δάκτυλος
daktulos
finger
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word δάκτυλος (daktulos) is a term that translates to "finger." It appears eight times in the Bible, indicating its importance in various contexts. The term has a very specific focus on a particular body part, signifying the use of the finger in everyday life, such as pointing or counting. The word δάκτυλος suggests a high degree of physical precision and accuracy in its applications. In several instances, the finger is used as a measure of length or quantity, indicating its practical significance in ancient Greek culture. The frequency of its use and its precise definition point to the importance of the finger as a tool in everyday tasks, artistic expressions, and other activities. While more analysis would be needed to understand its full implications, the basic meaning and frequency of δάκτυλος in the Bible demonstrate the significance of the finger as a small but crucial part of the human hand in early Christian writing.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
8 total occurrences across the text
For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them.
Mark 7:33He took him aside from the multitude, privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue.
Luke 11:20But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you.
Luke 11:46He said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger to help carry those burdens.
Luke 16:24He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’
John 8:6They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger.
John 20:25The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
John 20:27Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.”