Greek noun (feminine) · G4639
σκιά
skiaskee'-ah
shadow, shade, caused by interception of light; a shadow, the image or outline cast by an object
7 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: skiá
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G4639is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 6 of 27New Testament books
- 3spellings
- 2meanings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · G4639
"shade" or a shadow (literally or figuratively (darkness of error or an adumbration))
The King James renders it: shadow.
James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.
Summary
skia is rendered "shadow, shade, caused by interception of light; a shadow, the image or outline cast by an object". It stands 7 times in the Greek text, across six books.
- Two of the uses stand in Hebrews, more than in any other book.
- The lexicon lists two meanings for it, beginning with "shadow, shade, caused by interception of light".
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Matthew 4:16the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
- The Greek text spells it three different ways.
The first use
the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
Matthew 4:16σκιᾷ
The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.
Where the word stands
What the word means
The lexicons give this word two senses, and a verse uses one of them at a time: shadow, shade, caused by interception of light, and a shadow, the image or outline cast by an object.
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
| Meaning | Tagged as | Where |
|---|---|---|
| shadow, shade, caused by interception of lightMrk.4:32, Act.5:15; metaphorically, σ. θανάτου, of ignorance and error, Mat.4:16, Luk.1:79" (LXX) . | Tagged as
| WhereMatthew 4:16the people living in darkness have seen a great light… |
| a shadow, the image or outline cast by an objectfiguratively | Tagged as
| WhereColossians 2:17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ. |
The words built on the same word-part
Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.
All 7, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
3 spellings and their grammar
STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.
How it is spelled
- σκιᾷ3
- σκιὰ2
- σκιὰν2
The grammar of each form
- noun · dative (“to / for”) · feminine singular3N-DSF
- noun · accusative (object) · feminine singular2N-ASF
- noun · nominative (subject) · feminine singular2N-NSF
Matthew
one use
the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
- σκιᾷskianoun · dative (“to / for”) · feminine singulartagged: in a shadow
Mark
one use
But after it is planted, it grows to be the largest of all garden plants and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of the air nest in its shade.”
- σκιὰνskiannoun · accusative (object) · feminine singulartagged: shadow
Luke
one use
to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
- σκιᾷskianoun · dative (“to / for”) · feminine singulartagged: in shadow
Acts
one use
As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
- σκιὰskianoun · nominative (subject) · feminine singulartagged: shadow
Colossians
one use
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.
- σκιὰskianoun · nominative (subject) · feminine singulartagged: a shadow
Hebrews
two uses
The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
- σκιᾷskianoun · dative (“to / for”) · feminine singulartagged: shadow
For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
- Σκιὰνskiannoun · accusative (object) · feminine singulartagged: A shadow
Where it leads
On this page
Studies1
How the numbers are counted
Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.
Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.