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γένος

génos

G1085 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Category or group that shares a common origin, descent, or characteristic; in various contexts: a family, clan, race, class, nation, kind, or type; also 'offspring' or descendants by descent. The primary lexical meaning relates to a shared line of descent or natural grouping, but usage can extend to species or classes in broader sense.

Semantic Range

family, clan, extended kin, race, people group, tribe, nation, class, kind, type, species, offspring, descendants, category

Root / Etymology

From the root γέν-, related to the verb γίνομαι ('to become, to come into being, to be born'); connected to the concept of birth, origin, or arising. Cognate with Latin genus and English 'gene', all tracing to the Proto-Indo-European root *gen-, meaning 'to give birth, beget'.

Historical & Contextual Notes

γένος in classical Greek referred principally to a family or clan recognized by common ancestry, especially aristocratic lineages in the Greek city-states. In Hellenistic Greek, usage broadened to mean 'race, nation, kind, category', and could denote anything from a tribe to a class of beings or things, including animals or even abstract kinds (e.g., 'kind of wisdom'). In the Septuagint, γένος often appears to translate Hebrew terms for 'clan, family, tribe, kind'—especially מִשְׁפָּחָה (mishpachah) and מִין (min), which can mean 'species/kind' in Genesis. In the New Testament, γένος can indicate: (1) an extended family or kin, (2) a people group or nation (sometimes overlapping with ἔθνος), (3) a kind or category (e.g., of demons, Mark 9:29), and (4) offspring or descendants. English translations render it in varying ways: 'race', 'nation', 'kind', 'offspring', 'descendants', seldom capturing its full semantic breadth. While 'generation' can be a translation, it more commonly implies descent rather than a period or age.

Translation Consistency

primary "lineage" 16 occurrences

γένος primarily denotes a group linked by common descent or origin (family, clan, descendants). “Lineage” captures the descent/ancestry sense while still fitting extended uses (group, kind, race) better than narrower or more modern-loaded alternatives like “race” and more precise than the generic “kind.” It is natural English and matches the most frequent P2 rendering.

Alternatives (5 occurrences):
"kind" (3x) "kinds" (2x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from γίνομαι; "kin" (abstract or concrete, literal or figurative, individual or collective):--born, country(-man), diversity, generation, kind(-red), nation, offspring, stock.

Root Family

γένος (genos) — birth, origin, descent, lineage, kind, category

Root γέν- to be born, to arise, to originate

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1085-03 γένος genos N NOM N SG offspring lineage lineage 8
G1085-02 γένει genei N DAT N SG birth to a lineage lineage 5
G1085-04 γένους genous N GEN N SG of the stock of a lineage of a lineage 5
G1085-01 γένη gene N NOM N PL kinds origin-groups kinds 3

Occurrences in Scripture

21 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1085-04 Matthew 13:47 γένους genous N GEN N SG kind of a lineage kind
G1085-03 Matthew 17:21 γένος genos N NOM N SG kind lineage kind
G1085-02 Mark 7:26 γένει genei N DAT N SG race to a lineage lineage
G1085-03 Mark 9:29 γένος genos N NOM N SG kind lineage kind
G1085-04 Acts 4:6 γένους genous N GEN N SG kindred of a lineage of a lineage
G1085-02 Acts 4:36 γένει genei N DAT N SG birth to a lineage lineage
G1085-03 Acts 7:13 γένος genos N NOM N SG kindred lineage lineage
G1085-03 Acts 7:19 γένος genos N ACC N SG race lineage lineage
G1085-04 Acts 13:26 γένους genous N GEN N SG of the stock of a lineage of the lineage
G1085-03 Acts 17:28 γένος genos N NOM N SG offspring lineage lineage
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