Word

μορφή

morphḗ · G3444 · Greek · 3 occurrences

See all 3 in Search

Meanings

nature, character

The nature or character of something, with emphasis upon both the internal and external form

Examples
Philippians 2:6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
Philippians 2:7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.
visual form, appearance

A visual form of something

Examples
Mark 16:12 Now after that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country.

How it’s used In 4 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

2 occurrences in 2 groups

δοῦλοςslave, bondservant 1
θεόςGod 1

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

1 occurrences in 1 groups

ἕτεροςother, another, different 1

What is done to itIt is the object

1 occurrences in 1 groups

λαμβάνωto receive, to take 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

2 occurrences in 1 groups

ἐνin 4

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Near synonyms 3 words

εἶδος eîdos · G1491 · form, appearance, sight: Greek noun denoting visible form, shape, or appearance (Luke 3:22, 'bodily form like a dove'; John 5:37, 'you have neither heard his voice nor seen his form'). Near-synonym to μορφή with emphasis on external visible appearance, though μορφή can carry more emphasis on essential nature.
σχῆμα schēma · G4976 · form, nature, structure: Greek noun denoting outward form, fashion, or external appearance (1 Cor 7:31, 'the fashion of this world'; Phil 2:8, 'being found in appearance as a man'). Distinguished from μορφή in that σχῆμα emphasizes changeable external form while μορφή can denote more essential form or nature.
εἰκών eikṓn · G1504 · likeness, image, same form: Greek noun denoting image, likeness, or representation (2 Cor 4:4, 'the image of God'; Col 1:15, 'the image of the invisible God'). Overlaps with μορφή in contexts where form represents or reflects essential nature, though εἰκών emphasizes representation or correspondence rather than the form itself.

In the other Testament 3 words

תְּמוּנָה tᵉmûwnâh · H8544 · form: Hebrew noun denoting visible form or shape; used in contexts describing visible appearance or representation (e.g., Exod 20:4, Deut 4:16). Functions as a natural translation equivalent for μορφή in its concrete sense of 'shape' or 'form.'
תֹּאַר tôʼar · H8389 · form, appearance: Hebrew noun denoting outward form, shape, or appearance, especially of persons (Gen 29:17, 39:6). A standard translation equivalent for μορφή when referring to visible form or beauty of appearance.
דְּמוּת dᵉmûwth · H1823 · likeness, resemblance, representation: Hebrew noun denoting likeness or form, used in Gen 1:26 ('let us make man in our image, after our likeness') and Ezek 1:5ff (visions of forms/likenesses). Covers both concrete form and abstract similitude, paralleling μορφή's semantic range.

Semantic domains 2 entries

Visual form, appearance58.15: This sense denotes the outward, visible form something takes. Mark 16:12 says Jesus “appeared in a different form to two of them, as they were walking along on their way to the country.”
Nature, character58.2: This sense denotes essential nature or character, not merely outward appearance. Philippians 2:6 says that Christ, “as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.”

Word family 6 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

μορφήmorphḗ · G3444μεταμορφόω metamorphóō · G3339 · to become, to change, to be changed into · 4×μόρφωσις mórphōsis · G3446 · embodiment, full content, essential features · 2×σύμμορφος sýmmorphos · G4832 · similar in form, of the same form · 2×μορφόω morphóō · G3445 · to form the nature of · 1×συμμορφόω symmorphóō · G4833 · to share in having the likeness of, to take on the same form as, to become like · 1×

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon μορφῆς, ἡ (from root signifying 'to lay hold of', 'seize' (cf. German Fassung); Fick,…

μορφῆς, ἡ (from root signifying 'to lay hold of', 'seize' (cf. German Fassung); Fick, Part i., p. 174; Vanicek, p. 719), from Homer down, the form by which a person or thing strikes the vision; the external appearance: children are said to reflect ψυχῆς τέ καί μορφῆς ὁμοιότητα (of their parents), 4 Macc. 15:3 (4); ἐφανερώθη ἐν ἑτέρα μορφή, Mk 16:12; ἐν μορφή Θεοῦ ὑπάρχων, Phm 2:6; μορφήν δούλου λαβών, Phm 2:7; — this whole passage (as I have shown more fully in the Zeitschr. f. wissensch. Theol. for 1873, pp. 33ff, with which compare the different view given by Holsten in the Jahrbb. f. protest. Theol. for 1875, p. 449ff) is to be explained as follows: who, although (formerly when he was λόγος ἄσαρκος) "he bore the form (in which he appeared to the inhabitants of heaven) of God (the sovereign, opposed to μορφή δούλου), yet did not think that this equality with God was to be eagerly clung to or retained (see ἁρπαγμός, 2), but emptied himself of it (see κενόω, 1) so as to assume the form of a servant, in that he became like unto men (for angels also are δοῦλοι τοῦ Θεοῦ, Rev 19:10; Rev 22:8f) and was found in fashion as a man". (God μένει ἀεί ἁπλῶς ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ μορφή, Plato, de rep. 2, p. 381 c., and it is denied that God φαντάζεσθαι ἄλλοτε ἐν ἀλλαις ἰδέαις... καί ἀλλαττοντα τό αὐτοῦ εἶδος εἰς πολλάς μορφας... καί τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἰδεας ἐκβαίνειν, p. 380 d.; ἡκιστ' ἄν πολλάς μορφας ἰσχοι ὁ Θεός, p. 381 b.; ἑνός σώματος οὐσίαν μετασχηματίζειν καί μεταχαράττειν εἰς πολυτροπους μορφας, Philo leg. ad Gaium § 11; οὐ γάρ ὥσπερ τό νόμισμα παρακομμα καί Θεοῦ μορφή γίνεται, ibid. § 14 at the end; God ἔργοις μέν καί χαρισιν ἐνεργής καί παντός ὁυτινοσουν φανερωτερος, μορφήν δέ καί μέγεθος ἡμῖν ἀφανεστατος, Josephus, contra Apion 2, 22, 2.)

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain

Topical studies with this word 2 entries

Nature, Character2 occurrences Appearance as an Outward Manifestation of Form1 occurrence

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0