Bible word study

Sarx (Strong’s G4561): Meaning in the Bible

Sarx (σάρξ) is the Greek word numbered G4561 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as flesh (as stripped of the skin), i.e. (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul (or spirit), or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred), or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties (physically or morally) and passions), or (specially), a human being (as such). In the King James Bible it is translated carnal(-ly, + -ly minded), flesh(-ly)..

• Original wordσάρξ
• Transliterationsárx
• Pronunciationsarx
• Strong’s numberG4561
• LanguageGreek

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. probably from the base of G4563;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Sarx appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Sarx (G4561) stands behind 153 English renderings in 130 verses across 22 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Romans (27), Galatians (18), John (13).

How the King James Bible renders Sarx, by count

• flesh141 of 153 (92 percent)
• the flesh6 of 153 (4 percent)
• carnal2 of 153 (1 percent)
• of2 of 153 (1 percent)
• carnally1 of 153 (1 percent)
• fleshly1 of 153 (1 percent)

Three places to read Sarx

• Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
• Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
• Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

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 Sarx 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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