Exploring the Meaning of Phonos in Greek

φόνος refers to murder. In the New Testament passages where it appears, it can name an inner impulse traced to the human heart, a specific criminal charge attached to a named prisoner, a feature of corrupt social life, and an unrepented practice associated with divine judgment.

Occurrences

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.” (Matthew 15:19)

Here φόνος is placed among multiple outward acts that Jesus traces to an inward source: “out of the heart.” The word functions as a representative example of what can emerge from within, listed alongside other violations that harm community and worship. In this scene, murder is not introduced as an isolated crime but as one expression of a deeper moral problem that begins in the interior life.

“For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts,” (Mark 7:21)

Mark’s parallel likewise anchors φόνος in the movement “from within… out of the hearts of men.” The verb “proceed” casts murder as something that issues from an inner spring, and the plural “murders” aligns it with other concrete behaviors in a vice list. In context, the word contributes to a portrait of defilement that is rooted in the heart rather than in external contact.

“There was one called Barabbas, bound with his fellow insurgents, men who in the insurrection had committed murder.” (Mark 15:7)

In the passion narrative, φόνος becomes a specific act attached to a public disturbance: “in the insurrection.” The verse identifies a group (“his fellow insurgents”) and then specifies what they did within that upheaval: they “had committed murder.” The word thus marks the seriousness of the violence associated with Barabbas and his associates, and it does so in the past tense, as a completed deed tied to a known event.

“one who was thrown into prison for a certain revolt in the city, and for murder.” (Luke 23:19)

Luke sets φόνος within a legal and civic frame: imprisonment results from “a certain revolt in the city” and from “murder.” The pairing links murder with political disorder, but the wording distinguishes the charges—revolt on one side and murder on the other—both sufficient to explain incarceration. Murder here is not a general moral category; it is a prosecutable offense with consequences.

“He released him who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus up to their will.” (Luke 23:25)

This verse repeats the charge and heightens its narrative function: the one guilty of “insurrection and murder” is released, while Jesus is “delivered… up to their will.” φόνος sharpens the contrast by naming a grave crime from which the prisoner is nonetheless freed at the crowd’s request. The word’s force lies in its placement within an exchange that frames the injustice of the decision.

“But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest” (Acts 9:1)

In Acts, φόνος appears as “slaughter” in a depiction of Saul’s aggressive posture: he is “still breathing threats and slaughter.” The expression portrays violence as something animating and exhaled, a sustained intent directed “against the disciples of the Lord.” Here the word contributes the sense of lethal hostility that drives Saul to seek authority (“went to the high priest”) for further action.

“being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil habits, secret slanderers,” (Romans 1:29)

Paul uses φόνος as one item in a dense catalog of corrupt conditions and behaviors. The surrounding language emphasizes saturation: “being filled” and “full of,” so murder is framed not merely as an occasional act but as part of a pattern within a morally disordered life. Its placement between “envy” and “strife” locates murder within a cluster of relational vices that fracture human fellowship.

“envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.” (Galatians 5:21)

In Galatians, φόνος again appears in the plural (“murders”) as part of a warning list. The verse’s weight falls on ongoing practice: “those who practice such things.” Murder is therefore treated not only as a single past event but as behavior that can characterize a way of life, and it is included among deeds that carry an eschatological warning concerning inheritance of “God’s Kingdom.”

“They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated—” (Hebrews 11:37)

Here φόνος is rendered within the clause “They were slain with the sword,” embedded among a series of violent sufferings. The focus is on what happened to “They”—the afflicted faithful described by the broader context of Hebrews 11—rather than on the perpetrators. Murder is presented as one mode of lethal mistreatment, coordinated with other brutal acts, underscoring the extremity of opposition faced.

“They didn’t repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.” (Revelation 9:21)

In Revelation, φόνος is explicitly plural and explicitly unrepented: “their murders.” The pronoun marks ownership and culpability, and the verb phrase “didn’t repent” treats murder as a moral debt demanding turning. In the verse’s tight grouping—murders alongside sorceries, sexual immorality, and thefts—the word contributes to a picture of entrenched wrongdoing resistant to judgment’s corrective purpose.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, φόνος functions both as an internal moral output and as an external, accountable deed. In Matthew 15:19 and Mark 7:21, murder belongs to what “come[s]” or “proceed[s]” from the heart; the word is therefore situated at the intersection of inner thought-life (“evil thoughts”) and outward action, suggesting that the act is inseparable from the dispositions that generate it. The plural form in these lists (“murders”) presents murder not as a rare anomaly but as a recognizable category of human behavior that can recur.

In the passion narratives (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19, 23:25), φόνος takes on juridical specificity. It is linked with “insurrection” and “revolt,” and it explains imprisonment. In these scenes, the word’s role is partly narrative: it helps identify which kind of prisoner is being discussed and why the decision to release him is ethically shocking. Murder is not abstract; it is the charge that marks the released man as dangerous and guilty, making the contrast with Jesus’ fate more stark.

Acts 9:1 presents a related but distinct angle: φόνος appears in a portrayal of intent and pursuit. “Threats and slaughter” is not yet a courtroom label but a description of animated hostility. Murder here is the atmosphere of violence around Saul’s movement against “the disciples of the Lord,” emphasizing that lethal harm is not incidental but integral to his opposition.

Romans 1:29 and Galatians 5:21 embed φόνος within vice lists, but the rhetorical effect differs. Romans stresses fullness—murder is part of a crowded interior landscape of unrighteousness; it sits among motivations and social sins that distort relationships (“envy… strife… deceit”). Galatians stresses warning and outcome—murder is part of a set of practices that exclude from inheriting “God’s Kingdom.” Together they show φόνος as both symptom (of a filled, disordered life) and behavior with grave consequence.

Hebrews 11:37 uses the language of murder from the victim’s side: “They were slain with the sword.” The word contributes to the depiction of faithful sufferers whose lives were taken violently, aligning murder with other forms of brutal persecution. Revelation 9:21 finally places φόνος in the frame of repentance: murders are deeds that demand moral reversal, and the refusal to repent signals a hardened persistence.

Imagery in Context

The passages supply a set of images around φόνος: the heart as a source from which deeds emerge (Matthew 15:19; Mark 7:21), a prison holding someone charged with insurrection and murder (Luke 23:19), an aggressor “breathing threats and slaughter” (Acts 9:1), victims “slain with the sword” (Hebrews 11:37), and a community that “didn’t repent of their murders” (Revelation 9:21). Together these scenes portray murder as both a product of inner corruption and a public, violent rupture of life that carries accountability in human courts and before God.

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).