What does λίτρα (lítra) mean in the Bible?
G3046 is a noun for a Roman pound or measured pound. Its two governed forms occur in John's Gospel.
Greek · G3046
λίτρα
A pound in weight
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.
λίτρα G3046
Pronunciation lítra
What does λίτρα (lítra) mean in the Bible?
G3046 is a noun for a Roman pound or measured pound. Its two governed forms occur in John's Gospel.
Reader summary
Full entry for λίτρα (G3046) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3046?
The BSB source-word alignment has 2 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (1), about a pint (1).
Where does λίτρα (lítra) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 12:3. Its strongest book concentrations include John (2).
What This Word Actually Means
G3046 is a noun for a Roman pound or measured pound. Its two governed forms occur in John's Gospel. John 12:3 names the measured amount of pure nard Mary uses to anoint Jesus' feet, rendered by the BSB as about a pint. John 19:39 uses the plural within the quantity of myrrh and aloes Nicodemus brings for Jesus' burial, rendered as about seventy-five pounds. The noun supplies a unit of measure.
It does not itself identify devotion, extravagance, faith, discipleship, burial symbolism, or the spiritual condition of either person. Those claims must come from the actions, dialogue, and narrative setting. Because the witness is limited to two verses, this source makes no wider lexical pattern from the quantities.
Lexical sourcePassage context
How the Bible Uses It
Two exact G3046 forms occur in John. One measures Mary's nard in John 12:3, and the other belongs to the measured mixture Nicodemus brings in John 19:39.
- John.12.3
Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair.
The unit makes the amount concrete within an action whose meaning the surrounding scene explains.
- John.19.39
Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
The plural unit contributes to the stated quantity of burial spices without interpreting Nicodemus's heart by itself.
Passage context
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 . . . 1× John 19:39
about a pint 1× John 12:3
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 12:3
Aligned rows 2
Books represented 1
John 2
Source forms
λίτραν 1x litran John 12:3
λίτρας 1x litras John 19:39
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural 1x John 19:39
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 1x John 12:3
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use the quantities to clarify the material scenes, not to rank devotion by size or expense.
- Read each measure with the action and explanation surrounding it.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that G3046 itself means costly devotion, honor, burial, or sacrifice.
- Do not claim that the amounts prove everything about Mary or Nicodemus.
- Do not claim a broad usage pattern from only two forms in one Gospel.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. a pound in weight
Strong's G3046
Lexical occurrences 2 verses Greek text appearances 2 times Word forms 2 forms 2 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
a pound in weight
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
2 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
John 12:3 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
λίτραν litran
a Roman pound
Read verse John 19:39 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
λίτρας litrav
a Roman pound
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 2 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 2 Aligned forms 2 Case pattern Accusative (2) Number pattern Plural (1)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Accusative · Singular · Feminine John 12:3 1×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine John 19:39 1×
For the Preacher and Teacher
G3046 contributes measurement, not an independent theology of devotion. In John 12 the singular unit specifies how much pure nard Mary uses while anointing Jesus' feet. In John 19 the plural belongs to the quantity of myrrh and aloes Nicodemus brings for burial preparation. These details make both actions materially specific, yet the unit does not tell readers why Mary acts, what Nicodemus fully believes, or how quantity should be evaluated.
John narrates actions, objections, explanations, burial custom, and the wider passion setting to answer those questions. Responsible preaching can let the amounts remain striking while refusing to make a larger quantity an automatic measure of love, faith, sacrifice, or approval.
Anchor passage
John.12.3
Doctrinal connections
- John 12 places the measured nard within Mary's anointing and Jesus' answer to Judas.
- John 19 places the measured spices within Joseph and Nicodemus's preparation of Jesus' body.
- Both occurrences concern material quantities, while the narrative supplies motive and meaning.
- Neither quantity establishes a rule that spiritual devotion can be ranked by expense or volume.
The governed forms are an accusative feminine singular in John 12:3 and an accusative feminine plural in John 19:39. English renderings express the ancient measure through familiar volume or weight equivalents suited to each context.
From Old to New Testament
No cross-testament lexical trajectory should be built from these two forms. Biblical measures can clarify material scale, but John's own scenes must govern the theological and pastoral claims.
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