Greek word · G4094

πίναξ

pinax

platter

A board or tablet, and from that a flat dish, platter or serving tray. In Luke 11:39 it is the 'dish' the Pharisees clean on the outside.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

πίναξ, -ακος, ὁ

[in LXX: 4Ma.17:7 R * ;]

prop., a board, plank; hence, of various at wooden articles;

(a) a tablet;

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: A board or tablet, and from that a flat dish, platter or serving tray. In Luke 11:39 it is the 'dish' the Pharisees clean on the outside.
Against the English: KJV 'charger' (an old word for a large flat dish), YLT 'plate', most modern versions 'platter'. NLT 'tray' also works.
How it drifted: KJV's 'charger' has drifted: modern readers think of a warhorse or an electrical charger.
Used elsewhere in the period: Homer already uses the word for a dish of meat (Odyssey 1.141). Greek and Roman writers record grim banquet-table killings. The consul Lucius Flamininus had a condemned man executed at dinner to amuse a dinner companion (Livy 39.42–43; Cicero, On Old Age 42; Plutarch, Cato the Elder 17). Cicero's severed head was abused by Fulvia (Cassius Dio 47.8.4).

Range of meaning: Originally a board or plank. From there it came to mean a writing tablet, a painted panel, and especially a flat dish or platter for serving food, such as fish or meat. In the Gospels it always means a serving dish: here, in Mark 6:25, 28, and in Luke 11:39 ('you clean the outside of the cup and the dish').
Against the English: KJV 'charger' meant a large flat serving dish in 1611, from Old French chargeour, something that is loaded. Today the word suggests a war horse or a phone charger. Modern versions say 'platter', which is accurate. YLT's 'plate' is accurate but small, since a pinax could be a large serving board.
How it drifted: 'Charger' as a word for a dish dropped out of everyday English. The KJV wording survives in old art titles and sermons ('the head of John the Baptist in a charger') and now puzzles readers.
Used elsewhere in the period: Homer uses pinax for a board or plank (Odyssey 12.67) and for a food platter (Odyssey 1.141, 16.49). In later Greek it is common for a dish at a meal. Luke 11:39 pairs it with the cup as ordinary tableware.

Range of meaning: A board or plank, a writing tablet, and especially a flat dish or platter for serving food.
Against the English: "Platter" in BSB, WEB, NIV and ESV. "Plate" in YLT. "Tray" in NLT. "Charger" in KJV, from Tyndale: an old word for a large flat serving dish, now mostly lost from everyday English.
How it drifted: "Charger" in this sense goes back to Middle English (a dish that is "loaded"). Modern readers mostly know it as a warhorse or an electrical device, and so miss that it is a serving dish.
Used elsewhere in the period: In Luke 11:39 Jesus speaks of cleaning "the outside of the cup and the platter," so it is ordinary table ware. It is common in Greek writers and papyri for dishes and boards.

Matthew · 2

Matthew 14:8 πίνακι a platter

Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

Here: A flat serving dish or board used at meals. At a banquet the word calls up food, and the horror lies in a prophet's head being brought in as if it were the next course.
Matthew 14:11 πίνακι a platter

John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

Here: A flat dish or board used for serving food. At a banquet it is a dish for a course of the meal, so the head arrives as though it were one more course.

Mark · 2

Mark 6:25 πίνακι a platter

At once the girl hurried back to the king with her request: “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.”

Here: A flat serving dish of the kind used to bring food to a banquet table. In Greek this phrase comes before 'the head', so the platter is heard first and the head arrives like a course in the feast. The platter is also her own addition to her mother's request.
Mark 6:28 πίνακι a platter

The man brought John’s head on a platter and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother.

Luke · 1

Luke 11:39 πίνακος dish

Then the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Here: A broad serving plate or board, the same word as the 'platter' for John the Baptist's head (Mark 6:25). Matthew's parallel uses a different word (paropsis). Cup and platter together stand for all the tableware.

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