Quick Definition
πηλός, οῦ, ὁ n.m. clay, mud
Strong's Definition
clay
Derivation: perhaps a primary word;
KJV Usage: clay
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
noun, m. | -οῦ
2.18 · Natural Substances · Earth, Mud, Sand, Rock
mud, clay moistened earth of a clay consistency πηλός contrasts with βόρβορος ‘watery mud’ (2.17) and refers to moist earth with a consistency of clay. It may be translated in some languages as ‘sticky soil’ or ‘clay-like mud’ or ‘moist dirt.’
In ROM 9:21 (ἢ οὐκ ἔχει ἐξουσίαν ὁ κεραμεὺς τοῦ πηλοῦ ‘or doesn’t the man who makes the pots have the right to use the clay as he wishes’) the reference is specifically to potter’s clay. The meaning of πηλός, therefore, may be defined as any kind of moist earth with clay consistency. πηλός includes the area of meaning of κέραμος ‘potter’s clay’ (a meaning not occurring in the NT).
Since pottery is so widely known throughout the world, there is normally no difficulty in obtaining a term which refers to potter’s clay. Even when the making of pottery is not known, it is usually possible to obtain a satisfactory term for such clay, for example, ‘mud that can be molded’ or ‘mud for shaping pots.’
JHN 9:6 · JHN 9:6 · JHN 9:11 · JHN 9:14 · JHN 9:15 · ROM 9:21
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
πηλός, -ov, ὁ, fr. Aeschyl. and Hdt. down; a. clay, which the potter uses (Is. xxix. 16; xli. 25; Nah. iii. 14): Ro. ix. 21. Ὁ. i. q. mud [wet ‘clay’]: Jn. ix. 6, 11, 14 sq.
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
πηλός pēlos 6x
moist earth, mud, slime, Jn. 9:6, 11, 14, 15; clay, potter’s clay, Rom. 9:21*
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
πηλός, οῦ, ὁ,
[in LXX chiefly for חֹמֶר, טִיט;]
clay, as used by a potter: Ro 9:21 (cf. Is 29:16, al.).
= βόρβορος, wet clay, mud: Jo 9:6, 11, 14, 15.†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
πηλός, “mud,” ““οἷαγ"": cf. P Oxy XII. 1450* (A.D. 249-250) τῶν ὀστράκων διὰ πηλοῦ, and the magic P Lond 121°°7 (iii/A.D.) (= L. p. 112) λαβὼν πηλὸν ἀπὸ τρόχου [κε]ραμικοῦ pitov μίγματος τοῦ θεοῦ. . . From the inscrr. see the law of astynomy carved at Pergamum in the time of Trajan, OGTS 433° ἐάν τινες ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς χοῦν ὀρύσσωσιν ἢ λίθους ἢ πηλὸν ποιῶσιν, also Karbe/ 646" ἔ- (|{1ν A.D.), ἃ sepulchral inscr. deprecating the giving of honours after death— {avri μοι, εἴ τι ἔχεις, μεταδός, τέφραν δὲ μεθύσκων πηλὸν ποιήσεις καὶ οὐκ ὁ θανὼν πίεται, and cf. Herodas II. 28 ff.— ὃν χρῆν ἑαυτὸν ὅστις ἐστὶ κἀκ ποίου πηλοῦ πεφύρητ᾽ εἰδότ᾽ ὡς ἐγὼ ζώειν τῶν δημοτέων φρίσσοντα καὶ τὸν ἥκιστον, “who ought to know who he is, and of what clay he is mixed, and to live as I do, in awe of even the least of the burghers ’’ (Knox). A subst. πηλοποιία is found in P Petr IT. 12(4) (B.C. 241), and an adj. πήλινος in 7d. III. 48° (iii/B.c.) τῶ]ν πηλίνων πήρα 51 ἔργων καὶ τῶν πλινθίνων : cf. Luckhard Przvathaus p. 26 ff. See also CA xxxill. p. 2, where W. M. Ramsay publishes a iv/A.D. inscr., in which the head of a noble Anatolian family is described as τὸν [πήλ]ινοίν x ]itava ἐνταυθοῖ περιδυσάμενον, ‘putting off the mantle of clay (to consign it) to this place.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
πηλός (pēlos) — clay. πηλός (Doric dialect πᾱλός [Refs 5th c.BC+]:— clay, earth, used by masons and potters, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. ἠχυρωμένος clay mixed with chaff for use as mortar, [LXX]; εὐώδεϊ πηλῷ, of earth on which wine has been poured, [Refs 3rd c.AD+]; Βρομιώδεα π. φύρησαν.. Χάριτες, of a drinkingcup, [Refs 1st c.AD+]: metaphorically, clay from which man was made: hence ὁ π. ὁ Προμηθεῖος, of man, [Refs 5th c.BC+]
2. mud, mire, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κάσις πηλοῦ ξύνουρος, i. e. dust, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]
II. poetical, thick or muddy wine, lees, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of wine spilt on the floor, [Refs 1st c.AD+]; compare Πηλεύς near the end
III. metaphorically, dolt, blockhead, Comedy texts Adesp.[Refs]