φῶς
light
‘light’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Thayer's Greek Lexicon
From Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Where this word appears
See every Nominative-case word in the Greek New Testament →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Case
- Nominative
- The case of the subject (and the predicate nominative).
- Accusative
- The case of the direct object and of extent.
- Genitive
- The case of source, possession, or “of” — answers “whose / from what.”
- Dative
- The case of the indirect object, means, or location — “to / for / with / in.”
Gender
- Neuter
- Grammatically neuter.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one.
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Nominative, Singular, Neuter 24 times (33%)
- Noun, Accusative, Singular, Neuter 23 times (32%)
- Noun, Genitive, Singular, Neuter 14 times (19%)
- Noun, Dative, Singular, Neuter 9 times (13%)
- Noun, Accusative, Plural, Neuter 1 time (1%)
- Noun, Genitive, Plural, Neuter 1 time (1%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (Robinson–Tischendorf, public domain), counted across 72 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where G5457 appears — 60 distinct verses across 15 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Greek form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Greek New Testament; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences of this word are not indexed here.
Matthew 6 verses
- Matthew 4:16 φῶς φῶς n acc sg neut n nom sg neut The people who sat in darkness saw a great light, To those who sat in the region and shadow of death, To them light has dawned."
- Matthew 5:14 φῶς n nom sg neut You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can't be hidden.
- Matthew 5:16 φῶς n nom sg neut Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
- Matthew 6:23 φῶς n nom sg neut But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
- Matthew 10:27 φωτί n dat sg neut What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops.
- Matthew 17:2 φῶς n nom sg neut He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light.
Mark 1 verse
Luke 6 verses
- Luke 2:32 φῶς n nom sg neut A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of your people Israel."
- Luke 8:16 φῶς n acc sg neut "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a container, or puts it under a bed; but puts it on a stand, that those who enter in may see the light.
- Luke 11:35 φῶς n nom sg neut Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn't darkness.
- Luke 12:3 φωτὶ n dat sg neut Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear in the inner chambers will be proclaimed on the housetops.
- Luke 16:8 φωτὸς n gen sg neut "His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light.
- Luke 22:56 φῶς n acc sg neut A certain servant girl saw him as he sat in the light, and looking intently at him, said, "This man also was with him."
John 16 verses
- John 1:4 φῶς n nom sg neut In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
- John 1:5 φῶς n nom sg neut The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn't overcome it.
- John 1:7 φωτός n gen sg neut The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.
- John 1:8 φῶς φωτός n nom sg neut n gen sg neut He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light.
- John 1:9 φῶς n nom sg neut The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.
- John 3:19 φῶς φῶς n nom sg neut n acc sg neut This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
- John 3:20 φῶς φῶς n acc sg neut n acc sg neut For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn't come to the light, lest his works would be exposed.
- John 3:21 φῶς n acc sg neut But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God."
- John 5:35 φωτὶ n dat sg neut He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
- John 8:12 φῶς φῶς n nom sg neut n acc sg neut Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."
- John 9:5 φῶς n nom sg neut While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
- John 11:9 φῶς n acc sg neut Jesus answered, "Aren't there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn't stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
- John 11:10 φῶς n nom sg neut But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn't in him."
- John 12:35 φῶς φῶς n nom sg neut n acc sg neut Jesus therefore said to them, "Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn't overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn't know where he is going.
- John 12:36 φῶς φῶς φωτὸς n acc sg neut n acc sg neut n gen sg neut While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light." Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.
- John 12:46 φῶς n acc sg neut I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.
Acts 10 verses
- Acts 9:3 φῶς n nom sg neut As he traveled, it happened that he got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the sky shone around him.
- Acts 12:7 φῶς n nom sg neut And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side, and woke him up, saying, "Stand up quickly!" His chains fell off from his hands.
- Acts 13:47 φῶς n acc sg neut For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, 'I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, That you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.'"
- Acts 16:29 φῶτα n acc pl neut He called for lights and sprang in, and, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas,
- Acts 22:6 φῶς n nom sg neut It happened that, as I made my journey, and came close to Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from the sky a great light around me.
- Acts 22:9 φῶς n acc sg neut "Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn't understand the voice of him who spoke to me.
- Acts 22:11 φωτὸς n gen sg neut When I couldn't see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
- Acts 26:13 φῶς n acc sg neut at noon, O King, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me.
- Acts 26:18 φῶς n acc sg neut to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
- Acts 26:23 φῶς n acc sg neut how the Christ must suffer, and how, by the resurrection of the dead, he would be first to proclaim light both to these people and to the Gentiles."
Romans 2 verses
2 Corinthians 3 verses
- 2 Corinthians 4:6 φῶς n acc sg neut seeing it is God who said, "Light will shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 6:14 φωτὶ n dat sg neut Don't be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what communion has light with darkness?
- 2 Corinthians 11:14 φωτός n gen sg neut And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
Ephesians 3 verses
- Ephesians 5:8 φῶς φωτὸς n nom sg neut n gen sg neut For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- Ephesians 5:9 φωτὸς n gen sg neut for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth,
- Ephesians 5:13 φωτὸς φῶς n gen sg neut n nom sg neut But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that is revealed is light.
Colossians 1 verse
1 Thessalonians 1 verse
1 Timothy 1 verse
James 1 verse
1 Peter 1 verse
1 John 5 verses
- 1 John 1:5 φῶς n nom sg neut This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
- 1 John 1:7 φωτὶ φωτί n dat sg neut n dat sg neut But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
- 1 John 2:8 φῶς n nom sg neut Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines.
- 1 John 2:9 φωτὶ n dat sg neut He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in the darkness even until now.
- 1 John 2:10 φωτὶ n dat sg neut He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him.
Revelation 3 verses
- Revelation 18:23 φῶς n nom sg neut The light of a lamp will shine no more at all in you. The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will be heard no more at all in you; for your merchants were the princes of the earth; for with your sorcery all the nations were deceived.
- Revelation 21:24 φωτὸς n gen sg neut The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
- Revelation 22:5 φωτὸς φωτὸς n gen sg neut n gen sg neut There will be no night, and they need no lamp light; for the Lord God will illuminate them. They will reign forever and ever.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
The Greek noun φως centers on the idea of “light.” Its earliest occurrence is Matthew 4:16. The Greek New Testament uses it across 60 verses — moderately common. John dominates its distribution — 16 of 60 verses. Thayer's distinguishes 2 senses for it. Dig into 60-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's G5457 catalogs a Greek word from the Greek New Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Greek New Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 60
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 60 distinct verses.
- 15 / 27
- NT books
- The word appears in 15 of 27 New Testament books.
- #235
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Greek words (rank 235 of 5,347 Greek words by occurrence).
View all 60 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the New Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Some books belong to more than one corpus (Luke is in both the Gospels and the Lukan corpus, and so on), so these shares overlap and need not total 100%. Each figure is a share of the word’s 60 distinct verses.
- Gospels 29 verses · 48%
- Johannine 24 verses · 40%
- Lukan (Luke–Acts) 16 verses · 27%
- Pauline corpus 11 verses · 18%
- General (Catholic) Epistles 7 verses · 12%
- Revelation 3 verses · 5%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Light 65×, Fire 2×
- American Standard Version: Light 62×, Lights 2×
- Berean Standard Bible: Light 64×, Daylight 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Light 69×, A 2×, Lights 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders G5457 across 70 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 3 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders G5457 across 69 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 5 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders G5457 across 71 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 5 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders G5457 across 78 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 3 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in Thayer's
The 2 senses Thayer's distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency or importance). The full entry — with sub-senses — is in the Lexicon Entry tab.
- light
- metaph.
Word origin
Derived from φαινω (phaínō) (G5316) — to shine.
Forms in the corpus
The 7 distinct written forms G5457 takes in the Greek New Testament, most frequent first — each parse links to that case’s occurrences in the concordance.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| φῶς phō̂s | Noun, Nominative, Singular, Neuter | Matthew 4:16 | 47 |
| φωτὸς phōtòs | Noun, Genitive, Singular, Neuter | Luke 16:8 | 9 |
| φωτὶ phōtì | Noun, Dative, Singular, Neuter | Luke 12:3 | 6 |
| φωτός phōtós | Noun, Genitive, Singular, Neuter | John 1:7 | 5 |
| φωτί phōtí | Noun, Dative, Singular, Neuter | Matthew 10:27 | 3 |
| φώτων phṓtōn | Noun, Genitive, Plural, Neuter | James 1:17 | 1 |
| φῶτα phō̂ta | Noun, Accusative, Plural, Neuter | Acts 16:29 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other Thayer's entries built from the same root as G5457, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
- φανερος phanerós G5318 evident
- φανος phanós G5322 torch
- φανταζω phantázō G5324 to show
- φελονης phelónēs G5341 cloak
- φωνη phōnḗ G5456 voice
Derived from this word
- φαινω phaínō G5316 to shine
- φεγγος phéngos G5338 light
- φημι phēmí G5346 to declare
- φωστηρ phōstḗr G5458 light-giver
- φωσφορος phōsphóros G5459 morning star
- φωτεινος phōteinós G5460 light
- φωτιζω phōtízō G5461 to enlighten
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 14 — not the complete family. 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint usage
The same Greek word φως appears 129 times in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), across 118 verses in 24 books.
- 129
- LXX occurrences
- Tagged occurrences of this Greek word in the Septuagint.
- 118
- verses
- Distinct Septuagint verses containing this word.
- 24 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 24 of the 39 Old Testament books.
Sample Septuagint occurrences
- Genesis 1:3 φῶς
- Exodus 10:23 φῶς
- Leviticus 24:2 φῶς
- Numbers 4:16 φῶς
- 1 Samuel 25:34 φῶς
- 2 Samuel 17:22 φῶς
- 2 Kings 7:9 φῶς
- 2 Chronicles 4:20 φῶς
- Esther 8:16 φῶς
- Job 3:16 φῶς
- Psalms 4:7 φῶς
- Proverbs 4:18 φῶς
Septuagint occurrences (same lexeme)
Every verse where the same Strong’s number (G5457) appears in the Greek Septuagint — showing the first 50 of 118. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context; the Greek form is the matched word — the English is not keyword-highlighted.
- Genesis 1:3 φῶς God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
- Genesis 1:4 φῶς God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.
- Genesis 1:5 φῶς God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. There was evening and there was morning, one day.
- Genesis 1:18 φῶς and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
- Exodus 10:23 φῶς They didn't see one another, neither did anyone rise from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
- Exodus 27:20 φῶς "You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
- Exodus 35:14 φῶς the lampstand also for the light, with its vessels, its lamps, and the oil for the light;
- Exodus 39:16 φῶς They made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
- Leviticus 24:2 φῶς "Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
- Numbers 4:16 φῶς "The charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil, the charge of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, the sanctuary, and its furnishings."
- 1 Samuel 25:34 φῶς For in very deed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from hurting you, except you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn't have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one man-child.
- 1 Samuel 25:36 φῶς Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: therefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
- 2 Samuel 17:22 φῶς Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they passed over the Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them who had not gone over the Jordan.
- 2 Samuel 23:4 φῶς [He shall be] as the light of the morning, when the sun rises, A morning without clouds, [When] the tender grass [springs] out of the earth, Through clear shining after rain.
- 2 Kings 7:9 φῶς Then they said one to another, We aren't doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we hold our peace: if we wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us; now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household.
- 2 Chronicles 4:20 φῶς and the lampstands with their lamps, to burn according to the ordinance before the oracle, of pure gold;
- Esther 8:16 φῶς The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honor.
- Job 3:16 φῶς Or as a hidden untimely birth I had not been, As infants who never saw light.
- Job 3:20 φῶς "Why is light given to him who is in misery, Life to the bitter in soul,
- Job 12:22 φῶς He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings out to light the shadow of death.
- Job 12:25 φῶς They grope in the dark without light. He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
- Job 17:12 φῶς They change the night into day, Saying 'The light is near' in the presence of darkness.
- Job 18:5 φῶς "Yes, the light of the wicked shall be put out, The spark of his fire shall not shine.
- Job 18:6 φῶς The light shall be dark in his tent, His lamp above him shall be put out.
- Job 18:18 φῶς He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world.
- Job 22:11 φῶς Or darkness, so that you can not see, And floods of waters cover you.
- Job 24:16 φῶς In the dark they dig through houses. They shut themselves up in the daytime. They don't know the light.
- Job 26:10 φῶς He has described a boundary on the surface of the waters, And to the confines of light and darkness.
- Job 28:11 φῶς He binds the streams that they don't trickle; The thing that is hidden he brings forth to light.
- Job 29:3 φῶς When his lamp shone on my head, And by his light I walked through darkness;
- Job 29:24 φῶς I smiled on them when they had no confidence. They didn't reject the light of my face.
- Job 33:28 φῶς He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit, My life shall see the light.'
- Job 33:30 φῶς To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of the living.
- Job 36:32 φῶς He covers his hands with the lightning, And commands it to strike the mark.
- Job 37:3 φῶς He sends it forth under the whole sky, And his lightning to the ends of the earth.
- Job 37:11 φῶς Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture. He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning.
- Job 37:15 φῶς Do you know how God controls them, And causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?
- Job 37:21 φῶς Now men don't see the light which is bright in the skies, But the wind passes, and clears them.
- Job 38:15 φῶς From the wicked, their light is withheld, The high arm is broken.
- Job 38:19 φῶς "What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is the place of it,
- Psalms 4:7 φῶς You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and their new wine are increased.
- Psalms 35:10 φῶς All my bones shall say, "Yahweh, who is like you, Who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him, Yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?"
- Psalms 36:6 φῶς Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great deep. Yahweh, you preserve man and animal.
- Psalms 37:11 φῶς But the humble shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
- Psalms 42:3 φῶς My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually ask me, "Where is your God?"
- Psalms 48:20 φῶς
- Psalms 55:14 φῶς We took sweet fellowship together. We walked in God's house with company.
- Psalms 88:16 φῶς Your fierce wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off.
- Psalms 96:11 φῶς Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar, and it's fullness!
- Psalms 103:2 φῶς Praise Yahweh, my soul, And don't forget all his benefits;
These are occurrences of the same Greek lexeme (G5457) in the Septuagint — not a translation of any one Hebrew word. The store carries no word-level Hebrew↔Greek alignment, so no Hebrew original is asserted here. Counts come from the recovered LXX Strong's tagging — high-frequency vocabulary is well covered, while rare or late forms may be untagged — so they reflect tagged occurrences and may slightly undercount.
