Quick Definition
ἐπουράνιος, ον Adj heavenly, celestial
Strong's Definition
above the sky
Derivation: from G1909 (ἐπί) and G3772 (οὐρανός);
KJV Usage: celestial, (in) heaven(-ly), high
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
adjc. | -ον | οὐρανός
1.8 · Geographical Objects and Features · Regions Above the Earth
in the sky, celestial (derivative of οὐρανός[a] ‘sky,’ 1.5) related to or located in the sky For ἐπουράνιος as part of an idiom, see 1.26.
1.12 · Geographical Objects and Features · Regions Above the Earth
heavenly, in heaven, pertaining to heaven (derivative of οὐρανός[b] heaven, 1.11) related to or located in heaven The derivatives οὐράνιος and ἐπουράνιος[b] are essentially equivalent to semantic compounds in that they combine a semantic element of heaven as a celestial abode with another semantic element specifying location or relationship. Frequently such terms are translated as ‘in heaven’ or ‘from heaven’ or ‘belonging to heaven.’
1CO 15:48 · 1CO 15:48 · 1CO 15:49 · EPH 1:3 · EPH 1:20 · EPH 2:6 · EPH 3:10 · EPH 6:12 · PHP 2:10 · 2TI 4:18 · HEB 3:1 · HEB 8:5 · HEB 9:23 · HEB 11:16 · HEB 12:22
12.17 · Supernatural Beings and Powers · Supernatural Beings
from God (derivative of οὐρανός[c] ‘God,’ 12.16) pertaining to being derived from God Though it is possible to interpret HEB 3:1 as a ‘calling which comes from heaven,’ it seems more appropriate in terms of the frequent references to ‘calling’ to recognize that the use of ἐπουράνιος in this context is simply a substitute for a direct reference to God. Accordingly, the passage may be effectively rendered as ‘those who have been called by God’ or ‘those whom God has called.’
1.26 · Geographical Objects and Features · Heavenly Bodies
Collocation: σῶμα ἐπουράνιον
heavenly body (an idiom, literally: heavenly body, occurring in the NT only in the plural) the luminous objects in the sky: sun, moon, and other planets and stars See also 1.8.
The phrase σῶμα ἐπουράνιον is a highly generic expression which in the plural is sometimes translatable as ‘lights in the sky,’ but more often than not it may be necessary to identify the various heavenly bodies as ‘sun, moon, and stars.’ In certain contexts one may also wish to identify the planets, often spoken of as ‘wandering stars’ or ‘moving stars’ (reflecting the etymology of the English word planet, which is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘wanderer’). These are, of course, not to be confused with shooting stars and comets in the sky.
1 EPH 6:12 It is possible that the adjectival derivative ἐπουράνιος in EPH 6:12 should be interpreted as a designation for the area of the sky in which wicked spiritual forces were, the supernatural aspects of these wicked forces and the challenge which such forces were regarded as posing for God and his hosts may justify relating such forces to the heavenly world rather than merely to the sky. 2 It is difficult to say whether the phrase σῶμα ἐπουράνιον should be treated as a fixed phrase with a shifted meaning for the head word σῶμα and thus a type of idiom, or whether it should be considered a semantically endocentric expression and thus not a so-called lexical unit. The treatment of σῶμα ἐπουράνιον as semantically endocentric can certainly be justified by the highly generic meaning of σῶμα as body, object, but one may also argue that the restriction in reference to the sun, moon, planets, and stars provides a basis for regarding it as semantically exocentric.
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
ἐπ-ουράνιος, -ον, (οὐρανός), prop. existing in or above heaven, heavenly ; 1. existing in heaven: 6 πατὴρ ἐπουpanos, i. e. God, Mt. xviii. 85 Ree. (θεοί, θεός, Hom. Od. 17,484; Ll. 6, 131, ete.; 3 Mace. vi. 28; vii. 6); οἱ ἐπουράνιοι the heavenly beings, the inhabitants of heaven, (Leian. dial. deor. 4, 3; of the gods, in Theoer. 25, 5): of angels, in epp. to ἐπίγειοι and καταχθόνιοι, Phil. ii. 10 ; Ignat. ad Trall. 9, [ef. Polye. ad Philipp. 2]; σώματα, the bodies of the stars (which the apostle, ace. to the universal ancient conception, seems to have regarded as animate [cf. Bp. Lghtft. on Col. p. 376; Gfrérer, Philo ete. 2te Aufl. p. 349 sq.; Siegfried, Philo von Alex. p. 306; yet cf. Mey. ed. Heinrici ad loc.], cf. Job xxxviii. 7; Enoch xviii. 14 sqq.) and of the angels, 1 Co. xv. 40; ἡ βασιλεία ἡ ἐπουρ. (on which see p. 97), 2 Tim. iv. 18; substantially the same as ἡ πατρὶς ἡ ἐπουρ. Heb. xi. 16 and Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐπουρ. xii. 22; κλῆσις, a calling made (by God) in heaven, Heb. iii. 1 [al. would include a ref. to its end as well as to its origin; cf. Liinem. ad loc. ], ef. Phil. iii. 14 [Bp. Lghtft. cites Philo, plant. Noé § 6]. The neut. τὰ ἐπουράνια denotes [οἵ. W. § 34, 2] a. the things that take place in heaven, i. e. the purposes of God to grant salvation to men through the death of Christ: Jn. iii. 12 (see ἐπίγειος). b. the heavenly regions, i. e. heaven itself, the abode of God and angels: Eph. i. 8, 20 (where Lehm. txt. οὐρανοῖς) ; ii. 6; iii. 10; the lower heavens, or the heaven of the clouds, Eph. vi. 12 [cf. B. D. Am. ed. s.v. Air]. c. the heavenly temple or sanctuary: Heb. viii. 5; ix. 23. 2. of heavenly origin and nature: 1 Co. xv. 48 sq. (opp. to χοϊκός) ; ἡ δωρεὰ ἡ ἐπουρ. Heb. vi. 4.
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
ἐπουράνιος epouranios 19x
heavenly, in respect of locality, Eph. 1:20; Phil. 2:10; τὰ ἐπουράνια, the upper regions of the air, Eph. 6:12; heavenly, in respect of essence and character, unearthly, 1 Cor. 15:48, 49; met. divine, spiritual, Jn. 3:12
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
ἐπουράνιος, -ον
(< οὐρανός), [in LXX: Ps 68:14 (שַׁדַּי), Da TH 4:23 A (שָׁמַיִם) II Mac 3:39, III Mac 6:28 7:6, IV Mac 4:11 AR, IV Mac 11:3 א* ;]
in or of heaven, heavenly (in Hom., of the Gods): οἱ ἐ., opp. to ἐπίγειοι and καταχθόνιοι, Phl 2:10; to χοϊκός, I Co 15:48, 49; σώματα (v. Lft., Col., 376), I Co 15:40; βασιλεία, II Ti 4:18; παπρίς, He 11:16; Ἱερουσαλήμ, He 12:22; κλῆσις (cf. Lft. on Phl 3:14), He 3:1; τὰ ἐ., He 8:5 9:23; opp. to ἐπίγειος, Jo 3:12; id., of the heavenly regions, Eph 1:3, 20 2:6 3:10 6:12; ἡ δωρεὰ ἡ ἐ., He 6:4 (Cremer, 468).†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
ἐπουράνιος. That this classical word (Ilomer, Plato) had survived in Hellenistic Greek outside the NT is shown by its occurrence in the Jewish text of the great Paris magical papyrus, P Par 5749 (ili/A.D.) (= Deissmann 24 Z, p. 252) καὶ σὺ λάλησον ὁποῖον ἐὰν ἧς ἐπεουράνιον ἢ ἀέριον εἴτε ἐπίγειον εἴτε ὑπόγειον ἢ καταχθόνιον --α passage which at once recalls the Pauline usage (Phil 2!°, Eph 2%, a/.), but is not a quotation from the Apostle. ‘‘The papyrus and St. Paul are both using familiar Jewish categories”’ (Deissmann wf s. p. 257 n.}). See also Kazbel 261°! (ii/A.D.)— κεῖται μὲν γαίῃ φθίμενον δέμας, ἡ δὲ δοθεῖσα ψυχή μοι ναίει δώματ᾽ ἐπουράνια.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
ἐπουράνιος (epouranios) — heavenly. ἐπουράνιος [ᾰ], ον, Epic dialect η, ον [Refs 4th c.BC+]:— heavenly, in [NT+8th c.BC+]; ἡ ἐ. πορεία falsa lectio in [Refs 5th c.BC+]
2. plural, as substantive, οἱ ἐ., ={θεοί}, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; opposed to ἐπίγειοι, [NT+2nd c.AD+]; τὰ ἐ., ={τὰ μετέωρα}, variant in [NT+5th c.BC+]
3. up to heaven, ἔπτατ᾽ ἐπουρανίη variant in [Refs 4th c.BC+]