Sister
ἀδελφήStrong’s G0079adelphē
Appears in 25 verses of the New Testament
In short
Adelphē is the Greek word usually translated “sister” and “sisters”. It appears in 25 verses of the New Testament.
“The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.”
Meaning
Usually translated “sister” and “sisters”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.
How it's translated
- sister 13
- sisters 8
- a sister 3
- our sister 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- John 6
- Mark 4
- Matthew 3
- Luke 3
- Romans 2
- 1 Corinthians 2
11 books in all.
Related words
Explore in Scripture
- Philemon 1:2In contextAnd to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:
- 2 John 1:13In contextThe children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.
- Matthew 12:50For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
- Matthew 13:56And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
- Matthew 19:29And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
- Mark 3:35For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
Greek dictionary
ἀδελφή adelphē · sister
ἀδελφή, -ῆς, ἡ (ἀδελφός), [in LXX for אָהוֹת ;] a sister: Mat.19:29, al.; metaphorically (MM, VGT, see word), of a member of the Christian community: Rom.16:1, 1Co.7:15 Jas.21:15, al. (AS)
From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “sister” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
SIS'TER, noun
- A female born of the same patents; correlative to brother.
- A woman of the same faith; a female fellow christian. James 2:15“If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food” James 2:15
- A female of the same kind.
- One of the same kind, or of the same condition; as sister-fruits.
All definitions and other forms of “sister”
- A female of the same society; as the nuns of a convent.
SIS'TER, verb transitive
To resemble closely.
SIS'TER, verb intransitive
To be akin; to be near to. [Little used.]
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.