G1504 — εἰκών (eikōn)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1504
Original: εἰκών
Transliteration: eikōn
Pronunciation: i-kone'
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: from εἴκω (eikō) — to be like, to resemble
Occurrences: 20 unique verses (23 tokens) in NT
First Occurrence: Mat 22:20 — "Whose [is] this image and superscription?"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From εἴκω (to be like, to resemble); a likeness, i.e. (literally) statue, profile, or (figuratively) representation, resemblance.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - 006013 — Images and Idols - Related words: εἴδωλον (G1497), χάραγμα (G5480), τύπος (G5179), χαρακτήρ (G5481) - 058009 — Pattern, Model, Example, and Corresponding Representation - Related words: τύπος (G5179), ὑπόδειγμα (G5262), χαρακτήρ (G5481), ὑποτύπωσις (G5296)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [006] Artifacts - [058] Nature, Class, Example

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
image	14	70%
the image	3	15%
an image	2	10%
the image of him	1	5%

Note: KJV renders εἰκών as "image" in 100% of occurrences.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	8	2.0
Colossians	2	2.1
2 Corinthians	2	0.8
Romans	2	0.5
1 Corinthians	2	0.5
Hebrews	1	0.3
Matthew	1	0.1
Mark	1	0.1
Luke	1	0.1

Pattern: Concentrated in Revelation (8×) and Pauline letters (10×). Synoptic uses (3×) are a distinct civic context. Revelation and Paul together account for 90% of occurrences.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Imperial Coin Inscription (civic identification)¶

The Roman denarius bore Caesar's engraved portrait — the question "whose image?" invokes this civic/political meaning.

Mat 22:20 — "And he saith unto them, Whose [is] this image and superscription?"
Mar 12:16 — "Whose [is] this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's."
Luk 20:24 — "Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's."

2. Christ as the Image of God (Christological identity)¶

The Son is the visible expression of the invisible God — not merely resembling God but constituting the full representation of his nature.

Col 1:15 — "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature"
2Co 4:4 — "lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them"

3. Humanity Bearing and Restored to God's Image (anthropological/soteriological)¶

Humans were made bearing God's image; the fall distorted it; redemption restores conformity to Christ as the true image.

1Co 11:7 — "forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man"
1Co 15:49 — "as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly"
2Co 3:18 — "we all... are changed into the same image from glory to glory"
Col 3:10 — "the new [man], which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him"
Rom 8:29 — "predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son"
Rom 1:23 — (idolatrous inversion) "changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man"

4. Shadow versus True Image (typological contrast)¶

The Law gives a shadow of future realities; εἰκών here denotes the full, substantial representation — the reality toward which the shadow pointed.

Heb 10:1 — "the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices... make the comers thereunto perfect"

5. The Image of the Beast (eschatological worship)¶

Revelation uses εἰκών for a physical representation of the beast that receives worship, paralleling OT idolatry themes and the Danielic golden image.

Rev 13:14 — "they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword"
Rev 13:15 — "he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image... should be killed"
Rev 14:9 — "If any man worship the beast and his image..."
Rev 14:11 — "they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image"
Rev 20:4 — "the souls of them that were beheaded... which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θηρίον (thērion)	G2342	8x (40%)	"image of the beast" — Rev 13–20
θεός (theos)	G2316	6x (30%)	"image of God" — Pauline anthropology/Christology
προσκυνέω (proskyneō)	G4352	6x (30%)	"worship the image" — Revelation judgment scenes
χάραγμα (charagma)	G5480	6x (30%)	"mark and image" — co-occur in Rev 13–16 beast passages
δόξα (doxa)	G1391	4x (20%)	"image and glory" — 1 Cor 11:7; 2 Cor 3:18, 4:4
ἐπιγραφή (epigraphē)	G1923	3x (15%)	"image and superscription" — synoptic coin pericope

Word Family / Cognates¶

εἴκω (eikō) — root verb: to be like, to resemble (unattested in NT)
εἰκῇ (eikē) — in vain, randomly (same root idea of "without form/purpose")

Synonyms¶

The closest overlaps returned by search_relationships.py are: - G3667 ὁμοίωμα (homoiōma) — likeness, outward resemblance - G3669 ὁμοίωσις (homoiōsis) — likeness, resemblance - G1497 εἴδωλον (eidōlon) — cult image; narrower and negatively marked compared with εἰκών

Antonyms¶

G4639 σκιά (skia) — shadow; the incomplete outline contrasted with the full representation in Heb 10:1

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
χαρακτήρ (charaktēr)	G5481	both rendered "image/express image"	charaktēr = exact engraved impression (stamp-die precision); eikōn = general likeness or representation
ὁμοίωμα (homoiōma)	G3667	both translated "likeness/image"	homoiōma emphasizes outward resemblance in form; eikōn includes the idea of a derived, representative likeness
τύπος (typos)	G5179	both can be "figure/pattern"	typos = a stamped impression as archetype; eikōn = the resulting likeness or representation
μορφή (morphē)	G3444	both concern visible form	morphē = inherent outward form; eikōn = derived or representative resemblance
H6754 צֶלֶם (tselem)	H6754	both = "image"	Hebrew tselem = the OT equivalent (Gen 1:26–27 "image of God"); primary source for LXX eikōn

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrence	PMI Score	Notes
צֶלֶם (tselem)	H6755 (Aram.)	13	9.36	Daniel's Aramaic — Nebuchadnezzar's statue (Dan 2–3)
צֶלֶם (tselem)	H6754 (Heb.)	10	8.98	Genesis — "image of God" (Gen 1:26–27), Psalms

Both tselem entries share the same word; H6754 is Hebrew, H6755 Aramaic. The LXX consistently renders both with εἰκών. The Danielic image (Dan 2–3) is the bridge between OT imperial imagery and Revelation's "image of the beast."

Domain Neighbors (006013 — Images and Idols)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Verses	Primary KJV
G1497	εἴδωλον (eidōlon)	10	idol, idols
G5480	χάραγμα (charagma)	9	mark
G5179	τύπος (typos)	4	ensamples, pattern
G3485	ναός (naos)	40	temple
G2712	κατείδωλος (kateidōlos)	1	full of idols