Greek word · G3041

λίμνη

limnē

lake

Limnē means lake, pool or marsh. Theion is sulfur (brimstone), which also had a long-standing association in Greek with fumigation and purification. Its spelling is identical to theion, "divine," though the words are probably unrelated. Kaiō is "to burn"; the present participle means "burning on."

Appears 11 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

λίμνη, -ης, ἡ

[in LXX: Psalms 107:35 114:8 (אֲגַם), Song of Songs 7:5 (בְּרֵכָה) 1Ma.11:35, 2Ma.12:16 * ;]

a lake: of the Sea of Galilee (Mt, Mk, see: θάλασσα), Luke 5:2 8:22-23, 33; λ. Γεννησαρέτ (which see), Luke 5:1; λ. τ. πυρός, Revelation 19:20 20:10, 14-15; καιομένη πυρί, Revelation 21:8.†

(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 21:8

Range of meaning: Limnē means lake, pool or marsh. Theion is sulfur (brimstone), which also had a long-standing association in Greek with fumigation and purification. Its spelling is identical to theion, "divine," though the words are probably unrelated. Kaiō is "to burn"; the present participle means "burning on."
Against the English: KJV and NASB have "fire and brimstone"; BSB, ESV and WEB have "fire and sulfur"; NIV and NLT have "fiery lake of burning sulfur." These are all fair. The risk lies in the picture people bring to them, not in the words.
How it drifted: Popular imagination, shaped by medieval art and Dante, pictures "hell" as Satan's kingdom with devils as torturers. In Revelation the devil is himself thrown into the lake as a prisoner (20:10). It is God's place of judgment, not the devil's domain.
Used elsewhere in the period: Genesis 19:24 (LXX): "sulfur and fire" on Sodom. Isaiah 30:33 has a burning pyre and stream of sulfur; Isaiah 34:9 Edom's land turned to burning pitch and sulfur; Ezekiel 38:22 fire and sulfur on Gog; Daniel 7:10–11 a river of fire and the beast burned. 1 Enoch (e.g. 90:24–26) has a fiery abyss for fallen angels and apostates. Revelation 14:10–11 has torment "with fire and sulfur," and 19:20 and 20:10, 14–15 the lake itself. Some scholars point to Egyptian "lakes of fire" in funerary texts as a distant parallel. The direct sources are the Old Testament and Jewish texts.

From the study of Revelation 19:20

Range of meaning: λίμνη is a lake, pool or marsh. Joined with 'of fire', it is a lake made of fire. Within the New Testament the phrase appears only in Revelation (19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8, where it is 'the second death').
Against the English: Every version says 'lake of fire', or with NIV and BSB 'fiery lake'. Readers often merge it with medieval pictures of 'hell', or with Hades (the realm of the dead). Revelation keeps it distinct: Hades itself is thrown into the lake (20:14).
How it drifted: Later Christian imagery (Dante, popular art) turned the lake into a detailed underground torture chamber. Revelation's picture is drawn from Sodom, Gehenna and the river of fire before God's throne.
Used elsewhere in the period: Old Testament roots: fire and brimstone on Sodom (Gen 19:24); Edom's land becoming 'burning pitch' and 'brimstone' (Isa 34:9–10); the burning pit of Topheth kindled 'like a stream of brimstone' (Isa 30:33); fire and brimstone on Gog (Ezek 38:22); the beast killed and its body 'given to the burning fire', with a 'river of fire' flowing from God's throne (Dan 7:10–11). Jewish writings of the period describe abysses or valleys of fire for fallen angels and the wicked (1 Enoch 10:6, 13; 18:11; 21:7–10; 54:1–2; 67:4–7; 90:24–26). Some scholars also point to the 'lake of fire' in Egyptian funerary texts, but the link is uncertain.

From the study of Luke 5:1

Range of meaning: Limnē means a lake, pool or marshy body of standing water. Gennesaret (Hebrew Kinneret, Greek also Gennesar) names the fertile plain on the north-west shore and, by extension, the lake.
Against the English: Matthew, Mark and John call the same water 'the Sea of Galilee' or 'Sea of Tiberias' (thalassa). That reflects Hebrew 'yam', which covers any large body of water. Luke never calls it a sea. English versions mostly keep 'lake' here, though some paraphrases substitute the familiar 'Sea of Galilee' for readers.
Used elsewhere in the period: Josephus, Jewish War 3.506–521, calls it 'the lake of Gennesar' (limnē Gennēsar), gives its size as about 40 by 140 stadia (roughly 7 by 26 km), and praises the plain's fertility and fish. 1 Maccabees 11:67 speaks of 'the water of Gennesar'. Old Testament: 'Sea of Kinneret' (Num 34:11; Josh 12:3; 13:27). Mark 6:53 and Matt 14:34 use 'Gennesaret' for the land on the shore.

Where it appears

Luke · 5

Luke 5:1 λίμνην lake

On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God,

Here: Luke's exact Greek word for an inland freshwater lake. Mark and Matthew call it a 'sea', following Semitic usage.
Luke 5:2 λίμνην. lake.

He saw two boats at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.
Luke 8:22 λίμνης. lake.

One day Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side of the lake.” So He got into a boat with them and set out.

Here: Luke calls it a "lake". Mark and Matthew call it a "sea" (thalassa). Luke keeps "sea" for the Mediterranean and calls this body of fresh water what it physically is (compare 5:1, "lake of Gennesaret").
Luke 8:23 λίμνην, lake,

As they sailed, He fell asleep, and a windstorm came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
Luke 8:33 λίμνην lake

Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

Revelation · 6

Revelation 19:20 λίμνην lake

But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Here: A body of standing water such as a lake or marsh. Here it is a lake made of fire, an image of final destruction.
Revelation 20:10 λίμνην lake

And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Here: A body of standing water, here pictured as filled with fire. It is the final destination in Revelation, separate from the abyss where he was held for a time (20:3).
Revelation 20:14 λίμνην λίμνη lake

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.

Here: A standing body of water, here pictured as filled with fire (and sulfur, 19:20; 21:8). The image is a vast pool of fire.
Revelation 20:15 λίμνην lake

And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Here: An ordinary word for a lake (Luke uses it for the Sea of Galilee). Revelation makes it the image of the final place of judgment.
Revelation 21:8 λίμνῃ lake

But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

Here: "Lake." This is Revelation's image of final judgment. The beast, the false prophet, the devil, and then Death and Hades themselves have already been thrown into it.

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