Greek word · G220

ἀλέκτωρ

alektōr

rooster

Rooster, cock. It is a somewhat poetic or Koine word. The ordinary Attic word was alektryōn. A related compound, alektorophōnia, 'cock-crow', named a time of night (Mark 13:35), the third of the four Roman night watches, roughly midnight to 3 a.m.

Appears 12 times in 11 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀλέκτωρ, -ορος, ὁ

(poët. form of ἀλεκτρυών; see MM, VGT, see word), [in LXX: Proverbs 30:31) (זַרְזִיר; BDB, Lex., 267)* ;]

a cock: Matthew 26:34, Mark 14:30, 68 14:72 Luke 22:34, 60-61, John 13:38 18:27.†

(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 Matthew 26:34

Range of meaning

Rooster, cock. It is a somewhat poetic or Koine word. The ordinary Attic word was alektryōn. A related compound, alektorophōnia, 'cock-crow', named a time of night (Mark 13:35), the third of the four Roman night watches, roughly midnight to 3 a.m.

Against the English

The KJV's 'cock' is the older English word for a male chicken. 'Rooster' (BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB, WEB) means the same thing. The real difference among versions is the article. Greek has none ('a rooster'), as NASB keeps. 'The rooster' slightly suggests one particular bird.

Used elsewhere in the period

Chickens were known in Judah by the Iron Age: a seal of 'Jaazaniah, servant of the king' from Tell en-Nasbeh (c. 600 BC) shows a fighting cock. The Mishnah (written down c. AD 200) records a ruling that fowl were not to be raised in Jerusalem because of the holy things (m. Bava Qamma 7:7). It also recalls a rooster stoned in Jerusalem for killing a child (m. Eduyot 6:1), which shows that roosters were there anyway. Mark 13:35 lists 'evening, midnight, cock-crow, early morning' as the night watches.

From the study of John 13:38

Range of meaning

ἀλέκτωρ is an older, slightly poetic word for a rooster. Plainer Greek prose usually has ἀλεκτρυών. With φωνέω ('give voice') it means 'crow'. 'Cockcrow' was also a common name for a time of night.

Against the English

KJV 'cock'; modern versions 'rooster'. English readers tend to picture dawn. Roosters crow well before sunrise, and the time-name pointed to the dark hours after midnight.

How it drifted

In modern farm imagery the rooster means sunrise. In the ancient world 'cockcrow' was the third of four night watches, roughly 12 to 3 a.m.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mark 13:35 names the night watches as 'evening, midnight, cockcrow (ἀλεκτοροφωνία), morning', following the Roman four-watch system (Latin gallicinium). The Mishnah (m. Yoma 1:8) dates temple duties by 'cockcrow'. Another Mishnah ruling (m. Bava Kamma 7:7) forbids raising fowl in Jerusalem for purity reasons, which has prompted debate about whether real roosters were there (see debates). John 18:27: 'and immediately a rooster crowed (ἀλέκτωρ ἐφώνησεν).'

From the study of Matthew 26:74

Range of meaning

Alektōr = cock, rooster. Phōneō = to make a sound, call out, cry. 'Cockcrow' (alektorophōnia) was also the Roman-style name for the third night watch, roughly midnight–3 a.m. (Mark 13:35).

Against the English

KJV 'the cock crew' and modern 'a rooster crowed' are both accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Mishnah (m. Bava Qamma 7:7) says chickens were not to be raised in Jerusalem for purity reasons. But m. Eduyot 6:1 mentions a rooster in Jerusalem stoned for killing a child, and the rule may be later or idealised. Roosters were common across the Roman East.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 3

  1. Matthew 26:34 ἀλέκτορα rooster

    “Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

    Here: A rooster. There is no article ('a rooster'), so the point is the sound and the time it marks, not one particular bird. Rooster-crow was the ordinary way of marking the small hours before dawn.

  2. Matthew 26:74 ἀλέκτωρ a rooster

    At that he began to curse and swear to them, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.

    Here: A cockerel. There is no article ('a rooster'). Its crowing also marked the pre-dawn hours: the night watch running roughly midnight to 3 a.m. was called 'cockcrow' (Mark 13:35).

  3. Matthew 26:75 ἀλέκτορα rooster

    Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

    Here: A rooster. Its crowing was the ordinary sign that the night was ending toward dawn. Verse 74 has just reported that it 'crowed'.

Mark · 4

  1. Mark 14:30 ἀλέκτορα [the] rooster

    “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”

  2. Mark 14:68 ἀλέκτωρ [the] rooster

    But he denied it. “I do not know or even understand what you are talking about,” he said. Then he went out to the gateway, and the rooster crowed.

  3. Mark 14:72 ἀλέκτωρ ἀλέκτορα a rooster, [the] rooster

    And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 22:34 ἀλέκτωρ [the] rooster

    But Jesus replied, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

  2. Luke 22:60 ἀλέκτωρ. rooster.

    “Man, I do not know what you are talking about,” Peter replied. And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

  3. Luke 22:61 ἀλέκτορα [the] rooster

    And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”

    Here: A rooster. There is no article in Greek, so it reads 'before a rooster crows', meaning before the first cockcrow of the night.

John · 2

  1. John 13:38 ἀλέκτωρ [the] rooster

    “Will you lay down your life for Me?” Jesus replied. “Truly, truly, I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.

    Here: A rooster. Its crowing marked the small hours of the night, so the point is that all this will happen tonight.

  2. John 18:27 ἀλέκτωρ a rooster

    Peter denied it once more, and immediately a rooster crowed.

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