Greek word · G2790

κιθαρῳδός

kitharōdos

harpist

Built from kithara (lyre) and ōidos (singer): a person who sings while accompanying himself on the kithara (LSJ, BDAG). Classical Greek kept this separate from the kitharistēs, who only played. Kitharodes were often trained professionals who competed at festivals.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

κιθαρ-ωδός, -οῦ, ὁ

(κιθάρα, ἀοιδός, a singer)

one who plays and sings to the lyre, a harper: Revelation 14:2 18:22.†

(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 Revelation 14:2

Range of meaning: Built from kithara (lyre) and ōidos (singer): a person who sings while accompanying himself on the kithara (LSJ, BDAG). Classical Greek kept this separate from the kitharistēs, who only played. Kitharodes were often trained professionals who competed at festivals.
Against the English: "Harpers" (KJV, YLT) and "harpists" (BSB, WEB, most modern versions) drop the singing that is part of the word, and they change the instrument (see κιθάρα).
How it drifted: The English "harper" goes back to Tyndale and the KJV tradition, which used "harp" for any plucked string instrument. Today "harpist" means someone who plays the large concert harp and does not usually sing.
Used elsewhere in the period: Herodotus 1.23–24 calls the legendary singer Arion a kitharōidos. Kitharodic contests were a central event at the Pythian and other Greek games. Suetonius (Nero 20–25) reports that the emperor Nero trained and competed publicly as a citharoedus. In the New Testament the word appears only here and in Revelation 18:22, where "the sound of kitharodes" will no longer be heard in fallen Babylon.

From the study of Revelation 18:22

Range of meaning: Literally 'kithara-singer': a performer who sang while accompanying himself on the kithara, a large wooden box-lyre with strings stretched to a crossbar. Kitharodes were the most prestigious professional musicians of the Greek and Roman world. They competed at festivals for prizes and fame.
Against the English: 'Harpists' (BSB, WEB, and most modern versions) or 'harpers' (KJV). The instrument was a lyre, not a harp, and the performer also sang. NLT replaces the people with instruments ('harps').
How it drifted: English Bibles have long said 'harp' for both the Hebrew kinnor and the Greek kithara, and the angel-with-a-harp image in later art fixed the picture.
Used elsewhere in the period: Herodotus tells of the famous kitharode Arion (1.23–24). The emperor Nero notoriously performed and competed as a kitharode (Suetonius, Nero 20–25). In Revelation the same word appears in heaven: 'like the sound of kitharodes playing on their kitharas' (14:2; compare 5:8; 15:2).

Similar words

κιθάρα kithara · harp

Where it appears

Revelation · 2

Revelation 14:2 κιθαρῳδῶν of harpists

And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps.

Here: A kitharōidos was a singer who accompanied himself on the kithara (lyre), usually a skilled or professional performer. The word itself includes singing, which leads into "they sing a new song" in verse 3.
Revelation 18:22 κιθαρῳδῶν of harpists

And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again.

Here: Performers who sang while playing the kithara, a large concert lyre. This was the star profession of Greco-Roman music, heard at contests, feasts and festivals.

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