ESTUDIO DE LA PALABRA GRIEGA
Pólis — Meaning and Biblical Usage
Pólis means a town or city and can refer to a place, its surrounding region, its inhabitants, or a special city such as Jerusalem.
Significado de la palabra
The basic sense of pólis is a town or city, properly understood as a walled settlement of greater or lesser size. It names an organized urban place rather than merely a geographical location.
Pólis can also denote the region belonging to a city, the people who inhabit it, or a person’s residence or native place. These uses explain why a city can appear as the subject of collective action in the biblical text.
Uso en las Escrituras
In Matthew 4:5, “the holy city” identifies Jerusalem. In Matthew 8:33–34, pólis refers to the city as a place, then collectively to its inhabitants, who came out to meet Jesus.
Matthew 9:35 contrasts the cities with the villages as Jesus teaches, proclaims the kingdom, and heals. Matthew 10:11, 14, 15, and 23 show pólis as a setting for ministry, judgment, rejection, and the disciples’ movement from one city to another.
La palabra en detalle
- G4172 G4172, pólis: a city or town, including its people collectively and, in special contexts, Jerusalem or the heavenly city. In Matthew 4:5, it is explicitly used for Jerusalem as the holy city.
Versículos de ejemplo
- Matthew 4:5 Pólis appears in the phrase “the holy city,” identifying Jerusalem as the place of the temptation account.
- Matthew 8:34 Here pólis refers collectively to the city’s inhabitants: all the city came out to meet Jesus.
- Matthew 9:35 Jesus goes about all the cities and villages, showing pólis as a primary setting for teaching, preaching, and healing.
- Matthew 10:23 A city can be a place of opposition, and the disciples are instructed to move to another city when persecution occurs there.
Preguntas frecuentes
What does the Greek word pólis mean?
It means a city or town, and it can also refer to its region, inhabitants, residence, or native place.
What does pólis mean in Matthew 4:5?
It refers to Jerusalem, described there as “the holy city.”
How is pólis used in Matthew 8:34?
It refers collectively to the people of the city, since “all the city” came out to meet Jesus.