Strong's Greek: 3232 -- (Not Used)zzz

Lexical Summary

(Not Used): (Not Used)

(Not Used)
Part of Speech:
Transliteration: (Not Used)
(Not Used)

Topical Lexicon

Biblical Background: Old Testament Landmarks

Although 3232 never appears in the Greek New Testament, the cognate term is a regular choice of the Septuagint translators for Hebrew words that describe territorial limits, border-stones, or inherited allotments. Passages such as Deuteronomy 19:14, Deuteronomy 27:17, Proverbs 22:28, Proverbs 23:10 and Hosea 5:10 prohibit the removal of an “ancient boundary stone,” making clear that tampering with borders was viewed as both theft and covenant infidelity. By rendering these verses with the same Greek word family as 3232, the translators signaled that personal ethics, social justice and reverence for God’s ordained order were bound together.

Cultic and Moral Dimensions

1. Covenant stewardship
• Moving a boundary line attacked Yahweh’s gracious distribution of land to the tribes (Joshua 13–21).
• The offense carried a curse (Deuteronomy 27:17), underlining the seriousness of boundary integrity.

2. Protection of the vulnerable
• “Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless” (Proverbs 23:10).
• Respecting borders safeguarded widows, orphans and immigrants from powerful neighbors.

3. Reflection of divine order
• In creation God “set a boundary” for the seas (Job 38:10-11), illustrating that boundaries are woven into the fabric of a well-ordered world.

Historical Usage Beyond Scripture

In classical Greek the same noun signified the limit of a city’s territory or the marker that identified it. In Hellenistic papyri, legal deeds often specify that a parcel of land is defined by “boundary stones” using this vocabulary. Such extrabiblical parallels confirm that the Septuagint was employing a familiar legal term, thereby making the divine prohibition unmistakable to Greek-speaking Jews.

Theological Trajectory into the New Testament

Even though the precise form does not occur in the New Testament, the idea of God-established limits reverberates:

• Paul teaches that God “appointed their times and the boundaries of their lands” (Acts 17:26).
• The church is urged not to “go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6), a moral and doctrinal boundary line.
• Elders are charged to guard the flock (Acts 20:28-31), maintaining healthy spiritual borders against false teaching.

Implications for Christian Ministry

1. Property and justice
• Christians must uphold honest land and business practices, recognizing God as ultimate owner (Psalm 24:1).

2. Personal holiness
• Believers respect relational and sexual boundaries (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8), mirroring the land-law principle.

3. Doctrinal fidelity
• Guarding the “good deposit” (2 Timothy 1:13-14) parallels protecting an ancestral inheritance.

4. Community life
• Clear church membership expectations and accountability structures honor God-given limits for the sake of unity (Matthew 18:15-17).

Christological Fulfillment

Jesus never violated legitimate boundaries yet consistently challenged illegitimate ones. He honored Mosaic land statutes (Matthew 5:17-19) while extending mercy across ethnic borders (John 4:9-10; Luke 10:33-37). At Calvary the boundary between Jew and Gentile was broken down (Ephesians 2:14), demonstrating that God-ordained limits exist not to hinder salvation but to illuminate His redemptive plan.

Eschatological Hope

Revelation ends with a city whose walls safeguard life and purity (Revelation 21:12-27). The “nations will walk by its light” (verse 24), implying that righteous borders in the present foreshadow the perfect order of the world to come.

Key Passages for Further Study

Deuteronomy 19:14; Deuteronomy 27:17; Joshua 13–21; Proverbs 22:28; Proverbs 23:10; Hosea 5:10; Acts 17:26; 1 Corinthians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; 2 Timothy 1:13-14; Revelation 21:12-27

Links

Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts