Help QuickNav Adv. Options
NIV

NIV

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

Copy
Copy Options
Strong's
Red Letter
Copy Options
Cite Print
The Blue Letter Bible

Lexicon :: Strong's G915 - barbaros

Aa
βάρβαρος
Transliteration
barbaros (Key)
Pronunciation
bar'-bar-os
Listen
Part of Speech
adjective
Root Word (Etymology)
Of uncertain derivation
Dictionary Aids

Vine's Expository Dictionary: View Entry

TDNT Reference: 1:546,94

Strong’s Definitions

βάρβαρος bárbaros, bar'-bar-os; of uncertain derivation; a foreigner (i.e. non-Greek):—barbarian(-rous).

KJV Translation Count — Total: 6x

The KJV translates Strong's G915 in the following manner: barbarian (5x), barbarous (1x).

KJV Translation Count — Total: 6x
The KJV translates Strong's G915 in the following manner: barbarian (5x), barbarous (1x).

  1. one whose speech is rude, rough and harsh

  2. one who speaks a foreign or strange language which is not understood by another

  3. used by the Greeks of any foreigner ignorant of the Greek language, whether mental or moral, with the added notion after the Persian war, of rudeness and brutality. The word is used in the N.T. without the idea of reproachfulness.

Strong’s Definitions [?](Strong’s Definitions Legend)
βάρβαρος bárbaros, bar'-bar-os; of uncertain derivation; a foreigner (i.e. non-Greek):—barbarian(-rous).
STRONGS G915:
βάρβαρος, -ον;
1. properly, one whose speech is rude, rough, harsh, as if repeating the syllables βαρβάρ (cf. Strabo 14, 2, 28, p. 662; ὠνοματοπεποίηται ἡ λέξις, Etym. Magn. [188, 11 (but Gaisf. reads βράγχος for βάρβαρος); cf. Curtius, § 394; Vanicek, p. 561]); hence,
2. one who speaks a foreign or strange language which is not understood by another (Herodotus 2, 158 βαρβάρους πάντας οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι καλέουσι τοὺς μὴ σφίσι ὁμογλώσσους, Ovid. trist. 5, 10, 37 barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli); so 1 Corinthians 14:11.
3. The Greeks used βάρβαρος of any foreigner ignorant of the Greek language and the Greek culture, whether mental or moral, with the added notion, after the Persian war, of rudeness and brutality. Hence, the word is applied in the N. T., but not reproachfully, in Acts 28:2, 4, to the inhabitants of Malta [i. e. Μελίτη, which see], who were of Phœnician or Punic origin; and to those nations that had, indeed, some refinement of manners, but not the opportunity of becoming Christians, as the Scythians, Colossians 3:11 [but cf. Bp. Lightfoot at the passage]. But the phrase Ἕλληνές τε καὶ βάρβαροι forms also a periphrasis for all peoples, or indicates their diversity yet without reproach to foreigners (Plato, Theaet., p. 175 a.; Isocrates, Euag c. 17, p. 192 b.; Josephus, Antiquities 4, 2, 1 and in other writings); so in Romans 1:14. (In Philo de Abr. § 45 under the end of all nations not Jews. Josephus, b. j. prooem. 1 reckons the Jews among barbarians.) Cf. Grimm on 2 Macc. 2:21, p. 61; [Bp. Lightfoot on Col. as above; B. D. under the word Barbarian].
THAYER’S GREEK LEXICON, Electronic Database.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006, 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

BLB Scripture Index of Thayer's

1 Corinthians
14:11
Acts
28:2; 28:4
Romans
1:14
Colossians
3:11

Word / Phrase / Strong's Search

Strong's Number G915 matches the Greek βάρβαρος (barbaros),
which occurs 6 times in 5 verses in the MGNT Greek.

Tools

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 28:2

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 28:2 - The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.

Tools

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 28:4

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 28:4 - When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy BoxRom 1:14

Unchecked Copy BoxRom 1:14 - I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 14:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 14:11 - If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me.

Tools

Unchecked Copy BoxCol 3:11

Unchecked Copy BoxCol 3:11 - Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
BLB Searches
Search the Bible
NIV
  [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
NIV
Daily Devotionals

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan