Greek word · G3993

πένης

penēs

poor

Poor, needy. Greek writers often distinguish the πένης, who has little and must work for a living, from the πτωχός, the destitute beggar. The line is not rigid, especially in the Greek Old Testament, where πένης often translates Hebrew 'evyon, 'needy.'

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πένης, -ητος, ὁ

(πένομαι, to work for one's daily bread), [in LXX for אֶבְיוֹן, עָנִי, דַּל, etc. ;]

one who works for his living, a labourer, a poor man: 2 Corinthians 9:9.†

SYN.: πτωχός, properly a beggar and implying deeper poverty than π. (see Tr., Syn., § xxxvi, Abbott, Essays, 78) (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 2 Corinthians 9:9

Range of meaning

Poor, needy. Greek writers often distinguish the πένης, who has little and must work for a living, from the πτωχός, the destitute beggar. The line is not rigid, especially in the Greek Old Testament, where πένης often translates Hebrew 'evyon, 'needy.'

Against the English

English 'the poor' is accurate. It does not show that this is a different word from Paul's usual πτωχός, or that it suggests people in hardship rather than only beggars.

Used elsewhere in the period

This is the only occurrence in the New Testament, and it comes from the Greek Psalm. Paul's own word for the Jerusalem recipients is πτωχούς, 'the poor among the saints' (Romans 15:26).

Where it appears

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 9:9 πένησιν, poor,

    As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”

    Here: The only time this word appears in the New Testament. It usually means the working poor, people who have to labour every day to get by, not necessarily beggars. Here it comes straight from the Greek Psalm.

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