"a law, Rom. 4:15; 1 Tim. 1:9; the Mosaic law, Mt. 5:17, et al. freq.; the Old Testament Scripture, Jn. 10:34; a legal tie, Rom. 7:2, 3; a law, a rule, standard, Rom. 3:27; a rule of life and conduct, Gal. 6:2, Jas. 1:25"
Definition and meaning
a law, Rom. 4:15; 1 Tim. 1:9; the Mosaic law, Mt. 5:17, et al. freq.; the Old Testament Scripture, Jn. 10:34; a legal tie, Rom. 7:2, 3; a law, a rule, standard, Rom. 3:27; a rule of life and conduct, Gal. 6:2, Jas. 1:25
In the original Greek the word is written: νόμος
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 nomos (G3551) across the King James Bible.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
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Common questions
Strong's G3551 (nomos) is a Greek word that means: a law, Rom. 4:15; 1 Tim. 1:9; the Mosaic law, Mt. 5:17, et al. freq.; the Old Testament Scripture, Jn. 10:34; a legal tie, Rom. 7:2, 3; a law, a rule, standard, Rom. 3:27; a rule of life and conduct, ... It appears 158 times in the King James Bible.
The word nomos (G3551) appears 158 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G3551 is nomos, a Greek word defined as: a law, Rom. 4:15; 1 Tim. 1:9; the Mosaic law, Mt. 5:17, et al. freq.; the Old Testament Scripture, Jn. 10:34; a legal tie, Rom. 7:2, 3; a law, a rule,. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
nomos is a Greek word found in the New Testament.