Bible word study

Phrear (Strong’s G5421): Meaning in the Bible

Phrear (φρέαρ) is the Greek word numbered G5421 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as a hole in the ground (dug for obtaining or holding water or other purposes), i.e. a cistern or well; figuratively, an abyss (as a prison). In the King James Bible it is translated well, pit..

• Original wordφρέαρ
• Transliterationphréar
• Pronunciationfreh'-ar
• Strong’s numberG5421
• LanguageGreek

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. of uncertain derivation;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Phrear appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Phrear (G5421) stands behind 7 English renderings in 5 verses across 3 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Revelation (4), John (2), Luke (1).

How the King James Bible renders Phrear, by count

• pit4 of 7 (57 percent)
• well2 of 7 (29 percent)
• a pit1 of 7 (14 percent)

Three places to read Phrear

• Luke 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
• John 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
• Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

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 Phrear 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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