Greek word · G2359
θρίξ
thrix
hair
A hair, of the head or beard, or animal hair (e.g. camel's hair, Matt 3:4). Plural: the hair of the head. In biblical idiom: (1) the smallest and most expendable part of a person; (2) a byword for a huge number; (3) in oaths, a sign of total protection: 'not one hair will fall'.
Appears 15 times in 14 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
θρίξ, τριχός, ἡ
[in LXX chiefly for שֵׂעָר ;]
hair;
(a) of the head: Matthew 3:4 5:36 10:30, Luke 7:38, 44 12:7 21:18, John 11:2 12:3, Acts 27:34, 1 Peter 3:3, Revelation 1:14;
(b) of animals: Mark 1:6, Revelation 9:8.†
(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 10:30
- Range of meaning
A hair, of the head or beard, or animal hair (e.g. camel's hair, Matt 3:4). Plural: the hair of the head. In biblical idiom: (1) the smallest and most expendable part of a person; (2) a byword for a huge number; (3) in oaths, a sign of total protection: 'not one hair will fall'.
- Against the English
No real drift. English 'hairs' is literal and correct. What English readers miss is the idiom behind it.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Protection oaths in the Septuagint: 'not one of the hairs of his head shall fall to the ground' (1 Sam 14:45); 'not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground' (2 Sam 14:11); 1 Kgs 1:52. Number: 'more than the hairs of my head' (Ps 40:12; 69:4). In the New Testament: Luke 21:18, 'not a hair of your head will perish', and Acts 27:34.
From the study of Matthew 5:36
- Range of meaning
θρίξ: a single hair (also animal hair). λευκός: white, bright, here the white or grey of age. μέλας: black or dark. White against black hair was the ordinary picture of old age against youth.
- Against the English
Translations are accurate. The modern reader's problem is the logic: hair dye exists, so 'you cannot make a hair black' can sound false.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Grey or white hair stands for age and honour in Leviticus 19:32, Proverbs 16:31 and 20:29. In Daniel 7:9 the Ancient of Days has hair 'like pure wool', and in Revelation 1:14 so does the risen Christ. Josephus (Antiquities 16.233) says Herod the Great dyed his hair black to hide his age. Cosmetic dyeing was known, which shows Jesus means something deeper than surface colour.
- Range of meaning
A hair, or in the plural, hair. With 'of the head' it simply means a person's head of hair. The word is neutral. The weight comes from what she does with it.
- Against the English
English 'wiped them with her hair' is accurate. What it does not convey is that she had to let her hair down to do it, and in her setting that carried social weight.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Numbers 5:18 has the priest uncover or loosen the hair of a woman suspected of adultery, a public shaming. Later rabbinic texts treat a married woman going out with loose hair as grounds for divorce (Mishnah Ketubbot 7:6). In Greco-Roman sources loose hair could signal mourning, a woman pleading at a shrine, religious devotion, or sexual availability, depending on the setting (Cosgrove, JBL 2005).
Where it appears
Matthew · 3
-
Matthew 3:4 τριχῶν hair
John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
Here: Plural, 'hairs': hair used as a fibre. The garment was cloth woven from camel hair. It was not a camel hide with the hair still on it.
-
Matthew 5:36 τρίχα hair
Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Here: A single hair. A byword for the smallest part of a person (compare Matthew 10:30, 'the very hairs of your head are all numbered').
-
Matthew 10:30 τρίχες hairs
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Here: Single hairs on the head. In Israel's scriptures they stood for the smallest, least valuable part of a person and for a number too large to count (Ps 40:12; 69:4).
Mark · 1
-
Mark 1:6 τρίχας hair
John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
Luke · 4
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Luke 7:38 θριξὶν hairs
As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume.
Here: 'With the hairs': her hair is used as a towel. Like the tears, it comes before its verb for emphasis. To use it this way she had to let it down in a room full of men, and that was a striking act in her world (see setting and debates).
-
Luke 7:44 θριξὶν hair
And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give Me water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
Here: 'With her hair.' She used her own hair, which she must have let down, in place of a towel. In that culture it was a striking, very personal act.
-
Luke 12:7 τρίχες hairs
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Here: Individual hairs. In Israel's idiom this was a byword for something past counting and something too small to matter. Both ideas are at work here.
-
Luke 21:18 θρὶξ a hair
Yet not even a hair of your head will perish.
John · 2
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John 11:2 θριξὶν hair
(Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)
Here: Plural, 'hairs'. Her own hair served as the towel. This is the most striking and intimate detail of the remembered scene.
-
John 12:3 θριξὶν hair
Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Here: 'With (her) hairs'. Her hair serves as the towel, so it must have been let down. In company that was a startling and intimate thing for a woman to do.
Acts · 1
-
Acts 27:34 θρὶξ a hair
So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”
Here: A single hair, the smallest thing a person could lose. It belongs to a proverbial Jewish saying for total safety.
1 Peter · 1
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1 Peter 3:3 τριχῶν of hair
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes,
Here: "Of hairs": what gets braided. The plural refers to the strands being worked into a style.
Revelation · 3
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Revelation 1:14 τρίχες hairs
The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire.
Here: Plural, "hairs". This was the ordinary Greek way to speak of the hair on a head (compare Matthew 10:30, "the hairs of your head"). It points to the colour of the hair, not to any particular count or texture.
-
Revelation 9:8 τρίχας τρίχας hair
They had hair like that of women, and teeth like those of lions.
Here: Hair on the head, in the plural ('hairs'), the normal Greek way to speak of a head of hair. Nothing about real locusts quite matches it, which makes it one of the strangest details in the description.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.