πρόσωπον G4383
Face, countenance; by extension, presence, surface, or person — reflecting the Semitic breadth of Hebrew panim.
In the New Testament, prosōpon carries the full weight of its Hebrew counterpart panim, meaning far more than just the physical face. It denotes a person's countenance (Matt 17:2, where Jesus' face shone like the sun), God's presence or 'face' (Acts 2:28), or the front surface of something (Luke 21:35, the face of the earth). Spanish rostro and German Angesicht both capture this dignified, relational sense. In a few passages the word shifts by metonymy to mean 'person' or 'outward appearance,' as when Paul forgives 'in the person of Christ' (2 Cor 2:10) — a usage the French personnes and Spanish personas make explicit.
2. person, outward appearance — By metonymy, the outward person, appearance, or social standing — the face standing for the whole individual. Spanish renders personas and French personnes, distinguishing this from the literal face sense. Paul forgives 'in the person (prosōpō) of Christ' (2 Cor 2:10), and Jude 1:16 warns against those who show partiality to persons (prosōpa). 2×
amh["ፊቶችን"]·AR["-وجوه","وَجهِ"]·ben["উপস্থিতিতে","মুখ"]·ces["osoby"]·dan["ansigter,"]·DE["Angesicht","Personen"]·ell["πρόσωπα,"]·EN["person","persons"]·FR["personnes,","visage"]·guj["મોઢાંની,"]·hat["figi"]·hau["fuskokin-mutane"]·heb["פְּנֵי","פנים"]·HI["उपस्थिति","मुख-की"]·hun["személyeket"]·ID["orang-orang","wajah"]·IT["persone","volto"]·jav["ngajeng","pasuryan"]·JA["顔-を"]·KO["면전에서","사람들을"]·mar["मुखांची,"]·mya["မျက်နှာများကို"]·nld["gezichten"]·nor["ansikter"]·pnb["مونہاں-دی"]·pol["osoby"]·PT["pessoas","presença"]·ron["fețe,"]·RU["лицам","лицом"]·ES["personas","presencia"]·SW["nyuso","uso"]·swe["ansikten"]·tam["முகங்களை"]·tel["ముఖములను"]·tgl["sa-mukha"]·TH["หน้า"]·TR["huzurunda","yüzlere,"]·ukr["лицям"]·urd["حضور","چہروں-کی"]·VI["người"]·yor["ojú,"]·yue["人"]·ZH["脸面"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. face, countenance — The physical face or countenance, and by Semitic idiom (mirroring Hebrew panim), the presence, front, or surface of something. All major translations use a face/countenance word — spa. rostro, deu. Angesicht, fra. visage — confirming the concrete-to-spatial range. In Matt 17:2 Jesus' face shines at the Transfiguration; in Acts 3:20 it denotes God's presence. 75×
AR["وَجهَكَ","وَجهِ","وَجهِكَ","وَجهِهِ","وَجْهَ","وَجْهَهُ","وَجْهُهُ","وَجْهِ","وَجْهِهِ","وُجوهِ","وُجُوهِهِمْ"]·ben["মুখ","মুখমণ্ডলের","মুখে","মুখের"]·DE["Angesicht"]·EN["face","the-face"]·FR["visage"]·heb["אֶל-","פְּנֵי","פָּנִים","פָּנֶיךָ","פָּנָי-ו","פָּנָיו"]·HI["चेह्र","मुंह","मुख","मुख-के"]·ID["muka","wajah"]·IT["volto"]·jav["pasuryan","wadana"]·KO["면전에","얼굴","얼굴-을","얼굴을","얼굴의","얼굴이"]·PT["aparência","da-face","do-rosto","face","rosto"]·RU["лица","лицо","лицо,","лицом"]·ES["rostro"]·SW["kifulifuli","mbele-yako","nyuso","tuambie","uso"]·TR["yüzlerinin","yüzü","yüzüne","yüzünü","yüzünün"]·urd["جو","منہ","مُنہ","مُنہ-پر","چہرہ","چہرے","کہتے-ہوئے"]
Matt 6:17, Matt 11:10, Matt 16:3, Matt 17:2, Matt 17:6, Matt 18:10, Matt 22:16, Matt 26:39, Matt 26:67, Mark 1:2, Mark 12:14, Mark 14:65 (+38 more)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πρόσωπον, τό: plural πρόσωπα, Epic dialect (Aeolic dialect accusative to Refs 8th c.BC+ προσώπατα Refs 8th c.BC+:— face, countenance (compare μέτωπον), Refs 8th c.BC+ always in plural, even of a single person, Refs 8th c.BC+, and usually in later writers; π. κλιθὲν προσώπῳ Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐς π. τινὸς ἀφικέσθαι come before him,LXX+2nd c.BC+; κατὰ πρόσωπον in front, facing, Refs 5th c.BC+; κατὰ π.…