Greek word · G123

αἰγιαλός

aigialos

shore

A beach or shore: specifically a flat stretch of sand or shingle where the sea meets the land and boats can be drawn up.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

αἰγιαλός, -οῦ, ὁ (on the derivation, see Boisacq, see word),

[in LXX: Judges 5:17 (חוֹף), Sirach 24:14 * ;]

the sea-shore, beach (cf. Field, Notes, 146; DCG, i, 175 f.; MM, VGT, see word): Matthew 13:2,48 John 21:4, Acts 21:5 27:39,40.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: A beach or shore: specifically a flat stretch of sand or shingle where the sea meets the land and boats can be drawn up.
Against the English: KJV 'shore'; BSB, WEB and most modern versions 'beach'. Both are fine. 'Beach' brings to mind a leisure spot today, but here it means a working shoreline beside the moored ship.
Used elsewhere in the period: Matthew 13:2, 48 (the crowd stands on the shore; fishermen sort their catch); John 21:4; Acts 27:39–40 (the sailors aim to run the ship aground on an aigialos). It is also standard in Greek nautical writing.

Range of meaning: A beach or strand: a flat shore where the waves run up onto sand or shingle. Greek writers often contrasted it with ἀκτή (aktē), a rugged or rocky coast. In the NT: the beach where crowds stood (Matt 13:2), where fishermen sorted their nets (Matt 13:48), where the risen Jesus stood (John 21:4), and where the Tyrian believers knelt with Paul (Acts 21:5).
Against the English: 'Beach' or 'shore' is right. BSB and NIV add 'sandy'. That is a fair guess at what a beachable shore looked like, but the Greek does not say it.
Used elsewhere in the period: Greek writers used aigialos for low beaches where boats could be drawn up. Thayer's lexicon notes the contrast with ἀκτή. It appears in the Septuagint (e.g. Judges 5:17, Asher by 'the shore of the sea').

Range of meaning: Beach, shore: the strip of sand or shingle at the water's edge, as distinct from cliffs or open land. It is the place where boats are beached and nets are drawn up.
Against the English: 'Shore' (KJV, BSB, YLT) and 'beach' (WEB, NASB, NLT) are both accurate. 'Beach' captures better the working strip where fishermen landed.
Used elsewhere in the period: Matthew 13:2 (the crowd stands on the αἰγιαλός while Jesus teaches from a boat); Matthew 13:48 (fishermen draw the full net 'onto the beach' and sort the catch); Acts 21:5 (believers kneel on the beach at Tyre); Acts 27:39 (sailors spot 'a bay with a beach' to run the ship aground).

Matthew · 2

Matthew 13:2 αἰγιαλὸν shore

Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore.
Matthew 13:48 αἰγιαλόν, shore

When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.

John · 1

John 21:4 αἰγιαλόν· shore;

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not recognize that it was Jesus.

Here: The beach where the water meets the land, the strip where boats were landed and nets were sorted. Jesus is standing where the fishermen would come in.

Acts · 3

Acts 21:5 αἰγιαλὸν shore

But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to pray with us.

Here: A flat, sandy or shingle shore where boats could be run aground or loaded, as opposed to a cliff or a quay. They kneel in the open, in public, beside the ship.
Acts 27:39 αἰγιαλόν, a shore,

When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they sighted a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.

Here: A flat, low beach where the sea runs up onto land, the kind of place where a boat can be pulled or driven ashore. It is the opposite of a rocky headland.
Acts 27:40 αἰγιαλόν. shore.

Cutting away the anchors, they left them in the sea as they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.