Exploring the Meaning of Peri in Greek

περί expresses the idea “about,” marking the subject matter under discussion or what something concerns. In the passages cited here it regularly frames speech, commands, and written Scripture as being directed about a person or matter, and it also appears in scenes where people and things are located around someone.

Occurrences

He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.” (Matthew 2:8)

In Herod’s instructions, περί contributes the sense of information being requested about the child: the messengers are to return with a report whose content concerns “the young child.” The command is not merely to return, but to return with news oriented to that specific subject.

Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. (Matthew 3:4)

Here περί works spatially in the description of John’s appearance: the belt is positioned around his waist. The word helps the reader picture how the garment is arranged, giving a concrete sense of something encircling the body.

and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’ ” (Matthew 4:6)

In the quoted Scripture, περί frames what the angels are commanded about: the command is directed toward the Son, “concerning you.” The preposition focuses the reader on the beneficiary and object of the command, identifying the person whose safety is in view.

Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, (Matthew 6:28)

In the question about anxiety, περί signals the topic that occupies the mind: “clothing.” It ties the inner state (“anxious”) to a particular concern, setting up the ensuing comparison with lilies as a response directed to that specific worry.

Now when Jesus saw great multitudes around him, he gave the order to depart to the other side. (Matthew 8:18)

In this narrative note, περί again has a spatial force: the crowds are located around Jesus. The word establishes the immediate situation that prompts action—Jesus’ order to leave is given in the context of being surrounded by “great multitudes.”

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

Although the verse centers on Jesus’ compassion, περί contributes by positioning the scene as directed toward the crowds: the compassion is exercised with reference to them. The wording portrays his emotional response as oriented about their condition—“harassed and scattered.”

As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? (Matthew 11:7)

Here περί explicitly introduces the subject of Jesus’ teaching: his words to the crowds are “concerning John.” The preposition functions as a discourse marker that tells the hearer what the coming questions and descriptions are about, keeping the crowd’s attention fixed on John as the topic.

For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ (Matthew 11:10)

In identifying the person spoken of in Scripture, περί links the written statement to its referent: what “is written” is about “this” one—John. The term tightens the connection between the text and the person in front of the audience, presenting the writing as concerned with him.

I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36)

In the warning about accountability, περί frames the object of the accounting: an account is rendered about “every idle word.” The preposition draws attention to the scope and specificity—speech itself becomes the matter under review.

You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, (Matthew 15:7)

In Jesus’ rebuke, περί identifies the target of Isaiah’s prophecy: it is spoken “of you.” The force is accusatory and direct; the prophetic word is presented as concerning the very people addressed, not as a general statement floating free of them.

How is it that you don’t perceive that I didn’t speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:11)

In correcting misunderstanding, περί helps distinguish literal from intended subject matter. Jesus says his earlier words were not “concerning bread,” pushing the disciples away from a food-centered interpretation and toward the real concern signaled by his warning about “the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptizer. (Matthew 17:13)

At the moment of comprehension, περί marks what Jesus’ teaching was about: “John the Baptizer.” The preposition highlights the shift from confusion to clarity by naming the specific person who is the subject of the discussion.

Sense and Usage

Across these verses, περί repeatedly identifies the content or reference point of communication. In Matthew 11:7 and 17:13 it frames extended teaching “concerning John,” and in Matthew 16:11 it is used to correct what the disciples thought the topic was, explicitly denying “bread” as the subject and re-centering the discussion on what follows. In Matthew 15:7 and 11:10 it connects prophetic speech and written Scripture with the people it addresses, giving the quotations a pointed direction: the prophecy is not merely quoted; it is represented as being about those standing before Jesus. Matthew 4:6 similarly uses περί within Scripture quotation to specify the person whose welfare is in view, sharpening “command his angels” by adding the personal reference “concerning you.”

Another cluster shows περί working with inner and moral life: anxiety “about clothing” (Matthew 6:28) identifies a practical concern that becomes spiritually significant in the teaching that follows, and the future accounting “of” idle words (Matthew 12:36) defines the matter under judgment as speech itself. In both, the word narrows attention to a specific object—clothing as a focus of worry, words as the focus of accountability—rather than leaving the emotion or reckoning vague.

Alongside these topic-marking uses, the same preposition contributes vivid spatial orientation. John’s belt is “around his waist” (Matthew 3:4), a concrete detail that renders his ascetic appearance in tactile, observable terms. The crowds “around” Jesus (Matthew 8:18) likewise set the narrative pressure of the moment; the word situates Jesus at the center of an enclosing mass, and the ensuing instruction to depart reads naturally as a response to that surrounding presence. Even where the verse’s main point is Jesus’ compassion (Matthew 9:36), the language keeps the crowds as the reference point—his compassion is directed with them in view, because of their scattered state.

These uses together show περί as a small but powerful tool for reference: it can locate people and objects around a body, and it can locate words, commands, prophecy, worry, and judgment around a definite subject matter. In each case it answers a basic question the reader needs to follow the text—around what, or about whom/what?

Imagery in Context

The passages pair the “about” sense of περί with scenes that move between public crowds and focused speech. On the one hand, there is physical surrounding: a belt around a waist (Matthew 3:4) and multitudes around Jesus (Matthew 8:18). On the other hand, there is verbal surrounding, as it were—prophecy and teaching that circle a person or issue: concerning John (Matthew 11:7; Matthew 17:13), concerning bread as a denied topic (Matthew 16:11), concerning “every idle word” in judgment (Matthew 12:36), and concerning those rebuked as hypocrites (Matthew 15:7). In these scenes, περί helps the narrative and teaching keep their center of gravity clear, whether the center is a person in the middle of a crowd or a subject in the middle of a conversation.

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).