τεῖχος G5038
A city wall or fortification wall; a large defensive structure surrounding and protecting an urban settlement.
Teichos refers specifically to a large defensive wall encircling a city, distinct from toichos, which denotes an interior house wall. In the New Testament its occurrences divide between historical narrative and apocalyptic vision. Paul escapes Damascus by being lowered through an opening in the teichos (Acts 9:25; 2 Cor 11:33), Jericho's walls fall by faith (Heb 11:30), and the heavenly Jerusalem is described with a great, high wall possessing twelve gates and twelve foundations (Rev 21:12-19). The Spanish muro/muros and French muraille aptly convey the imposing, fortified character of this structure.
Senses
1. wall, city wall, fortification wall — A city wall or fortification wall, the large defensive structure surrounding an urban area. Unlike toichos (G5109), which refers to the wall of a building, teichos always denotes a massive exterior fortification. Paul's dramatic escape from Damascus through a basket lowered from the wall illustrates its physical scale (Acts 9:25; 2 Cor 11:33). The fall of Jericho's walls by faith highlights its military significance (Heb 11:30). In Revelation, the wall of New Jerusalem is described with extraordinary dimensions and precious foundations (Rev 21:12, 14, 15, 17-19). Multilingual evidence (spa muro, fra muraille, deu Mauer, eng wall) consistently points to a fortified city wall. 9×
AR["أَسْوَار","السّورِ","سورٌ","سورَها","سورُ","سورِ","سورِها","سُورِ"]·ben["দেওয়ালে","প্রাচীর","প্রাচীরগুলি","প্রাচীরের"]·DE["Mauer","τείχους"]·EN["a-wall","wall","walls"]·FR["mur","muraille"]·heb["הַ-חוֹמָה","חוֹמַת","חוֹמָה","חוֹמָתָהּ","חוֹמוֹת"]·HI["दीवार","दीवार-का","दीवार-के","दीवारें"]·ID["tembok"]·IT["muro"]·jav["tembok","tembok-tembok","témbok"]·KO["성벽-을-통해","성벽들이","성벽을","성벽의","성벽이"]·PT["muro","muros"]·RU["стена","стену","стены"]·ES["muro","muro,","muros"]·SW["kuta","ukuta","ukuta,"]·TR["duvar","duvarları","duvarı","duvarın","duvarını"]·urd["دیوار","دیوار-کو","دیوار-کی","دیواریں"]
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
τεῖχος, εος, τό, wall, especially city-wall, Ἰλιόφι κλυτὰ τείχεα Refs 8th c.BC+; of the embankment round the ships, τάφρος Δαναῶν καὶ τ. ὕπερθεν Refs 8th c.BC+; Κιμμέρια τ. earthworks, Refs 5th c.BC+; ξύλινον τεῖχος exceptionally, Oracle texts cited in Refs 5th c.BC+ uses this phrase for a funeral pile, “P.” 3.38); τ. χάλκεον Refs 8th c.BC+; τ. σιδηροῦν, τείχη χαλκᾶ καὶ ἀδαμάντινα, Refs 5th…