G3173 — μέγας (megas)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3173
Original: μέγας
Transliteration: megas
Pronunciation: meg'-as
Part of Speech: Adjective
Occurrences: 200 unique verses (212 tokens) across 17 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 2:10 — "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Including the prolonged forms: feminine μεγάλη (megalē), plural μεγάλοι (megaloi), etc. Big (literally or figuratively, in a very wide application): great, high, large, loud, mighty, strong.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - Domain 79.28: Large, Small — primary domain for physical/metaphorical size - Other words in subdomain: ἐλάχιστος (G1646), ἡλίκος (G2245), μεγαλύνω (G3170), μικρός (G3398), πηλίκος (G4080), τηλικοῦτος (G5082) - Domain 78.1: Much, Little (Positive-Negative Degree) - Domain 87.3: High Status or Rank - Domain 65.6: Important, Unimportant - Domain 25.20: Surprise, Astonish

UBS Semantic Domains: - [059] Quantity - [078] Degree - [079] Features of Objects - [087] Status - [025] Attitudes and Emotions - [067] Time - [065] Value

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
great (all forms)	136	68.0%
loud (with a loud / a loud / with loud)	33	16.5%
greater / greatest	16	8.0%
large	2	1.0%
high	2	1.0%
mighty / strong	2	1.0%
Other (exceedingly, more, sore, etc.)	9	4.5%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	75	18.6
Hebrews	10	3.3
Acts	28	2.8
Luke	26	2.3
Mark	15	2.2
Titus	1	2.2
Matthew	22	2.1
James	2	1.9
1 Timothy	2	1.8
2 Peter	1	1.6
John	11	1.3
2 Timothy	1	1.2
Ephesians	1	0.6
1 Corinthians	2	0.5
2 Corinthians	1	0.4
Romans	1	0.2
Jude	1	—

Revelation dominates with 75 of 200 verses (37.5%) at 18.6 per 100 verses — nearly 6x the next highest density. The Synoptic Gospels + Acts account for another 91 uses. Absent from Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, 1–2 Thessalonians, Philemon, 1–3 John (except implied), and 2 Peter uses only 1. This is overwhelmingly an apocalyptic and narrative word.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Physical Size or Magnitude¶

Mat 27:60 — "he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre"
Mk 13:2 — "Seest thou these great buildings?"
Jhn 21:11 — "drew the net to land full of great fishes"
Rev 8:8 — "as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea"

2. Loud Voice / Sound¶

The collocation μέγας + φωνή ("loud voice") accounts for ~33 verses — the single most frequent pattern. - Mat 27:46 — "Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" - Mk 1:26 — "the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice" - Rev 5:2 — "a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice" - Rev 14:7 — "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him"

3. Intensity of Emotion or Event¶

Mat 2:10 — "they rejoiced with exceeding great joy"
Luk 2:10 — "I bring you good tidings of great joy"
Act 5:5 — "great fear came on all them that heard these things"
Rom 9:2 — "I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart"

4. Importance, Status, or Rank¶

Mat 22:36 — "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?"
Mat 20:26 — "whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister"
Tit 2:13 — "the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ"
Heb 4:14 — "we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens"
Heb 13:20 — "that great shepherd of the sheep"

5. Natural Upheaval and Disaster¶

Mat 8:24 — "there arose a great tempest in the sea"
Mat 28:2 — "there was a great earthquake"
Luk 21:11 — "great earthquakes shall be in divers places"
Act 16:26 — "suddenly there was a great earthquake"

6. Apocalyptic / Cosmic Scale (Revelation-heavy)¶

Rev 6:17 — "the great day of his wrath is come"
Rev 12:9 — "the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent"
Rev 16:19 — "great Babylon came in remembrance before God"
Rev 17:1 — "the great whore that sitteth upon many waters"
Rev 20:11 — "I saw a great white throne"
Rev 21:10 — "shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
φωνή (phōnē)	G5456	46x	"with a loud [great] voice" — crying, proclaiming
θεός (theos)	G2316	39x	"the great God," God as agent behind great events
οὐρανός (ouranos)	G3772	33x	voices/signs from heaven, cosmic scope
ἄγγελος (aggelos)	G32	31x	angel crying "with a loud voice"
γῆ (gē)	G1093	28x	great earthquakes, earth-scale judgments
κράζω (krazō)	G2896	17x	"cried with a loud voice"
πόλις (polis)	G4172	16x	"that great city" (Babylon, Jerusalem)
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	16x	"the great day of the Lord"

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3170 μεγαλύνω (megalynō) — to magnify, make great (verb form); 3 unique verses
G3171 μεγάλως (megalōs) — greatly (adverb)
G3172 μεγαλωσύνη (megalōsynē) — greatness, majesty
G3176 μέγιστος (megistos) — greatest (superlative)
G3167 μεγαλεῖος (megaleios) — magnificent, great things

Synonyms¶

G2478 ἰσχυρός (ischyrós) — strong, mighty
G1210 δέω (déō) — bind, constrain
G5312 ὑψόω (hupsóō) — exalt, lift up
G2427 ἱκανόω (hikanóō) — make able, qualify
G1415 δυνατός (dynatós) — mighty, powerful, able
G4116 πλατύς (platýs) — broad, wide
G4129 πληθύνω (plēthýnō) — increase, multiply

Antonyms¶

G3398 μικρός (mikrós) — small, little
G4434 πτωχός (ptōchós) — poor, needy
G4728 στενός (stenós) — narrow, strait

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
πολύς (polys)	G4183	"great" (31v for polys)	polys = great in quantity/number; megas = great in size, rank, or intensity
μείζων (meizōn)	G3187	"greater" (8v each)	meizōn is the comparative form of megas itself — "larger/greater than"
ὑψηλός (hypsēlos)	G5308	"high" (4v)	hypsēlos = spatially high, lofty; megas = large-scale, not specifically vertical

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 79.28 — Large, Small)¶

Word	Strong's	Verses	Primary KJV	Key Difference
ἐλάχιστος (elachistos)	G1646	8	least	superlative of mikros — smallest/least important
ἡλίκος (hēlikos)	G2245	2	how great	interrogative — "how great?"
μεγαλύνω (megalynō)	G3170	3	magnify	verbal form — "to make great"
μικρός (mikros)	G3398	16	little	antonym — small in size or status
πηλίκος (pēlikos)	G4080	2	how great, how large	interrogative — "how large?"
τηλικοῦτος (tēlikoutos)	G5082	4	so great, so mighty	demonstrative — "this great/so great"

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
גָּדוֹל (gadol)	H1419	415	30.98
קָטָן (qatan)	H6996	38	14.76
רַב (rab, Aramaic)	H7229	12	12.90
רַבְרַב (rabrab, Aramaic)	H7260	8	11.76
עָצוּם (atsum)	H6099	13	10.94
רַב (rab)	H7227	50	8.84
חָזָק (chazaq)	H2389	13	8.70
קוֹל (qol)	H6963	47	8.48

The primary Hebrew equivalent is גָּדוֹל (gadol, H1419) with 415 LXX co-occurrences — the dominant bridge by a wide margin. The pairing with קוֹל (qol, "voice") reflects the same "loud voice" collocation pattern seen in the NT.