Greek word · G3035

λίθινος

lithinos

stone

'Made of stone' (λίθος, 'stone'). It describes material, for example stone tablets (2 Cor 3:3) and stone idols (Rev 9:20).

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

λίθινος, -η, -ον

(λίθος) [in LXX for אֶבֶן ;]

of stone: John 2:6, 2 Corinthians 3:3, Revelation 9:20.†

(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 John 2:6

Range of meaning

'Made of stone' (λίθος, 'stone'). It describes material, for example stone tablets (2 Cor 3:3) and stone idols (Rev 9:20).

Against the English

All versions say 'stone' correctly. What English cannot show is why the stone mattered. To a first-century Jew, 'stone jars for purification' was a familiar pairing, not a random detail.

Used elsewhere in the period

Later rabbinic law, collected in the Mishnah (about 200 AD) but reflecting older practice, states that vessels of stone, like vessels of dung or unbaked earth, do not take on impurity (m. Kelim 10:1; m. Oholot 5:5; m. Parah 3:2, where stone cups are used for the red-heifer water). Archaeology confirms it. Thousands of chalk-stone vessels from about the late first century BC to the early second century AD have been found in Jerusalem and Galilee, including large lathe-turned jars (often identified with the rabbinic word qallal). Quarry-workshops have been excavated at Hizma, at Mount Scopus, and at Reina/Einot Amitai near Nazareth and Cana (studies by Roland Deines, Yonatan Adler and Shimon Gibson). Large stone jars stood in houses such as the 'Burnt House' in Jerusalem's Upper City.

Where it appears

John · 1

  1. John 2:6 λίθιναι of stone

    Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons.

    Here: Put first for emphasis. The stone is the detail that matters: in Jewish law of the time, stone vessels were held not to become ritually impure, which is why purification water was kept in them.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 3:3 λιθίναις of stone

    It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

    Here: 'Of stone.' With 'tablets' this repeats the exact phrase of Exodus 31:18 and 34:1 (Greek version) for the tablets of the Ten Commandments. It also echoes Ezekiel's 'heart of stone'.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 9:20 λίθινα stone

    Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.

    Here: Carved stone images, such as marble statues of gods and emperors.

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