Quick Definition
a tribe, race
Strong's Definition
an offshoot, i.e. race or clan
Derivation: from G5453 (φύω) (compare G5444 (φύλλον));
KJV Usage: kindred, tribe
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
φυλή, φυλῆς, ἡ (from φύω), from Pindar and Herodotus down;
1. a tribe; in the N. T. all the persons descended from one of the twelve sons of the patriarch Jacob (the Sept. for ξΗθΕΜδ and ωΕΡαΖθ; also for ξΔωΐΡτΘΜηΘδ, see πατριά, 2): Heb_7:13 f; with the addition of the genitives Ασηρ, Βενιαμίν, etc., Luk_2:36; Act_13:21; Rom_11:1; Php_3:5; Rev_5:5; Rev_7:5-8; δώδεκα φυλάς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, Mat_19:28; Luk_22:30; Jas_1:1; Rev_21:12; (πᾶσα φυλή υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ, Rev_7:4).
2. a race, nation, people: Mat_24:30; Rev. (); ; (); .
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
φυλή phylē 31x
a tribe, Mat_19:28 ; Mat_24:30 ; Luk_2:36 ;
a people, nation, Rev_1:7 ; Rev_5:9 people; tribe.
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
φυλή , ῆς , ἡ ,
[in LXX chiefly for; H4294 , also for H7626 , H4940 , etc.;]
a body of men united by kinship or habitation, a clan or tribe: of the tribes of Israel, Mat_19:28 , Luk_2:36 ; Luk_22:30 , Act_13:21 , Rom_11:1 , Php_3:5 , Heb_7:13-14 , Jas_1:1 , Rev_5:5 ; Rev_7:4-8 ; Rev_21:12 ; of the tribes of the earth, the peoples and nations, Mat_24:30 , Rev_1:7 ; Rev_5:9 ; Rev_7:9 ; Rev_11:9 ; Rev_13:7 ; Rev_14:6 .†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
φυλή [page 678]
a tribe, especially one of the twelve tribes of Israel (Mat. 19:23 al. ), and extended by analogy to the tribes of the earth (Mat. 24:30 al. ). For the priestly tribes in Egypt, cf. P Tebt II. 299 .8 ( c. A.D.50), where a certain Psoiphis, τῶν ἀ [πὸ τῆς κώ ]μης πέμπτη [ς φυλῆς ] ἱε̣ρε̣ος ( l. ἱερέως ) τῶν ἐν̣ [τῇ κώμῃ ] θεῶν , priest of the fifth tribe of the gods at the village, asks that the birth of a son be registered, P Ryl II. 179 .5 (A.D. 127) Πακῦσις . . . ἱερεὺς πρώτης φυλῆς Σοκνοπαίου θεοῦ μεγάλου , and similarly .9. 27 . See further Otto Priester i. p. 23 ff.
In Claudius s address to the Alexandrines P Lond 1912 .41 (A.D. 41) a φυλὴ Κλαυδιανά , not known elsewhere, is mentioned : see the editor s note, where reference is made to Schubart Archiv v, p. 94 f. for the Alexandrian tribe-names of the Roman period. Cf. also Preisigke Fachwφrter s.v. φυλή .
Liddell-Scott — Intermediate Greek Lexicon
φυλή φυ_λή, ἡ, [Etym: φύω] like φῦλον, "a race or tribe" of men, κατὰ φυλάς Xen. "a body" of men "united by ties of blood and descent, a clan", such as those among the Dorians (φ. γενική), Pind. ; of the four old Attic Tribes, Hdt. , Eur. ; of the Jewish, NTest. "a tribe" connected "by local habitation", like our "hundred or county", such as the ten local tribes at Athens formed by Cleisthenes (φ. τοπική), Hdt. , etc.—The subdivisions of the φυλαὶ γενικαί were φρατρίαι, those of the φυλαὶ τοπικαί were δῆμοι. "the contingent" of soldiers "furnished by a tribe", Hdt. , Thuc. , etc.:—later, "a brigade" of cavalry, Xen. ; cf. φύλαρχος II.
STEPBible — Tyndale Abridged Greek Lexicon
φυλή, ῆς, ἡ
[in LXX chiefly for; מַטֶּה, also for שֵׁבֶט, מִשְׁפָּחָה, etc. ;]
a body of men united by kinship or habitation, a clan or tribe: of the tribes of Israel, Mat.19:28, Luk.2:36 22:30, Act.13:21, Rom.11:1, Php.3:5, Heb.7:13-14, Jas.1:1, Rev.5:5 7:4-8 21:12; of the tribes of the earth, the peoples and nations, Mat.24:30, Rev.1:7 5:9 7:9 11:9 13:7 14:6.†
(AS)