Greek word · G2938

κτίσμα

ktisma

creature

A thing made or created: the result of the act of creating (ktisis is the act or the whole creation; ktisma is the individual product).

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

κτίσμα, -τος, τό

1. (cl.) a colony.

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: A thing made or created: the result of the act of creating (ktisis is the act or the whole creation; ktisma is the individual product). In Jewish and Christian Greek it is used almost only for what God has made: living creatures, but also the elements, the sea, food, anything that exists because God made it.
Against the English: KJV, WEB and YLT have 'creature.' In 1611 'creature' meant 'any created thing' (Latin creatura), but a modern reader hears 'animal.' BSB 'every creation of God' is accurate but a bit awkward. NIV, ESV and NASB rephrase it as 'everything God created / created by God,' which is the clearest.
How it drifted: The English word 'creature' narrowed over time to mean mainly living beings, especially animals. The KJV's wording kept the older, wider sense of the Latin.
Used elsewhere in the period: LXX Wisdom 9:2 ('the creatures made by you'), 13:5 ('from the greatness and beauty of created things' their Maker is perceived); 3 Maccabees 5:11. NT: James 1:18 ('a kind of firstfruits of his creatures'), Revelation 5:13 and 8:9. BDAG s.v. κτίσμα: 'that which is created, creature.'

Range of meaning: Something created: a creature, a created thing. The word is broad and covers everything God made, including living creatures, the heavens and the earth.
Against the English: KJV and WEB 'creatures' now sounds like animals to many readers. BSB 'His creation' and NIV 'all he created' keep the full breadth.
How it drifted: In everyday modern English 'creature' has narrowed to mean animals (or monsters). In 1611 it meant anything created.
Used elsewhere in the period: Wis 9:2 and 13:5; Sirach 36:20 (36:15 in some editions); 1 Tim 4:4 ('every creature of God is good'); Rev 5:13 and 8:9.

Range of meaning: Something made or founded; in Jewish and Christian Greek, a creature, anything God has created, living or not. The word puts the focus on being made, which means depending on a maker.
Against the English: "Creature" in English usually suggests animals. KJV "every creature" and WEB "every created thing" are both accurate. WEB's wording keeps the stress on having been created.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX) it appears in Wisdom 9:2, 13:5 (the greatness and beauty of "created things" point to their Maker) and 14:11, and in Sirach 36. In the NT it appears in 1 Tim 4:4 ("everything God created is good"), Jas 1:18 and Rev 8:9 (sea creatures).

1 Timothy · 1

1 Timothy 4:4 κτίσμα creature

For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,

Here: Something that has been made, the product of creating. It picks up the verb 'God created' (ektisen) in verse 3, so the foods in view are first of all what God made. Not limited to animals.

James · 1

James 1:18 κτισμάτων.¶ creatures.

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.

Here: 'Created things', meaning everything God made, not only people or animals. The reborn community is the first portion of a harvest that will take in the whole created order.

Revelation · 2

Revelation 5:13 κτίσμα creature

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!”

Here: Anything God has made, from angels to sea animals. The word stresses that they are creatures, which matters because two figures are about to be honoured by them.
Revelation 8:9 κτισμάτων creatures

a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Here: 'Created things', a word built on the verb 'to create'. It presents sea life as God's handiwork and echoes Revelation 5:13, where 'every created thing … in the sea' praises God.

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