"purpura, murex, a species of shellfish that yielded the purple dye, highly esteemed by the ancients, its tint being a bright crimson; in NT a purple garment, robe of purple, Lk. 16:19; Rev. 18:12"
Definition and meaning
purpura, murex, a species of shellfish that yielded the purple dye, highly esteemed by the ancients, its tint being a bright crimson; in NT a purple garment, robe of purple, Lk. 16:19; Rev. 18:12
In the original Greek the word is written: πορφύρα
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 porphyra (G4209) across the King James Bible.
And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,
And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
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,
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Common questions
Strong's G4209 (porphyra) is a Greek word that means: purpura, murex, a species of shellfish that yielded the purple dye, highly esteemed by the ancients, its tint being a bright crimson; in NT a purple garment, robe of purple, Lk. 16:19; Rev. 18:12 It appears 5 times in the King James Bible.
The word porphyra (G4209) appears 5 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G4209 is porphyra, a Greek word defined as: purpura, murex, a species of shellfish that yielded the purple dye, highly esteemed by the ancients, its tint being a bright crimson; in NT a purple g. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
porphyra is a Greek word found in the New Testament.