Word study · Greek

porneia

sexual immorality

Say it: por-NAY-ah (approximate)

πορνεία

What it means

Sexual immorality. The first of the works of the flesh (5:19).

Open question Debated

Exactly what porneia covers in Jesus' exception (adultery, an unlawful marriage, or sexual sin more broadly) is debated, as is how the clause relates to Mark and Luke, which don't have it.

Range of meaning

  • Sexual immoralitySexual sin of any kind.
  • ProstitutionThe earliest sense, from the word for a prostitute.
  • Unlawful marriageAs in Leviticus 18, which Acts 15 echoes.

In Galatians

Every verse (1)

Verses where G4202 is tagged in the Hebrew text: STEPBible Data (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. About our sources