Greek word · G2413

ἱερός

hieros

sacred

Hieros means sacred: belonging to the gods or God, to temple and cult. Grammata means letters of the alphabet, written documents, and by extension literacy or learning ("to know letters" meant to be educated). Together, "sacred letters/writings" was a fixed phrase for a people's holy books.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἱερός, -ά, όν

[in LXX: Ezekiel 28:18 (מִקְדָּשׁ); τό ἱ, 1 Chronicles 29:4 (בַּיִת), Ezekiel 45:19 (עֲזָרָה); very frequently in I Esther 1:1-58 -4 Mac ;]

1. in Hom., marvellous, mighty, divine.

2. (Also in Hom, and later cl.) consecrated to the deity, sacred: pl., ἱ. γράμματα, 2 Timothy 3:15.

3. As subst.,

(a) (so in Hom.), τὰ ἱ., sacrifices, sacred rites, sacred things: 1 Corinthians 9:13;

(b) later, τὸ ἱ.,., a consecrated or sacred place, a temple: τ. Ἀρτέμιδος, Acts 19:27; of the temple at Jerusalem, i.e. the entire precincts or some part thereof (as distinct from ὁ ναός, which see, the Sanctuary proper): 1 Corinthians 9:13, and frequently in Gosp. and esp. in Ac, Matthew 12:6, Mark 13:3, Acts 4:1, al. (on the use of ἱ. in Imperial Iuser., see Deiss., LAE, 380 f.)

(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 2 Timothy 3:15

Range of meaning

Hieros means sacred: belonging to the gods or God, to temple and cult. Grammata means letters of the alphabet, written documents, and by extension literacy or learning ("to know letters" meant to be educated). Together, "sacred letters/writings" was a fixed phrase for a people's holy books.

Against the English

"Holy Scriptures" (KJV, BSB, WEB, NIV) is accurate but sounds like the whole Christian Bible. "Sacred writings" (ESV, NASB) keeps the distinct wording. Paul does not use his usual word graphē ("Scripture") here; he uses it in the very next verse. Grammata carries a sense of things learned and read, which fits learning in childhood.

How it drifted

English readers hear "Holy Scriptures" as the Bible they own, Old and New Testaments together. When Timothy was a baby, none of the New Testament had been written.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek-speaking Jews used this exact phrase for Israel's Scriptures. Josephus says his Antiquities is translated "from the sacred writings" (Ant. 1.13; also 10.210; Against Apion 1.54). Philo uses it of the books of Moses (Life of Moses 2.290–292; Embassy to Gaius 195). In wider Greek usage Herodotus (2.36) calls Egyptian priestly script "sacred letters". Readers would have recognised the phrase as respectful, formal language for a nation's holy texts.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 9:13

Range of meaning

Hieros is an adjective meaning 'sacred, belonging to a god'. As a neuter plural noun, ta hiera, it means 'the sacred things': rites, sacrifices, sacrificial victims, temple property. Hieron (neuter singular) is 'the sacred place', the whole temple precinct, as distinct from naos, the inner shrine.

Against the English

English 'temple' tends to bring up a single building. Hieron covers the whole compound of courts, gates, storerooms, slaughter areas and kitchens where priests and attendants worked and ate. 'Holy things' (KJV) can sound abstract or devotional, but the Greek is concrete: the physical objects and acts of sacrifice.

Used elsewhere in the period

In classical Greek ta hiera is standard for 'the sacrifices' or 'sacred rites' (e.g. Herodotus). In the Gospels and Acts hieron is the regular word for the Jerusalem temple complex (e.g. Mark 11:15; Luke 2:46). This is the only place Paul uses hieron in his letters. For idol-temples in 1 Corinthians he uses eidōleion (8:10).

Similar words

Where it appears

1 Corinthians · 1

  1. 1 Corinthians 9:13 ἱερὰ sacred [things]

    Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings?

    Here: A neuter plural, 'the sacred things'. In Greek it was the ordinary term for sacred rites, sacrifices and temple business. It means the hands-on work of the cult: offerings, vessels, upkeep.

2 Timothy · 1

  1. 2 Timothy 3:15 ἱερὰ sacred

    From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

    Here: Belonging to the sphere of the divine and the temple. Combined with "writings" it was a standard Greek-speaking Jewish name for Israel's Scriptures.

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