Greek word · G4009

πέρας

peras

end

End, limit, boundary, outermost point ('the ends of the earth'). It can also mean the end in time, or the conclusion of a matter.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πέρας, -ατος, τό

(πέρα, beyond), [in LXX chiefly for קֵץ, קָצָה and cognate forms ;]

an end, limit, boundary;

(a) of space: chiefly in pl., τὰ π. τ. γῆς, Matthew 12:42, Luke 11:31; τ. οἰκουμένης, Romans 10:18 (LXX);

(b) (opposite to ἀρχή) the end: with genitive, ἀντιλογίας, Hebrews 6:10.†

(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 Hebrews 6:16

Range of meaning

End, limit, boundary, outermost point ('the ends of the earth'). It can also mean the end in time, or the conclusion of a matter.

Against the English

'End' is accurate. BSB 'to end all argument' and WEB 'final' both capture it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matt 12:42 and Rom 10:18 use it for 'the ends of the earth'. In classical Greek it means a limit or terminus and also the outcome of an affair.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 12:42 περάτων ends

    The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

    Here: 'The ends, the outer edges.' A common Septuagint phrase for the farthest reaches of the inhabited world (Ps 2:8; 72:8).

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 11:31 περάτων ends

    The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

    Here: 'The ends' or outer edges. To a Judean hearer, southern Arabia was the edge of the known world. The phrase stresses how far she went and what it cost her.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 10:18 πέρατα ends

    But I ask, did they not hear? Indeed they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”

    Here: The outer edges or farthest limits. "The ends of the earth" was a stock biblical phrase for the remotest peoples (e.g. Ps 2:8; Isa 49:6).

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 6:16 πέρας finally

    Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument.

    Here: The end point or cut-off line. The oath is where the argument stops and cannot go further.

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