χρῆμα G5536
Money, wealth, riches — goods measured in monetary value, from property and possessions to currency itself.
Chrēma derives from chraomai ('to use, to need') and originally meant 'a thing one needs.' In the New Testament, its plural chrēmata consistently denotes money or wealth. The word appears in two distinct but related settings: concrete financial transactions and teaching about wealth's spiritual danger. In Acts, it describes actual money — the proceeds of Barnabas's sold field (4:37) and Simon Magus's attempt to purchase the Holy Spirit (8:18-20). In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus uses it in his sobering declaration about how hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:23-24; Luke 18:24).
2. sense 2 — Riches or wealth as a general condition, often in moral or spiritual discourse. Jesus warns in Mark 10:23-24 and Luke 18:24 that those possessing chrēmata face particular difficulty entering God's kingdom. Spanish 'riquezas' and French 'argent' capture the broader sense of accumulated wealth rather than a single sum. The shift from concrete money to abstract 'riches' mirrors the passage from narrative (Acts) to didactic teaching (Synoptics). 3×
AR["أَمْوَالَ","الأَموالَ","الْأَمْوَالِ"]·ben["ধন","ধনে"]·DE["Geld","χρήματα"]·EN["riches"]·FR["argent"]·heb["מָמוֹן","נְכָסִים"]·HI["धन"]·ID["kekayaan"]·IT["chremasin","chremata"]·jav["bandha"]·KO["재물-을","재물들","재물을"]·PT["riquezas"]·RU["богатства"]·ES["riquezas"]·SW["mali"]·TR["servete","servetleri","varlıklar"]·urd["دولت","مال"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. sense 1 — Money as a concrete medium of exchange in specific transactions. In Acts 4:37, Barnabas lays chrēmata at the apostles' feet after selling a field; in Acts 8:18-20, Simon offers money for spiritual power and is sharply rebuked. Spanish 'dinero' and French 'bien' reflect this transactional, tangible sense. Felix in Acts 24:26 hoped Paul would offer him a bribe — chrēmata functioning as the currency of corruption. 4×
AR["بِالمَالِ","مَالًا","مَالٍ"]·ben["টাকা","টাকার","ধন"]·DE["χρήματα","χρημάτων","χρῆμα"]·EN["money"]·FR["bien"]·heb["כֶּסֶף"]·HI["और","धन"]·ID["uang"]·IT["ricchezze"]·jav["arta","arta,"]·KO["돈-을","돈-을-통해","돈을"]·PT["dinheiro"]·RU["деньги"]·ES["dinero"]·SW["fedha"]·TR["para","parayla","ve"]·urd["رقم","رقم-کے","روپیہ"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
χρῆμα, ατος, τό: (χράομαι):— need, in the phrase παρὰ χ. or παραχρῆμα (which see); a thing that one needs or uses,Refs 5th c.BC+: hence in plural, goods, property (χρήματα λέγομεν πάντα ὅσων ἡ ἀξία νομίσματι μετρεῖται Refs 8th c.BC+; of temple-treasures, heirlooms, etc., Refs 6th c.BC+; τὰ ἱρὰ χ. τῆς Ἀθηναίης Refs 5th c.BC+; πρόβατα καὶ ἄλλα χ. Refs 5th c.BC+ a man's money is his life, Refs 8th…