φῶς G5457
Light; natural, divine, or metaphorical illumination; rarely the glow of a fire.
One of the richest theological words in the New Testament, phos spans the entire range of illumination — from the physical light of the sun (Matt 17:2) to the divine light that shines in darkness (John 1:5) and the moral light believers are called to embody (Matt 5:14). Jesus' declaration 'I am the light of the world' (John 8:12) makes this word a cornerstone of Johannine theology. A single occurrence at Mark 14:54 refers specifically to the glow of a courtyard fire, where the Hindi 'aag' (fire) rather than 'jyoti' (light) reveals a real semantic narrowing.
Senses
1. light (illumination) — Light as illumination in its full range: natural daylight (Matt 17:2), divine radiance (2 Cor 4:6), spiritual enlightenment (John 1:5; 8:12), and moral transparency (Matt 5:16). This sense dominates with 71 of 72 occurrences. Translations are remarkably uniform — Spanish 'luz,' French 'lumière,' German 'Licht' — reflecting how naturally these languages map onto the same breadth of literal and metaphorical illumination. 71×
AR["النُّورِ", "النّورُ", "نورَ", "نورُ", "نورِ", "نُورًا", "نُورٌ", "نُورَ", "نُورُ", "نُورُكُمْ", "نُورِ", "نُّورَ", "نُّورُ", "نُّورِ"]·ben["আলো", "আলোতে", "আলোর"]·DE["Licht"]·EN["a-light", "light"]·FR["lumière"]·heb["אוֹר"]·HI["आग", "उजाले", "उजियाला", "ज्योति", "ज्योति,", "ज्योति-के", "ज्योति-में", "ज्योति।", "प्रकश"]·ID["cahaya", "itu", "terang", "terang,", "terang."]·IT["luce"]·jav["pepadhang", "pepadhang,", "pepadhang.", "pepadhang;", "sorot-latu,"]·KO["밝음에서", "불빛에", "빛", "빛-을", "빛-이", "빛을", "빛의", "빛이", "빛처럼"]·PT["luz", "luz,", "luz."]·RU["свет", "света", "свете", "свету"]·ES["luz"]·SW["mwanga", "mwangani;", "nuru"]·TR["aydınlıkta", "ışık", "ışıkta", "ışığa", "ışığı", "ışığı.", "ışığınızı"]·urd["روشنی", "نور", "نور،", "نور۔"]
2. firelight, fire (as light source) — The glow or illumination cast by a fire, attested only at Mark 14:54, where Peter warms himself by the fire in the high priest's courtyard. The multilingual evidence decisively separates this from generic light: Hindi uses 'aag' (fire) rather than the usual 'jyoti/prakash' (light), and several other languages shift to fire-specific vocabulary, confirming that the referent here is firelight as a localized light source, not illumination in the abstract. 1×
AR["نَارِ"]·ben["আলোর"]·DE["Licht"]·EN["light"]·FR["lumière"]·heb["אוּר"]·HI["आग"]·ID["api"]·IT["luce"]·jav["geni"]·KO["불을"]·PT["fogo"]·RU["огня"]·ES["luz"]·SW["moto"]·TR["ateşe"]·urd["آگ"]
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H6083 1. dust, dry earth, soil (108×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H4306 1. rain, showers (38×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)H1259 1. hail (weather phenomenon) (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
φῶς, contraction for φάος, light (which see). φῴς, ἡ, plural φῷδες, contraction from φωΐς (which see).