Greek word · G4976

σχῆμα

schēma

form

Outward form, shape or configuration. A person's bearing, posture, dress or manner of life. The 'figures' of dance and of speech. The role or guise someone appears in. It is the form you can see and recognise, as opposed to the hidden nature of a thing.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 21, 2026

What it means

σχῆμα, -τος, τό

(ἔχω), [in LXX: Isaiah 3:17 (פֹּת) * ;]

figure, fashion: 1 Corinthians 7:31, Philippians 2:8.†

SYN.: see: μορφή (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 1 Corinthians 7:31

Range of meaning: Outward form, shape or configuration. A person's bearing, posture, dress or manner of life. The 'figures' of dance and of speech. The role or guise someone appears in. It is the form you can see and recognise, as opposed to the hidden nature of a thing.
Against the English: KJV/YLT 'fashion'; WEB 'mode'; BSB/NIV 'in its present form'; NASB 'form'; ESV 'present form'.
How it drifted: 'Fashion' in 1611 meant 'shape, make, manner' (compare 'fashioned' = made). Today it means clothing and trends, so 'the fashion of this world passeth away' can sound like 'fads come and go'. That is a much smaller claim than Paul's.
Used elsewhere in the period: Its only other New Testament use is Phil 2:7: Christ 'found in schēma as a man', meaning in recognisable human form and bearing. In wider Greek it is common for appearance, bearing and the role one presents. The Vulgate renders it figura ('figure, shape'), which explains the older English 'figure/fashion' tradition.

Where it appears

1 Corinthians · 1

1 Corinthians 7:31 σχῆμα present form

and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

Here: The visible configuration of the world: its present arrangement of marriage, mourning, celebration, buying and owning. What passes is this arrangement. The word does not say the world's raw existence is wiped out.

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