What does βάθος (báthos) mean in the Bible?
βάθος means depth and can describe literal depth or function figuratively. The Gospels use it for soil depth and deep water.
Greek · G899
βάθος
Depth
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βάθος G899
Pronunciation báthos
What does βάθος (báthos) mean in the Bible?
βάθος means depth and can describe literal depth or function figuratively. The Gospels use it for soil depth and deep water.
Reader summary
Full entry for βάθος (G899) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G899?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include depth (2), . . . (1), [the] depth (1), deep (1), deep [ things ] (1).
Where does βάθος (báthos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 13:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (2), 1 Corinthians (1), 2 Corinthians (1), Ephesians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
βάθος means depth and can describe literal depth or function figuratively. The Gospels use it for soil depth and deep water. Paul uses it for the deep things of God, deep poverty, one dimension in Ephesians 3:18, the depth that cannot separate believers from God's love, and the depth of God's riches, wisdom, and knowledge. The noun supplies an image of extent or profundity, but its object supplies the content.
First Corinthians 2:10 says the Spirit searches even the depths of God within Paul's contrast between human wisdom and what God has revealed. Romans 11:33 responds to God's saving argument with doxology over the depth of divine riches, wisdom, and knowledge. Second Corinthians 8:2 applies the same noun to severe poverty while describing generosity. These are distinct constructions; the word does not make poverty divine, make revelation exhaustive, or convert spatial imagery into a hidden-code method.
Lexical sourceCanonical parallelBook context
How the Bible Uses It
βάθος can describe literal or figurative depth. Paul's uses range across divine revelation, poverty, dimensions, inseparability from God's love, and doxology, so each genitive or surrounding phrase must identify what is deep.
- 1Cor.2.10
But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
The Spirit searches even the depths of God within Paul's contrast between God's revealed wisdom and the wisdom of the age. The phrase does not authorize secret teaching detached from the gospel Paul proclaims.
- 2Cor.8.2
In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.
Depth intensifies the churches' poverty while Paul also describes joy and generosity. Their giving does not make deprivation good or establish a rule for pressuring people in poverty.
- Eph.3.18
Will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth
Depth belongs to a four-part dimensional expression in Paul's prayer that the saints together comprehend and know Christ's love. The verse does not identify a hidden spatial diagram.
Lexical sourceCanonical parallelBook contextPastoral application
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 depth 2× Romans 8:39, Ephesians 3:18
. . . 1× Mark 4:5
[the] depth 1× Romans 11:33
deep 1× 2 Corinthians 8:2
deep [ things ] 1× 1 Corinthians 2:10
deep [water] 1× Luke 5:4
shallow 1× Matthew 13:5
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 13:5 βάθος to shallow Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Mark 4:5 βάθος to . . . Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Luke 5:4 βάθος to deep [water] Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Romans 8:39 βάθος to depth Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular Romans 11:33 βάθος to [the] depth Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular 1 Corinthians 2:10 βάθη to deep [ things ] Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural 2 Corinthians 8:2 βάθους to deep Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Ephesians 3:18 βάθος to depth Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 13:5
Aligned rows 8
Books represented 7
Matthew 1 Mark 1 Luke 1 Romans 2 1 Corinthians 1 2 Corinthians 1 Ephesians 1
Source forms
βάθος 6x bathos Matthew 13:5, Mark 4:5, Luke 5:4, Romans 8:39
βάθη 1x bathē 1 Corinthians 2:10
βάθους 1x bathous 2 Corinthians 8:2
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 3x Matthew 13:5, Mark 4:5, Luke 5:4
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular 3x Romans 8:39, Romans 11:33, Ephesians 3:18
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural 1x 1 Corinthians 2:10
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular 1x 2 Corinthians 8:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Keep the Spirit's searching of God's depths within Paul's argument about revealed wisdom, not private esoteric access.
- Treat the deep poverty of Second Corinthians 8 as material hardship, not a spiritual ideal to impose on others.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every use of depth refers to God's mystery; the noun also describes poverty, soil, and water.
- Do not claim that Ephesians 3:18 maps four literal dimensions of Christ or a hidden cosmological scheme.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Depth used metaphorically for God's inscrutable wisdom, riches, and the spiritual poverty of believers.
Strong's G899
Lexical occurrences 8 verses Greek text appearances 9 times Word forms 4 forms 8 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Matthew 13:5 Source Gloss
depth
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Depth used metaphorically for God's inscrutable wisdom, riches, and the spiritual poverty of believers.
depth: Mat.13:5, Mrk.4:5, Rom.8:39, Eph.3:18; τὸ β., the deep sea: Luk.5:4; metaphorically, β. πλούτου . . . Θεοῦ, Rom.11:33; τὰ β. τ. Θεοῦ (the Divine counsels), 1Co.2:10; ἡ κατὰ βάθους πτωχεία, deep poverty, 2Co.8:2.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
9 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 13:5 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
βάθος baqov
depth, a depth, a deep
Read verse Mark 4:5 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
βάθος baqov
depth, a depth, a deep
Read verse Luke 5:4 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
βάθος, baqov
depth, a depth, a deep
Read verse Romans 8:39 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
βάθος baqov
depth, a depth, a deep
Read verse Romans 11:33 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
βάθος baqov
depth, a depth, a deep
Read verse 1 Corinthians 2:10 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
βάθη baqh
depth, a depth, a deep
Read verse 2 Corinthians 8:2 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
βάθους baqouv
depth, a depth, a deep
Read verse Ephesians 3:18 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
βάθος baqov
depth, a depth, a deep
Read verse Revelation 2:24 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
βάθη baqh
depth, a depth, a deep
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 4 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 4 Aligned forms 8 Case pattern Accusative (4) Number pattern Singular (7)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Neuter Rom 8:39 · Rom 11:33 · Eph 3:18 3×
Genitive · Singular · Neuter 2 Cor 8:2 1×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Matt 13:5 · Mark 4:5 · Luke 5:4 3×
Accusative · Plural · Neuter 1 Cor 2:10 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Physical depth of soil where seeds fall and lack root
The deep sea or water as a physical location for fishing
Metaphorical depth of God's riches, wisdom, and knowledge as immeasurable
Metaphorical depth of Christ's love comprehended with other dimensions
Divine counsels and mysteries of God revealed through the Spirit
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 8 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
βάθος 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
Romans 11:33 models the proper response to the depth of God's riches, wisdom, and knowledge: worship rather than claims of mastery. First Corinthians 2 also joins the depths of God to the Spirit's searching and God's revelation, not to an elite technique for discovering secret meanings. At the same time, Second Corinthians 8 can speak of deep poverty in a concrete material setting.
A preacher should name the object each time and resist making "deep" a badge of superior spirituality. The word can invite wonder, assurance, and honest attention to suffering, but those applications come from Paul's arguments. Depth by itself is neither automatically holy nor evidence that a teacher has special access to God.
Anchor passage
1Cor.2.10
Doctrinal connections
- First Corinthians 2:10 joins the depths of God to the Spirit's searching and revelation.
- Second Corinthians 8:2 uses depth language for material poverty within an appeal about generosity.
- Ephesians 3:18 includes depth in a four-dimensional expression within Paul's prayer.
- Romans 8:39 denies that depth can separate believers from God's love in Christ.
- Romans 11:33 praises the depth of God's riches, wisdom, and knowledge.
βάθος is a neuter noun for depth. The local normalized artifact records about eight New Testament occurrences, including literal soil and water settings as well as figurative Pauline uses. Number and case vary, but the attached phrase and discourse identify the referent.
From Old to New Testament
Biblical poetry uses sea depths and unsearchable divine wisdom as distinct images, providing canonical analogies for Paul's language. Those connections do not make every use of βάθος a quotation or a single symbol.
Canonical parallelPastoral applicationLexical sourcelocal_artifact
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