2966. kólon
Lexical Summary
kólon: Limb, member, part

Original Word: κῶλον
Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: kólon
Pronunciation: KO-lon
Phonetic Spelling: (ko'-lon)
KJV: carcase
NASB: bodies
Word Origin: [from the base of G2849 (κολάζω - punish)]

1. a limb of the body (as if lopped)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
a dead body, corpse

From the base of kolazo; a limb of the body (as if lopped) -- carcase.

see GREEK kolazo

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. word
Definition
a limb (of the body)
NASB Translation
bodies (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2966: κῶλον

κῶλον, κωλου, τό; in Greek writings from Aeschylus down a member of the body, particularly the more external and prominent members, especially the feet; in the Sept. (Leviticus 26:30; Numbers 14:29, 32; 1 Samuel 17:46; Isaiah 66:24) for פֶּגֶר and פְּגָרִים, a dead body, carcase, inasmuch as the members of a corpse are loose and fall apart: so the plural in Hebrews 3:17 from Numbers 14:29, 32 (A. V. carcases).

Topical Lexicon
𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲

The noun appears once in the Greek New Testament (Hebrews 3:17) in the plural form κῶλα, rendered “bodies” by the Berean Standard Bible. In classical usage it could denote individual limbs, but the inspired writer employs it as a vivid collective term for corpses, emphasizing the physical outcome of Israel’s unbelief.

𝗢𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

Hebrews 3:17 quotes the wilderness judgment: “And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?”. The choice of κῶλα underscores the tangible reality of divine judgment—their actual remains littered the desert, a stark historical witness to God’s holiness.

𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽: 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝟭𝟰

The author alludes to Numbers 14:29-35. After Israel’s rejection of the land, the Lord swore, “Your bodies will fall in this wilderness” (Numbers 14:29). The Septuagint there uses πτώματα (“corpses”), yet Hebrews intentionally selects κῶλα, perhaps to evoke not only death but the scattering of limbs, picturing total ruin. The memory of bleaching bones became a permanent cautionary tale in Israel’s collective conscience (Psalm 95, the psalm cited in Hebrews 3-4).

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

1. Consequences of Unbelief. The passage links inner rebellion with outward devastation. Unbelief is never merely intellectual; it ends in bodily death and, if unrepented, eternal separation (Hebrews 10:26-31).
2. Unity of Scripture. By weaving κῶλα into the argument, Hebrews shows continuity between Mosaic history and the Christian pilgrimage. The church must heed the same voice that thundered in the wilderness (Hebrews 3:7).
3. Eschatological Warning. The wilderness graves foreshadow final judgment (1 Corinthians 10:1-12). Bodily imagery anticipates the resurrection—either to life or condemnation (John 5:28-29).

𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
• Preaching: Use Hebrews 3:17 to exhort perseverance. Congregations must not assume covenant privilege guarantees arrival; faith must endure.
• Discipleship: Encourage believers to “encourage one another daily” (Hebrews 3:13), preventing hardness of heart that leads to spiritual—and here, visibly physical—ruin.
• Counseling the Dying: The text affirms both dignity and mortality of the body, pointing sufferers to the promised rest (Hebrews 4:9-11).

𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀

Numbers 26:65; Deuteronomy 1:34-35 – historical rehearsal of the fallen bodies.

Psalm 106:26 – poetic reflection on the same judgment.

1 Corinthians 10:5 – Paul’s application to the Corinthian church: “their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”

Jude 5 – reminder that the Lord “destroyed those who did not believe.”

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆

κῶλα (Strong’s 2966) concentrates the lesson of the Exodus generation into a single, graphic image: lifeless limbs strewn across desert sands. Its solitary appearance in Hebrews 3:17 gives preachers and readers a powerful symbol of what unbelief costs, affirming that the God who once left bodies in the wilderness still calls His people to “hold firmly to the end” (Hebrews 3:14).

Forms and Transliterations
κωλα κωλά κώλα κῶλα κωλύματι kola kôla kōla kō̂la
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Englishman's Concordance
Hebrews 3:17 N-NNP
GRK: ὧν τὰ κῶλα ἔπεσεν ἐν
NAS: whose bodies fell
KJV: whose carcases fell
INT: of whom the bodies fell in

Strong's Greek 2966
1 Occurrence


κῶλα — 1 Occ.

2965
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