"byssus, a species of fine cotton highly prized by the ancients, Lk. 16:19*"
Definition and meaning
byssus, a species of fine cotton highly prized by the ancients, Lk. 16:19*
In the original Greek the word is written: βύσσος
Historical context
Luke wrote as a historian addressing a Greek audience. He carefully interviewed eyewitnesses and arranged events in order. The social and economic realities he describes — Roman taxation, Jewish religious hierarchy, the marginalization of women and the poor — are consistent with first-century Judea under Roman administration.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of byssos (G1040) across the King James Bible.
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
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Common questions
Strong's G1040 (byssos) is a Greek word that means: byssus, a species of fine cotton highly prized by the ancients, Lk. 16:19* It appears 2 times in the King James Bible.
The word byssos (G1040) appears 2 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G1040 is byssos, a Greek word defined as: byssus, a species of fine cotton highly prized by the ancients, Lk. 16:19*. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
byssos is a Greek word found in the New Testament.