Greek word · G791

ἀστεῖος

asteios

beautiful

It comes from astu, "town", so it first meant "of the town": refined, polished, witty, elegant. Later it came to mean fine, pretty, charming, well-formed. In the Septuagint it renders Hebrew ṭôv ("good, fine") in Exodus 2:2 and is used of a fair or acceptable thing (e.g.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 24, 2026

What it means

ἀστεῖος, -ον

(ἄστυ, a city), [in LXX: Exodus 2:2 (טוֹב), Numbers 22:32 (οὐκ ἀ. יָרַט), Judges 3:17 (בָּרִיא), Judith 11:23, Dan LXX, Sus 1:7, 2Ma.6:23 * ;]

1. of the town.

2. (Like Lat. urbanus),

(a) courteous,

(b) elegant (in π., of clothing, MM, see word), comely, fair (as in Ex, l.with), Hebrews 11:23, Acts 7:20.†

(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 Hebrews 11:23

Range of meaning: It comes from astu, "town", so it first meant "of the town": refined, polished, witty, elegant. Later it came to mean fine, pretty, charming, well-formed. In the Septuagint it renders Hebrew ṭôv ("good, fine") in Exodus 2:2 and is used of a fair or acceptable thing (e.g. Judith 11:23, of Judith's beauty; Numbers 22:32, of Balaam's way being not "good/acceptable").
Against the English: Modern versions say "beautiful" (BSB, WEB, ESV, NASB). KJV has "proper", which in 1611 meant handsome or goodly. YLT has "comely". NIV ("no ordinary child") and NLT ("an unusual child" from God) turn the word into an interpretation: something special or destined. That is a reasonable reading of the tradition, but the Greek word itself means fine or fair.
How it drifted: The KJV's "proper" has drifted badly: a modern reader hears "well-behaved" or "legitimate". Even "beautiful" can sound merely cute. The Greek and Hebrew suggest a fine, healthy, well-formed child whose goodness struck his parents.
Used elsewhere in the period: Exodus 2:2 LXX: "seeing that he was asteion, they sheltered him three months." Acts 7:20 (Stephen): Moses was "asteios to God", that is, fair in God's sight or exceedingly fine. Philo, On the Life of Moses 1.9: at birth the child showed "a finer appearance than an ordinary child", which moved his parents to defy the decree. Josephus (Antiquities 2.224, 230–231) dwells on Moses' remarkable beauty. Later rabbinic tradition (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 12a) took Hebrew ṭôv to mean the house was filled with light at his birth.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

Acts 7:20 ἀστεῖος beautiful

At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God. For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house.

Hebrews · 1

Hebrews 11:23 ἀστεῖον [was] beautiful

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict.

Here: Taken straight from Greek Exodus 2:2. It describes a fine, well-made, striking child. In Jewish retellings this marked him out as favoured by God (compare Acts 7:20, "fair in God's sight").

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