Greek word · G2969

κωμόπολις

kōmopolis

village

A 'village-city': a large village or small market town that had grown in size but did not have the legal status, walls, or self-government of a polis (city).

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κωμόπολις, -εως, ἡ

a country town: Mark 1:38 (see Swete, in l).†

(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 Mark 1:38

Range of meaning

A 'village-city': a large village or small market town that had grown in size but did not have the legal status, walls, or self-government of a polis (city).

Against the English

'Towns' (BSB, KJV, ESV) is a reasonable rendering. 'Villages' (NIV) captures the status better. Neither shows that the word sits halfway between the two.

Used elsewhere in the period

It appears only here in the New Testament and is rare in Greek generally. It is used by the geographer Strabo (1st century BC to 1st century AD) for settlements of this in-between kind. Latin translators split it into 'villages and cities' (vicos et civitates).

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 1:38 κωμοπόλεις villages

    But Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that is why I have come.”

    Here: Literally 'village-cities': sizeable settlements that were still villages in status, without a city's walls or civic rights. It fits the market villages of the Galilean lakeshore and hills. The word appears only here in the New Testament.

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