G2570 — καλός (kalós)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2570
Original: καλός
Transliteration: kalós
Pronunciation: kal-os'
Part of Speech: Adjective
Root: Of uncertain affinity
Occurrences: 102 tokens in 91 unique verses across 16 NT books
First Occurrence: Matt 3:10 — "every tree which bringeth not forth good (kalos) fruit is hewn down"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From Strong's: "Of uncertain affinity; properly, beautiful, but chiefly (figuratively) good (that is, valuable or virtuous, for appearance or use, and thus distinguished from G18, which is properly intrinsic)." The core idea is that which is beautiful, fit, or excellent in outward form and function — qualitatively attractive, fine, noble, or admirable. Kalos emphasizes the observable/appreciable excellence of a thing (its fitness, fairness, or fineness as perceived by others) rather than purely ethical goodness.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 079: Features of Objects (subdomain 079004 — Beautiful, Ugly)
Domain 088: Moral and Ethical Qualities (subdomain 088001 — Goodness)
Domain 065: Value (subdomain 065003 — Good, Bad)
Domain 066: Proper, Improper
Domain 087003: High Status or Rank
Neighbors in 065003 (Good/Bad): ἀγαθός (G18), βελτίων (G957), κρείττων (G2909), κακός (G2556), πονηρός (G4190)
Neighbors in 079004 (Beautiful/Ugly): ἀστεῖος (G791), εὐπρέπεια (G2143), ὡραῖος (G5611), κοσμέω (G2885)

That kalos straddles both aesthetic (079 Beautiful) and ethical (088 Good) domains is diagnostic: it means fair/fine to the senses and admirable in character, often simultaneously.

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[088] Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior
[065] Value
[066] Proper, Improper
[079] Features of Objects
[087] Status

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
good	56	61.5%
a good	11	12.1%
better	7	7.7%
of good	3	3.3%
meet	2	2.2%
honest / honest things / is honest	4	4.4%
goodly / with goodly	2	2.2%
The fair	1	1.1%
a good thing / good thing	2	2.2%
in well (doing)	1	1.1%
that worthy	1	1.1%
Other fused phrases	1	1.1%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Timothy	15	13.3
Titus	4	8.7
2 Timothy	3	3.6
James	3	2.8
Matthew	20	1.9
1 Peter	2	1.9
Hebrews	5	1.7
Mark	11	1.6
Galatians	2	1.3
Romans	5	1.2
1 Corinthians	5	1.1
1 Thessalonians	1	1.1
2 Corinthians	2	0.8
Luke	7	0.6
John	5	0.6
Acts	1	0.1

The Pastoral Epistles (1-2 Tim, Titus) are dramatically saturated with kalos — "good works" is a signature phrase. Heavy in Synoptic parables about trees/fruit/seed/soil where observable quality matters. Absent from Revelation and most of the General Epistles.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Fine / Excellent in Quality (tangible, observable excellence)¶

John 2:10 — "Every man at the beginning doth set forth good (kalos) wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: [but] thou hast kept the good (kalos) wine until now." Standard for wine appreciated by a sommelier-like steward.
Luke 21:5 — "the temple, how it was adorned with goodly (kalois) stones and gifts" — aesthetic/material excellence.
Matt 13:45 — "seeking goodly (kalous) pearls" — pearls judged fine by a merchant's eye.
1 Tim 4:4 — "every creature of God is good (kalon), and nothing to be refused" — the created order as well-made, fit for use.

2. Sound / Productive / Fit for Its Purpose¶

Matt 3:10; 7:17-19; 12:33; Luke 3:9; 6:43 — "good tree... good fruit" — a tree that is what a tree ought to be, producing what fruit ought to be.
Matt 13:8, 23; Mark 4:8, 20; Luke 8:15 — "good ground / good soil" — soil fit for its purpose of bearing grain.
Matt 13:24, 37, 38 — "good seed" — viable, pure seed of the intended kind.
Mark 9:50; Luke 14:34 — "Salt is good (kalon)" — salt functioning as salt should.

3. Morally Admirable / Noble (visible to others)¶

Matt 5:16 — "that they may see your good (kala) works, and glorify your Father" — works whose excellence is publicly observable.
1 Pet 2:12 — "having your conversation honest (kalēn) among the Gentiles... by your good (kalōn) works, which they shall behold, glorify God."
Rom 12:17; 2 Cor 8:21 — "provide things honest (kala) in the sight of all men" — conduct visibly above reproach.
Heb 13:18 — "a good (kalēn) conscience" — a conscience one can rightly display.

4. Beneficial / Advantageous / Expedient¶

Matt 17:4; Mark 9:5; Luke 9:33 — "it is good (kalon) for us to be here" — this is a fine situation.
1 Cor 7:1, 8, 26 — "it is good for a man not to touch a woman... good for them if they abide" — advantageous, prudent.
Rom 14:21 — "it is good (kalon) neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine... whereby thy brother stumbleth."
Matt 18:8-9; Mark 9:42-47 — "it is better (kalon... mallon) to enter into life maimed" — comparative: preferable course.

5. Genuine / Authentic / True to Type¶

John 10:11, 14 — "I am the good (kalos) shepherd" — the real, model shepherd as opposed to the hireling.
1 Tim 4:6 — "a good (kalos) minister of Jesus Christ" — the genuine article.
2 Tim 2:3 — "a good (kalos) soldier of Jesus Christ" — a true soldier, not a pretender.
1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7 — "fight the good (kalon) fight" — the contest that is the real one worth fighting.

6. Commendable Office / Work / Calling¶

1 Tim 3:1 — "If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good (kalou) work."
1 Tim 5:10, 25; 6:18; Titus 2:7, 14; 3:8, 14; Heb 10:24 — "good works" as the characteristic Pastoral-Epistle phrase for observable Christian practice.
1 Tim 1:8 — "the law is good (kalos), if a man use it lawfully."

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ποιέω (poieō)	G4160	17x (19%)	"do / bring forth good [works, fruit]"
ἔργον (ergon)	G2041	16x (18%)	"good work(s)" — signature Pastoral phrase
ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos)	G444	13x (14%)	"it is good for a man..." / "a man which sowed good..."
ἔχω (echō)	G2192	13x (14%)	"have a good [report, conscience, foundation]"
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	13x (14%)	"every good [tree, creature]" — universal statements
βάλλω (ballō)	G906	11x (12%)	"cast into [fire, vessels]" — good vs corrupt sorting
καρπός (karpos)	G2590	9x (10%)	"good fruit" — tree-and-fruit parables
πῦρ (pyr)	G4442	8x (9%)	good vs cast-into-fire contrast
δένδρον (dendron)	G1186	7x (8%)	"good tree"
ἀγαθός (agathos)	G18	5x (5%)	co-occur in same discourse on "good" — see Easily Confused
ζωή (zōē)	G2222	6x (7%)	"better to enter into life" comparative constructions

Word Family / Cognates¶

καλῶς (kalōs) G2573 — adverb: well, rightly, finely (e.g., "thou hast well said")
κάλλιον (kallion) G2566 — comparative adverb: better, very well (Acts 25:10 only)
κάλλος — noun form (not in NT): beauty (LXX only)

Synonyms¶

G18 ἀγαθός (agathos) — the closest NT overlap for "good," though ἀγαθός stresses intrinsic goodness and καλός visible excellence or fineness.

Antonyms¶

G4550 σαπρός (sapros) — corrupt, rotten, worthless; the standard contrast in the good-tree / corrupt-tree sayings (Matt 7:17-18; 12:33; Luke 6:43).

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἀγαθός (agathos)	G18	"good," "a good"	Agathos = intrinsically/ethically good (beneficial in essence); kalos = excellent/beautiful in observable quality and fitness. Agathos asks "is it morally good?" — kalos asks "is it fine/fit/admirable?"
κρείττων (kreittōn)	G2909	"better"	Comparative of a different stem; explicitly comparative ("stronger, superior"). Kalos "better" is contextual ("it is good [i.e. preferable] to...").
κρεῖσσον (kreisson)	G2908	"better"	Neuter comparative variant of kreittōn; Hebrews prefers this for "better covenant/sacrifice/hope."
χρηστός (chrēstos)	G5543	"better," also "kind, gracious"	Emphasizes useful kindness/pleasantness; kalos emphasizes fine quality.
δίκαιος (dikaios)	G1342	"meet," "good"	Dikaios = righteous/just (conformity to norm); kalos = fine/fitting (excellence of quality).
εὔθετος (euthetos)	G2111	"meet"	Literally "well-placed, fit for use"; kalos is broader and often aesthetic.

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Score	Notes
טוֹב (ṭôwb)	H2896	98	4.86	22.35	Primary LXX equivalent — the comprehensive Hebrew "good" word
יָפֶה (yâpheh)	H3303	17	6.64	19.18	"Beautiful, fair" — the aesthetic side of kalos
בָּרִיא (bârîyʼ)	H1277	5	5.87	10.52	"Fatted, plump" — good in the sense of well-fed/prime
מַרְאֶה (marʼeh)	H4758	10	4.34	10.41	"Appearance, view" — what is fair to look upon
נָעִים (nâʻîym)	H5273	4	5.66	9.12	"Pleasant, delightful"
יָטַב (yâṭab)	H3190	9	3.73	8.60	Verb: "to be good, do well"
נֹעַם (nôʻam)	H5278	3	6.03	8.36	"Pleasantness, delight, suitableness"

Kalos in the LXX regularly translates tob — the broad Hebrew "good" that includes Gen 1's "God saw that it was good." It also renders yapheh (beautiful) and nʻm (pleasant), reinforcing the aesthetic-plus-ethical range.

Notes on Ancient Wine Usage (John 2:10)¶

Kalos in John 2:10 describes wine as judged by a trained household steward (architriklinos) at a wedding banquet. The criteria built into the word are observable excellence — what a connoisseur recognizes as fine-quality wine. The word itself does not specify which quality (sweetness vs. strength vs. freshness vs. aging) — it is the generic "excellent, fine" register. For specifics on what ancient wine-stewards prized, see the WG-wine.md word-group study and the G3631-oinos.md and TR-yayin-oinos.md studies, which document the range of oinos (fermented, unfermented, aged, new, mixed). The contribution kalos makes is simply that the wine Jesus produced met or exceeded the steward's standard of excellence; the steward's remark compares it favorably to the earlier wine of the feast.

Kalos is used elsewhere for observable-quality items: "goodly pearls" (Matt 13:45), "goodly stones" of the temple (Luke 21:5), "good ground" (Matt 13:8), "good seed" (Matt 13:24), "good fruit" (Matt 7:17). The common thread is recognizable excellence of the right kind — a thing that is what it ought to be, at a superior grade.