πένης (G3993) — Greek Lexicon

πένης

pénēs

G3993 substantive adjective

SILEX Entry

Definition

A person of limited means; a poor person, specifically one who earns a living by manual labor or daily work, often without ownership of land or property. The term typically indicates someone who possesses only the essentials for daily existence, and whose poverty arises from working but lacking abundance or accumulation of wealth. In certain contexts, distinguishes between general poverty and utter destitution.

Semantic Range

poor person (working for a living), laborer of modest means, person without property or wealth, one of limited resources yet not a beggar; in contrast to πτωχός, not utterly destitute

Root / Etymology

From the Greek root πεν- (toil, work for a living); related to πενέομαι (to be poor, to work for daily subsistence). Unlike πτωχός, which can refer to extreme destitution or begging, πένης denotes a person who is poor due to living by continual labor.

Historical & Contextual Notes

πένης, attested from classical Greek onward (Homer and later authors), conveys the notion of the working poor—those who survive through their own effort but have only what is necessary for the day. It is differentiated from πτωχός, which in both classical and Koine Greek usually refers to the truly destitute, the beggar, or the one reliant on charity. In the Septuagint and New Testament, πένης is rare compared to πτωχός; the two terms are sometimes contrasted (see, e.g., distinctions in Greek moral philosophy and in Hellenistic-Judean sources). Standard English Bibles often translate both πένης and πτωχός as 'poor', but the distinction between the working poor (πένης) and the destitute or mendicant (πτωχός) is not consistently reflected. In both literary and societal contexts, πένης signifies those who labor for daily bread yet remain economically vulnerable—not beggars but also not secure or prosperous.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from a primary (to toil for daily subsistence); starving, i.e. indigent:--poor. Compare πτωχός.

Root Family

πένης (penēs) — to toil, to labor for subsistence, modest poverty, working poor

Root πεν- to toil, to labor, to work for subsistence

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2	Occurrences
`G3993-01`	πένησιν	penesin	`ADJ.S DAT M PL`	poor	to the laboring poor	to the laboring poor	1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2
`G3993-01`	2 Corinthians 9:9	πένησιν	penesin	`ADJ.S DAT M PL`	poor	to the laboring poor	to the laboring poor

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