Greek word · G294

ἀμφιέννυμι

amphiennymi

to clothe

To put clothes around someone, to clothe or dress. It is used of people being dressed in garments, as early as Homer.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

ἀμφιέννυμι

(ἕννυμι, to clothe),

to clothe: Matthew 6:30 11:8, Luke 7:25 (cf. ἀμφιάζω).†

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: To put clothes around someone, to clothe or dress. It is used of people being dressed in garments, as early as Homer.
Against the English: 'Clothe' is accurate. What English can miss is that this is ordinary dressing-a-person language applied to a plant, which joins this verse to the human worry 'what shall we wear?' (v. 31).
Used elsewhere in the period: In the NT it appears elsewhere only at Matt 11:8 / Luke 7:25, 'a man dressed in soft clothing', meaning royal finery. The Lukan parallel to this verse (Luke 12:28) uses the related form ἀμφιέζω. Verse 29 uses a different clothing verb (περιβάλλω) for Solomon's robes, and v. 31 uses it again for the disciples' worry.

Range of meaning: To clothe or dress someone, literally "to put around". In the passive: to be clothed, to be dressed in.
Against the English: "Dressed" or "clothed" in all versions. English cannot easily show the perfect tense, which marks a settled state.
Used elsewhere in the period: The same verb appears in Matt 6:30 / Luke 12:28, where God "clothes" the grass of the field, more splendidly than Solomon. In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) it is used of garments put on.

Matthew · 2

Matthew 6:30 ἀμφιέννυσιν, clothes,

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Here: Present tense: God goes on clothing the grass, again and again. The verb means wrapping a garment around someone, the language of dressing a person, here used of a plant.
Matthew 11:8 ἠμφιεσμένον; dressed?

Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces.

Here: "Dressed, clothed". The tense describes a settled state: a man who is clothed in fine things as his normal condition, not someone who put on something nice for one day.

Luke · 1

Luke 7:25 ἠμφιεσμένον; arrayed?

Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear elegant clothing and live in luxury are found in palaces.

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