Greek word · G2485
ἰχθύδιον
ichthydion
little fish
The diminutive of ἰχθύς (fish): 'a little fish, small fish'. Greek diminutives often mean literally small things. In later everyday Greek they sometimes lose that force and just mean the plain noun.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
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 15:34
- Range of meaning
The diminutive of ἰχθύς (fish): 'a little fish, small fish'. Greek diminutives often mean literally small things. In later everyday Greek they sometimes lose that force and just mean the plain noun.
- Against the English
'Small fish' (BSB, WEB) and 'little fishes' (KJV, YLT) are both right. What English cannot show is how they were eaten. These were probably preserved fish, eaten as a salty side dish with bread, not a cooked fish dinner.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In the New Testament it appears only here and in the parallel Mark 8:7. In the feeding of the five thousand, Matthew uses the plain ἰχθύες (14:17). John uses ὀψάρια, 'relish fish, fish eaten with bread' (6:9). Salting fish was a major industry on the Sea of Galilee. The town of Magdala was known in Greek as Taricheae, 'fish-salting [place]' (Strabo, Geography 16.2.45; Josephus, Jewish War). Small sardine-like fish from the lake were dried or pickled for keeping and for trade.
Similar words
Where it appears
Matthew · 1
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Matthew 15:34 ἰχθύδια. small fish.
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
Here: The diminutive (small) form of 'fish'. These were small fish, most likely salted or dried, eaten as a relish with bread. They were not a main course.
Mark · 1
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Mark 8:7 ἰχθύδια small fish
They also had a few small fish, and Jesus blessed them and ordered that these be set before them as well.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.