ἄστρον G0798
star, celestial body; used of literal stars and as a figure for innumerable multitude
The Greek astron denotes a star or constellation, overlapping with the more common aster but tending toward collective or poetic usage. Luke 21:25 places signs in the stars among the cosmic portents preceding Christ's return. Acts 7:43 quotes Amos 5:26, referencing the 'star of your god Rephan' — an astral idol. Acts 27:20 recounts how Paul's ship lost sight of sun and stars during a storm, leaving the sailors without navigational reference. Hebrews 11:12 invokes the Abrahamic promise, comparing Abraham's descendants to the stars in number. Spanish 'estrella,' French 'astre,' and German 'Gestirn' all confirm the straightforward astronomical reference.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Star or celestial body — a luminous object in the night sky. All four NT occurrences refer to literal stars, though in varied contexts: cosmic eschatological signs (Luke 21:25), an idolatrous astral image (Acts 7:43), navigational reference lost in a storm (Acts 27:20), and a simile for innumerable multitude drawn from the Abrahamic covenant (Heb 11:12). Spanish 'estrella/estrellas' and French 'astre' confirm a single astronomical sense, while the figurative use in Hebrews ('as many as the stars') extends quantity, not meaning. 4×
AR["النُّجومِ", "النُّجُومُ", "نَجْمَ", "نُجُوم"]·ben["তারা", "তারাগুলি", "তারায়", "তারার"]·DE["Gestirn", "ἄστροις", "ἄστρον", "ἄστρων"]·EN["star", "stars"]·FR["astre"]·heb["כּוֹכַב", "כּוֹכָבִים"]·HI["तारा", "तारे", "तारों"]·ID["bintang", "bintang-bintang"]·IT["astra", "astrois", "stella"]·jav["lintang", "lintang-lintang", "lintang;"]·KO["별-을", "별들에", "별들이"]·PT["estrela", "estrelas", "nas-estrelas"]·RU["звезду", "звёзд", "звёздах", "звёзды"]·ES["estrella", "estrellas"]·SW["nyota"]·TR["yıldızlar", "yıldızlarda", "yıldızları", "yıldızını"]·urd["تاروں", "ستارے"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἄστρον, τό, mostly in plural, the stars, Refs 8th c.BC+; τοῦ κατ᾽ ἄστρα Ζηνός, ={τοῦ ἐν οὐρανῷ}, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἄστρων εὐφρόνη, ={εὐφρ. ἀστερόεσσα}, Refs probable reading in Refs 7th c.BC+; περὶ τὸ ἄ. in the dog-days, Refs 5th c.BC+; poetry of the sun, Refs 5th c.BC+: seldom of any common star, Refs 4th c.BC+; of the fixed stars, Refs 4th c.BC+; ἄστρα πλανητά, opposed to ἀπλανῆ, Refs 5th c.BC+;…