ὕλη
hýlē
G5208 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Primary meaning: wood, forest. The term denotes any type of wood, both as forested land (collective standing timber) and the material (lumber, timber, firewood) derived from trees. In extended or figurative use, it refers to material, substance, or matter in philosophical language, and by extension, 'fuel' for burning in specific contexts.
Semantic Range
forest, woodland, timber, wood (as material), firewood, fuel, matter (philosophical term), substance
Root / Etymology
Root: ὑλ-. Derived from the ancient Greek noun ὕλη, the etymology is likely pre-Greek and uncertain, though comparison is often made with ξύλον (wood, timber) due to similar meaning. No clear Indo-European cognates.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, ὕλη primarily indicated woodland, forest, or a mass of trees. By extension, it came to mean wood as a physical material and, later, matter or substance in philosophical writings, especially from Aristotle onward, where it plays a central role in discourse on material substance ('matter' contrasted with form). In Hellenistic and Koine usage (including the LXX and other literature), it retains tangible senses: forest, wood, timber, and sometimes firewood or fuel. In the New Testament and Septuagint, the term is rare and tends to be contextualized as 'forest' or raw 'timber.' The association with 'fuel' arises from usage for firewood, but this is a secondary and context-dependent sense. English translations often reduce ὕλη to 'forest' or 'wood,' sometimes 'material' or 'matter' in philosophical translation, but the semantic breadth covers both the collective of trees and the constitutive physical stuff of things. Distinguished from ξύλον, which refers more specifically to wood as a worked material or object, while ὕλη emphasizes rawness, abundance, or the mass of wood-matter. Not used in the sense of 'materialism' as in later philosophical tradition, but important for the conceptual foundation of matter vs. form.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
perhaps akin to ξύλον; a forest, i.e. (by implication) fuel:--matter.
Root Family
ὕλη (hylē) — wood, forest, material
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G5208-01 |
ὕλην | ulen | N ACC F SG |
a forest | wood (material) | a forest | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G5208-01 |
James 3:5 | ὕλην | ulen | N ACC F SG |
a forest | wood (material) | a forest |