What does ψωμίον (psōmíon) mean in the Bible?
Psomion names a morsel or small piece of bread, and John uses it in the betrayal scene at the supper. Jesus identifies the betrayer by giving the dipped morsel to Judas.
Greek · G5596
ψωμίον
Piece
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ψωμίον G5596
Pronunciation psōmíon
What does ψωμίον (psōmíon) mean in the Bible?
Psomion names a morsel or small piece of bread, and John uses it in the betrayal scene at the supper. Jesus identifies the betrayer by giving the dipped morsel to Judas.
Reader summary
Full entry for ψωμίον (G5596) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5596?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include morsel (4).
Where does ψωμίον (psōmíon) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 13:26. Its strongest book concentrations include John (4).
What This Word Actually Means
Psomion names a morsel or small piece of bread, and John uses it in the betrayal scene at the supper. Jesus identifies the betrayer by giving the dipped morsel to Judas. John then notes that after Judas took the morsel, Satan entered into him, and Judas went out into the night after receiving it. The word is small, but the scene is grave. It should not be turned into a general symbol for communion or hospitality apart from John 13.
The morsel functions within Jesus' sovereign knowledge, Judas's betrayal, Satanic darkness, and the painful intimacy of table fellowship violated. Teachers should let the passage govern the claim and avoid sensationalizing the object.
How the Bible Uses It
Psomion names the dipped morsel in John 13. The word belongs to the betrayal scene, where table fellowship, Jesus' knowledge, Judas' action, and darkness converge.
- John.13.26
Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then He dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot.
Jesus identifies the betrayer by giving the dipped morsel to Judas.
- John.13.27
And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”
After Judas takes the morsel, John says Satan entered into him.
- John.13.30
As soon as he had received the morsel, Judas went out into the night.
Judas receives the morsel and goes out into the night.
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 morsel 4× John 13:26, John 13:27, John 13:30
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 13:26
Aligned rows 4
Books represented 1
John 4
Source forms
ψωμίον 4x psōmion John 13:26, John 13:27, John 13:30
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 4x John 13:26, John 13:27, John 13:30
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let the morsel expose the seriousness of betrayal near holy things.
- Use the scene to sober the heart without turning the object into superstition.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that psomion means communion bread in John 13.
- Do not claim that the morsel itself caused Judas' betrayal apart from the passage's wider spiritual conflict.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Small morsel of bread, specifically in Eucharistic or table-fellowship contexts denoting intimate communion
Strong's G5596
Lexical occurrences 4 verses Greek text appearances 4 times Word forms 1 form 4 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Jhn.13:26 Source Gloss
piece
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Small morsel of bread, specifically in Eucharistic or table-fellowship contexts denoting intimate communion
dimin. of ψωμός, a fragment, morsel: Jhn.13:26-27, 30.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
John 13:26 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ψωμίον ywmion
a bit, morsel
Read verse John 13:26 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ψωμίον, ywmion
a bit, morsel
Read verse John 13:27 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ψωμίον, ywmion
a bit, morsel
Read verse John 13:30 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ψωμίον ywmion
a bit, morsel
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 4 Case pattern Accusative (4) Number pattern Singular (4)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Accusative · Singular · Neuter John 13:26 · John 13:27 · John 13:30 4×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 4 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ψωμίον 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
Psomion shows how a very small word can sit inside a spiritually weighty scene. The dipped morsel does not carry power by itself, and John does not ask readers to speculate about its material properties. Its importance lies in Jesus' action and Judas's response. Jesus knows the betrayer, speaks truthfully, gives the morsel, and sends Judas into the action that will lead to the cross.
Judas receives the sign of table nearness and goes into the night. The scene warns readers that proximity to holy things is not the same as faithful love for Christ. It also shows that betrayal does not surprise Jesus. The morsel is a quiet object in a dark moment governed by the Lord's knowledge and purpose.
Anchor passage
John.13.26
Doctrinal connections
- G3860 Paradidomi: The morsel identifies the one who will betray Jesus.
- G4567 Satanas: John 13:27 connects Judas' action with Satanic entry and darkness.
- G3571 Nyx: Judas goes out into the night after receiving the morsel.
- G25 Agapao: The betrayal scene stands in painful contrast to Jesus' love for His own.
- G1097 Ginosko: Jesus knows the betrayer and is not surprised by the betrayal.
- G740 Artos: The morsel is bread-like table food, but John 13 gives it a specific narrative role.
Psomion means a morsel or small piece of bread. In John 13 the term is repeated in one scene, so its lexical range should not be expanded beyond the betrayal-table context.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture often treats shared bread and table fellowship as relationally significant, which makes betrayal at the table especially grievous. John 13 must remain the governing context for this morsel rather than a broad sacramental or hospitality symbol.
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