Bible word study

Prosopon (Strong’s G4383): Meaning in the Bible

Prosopon (πρόσωπον) is the Greek word numbered G4383 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as the front (as being towards view), i.e. the countenance, aspect, appearance, surface; by implication, presence, person. In the King James Bible it is translated (outward) appearance, X before, countenance, face, fashion.

• Original wordπρόσωπον
• Transliterationprósōpon
• Pronunciationpros'-o-pon
• Strong’s numberG4383
• LanguageGreek

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. from G4314 and (the visage, from G3700);

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Prosopon appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Prosopon (G4383) stands behind 80 English renderings in 72 verses across 15 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Luke (16), 2 Corinthians (13), Acts (12).

How the King James Bible renders Prosopon, by count

• face47 of 80 (59 percent)
• presence7 of 80 (9 percent)
• faces6 of 80 (8 percent)
• person5 of 80 (6 percent)
• the face4 of 80 (5 percent)
• countenance3 of 80 (4 percent)

Three places to read Prosopon

• Matthew 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
• Luke 20:21 And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly:
• 2 Corinthians 10:1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:

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 Prosopon 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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