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G1504 εἰκών (eikṓn)

Greek 📖 Greek Word Study
Noun, Feminine
‹ G1503 Greek Dictionary G1505 ›

Quick Definition

εἰκών, όνος, ἡ n.f. an image, likeness, bust

Strong's Definition

a likeness, i.e. (literally) statue, profile, or (figuratively) representation, resemblance

Derivation: from G1503 (εἴκω);

KJV Usage: image

UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

noun, f. | -όνος | ἐπιείκεια · ἐπιεικής

6.96 · Artifacts · Images and Idols

likeness, image an object (not necessarily three-dimensional) which has been formed to resemble a person, god, animal, etc. In certain contexts the referents of εἰκών[a], τύπος[b], and χάραγμα[b] may have special religious significance in that they may refer to idols, but the focal component for the translator is that of a likeness or resemblance (see 58.35). In contexts such as MAT 22:20 an equivalent translation may be simply ‘a picture,’ but in ROM 1:23 and ACT 7:43 one may use the same expression as is employed to render εἴδωλον[a] ‘idol’ (6.97).

MAT 22:20 · LUK 20:24 · ROM 1:23 · REV 13:14 · REV 13:15 · REV 13:15 · REV 13:15 · REV 14:9 · REV 14:11 · REV 15:2 · REV 16:2 · REV 19:20 · REV 20:4

58.35 · Nature, Class, Example · Same or Equivalent Kind or Class

same form, likeness that which has the same form as something else Since the expressions τοῦ χοϊκοῦ and τοῦ ἐπουρανίου refer to individuals, it is much more satisfactory to translate 1CO 15:49 as ‘just as we have the likeness of the man made of earth, so we will have the likeness of the Man from heaven.’
In 1CO 15:49 εἰκών designates similarity in class or kind, while in ROM 1:23 εἰκών indicates a fashioned object (see 6.96).

MRK 12:16 · ROM 8:29 · 1CO 11:7 · 1CO 15:49 · 1CO 15:49 · 2CO 3:18 · 2CO 4:4 · COL 1:15 · COL 3:10

58.61 · Nature, Class, Example · Pattern, Model, Example, and Corresponding Representation

representation, pattern that which represents something else in terms of basic form and features

HEB 10:1

UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

εἰκών, -dvos, (acc. εἰκόναν, Rey. xiii. 14 Lehm.; see ἄρσην ), ἡ, (EIKQ, q. v.); [fr. Aeschyl. and Hdt. down]; Sept. mostly for Dox ; an image, figure, likeness; a. Mt. xxii. 20; Mk. xii. 16; Lk. xx. 24; Ro. i. 23; 1 Co. xv. 49; Rev. xiii. 14 sq.; xiv. 9,11; xv. 2; xvi. 2; xix. 20; xx. 4; ἡ εἰκὼν τῶν πραγμάτων, the image of the things (sc. the heavenly things), in Heb. x. 1, is opp. to ἡ σκιά, just as in Cie. de off. 3, 17 solida et expressa effigies is opp. to umbra; εἰκὼν τ. θεοῦ is used of the moral likeness of renewed men to God, Col. iii. 10; εἰκὼν τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ the image of the Son of God, into which true Christians are transformed, is likeness not only to the heavenly body (cf. 1 Co. xv. 49; Phil. iii. 21), but also to the most holy and blessed state of mind, which Christ possesses : Ro. viii. 29; 2Co.iii. 18. b. metonymically, εἰκών twos, the image of one; one in whom the likeness of any one is seen: εἰκὼν θεοῦ is applied to man, on account of his power of command (see δόξα, III. 3 a. a.), 1 Co. xi. 7; to Christ, on account of his divine nature and absolute moral excellence, Col. i. 15; 2 Co. iv. 4; [ef. Bp. Lghtft. and Mey. on Col. 1. c.].

Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary

εἰκών eikōn 23x

a material image, likeness, effigy, Mt. 22:20; Mk. 12:16; a representation, exact image, 1 Cor. 11:7; 15:49; Rev. 13:14f.; resemblance, Rom. 1:23; 8:29; Col. 3:10; Heb. 10:1

Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon

εἰκών, -όνος (cf. ἔοικα),

[in LXX chiefly for צֶלֶם ;]

an image, likeness: Mt 22:20, Mk 12:16, Lk 20:24, Ro 1:23, I Co 15:49, Re 13:14, 15 14:9, 11 15:2 16:2 19:20 20:4; opp. to σκιά, He 10:1; of man, εἰ. θεοῦ, I Co 11:7; of the regenerate, εἰ. τ. θεοῦ Col 3:10 (v. Lft., in l.); εἰ. τ. υἱοῦ τ. θεοῦ, Ro 8:29, II Co 3:18; of Christ, εἰ. τ. θεοῦ, II Co 4:4, Col 1:15.† SYN.: ὁμοίωμα, denoting resemblance, which may however be merely accidental. εἰ. is a derived likeness and like the head on a coin or the parental likeness in a child, implies an archetype. Cf. also εἶδος, appearance, not necessarily based on reality; σκιά, a shadowed resemblance; χαρακτήρ, the impress of a stamp; μόρφη (q.v.), the form as indicative of the inner being.

Trench — Synonyms of the New Testament

THERE is a twofold theological interest attending the distinction between εἰκών and the two words which are here brought into comparison with it; the first belonging to the Arian controversy, and turning on the fitness or unfitness of the words before us to set forth the relation of the Son to the Father ; while the other is an interest that, seeming at first sight remote from any controversy, has yet contrived to insinuate itself into more than one, namely, whether there be a distinction, and if so, what it is, between the ‘image’ (εἰκών) of God, 7m which, and the ‘ likeness’ (ὁμοίωσις) of God, after which, man was created at the beginning (Gen. i. 26). I need hardly remind those who will care to read this volume of the distinction drawn between the words during the course of the long Arian debate. Some there may be who are not acquainted with Lightfoot’s note on Col. i. 15 in his Commentary on the Colossians. ThemI must refer to his discussion on the words εἰκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ. It is evident that εἰκών (from εἴκω, ἔοικα) and ὁμοίωμα might often be used as equivalent, and in many positions it would be indifferent whether one or the other were employed. Thus they are convertibly used by Plato (Phedr. 250 2), ὁμοιώματα and εἰκόνες alike, to set forth the carthly copies and resemblances of the archetypal things in the heavens. When, however, the Church found it necessary to raise up bulwarks against Arian error and equivocation, it drew a strong distinction between these two, one not arbitrary, but having essential difference in the words themselves for its ground. Ἐἰκών (=‘ imago’ =‘imitago ᾿Ξεἀπεικόνισμα, and used in the same intention of the Logos by Philo, Leg. Alleg. iii. 31), always assumes a prototype, that which it not merely resembles, but from which it is drawn, a παράδειγμα (Philo, zbid.); it is the German ‘Abbild,’ which invariably presumes a ‘Vorbild;’ thus Gregory Nazianzene (Orat. 36) : αὕτη yap εἰκόνος φύσις, μίμημα εἶναι τοῦ ἀρχετύπουις Thus, the monarch’s head on the coin is εἰκών (Matt. xxii. 20) ; the reflection of the sun in the water 48 SYNONYMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT § xv is εἰκών (Plato, Phedo, 99 d); the statue in stone or other material is εἰκών (Rev. xiii. 14); and, coming nearer to the heart of the matter than by any of these illustrations we have done, the child is ἔμψυχος εἰκών of his parents. But in the ὁμοίωμα or ὁμοίωσις, while there is resemblance, it by no means follows that it has been acquired in this way, that it is derived: it may be accidental, as one egg is like another, as there may exist a resemblance between two men in no way akin to one another. Thus, as Augustine in an instructive passage brings out (Quest. lxxxiii. 74), the ‘imago’ (=eixwy) includes and involves the ‘ similitudo,’ but the ‘ similitudo ’ (=éo/wors) does not involve the ‘imago.’ The reason will at once be manifest why εἰκών is ascribed to the Son, as representing his relation to the Father (2 Cor. iv.4; Col. i. 15; ef. Wisd. vii. 26); while among all the words of the family of ὄμοιος, not merely none are so employed in the Scripture, but they have all been expressly forbidden and condemned by the Church ; that is, so soon as ever this has had reason to suspect that they were not used in good faith. Thus Hilary, addressing an Arian, says, “‘I may use them, to exclude Sabellian error; but I will not suffer you to do so, whose intention is altogether different ’’ (Con. Constant. Imp. 17-21). Εἰκών, in this its augustest application, like χαρακτήρ and ἀπαύγασμα (Heb. i. 8), with which theologically it is nearly allied, like ἔσοπτρον, ἀτμίς, ἀπόρροια (Wisd. vii. 25, 26), like σκιά (Philo, Leg. Alleg. iii. 31; but not Heb. x. 1), which are all remoter approximations to the same truth, is indeed inadequate; but, at the same time, it is true as far as it goes; and in human language, employed for the setting forth of truths which transcend the limits of human thought, we must be content with approximate statements, seeking for the complement of their inadequacy, for that which shall redress their insufficiency, from some other quarter. Hach has its weak side, which must be supported by strength derived from elsewhere. Eixdév is weak; for what image is of equal worth and dignity with the prototype from which it is imaged? But it has also its strong side; it implies an §xv SYNONYMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 49 archetype from which it has been derived and drawn ; while ὁμοιότης, ὁμοίωσις, and words of this family, expressing mere similarity, if they did not actually imply, might yet suggest, and if they suggested, would seem to justify, error, and that with no compensating advantage. Hixactly the same considerations were at work here, which, in respect of the verbs _ γεννᾶν and κτίζειν, did in this same controversy lead the Church to allow the former and to condemn the latter. The student who would completely acquaint himself with all the aspects of the great controversy to which these words, in their relation to one another, gave rise, above all, as to the exact force of εἰκών as applied to the Son, will find the materials admirably prepared to his hand by Petavius, De Trin. ii. 11; iv. 6; vi. 5,6; while Gfrérer (Philo, vol. i. p. 261 sqq.) will give him the very interesting, but wholly inadequate, speculations of the Alexandrian theosophists on the same subject. The second interest in the discrimination of these words lies in the question, which has often been discussed, whether in that great fiat announcing man’s original constitution, “Let us make man in our image (κατ᾽ εἰκόνα, 1X, Doy Heb.), after our likeness’? (καθ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν, LXX., niin Heb.), anything different was intended by the second from the first, or whether the second is merely to be regarded as consequent upon the first, ‘in our image,” and therefore “after our likeness” Both the εἰκών and ὁμοίωσις are claimed for man in the N. T.: the εἰκών, 1 Cor. xi. 7; the ὁμοίωσις, Jam. 111. 9. The whole subject is discussed at large by Gregory of Nyssa in a treatise which he has devoted exclusively to the question (Opp. 1638, vol ii. p. 22-34), but mainly in its bearing on controversies of his own day. He with many of the early Fathers, as also of the Schoolmen, affirmed a real distinction. Thus, the great Alexandrian theologians taught that the εἰκών was something im which men were created, being common to all, and continuing to man as much after the Fall as before (Gen. ix. 6), while the ὁμοίωσις was something toward which man was created, that he might strive after and 50 SYNONYMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT §xv attain it; Origen (De Prin. iii. 6) : ‘ Imaginis dignitatem in prima conditione percepit, similitudinis vero perfectio in consummatione servata est;’ cf. ὧν Joan. tom. xx. 20; Irenexus, v. 16. 2; Tertullian, De Bapt.5. Doubtless the Platonist studies and predilections of the illustrious theologians of Alexandria had some influence upon them here, and on this distinction which they drew. It is well known that Plato presented the ὁμοιοῦσθαι τῷ Θεῷ κατὰ τὸ δυνατόν (Theat. 176 a) as the highest scope of man’s life ; and indeed Clement (Strom. ii. 22) brings the great passage of Plato to bear upon this very discussion. The Schoolmen, in like manner, drew a distinction, although it was not this one, between ‘ these two divine stamps upon man.’ Thus Anselm, Medit. 1™*; Peter Lombard, Sent. ii. dist. 16; H. de 5. Victore, De Animd, ii. 25; De Sac. i. 6. 2: ‘Imago secundum cognitionem veritatis, similitudo secundum amorem virtutis ;’ the first declaring the intellectual, as the second the moral, preéminence in which man was created. Many, however, have refused to acknowledge these, or any other distinctions, between the two declarations; as Baxter, for instance, who, in his interesting reply to Elliott the Indian Missionary’s inquiries on the subject, rejects them all as groundless conceits, though himself in general only too anxious for distinction and division (Life and Times, by Sylvester, vol. ii. p. 296). They were scarcely justified in this rejection. The Alexandrians, I believe, were very near the truth, if they did not grasp it altogether. There are portions of Scripture, in respect of which the words of Jerome, originally applied to the Apocalypse, ‘ quot verba tot sacramenta,’ hardly contain an exaggeration. Such an eminently significant part is the history of man’s creation and his fall, all which in the first three chapters of Genesis is contained. We may expect to find mysteries there; prophetic intimations of truths which it might require ages upon ages to develop. And, without attempting to draw any very strict line between εἰκών and ὁμοίωσις, or their Hebrew counterparts, we may be bold to say that the whole history §xvl SYNONYMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 51 of man, not only in his original creation, but also in his after restoration and reconstitution in the Son, is significantly wrapped up in this double statement; which is double for this very cause, that the Divine Mind did not stop at the contemplation of his first creation, but looked on to him as ““ renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him” (Col. iii. 10, on which see Bishop Lightfoot in loco) ; because it knew that only as partaker of this double benefit would he attain the true end for which he was ordained. δ᾽ ΧΥΪ. ἀσωτία, ἀσέλγεια. Ir is little likely that one ἄσωτος will not be ἀσελγής 8180: but for all this ἀσωτία and ἀσέλγεια are not identical in meaning ; they will express different aspects of his sin, or at any rate contemplate it from different points of view. ᾿Ασωτία, a word in which heathen ethics said much more than they intended or knew, occurs thrice in the N. T. (Ephes. v.18; Tit. i.6; 1 Pet. iv. 4); once in the Septuagint (Prov. xxviii. 7) and once in the Apocrypha, being there joined with κῶμοι (2 Macc. vi. 4). We have further the adverb ἀσώτως, at Luke xv. 13; and ἄσωτος once in the Septuagint (Prov. vii. 11). At Ephes. v. 18 we translate it ‘excess;’ in the other two places, ‘riot,’ as ζῶν ἀσώτως, ‘in riotous living;’’ the Vulgate always by ‘luxuria’ and ‘luxuriose,’ words implying in medieval Latin a loose and profligate habit of living which is strange to our ‘luxury ’ and ‘luxuriously’ at the present; see my Select Glossary, 8. vv. in proof. ἴλσωτος is sometimes taken in a passive sense, aS = ἄσωστος (Plutarch, Alcib. 8); one who cannot be saved, σώζεσθαι μὴ δυνάμενος, aS Clement of Alexandria (Pedag. ii. 1.7) explains it, ‘ perditus’ (Horace, Sat. i. 2. 15), ‘heillos,’ or as we used to say, a ‘losel,’ a ‘hopelost’ (this noticeable word is in Grimeston’s Polybius) ; Grotius: ‘Genus hominum ita immersorum vitiis, ut eorum salus deplorata sit;’ the word being, so to speak, prophetic of E 2 52 SYNONYMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT §xv1 their doom to whom it was applied.!. This, however, was quite the rarer use ; more commonly the ἄσωτος is one who himself cannot save, or spare,=‘ prodigus ;’ or, again to use a good old English word more than once employed by Spenser, but which we have now let go, a ‘ scatterling.’” This extravagant squandering of means Aristotle notes as the proper definition of ἀσωτία (Ethic. Nic. iv. 1. 8): ἀσωτία ἐστὶν ὑπερβολὴ περὶ χρήματα. The word forms part of his ethical terminology ; the ἐλευθέριος, or the truly liberal man, keeps the golden mean between the two ἄκρα, namely, dowria (= ‘effusio’) on one side, and ἀνελευθερία, or ignoble stinginess (= ‘tenacitas,’ Augustine, Hp. 167. 2), on the other. It is in this view of ἀσωτία that Plato (Rep. viii. 560 6), when he names the various catachrestic terms, according to which men call their vices by the names of the virtues which they caricature, makes them style their dowria, μεγαλοπρέπεια : compare Quintilian (Inst. viii. 36): ‘Pro luxuria liberalitas dicitur.’ But it is easy to see that one who is dowros in this sense of spending too much, of laying out his expenditure on a more magnificent scheme than his means will warrant, slides easily, under the fatal influence of flatterers, and of all those temptations with which he has surrounded himself, into a spending on his own lusts and appetites of that with which he parts so freely, laying it out for the gratification of his own sensual desires. Thus the word takes a new colour, and indicates now not only one of a too expensive, but also, and chiefly, of a dissolute, debauched, profligate manner of living; the German ‘liederlich.’ Aristotle has noted this (Ethic. Nic. iv. 1. 85): διὸ καὶ ἀκόλαστοι αὐτῶν [τῶν ἀσώτων] 1 Thus in the Adelphi of Terence (vi. 7), one having spoken οὗ a youth ‘luxu perditum,’ proceeds : ‘ipsa si cupiat Salus, Servare prorsus non potest hance familiam.’ No doubt in the Greek original there was a threefold play here on ἄσωτος. σωτηρία and σώζειν, which the absence of a corresponding group of words in Latin has hindered Terence from preserving. §xvi SYNONYMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 53 εἰσιν οἱ πολλοί" εὐχερῶς γὰρ ἀναλίσκοντες καὶ εἰς τὰς ἀκολασίας δαπανηροί εἰσι, καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ πρὸς τὸ καλὸν ζῆν, πρὸς τὰς ἡδονὰς ἀποκλίνουσι. Here he explains a prior statement: τοὺς. ἀκρατεῖς καὶ εἰς ἀκολασίαν δαπανηροὺς ἀσώτους καλοῦμεν (tid. ὃ 8). In this sense ἀσωτία is used in the N. T.; as we find ἀσωτίαι and κραιπάλαι joined elsewhere together (Herodian, ii. 5). The two meanings will of course run often into one another, nor will it be possible to keep them strictly asunder. Thus the several examples of the ἄσωτος, and of ἀσωτία, which Athenzus (iv. 59-67) gives, are sometimes rather of one kind, sometimes of the other. The waster of his goods will be very often a waster of everything besides, will lay waste himself—his time, his faculties, his powers; and, we may add, uniting the active and passive meanings of the word, will be himself laid waste; he at once loses himself, and is lost. In the Tabula of Cebes, ᾿Ασωτία, one of the courtesans, the temptresses of Hercules, keeps company with ᾿Ακρασία, ᾿Απληστία and Κολακεία. The etymology of ἀσέλγεια is wrapped in obscurity ; some going so far to look for it as to Selge, a city of Pisidia, whose inhabitants were infamous for their vices; while others derive it from θέλγειν, probably the same word as the German ‘ schwelgen:’ see, however, Donaldson, Cratylus, 8rd edit. p. 692. Of more frequent use than ἀσωτία in the N. T., it is in our Version generally rendered ‘lasciviousness’ (Mark vii. 22; 2 Cor. xii, 21; Gal. v. 19; Ephes. iv. 19: 1 Pet. iv. 3; Jude 4); though sometimes ‘ wantonness’ (Rom. xiii. 13; 2 Pet. 11. 18) ; as in the Vulgate now ‘impudicitia,’ and now ‘luxuria;’ even as it is defined in the Htymologicon Magnum as ἑτοιμότης πρὸς πᾶσαν ἡδονήν. If our Translators or the Latin had impurities and lusts of the flesh exclusively in their eye, they have certainly given to the word too narrow a meaning. ᾿Ασέλγεια, which, it will be observed, is not grouped with such in the catalogue of sins at Mark vii. 21, 22, is best described as wanton lawless insolence ; being somewhat stronger than the Latin ‘ protervitas,’ though of the same quality, more nearly ‘ petulantia,’ Chrysostom 54 SYNONYMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT §xvi (Hom. 87 in Matt.) joining ἰταμότης with it. It is defined by Basil the Great (Reg. Brev. Int. 67) as διάθεσις ψυχῆς μὴ - ἔχουσα ἢ μὴ φέρουσα ἄλγος ἀθλητικόν. The ἀσελγής, as Passow observes, is very closely allied to the ὑβριστικός and ἀκόλαστος, being one who acknowledges no restraints, who dares whatsoever his caprice and wanton petulance may suggest. None would deny that ἀσέλγεια may display itself in acts of what we call ‘lasciviousness;’ for there are no worse displays of ὕβρις than in these; but still it is their petulance, their insolence, which this word, linked by Polybius (v. 111) with Bia, expresses. Of its two renderings in our Version, ‘ wantonness’ is the best, standing as it does in a remarkable ethical connexion with ἀσέλγεια, and having the same duplicity of meaning. In numerous passages the notion of lasciviousness is altogether absent from the word. In classical Greek it is defined (Bekker’s Anecdota, p. 451) 7 per’ ἐπηρεασμοῦ καὶ θρασύτητος Bia. Thus, too, Demosthenes in his rst Philippic, 42, denounces the ἀσέλγεια of Philip; while elsewhere he characterizes the blow which Meidias had given him, as in keeping with the known ἀσέλγεια of the man, joining this and ὕβρις together (Cont. Meid. 514); linking elsewhere ἀσελγῶς with δεσποτικῶς (Or. xvii. 21), and with προπετῶς (Or. lix. 46). As ἀσέλγεια Plutarch characterizes a similar outrage on the part of Alcibiades, committed against an honorable citizen of Athens (Alcib. 8) ; indeed, the whole picture which he draws of Alcibiades is the full-length portrait of an ἀσελγής. Aristotle notices δημαγωγῶν ἀσέλγειαν as a frequent cause of revolutions (Pol. v. 4). Josephus ascribes ἀσέλγεια and μανία to Jezebel, daring, as she did, to build a temple of Baal in the Holy City itself (Antt. viii. 13. 1); and the same to a Roman soldier, who, being on 1 Thus Witsius (Melet. Leid. p. 465) observes: " ἀσέλγειαν dici posse omnem tam ingenii, quam morum proterviam, petulantiam, lasciviam, que ab Aischine opponitur τῇ μετριότητι καὶ σώὠφροσύνῃ.᾽ There is a capital note, but too long to quote, on.all that ἀσέλγεια includes by Cocceius on Gal. v. 19. § XVII “SYNONYMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 55 guard at the Temple during the Passover, provoked by an act of grossest indecency a tumult, in which many lives were lost (xx. 5. 3). Other passages, helpful to a fixing of the true meaning of the word, are 3 Macc. ii. 26; Polybius, viii. 14. 1; Eusebius, Hist. Hecl. vi. 1. 26; and see the quotations in Wetstein, vol. i. p. 588. ᾿Ασέλγεια, then, and ἀσωτία are clearly distinguishable ; the fundamental notion of ἀσωτία being wastefulness and riotous excess; of ἀσέλγεια, lawless insolence and wanton caprice.

Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT

εἰκών is the term used for the αἰδυςγῤίϊογε of individuals in official documents, e.g. BGU IV. 10597 (bill of sale of a female slave—i/B.C.) ἧς τὰ ἔτη καὶ ai εἰκόνις ὑπόκεινται: cf. P Tebt I 327! (B.c. 145 ?) ὑποτετάχ[α]μεν δὲ Kall] τὴν εἰκόνα αὐ[τοῦ] καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ τὸ ὄνομα, “we have, further, appended the description of him andthe name of his son,” P Strass I. 79!” (B.C. 16) ἐν @ at εἰκόνες αὐτῆς δηλοῦνίται. For a similar use of εἰκονισμός see P Ἀν] IT. 15634 (i/A.pD.) where the heading εἰκίονισμοί) is followed by the names and descriptions of various individuals. If Wilcken’s restoration can be accepted we have an interesting instance of the diminutive εἰκόνιον in BGU II. 423?" (ii)A.p.) (= Chrest. I. p. 566, Selections, Ρ- 92), where a soldier-son writing home to his father from Italy adds— ἔπεμψά σοι εἰἸκόνιν μ[ου] διὰ Hixrhpovos, “1 send you a little portrait of myself at the hands of Euctemon.” A further diminutive εἰκονίδιον occurs several times in a Return of Temple Property, P Oxy XII. 1449 (A.D. 213-17). With the Pauline phrase of the believer's being renewed kat εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτόν (Col 31°) and the descriptions of Christ as εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ (e.g. 2 Cor 44) we may compare OGZS 908 (the Rosetta stone—B.C. 196) εἰκόνος ζώσης tov Διός, with reference to Ptolemy Epiphanes. Later in the same inscr.°® we hear of a statue (εἰκόνα) of Ptolemy being erected ἐν ἑκάστωι ἱερῶι ἐν τῶι emipalverratar τόπωι, and for this common usage cf. further 76. 332 (B.C. 138-2), 383°? (mid. i/B.c.) In Sy// 888° (ii/A.pD.) τὰς τούτων τῶν ἀγαλμάτων εἰκόνας is explained by Dittenberger on the assumption that the ἀγάλματα comprise the sculptor’s whole work, of which the actual dust is a part. Thieme (p. 26 f.) has well pointed out how the ancient practice of erecting εἰκόνες of their gods would give a concrete force to such Bibl. passages as are cited above, and instances as of special interest Magn ict (2nd half of ii/B.c.), where not only do three ambassadors receive each his εἰκών at the hands of the grateful Larbeni, but it is also decided to erect εἰκόνα χαλκῆν in honour of the ‘‘Magnesian people” (τὸν δῆμον τὸν Μαγνήτων) themselves. In P Fay 36% (A.p. 111-2) the verb is used = ‘‘draw up,” ‘‘ write” --Κάστωρ vopoypados εἰκόνικα φαμένου μὴ εἰδέναι γράμματα, “1, Castor, scribe of the nome, have drawn up this deed, since (Sanesneus) stated that he could not write ”: cf. P Meyer 4” (A.p. 161) with the editor’s note, and Preisigke Fachworter, p. 66. See the intr. to P Oxy I. 34 on the εἰκονισταί. In P Ryl II. 161! (A.D. 71) pexpl τοῦ ἐσομένου ἑτεροῦ ἰκονισμοῦ ἀπογραφῆς, the reference is to the next census.

Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon

εἰκών (eikōn) — image. εἰκών, ἡ, genitive όνος, accusative όνα, etc.: poetry and Ionic dialect nominative εἰκώ is implied (though not found) in genitive εἰκοῦς [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—likeness, image, whether picture or statue, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of needlework, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; bust, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; εἰ. βασιλικαί, = Latin imagines imperatorum, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. image in a mirror, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. personal description, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]

4. metaphorically, living image, representation, εἰ. ζῶσα τοῦ Διός [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; τοῦ θεοῦ [NT]

II. semblance, phantom, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; imaginary form, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; image in the mind, εἰκοὺς πατρός [Refs 5th c.BC+]; εἰκόνας σῆς ἀρετῆς thy virtue's counterparts, of children, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III. similitude, comparison, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

IV. pattern, archetype, ποτὶ τὰν εἰκόνα [κόσμος] ἀπειργασμένος [Refs 5th c.BC+]

STEPBible — Tyndale Abridged Greek Lexicon

εἰκών, -όνος (cf. ἔοικα), [in LXX chiefly for צֶלֶם ;] an image, likeness: Mat.22:20, Mrk.12:16, Luk.20:24, Rom.1:23, 1Co.15:49, Rev.13:14, 15 14:9, 11 15:2 16:2 19:20 20:4; opposite to σκιά, Heb.10:1; of man, εἰ. θεοῦ, 1 Co 11:7; of the regenerate, εἰ. τ. θεοῦ Col.3:10 (see Lft., in l.); εἰ. τ. υἱοῦ τ. θεοῦ, Rom.8:29, 2Co.3:18; of Christ, εἰ. τ. θεοῦ, 2Co.4:4, Col.1:15.† SYN.: ὁμοίωμα, denoting resemblance, which may however be merely accidental. εἰ. is a derived likeness and like the head on a coin or the parental likeness in a child, implies an archetype. Cf. also εἶδος, appearance, not necessarily based on reality; σκιά, a shadowed resemblance; χαρακτήρ, the impress of a stamp; μόρφη (which see), the form as indicative of the inner being. (AS)

Bible Occurrences (20)

📖 Greek Word Study — In-Depth Study from Precept Austin

Image (1504) eikon

Image (1504) (eikon) an artistic representation, as one might see on a coin or statue (an image or a likeness, as in Mt 22.20). Eikon can also refer to a visible manifestation of an invisible and heavenly reality form (see Hebrews 10:1-note) As used here in Colossians eikon speaks of an embodiment or living manifestation of God. Eikon is used 23 times in the NAS (Matt. 22:20; Mk. 12:16; Lk. 20:24; Rom. 1:23; 8:29; 1 Co. 11:7; 15:49; 2 Co. 3:18; 4:4; Col. 1:15; 3:10; Heb. 10:1; Rev. 13:14f; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4) and in the NAS is translated as - form, 1; image, 19; likeness, 3. The KJV translates every use with "image." Eikon is used 29 times in the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT, the Septuagint (LXX) (Gen. 1:26f; 5:1, 3; 9:6; Deut. 4:16; 2 Ki. 11:18; 2 Chr. 33:7; Ps. 39:6; 73:20; Isa. 40:19f; Ezek. 7:20; 16:17; 23:14; Dan. 2:31f, 34f; 3:1ff, 5, 7, 10ff, 14f, 18; Hos. 13:2), the first use being in Genesis where "God said "Let Us make man in Our image (LXX = eikon)...." (Genesis 1:26) The story is told of the slave who saluted General George Washington and to whom Washington returned the salute. When ask about this seemingly unusual behavior, Washington answered that the slave bore the image of God, and thus was worthy of respect. Paul in fact confirmed that man "is the image (eikon) and glory of God" (1Cor 11:7). Paul went on to add that "just as we have borne the image (eikon) of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." (1Cor 15:49) Paul emphasized that Jesus is the image of the invisible God explaining in the case of unbelievers who are perishing "the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image (eikon) of God." (2Cor 4:4-note) Believers are now being progressively transformed from a likeness to Adam into a likeness of Christ. Man was created in the image of God but the fall of man defaced this image and yet did not totally erase it. When one becomes a new creation in Christ a transformation begins taking place. Gradually the Holy Spirit transforms believers into the image of Christ, Who as Paul says here in Colossians 1:15 is Himself the image of the invisible God. And so we read that... we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being (present tense = speaks of a continual process of being) transformed (metamorphoo- word study) (~present tense salvation, sanctification, growth in holiness, being conformed to the image of Jesus) into the same image (eikon) from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2Cor 3:18-note) Paul is saying that Jesus is the very stamp of God the Father as He was before the Incarnation Jn 17:5 and is now. Eikon is the basis for such English terms as icon ( a conventional religious image typically painted or engraved on a small wooden panel and venerated in Eastern Orthodox Churches), "iconography" (the illustration of a subject by drawing), or "iconoclast" (the medieval zealots who broke up religious statues and then anyone who attacks cherished beliefs or practices). Wayne Detzler explains that... God created us in His image, and we are to be a living testimony to our Creator. Only one image is ordained by God to represent Him. This is the crown of His Creation, human beings. To form any other image as a representation of God is a violation of the Ten Commandments. Furthermore, it is sheer blasphemy. This was the sin which Paul condemned so strongly in the prologue to his Roman Epistle (see note Romans 1:23)." (Detzler, Wayne A: New Testament Words in Today's Language) In early Greek the eikon was an engraving of the Emperor's head on a coin but soon was also attached to a statue or a metal image. Likewise eikon was the copy of a picture or the embodiment of a certain virtue. This idea is seen in English phrases such as, "She is the `image' of loveliness." The Jews rejected all images of God. The Ten Commandments forbade any casting of images, which was the sin into which Aaron fell at the foot of Sinai. In fact, the only image of God which is depicted in Scripture is man (Genesis 1:26). In this connection the New Testament uses the word eikon. Eikon expresses two ideas. First, likeness, as in the image on a coin or the reflection in a mirror. Second, manifestation, with the sense that God is fully revealed in Jesus. Eikon does not denote mere likeness or resemblance. Eikon conveys the meaning that Christ is whatever God is--spiritual, omnipotent, omniscient, holy--all the attributes of the eternal God. The idea that Paul is conveying with eikon is that the glorified Son sets forth, to those who behold Him, the nature and grandeur of the Eternal Father. The image includes the glorified manhood in which the Eternal Son presents in created and visible form the mental and moral nature of God. Men knew the Father because they had seen the Incarnate Son (Jn 14:9) The heretics falsely viewed Jesus as one among a series of lesser spirits descending in sequential inferiority from God. In this verse Paul refutes that with two powerful descriptions of who Jesus really is - the image or essence of God and the firstborn (see discussion below) or the one pre-eminent over all creation. Paul says that Jesus Christ is not a created being but that Christ is the essence of God made visible in the flesh. Christ is essentially and absolutely the perfect expression and representation of God the Father. In the New Testament eikon is used literally by Jesus when asked about paying taxes. In answering He said "Bring Me a denarius to look at." And they brought one. And He said to them, "Whose likeness (eikon) and inscription is this?" And they said to Him, "Caesar's." (Mark 12:15) Eikon is used in Revelation in multiple references to the Antichrist or beast who will demand worship from non-believing earth dwellers during Daniel's Seventieth Week, the seven year period preceding the return of Christ to defeat the Antichrist and set up His 1000 year millennial kingdom on earth. An image (eikon) of the beast will be erected as the object of idolatrous worship (see note Revelation 13:14). Participation in the society of the day will be limited to those who worship the image of the beast (see note Revelation 14:9; 11). God will summarily condemn those who have bowed before the beast's image (see notes Revelation 16:2, 19:20). On the other hand, God's eternal glory will be reserved for those who do not fall down before the beast's image (see note Revelation 20:4). Thayer has this note on synonyms "Homoioma denotes often not mere similarity but likeness, visible conformity to its object (Ed note: It is important to realize that the resemblance signified by homoioma in no way implies that one of the objects in question has been derived from the other. In the same way two men may resemble one another even though they are in no way related to one another.). Eikon adds to the idea of likeness the suggestions of representation (as a derived likeness) and manifestation." Trench, defining eikon says The monarch’s head on the coin is eikon (Mt 22:20), the reflection of the sun in the water is eikon (Plato), the statue in stone or other material is eikon (Re 13:14-note): and ...the child is the eikon of his parents. (Trench, R. C. Synonyms of the New Testament. Hendrickson Publishers. 2000) Lightfoot adds that The eikon might be the result of direct imitation like the head of a sovereign on a coin, or it might be due to natural causes like the parental features in the child, but in any case, it was derived from its prototype. Eikon suggests what is in itself substantial and also gives a true representation of that which it images. The eikon (image) brings before us under the conditions of space, as we can understand it, that which is spiritual’ Wuest sums up with the explanation that "The Lord Jesus is therefore the image of God in the sense that as the Son to the Father He is derived by eternal generation in a birth that never took place because it always was. Our Lord said, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). That is, the Son is the exact reproduction of the Father, a derived image. The other idea involved in the word “representation” is that of manifestation, the manifestation of the hidden. The Logos is the revelation of the Unseen Father, whether pre-incarnate or incarnate. Lightfoot says that the idea of the invisible God “must not be confined to the apprehension of the bodily senses, but will include the cognizance of the inward eye also.” (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans) In Greek thought an image shares in reality what it represents. Christ is the perfect likeness of God. The word contains the idea of representation and manifestation and points to His revealing the Father and His pre-existence The writer of Hebrews in a parallel passage describes Jesus as "the radiance of His (the Father's) glory and the exact representation of His (the Father's) nature..." (Heb 1:3-note) John adds that "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He (Jesus) has explained (exegeomai = provide detailed information in a systematic manner = English word exegesis = unfolding interpretation thru teaching) Him." (Jn 1:18) Paul explained that Satan's program was to blind "the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image (eikon) of God." (2Cor 4:4-note) In Philippians Paul reminds us that Jesus "existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped." (Phil 2:6-note) Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) used the image of God as an inspiration to evangelism in her hymn "Rescue the Perishing" Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter, Feelings lie buried that grace can restore; Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness Chords that are broken will vibrate once more. Rescue the perishing, care for the dying; Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save. OF THE INVISIBLE GOD: tou theou tou aoratou: (1Ti 1:17, 6:16 Heb 11:27) "He in His own person shows us what the invisible God is like" (Translator's NT) Invisible (aoratos from a = without + horao = see) means not capable of being seen. God not being able to be seen was a central point of Jewish theology. Jesus Christ has enabled finite man to see what the infinite God is like. God is Spirit and is therefore invisible. But in the Person of Christ, God made Himself visible to mortal eyes. In that sense the Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God . Whoever has seen Him has seen the Father (Jn 14:9). Image (eikon) also conveys another thought, specifically the idea of “representative.” God had originally placed Adam on the earth to represent His interests, but Adam failed. Therefore, God sent His only begotten Son into the world as His Representative to care for His interests and to reveal His heart of love to man. In that sense, He is the image of God. Christ’s “image” is so genuine that it provides man with a perfect manifestation and exact representation of God. In the person of Jesus Christ incarnate, we see a revelation of the invisible God. F. F. Bruce adds that it is because man bears the image of his Creator that it was possible for the Son of God to become incarnate as man and in his humanity to display the glory of the invisible God O God, Unseen Yet Ever Near O God, unseen yet ever near, Thy presence may we feel; And thus inspired with holy fear, Before Thine altar kneel. Here may Thy faithful people know The blessings of Thy love, The streams that through the desert flow, The manna from above. We come, obedient to Thy Word, To feast on heav’nly food; Our meat the body of the Lord, Our drink His precious blood. Thus may we all Thy Word obey, For we, O God, are Thine; And go rejoicing on our way, Renewed with strength divine. THE FIRST-BORN OF ALL CREATION: prototokos pases ktiseos: "He is the Firstborn, the absolute Heir of the Father, begotten before the ages; the Lord of the universe by virtue of primogeniture, and by virtue also of creative agency" (Lightfoot) Translated literally like the NASB does, it implies that Christ is included in the created universe, which is inconsistent with the context of the whole passage. The NIV translation paraphrases "of all creation" as "over all creation" which conveys more clearly the idea that Jesus is not created but is the Creator. Recognize that this verse is where many of cults come to hang out like vultures seeking unwary prey not equipped with the truth and the sword of the Word. First they read you this verse in Colossians and then take you to Luke 2:7 where the same Greek word is used to describe how Mary "gave birth to her first-born (prototokos) Son and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." The cultist, be they Jehovah's Witnesses or other genre of false teachers, then conclude that "firstborn" clearly implies that Jesus is the first of several children born to Mary as Scripture reveals there were other children born to her, and thus Jesus is in that sense the first created being. One can see how there is some logic (albeit flawed as discussed below) to their argument.

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