Lexical Summary nekros: Dead, deceased Original Word: νεκρός Strong's Exhaustive Concordance dead. From an apparently primary nekus (a corpse); dead (literally or figuratively; also as noun) -- dead. HELPS Word-studies 3498 nekrós (an adjective, derived from nekys, "a corpse, a dead body") – dead; literally, "what lacks life"; dead; (figuratively) not able to respond to impulses, or perform functions ("unable, ineffective, dead, powerless," L & N, 1, 74.28); unresponsive to life-giving influences (opportunities); inoperative to the things of God. 3498 /nekrós ("corpse-like") is used as a noun in certain contexts ("the dead"), especially when accompanied by the Greek definite article. The phrase, ek nekron ("from the dead"), lacks the Greek article to give the sense "from what is of death." NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. word, the same as nekus (a dead body) Definition dead NASB Translation corpse (1), dead (122), dead man (3), dead men (1), dead men's (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 3498: νεκρόςνεκρός, νεκρά, νεκρόν (akin to the Latinneco, nex (from a root signifying 'to disappear' etc.; cf. Curtius, § 93; Fick i., p. 123; Vanicek, p. 422f)), the Sept. chiefly for מֵת; dead, i. e.: 1. properly, a. one that has breathed his last, lifeless: Matthew 28:4; Mark 9:26; Luke 7:15; Acts 5:10; Acts 20:9; Acts 28:6; Hebrews 11:35; Revelation 1:17; ἐπί νεκροῖς, if men are dead (where death has occurred (see ἐπί, Buttmann, 2 a. ε., p. 233a at the end)), Hebrews 9:17; ἐγείρειν νεκρούς, Matthew 10:8; Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22; hyperbolically and proleptically equivalent to as if already dead, sure to die, destined inevitably to die: τό σῶμα, Romans 8:10 (τό σῶμα and τό σωμάτιον φύσει νεκρόν, Epictetus diss. 3, 10, 15 and 3, 22, 41; in which sense Luther called the human body, although alive,einen alten Madensack (cf. Shakespeare's "thou worms-meat!")); said of the body of a dead man (so in Homer often; for נְבֵלָה a corpse Deuteronomy 28:26; Isaiah 26:19; Jeremiah 7:33; Jeremiah 9:22; Jeremiah 19:7): μετά τῶν νεκρῶν, among the dead, i. e. the buried, Luke 24:5; θάψαι τούς νεκρούς, Matthew 8:22; Luke 9:60; ὀστέα νεκρῶν, Matthew 23:27; of the corpse of a murdered man, αἷμα ὡς νεκροῦ, Revelation 16:3 (for הָרוּג, Ezekiel 37:9; for חָלָל,thrust through, slain, Ezekiel 9:7; Ezekiel 11:6). b. deceased, departed, one whose soul is in Hades: Revelation 1:18; Revelation 2:8; νεκρός ἦν, was like one dead, as good as dead, Luke 15:24, 32; plural, 1 Corinthians 15:29; Revelation 14:13; ἐν Χριστῷ, dead Christians (see ἐν, I. 6 b., p. 211b), 1 Thessalonians 4:16; very often οἱ νεκροί and νεκροί (without the article; see Winers Grammar, p. 123 (117) and cf. Buttmann, 89 (78) note) are used of the assembly of the dead (see ἀνάστασις, 2 and ἐγείρω, 2): 1 Peter 4:6; Revelation 20:5, 12f; τίς ἀπό τῶν νεκρῶν, one (returning) from the dead, the world of spirits, Luke 16:30; ἐκ νεκρῶν, from the dead, occurs times too many to count (see ἀνάστασις, ἀνίστημι, ἐγεριω): ἀνάγειν τινα ἐκ νεκρῶν, Romans 10:7; Hebrews 13:20; ζωή ἐκ νεκρῶν, life springing forth from death, i. e. the return of the dead to life (see ἐκ, I. 5), Romans 11:15; πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν who was the first that returned to life from among the dead, Colossians 1:18; also πρωτότοκος τῶν νεκρῶν Revelation 1:5; ζοωποίειν τούς νεκρούς Romans 4:17; ἐγείρειν τινα ἀπό τῶν νεκρῶν, to rouse one to quit (the assembly of) the dead, Matthew 14:2; Matthew 27:64; Matthew 28:7; κρίνειν ζῶντας καί νεκρούς, 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5; κριτής ζώντων καί νεκρῶν, Acts 10:42; νεκρῶν καί ζώντων κυριεύειν, Romans 14:9. c. destitute of life, without life, inanimate (equivalent to ἄψυχος): τό σῶμα χωρίς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν, James 2:26; οὐκ ἐστιν (ὁ) Θεός νεκρῶν ἀλλά ζώντων, God is the guardian God not of the dead but of the living, Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:27; Luke 20:38. 2. tropically: a. (spiritually dead, i. e.) "destitute of a life that recognizes and is devoted to God, because given up to trespasses and sins; inactive as respects doing right": John 5:25; Romans 6:13; Ephesians 5:14; Revelation 3:1; with τοῖς παραπτώμασιν (the dative of cause (cf. Winer's Grammar, 412 (384f))) added, Ephesians 2:1, 5; ἐν (but T Tr WH omit ἐν) τοῖς παραπτοις Colossians 2:13; in the pointed saying ἄφες τούς νεκρούς θάψαι τούς ἑαυτῶν νεκρούς, leave those who are indifferent to the salvation offered them in the gospel, to bury thee bodies of their own dead, Matthew 8:22; Luke 9:60. b. universally, destitute of force or power, inactive, inoperative: τῇ ἁμαρτία, unaffected by the desire to sin (cf. Winers Grammar, 210 (199); Buttmann, § 133, 12), Romans 6:11; of things: ἁμαρτία, Romans 7:8; πίστις, James 2:17, 20 (R G), 26; ἔργα, powerless and fruitless (see ἔργον, 3, p. 248b bottom), Hebrews 6:1; Hebrews 9:14. (Cf. θνητός, at the end) Topical Lexicon Scope of the TermStrong’s Greek 3498 occurs 130 times, spanning every major section of the New Testament. It designates (1) the physically deceased, (2) the spiritually lifeless, and (3) the entire class of humanity awaiting resurrection and final judgment. The word therefore knits together doctrines of sin, salvation, resurrection, and eschatology. Physical Death in Narrative Settings The Gospels and Acts use the term for corpses and the newly deceased. “The dead man sat up and began to speak” (Luke 7:15) displays Christ’s immediate authority over death, as does every report of Lazarus after his resuscitation (John 12:1, 12:9, 12:17). Peter’s revival of Eutychus (Acts 20:9) and Paul’s immunity to the viper (Acts 28:6) continue the theme that the risen Christ delegates power over death to His witnesses. Spiritual Death Paul, James, and the writer of Hebrews use the word metaphorically to diagnose the human condition apart from God. “You were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) and “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17) show that mere physical vitality does not equal true life. “Dead works” (Hebrews 6:1; 9:14) underscores religion without regeneration. Spiritual death is not annihilation but separation from God; only union with Christ reverses it. Death to Sin and New Life After justification, believers are to “consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). Union with Christ’s death breaks sin’s dominion (Romans 6:4–13) and obligates ethical renewal. The same Spirit who “raised Jesus from the dead” dwells in believers, giving life even to mortal bodies (Romans 8:11). The Resurrection of Jesus The core of apostolic preaching is that God “raised Him from the dead” (Acts 3:15; Romans 10:9). The resurrection vindicates Jesus (Romans 1:4), inaugurates the new creation (Colossians 1:18), and guarantees the believer’s future resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20–23). Because Christ is “the firstborn from the dead” (Revelation 1:5), death has lost its finality. Resurrection of the Believer New Testament writers tie every strand of Christian hope to bodily resurrection: • Jesus assures that those “who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection of the dead… can no longer die” (Luke 20:35–36). This hope reshapes present conduct (1 Corinthians 15:32–34) and empowers sacrificial ministry (2 Corinthians 1:9). Judgment of the Dead Final accountability is in view wherever the term signifies the totality of departed humanity: • God “has set a day when He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed, having provided proof to everyone by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). The resurrection therefore guarantees judgment as well as reward. Authority over Death Jesus claims exclusive sovereignty: “I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18). Believers share in this triumph: “God… will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Ministerial Mandate When Christ commissions the Twelve, “Raise the dead” (Matthew 10:8) is listed among gospel works. While literal resurrections authenticated the message in the apostolic era, the ongoing task is to proclaim the word that brings the spiritually dead to life (John 5:25; Ephesians 2:5). Pastors are to call sinners from death to life, warn of judgment, and comfort the bereaved with resurrection hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). Pastoral and Practical Implications 1. Assurance: The empty tomb secures forgiveness, adoption, and future glory (1 Peter 1:3–4). Summary Strong’s 3498 threads through the New Testament as a sober reminder of mortality, a penetrating diagnosis of spiritual need, and a blazing testimony to resurrection power. Physical corpses, spiritual lifelessness, and the eschatological company of “the dead” all find their ultimate answer in the risen Christ, whose victory redefines both life and death for every believer. Forms and Transliterations νεκρα νεκρά νεκραν νεκράν νεκράς νεκροι νεκροί νεκροὶ νεκροις νεκροίς νεκροῖς νεκρον νεκρόν νεκρὸν νεκρος νεκρός νεκρὸς νεκρου νεκρού νεκροῦ νεκρους νεκρούς νεκροὺς νεκρώ νεκρων νεκρών νεκρῶν nekra nekrá nekran nekrán nekroi nekroí nekroì nekrois nekroîs nekron nekrón nekròn nekrôn nekrōn nekrō̂n nekros nekrós nekròs nekrou nekroû nekrous nekroús nekroùsLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Matthew 8:22 Adj-AMPGRK: ἄφες τοὺς νεκροὺς θάψαι τοὺς NAS: Me, and allow the dead to bury KJV: and let the dead bury their INT: leave the dead to bury Matthew 8:22 Adj-AMP Matthew 10:8 Adj-AMP Matthew 11:5 Adj-NMP Matthew 14:2 Adj-GMP Matthew 17:9 Adj-GMP Matthew 22:31 Adj-GMP Matthew 22:32 Adj-GMP Matthew 23:27 Adj-GMP Matthew 27:64 Adj-GMP Matthew 28:4 Adj-NMP Matthew 28:7 Adj-GMP Mark 6:14 Adj-GMP Mark 9:9 Adj-GMP Mark 9:10 Adj-GMP Mark 9:26 Adj-NMS Mark 12:25 Adj-GMP Mark 12:26 Adj-GMP Mark 12:27 Adj-GMP Mark 16:14 Adj-GMP Luke 7:15 Adj-NMS Luke 7:22 Adj-NMP Luke 9:7 Adj-GMP Luke 9:60 Adj-AMP Luke 9:60 Adj-AMP Strong's Greek 3498 |