123. aigialos

Lexicon

aigialos: Shore, beach, coast

Original Word: αἰγιαλός
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: aigialos
Pronunciation: ahee-ghee-al-os'
Phonetic Spelling: (ahee-ghee-al-os')
Definition: Shore, beach, coast
Meaning: sea-coast, (sandy) beach; shore (of sea or lake), land.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

shore.

From aisso (to rush) and hals (in the sense of the sea; a beach (on which the waves dash) -- shore.

see GREEK hals

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from aix (a wave)
Definition
the seashore
NASB Translation
beach (6).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 123: αἰγιαλός

αἰγιαλός, (οῦ, ὁ, the shore of the sea, beach, (from Homer down): Matthew 13:2, 48; John 21:4; Acts 21:5; Acts 27:39, 40. (Many derive the word from ἄγνυμι and ἅλς, as though equivalent to ἀκτή, the place where the sea breaks; others from αἶγες billows and ἅλς (Curtius, § 140; Vanicek, p. 83); others from ἀΐσσω and ἅλς (Schenkl, Liddell and Scott, under the word), the place where the sea rushes forth, bounds forward).

Topical Lexicon

Word Origin: Derived from the Greek root αἰγιαλός, which is related to the concept of the seashore or beach.

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: While there is no direct Hebrew equivalent for αἰγιαλός, similar concepts can be found in Hebrew words like חוֹף (chof, Strong's 2348), which also refers to a seashore or coast. This reflects the shared cultural and geographical understanding of coastal regions in the biblical world.

Usage: The word αἰγιαλός is used in the New Testament to describe locations by the sea, often in the context of Jesus' ministry or the travels of the apostles. It appears in narratives where the setting by the sea is significant to the events being described.

Context: The term αἰγιαλός is found in several passages within the New Testament, illustrating its importance in the geographical and narrative context of the Scriptures. In Matthew 13:2, Jesus uses the seashore as a natural amphitheater to address the crowds: "Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore." Here, the αἰγιαλός serves as a backdrop for teaching, emphasizing the accessibility and openness of Jesus' message.

In John 21:4, the resurrected Jesus appears to His disciples by the sea: "Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus." The αἰγιαλός is the setting for this significant post-resurrection encounter, highlighting the continuity of Jesus' presence and mission.

The use of αἰγιαλός in Acts 21:5 also underscores the emotional and communal aspects of early Christian life: "But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray." The seashore becomes a place of farewell and prayer, reflecting the deep bonds within the early Christian community.

Overall, αἰγιαλός is more than a mere geographical term; it is a setting for divine encounters, teaching, and community life, reflecting the dynamic interaction between the natural world and the unfolding of God's redemptive plan.

Forms and Transliterations

αιγιαλον αιγιαλόν αἰγιαλόν αἰγιαλὸν aigialon aigialón aigialòn

Englishman's Concordance

Matthew 13:2 N-AMS
GRK: ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν εἱστήκει
NAS: crowd was standing on the beach.
KJV: stood on the shore.
INT: on the shore stood

Matthew 13:48 N-AMS
GRK: ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν καὶ καθίσαντες
NAS: they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down
KJV: they drew to shore, and sat down,
INT: on the shore and having sat down

John 21:4 N-AMS
GRK: εἰς τὸν αἰγιαλόν οὐ μέντοι
NAS: stood on the beach; yet
KJV: stood on the shore: but the disciples
INT: on the shore not however

Acts 21:5 N-AMS
GRK: ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν προσευξάμενοι
NAS: down on the beach and praying,
KJV: on the shore, and prayed.
INT: on the shore having prayed

Acts 27:39 N-AMS
GRK: κατενόουν ἔχοντα αἰγιαλὸν εἰς ὃν
NAS: a bay with a beach, and they resolved
KJV: creek with a shore, into the which
INT: they noticed having a shore on which

Acts 27:40 N-AMS
GRK: εἰς τὸν αἰγιαλόν
NAS: they were heading for the beach.
KJV: and made toward shore.
INT: for the shore

Strong's Greek 123
6 Occurrences

αἰγιαλὸν — 6 Occ.