Bible word study

Kalos (Strong’s G2570): Meaning in the Bible

Kalos (καλός) is the Greek word numbered G2570 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as properly, beautiful, but chiefly (figuratively) good (literally or morally), i.e. valuable or virtuous (for appearance or use, and thus distinguished from G18, which is properly intrinsic). In the King James Bible it is translated X better, fair, good(-ly), honest, meet.

• Original wordκαλός
• Transliterationkalós
• Pronunciationkal-os'
• Strong’s numberG2570
• LanguageGreek

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. of uncertain affinity;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Kalos appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Kalos (G2570) stands behind 99 English renderings in 88 verses across 15 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Matthew (21), 1 Timothy (17), Mark (9).

How the King James Bible renders Kalos, by count

• good76 of 99 (77 percent)
• better5 of 99 (5 percent)
• the good4 of 99 (4 percent)
• honest3 of 99 (3 percent)
• a good2 of 99 (2 percent)
• goodly2 of 99 (2 percent)

Three places to read Kalos

• Matthew 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
• Luke 3:9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
• 1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

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 Kalos 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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