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πορνεία

porneía

G4202 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Sexual immorality; primarily refers to illicit sexual conduct outside the bounds of lawful marriage, including various kinds of unlawful sexual relations. In different contexts, πορνεία can refer specifically to prostitution, promiscuity, or other sexual liaisons considered improper by social or legal standards. In some contexts, especially figurative usage, it can denote faithlessness or idolatry, likened to spiritual 'adultery.'

Semantic Range

illicit sexual intercourse, prostitution, sexual immorality, promiscuity, marital infidelity, incestuous relations, metaphorical unfaithfulness (idolatry)

Root / Etymology

From the verb πορνεύω ('to engage in illicit sexual intercourse, to prostitute oneself'), itself from πόρνη ('female prostitute'), possibly related to πέρνημι ('to sell'), suggesting a sense of transaction involved in sexual immorality. The precise Proto-Indo-European origin is uncertain.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, πορνεία generally referred to illicit sexual intercourse with prostitutes or prostitution as a practice. By the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the term’s semantic range broadened to general unauthorized or immoral sexual behavior, not limited to commercial sex. In the Septuagint, πορνεία frequently appears as a translation of Hebrew terms denoting sexual transgression (such as זְנוּת), and is also used figuratively for religious apostasy or idolatry, reflecting the prophetic metaphor of faithlessness as sexual immorality. In the New Testament, the term continues to cover a broad array of sexual behaviors outside permitted marriage—adultery, incest, and prostitution—but exact boundaries may be shaped by Jewish or Greco-Roman norms in context. Standard English translations like 'fornication' or 'sexual immorality' only approximate the complex sense, omitting the commercial and figurative dimensions present in many ancient occurrences. πορνεία is distinct from μοιχεία (moicheia, 'adultery'), which is specific to extramarital relations involving a married woman in classical and biblical usage.

Translation Consistency

primary "sexual immorality" 23 occurrences

πορνεία primarily denotes illicit sexual conduct (prostitution, promiscuity, marital unfaithfulness) and is typically rendered in modern English as “sexual immorality.” This phrase most naturally and accurately captures the full semantic range, including its figurative use for spiritual/unfaithfulness, while avoiding the archaic feel of “fornication” or the overly narrow sense of “prostitution.”

Alternatives (2 occurrences):
"illicit sexual acts" (2x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from πορνεύω; harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively, idolatry:--fornication.

Root Family

πορν- (porneía) — to sell for sex, engage in illicit sexual relations

Root πορν- to sell for sex, engage in illicit sexual relations
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G4203 πορνεύω they engaged in sexual immorality
G4204 πόρνη prostitute women
G4205 πόρνος sexually immoral men

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G4202-04 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG fornication of sexual immorality of sexual immorality 12
G4202-01 πορνείᾳ porneia N DAT F SG sexual immorality to sexual immorality sexual immorality 8
G4202-03 πορνείαν porneian N ACC F SG sexual immorality illicit sexual intercourse sexual immorality 3
G4202-02 πορνεῖαι porneiai N NOM F PL fornications illicit sexual acts illicit sexual acts 2

Occurrences in Scripture

25 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G4202-04 Matthew 5:32 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG of sexual immorality of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-02 Matthew 15:19 πορνεῖαι porneiai N NOM F PL fornications illicit sexual acts illicit sexual acts
G4202-01 Matthew 19:9 πορνείᾳ porneia N DAT F SG sexual immorality to sexual immorality sexual immorality
G4202-02 Mark 7:21 πορνεῖαι porneiai N NOM F PL sexual immoralities illicit sexual acts illicit sexual acts
G4202-04 John 8:41 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG fornication of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-04 Acts 15:20 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG fornication of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-04 Acts 15:29 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG sexual immorality of sexual immorality from sexual immorality
G4202-03 Acts 21:25 πορνείαν porneian N ACC F SG fornication illicit sexual intercourse sexual immorality
G4202-01 1 Corinthians 5:1 πορνεία porneia N NOM F SG sexual immorality to sexual immorality sexual immorality
G4202-01 1 Corinthians 5:1 πορνεία porneia-2 N NOM F SG immorality to sexual immorality sexual immorality
G4202-01 1 Corinthians 6:13 πορνείᾳ porneia N DAT F SG sexual immorality to sexual immorality sexual immorality
G4202-03 1 Corinthians 6:18 πορνείαν porneian N ACC F SG sexual immorality illicit sexual intercourse sexual immorality
G4202-04 1 Corinthians 7:2 πορνείας porneias N ACC F PL sexual immoralities of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-01 2 Corinthians 12:21 πορνείᾳ porneia N DAT F SG fornication to sexual immorality sexual immorality
G4202-01 Galatians 5:19 πορνεία porneia N NOM F SG fornication to sexual immorality sexual immorality
G4202-01 Ephesians 5:3 πορνεία porneia N NOM F SG sexual immorality to sexual immorality sexual immorality
G4202-03 Colossians 3:5 πορνείαν porneian N ACC F SG sexual immorality illicit sexual intercourse sexual immorality
G4202-04 1 Thessalonians 4:3 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG sexual immorality of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-04 Revelation 2:21 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG fornication of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-04 Revelation 9:21 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG fornication of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-04 Revelation 14:8 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG fornication of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-04 Revelation 17:2 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG fornication of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-04 Revelation 17:4 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG fornication of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-04 Revelation 18:3 πορνείας porneias N GEN F SG fornication of sexual immorality of sexual immorality
G4202-01 Revelation 19:2 πορνείᾳ porneia N DAT F SG immorality to sexual immorality to sexual immorality
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