Greek word · G4058

περιστερά

peristera

dove

Dove or pigeon, especially the domestic rock pigeon. In the Septuagint it renders Hebrew yonah, usually paired with tōr, the turtledove.

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

περιστερά, -ᾶς, ἡ

[in LXX chiefly for יוֹנָה ;]

a dove: Matthew 3:16 10:16 21:12, Mark 1:10 11:15, Luke 2:24 3:22, John 1:32 2:14, 16†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: Dove or pigeon, especially the domestic rock pigeon. In the Septuagint it renders Hebrew yonah, usually paired with tōr, the turtledove.
Against the English: 'Doves' is standard. 'Pigeons' would be just as accurate, since the birds were farmed for sacrifice.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Law allows birds as a burnt offering (Lev 1:14). They replace a lamb for those who cannot afford one (Lev 5:7; 12:8, which Mary uses in Luke 2:24). They are required for cleansing after skin disease (Lev 14:22), after bodily discharges (Lev 15:14, 29) and for a Nazirite (Num 6:10). The Mishnah (Keritot 1:7) tells how Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel forced the price of a pair of doves down from a gold denar to a silver half-denar by changing a ruling on how many offerings women owed. So dove prices could spike.

Range of meaning: Dove or pigeon. Greek did not sharply separate the two. It was a common bird, kept and sold in great numbers for temple sacrifice, the offering of the poor.
Against the English: All versions say 'dove', which is correct. Modern readers often hear 'dove = peace' from the Noah story and from modern iconography. That association exists, but it is only one of several the bird carried in Jewish usage.
How it drifted: The dove as a fixed emblem of the Holy Spirit in Christian art grows out of this very scene. Its rich later symbolism should not be assumed to explain what John meant.
Used elsewhere in the period: Gen 8:8–12 (Noah's dove over the waters after judgment); Song 2:14; 5:2 (beloved as dove); Hos 7:11; Ps 74:19 (Israel as dove); Lev 1:14; 5:7; 12:8 (sacrifice). In the Babylonian Talmud (Hagigah 15a), a saying attributed to Ben Zoma compares the Spirit of God 'hovering' over the waters in Gen 1:2 to a dove hovering over its young. That source is later than John, but it may preserve older tradition.

Range of meaning: Dove or pigeon. It was a common bird and the temple sacrifice of the poor (Leviticus 12:8; Luke 2:24). It also stood for innocence and gentleness (Matthew 10:16) and appears as a love term in the Song of Songs.
Against the English: 'Dove' is accurate. The question is what the image meant, and the gospel does not explain it.
Used elsewhere in the period: In Genesis 8:8–12 Noah's dove signals a new world after the waters of judgment. Hosea 7:11 and Psalm 74:19 use the dove for Israel. A rabbinic tradition (Babylonian Talmud Hagigah 15a, attributed to Ben Zoma) compares the Spirit hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2 to a dove hovering over its young. This source is later than the gospels, so it shows the image was available but cannot prove it was intended here. Philo uses doves as symbols of wisdom or reason.

Matthew · 3

Matthew 3:16 περιστερὰν a dove

As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.

Here: A dove: an ordinary bird, the sacrifice poor people could afford, and an image of gentleness. It may also echo the dove of Noah (Genesis 8) or the Spirit 'hovering' over the waters (Genesis 1:2). See the debates.
Matthew 10:16 περιστεραί.¶ doves.

Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Here: Gentle, defenceless birds with nothing to attack with, proverbially simple and without guile. The poor offered them as sacrifices, and in Matthew 3:16 the Spirit descends 'like a dove.'
Matthew 21:12 περιστεράς. doves.

Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.

Here: Doves (or pigeons) were the offering the Law allowed for people who could not afford a lamb, and were required for several purification rites, including a mother's after childbirth (Lev 12:8; Luke 2:24).

Mark · 2

Mark 1:10 περιστερὰν a dove

As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.

Here: The common dove or pigeon of the Levant, the poor person's sacrifice and a familiar image in Israel's scriptures. Its exact symbolic point is debated (see studies).
Mark 11:15 περιστερὰς doves

When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.

Here: Birds required in the Law for many purification and sin offerings, and the offering allowed when someone was too poor to bring a lamb. This trade served the poorest worshippers and women after childbirth.

Luke · 2

Luke 2:24 περιστερῶν.¶ pigeons.

and to offer the sacrifice specified in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Luke 3:22 περιστερὰν a dove

and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

Here: The ordinary rock dove or pigeon of the Near East. Greek uses one word for both. The same bird appears as the poor family's offering in Luke 2:24, and as Noah's messenger in the Greek Old Testament.

John · 3

John 1:32 περιστερὰν a dove

Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him.

Here: The ordinary dove or pigeon, a bird every Jew knew from the temple as the offering of the poor (Lev 5:7; 12:8) and from Scripture (Noah's dove, Gen 8; Israel as a dove, Hos 7:11; Ps 74:19).
John 2:14 περιστερὰς doves

In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables.

Here: Doves or pigeons, the sacrifice the Law allowed for people who could not afford a lamb (Lev 5:7; 12:8). The list runs from the most costly animal down to the cheapest.
John 2:16 περιστερὰς doves

To those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!”

Here: Domestic pigeons or doves, the cheapest sacrificial animals. The Law allowed them for the poor and required them for some purification rites. Caged birds could not be driven out with a whip, so Jesus speaks to their sellers.

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