What does τράχηλος (tráchēlos) mean in the Bible?
The Greek noun trachelos means the neck, the vulnerable bodily link between head and torso. New Testament passages use it in sharply different scenes.
Greek · G5137
τράχηλος
Neck
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τράχηλοςG5137
Pronunciationtráchēlos
What does τράχηλος (tráchēlos) mean in the Bible?
The Greek noun trachelos means the neck, the vulnerable bodily link between head and torso. New Testament passages use it in sharply different scenes.
Reader summary
Full entry for τράχηλος (G5137) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5137?
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include neck (3), . . . (2), [lives] (1), necks (1).
Where does τράχηλος (tráchēlos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 18:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (2), Luke (2), Mark (1), Matthew (1).
What This Word Actually Means
The Greek noun trachelos means the neck, the vulnerable bodily link between head and torso. New Testament passages use it in sharply different scenes. A millstone placed around the neck pictures terrifying judgment; falling on a person's neck describes an embrace; placing a yoke on the neck portrays an imposed burden; risking one's neck means exposing one's life to danger.
The noun does not make vulnerability, affection, submission, or sacrifice interchangeable. Acts 15 especially warns against loading Gentile believers with a covenant burden that neither earlier generations nor the apostles could bear. Romans honors Prisca and Aquila for costly service without turning danger into a universal measure of faith. Pastoral use should therefore identify the action around the neck, protect bodily dignity, and distinguish willing love from coercive pressure.
How the Bible Uses It
Trachelos names the neck and appears in scenes of crushing danger, affectionate embrace, imposed burden, and sacrificial risk. Each construction supplies the action and moral significance.
- Acts.15.10
Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
Peter describes the disputed requirement as a yoke placed on the disciples' neck, opposing a burden that contradicts salvation through the grace of Jesus.
- Luke.15.20
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
The father falls on his returning son's neck and kisses him, so bodily closeness expresses compassionate welcome within the parable's restoration scene.
- Rom.16.4
Who have risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
Paul says Prisca and Aquila risked their necks for his life, honoring concrete costly service without commanding every believer to seek danger.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itneck3×Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2
. . .2×Luke 15:20, Acts 20:37
[lives]1×Romans 16:4
necks1×Acts 15:10
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 18:6τράχηλονtoneckNoun - Accusative Masculine SingularMark 9:42τράχηλονtoneckNoun - Accusative Masculine SingularLuke 15:20τράχηλονto. . .Noun - Accusative Masculine SingularLuke 17:2τράχηλονtoneckNoun - Accusative Masculine SingularActs 15:10τράχηλονtonecksNoun - Accusative Masculine SingularActs 20:37τράχηλονto. . .Noun - Accusative Masculine SingularRomans 16:4τράχηλονto[lives]Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 18:6
Aligned rows7
Books represented5
Matthew1Mark1Luke2Acts2Romans1
Source forms
τράχηλον7xtrachēlonMatthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, Luke 15:20, Luke 17:2
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular7xMatthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, Luke 15:20, Luke 17:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Audit church expectations that bind consciences beyond Scripture or make cultural conformity a hidden condition of acceptance and service.
- Honor sacrificial ministry with shared burdens, rest, protection, and gratitude rather than using another person's courage to excuse unsafe systems.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every demanding practice is a saving yoke or that grace removes Christ's commands and Spirit-enabled obedience.
- Do not claim that physical embrace, exposure to danger, or refusal of safety measures is required to prove reconciliation, courage, or mature faith.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Literally the neck; metaphorically, the body or life exposed to danger or subjection.
Strong'sG5137
Lexical occurrences7 versesGreek text appearances7 timesWord forms1 form7 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
neck
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Literally the neck; metaphorically, the body or life exposed to danger or subjection.
the neck: Mat.18:6, Mrk.9:42, Luk.17:2; ἐπιπεσεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν τ., to embrace (Gen.46:29), Luk.15:20, Act.20:37. Metaphorical, ὑποθεῖναι τὸν ἑαυτοῦ τ. (for similar phrase in π., see Zorell, see word), Rom.16:4; ἐπιθεῖναι ζυγὸν ἐπὶ τὸν τ., Act.15:10.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 18:6Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
τράχηλονtrachlon
the neck
Read verseMark 9:42Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
τράχηλονtrachlon
the neck
Read verseLuke 15:20Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
τράχηλονtrachlon
the neck
Read verseLuke 17:2Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
τράχηλονtrachlon
the neck
Read verseActs 15:10Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
τράχηλονtrachlon
the neck
Read verseActs 20:37Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
τράχηλονtrachlon
the neck
Read verseRomans 16:4Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
τράχηλονtrachlon
the neck
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 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns1Aligned forms7Case patternAccusative (7)Number patternSingular (7)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Accusative · Singular · MasculineMatt 18:6 · Mark 9:42 · Luke 15:20 · Luke 17:2 · Acts 15:10 · Acts 20:37 · Rom 16:47×
Word Origins
τράχηλος is built from this root:
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
Trachelos concentrates attention on embodied vulnerability. The neck can be threatened, burdened, embraced, or exposed to danger, and the gospel does not flatten those scenes into one lesson. In Acts 15, Peter's yoke image protects the truth that Jews and Gentiles are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, not by adding an unbearable boundary marker as a condition of acceptance.
In Jesus' parable, the father's embrace displays compassionate welcome before the returning son can negotiate a servant's status. In Romans, Prisca and Aquila's risk receives grateful honor as a particular act of love within shared mission. Churches should therefore examine burdens they place on consciences, refuse coercive touch, honor consent and bodily safety, and thank people who serve sacrificially without exploiting their willingness.
Christ calls disciples to costly faithfulness, but leaders may not manufacture danger or shame prudent limits. Grace removes boasting and forms a community where vulnerability is met with truth, welcome, and accountable care.
Anchor passage
Acts.15.10
Doctrinal connections
- Salvation rests on the grace of the Lord Jesus rather than an unbearable yoke imposed as an additional condition of belonging.
- The father's embrace in Jesus' parable portrays lavish welcome within a story of repentance, restoration, and recovered sonship.
- Christian service may become costly, yet voluntary sacrifice must remain distinct from danger imposed by controlling leaders or systems.
- The body is neither disposable nor shameful; embodied vulnerability calls the church toward protection, consent, gratitude, and practical care.
- Gospel unity refuses ethnic boundary-making that burdens believers whom God has cleansed by faith and welcomed through Christ.
- Honor for courageous coworkers should produce thanksgiving and shared responsibility, not a culture that treats exhaustion or risk as spiritual currency.
Trachelos is a concrete anatomical noun whose significance comes from its governing verb and image. The neck itself does not lexically mean yoke, embrace, death, or sacrifice; those senses arise from what is placed upon it or done around it.
From Old to New Testament
Old Testament neck imagery often portrays yokes, stubborn resistance, danger, or royal subjection, while Genesis also uses falling on the neck for tearful reunion. The New Testament draws on that embodied range and places Acts 15's burden language inside the apostolic defense of grace in Christ.