"expensive, costly, Mk. 14:3; 1 Tim. 2:9; of great value, very precious, 1 Pet. 3:4*"
Definition and meaning
expensive, costly, Mk. 14:3; 1 Tim. 2:9; of great value, very precious, 1 Pet. 3:4*
In the original Greek the word is written: πολυτελής
Historical context
The Gospel of Mark moves urgently — the word "immediately" appears over 40 times. It was written for a Roman audience familiar with power and action. Jesus is portrayed as a man who acts, heals, and commands authority that the Roman world had never seen from a Jewish teacher.
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 polyteles (G4185) across the King James Bible.
And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
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;
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
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Common questions
Strong's G4185 (polyteles) is a Greek word that means: expensive, costly, Mk. 14:3; 1 Tim. 2:9; of great value, very precious, 1 Pet. 3:4* It appears 3 times in the King James Bible.
The word polyteles (G4185) appears 3 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G4185 is polyteles, a Greek word defined as: expensive, costly, Mk. 14:3; 1 Tim. 2:9; of great value, very precious, 1 Pet. 3:4*. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
polyteles is a Greek word found in the New Testament.