"a pearl, Mt. 7:6; 13:45, 46; 1 Tim. 2:9; Rev. 17:4; 18:12, 16; 21:21*"
Definition and meaning
a pearl, Mt. 7:6; 13:45, 46; 1 Tim. 2:9; Rev. 17:4; 18:12, 16; 21:21*
In the original Greek the word is written: μαργαρίτης
Historical context
Rome had controlled Judea since 63 BC. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple into one of the most magnificent structures in the ancient world — and simultaneously murdered members of his own family. The common people paid multiple layers of taxation and were politically powerless. Into that world a carpenter from Galilee began teaching that the kingdom of God had arrived.
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 margarites (G3135) across the King James Bible.
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
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,
And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
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Common questions
Strong's G3135 (margarites) is a Greek word that means: a pearl, Mt. 7:6; 13:45, 46; 1 Tim. 2:9; Rev. 17:4; 18:12, 16; 21:21* It appears 8 times in the King James Bible.
The word margarites (G3135) appears 8 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G3135 is margarites, a Greek word defined as: a pearl, Mt. 7:6; 13:45, 46; 1 Tim. 2:9; Rev. 17:4; 18:12, 16; 21:21*. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
margarites is a Greek word found in the New Testament.