πεντηκοστή
pentēkostḗ
G4005 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
The fiftieth [day], specifically used for the festival occurring fifty days after Passover (the Feast of Weeks). In Hellenistic and Koine Greek, denotes the day that marks the completion of a seven-week period following Passover.
Semantic Range
the fiftieth day after Passover; the festival on that day (Feast of Weeks, Shavuot); later as the Christian festival commemorating the events in Acts 2
Root / Etymology
Formed from the ordinal πεντηκοστός ('fiftieth') deriving from πεντήκοντα ('fifty'). The implied noun 'day' (ἡμέρα) is often omitted but understood.
Historical & Contextual Notes
πεντηκοστή was used in Hellenistic Jewish Greek to denote the agricultural festival known in Hebrew as שָׁבוּעוֹת (Shavuot, 'Weeks'). The festival's name points to the counting of fifty days from Passover. Earlier Greek usage (e.g., in the Septuagint: Leviticus 23:16; Tobit 2:1) refers to the day marking this period rather than a title for a specific event. In the New Testament (e.g., Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8), πεντηκοστή denotes the festival itself but does not carry later exclusively Christian implications. Standard English translations often render the term as 'Pentecost,' a transliteration rather than a translation, which may obscure the underlying significance as the 'fiftieth [day].' For Greek-speaking Judeans and Israelites, the term evoked both the counting period and the associated harvest offering. Its usage differs from other festival names such as πασχα (Passover) or ἑορτὴ σκηνοπηγίας (Festival of Booths).
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
feminine of the ordinal of πεντήκοντα; fiftieth (ἡμέρα being implied) from Passover, i.e. the festival of "Pentecost":--Pentecost.
Root Family
πεντηκοντα- (pentēkostḗ) — fifty, fiftieth
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G4005-01 |
Πεντηκοστῆς | pentekostes | N GEN F SG |
Pentecost | of the fiftieth day | Pentecost | 3 |
Occurrences in Scripture
3 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G4005-01 |
Acts 2:1 | Πεντηκοστῆς | pentekostes | N GEN F SG |
Pentecost | of the fiftieth day | Pentecost |
G4005-01 |
Acts 20:16 | Πεντηκοστῆς | pentekostes | N GEN F SG |
of Pentecost | of the fiftieth day | Pentecost |
G4005-01 |
1 Corinthians 16:8 | Πεντηκοστῆς | pentekostes | N GEN F SG |
Pentecost | of the fiftieth day | Pentecost |