StrongerBible

pulōn

πυλών

GreekG4440gate, porch, ...

Appears 18 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 26:71Luk 16:20Act 10:17Act 12:13Act 12:14 (2×)Act 14:13Rev 21:12 (2×)Rev 21:13 (4×)Rev 21:15Rev 21:21 (2×)Rev 21:25Rev 22:14
Root family
Word studypoo-LOHNnoun

What pulōn means

gateway: a large gate structure, or the entrance-passage that runs through it

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

πυλών names a gateway as a built structure, not merely the panel that swings shut. Where the plain word for a gate or door (πύλη) points to the barrier itself, πυλών points to the whole entrance: the massive portal set into a city wall, or the roofed passage that leads from the street door of a house through to the inner courtyard.

In Revelation the word describes the twelve monumental gates of the New Jerusalem, each a single pearl, standing open day and night. In the Gospels and Acts it more often describes an ordinary household entrance: the covered passage where Peter warmed himself and slipped out, the doorway where a servant girl came to answer a knock, the spot where a beggar was laid to catch the people passing in and out.

Both settings share one idea, the point of passage through a wall or the front of a building, so a translator can usually reach for "gate" or "gateway." What shifts is the scale: a towering city portal in one place, a modest entryway or porch in another.

Nuances

1aa large gate of a city or building: the monumental portal set into a wall
TranslatabilityDirect
Act 14:13Rev 21:12 (2×)Rev 21:13 (4×)Rev 21:15Rev 21:21 (2×)Rev 21:25Rev 22:14
1bthe entrance-way of a house or courtyard: the covered passage or porch leading in from the street
Mat 26:71Luk 16:20Act 10:17Act 12:13Act 12:14 (2×)

What scholars say about pulōn

Standard lexicons treat πυλών as the augmentative of πύλη, denoting a large gate or the gateway structure that frames it. BDAG distinguishes two applications: the monumental gate of a city, temple, or palace (the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21; the city gates at Lystra, Acts 14:13), and the entrance-passage or vestibule leading from the street through the front of a house to the inner court (Matt 26:71; Luke 16:20; Acts 10:17; Acts 12:13, 12:14). Moulton and Milligan document the same range in the papyri, where πυλών regularly denotes the gateway of a private dwelling or estate.

Sources

  • BDAG, s.v. πυλώνlexicon
  • LSJ, s.v. πυλώνlexicon
  • Moulton and Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, s.v. πυλώνlexicon

All attested forms of πυλών

nominative m p

πυλῶνες

Rev 21:13, Rev 21:13, Rev 21:13, Rev 21:13, Rev 21:21, Rev 21:25

accusative m s

πυλῶνα

Mat 26:71, Luk 16:20, Act 10:17, Act 12:14

accusative m p

πυλῶνας

Act 14:13, Rev 21:12, Rev 21:15

dative m p

πυλῶσιν

Rev 21:12, Rev 22:14

genitive m s

πυλῶνος

Act 12:13, Act 12:14

genitive m p

πυλώνων

Rev 21:21