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κλίνη

klínē

G2825 noun

SILEX Entry

Root κλίν- to incline, to bend, to recline

Definition

Couch, bed, or portable pallet designed for reclining, sleeping, convalescence, or eating. The basic sense is a platform or frame on which a person reclines, whether for sleep, rest, the sickroom, or at banquets. Can refer to a permanent bed, a temporary mattress, or a mat (as for the ill or poor). In some contexts, may describe a table used for reclining during meals rather than for sitting upright.

Semantic Range

bed, couch, pallet, reclining couch, sickbed, funeral bier, mat, eating couch

Root / Etymology

From the verb κλίνω ('to incline, to bend, to lean'), with -η suffix forming a noun indicating something that 'is leaned on' or 'inclined upon.' Cognate with related terms denoting inclined or reclined furniture. Root: κλίν-.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical and Hellenistic Greek, κλίνη primarily denotes a bed or couch used for both sleeping and reclining at meals, with distinctions sometimes drawn between more elaborate couches (used at symposia or banquets) and simple pallets for the poor or sick. By the time of the New Testament and Septuagint, the term broadly covered beds for sleeping, mats for the infirm, and reclining couches for dining, but specific social or economic contexts frequently implied whether the object was a luxurious couch or a humble mat. In gospel narratives, κλίνη is often used of the portable pallet a sick or paralyzed person lies on, underscoring marginalization or illness. LXX usage generally renders the Hebrew מִטָּה (mittāh, bed), but sometimes overlaps with στρῶμα (stroma) or κράββατος (krabbatos), which may signal a shift in nuance—κλίνη tends towards more formal or less makeshift settings than κράββατος. English translations often render κλίνη as 'bed' or 'couch'; in banquet settings the ancient custom was to recline at table, so κλίνη could indicate a dining couch, not a seated table. Context in Koine Greek determines whether the nuance is domestic (sleep/rest), ritual (funerary couch), medical (sickbed), or social (reclining at meals). Distinction from κλίνη versus related words like στρῶμα (mat, mattress) or κράββατος (pallet) is sometimes blurred in later usages.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from κλίνω; a couch (for sleep, sickness, sitting or eating):--bed, table.

Root Family

κλίνη (klinē) — to incline, to bend, to recline; couch, bed, pallet

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
G2825-02 κλίνης klines N GEN F SG a bed of a reclining couch 4
G2825-01 κλίνην klinen N ACC F SG bed a reclining couch 4

Occurrences in Scripture

8 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
G2825-02 Matthew 9:2 κλίνης klines N GEN F SG of a reclining couch
G2825-01 Matthew 9:6 κλίνην klinen N ACC F SG a reclining couch
G2825-01 Mark 4:21 κλίνην klinen N ACC F SG bed a reclining couch
G2825-01 Mark 7:30 κλίνην klinen N ACC F SG bed a reclining couch
G2825-02 Luke 5:18 κλίνης klines N GEN F SG a bed of a reclining couch
G2825-02 Luke 8:16 κλίνης klines N GEN F SG a bed of a reclining couch
G2825-02 Luke 17:34 κλίνης klines N GEN F SG bed of a reclining couch
G2825-01 Revelation 2:22 κλίνην klinen N ACC F SG a reclining couch
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