θεός G2316
God, the one true God; a god or pagan deity; a goddess
The noun θεός is the Greek New Testament's word for deity in all its dimensions. Overwhelmingly it refers to the one true God — the God of Israel, the Father of Jesus Christ — appearing over 1,300 times from Matthew to Revelation. A small cluster of occurrences applies the word to pagan gods and idols, as when the Lycaonians cry 'the gods have come down' (Acts 14:11) or when Psalm 82:6 is quoted: 'I said, you are gods' (John 10:34). A single occurrence designates the goddess Artemis of the Ephesians (Acts 19:37), preserving the feminine divine reference attested in classical Greek.
2. god, pagan deity — A god or divine being in the generic or pagan sense — used of idols, false deities, and the 'gods' of the nations. This includes the golden calf ('make us gods,' Acts 7:40), the star-god Rephan (Acts 7:43), the Lycaonians' polytheistic exclamation (Acts 14:11), and the citation of Ps 82:6 in John 10:34-35. Multilingual glosses shift to plurals and lower-case forms — 'dioses,' 'Gods,' 'a god' — marking the clear semantic boundary from the one true God. 12×
AR["آلِهَة","آلِهَةً","آلِهَةٌ","آلِهَةٍ","آلِهَةُ","إلهًا","إلٰهُ","إلٰهُهُمْ","إِلٰهِ"]·ben["দেবতা","দেবতাদের","দেবতাদের;","দেবতার","দেবতারা","দেবতারা,"]·DE["Gott"]·EN["Gods","a-god","god","gods"]·FR["Dieu"]·heb["אֱלֹהִים","אֱלֹהֵיכֶם","אֵל","אֵלִים"]·HI["देवता","देवताओं-को","देवता।","देवि-देवत","देवि-देवतओन;"]·ID["Allah","allah","allah,","allah-allah","dewa-dewa","dewa."]·IT["Dio"]·jav["allah","dewa","dewa,","dewa-dewa","dewa.","dewanipun","déwa","déwa;","para-dewa","para-dewa,"]·KO["신-의","신들-을","신들을;","신들이","신들이다","신들이라","신들이라고","신이","신이라고"]·PT["Deuses","deus","deus.","deuses","deuses,"]·RU["Боги","бог","бога","богам","богами,","боги","боги,","богов","богом."]·ES["Dioses","dios","dioses","theós","un-dios"]·SW["Miungu","miungu","miungu,","mungu"]·TR["bize","tanrisi","tanrılar","tanrılara","tanrının","çağın-"]·urd["خدا","خُدا","دیوتا","دیوتاؤں-کی","معبود"]
John 10:34, John 10:35, Acts 7:40, Acts 7:43, Acts 14:11, Acts 19:26, Acts 28:6, 1 Cor 8:5, 1 Cor 8:5, 2 Cor 4:4, Gal 4:8, Phil 3:19
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. God, the true God — The supreme deity of biblical faith: God the Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. This sense accounts for virtually all NT occurrences (1,315 of 1,328). Every target language renders it with its standard word for the one God — 'Dios,' 'Dieu,' 'Gott' — with no hedging or pluralization. Key passages span every genre: Matt 1:23 (Immanuel, 'God with us'), Matt 3:16 (the Spirit of God descending), and throughout the Pauline epistles. 1315×
AR["إِلهُ","إِلٰهَ","إِلٰهَكَ","اللهَ","اللهُ","اللهِ","اللَّـهِ","اللّٰهَ","اللّٰهِ","اللّٰهِ]"]·ben["ঈশ্বর","ঈশ্বর।","ঈশ্বরকে","ঈশ্বরের","ঈশ্বরের;","ঈশ্বরের],"]·DE["Gott"]·EN["God","of-God","of-Theos"]·FR["Dieu"]·heb["אֱלֹהִים","אֱלֹהֵי","אֱלֹהֶיךָ","דֶּרֶךְ","הַאֱלֹהִים","הָאֱלֹהִים","הוּא","שֶׁל-אַבְרָהָם","שָׁמַיִם"]·HI["परमेश्वर","परमेश्वर-क","परमेश्वर-का","परमेश्वर-की","परमेश्वर-के","परमेश्वर-को","परमेश्वर-ने"]·ID["Allah","Allah."]·IT["Dio"]·jav["Gusti-Allah","Gusti-Allah,","Gusti-Allah.","Gusti-Allahé"]·KO["하나님","하나님-을","하나님-의","하나님-이시라","하나님]","하나님을","하나님의","하나님의-것을","하나님이","하나님이다"]·PT["Deus","Deus.","a-Deus","de-Deus"]·RU["Бог","Бога","Бога.","Богу","Божие","Божий","Божьего","Божьи"]·ES["Dios","Theòn","Theòs","Theós","a-Dios","de-Dios"]·SW["-wa-Mungu","-ya-Mungu","Alikuja","Mungu","Mungu,","Waliposikia","katika","kwa","wa-Abraam","wa-Iakōb","wa-Mungu"]·TR["Tanrı","Tanrı'nı","Tanrı'nın","Tanrı'sını","Tanrı'ya","Tanrı'yı","Tanrısı","Tanrı’nın"]·urd["خدا","خدا-نے","خدا-کا","خدا-کو","خدا-کی","خدا-کے","خُدا-کی"]
Matt 1:23, Matt 3:16, Matt 4:7, Matt 5:8, Matt 5:34, Matt 6:24, Matt 6:33, Matt 9:8, Matt 12:28, Matt 14:33, Matt 15:4, Matt 15:31 (+38 more)
3. goddess, female deity — A female deity, specifically the goddess Artemis (Diana) of the Ephesians, in the sole occurrence at Acts 19:37. The town clerk defends Paul by saying he has not blasphemed 'your goddess.' English renders it distinctly as 'goddess,' and Spanish as 'diosa,' while French and German retain 'Dieu/Gott' without feminine marking — an interesting gap in the translation signature that highlights the gendered specificity of this rare sense. 1×
AR["إِلٰهَتِـ"]·ben["দেবী"]·DE["Gott"]·EN["goddess"]·FR["Dieu"]·heb["אֱלֹהָתֵנוּ"]·HI["देवी-की"]·ID["dewi"]·IT["Dio"]·jav["dewi"]·KO["여신을"]·PT["deusa"]·RU["богиню"]·ES["diosa"]·SW["mungu-mke"]·TR["tanrıçamıza"]·urd["دیوی"]
Related Senses
H0430 1. God (of Israel) (2502×)H6635b 1. hosts, armies (of YHWH) (286×)H0410 1. God, the true God (223×)G0032 1. heavenly angel (170×)H4397 2. messenger, envoy, ambassador (102×)H3742 1. cherub, angelic guardian being (91×)H0430 2. gods (pagan deities) (81×)H0426 1. God, the true God (76×)G1140 1. demon, evil spirit (62×)H0433 1. God, the true God (54×)H5945b 1. Most High (30×)G4152 1. spiritual (21×)H0426 2. god(s), pagan deities (20×)H5943 1. [ketiv:Most High] (18×)G1139 1. be demon-possessed (13×)H1712 1. Dagon (13×)G5310 1. Most High (9×)H0410 3. a god, deity (generic) (9×)H3645 1. Chemosh (9×)H0842 2. Asherah (goddess) (8×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
θεός, ὁ, Boeotian dialect θιός, Laconian dialect σιός (see. below), Refs 5th c.AD+, Cretan dialect θιός Refs, Doric dialect also θεύς Refs 3rd c.BC+; vocative (only late) θεός, also θεέ LXX+NT; but classical in compound names, Ἀμφίθεε, Τιμόθεε:—God, the Deity, in general sense, both singular and plural (εἰ καὶ ἐπὶ θεοὺς καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐπὶ θεὸν ἁρμόζει μεταφέρειν Refs 8th c.BC+; σὺν θ. εἰρημένον…