Bible word study

Theos (Strong’s G2316): Meaning in the Bible

Theos (θεός) is the Greek word numbered G2316 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as a deity, especially (with G3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very. In the King James Bible it is translated X exceeding, God, god(-ly, -ward)..

• Original wordθεός
• Transliterationtheós
• Pronunciationtheh'-os
• Strong’s numberG2316
• LanguageGreek

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. of uncertain affinity;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Theos appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Theos (G2316) stands behind 1,359 English renderings in 1,171 verses across 27 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Acts (172), Romans (154), Luke (126).

How the King James Bible renders Theos, by count

• god1,190 of 1,359 (88 percent)
• of god95 of 1,359 (7 percent)
• gods20 of 1,359 (1 percent)
• the12 of 1,359 (1 percent)
• the god12 of 1,359 (1 percent)
• of6 of 1,359 (0 percent)

Three places to read Theos

• Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
• Acts 16:34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
• Philippians 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Theos in the original Greek lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

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