What does μονή (monḗ) mean in the Bible?
G3438 names a dwelling place, abode, or home. Its two governed forms occur in John 14.
Greek · G3438
μονή
Abode
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μονή G3438
Pronunciation monḗ
What does μονή (monḗ) mean in the Bible?
G3438 names a dwelling place, abode, or home. Its two governed forms occur in John 14.
Reader summary
Full entry for μονή (G3438) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3438?
The BSB source-word alignment has 2 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Our home (1), rooms (1).
Where does μονή (monḗ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 14:2. Its strongest book concentrations include John (2).
Are there verse guides for μονή (monḗ)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
G3438 names a dwelling place, abode, or home. Its two governed forms occur in John 14. In verse 2, Jesus comforts troubled disciples by speaking of many rooms in His Father's house and of going to prepare a place for them. The noun does not furnish a plan of heavenly architecture, and its English rendering should not control details the sentence does not give.
In verse 23, Jesus says that anyone who loves Him will keep His word, that the Father will love that person, and that the Father and Son will come and make their home with that person. This second use belongs to promised Father-Son presence within Jesus' teaching about love and keeping His word. Reading the two occurrences together may support a book-context synthesis of future welcome and present communion, but that relationship is not the noun's lexical meaning by itself.
The passages provide the comfort: Jesus prepares, promises, comes, and receives; His disciples answer with love expressed in keeping His word.
Lexical sourcePassage contextBook context
How the Bible Uses It
The two governed uses occur in John 14, first for rooms in the Father's house and then for the Father and Son making their home with the one who loves Jesus and keeps His word.
- John.14.2
In My Father's house are many rooms.
The noun serves Jesus' comfort and promise, not a detailed account of the structure of heaven.
- John.14.23
We will come to him and make Our home with him.
The promised home belongs to the Father and Son's presence in the same sentence as love for Jesus and keeping His word.
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 Our home 1× John 14:23
rooms 1× John 14:2
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 14:2
Aligned rows 2
Books represented 1
John 2
Source forms
μοναὶ 1x monai John 14:2
μονὴν 1x monēn John 14:23
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 1x John 14:23
Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural 1x John 14:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Receive the passage as Christ-centered comfort rather than an invitation to speculate about heavenly property.
- Speak of obedience as the response of love within Jesus' promise, not a means of manipulating divine presence.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that John 14:2 describes mansions of different size or status.
- Do not claim that G3438 itself means both heaven and the believer's inner life.
- Do not claim that John 14:23 promises the Father and Son's presence apart from the sentence's love and word-keeping setting.
- Do not claim that ordinary weakness or distress proves the promised presence has been withdrawn.
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. A dwelling place representing permanent residence or abode, emphasizing stable habitation rather than temporary lodging.
Source Gloss
abode
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
A dwelling place representing permanent residence or abode, emphasizing stable habitation rather than temporary lodging.
(μένω), [in LXX: 1Ma.7:38 * ;]
1in cl.,
aa staying, abiding;
bcontinuance (LXX, 1 with)
2In late Gk.,
aa statson (Paus.);
ban abode: Jhn.14:2, 23; __(with) a monastery (cf. MM, iii, xvi; so in MGr.).
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.
monai
lodging, dwelling-place, room
Read verse John 14:23 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
μονὴν monhn
lodging, dwelling-place, room
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 (1) Number pattern Plural (1)
Accusative · Singular · Feminine John 14:23 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
John 14:1-14 μονή monḗ
dwelling places
Showing 1 selected witness from 2 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
μονή is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Assurance of covenantal permanence with God.
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
G3438 is a small word with a carefully bounded two-verse witness. In John 14:2, Jesus uses dwelling-place language to steady troubled disciples with a promise centered on the Father's house and His own action. The point is secure reception, not a floor plan or a ranking of celestial residences. In John 14:23, the Father and Son promise to make their home with the person who loves Jesus and keeps His word.
This is relational presence, but it must not be reduced to emotion or used to imply that divine favor is earned through perfect performance. Jesus' promise and the surrounding discourse supply the grace and shape of obedience. Preachers may place future hope beside present communion because the chapter does, while clearly distinguishing that synthesis from the noun's basic meaning.
The result is comfort anchored in Christ rather than speculation or spiritual pressure.
Anchor passage
John.14.2
Doctrinal connections
- John 14:1-3 joins the Father's house and prepared place to Jesus' command not to let troubled hearts remain afraid.
- John 14:15-24 connects love for Jesus, keeping His commands and word, and divine presence.
- John 14:25-27 continues the chapter's comfort through the Spirit's teaching and Jesus' gift of peace.
- John 15:1-10 develops abiding and obedience with different vocabulary and should remain a canonical neighbor rather than a direct G3438 occurrence.
John 14:2 has a nominative feminine plural form rendered rooms, while John 14:23 has an accusative feminine singular form rendered home. Number and case follow the two sentences. The translation variation reflects context and does not establish separate theological definitions.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture repeatedly speaks of God dwelling with His people, from tabernacle and temple to the promised presence of God in the renewed creation. Those canonical themes can illuminate John 14, but the two G3438 occurrences remain limited to the Father's house and the Father and Son making their home with the disciple.
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