Exploring the Meaning of Penes in Greek

πένης means “poor” and appears in Paul’s quotation, “He has given to the poor,” in 2 Corinthians 9:9. In that setting, the word functions within a portrayal of openhanded giving whose effects endure.

Occurrences

“As it is written, “He has scattered abroad. He has given to the poor. His righteousness remains forever.”” (2 Corinthians 9:9)

Here πένης names the recipients of what has been “given.” The line is framed by two actions: “He has scattered abroad” and “He has given,” both expressed as completed deeds. Within the quoted sequence, “to the poor” specifies the direction of the generosity: the giving is not merely general distribution but is targeted toward those characterized as poor. The immediate context inside the quotation pairs that act with an enduring result: “His righteousness remains forever.” In this arrangement, πένης helps anchor the righteousness described at the end of the quotation in a concrete practice—giving that reaches people in need. The verse’s cadence moves from dispersal (“scattered abroad”), to personal benefaction (“has given”), to moral permanence (“remains forever”); πένης stands at the center of that movement as the human endpoint of the gift.

Sense and Usage

The single attested use places “poor” within a statement that commends generosity as a settled pattern rather than a one-time impulse. The wording “He has given to the poor” depicts poverty as a recognizable condition in the community’s social field: there are people who can be named by this descriptor, and they are the ones toward whom giving is aimed. πένης therefore functions as a social designation that highlights the asymmetry between giver and recipient implied by the verb “has given.” The giver possesses something to disperse and to bestow; the poor are those for whom such bestowal is meaningful and appropriate.

In the quotation’s parallelism, “scattered abroad” and “has given to the poor” mutually interpret each other. “Scattered abroad” suggests breadth and abundance in distribution; “to the poor” supplies focus and moral direction. The sense of πένης is thus not abstracted from the act of giving but embedded in it: the poor are the particular people who receive what is scattered, the ones who make the scattering intelligible as righteousness rather than mere spending. The concluding affirmation, “His righteousness remains forever,” links the action toward the poor with an enduring moral standing. Within this verse, πένης is the term that ties the permanence of righteousness to visible care for those in need.

The expression “He has given to the poor” also carries a relational implication: the poor are not portrayed as faceless objects of pity but as intended beneficiaries of purposeful action. The poor are addressed indirectly, through the giver’s completed generosity, but they remain central to the statement’s ethical weight. The verse does not analyze the causes of poverty or describe the poor’s circumstances; instead, πένης is placed where it can do its primary work—marking those who stand to benefit from generosity and thereby displaying the character of the giver.

Imagery

The quotation’s imagery is simple and concrete: goods are “scattered abroad,” and gifts are “given” to the poor. πένης helps the line land on the lived reality of need, so that the claim “His righteousness remains forever” is not detached from ordinary material life but is pictured in the steady motion of resources moving outward toward those who lack.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).