Greek word · G4596

σηρικός

sērikos

silk

'Of the Sēres' (the Chinese), so silken; as a noun, silk cloth.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

σιρικός (by assimilation of vowels, for σηρικός; see Mayser, 150; WH, Notes, 151), -ή, -όν

(οἱ Σῆρες, a people of India from whom the ancients got the first silk),

silk, silken; as subst., τὸ σ., silken fabric, silk: Revelation 18:12 (cf. FlJ, B.J., vii, 5, 4).†

(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 18:12

Range of meaning

'Of the Sēres' (the Chinese), so silken; as a noun, silk cloth.

Against the English

All English versions say 'silk', which is accurate. What a modern reader misses is how exotic and costly it was: it came from the far edge of the known world.

Used elsewhere in the period

Pliny, Natural History 6.54 and 11.76–78, describes silk from the Seres. In 12.84 he complains that India, China and Arabia drain 100 million sesterces a year from the empire. Seneca (On Benefits 7.9.5) scorns silk garments that hide nothing. Ezekiel's Tyre list has no silk, so the item is a first-century addition.

Where it appears

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 18:12 σιρικοῦ of silk

    cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;

    Here: 'Seric goods', meaning silk. The word comes from Sēres, the Greek and Roman name for the Chinese. Silk reached Rome over very long routes through Parthia (Persia) and India. This is its only appearance in the Bible.

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