment
Read verseJohn 19:23Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
χιτὼνcitwn
a tunic, garment, undergarment
Read verseActs 9:39Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
χιτῶναςcitwnav
a tunic, garment, undergarment
Read verseJude 1:23Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
χιτῶνα.citwna
a tunic, garment, undergarment
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 3 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 patterns3Aligned forms11Case patternAccusative (10)Number patternPlural (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · MasculineJohn 19:231×
Accusative · Plural · MasculineMatt 10:10 · Mark 6:9 · Mark 14:63 · Luke 3:11 · Luke 9:3 · Acts 9:396×
Accusative · Singular · MasculineMatt 5:40 · Luke 6:29 · John 19:23 · Jude 1:234×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Basic garment worn next to skin, part of minimal missionary provisions
Inner garment distinguished from outer cloak in teaching about non-resistance
Jesus' seamless inner garment divided by soldiers at crucifixion
Garments made by Dorcas, practical clothing for widows and the poor
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
χιτών is of foreign origin - no further derivation.
Cross-Language Connections
Hebrew roots and equivalents that share conceptual or etymological ground with this Greek word.
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
G5509 keeps discipleship close to the body. John the Baptist does not define repentance only as inward remorse; a person with two tunics can see the neighbor who has none and share. The example is modest and searching because the extra garment is countable. Matthew 5 places the tunic in a legal conflict where Jesus describes a response that refuses the opponent's controlling logic.
This text can confront possessiveness and retaliation, but it must not be turned into a standing order for victims to surrender safety or permit exploitation. John 19 shows Jesus deprived even of clothing as soldiers divide His garments during crucifixion. The seamless tunic is real narrative detail, but the Gospel does not explicitly make its construction a doctrine of ecclesial unity or magical holiness.
Acts 9 gives clothing another weight. The widows' tunics bear witness to Dorcas's labor and to relationships marked by practical care. Their grief should not be used merely to praise productivity; it reveals a beloved member whose work touched lives. Together these passages ask what clothing means when someone has none, when law can seize it, when violence strips it away, and when skill provides it.
Faithful application shares necessities, pays and honors labor, protects dignity, and refuses to demand self-exposure as proof of spiritual surrender.
Anchor passage
Luke.3.11
Doctrinal connections
- Luke 3:11 makes shared clothing and food concrete fruits consistent with repentance.
- Matthew 5:40 places a tunic within Jesus' radical teaching about lawsuits and nonretaliation.
- John 19:23 records Jesus' clothing being divided during the humiliation of crucifixion.
- Acts 9:39 lets garments made by Dorcas bear witness to skilled service and communal grief.
- Basic clothing belongs to embodied neighbor care and should not become leverage for coercion or shame.
- Christian generosity joins material sharing with just labor, recipient dignity, safety, and accountable stewardship.
G5509 is a Greek noun for a tunic or shirt-like garment, often distinguished from an outer cloak. That distinction matters in legal, travel, and crucifixion settings, but ancient clothing arrangements should not be forced into an exact modern wardrobe equivalent.
From Old to New Testament
Old Testament law protects necessary garments and repeatedly treats clothing as provision, pledge, office, mourning, or symbol. G5509 continues the concrete concern for bodily covering while locating tunics in repentance, Jesus' teaching, His crucifixion, and the church's practical care for widows.
Canonical parallelPastoral application