Bible word study

Telos (Strong’s G5056): Meaning in the Bible

Telos (τέλος) is the Greek word numbered G5056 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as properly, the point aimed at as a limit, i.e. (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination (literally, figuratively or indefinitely), result (immediate, ultimate or prophetic), purpose); specially, an impost or levy (as paid). In the King James Bible it is translated + continual, custom, end(-ing), finally, uttermost..

• Original wordτέλος
• Transliterationtélos
• Pronunciationtel'-os
• Strong’s numberG5056
• LanguageGreek

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. from a primary (to set out for a definite point or goal);

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Telos appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Telos (G5056) stands behind 42 English renderings in 41 verses across 14 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Matthew (6), Romans (5), Hebrews (5).

How the King James Bible renders Telos, by count

• end23 of 42 (55 percent)
• the end9 of 42 (21 percent)
• custom3 of 42 (7 percent)
• an end2 of 42 (5 percent)
• continual1 of 42 (2 percent)
• ends1 of 42 (2 percent)

Three places to read Telos

• Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
• John 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
• Hebrews 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

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 Telos 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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