γράμμα G1121
A letter of the alphabet, a written document, the Scriptures, the written Law (vs. Spirit), learning, or correspondence.
From the verb grapho (to write), this noun covers everything that writing produces — from individual letters scratched on stone to the full body of sacred Scripture. Paul makes it theologically explosive in his 'letter vs. Spirit' contrast: 'the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life' (2 Cor 3:6), where gramma represents the external written code of the Law. Yet the same word humbly describes debt certificates (Luke 16:6-7) and Paul's large handwritten characters (Gal 6:11). The range from the most sacred texts to everyday bookkeeping shows how fundamental writing was to the ancient world.
4. written document, bond, account — A written document, specifically a certificate of debt or financial record. In Jesus' parable of the shrewd manager, the debtors are told to take their 'document' and quickly revise the amount (Luke 16:6-7). This commercial sense connects to the broader Greco-Roman use of gramma for any official written instrument. Spanish 'documentos' cleanly captures this business-record meaning. 2×
AR["صُكُوكَكَ"]·ben["দলিল"]·DE["γράμματα"]·EN["documents"]·FR["lettre"]·heb["מִכְתָבִים"]·HI["कागज़ात"]·ID["surat-surat"]·IT["lettera"]·jav["serat"]·KO["문서를"]·PT["contas"]·RU["расписку"]·ES["documentos"]·SW["maandishi"]·TR["senetler"]·urd["دستاویز"]
▼ 5 more senses below
Senses
1. the letter (written code of the Law) — The written code of the Mosaic Law as an external, constraining standard — Paul's theological 'letter' contrasted with the Spirit. In Romans 2:27-29 circumcision 'in letter' is set against circumcision of the heart, and Romans 7:6 declares release from serving 'in the oldness of the letter.' The climactic statement comes in 2 Corinthians 3:6: 'the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.' German 'Buchstabe' (letter/character) and Spanish 'letra' both carry this same written-code nuance, though neither fully conveys the Pauline theological weight. 5×
AR["الحَرفُ","الحَرفِ","الْحَرْفِ","بِ-الحَرفِ","حَرفٍ"]·ben["অক্ষর","অক্ষরের","অক্ষরের,","লিখিত-অক্ষর","লিখিত-অক্ষরে;"]·DE["Buchstabe"]·EN["in-letter","letter","of-letter"]·FR["lettre"]·heb["אוֹת"]·HI["अक्षर","अक्षर-के","लेख","लेख-के"]·ID["huruf","huruf.","huruf;"]·IT["lettera"]·jav["aksara","aksara,","aksara.","aksara;"]·KO["문자","문자는","문자의"]·PT["de-letra","de-letra.","em-letra","letra"]·RU["буква","букве","букву","буквы"]·ES["de-letra","en-letra","letra"]·SW["herufi","wa-herufi","wa-herufi,"]·TR["değil","harf","harf;","o-","yazının"]·urd["حرف","حرف-میں","حرف-کا","حرف۔"]
2. letter of the alphabet, written character — Individual letters of the alphabet or written characters — the most basic, physical sense. Luke 23:38 notes the inscription over the cross was written 'in letters' of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Paul draws attention to the 'large letters' he writes with his own hand (Gal 6:11), and 2 Corinthians 3:7 describes the ministry of death 'carved in letters on stone.' German 'Buchstabe' and Spanish 'letras' match this concrete orthographic meaning directly. 3×
AR["بِحُروفٍ","حُروفٍ"]·ben["অক্ষরে"]·DE["Buchstabe","{γράμμασιν"]·EN["in-letters","letters"]·FR["lettre"]·heb["אוֹתִיּוֹת","בְּאוֹתִיּוֹת"]·HI["अकशरोनसे","अक्षरों-में"]·ID["dalam-huruf-huruf","huruf","huruf-huruf"]·IT["grammasin","lettera"]·jav["aksara","huruf"]·KO["글자들로","글자로","문자들로"]·PT["letras"]·RU["буквами","буквах"]·ES["en-letras","letras"]·SW["herufi","katika","kwa-herufi"]·TR["harflerle","kazınmış-"]·urd["حرفوں","حرفوں-میں","حروف-میں"]
3. writings, Scriptures, sacred texts — Writings or Scriptures — a body of authoritative sacred texts. Jesus asks 'if you do not believe his [Moses'] writings, how will you believe my words?' (John 5:47). In John 7:15 the crowd marvels that Jesus knows 'letters' (the Scriptures) without formal training. Timothy is commended for knowing 'the sacred writings' from childhood (2 Tim 3:15). The Spanish 'escrituras/escritos' and the shift from individual characters to a literary corpus mirrors the English progression from 'letters' to 'literature.' 3×
AR["الكُتُبَ","كُتُبًا","كُتُبِ"]·ben["লেখা","লেখায়","লেখার"]·DE["Buchstabe"]·EN["writings"]·FR["lettre"]·heb["כְּתָבִים"]·HI["लिखाइयों","लेखोन","शास्त्र"]·ID["tulisan","tulisan-tulisan"]·IT["grammata","lettera"]·jav["aksara","serat"]·KO["글들-을","성경들-을","학문을"]·PT["letras"]·RU["писания","писаниям"]·ES["escritos","escrituras","letras"]·SW["maandiko","maandishi"]·TR["yazıları","yazılarına"]·urd["تحریروں-پر","تحریریں","پڑھائی"]
5. epistle, letter (correspondence) — A letter of correspondence — an epistle or official communication sent between parties. Acts 28:21 records that the Jewish leaders in Rome received no 'letters' from Judea about Paul. This sense overlaps with epistole but emphasizes the physical written object rather than the act of sending. Spanish 'cartas' precisely denotes this postal-correspondence meaning. 1×
AR["رَسائِلَ"]·ben["পত্র"]·DE["γράμματα"]·EN["letters"]·FR["lettre"]·heb["מִכְתָבִים"]·HI["पत्र"]·ID["surat"]·IT["lettera"]·jav["serat"]·KO["편지를"]·PT["cartas"]·RU["писем"]·ES["cartas"]·SW["barua"]·TR["hakkında"]·urd["خطوط"]
6. learning, education, literary knowledge — Learning, education, or scholarly knowledge acquired through extensive reading. Festus exclaims 'your great learning is driving you mad!' (Acts 26:24), using grammata to mean accumulated erudition. This metonymic extension — from written texts to the knowledge gained from studying them — is shared by Spanish 'letras' (which can mean both 'letters' and 'learning') and reflects how literacy and scholarship were inseparable in antiquity. 1×
AR["العِلْمُ"]·ben["বিদ্যা"]·DE["γράμματα"]·EN["learning"]·FR["lettre"]·heb["הַלִּמּוּד"]·HI["पढ़ाई"]·ID["tulisan,"]·IT["lettera"]·jav["seserepan,"]·KO["학문이"]·PT["letras,"]·RU["учёность"]·ES["letras"]·SW["masomo"]·TR["kitaplar"]·urd["پڑھائی"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
γράμμα, ατος, τό, Doric dialect γράθμα, probably in Refs 6th c.BC+, but γράσσμα, Refs 5th c.BC+: late Aeolic dialect plural γρόππατα, Refs: (γράφω):— that which is drawn: plural, lines of a drawing, picture, etc., Refs 5th c.BC+; picture, Ἀπέλλεω γ. Refs 3rd c.BC+: singular, drawing, picture, Refs 5th c.BC+: plural, figures in a picture, Refs 5th c.AD+ __II written character, letter, Refs 5th…