σῶμα
sōma
body
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word σῶμα (sōma) is a fundamental concept in the New Testament, appearing 144 times in the Bible. At its core, σῶμα is defined as "body." This term encompasses a wide range of meanings, from the physical human body to the collective body of believers, and even to the physical world itself. In its various contexts, σῶμα is used to describe the human body as a vessel for the soul (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 5:23), a temple for the Holy Spirit (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:19), and a source of sin and weakness (e.g., Romans 7:18). It is also used metaphorically to refer to the church as the body of Christ (e.g., 1 Corinthians 12:27), emphasizing the interconnectedness and interdependence of its members. Furthermore, σῶμα can describe the physical world, as in the phrase "the body of the earth" (e.g., 2 Peter 3:10). The significance of σῶμα lies in its ability to convey the complex relationships between the physical and spiritual realms. By using this term to describe both the human body and the collective body of believers, the New Testament highlights the interconnectedness of all things and the importance of living in harmony with both the physical and spiritual worlds.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
144 total occurrences across the text — showing 50
If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
Matthew 5:30If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
Matthew 6:22“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.
Matthew 6:22“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.
Matthew 6:23But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Matthew 6:25Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Matthew 6:25Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Matthew 10:28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
Matthew 10:28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
Matthew 26:12For in pouring this ointment on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.
Matthew 27:58This man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given up.
Matthew 27:58This man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given up.
Matthew 27:59Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
Matthew 26:26As they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. He gave to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
Matthew 27:52The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
Mark 5:29Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Mark 14:8She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burying.
Mark 14:22As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had blessed, he broke it, and gave to them, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body.”
Mark 15:43Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for God’s Kingdom, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body.
Luke 11:34The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
Luke 11:34The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
Luke 11:34The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
Luke 11:36If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”
Luke 12:4“I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luke 12:22He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear.
Luke 12:23Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
Luke 17:37They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the vultures will also be gathered together.”
Luke 22:19He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.”
Luke 23:52this man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body.
Luke 23:55The women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid.
Luke 24:3They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body.
Luke 24:23and when they didn’t find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
John 2:21But he spoke of the temple of his body.
John 19:31Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn’t remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
John 19:38After these things, Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission. He came therefore and took away his body.
John 19:38After these things, Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission. He came therefore and took away his body.
John 19:40So they took Jesus’ body, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
John 20:12and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
Acts 9:40Peter sent them all out, and knelt down and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
Romans 1:24Therefore God also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves;
Romans 4:19Without being weakened in faith, he didn’t consider his own body, already having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
Romans 6:6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.
Romans 6:12Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
Romans 7:4Therefore, my brothers, you also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you would be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we might produce fruit to God.
Romans 7:24What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death?
Romans 8:10If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Romans 8:11But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:13For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Romans 8:23Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body.
Romans 12:1Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.