G4127 — πληγή (plēgḗ)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G4127
Original: πληγή
Transliteration: plēgḗ
Pronunciation: play-gay
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: πλήσσω (plēssō, G4141) — to strike, smite (Rev 8:12 only)
Occurrences: 22 in NT (20 unique verses, 21 tokens per translation DB)
Books: 4 (Luke, Acts, 2 Corinthians, Revelation)
First Occurrence: Luke 10:30 — "fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G4141; a stroke; by implication, a wound; figuratively, a calamity. KJV: plague, stripe, wound.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Primary Domain: 20.002 — Violence, Harm, Destroy, Kill / Harm, Wound
Secondary Domains: 19.001 (Hit, Strike), 23.009 (Sickness, Disease, Weakness), 22.001 (Trouble, Hardship, Distress)
Key domain neighbors (20.002): ἀδικέω G91 (hurt, wrong), βλάπτω G984 (harm), κακόω G2559 (mistreat, harm), μάστιξ G3148 (scourge, plague)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
019	Physical Impact	Covers the concrete sense of a stroke, blow, or wound.
020	Violence, Harm, Destroy, Kill	Fits πληγή where injury or destructive harm is foregrounded.
023	Physiological Processes and States	Captures plague/affliction contexts where bodily suffering is emphasized.
022	Trouble, Hardship, Relief, Favorable Circumstances	Captures the calamity/distress side of the word in judgment scenes.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
plagues	10	50%
stripes	4	20%
wound / wounded	4	20%
plague	1	5%
of stripes	1	5%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Book Verses	Per 100
Revelation	14	404	3.5
2 Corinthians	2	257	0.8
Luke	2	1151	0.2
Acts	2	1007	0.2

Pattern: Overwhelmingly concentrated in Revelation (64% of occurrences at highest density). The Synoptic/Acts uses are all physical beatings; 2 Corinthians uses are apostolic suffering; Revelation shifts to eschatological divine judgment.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Physical Blows / Stripes (Human Violence or Judicial Punishment)¶

The most concrete usage — literal wounds or lashes inflicted on a person.

Luke 10:30 — "fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him [πληγὰς]"
Acts 16:23 — "when they had laid many stripes [πληγὰς] upon them, they cast them into prison"
Acts 16:33 — "washed their stripes [πληγῶν]" — jailer's response after the earthquake
Luke 12:48 — "things worthy of stripes [πληγῶν], shall be beaten with few stripes"

2. Apostolic Suffering (Paul's Catalog of Hardships)¶

Paul uses the word to inventory his physical sufferings as a credential of genuine apostolic ministry.

2 Cor 6:5 — "In stripes [πληγαῖς], in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings"
2 Cor 11:23 — "in stripes [πληγαῖς] above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft"

3. The Beast's Deadly Wound¶

A singular πληγή (θανάτου = "of death") describes a mortal wound the beast receives and from which it recovers — a defining mark of the beast narrative in Rev 13.

Rev 13:3 — "I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death [πληγὴν τοῦ θανάτου]; and his deadly wound was healed"
Rev 13:12 — "causeth the earth...to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed [πληγὴ τοῦ θανάτου]"
Rev 13:14 — "the beast, which had the wound [πληγὴν] by a sword, and did live"

4. The Seven Last Plagues (Eschatological Judgment Series)¶

The dominant usage: seven angels pour out the seven last plagues as the complete and final expression of God's wrath.

Rev 15:1 — "seven angels having the seven last plagues [πληγὰς]; for in them is filled up the wrath of God"
Rev 15:6 — "the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues [πληγὰς]"
Rev 15:8 — "no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues [πληγαὶ] of the seven angels were fulfilled"
Rev 16:9 — "blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues [πληγὰς]"
Rev 21:9 — "one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues [πληγῶν]"

5. Plagues as Divine Retribution / Warning¶

Broader uses: plagues as consequence of sin, instrument of prophecy, or threatened consequence for corrupting Scripture.

Rev 9:18 — "By these three plagues [πληγῶν] was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone"
Rev 9:20 — "the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues [πληγαῖς] yet repented not"
Rev 11:6 — "have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues [πληγῇ]"
Rev 18:4 — "that ye receive not of her plagues [πληγῶν]" — call to come out of Babylon
Rev 18:8 — "Therefore shall her plagues [πληγαὶ] come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine"
Rev 22:18 — "God shall add unto him the plagues [πληγὰς] that are written in this book"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-verses	Typical Pattern
ἑπτά (seven)	G2033	4x (20%)	"the seven last plagues" — the eschatological series
θάνατος (death)	G2288	4x (20%)	"deadly wound" (πληγὴ θανάτου) and death alongside plagues
ἄγγελος (angel)	G32	4x (20%)	"seven angels having the seven plagues"
γῆ (earth)	G1093	4x (20%)	plagues smiting the earth / inhabitants of the earth
πᾶς (all/every)	G3956	4x (20%)	"smite the earth with all plagues"
ἔχω (have/hold)	G2192	6x (30%)	"angels having the plagues"; beast "had the wound"
θηρίον (beast)	G2342	3x (15%)	the beast's deadly wound (Rev 13)
ἐξουσία (power)	G1849	3x (15%)	"power over these plagues"; "power over waters to smite with plagues"

Word Family / Cognates¶

G4141 πλήσσω (plēssō) — root verb: to strike, smite (NT hapax — Rev 8:12 only)
G4131 πλήκτης (plēktēs) — a striker, quarrelsome person (1 Tim 3:3; Titus 1:7)

Synonyms¶

G4938 σύντριμμα (syntrimma) — fracture, crushing, ruin; overlaps with the wound/breakage result of a blow.
G4417 πταίω (ptaio) — stumble, fall, incur harm; overlaps where damaging impact or injury is in view.
G3809 παιδεία (paideia) — chastening, correction; overlaps with the punitive "stripes" sense of blows administered as discipline.
G3468 μώλωψ (mōlōps) — bruise/stripe; the closest NT parallel for the mark left by a blow.
G3119 μαλακία (malakia) — sickness, weakness; overlaps with the affliction/plague side of πληγή rather than the striking event itself.

Antonyms¶

No direct antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G4127.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
μάστιξ (mastix)	G3148	"plagues," "stripes"	mastix = a whip or scourge (also translated "plague" in NT); πληγή = the resulting blow/wound itself
μώλωψ (mōlōps)	G3468	"stripes"	mōlōps = the bruise/weal left by a blow (1 Pet 2:24, citing Isa 53:5); more specific to the mark left
H4347 מַכָּה (makkâh)	H4347	"plagues," "stripes"	Hebrew equivalent; also means stroke, blow, slaughter — shares both physical and divine-judgment senses

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
מַכָּה (makkâh)	H4347	39	8.20	Primary bridge — stroke, blow, plague (Exod, Deut, 2 Chr)
מַגֵּפָה (maggêphâh)	H4046	9	6.93	Pestilence, plague (Numbers, 1 Sam)
נָכָה (nâkâh)	H5221	25	4.24	Verb: to strike — LXX uses πληγή for this verb's cognate nouns
שֶׁבֶר (sheber)	H7667	5	5.44	Fracture, ruin, breach — LXX renders as πληγή in affliction contexts

Dominant bridge: H4347 מַכָּה (makkâh) — both words cover the full range from physical blow to divine judgment plague.