polis · city, town

What it means

polis (πόλις) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “city, town”.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. A large town with houses and walls, or the people who live in it.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

City. Of the same family as πολίτης, “citizen”, and as city names such as Neapolis or Decapolis.

• The city of David Luke 2:4Luke 2:11
• “A city set on a mountain” Matthew 5:14
• The city of the living God, the new Jerusalem Hebrews 12:22Revelation 21:2

How we translate it

“City” 102 times, “cities” 10, “town” 40, “towns” 10. English says “town” for small places (“the town of Nazareth”) and “city” for the larger ones and for the holy city (“the city of David”, Luke 2:4). Once it is part of a name, Neapolis (“new city”).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• city ×102
• town ×40
• cities ×10
• towns ×10
• Neapolis ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×27
• Mark×8
• Luke×39
• John×8
• Acts×43
• Romans×1
• 2 Corinthians×2
• Titus×1
• Hebrews×4
• James×1
• 2 Peter×1
• Jude×1
• Revelation×27

• Matthew 2:23

  and he came and settled in a town called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

• Matthew 4:5

  Then the devil takes him into the holy city and stood him on the pinnacle of the temple,

• Matthew 5:14

  You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

• Matthew 5:35

  nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

• Matthew 8:33

  And those who were tending them fled, and going away into the town, they reported everything, including what had happened to those possessed by demons.

• Matthew 8:34

  And look, the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to move away from their region.

• Matthew 9:1

  And getting into a boat, he crossed over and came to his own town.

• Matthew 9:35

  And Jesus went around all the towns and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness.

• Matthew 10:5

  These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, saying, “Do not go off onto a road of the nations, and do not enter into a town of Samaritans;

• Matthew 10:11

  And whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave.

• Matthew 10:14

  And whoever does not receive you or listen to your words, as you go out of that house or town, shake off the dust from your feet.

• Matthew 10:15

  Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

• Matthew 10:23

  When they persecute you in this town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will never finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

• Matthew 11:1

  And it happened when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, that he moved on from there to teach and proclaim in their towns.

• Matthew 11:20

  Then he began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been done, because they had not changed their minds.

• Matthew 12:25

  But knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every town or house divided against itself will not stand.

• Matthew 14:13

  Hearing this, Jesus withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself; and when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

• Matthew 21:10

  And when he entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying, “Who is this?”

• Matthew 21:17

  And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

• Matthew 21:18

  Now in the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry.

• Matthew 22:7

  The king was angered, and sending his troops, he destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

• Matthew 23:34

  Because of this, look, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,

• Matthew 26:18

  And he said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; at your house I am keeping the Passover with my disciples.”’”

• Matthew 27:53

  and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

• Matthew 28:11

  While they were going, look, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the high priests all the things that had happened.

• Mark 1:33

  And the whole town was gathered together at the door.

• Mark 1:45

  But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the word, so that he could no longer enter a town openly, but was out in deserted places; and they kept coming to him from everywhere.

• Mark 5:14

  And those who tended them fled and reported it in the town and in the countryside; and people came to see what it was that had happened.

• Mark 6:33

  And people saw them going, and many recognized them, and they ran there together on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.

• Mark 6:56

  And wherever he went, into villages or into towns or into the countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces, and begging him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched him were made well.

• Mark 11:19

  And when evening came, they went out of the city.

• Mark 14:13

  And he sends two of his disciples and says to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him,

• Mark 14:16

  And the disciples went out and came into the city and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

• Luke 1:26

  And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth,

• Luke 1:39

  And in those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town of Judah,

• Luke 2:3

  And all were going to be registered, each to his own town.

• Luke 2:4

  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

• Luke 2:11

  for today a Savior has been born to you who is the Messiah, the Lord, in the city of David.

• Luke 2:39

  And when they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town, Nazareth.

• Luke 4:29

  and rising up, they drove him out of the town, and they led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, so as to throw him down the cliff.

And 123 more times.