Passage Explorer
Word study · Greek

stoicheîon

elemental principle, basic element

Say it: stoy-KHAY-on (approximate)

στοιχεῖον

What it means

A basic element, such as the letters of the alphabet, the elements of the world (earth, air, fire, water), or the elementary teaching of a subject. In 4:3 and 4:9, believers were enslaved to the "elementary principles of the world," which Paul calls "weak and beggarly." The sense is debated: basic religious teaching, cosmic powers, or both.

Open question Debated

Range of meaning

  • Basic elementA building block.
  • Elementary teachingThe ABCs.
  • Cosmic powerSpiritual forces thought to rule the world.

In Galatians

  • Chapter 4

    "Enslaved under the elemental principles of the world" (4:3, 4:9).

Every verse (2)

Verses where G4747 is tagged in the Hebrew text: STEPBible Data (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. About our sources