φονεύς
phoneus
murderer
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word φονεύς (phoneus) is a simple adjective that translates to "murderer" in English. Its definition directly connects to the concept of death, indicating a person who takes the life of another. This term does not carry any complex connotations or nuances beyond its literal meaning. In the 7 instances where this word appears in the Bible, it is most often used in the context of describing individuals or actions related to violence and harm inflicted through murder. The significance of this word lies in its straightforward labeling of someone who has committed an unlawful taking of life. It serves as a clear expression of the gravity of the act.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
7 total occurrences across the text
When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Acts 3:14But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
Acts 7:52Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.
Acts 28:4When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped from the sea, yet Justice has not allowed to live.”
1 Peter 4:15For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or a meddler in other men’s matters.
Revelation 21:8But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Revelation 22:15Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.