What does ἱερεύς (hiereús) mean in the Bible?
G2409 means priest. Thirty-three forms occur in thirty-one canonical verses across seven books.
Greek · G2409
ἱερεύς
A priest (literally or figuratively)
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
ἱερεύς G2409
Pronunciation hiereús
What does ἱερεύς (hiereús) mean in the Bible?
G2409 means priest. Thirty-three forms occur in thirty-one canonical verses across seven books.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἱερεύς (G2409) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2409?
The BSB source-word alignment has 31 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include priests (15), priest (10), a priest (5), [and] priest (1).
Where does ἱερεύς (hiereús) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 8:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (14), Luke (5), Acts (3), Matthew (3).
Are there verse guides for ἱερεύς (hiereús)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
G2409 means priest. Thirty-three forms occur in thirty-one canonical verses across seven books. Gospel and Acts narratives refer to Jewish priests, John the Baptist's priestly questioners, and the priest of Zeus. Acts also records many priests becoming obedient to the faith. Hebrews uses the noun most heavily as it compares mortal priests, repeated service, Melchizedek, and Jesus' permanent priesthood.
Revelation calls God's redeemed people priests who serve God and Christ. The shared title does not erase differences in covenant, allegiance, office, or authority. A pagan priest, a Levitical priest, Jesus as priest forever, and the priestly vocation of the redeemed must each be interpreted within the passage that names them.
How the Bible Uses It
G2409 names priests in Jewish, pagan, christological, and redeemed-community settings. Hebrews concentrates on Jesus' permanent priesthood and its contrast with priests limited by death and repeated service.
- Act.4.1
While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,
Priests appear among the Jerusalem authorities confronting the apostles.
- Act.6.7
So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith.
The narrative explicitly includes priests among those responding in faith.
- Heb.5.6
And in another passage God says: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
The citation supplies Hebrews' scriptural basis for the enduring priestly order.
- Heb.7.23
Now there have been many other priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office.
Mortality explains the succession of many priests in Hebrews' comparison.
- Heb.10.11
Day after day every priest stands to minister and to offer again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
Repeated standing service is contrasted with Christ's singular offering and seated position in the next verse.
- Rev.20.6
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
The priestly identity belongs here to those who share in the first resurrection.
Passage contextCanonical parallel
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It priests 15× Matthew 12:4, Matthew 12:5, Mark 2:26, Luke 6:4
priest 10× Matthew 8:4, Mark 1:44, Luke 1:5, Luke 5:14
a priest 5× Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 7:3, Hebrews 7:17, Hebrews 7:21
[and] priest 1× Hebrews 7:1
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 8:4 ἱερεῖ to priest Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Matthew 12:4 ἱερεῦσιν to priests Noun - Dative Masculine Plural Matthew 12:5 ἱερεῖς to priests Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural Mark 1:44 ἱερεῖ to priest Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Mark 2:26 ἱερεῖς to priests Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 1:5 ἱερεύς to priest Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 5:14 ἱερεῖ to priest Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Luke 6:4 ἱερεῖς to priests Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 10:31 ἱερεύς to priest Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 17:14 ἱερεῦσιν to priests Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 8:4
Aligned rows 31
Books represented 7
Matthew 3 Mark 2 Luke 5 John 1 Acts 3 Hebrews 14 Revelation 3
Source forms
ἱερεῖς 11x hiereis Matthew 12:5, Mark 2:26, Luke 6:4, John 1:19
ἱερεὺς 8x hiereus Acts 14:13, Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 7:1, Hebrews 7:3
ἱερεῖ 3x hierei Matthew 8:4, Mark 1:44, Luke 5:14
ἱερεύς 3x hiereus Luke 1:5, Luke 10:31, Hebrews 8:4
ἱερέα 2x hierea Hebrews 7:11, Hebrews 10:21
ἱερεῦσιν 2x hiereusin Matthew 12:4, Luke 17:14
ἱερέων 2x hiereōn Acts 6:7, Hebrews 7:14
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 11x Luke 1:5, Luke 10:31, Acts 14:13, Hebrews 5:6
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural 6x Matthew 12:5, Acts 4:1, Hebrews 7:20, Hebrews 7:23
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural 5x Mark 2:26, Luke 6:4, John 1:19, Revelation 1:6
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular 3x Matthew 8:4, Mark 1:44, Luke 5:14
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 2x Hebrews 7:11, Hebrews 10:21
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural 2x Matthew 12:4, Luke 17:14
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural 2x Acts 6:7, Hebrews 7:14
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Anchor assurance in Jesus' enduring life and effective work rather than in human succession.
- Apply priestly vocation as service under God and Christ, not as independent spiritual rank.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim every priest named by G2409 serves the true God faithfully.
- Do not claim Revelation's priests replace Jesus' unique mediation.
- Do not claim Hebrews describes Christ repeating His sacrifice through ongoing intercession.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. One who performs sacred duties mediating between divine and human realms through ritual sacrifice and intercession.
Source Gloss
a priest (literally or figuratively)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 32 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 8:4 Noun Dative Singular Masculine
ἱερεῖ, ierei
a priest
Read verse Matthew 12:4 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
ἱερεῦσι iereusin
a priest
Read verse Matthew 12:5 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
ἱερεῖς iereiv
a priest
Read verse Mark 1:44 Noun Dative Singular Masculine
ἱερεῖ, ierei
a priest
Read verse Mark 2:26 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
ἱερεῦσι, iereusin
a priest
Read verse Luke 1:5 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἱερεύς iereuv
a priest
Read verse Luke 5:14 Noun Dative Singular Masculine
ἱερεῖ, ierei
a priest
Read verse Luke 6:4 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
ἱερεῖς; iereiv
a priest
Read verse Luke 10:31 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἱερεύς iereuv
a priest
Read verse Luke 17:14 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
ἱερεῦσι. iereusin
a priest
Read verse iereiv
a priest
Read verse Acts 4:1 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
ἱερεῖς iereiv
a priest
Read verse Acts 5:24 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἱερεὺς iereuv
a priest
Read verse Acts 6:7 Noun Genitive Plural Masculine
ἱερέων ierewn
a priest
Read verse Acts 14:13 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἱερεὺς iereuv
a priest
Read verse Hebrews 5:6 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἱερεὺς iereuv
a priest
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 7 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 7 Aligned forms 31 Case pattern Nominative (17) Number pattern Singular (16)
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Luke 1:5 · Luke 10:31 · Acts 14:13 · Heb 5:6 · Heb 7:1 · Heb 7:3 · Heb 7:15 · Heb 7:17 · Heb 7:21 · Heb 8:4 · Heb 10:11 11×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Matt 12:5 · Acts 4:1 · Heb 7:20 · Heb 7:23 · Heb 9:6 · Rev 20:6 6×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Acts 6:7 · Heb 7:14 2×
Dative · Singular · Masculine Matt 8:4 · Mark 1:44 · Luke 5:14 3×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Matt 12:4 · Luke 17:14 2×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Heb 7:11 · Heb 10:21 2×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Jewish priest as official examiner of leprosy and ritual purity
Jewish priest depicted as passing by suffering neighbor without assistance
Jewish priests as authorized inspectors of healed lepers for ceremonial cleansing
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 31 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἱερεύς is built from this root:
ἱερός G2413
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
G2409 becomes pastorally powerful in Hebrews because the letter does not merely say Jesus holds a priestly title. It contrasts priests whose service ends in death with Jesus, who lives forever and therefore has a permanent priesthood. Hebrews 7 moves from that permanence to complete salvation for those who draw near through Him because He always lives to intercede.
Hebrews 10 adds another contrast: daily standing and repeated sacrifices cannot take away sins, while Christ's offering is singular and effective. These claims ground access and assurance in Jesus rather than in an endlessly renewed human mediation. Revelation's priestly language for the redeemed should be taught as a vocation received under God and Christ, not as competition with Christ's unique work.
The title must remain governed by its covenant and narrative setting.
Anchor passage
Heb.7.24
Doctrinal connections
- Mat.8.4 - the healed man is sent to the priest within a Mosaic testimony setting.
- Act.6.7 - priests can become obedient to the faith.
- Heb.5.6 - Psalm 110 grounds the order of Melchizedek.
- Heb.7.23-25 - mortality and permanence shape Hebrews' priestly contrast.
- Heb.10.11-12 - the daily posture and offerings of priests give way to Christ's completed act.
- Rev.1.6 - Christ makes the redeemed a kingdom and priests to God.
- Rev.20.6 - resurrection and reign accompany priestly service to God and Christ.
Thirty-three masculine noun forms occupy seven case-and-number patterns. Hebrews 7:21 contains two forms, while STEP's first form carries a bracketed verse alignment. G2409 is the ordinary priest noun and must remain distinct from G749, the high-priest title.
From Old to New Testament
Aaronic service and Psalm 110's priest forever provide the primary Old Testament background used by Hebrews. Revelation's priestly community language also recalls Israel's kingdom-of-priests vocation, now expressed under God and Christ.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain