Ἱεράπολις
Hierápolis
G2404 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Proper noun designating a city known as 'Hierapolis,' meaning 'sacred city' or 'holy city.' Refers specifically to the city in the region of Phrygia in Asia Minor, near Colossae and Laodicea. Serves in ancient Greek as both a descriptive term and a place name. In context, always denotes the city rather than a generic 'holy city.'
Semantic Range
Hierapolis (proper name of a city in Phrygia), sacred city (in naming only, not generic usage)
Root / Etymology
From ἱερός (sacred, holy) + πόλις (city); a compound noun formation following a common Greek pattern for naming cities with an attributive descriptor.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Ἱεράπολις is a place name, most prominently identifying the city in Phrygia mentioned in Colossians 4:13 and found in Greco-Roman sources. The name conveys the city’s association with sanctity, likely due to religious sites such as temples or healing springs, notably the nearby hot springs for which Hierapolis was famous in antiquity. The term does not function as a generic designation for any 'holy city,' but always as a proper noun. In the New Testament, its only occurrence is in Colossians; in broader Greco-Roman usage, Hierapolis appears as the official name for more than one city, though the Phrygian one is most pertinent to early Christian and Judean history. English translations and tradition typically leave the name untranslated, preserving the Greek toponym. The sense of 'holy' in the name should be understood in its ancient context of religious prestige, not as an assertion of later doctrinal status.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from ἱερός and πόλις; holy city; Hierapolis, a place in Asia Minor:--Hierapolis.
Root Family
Ἱεράπολις (Hierapolis) — holy, sacred, city
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G2404-01 |
Ἱεραπόλει | ierapolei | N DAT F SG |
Hierapolis | to Hierapolis | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G2404-01 |
Colossians 4:13 | Ἱεραπόλει | ierapolei | N DAT F SG |
Hierapolis | to Hierapolis |