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Σάρδεις

Sárdeis

G4554 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Sardis; the principal city and capital of the region of Lydia in western Asia Minor, often referenced as a distinct urban and administrative center. Can refer to the city itself, its inhabitants, or, by extension, the community associated with it. In biblical contexts, typically designates the locality addressed in correspondence or narrative.

Semantic Range

Sardis (the city), inhabitants or community of Sardis, Sardis as an administrative or geographic entity

Root / Etymology

Etymology uncertain; Σάρδεις appears as a Hellenized form of a native Lydian toponym (probable original in a Anatolian language). The name is attested in classical sources as Σάρδεις (plural), following the Greek practice for certain cities. Not derived from an indigenous Greek root.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Σάρδεις was, from early classical times, the preeminent city of Lydia in western Asia Minor (modern-day Sart, Turkey). It is found frequently in Herodotus and other classical authors as the seat of the Lydian kings, later governed under Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman rule. Its prominence continued into the Hellenistic and Roman periods; in the New Testament, it is mentioned as one of the seven assemblies in Asia (Revelation 1:11, 3:1). The form is a plural (typical for some Greek city names, e.g., Ἀθῆναι for Athens), generally reflecting the Greek usage for city-names that were originally compounds or referred to ensembles of settlements. English translations usually render Σάρδεις as 'Sardis'; this captures its primary referent but does not reflect the plural form or potentially collective sense present in Greek. In both LXX and NT, the term refers geographically and politically to the city and/or its region and people; it does not carry ethnic, religious, or civic identity outside its denotation as a place-name.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

plural of uncertain derivation; Sardis, a place in Asia Minor:--Sardis.

Root Family

uncertain (bótrys) — proper name, personal name

Root uncertain city, urban center, administrative center, inhabitants (by extension)
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G1009 βότρυς clusters
G1050 Γάϊος to Gaius
G1055 γαλήνη calm stillness
G108 Ἄζωτος Ashdod
G1148 Δαλμανουθά of Dalmanoutha

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G4554-02 Σάρδεσιν sardesin N DAT F PL Sardis to Sardis in Sardis 2
G4554-01 Σάρδεις sardeis N ACC F PL Sardis Sardis Sardis 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G4554-01 Revelation 1:11 Σάρδεις sardeis N ACC F PL Sardis Sardis Sardis
G4554-02 Revelation 3:1 Σάρδεσιν sardesin N DAT F PL Sardis to Sardis Sardis
G4554-02 Revelation 3:4 Σάρδεσιν sardesin N DAT F PL Sardis to Sardis in Sardis
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