ὄχλος G3793
Crowd, multitude, throng — a gathered mass of people, especially those following Jesus or assembling in public
Greek ochlos is the Gospels' word for the pressing, curious, sometimes fickle crowds that surround Jesus. It carries a faintly populist, even dismissive nuance inherited from classical Greek, where ochlos could mean 'mob' in contrast to demos ('the people'). In the New Testament, the ochlos follows Jesus for healing (Matt 14:14), blocks access to him (Mark 2:4), and ultimately shifts allegiance at the trial (Matt 27:20). Luke and Acts also use it for general urban gatherings. Spanish multitud, French foule, and German Volksmenge capture the sense of an undifferentiated mass distinct from organized assembly.
Senses
1. crowd, multitude, throng — A gathering of people viewed as a mass rather than an organized body — the crowd, multitude, or throng. In the Gospels, the ochlos is the ever-present popular audience around Jesus, drawn by miracles and teaching (Matt 14:5; Mark 2:4). The term carries a faint class nuance from classical Greek (mob vs. citizenry) that surfaces in passages like John 7:49. Spanish multitud and French foule both preserve the sense of an undifferentiated popular gathering. 175×
AR["الجَمعَ", "الجَمعُ", "الجَمعِ", "الجُمْهُورَ", "الجُمْهُورُ", "الجُمْهُورِ", "الْجَمْعِ", "جَمعًا", "جَمعٌ", "جَمعَ", "جَمعِ", "جَمْعٌ", "جَمْعِ", "جُمْهُورًا", "جُمْهُورَ"]·ben["জনতা", "জনতাকে", "জনতার", "ভিড়", "ভিড়কে", "ভিড়ের"]·DE["Menge", "Volksmenge"]·EN["a-crowd", "crowd"]·FR["foule"]·heb["הָמוֹן"]·HI["भिर", "भिर-को", "भिर-ने", "भिर-से", "भीड़", "भीड़-को", "भीड़-से", "भेएद"]·ID["orang-banyak"]·IT["folla"]·jav["tahanan", "tiyang-kathah", "tiyang-kathah,", "téyang-kathah", "wong-akèh"]·KO["군중에게", "군중은", "군중을", "군중이", "무리", "무리-가", "무리-를", "무리-에게", "무리가"]·PT["multidão", "multidão;"]·RU["народ", "народа", "толпа", "толпе", "толпой", "толпу", "толпы;"]·ES["multitud"]·SW["kundi", "kundi,", "kwa-maana", "mkubwa", "uliwakemea", "umati", "walitandaza"]·TR["kalabalık", "kalabalıktan", "kalabalığa", "kalabalığı", "kalabalığın"]·urd["بھیڑ", "بھیڑ-نے", "بھیڑ-کے", "بھیڑ-کے-لِیے", "ہجوم", "ہجوم-سے", "ہجوم-نے", "ہجوم-پر", "ہجوم-کو"]
Matt 8:18, Matt 9:23, Matt 9:25, Matt 13:2, Matt 14:5, Matt 14:14, Matt 15:10, Matt 15:31, Matt 15:32, Matt 15:33, Matt 15:35, Matt 17:14 (+38 more)
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ὄχλος, ὁ, crowd, throng, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὁ ὄ. τῶν στρατιωτῶν the mass of the soldiers, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὄχλῳ in numbers (for an army), Refs; οἱ τοιοῦτοι ὄ. undisciplined masses like these,Refs 2nd c.AD+; of the camp-followers, Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 in political sense, populace, mob, opposed to δῆμος (people), Refs 5th c.BC+; δικαστηρίων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὄ. and popular assemblies (in a contemptuous…