Word

πόλις

pólis · G4172 · Greek · 163 occurrences

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Meanings

city, town

A population center, in contrast with a rural area or countryside and without specific reference to size

Examples
Matthew 2:23 and came and settled in a city called Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Matthew 8:33 And the herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
Matthew 9:1 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to His own city.
city

A population center of relatively greater importance (in contrast with κώμη ‘village,’, and κωμόπολις ‘town,’), due to its size, economic significance, or political control over a surrounding area (it is possible that fortification of walls and gates also entered into the system of classification of a πόλις, in contrast with other terms for population centers)

Examples
Matthew 4:5 Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
Matthew 5:35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, nor by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING.
city, inhabitants of a city

The inhabitants of a city

Examples
Matthew 8:34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave their region.
Matthew 12:25 And knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
Matthew 21:10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”

How it’s used In 10 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

29 occurrences in 25 groups

αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 3
Other words · 24 groups that occur once or twice (28) 28

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

44 occurrences in 18 groups

ἐκεῖνοςthat, that one, there 8
μέγαςgreat, large 8
ἅγιοςholy 6
οὗτοςthis 5
λέγωto say 3
Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (14) 14

Named alongside itApposition

26 occurrences in 25 groups

ἹερουσαλήμJerusalem 4
ΒαβυλώνBabylon 3
Other words · 23 groups that occur once or twice (24) 24

What it doesIt is the subject

16 occurrences in 16 groups

Other words · 16 groups that occur once or twice (17) 17

What is done to itIt is the object

18 occurrences in 17 groups

Other words · 17 groups that occur once or twice (19) 19

It is given or told toIndirect object

1 occurrences in 1 groups

εὐαγγελίζωto tell the good news, to announce the gospel 1

What it is said to bePredicate

5 occurrences in 5 groups

κατείδωλοςfull of idols 1
νεωκόροςtemple-keeper 1
ὅςwho, which, that 1
τετράγωνοςsquare 1
χρυσίονgold 1

What is said to be itIt is the predicate

7 occurrences in 7 groups

γυνήwoman, wife 1
κριτήςjudge 1
ὅστιςwhoever, whichever, whatever 1
σύyou 1
τόποςplace 1
χήραwidow 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

89 occurrences in 11 groups

εἰςto 70
ἐνin 30
κατάaccording to, against, down 17
ἔξωoutside 14
ἐκfrom 10
ἀπόfrom 10
Other words · 4 groups that occur once or twice (6) 6

In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive

15 occurrences in 12 groups

πλατύςwide 3
Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13

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.

In the other Testament 1 word

עִיר ʻîyr · H5892 · town, district, citadel: Hebrew עִיר is the standard equivalent of Greek πόλις, both denoting a walled city or town.

Semantic domains 4 entries

City, town1.88: The noun most commonly names an inhabited settlement, town, or city as a physical place. Matthew records the return of Joseph and Mary from Egypt: “and came and settled in a city called Nazareth” (Matthew 2:23).
City1.89: The same noun can specifically designate a notable or particular city, such as Jerusalem. Matthew's account of the temptation describes the devil's action: “Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple” (Matthew 4:5).
City, inhabitants of a city11.61: By metonymy, the noun can refer not to the place itself but to its inhabitants collectively. Matthew's account of the Gerasene demoniacs describes the herdsmen's report: “And the herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men” (Matthew 8:33, where the whole populace, not merely the buildings, is in view as those who received the report).
Neapolis93.541: As a specific proper name, the noun forms part of the place name Neapolis, the port city serving Philippi in Macedonia. Luke's account of Paul's journey into Macedonia records this stop: “So after setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis” (Acts 16:11).

Word family 14 words

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

πόλιςpólis · G4172πολίτης polítēs · G4177 · citizen · 4×πολιτάρχης politárchēs · G4173 · city official · 2×πολιτεία politeía · G4174 · citizenship, state, people · 2×πολιτεύομαι politeúomai · G4176 · to live, to conduct one’s life, to live in relation to others · 2×πολίτευμα políteuma · G4175 · state, commonwealth, place of citizenship · 1×συμπολίτης sympolítēs · G4847 · fellow citizen · 1×

Also from the root πόλις

Δεκάπολις Dekápolis · G1179 · the ten-city region; the Decapolis, a district in Syria · 3×κωμόπολις kōmópolis · G2969 · town, market town · 1×Ἱεράπολις Hierápolis · G2404 · holy city; Hierapolis, a place in Asia Minor · 1×Νικόπολις Nikópolis · G3533 · victorious city; Nicopolis, a place in Macedonia · 1×Ἀμφίπολις Amphípolis · G295 · a city surrounded by a river; Amphipolis, a place in Macedonia · 1×μητρόπολις mētrópolis · G3390 · a mother city, i.e. "metropolis" · 0×Νεάπολις Neápolis · G3496 · new town; Neapolis, a place in Macedonia · 0×

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon πολισεως, ἡ (πέλομαι, to dwell (or rather denoting originally 'fullness,' 'throng';…

πολισεως, ἡ (πέλομαι, to dwell (or rather denoting originally 'fullness,' 'throng'; allied with Latinpleo, plebs, etc.; cf. Curtius, p. 79 and § 374; Vanicek, p. 499; (otherwise Fick 1:138))) (from Homer down), the Sept. chiefly for עִיר, besides for קִרְיָה, שַׁעַר (gate), etc., a city;
a. universally, Mt 2:23; Mk 1:45; Lk 4:29; Jn 11:54; Acts 5:16, and very often in the historical books of the N. T.; κατά τήν πόλιν, through the city (A. V. in; see κατά, II. 1 a.), Acts 24:12; κατά πόλιν, κατά πόλεις, see κατά, II. 3a. α., p. 328a; opposed to κῶμαι, Mt 9:35; Mt 10:11; Lk 8:1; Lk 13:22; to κῶμαι καί ἀγροί, Mk 6:56; ἡ ἰδίᾳ πόλις, see ἴδιος, 1b., p. 297a; πόλις with the genitive of a person one's native city, Lk 2:4, Lk 2:11; Jn 1:44(45); or the city in which one lives, Mt 22:7; Lk 4:29; Lk 10:11; Acts 16:20; Rev 16:19; Jerusalem is called, on account of the temple erected there, πόλις τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως, i. e. in which the great King of Israel, Jehovah, has his abode, Mt 5:35; Ps 47:2, cf. Tobit 13:15; also ἅγια πόλις (see ἅγιος, 1 a., p. 7a) and ἡ ἠγαπημένη, the beloved of God, Rev 20:9. with the genitive of a gentile noun: Δαμασκηνῶν, 2 Cor 11:32; Ἐφεσίων, Acts 19:35; τῶν Ἰουδαίων, Lk 23:51; τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, Mt 10:23; Σαμαρειτῶν, Mt 10:5; with the genitive of a region: τῆς Γαλιλαίας, Lk 1:26; Lk 4:31; Ιουδα, of the tribe of Judah, Lk 1:39; Λυκαονίας, Acts 14:6; Κιλικίας, Acts 21:39; τῆς Σαμαρείας, Jn 4:5; Acts 8:5. As in classical Greek the proper name of the city is added — either in the nominative case, as πόλις Ἰόππη, Acts 11:5; or in the genitive, as πόλις Σοδομων, Γομορρας, 2 Pet 2:6; Θυατείρων, Acts 16:14.
b. used of the heavenly Jerusalem (see Ἱεροσόλυμα, 2), i. e. α. the abode of the blessed, in heaven: Heb 11:10, Heb 11:16; with Θεοῦ ζῶντος added, Heb 12:22; ἡ μελλουσα πόλις, Heb 13:14. β. in the visions of the Apocalypse it is used of the visible capital of the heavenly kingdom, to come down to earth after the renovation of the world: Rev 3:12; Rev 21:14ff; 22:14; ἡ πόλις ἡ ἅγια, Rev 22:19; with Ἱερουσαλήμ καινή added, Rev 21:2.
c. πόλις by metonymy, for the inhabitants: Mt 8:34; Acts 14:21; πᾶσα ἡ πόλις, Mt 21:10; Acts 13:44; ἡ πόλις ὅλῃ, Mk 1:33; Acts 21:30; πόλις μερισθεῖσα καθ' ἑαυτῆς, Mt 12:25.

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

Topical studies with this word 3 entries

Population Centers168 occurrences Socio-Political13 occurrences Specific Measures of Length0 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