What does χρυσός (chrysós) mean in the Bible?
G5557 names gold and can refer to gold ornaments, money, or an object made from the metal. Its material value can serve worship, generosity, idolatry, display, hoarding, or commerce.
Greek · G5557
χρυσός
Gold; by extension, a golden article, as an ornament or coin
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χρυσόςG5557
Pronunciationchrysós
What does χρυσός (chrysós) mean in the Bible?
G5557 names gold and can refer to gold ornaments, money, or an object made from the metal. Its material value can serve worship, generosity, idolatry, display, hoarding, or commerce.
Reader summary
Full entry for χρυσός (G5557) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5557?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include gold (4), of gold (2), . . . (1), [any] gold (1), [of] gold (1).
Where does χρυσός (chrysós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:11. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (5), Revelation (2), 1 Corinthians (1), Acts (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G5557 names gold and can refer to gold ornaments, money, or an object made from the metal. Its material value can serve worship, generosity, idolatry, display, hoarding, or commerce. In Matt. 2. 11, the visitors present gold with frankincense and myrrh after bowing before the child Jesus. In Acts. 17. 29, Paul argues that God's offspring should not think the Divine Being resembles gold, silver, or stone shaped by human imagination.
In Jas. 5. 3, corroded gold and silver testify against rich hoarders who withheld wages and lived in luxury. G5557 opens teaching on costly homage, the Creator's transcendence, and wealth's accountability. It does not make gold spiritually pure, prove the visitors were kings, or teach that possessing savings is itself condemned.
How the Bible Uses It
G5557 appears as a gift, travel money, sacred decoration, false basis for oaths, idol material, hoarded wealth, building image, luxury cargo, and visionary appearance. Gold's value makes its use morally revealing but not automatically virtuous or evil.
- Matt.2.11
On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
The visitors worship the child and open their treasures to present gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
- Acts.17.29
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
Paul tells Athenian hearers that the Divine Being cannot be represented as a gold, silver, or stone image produced by human design.
- Jas.5.3
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.
Hoarded gold and silver testify against rich oppressors whose stored wealth accompanies withheld wages and self-indulgence.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itgold4×Matthew 23:16, Matthew 23:17, Acts 17:29, James 5:3
of gold2×Revelation 9:7, Revelation 18:12
. . .1×Matthew 23:17
[any] gold1×Matthew 10:9
[of] gold1×Matthew 2:11
[using] gold1×1 Corinthians 3:12
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 2:11χρυσὸνto[of] goldNoun - Accusative Masculine SingularMatthew 10:9χρυσὸνto[any] goldNoun - Accusative Masculine SingularMatthew 23:16χρυσῷtogoldNoun - Dative Masculine SingularMatthew 23:17χρυσὸςtogoldNoun - Nominative Masculine SingularMatthew 23:17χρυσόνto. . .Noun - Accusative Masculine SingularActs 17:29χρυσῷtogoldNoun - Dative Masculine Singular1 Corinthians 3:12χρυσόν*to[using] goldNoun - Accusative Masculine SingularJames 5:3χρυσὸςtogoldNoun - Nominative Masculine SingularRevelation 9:7χρυσῷtoof goldNoun - Dative Masculine SingularRevelation 18:12χρυσοῦtoof goldNoun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 2:11
Aligned rows10
Books represented5
Matthew5Acts11 Corinthians1James1Revelation2
Source forms
χρυσῷ3xchrysōMatthew 23:16, Acts 17:29, Revelation 9:7
χρυσὸν2xchrysonMatthew 2:11, Matthew 10:9
χρυσὸς2xchrysosMatthew 23:17, James 5:3
χρυσόν1xchrysonMatthew 23:17
χρυσόν*1xchryson1 Corinthians 3:12
χρυσοῦ1xchrysouRevelation 18:12
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular4xMatthew 2:11, Matthew 10:9, Matthew 23:17, 1 Corinthians 3:12
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular3xMatthew 23:16, Acts 17:29, Revelation 9:7
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular2xMatthew 23:17, James 5:3
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular1xRevelation 18:12
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not promise spiritual status, healing, access, or divine protection in exchange for gold, jewelry, or high-value gifts.
- Do not condemn ordinary savings while ignoring the labor practices, unpaid obligations, and self-indulgence James explicitly addresses.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that G5557 inherently symbolizes divinity, faith, purity, or corruption; its material uses receive different evaluations.
- Do not claim that the gift of gold proves every later tradition about the visitors' number, rank, or national identity.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. The precious metal itself, or any object made from it—ornament, coin, or idol.
Strong'sG5557
Lexical occurrences10 versesGreek text appearances13 timesWord forms4 forms10 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkProverbs 17:3Source Gloss
gold; by extension, a golden article, as an ornament or coin
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
The precious metal itself, or any object made from it—ornament, coin, or idol.
gold: Mat.2:11, Rev.9:7; of golden ornaments, Mat.23:16-17, 1Ti.2:9 (Rec., WH, mg.), Jas.5:3, Rev.17:4 (Rec., WH, mg.) Rev.18:12, 16 (Rec., WH, mg.); of images, Act.17:29; of gold coin, Mat.10:9.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
13 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 2:11Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
χρυσὸνcruson
anything made of gold
Read verseMatthew 10:9Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
χρυσόν,cruson
anything made of gold
Read verseMatthew 23:16Noun Dative Singular Masculine
χρυσῷcrusw
anything made of gold
Read verseMatthew 23:17Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
χρυσός,crusov
anything made of gold
Read verseMatthew 23:17Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
χρυσόν;cruson
anything made of gold
Read verseActs 17:29Noun Dative Singular Masculine
χρυσῷcrusw
anything made of gold
Read verse1 Corinthians 3:12Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
χρυσόν,cruson
anything made of gold
Read verse1 Timothy 2:9Noun Dative Singular Masculine
χρυσῷ,crusw
anything made of gold
Read verseJames 5:3Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
χρυσὸςcrusov
anything made of gold
Read verseRevelation 9:7Noun Dative Singular Masculine
χρυσῷ,crusw
anything made of gold
Read verseRevelation 17:4Noun Dative Singular Masculine
χρυσῷcrusw
anything made of gold
Read verseRevelation 18:12Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
χρυσοῦ,crusou
anything made of gold
Read verseRevelation 18:16Noun Dative Singular Masculine
χρυσῷcrusw
anything made of gold
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 forms10Case patternAccusative (4)Number patternSingular (10)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · MasculineMatt 23:17 · Jas 5:32×
Genitive · Singular · MasculineRev 18:121×
Dative · Singular · MasculineMatt 23:16 · Acts 17:29 · Rev 9:73×
Accusative · Singular · MasculineMatt 2:11 · Matt 10:9 · Matt 23:17 · 1 Cor 3:124×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
gold as a metaphor for testing and refining character or faith
gold as symbol of material wealth, contrasted with reputation and honor
gold as precious material requiring refinement and separation from impurities
gold as metaphor for testing human character, praise reveals true nature of person
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
χρυσός 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
G5557 reveals what people believe valuable. The visitors' gold accompanies worship of Jesus, but the gift does not create His kingship or buy access to Him. Paul confronts a city of crafted images by insisting that the living God cannot be reduced to precious matter shaped by human imagination. James then imagines gold corroding as courtroom evidence against those who hoard while workers' unpaid wages cry out.
Material durability cannot protect wealth from moral decay or divine judgment. Elsewhere disciples travel without gold in their belts, learning dependence on God's provision and hospitality. Scripture neither demonizes matter nor worships price. Gold can be given, built with, traded, worn, hoarded, or idolized. Faithful stewardship asks whether wealth honors Christ, serves neighbors, pays obligations, and remains a tool rather than a god.
The most polished object cannot contain the Creator, and the most secure account cannot silence exploited laborers before the Lord.
Anchor passage
Jas.5.3
Doctrinal connections
- G5557: costly gifts can express homage, yet Christ's worth and grace are not created or purchased by the giver.
- G5557: the Creator transcends every image formed from valuable matter, skilled design, and human imagination.
- G5557: apostolic mission may require material simplicity and dependence rather than accumulation as proof of success.
- G5557: wealth becomes testimony against owners when hoarding is joined to withheld wages and indulgence.
- G5557: sacred setting does not make gold greater than the God whose presence and purpose sanctify worship.
- G5557: final judgment exposes luxury economies that profit from exploitation and treat persons as cargo.
G5557 is a masculine Greek noun for gold and may stand for gold money, ornaments, or material. Context and associated verbs distinguish giving, carrying, shaping, decorating, building, trading, and hoarding.
From Old to New Testament
Gold fills tabernacle and temple accounts but also forms idols and marks royal excess. The New Testament continues that double witness and culminates in a city whose gold serves God's presence rather than an economy of exploitation.