Exploring the Meaning of Polus in Greek

πολύς expresses the idea of “much,” showing up in these passages to mark abundance, large numbers, or a heightened degree. In Matthew’s scenes it characterizes crowds, frequency, intensity, and comparative increase, shaping how the reader feels the weight of events and the scale of response to Jesus.

Occurrences

“A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn’t be comforted, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:18)

Here πολύς contributes to the density and heaviness of grief. The line stacks terms of sorrow (“lamentation, weeping and great mourning”), and the word “great” heightens mourning into something extensive—more than a private sadness, it reads as an overwhelming outcry matched to the loss (“because they are no more”).

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3:7)

In this scene the word marks a substantial number among the religious groups: “many of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” It makes their approach to John’s baptism a notable movement rather than an isolated visit, setting a sharper edge on his rebuke by implying breadth of presence and influence in the crowd coming to him.

Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan followed him. (Matthew 4:25)

Matthew uses “Great multitudes” to convey scale and momentum. The geographic sweep (“from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan”) paired with “great” makes the following of Jesus sound extensive both in size and in reach, as though people are streaming in from many regions.

Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:12)

Here πολύς functions in a measure-of-degree sense: “great is your reward in heaven.” The word strengthens the motivation for rejoicing under persecution by presenting the reward as ample in magnitude, and it balances the prior mention of persecution by asserting an even greater counterweight on the side of reward.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith? (Matthew 6:30)

In “much more,” the word drives a comparison. The logic moves from God’s care for something transient (“grass of the field”) to God’s care for people, and πολύς sharpens the inference: the expected provision is not merely comparable but increased in degree for “you.”

“Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. (Matthew 7:13)

“Many are those who enter in by it” uses πολύς to quantify the tragedy of the “broad” way. The word makes destruction feel populated; it is not a rare outcome but one entered by a large number, intensifying the urgency of the command to choose the “narrow gate.”

Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ (Matthew 7:22)

This verse uses the word twice to press the idea of abundance on two levels. First, “Many will tell me in that day” makes the address to Jesus sound widespread, not exceptional. Second, “do many mighty works” frames their claimed deeds as numerous, reinforcing that sheer quantity of religious activity and remarkable acts can be amassed—and still be part of a mistaken appeal in the scene described.

When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. (Matthew 8:1)

Again “great multitudes” gives the descent from the mountain a public, crowded aftermath. The word depicts following as a mass movement, so that Jesus’ transition from teaching to action happens under the pressure and attention of a large gathering.

I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, (Matthew 8:11)

Here πολύς emphasizes the size of the incoming company: “many will come from the east and the west.” The abundance is tied to direction and distance, stressing that the gathering envisioned is large and far-reaching, culminating in shared table fellowship “in the Kingdom of Heaven” with the patriarchs named.

When evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick; (Matthew 8:16)

“Many possessed with demons” portrays the evening as filled with need and confrontation. The word increases the sense of volume: there are numerous afflicted brought to Jesus. Against that quantity stands the ease and completeness of the response—he acts “with a word,” and the scene ends with comprehensive healing (“healed all who were sick”), making the number of cases part of the contrast.

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

The “great multitudes around him” supply immediate narrative pressure. The crowd’s size becomes a situational factor that accompanies Jesus’ decision to leave for “the other side.” πολύς thus functions not only as description but as an implied catalyst in the flow of events: the abundance of people forms the setting in which an order to depart is given.

Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. (Matthew 8:30)

In this final occurrence the word modifies animals rather than people: “a herd of many pigs.” The quantity matters because it makes the herd a substantial presence “feeding far away,” a concrete, countable abundance in the landscape that becomes part of the scene’s staging.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, πολύς marks “much” in two main ways: abundance in number and abundance in degree. The numeric use is especially vivid in Matthew’s crowd scenes and mass actions—“many of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 3:7), “Great multitudes” following Jesus (Matthew 4:25; Matthew 8:1; Matthew 8:18), “many will come from the east and the west” (Matthew 8:11), and “many possessed with demons” (Matthew 8:16). In each case the word shapes the reader’s sense of scale: the movement toward Jesus is not small, the social presence is not marginal, and the need brought to him is not occasional.

Yet Matthew also uses the same “much” idea to intensify qualities and outcomes. “Great mourning” (Matthew 2:18) takes grief beyond the ordinary into something expansive and engulfing, matching the uncomforted weeping in the quotation. “Great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:12) and “much more” (Matthew 6:30) shift from counting to measuring—how large the reward is, how strong the inference of God’s care is. In these uses, the word supplies weight and proportion: the reward has magnitude, and God’s provision for people is argued as exceeding his provision for the grass.

In warnings, πολύς intensifies the seriousness by attaching large numbers to peril or error. “Many are those who enter in by it” (Matthew 7:13) frames destruction as crowded. “Many will tell me in that day” (Matthew 7:22) frames misguided confidence as widespread; the addition of “many mighty works” keeps the focus on quantity—many claims, many actions—so that the scene’s tension turns on the fact that “much” activity can coexist with a fatally wrong appeal. The word therefore functions rhetorically: it can magnify hope (reward; provision), magnify sorrow (mourning), and magnify urgency (the many entering destruction; the many appealing with many works).

Finally, the word’s flexibility allows Matthew to make abundance tangible in ordinary terms. A “herd of many pigs” (Matthew 8:30) is a simple, visual instance of “much,” grounding the narrative in a concrete multiplicity. In the same way, “great multitudes” are not an abstract statistic but a surrounding presence—people “around him” (Matthew 8:18), following him down the mountain (Matthew 8:1), and coming from multiple regions (Matthew 4:25).

Imagery

In these verses πολύς repeatedly fills the frame. It packs the world with sound (“a voice was heard… weeping and great mourning,” Matthew 2:18), with bodies (“great multitudes… followed him,” Matthew 8:1), with paths and choices (“many are those who enter in by it,” Matthew 7:13), and with arrivals (“many will come from the east and the west,” Matthew 8:11). Even when the focus narrows to a single comparison—grass clothed today and burned tomorrow—the word “much more” (Matthew 6:30) enlarges expectation, making the argument feel expansive rather than minimal.

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).