Greek word · G5586

ψῆφος

psēphos

stone/vote

Psēphos: a small smooth stone or pebble. It was used as a voting token (a 'vote' itself, Acts 26:10), a counter for calculating (hence psēphizō, 'to calculate', Rev 13:18), a gaming piece, or a token or ticket. Leukos: white, bright, shining.

Appears 3 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ψῆφος, -ου, ἡ

(ψάω, to rub) [in LXX: Exodus 4:25 (צֹר), Lamentations 3:16 (חָצָץ), Ecclesiastes 7:26 (25) (צֹר), 2 Kings 12:4 (5) A, Sirach 18:10, 4Ma.15:26 * ;]

1. a small smooth stone, a pebble: ψ. λευκή (for suggestions as to the meaning, see Swete, in l), Revelation 2:17.

2. From the use of pebbles in voting, a vote: Acts 26:10.†

(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 2:17

Range of meaning

Psēphos: a small smooth stone or pebble. It was used as a voting token (a 'vote' itself, Acts 26:10), a counter for calculating (hence psēphizō, 'to calculate', Rev 13:18), a gaming piece, or a token or ticket. Leukos: white, bright, shining.

Against the English

All major versions have 'white stone'. That is accurate, but English 'stone' can suggest something large. A psēphos fits in the hand, more like a pebble or token.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.41–42: in ancient courts white pebbles acquitted and black ones condemned. Plutarch and others use psēphos for jurors' votes. Pliny (Natural History 7.131) mentions a Thracian custom of marking happy days with a white stone, which became the Latin proverb about a day 'marked with a white stone'. Small inscribed tokens (tesserae) gave admission to public feasts, games and distributions, and guests exchanged them as tokens of friendship. A rabbinic tradition says precious stones fell with the manna (b. Yoma 75a).

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 26:10 ψῆφον· a vote;

    And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them.

Revelation · 2

  1. Revelation 2:17 ψῆφον ψῆφον stone

    He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.

    Here: A small smooth stone. In everyday Greek it meant a voting pebble, a counter used in calculating, or a small token or ticket. Readers in Asia Minor would have pictured something small and handled, not a monument.

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