G4221 — ποτήριον (potḗrion)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G4221
Original: ποτήριον
Transliteration: potḗrion
Pronunciation: pot-ay'-ree-on
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: Diminutive of ποτήρ (from πίνω, pínō, G4095 — "to drink")
Occurrences: 30 unique verses (33 tokens) across 6 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 10:42 — "whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold [water]"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A drinking-vessel; by extension the contents of such a vessel. Neuter of a derivative of the alternate of πίνω (pínō, "to drink"). In biblical usage the literal vessel frequently becomes a metonym for what it holds, and then a figure for allotted experience — whether blessing or judgment.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 6.016 — Containers (primary, literal sense): vessels, bottles, boxes, purses, coffers
Domain 24.6 — Pain, Suffering (figurative sense): shares this domain with βαπτίζω (baptízō, G907, "baptize/overwhelm") — the linked "cup and baptism" idiom in Mk 10:38–39

UBS Semantic Domains: - [006] Artifacts - [090] Case - [024] Sensory Events and States

Domain Neighbors (6.016 — Containers)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total vv	Primary KJV
G30	ἀγγεῖον	2	vessels
G211	ἀλάβαστρος	4	alabaster box
G779	ἀσκός	4	bottles
G905	βαλλάντιον	4	purse
G1049	γαζοφυλάκιον	4	treasury
G1101	γλωσσόκομον	2	bag
G1435	δῶρον	16	gift
G2336	θήκη	1	sheath
G2344	θησαυρός	14	treasure

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
cup	24	80.0%
a cup	2	6.7%
the cup	2	6.7%
cups	1	3.3%
of cups	1	3.3%

Strikingly narrow — KJV renders it "cup" in every single occurrence. No English alternate exists in the KJV vocabulary for this word.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Corinthians	6	1.4
Mark	7	1.0
Revelation	4	1.0
Matthew	8	0.7
Luke	4	0.3
John	1	0.1

Patterns: Exclusively a Gospels + 1 Corinthians + Revelation word. Absent from Paul's non-Corinthian epistles, Acts, General Epistles, and Hebrews. The concentration is telling — every use sits in one of three settings: (1) Jesus teaching/Passion (Gospels), (2) the Lord's Supper (1 Cor), or (3) apocalyptic judgment (Revelation). 1 Corinthians has the highest density because ch. 10–11 is the NT's sustained treatise on the eucharistic cup.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Literal drinking vessel¶

Mat 10:42 — "a cup of cold [water]"
Mar 9:41 — "a cup of water to drink in my name"
Mar 7:4, 7:8 — "washing of pots and cups" (ceremonial purity)

2. The vessel and its outside/inside (object of ritual cleansing)¶

Mat 23:25 — "ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter"
Mat 23:26 — "cleanse first that which is within the cup"
Luk 11:39 — "ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup"

3. The cup of suffering / the Father's cup (Gethsemane + linked "cup and baptism")¶

Mat 20:22–23 — "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of...?"
Mar 10:38–39 — "can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism...?"
Mat 26:39, 26:42 — "let this cup pass from me... if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it"
Mar 14:36 — "take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt"
Luk 22:42 — "if thou be willing, remove this cup from me"
Jhn 18:11 — "the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"

4. The eucharistic cup / cup of blessing (Lord's Supper)¶

Mat 26:27 — "he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them"
Mar 14:23 — "he took the cup, and when he had given thanks"
Luk 22:17, 22:20 — "the cup... This cup is the new testament in my blood"
1Co 10:16 — "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?"
1Co 11:25–28 — "this cup is the new testament in my blood... drink this cup... drink of that cup"

5. Covenant-exclusive cup (cup of the Lord vs. cup of devils)¶

1Co 10:21 — "Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils"
1Co 11:27 — "whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily"

6. The cup of wrath / judgment (apocalyptic)¶

Rev 14:10 — "the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation"
Rev 16:19 — "great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath"
Rev 17:4 — "having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication"
Rev 18:6 — "in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-vv	Typical Pattern
πίνω (pínō)	G4095	14x (47%)	"drink the cup" — the governing verb
λέγω (légō)	G3004	11x (37%)	"saying... this cup" — institution/prayer formula
ἔπω (épō)	G2036	6x (20%)	speech introducing the cup-saying
πατήρ (patḗr)	G3962	6x (20%)	"Father, let this cup..." (Gethsemane cluster)
βαπτίζω (baptízō)	G907	5x (17%)	"drink the cup... baptized with baptism" (suffering idiom)
δίδωμι (dídōmi)	G1325	5x (17%)	Father/Son "gives" the cup; Jesus "gives" it to disciples
δύναμαι (dýnamai)	G1410	5x (17%)	"are ye able...?" / "I cannot" — capacity to drink
αἷμα (haîma)	G129	4x (13%)	"cup... my blood" — covenant pairing
ἄρτος (ártos)	G740	4x (13%)	"bread and cup" — Supper dyad
βάπτισμα (báptisma)	G908	4x (13%)	paired with cup in suffering sayings
εὐχαριστέω (eucharistéō)	G2168	3x (10%)	"took the cup and gave thanks"
γέμω (gémō)	G1073	3x (10%)	"cup full of" — used in both Rev 17:4 (abominations) and Mat 23:25 (extortion)
καθαρίζω (katharízō)	G2511	3x (10%)	cleanse-the-cup idiom (Pharisee sayings)
λαμβάνω (lambánō)	G2983	3x (10%)	"he took the cup"

Word Family / Cognates¶

πίνω (pínō) G4095 — parent verb: "to drink"; governs almost half of all potērion uses
πόσις (pósis) G4213 — "drinking, drink" (nomen actionis from same root)

Synonyms¶

No distinct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G4221 beyond its immediate drink/container family.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G4221.

Easily Confused Words (Hebrew source candidates)¶

Word	Strong's	Shared translation	Key Difference
כּוֹס (kôwç)	H3563	"cup" (LXX → poterion)	The dominant OT source; same figurative range (cup of wrath, cup of salvation)
גְּבִיעַ (gᵉbîyaʻ)	H1375	"cup" (e.g. Gen 44 Joseph's cup; Jer 35:5)	Bowl-shaped vessel; ceremonial rather than drinking
סַף (çaph)	H5592	"cup" (once, Zech 12:2)	Basin/threshold vessel; not a drinking cup

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
כּוֹס (kôwç)	H3563	26	9.50	Primary equivalent — the OT cup of wrath (Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17,22; Jer 25:15) and cup of salvation (Ps 16:5; 23:5; 116:13) both translated by potērion in LXX
שָׁתָה (shâthâh)	H8354	10	5.41	"drink" — governing verb when cup appears
יַיִן (yayin)	H3196	6	5.30	"wine" — cup's usual contents
שָׁקָה (shâqâh)	H8248	4	5.80	Hiphil: "give to drink" (e.g. Jer 25:15 making the nations drink the cup)
חֵמָה (chêmâh)	H2534	3	4.38	"wrath/fury" — the defining genitive in the cup-of-wrath oracles (Isa 51:17,22 "cup of his fury")

The LXX bridge is strong: potērion carries the full figurative inheritance of Hebrew kôwç. The cup-of-wrath language in Rev 14:10 and Rev 16:19 quotes directly from this tradition (Ps 75:8 LXX; Jer 25:15–28 LXX; Isa 51:17–22 LXX).