Bible word study

Phren (Strong’s G5424): Meaning in the Bible

Phren (φρήν) is the Greek word numbered G5424 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as the midrif (as a partition of the body), i.e. (figuratively and by implication, of sympathy) the feelings (or sensitive nature; by extension (also in the plural) the mind or cognitive faculties). In the King James Bible it is translated understanding..

φρήν
phrḗn · Greek
Strong’s G5424 · frane

The full Strong’s definition

the midrif (as a partition of the body), i.e. (figuratively and by implication, of sympathy) the feelings (or sensitive nature; by extension (also in the plural) the mind or cognitive faculties)

Derivation. probably from an obsolete (to rein in or curb; compare G5420);

How the King James Bible translates it

understanding.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Phren 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.

Related words

Phroneo (G5426)Phronimos (G5429)All Bible word studies

From the word to the Word

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