πλῆθος G4128
A multitude, crowd, or large number; a great quantity of people gathered together, or occasionally of things.
Plethos denotes a great number or mass, used overwhelmingly in Luke-Acts for crowds of people: the multitude of worshipers at the temple (Luke 1:10), the heavenly host praising God (Luke 2:13), and the growing community of believers (Acts 4:32). All major translations converge on crowd/multitude terms: Spanish multitud, French multitude, German Menge. A single occurrence in Acts 28:3 extends the word to a non-human quantity, a bundle of sticks, showing its root meaning of sheer abundance can apply beyond persons.
Senses
1. multitude, crowd, large group of people — A large group of people gathered together, a crowd, throng, or assembly. This overwhelmingly dominant sense (30x) appears throughout Luke-Acts and Mark, describing disciples, worshipers, and public gatherings. Translations are remarkably uniform: Spanish multitud, French multitude, German Menge. The heavenly host of Luke 2:13 and the miraculous catch of fish drawing a plethos in Luke 5:6 illustrate the word's range from celestial armies to everyday crowds. 30×
AR["الجُمْهُورُ","الْجُمْهُورِ","جَمعٌ","جَمعَ","جَمعُ","جَمعِ","جَمْعٌ","جُمهورِ","جُمْهورٌ","جُمْهورِ","جُمْهُورٌ","جُمْهُورَ","جُمْهُورِ"]·ben["জনতা","জনসমাগমের","ভিড়","সংখ্যা","সমূহ","সমূহের"]·DE["Menge"]·EN["a-multitude","multitude"]·FR["multitude"]·heb["הֲמוֹן","הַקָּהָל","הָמוֹן","וְ-","קְהַל","קָהָל"]·HI["-विश्वास-करने-वालों-की","घबरा-गई","बहुत","बहुतेरे","भीड़","भीड़-के","भीड़-को","भीड़-ने","यरूशलेम-के","समूह"]·ID["Orang-banyak","banyak","banyak-orang","banyak-orang,","banyak-orang;","itu","jumlah","kerumunan","kumpulan","orang-banyak","penduduk"]·IT["moltitudine"]·jav["cacah","cacah.","golongan","kathah","tiyang","tiyang-kathah","tiyang-kathah,","tiyang-kathah;","wong-akèh"]·KO["무리-가","무리-를","무리-앞에서","무리-의","무리가","무리를"]·PT["Multidão","multidão","multidão,","multidão."]·RU["множества","множество","множеством","множеством,"]·ES["multitud"]·SW["kubwa","kundi","mkubwa","umati","wingi"]·TR["Kalabalık","kalabalık","kalabalığı","kalabalığın","kalabalığını","kalabalığının","çoğunluğu"]·urd["بھیڑ","بھیڑ-کا","بھیڑ-کے","بیماروں-کی","جماعت","گروہ"]
2. quantity, great amount (of things) — A great quantity or amount of non-human things. This rare sense (1x) appears in Acts 28:3, where Paul gathers a plethos of dry sticks for a fire on Malta. Spanish distinguishes this with cantidad rather than multitud, and English uses quantity, revealing that translators instinctively mark the shift from persons to objects. French and German retain the same term (multitude, Menge), treating it as a natural extension. 1×
AR["كَثيرَةً"]·ben["সমূহ"]·DE["Menge"]·EN["quantity"]·FR["multitude"]·heb["רֹב"]·HI["ढेर,"]·ID["banyak,"]·IT["moltitudine"]·jav["kathah,"]·KO["더미를"]·PT["quantidade,"]·RU["множество,"]·ES["cantidad"]·SW["wingi"]·TR["bir"]·urd["گٹھا"]
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
πλῆθος, εος, τό, Doric dialect and Refs 4th c.AD+ πλῆθος Refs 5th c.BC+; Boeotian dialect πλεῖθος Refs; pseudo-Doric dialect and pseudo-Aeolic dialect πλᾶθος Refs 1st c.BC+ see at {πίμπλημι}):—great number, multitude, especially of people, Refs 8th c.BC+; στρατοῦ π., periphrastic for στρατὸς πολύς, Refs; ὡς πλήθει for the mass of men, Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 τὸ π. the greater number, the mass, main…