Greek word · G5510

χιών

chiōn

snow

Snow.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

χιών, -όνος, ἡ

[in LXX chiefly for שֶׁלֶג also (in Da) for תְּלַג ;]

snow: Matthew 28:3, Revelation 1:14.†

(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 Matthew 28:3

Range of meaning

Snow.

Against the English

'Snow' everywhere, which is accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 7:9 ('his clothing was white as snow'), which shares three words with this verse in the Theodotion Greek: ἔνδυμα, λευκόν, χιών. Isaiah 1:18 and Psalm 51:7 use snow for cleansing. Revelation 1:14: the risen Christ's hair 'white as wool, as snow'. Snow was familiar in Palestine from Mount Hermon and occasional winter snowfall in Jerusalem, and it was proverbial for the purest white.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 28:3 χιών. snow.

    His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

    Here: The usual biblical picture of the purest, brightest white (compare Isaiah 1:18; Psalm 51:7; Daniel 7:9). Here it is mainly about brilliance, and it echoes Daniel's throne vision.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 1:14 χιὼν snow

    The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire.

    Here: Snow, the Bible's top-level picture of whiteness (Isaiah 1:18; Psalm 51:7; Matthew 28:3). In Daniel 7:9 the Ancient of Days' clothing is "white as snow". John moves that image onto the hair.

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