Greek word · G2104

εὐγενής

eugenēs

of noble birth

Well-born, of noble or distinguished family. By extension it could mean noble-minded (as in Acts 17:11, where the Bereans are 'more noble' in attitude).

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

εὐγενής, -ές

(εὖ, γένος), [in LXX: Job 1:3 (גָּדוֹל), 2Ma.10:13 R, 4Ma.6:5 4Mac 9:13 4Mac 9:23 4Mac 9:27 4Mac 10:3 4Mac 10:15 * ;]

1. well born, of noble race: Luke 19:12, 1 Corinthians 1:26.

2. noble-minded: compar., -έστερος, Acts 17:11.†

(AS)

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

In depth

From the study of 1 Corinthians 1:26

Range of meaning: Well-born, of noble or distinguished family. By extension it could mean noble-minded (as in Acts 17:11, where the Bereans are 'more noble' in attitude).
Against the English: 'Noble' (KJV) can be heard today as a moral quality ('a noble act'). BSB's 'of noble birth' keeps the sense of birth. NLT's 'wealthy' replaces inherited rank with money, which is related but not the same thing.
How it drifted: English 'noble' has largely moved from social rank to moral character.
Used elsewhere in the period: Philo wrote a whole treatise section 'On Nobility' (De Virtutibus 187–227). There he argues, as Stoics did, that true nobility belongs to the wise and virtuous rather than to birth, which shows how normal it was to treat birth as the measure of honour.

From the study of Acts 17:11

Range of meaning: Literally 'well-born': from a good family, aristocratic (εὖ 'well' + γένος 'birth, family'). From there it came to mean having the qualities expected of the well-born: noble-minded, generous, gracious, open-handed, not petty. Greek moral philosophers, and the Jewish thinker Philo, argued that true nobility (eugeneia) lies in virtue rather than family line.
Against the English: KJV/ESV/WEB 'more noble' and NASB 'more noble-minded' keep the honour vocabulary. NIV 'of more noble character' spells out that the sense is moral. NLT 'more open-minded' gives the practical result but drops the honour language completely.
How it drifted: English 'noble' is a fair equivalent. The drift is in popular use: 'Berean nobility' is often heard as critical caution or suspicion. In Greek the word points toward generosity and graciousness of spirit, which here shows in eager welcome and serious study.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the New Testament it means 'of noble birth' in Luke 19:12 (the nobleman in the parable) and 1 Cor 1:26 ('not many of noble birth'). Philo wrote a whole section on nobility (De Virtutibus 187–227), arguing that it belongs to the wise and virtuous, not to family pedigree. 4 Maccabees repeatedly praises the martyrs as acting 'nobly' (εὐγενῶς and related words), meaning courage and character rather than rank.

From the study of Luke 19:12

Range of meaning: Literally 'well-born': from a noble or distinguished family. It can extend to 'noble-minded, generous, open' (as in Acts 17:11, where the Bereans are 'more noble-minded'). In 1 Corinthians 1:26 it is social rank: 'not many of noble birth.'
Against the English: 'Nobleman' (KJV, ESV, NASB, NIV) and 'man of noble birth' (BSB) are accurate. YLT's 'man of birth' is very literal. No major translation reads the moral sense here.
Used elsewhere in the period: Common in classical and Hellenistic Greek for aristocratic lineage, and used in the Septuagint (e.g., 4 Maccabees 6:5; 9:13, 23 for nobility of character). Inscriptions and papyri use it for people of high family.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

Luke 19:12 εὐγενὴς of noble birth

So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return.

Here: Means born into a high-ranking family. Here that marks him as someone who could believably claim a throne, a member of a ruling house.

Acts · 1

Acts 17:11 εὐγενέστεροι more noble

Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

Here: A comparative form of a word that literally means 'well-born, of good family'. Here it is used of character: they showed a nobler, more generous and gracious disposition. Luke gives an honour title that people normally earned by birth to people who earned it by how they behaved.

1 Corinthians · 1

1 Corinthians 1:26 εὐγενεῖς, of noble birth,

Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.

Here: Literally 'well-born': from a good family with inherited rank and honour. In an honour-based society this was the status you could not earn. You either had it from birth or you did not.

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