"pr. a fixed standard of measure; a stadium, the eighth part of a Roman mile, and nearly equal to a furlong, containing 201.45 yards, about 192 meters, Lk. 24:13; Mt. 14:24; Jn. 6:19; 11:18; Rev. 14:20; 21:16; a race-course, a race, 1 Cor. 9:24*"
Definition and meaning
pr. a fixed standard of measure; a stadium, the eighth part of a Roman mile, and nearly equal to a furlong, containing 201.45 yards, about 192 meters, Lk. 24:13; Mt. 14:24; Jn. 6:19; 11:18; Rev. 14:20; 21:16; a race-course, a race, 1 Cor. 9:24*
In the original Greek the word is written: στάδιον
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 stadion (G4712) across the King James Bible.
And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.
Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
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Common questions
Strong's G4712 (stadion) is a Greek word that means: pr. a fixed standard of measure; a stadium, the eighth part of a Roman mile, and nearly equal to a furlong, containing 201.45 yards, about 192 meters, Lk. 24:13; Mt. 14:24; Jn. 6:19; 11:18; Rev. 14:20... It appears 6 times in the King James Bible.
The word stadion (G4712) appears 6 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G4712 is stadion, a Greek word defined as: pr. a fixed standard of measure; a stadium, the eighth part of a Roman mile, and nearly equal to a furlong, containing 201.45 yards, about 192 meters,. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
stadion is a Greek word found in the New Testament.