2968. kómé
Lexical Summary
kómé: Village

Original Word: κώμη
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: kómé
Pronunciation: ko'-may
Phonetic Spelling: (ko'-may)
KJV: town, village
NASB: village, villages
Word Origin: [from G2749 (κεῖμαι - laid)]

1. a hamlet (as if laid down)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
town, village.

From keimai; a hamlet (as if laid down) -- town, village.

see GREEK keimai

HELPS Word-studies

2968 kṓmē – "a village or country town, properly as opposed to a walled city" (Abbott-Smith); a hamlet.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. word
Definition
a village
NASB Translation
village (18), villages (9).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2968: κώμη

κώμη, κόμης, (akin to κεῖμαι, κοιμάω, properly, the common sleeping-place to which laborers in the fields return; Curtius, § 45 (related is English home)) (from Hesiod, Herodotus down), a village: Matthew 9:35; Matthew 10:11; Mark 11:2; Luke 5:17; Luke 9:52 (here Tdf. πόλιν), and often in the Synoptative Gospels; John 11:1, 30; with the name of the city near which the villages lie and to whose municipality they belong: Καισαρείας, Mark 8:27 (often so in the Sept. for בְּנות with the name of a city; cf. Gesenius, Thesaurus, i., p. 220{a} (B. D., under the word , 7); also for חַצְרֵי and חַצְרות with the name of a city); by metonymy, the inhabitants of villages, Acts 8:25; used also of a small town, as Bethsaida, Mark 8:23, 26, cf. ; John 1:45; of Bethlehem, John 7:42; for עִיר, Joshua 10:39; Joshua 15:9 (Complutensian LXX); Isaiah 42:11. (B. D., under the word Villages.)

Topical Lexicon
Foundational Meaning

Strong’s Greek 2968, kōmē, denotes a small rural settlement—larger than an isolated homestead yet smaller and less fortified than a polis (“city”). In the New Testament it carries no pejorative sense; rather, it identifies the ordinary places where ordinary people lived, worked, and worshiped.

First-Century Village Life

Villages dotted the agricultural regions of Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and the Decapolis. Typically situated near fields, springs, or trade routes, they provided basic commerce, communal ovens, synagogues, and modest lodging for travelers. While cities wielded political power, villages supplied food and manpower, forming the backbone of provincial society. Understanding this socio-geographic fabric clarifies why so much of Jesus’ public ministry unfolded there.

Occurrences in the Four Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all record Jesus’ interaction with villages (twenty-six of the twenty-eight New Testament uses). This concentration underscores the evangelists’ shared conviction that the good news reached even the smallest settlements. Key clusters appear:
• Galilean circuit (Matthew 9:35; Mark 6:6)
• Feeding of the five thousand context (Matthew 14:15; Mark 6:36)
• Bethsaida healing (Mark 8:22-26)
• Journey to Caesarea Philippi (Mark 8:27)
• Perean teaching tour (Luke 13:22)
• Passion-week approach via Bethphage and Bethany (Mark 11:2; Luke 19:30; John 11:1)

A Center of Compassionate Ministry

Matthew 9:35 summarizes: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.” Villages were not peripheral stops; they served as arenas where the Shepherd saw the “sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Mark 6:56 records that in every village “they laid the sick in the marketplaces,” highlighting both need and faith among rural dwellers.

Training Ground for the Twelve and the Seventy

When Jesus sent out the Twelve (Mark 6:6-13) and later the Seventy-two (Luke 10:1-11), He targeted villages: “So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere” (Luke 9:6). Their reception—or rejection—of messengers became a litmus test of readiness for the kingdom (Luke 9:5; 10:10-12).

Miracles and Messianic Signs in Villages

• Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26): the staged healing of the blind man emphasized progressive revelation.
• A certain unnamed village of Samaria (Luke 17:12-19): ten lepers cleansed, only one—a Samaritan—returned, prefiguring Gentile inclusion.
• Bethany (John 11:1-44): Lazarus’ resurrection occurred in a village that became synonymous with loving hospitality and costly devotion.
• “Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:13), revealed the risen Christ to two disheartened disciples, proving that even a modest village road could become holy ground.

Instruction Concerning Provision

Jesus’ directive, “Do not acquire gold or silver… Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy” (Matthew 10:9-11), established an ethos of dependence on God and hospitality of the faithful. Apostolic precedent (Acts 8:25) shows Peter and John joyfully preaching in Samaritan villages, validating cross-cultural gospel advance.

Villages in Eschatological and Prophetic Context

The prophecy concerning the Messiah’s birthplace frames Bethlehem as a kōmē. When critics asked, “Does not Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s seed and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” (John 7:42), they acknowledged Micah 5:2. Thus the village motif underscores God’s pattern of elevating the humble.

Early Church Expansion

Acts 8:25 confirms that evangelization did not stall in urban centers: the gospel radiated through Samaritan villages after the Spirit’s outpouring. This anticipates later missions to the Gentile countryside, fulfilling Acts 1:8 to the “ends of the earth.”

Pastoral and Missional Reflections

1. No locale is too small for divine visitation.
2. Rural ministry demands mobility, compassion, and readiness to teach and heal.
3. Hospitality remains a covenant marker; “worthy” homes become outposts of the kingdom.
4. The pattern of entering villages challenges congregations today to value forgotten communities, resisting an urban-only focus.

Conclusion

Kōmē threads through the Gospels and Acts as a testament to God’s heart for the overlooked. Whether announcing birth in Bethlehem, healing in Bethsaida, or unveiling resurrection truth on the Emmaus road, Scripture presents villages as vital stages in redemptive history, inviting believers to embrace the same breadth of gospel concern.

Forms and Transliterations
κώμαι κώμαις κωμας κώμας κωμη κώμη κώμῃ κωμην κώμην κωμης κώμης komas kōmas kṓmas kome kōmē kṓmei kṓmēi komen kōmēn kṓmen kṓmēn komes kōmēs kṓmes kṓmēs
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Matthew 9:35 N-AFP
GRK: καὶ τὰς κώμας διδάσκων ἐν
NAS: the cities and villages, teaching
KJV: the cities and villages, teaching in
INT: and the villages teaching in

Matthew 10:11 N-AFS
GRK: πόλιν ἢ κώμην εἰσέλθητε ἐξετάσατε
NAS: city or village you enter, inquire
KJV: city or town ye shall enter, enquire
INT: city or village you enter inquire

Matthew 14:15 N-AFP
GRK: εἰς τὰς κώμας ἀγοράσωσιν ἑαυτοῖς
NAS: that they may go into the villages and buy
KJV: into the villages, and buy
INT: into the villages they might buy for themselves

Matthew 21:2 N-AFS
GRK: εἰς τὴν κώμην τὴν κατέναντι
NAS: to them, Go into the village opposite
KJV: Go into the village over against you,
INT: into the village that [is] in front

Mark 6:6 N-AFP
GRK: περιῆγεν τὰς κώμας κύκλῳ διδάσκων
NAS: And He was going around the villages teaching.
KJV: round about the villages, teaching.
INT: he went about the villages around teaching

Mark 6:36 N-AFP
GRK: ἀγροὺς καὶ κώμας ἀγοράσωσιν ἑαυτοῖς
NAS: countryside and villages and buy
KJV: and into the villages, and buy
INT: region and villages they might buy for themselves

Mark 6:56 N-AFP
GRK: εἰσεπορεύετο εἰς κώμας ἢ εἰς
NAS: He entered villages, or
KJV: he entered, into villages, or cities,
INT: he entered into villages or into

Mark 8:23 N-GFS
GRK: ἔξω τῆς κώμης καὶ πτύσας
NAS: He brought him out of the village; and after spitting
KJV: out of the town; and
INT: out of the village and having spit

Mark 8:26 N-AFS
GRK: εἰς τὴν κώμην εἰσέλθῃς Μηδὲ
NAS: Do not even enter the village.
KJV: go into the town, nor tell
INT: into the village might you enter nor

Mark 8:26 Noun-DFS
GRK: ἐν τῇ κώμῃ
KJV: [it] to any in the town.
INT: in the village

Mark 8:27 N-AFP
GRK: εἰς τὰς κώμας Καισαρείας τῆς
NAS: with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea
KJV: into the towns of Caesarea
INT: into the villages of Caesarea

Mark 11:2 N-AFS
GRK: εἰς τὴν κώμην τὴν κατέναντι
NAS: to them, Go into the village opposite
KJV: into the village over against
INT: into the village before you

Luke 5:17 N-GFS
GRK: ἐκ πάσης κώμης τῆς Γαλιλαίας
NAS: from every village of Galilee
KJV: out of every town of Galilee, and
INT: out of every village of Galilee

Luke 8:1 N-AFS
GRK: πόλιν καὶ κώμην κηρύσσων καὶ
NAS: from one city and village to another,
KJV: city and village, preaching and
INT: city and village by village preaching and

Luke 9:6 N-AFP
GRK: κατὰ τὰς κώμας εὐαγγελιζόμενοι καὶ
NAS: they [began] going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel
KJV: through the towns, preaching the gospel,
INT: through the villages proclaiming the gospel and

Luke 9:12 N-AFP
GRK: τὰς κύκλῳ κώμας καὶ ἀγροὺς
NAS: into the surrounding villages and countryside
KJV: they may go into the towns and country
INT: the surrounding villages and countryside

Luke 9:52 N-AFS
GRK: εἰσῆλθον εἰς κώμην Σαμαριτῶν ὡς
NAS: and entered a village of the Samaritans
KJV: into a village of the Samaritans,
INT: they entered into a village of Samaritans so as

Luke 9:56 N-AFS
GRK: εἰς ἑτέραν κώμην
NAS: on to another village.
KJV: to another village.
INT: to another village

Luke 10:38 N-AFS
GRK: εἰσῆλθεν εἰς κώμην τινά γυνὴ
NAS: along, He entered a village; and a woman
KJV: into a certain village: and a certain
INT: entered into a village certain a woman

Luke 13:22 N-AFP
GRK: πόλεις καὶ κώμας διδάσκων καὶ
NAS: from one city and village to another,
KJV: the cities and villages, teaching, and
INT: towns and villages teaching and

Luke 17:12 N-AFS
GRK: εἴς τινα κώμην ἀπήντησαν αὐτῷ
NAS: As He entered a village, ten leprous
KJV: into a certain village, there met him
INT: into a certain village met him

Luke 19:30 N-AFS
GRK: τὴν κατέναντι κώμην ἐν ᾗ
NAS: Go into the village ahead
KJV: into the village over against
INT: the ahead village in which

Luke 24:13 N-AFS
GRK: πορευόμενοι εἰς κώμην ἀπέχουσαν σταδίους
NAS: day to a village named
KJV: day to a village called Emmaus,
INT: going to a village being distant furlongs

Luke 24:28 N-AFS
GRK: εἰς τὴν κώμην οὗ ἐπορεύοντο
NAS: And they approached the village where
KJV: unto the village, whither
INT: to the village where they were going

John 7:42 N-GFS
GRK: Βηθλεὲμ τῆς κώμης ὅπου ἦν
NAS: and from Bethlehem, the village where
KJV: out of the town of Bethlehem,
INT: Bethlehem the village where was

Strong's Greek 2968
28 Occurrences


κώμας — 10 Occ.
κώμῃ — 1 Occ.
κώμην — 13 Occ.
κώμης — 4 Occ.

2967
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