"wood, timber, 1 Cor. 3:12; Rev. 18:12; stocks, Acts 16:24; a club, Mt. 26:47, 55; a post, cross, gibbet, Acts 5:30; 10:29; 13:29; a tree, Lk. 23:31; Rev. 2:7"
Definition and meaning
wood, timber, 1 Cor. 3:12; Rev. 18:12; stocks, Acts 16:24; a club, Mt. 26:47, 55; a post, cross, gibbet, Acts 5:30; 10:29; 13:29; a tree, Lk. 23:31; Rev. 2:7
In the original Greek the word is written: χύλον
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 xylon (G3586) across the King James Bible.
And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.
And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me?
Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
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Common questions
Strong's G3586 (xylon) is a Greek word that means: wood, timber, 1 Cor. 3:12; Rev. 18:12; stocks, Acts 16:24; a club, Mt. 26:47, 55; a post, cross, gibbet, Acts 5:30; 10:29; 13:29; a tree, Lk. 23:31; Rev. 2:7 It appears 17 times in the King James Bible.
The word xylon (G3586) appears 17 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G3586 is xylon, a Greek word defined as: wood, timber, 1 Cor. 3:12; Rev. 18:12; stocks, Acts 16:24; a club, Mt. 26:47, 55; a post, cross, gibbet, Acts 5:30; 10:29; 13:29; a tree, Lk. 23:31; R. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
xylon is a Greek word found in the New Testament.