Word

πληγή

plēgḗ · G4127 · Greek · 22 occurrences

See all 22 in Search

Meanings

to hit, to strike, to beat

To strike or hit an object, one or more times

Examples
Luke 12:48 but the one who did not know it, and committed acts deserving of a beating, will receive only a few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
Acts 16:23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely;
2 Corinthians 6:5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in mob attacks, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger,
wound

The condition resulting from being severely hurt or wounded

Examples
Acts 16:33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.
Revelation 13:3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been fatally wounded, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
Revelation 13:12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
plague, pestilence

A widespread contagious disease, often associated with divine retribution

Examples
Revelation 9:18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire, the smoke, and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.
Revelation 9:20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;
Revelation 11:6 These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

How it’s used In 7 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

9 occurrences in 6 groups

αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 3
θάνατοςdeath 2
ἔσχατοςlast 1
μάχαιραsword 1
ἄγγελοςangel, messenger 1
χάλαζαhail 1

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

8 occurrences in 5 groups

ἑπτάseven 4
οὗτοςthis 3
ἔσχατοςlast 1
πολύςmany 1
τρεῖςthree 1

Named alongside itApposition

2 occurrences in 4 groups

γράφωto write 1
θάνατοςdeath 1
λιμόςfamine 1
πένθοςmourning, sorrow 1

What it doesIt is the subject

4 occurrences in 3 groups

θεραπεύωto heal 2
ἥκωto come, to have come 1
τελέωto finish, to complete 1

What is done to itIt is the object

7 occurrences in 3 groups

ἐπιτίθημιto lay on, to put on 3
ἔχωto have 3
γέμωto be full of 1

What it is said to bePredicate

1 occurrences in 1 groups

μέγαςgreat, large 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

9 occurrences in 4 groups

ἐνin 6
ἐκfrom 4
ἀπόfrom 3
ἐπίon 2

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 1 word

μώλωψ mṓlōps · G3468 · wound: Both terms denote injury or harm to the body. μώλωψ specifically refers to a bruise or welt (the visible mark left by a blow), while πληγή encompasses a broader range of meanings including any stroke, wound, or even figurative calamity and plague.

In the other Testament 3 words

מַכָּה makkâh · H4347 · stroke, lash, stripe: מַכָּה (makkâh, H4347) is the Hebrew equivalent denoting a physical blow, wound, or plague; πληγή (plēgḗ, G4127) is its Greek rendering in LXX contexts, carrying the same range from literal strike/wound to figurative calamity.
מַגֵּפָה maggêphâh · H4046 · blow, plague, defeat: מַגֵּפָה (maggêphâh, H4046) and πληγή (plēgḗ, G4127) both denote a stroke/blow that causes harm, with both extending to plague/calamity contexts; πληγή (plēgḗ, G4127) more explicitly includes wound-as-result and figurative calamity in its semantic range, while מַגֵּפָה (maggêphâh, H4046) emphasizes plague/slaughter outcomes, but the core strike-and-harm sense is shared.
נֶגֶף negeph · H5063 · stone to stumble over, plague: Hebrew term for plague/calamity that specifically emphasizes stumbling or striking down (often divine judgment), whereas Greek πληγή covers the broader semantic range of stroke/wound/calamity without the stumbling connotation; the overlap is in the plague/calamity sense where both denote divinely-inflicted disaster.

Semantic domains 4 entries

To hit, to strike, to beat19.1: πληγή, related to the act of striking, can name the blows themselves inflicted in a beating. Paul lists this among his sufferings for the gospel: “Are they servants of Christ?—I am speaking as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death” (2 Corinthians 11:23).
Wound20.29: The noun can name a physical wound inflicted by violence. Luke's parable of the good Samaritan describes the traveler's condition: “Jesus replied and said, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead’” (Luke 10:30, where the underlying noun names the wounds this attack left).
Plague, great suffering, distress22.13: The noun can also name a severe affliction or calamity, especially divine judgment. John's vision describes the fourth bowl of wrath: “And the people were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory” (Revelation 16:9).
Plague, pestilence23.158: In a related but more specifically medical sense, the noun can name an epidemic affliction. John's vision of the bowls of wrath describes the hailstorm's severity: “And huge hailstones, weighing about a talent each, came down from heaven upon people; and people blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because the hailstone plague was extremely severe” (Revelation 16:21).

Word family 6 words

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

πλήσσω plḗssō · G4141 · to hit, to strike, to beat · 1×πληγήplēgḗ · G4127ἐκπλήσσω ekplḗssō · G1605 · to be greatly astounded · 13×πλήκτης plḗktēs · G4131 · bully, violent person · 2×ἐπιπλήσσω epiplḗssō · G1969 · to rebuke, to reproach, to denounce · 1×πελεκίζω pelekízō · G3990 · to cut the head off, to behead · 1×

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon πληγῆς, ἡ (πλήσσω), from Homer down; the Sept. chiefly for מַכָּה, also for מַגֵּפָה; 1.…

πληγῆς, ἡ (πλήσσω), from Homer down; the Sept. chiefly for מַכָּה, also for מַגֵּפָה;
1. a blow, stripe: plural, Lk 10:30; Luke 10:43; Acts 16:23, Acts 16:33; 2 Cor 6:5; 2 Cor 11:23; a wound: ἡ πληγή τοῦ θανάτου, deadly wound (R. V. death-stroke), Rev 13:3, Rev 13:12; τῆς μαχαίρας, wound made by a sword (sword-stroke), Rev 13:14. (On its idiomatic omission (Lk 12:47, etc.) cf. Buttmann, 82 (72); Winer's Grammar, § 64, 4.)
2. a public calamity, heavy affliction (cf. English plague) (now tormenting now destroying the bodies of men, and sent by God as a punishment): Rev 9:18 (Rec. omits), ; Rev 11:6; Rev 15:1, Rev 15:6, Rev 15:8, Rev 16:9,(); Rev 18:4, Rev 18:8, Rev 21:9, Rev 22:18. (Cf. πληγή Διός, Sophocles Aj. 137 (cf. 279); others.)

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

Topical studies with this word 4 entries

Hit, Strike5 occurrences Harm, Wound4 occurrences Trouble, Hardship, Distress13 occurrences Sickness, Disease, Weakness3 occurrences

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