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ἄστρον

ástron

G798 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Celestial body or heavenly light, primarily referring to a star as an individual object in the night sky; can also denote a constellation (a group of stars seen as a unit), or, by extension in some contexts, an artificial representation of a star or star-shaped ornament. Used of actual astronomical bodies as well as metaphorically for things resembling or representing stars.

Semantic Range

star, constellation, heavenly light, celestial body, star-shaped object, host of stars, representation of a star

Root / Etymology

From the noun ἀστήρ (astēr, 'star'), itself of uncertain etymology but present in both Greek and related Indo-European languages. The ending -ον marks it as a neuter noun, indicating an object or concept; ἄστρον is thus the neuter version of ἀστήρ.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, ἄστρον (pl. ἄστρα) generally refers to a 'star' or 'celestial body' and sometimes broadly to the constellation (as a collective of stars), often used interchangeably with ἀστήρ, though ἀστήρ more often implies a singular, notable star, while ἄστρον as a collective noun can refer to multiple stars, the stars in general, or sometimes the visible host of heaven. In Hellenistic Greek and the Septuagint, ἄστρον is frequently used for the Hebrew כּוֹכָב (kokhav), denoting both stars and, at times, heavenly beings or angelic figures metaphorically described as stars. In Koine usage and the New Testament, ἄστρον appears primarily in contexts describing actual celestial phenomena or as a metaphor for brilliance or number. English translations often render it simply as 'star,' but the semantic field includes both individual stars and starry assemblies, and, contextually, sometimes man-made representations. The distinction from ἀστήρ is subtle but can be significant in poetic or scientific works of antiquity. LXX and NT usage: occasionally used in parallelism or interchangeably with ἀστήρ, but more common in plural for the hosts of heaven. Later adopted as a root in Latin ('astrum') and modern scientific terminology ('astronomy').

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

neuter from ἀστήρ; properly, a constellation; put for a single star (natural or artificial):--star.

Root Family

ἄστρον (astron) — star, celestial body, constellation

Root ἀστρ- star, celestial body, constellation

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G798-03 ἄστρον astron N ACC N SG star a star of the stars 2
G798-01 ἄστρα astra N NOM N PL stars stars stars 1
G798-02 ἄστροις astrois N DAT N PL stars to the stars the stars 1

Occurrences in Scripture

4 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G798-02 Luke 21:25 ἄστροις astrois N DAT N PL stars to the stars the stars
G798-03 Acts 7:43 ἄστρον astron N ACC N SG star a star star
G798-03 Acts 27:20 ἄστρων astron N GEN N PL stars a star of the stars
G798-01 Hebrews 11:12 ἄστρα astra N NOM N PL stars stars stars
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