G4561 — σάρξ (sárx)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G4561
Original: σάρξ
Transliteration: sárx
Pronunciation: sarx
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: probably from base of σαρόω (to sweep, strip)
Occurrences: 130 unique verses (151 tokens) across 22 books
First Occurrence: Matt 16:17 — "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Flesh (as stripped of the skin); by extension the body; by implication human nature with its frailties and passions; total humanity ("all flesh"); in Paul, the sinful principle in the believer opposing the Spirit.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Primary Domain: 008.001 — Body
Additional Domains: 009.001 (Human Beings), 010.001 (Kinship Groups), 023 (Physiological States), 025.002 (Desire Strongly), 058.001 (Nature/Character)
Domain neighbors (008.001): σῶμα G4983 (body, 116v), ἄνθρωπος G444 (man, 346v), πτῶμα G4430 (dead body, 4v), σκῆνος G4636 (tent/tabernacle, 2v)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[008] Body, Body Parts, and Body Products
[009] People
[010] Kinship Terms
[026] Psychological Faculties
[058] Nature, Class, Example
[023] Physiological Processes and States
[025] Attitudes and Emotions
[022] Trouble, Hardship, Relief, Favorable Circumstances

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
flesh	78	60.0%
the flesh	34	26.2%
of the flesh	5	3.8%
to the flesh	5	3.8%
in the flesh	3	2.3%
carnal	2	1.5%
carnally / fleshly	2	1.5%
Other	1	0.8%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Galatians	16	10.7
Colossians	9	9.5
2 John	1	7.7
1 Peter	6	5.7
Romans	23	5.3
Ephesians	8	5.2
Philemon	1	4.0
2 Corinthians	9	3.5
2 Peter	2	3.3
1 John	3	2.9
Hebrews	6	2.0
1 Corinthians	8	1.8
John	12	1.4
James	1	0.9
1 Timothy	1	0.9
Revelation	3	0.7
Matthew	5	0.5
Mark	3	0.4
Acts	4	0.4
Luke	2	0.2
Jude	3	—
Philippians	4	—

Concentrated in Pauline epistles: Galatians (10.7/100), Romans (5.3/100), Colossians (9.5/100). In the Gospels sarx is relatively rare — John's incarnational usage (1:14; 6:51–56) is distinctive. Revelation uses it only literally (19:18, 21).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Physical Flesh / Bodily Substance¶

Literal tissue — human or animal.

Luke 24:39 — "a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have"
1 Cor 15:39 — "All flesh is not the same flesh: one of men, another of beasts, another of fishes, another of birds"
Heb 2:14 — "the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same"
Rev 19:18 — "That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men"

2. Human Beings Collectively ("All Flesh")¶

Sarx as synecdoche for total humanity.

Luke 3:6 — "all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (quoting Isa 40:5)
John 17:2 — "as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life"
Acts 2:17 — "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh" (quoting Joel 2:28)
1 Pet 1:24 — "all flesh is as grass" (quoting Isa 40:6)

3. Incarnation / Embodied Human Existence¶

The enfleshed state — Jesus entering mortal life; believers living in physical bodies.

John 1:14 — "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us"
1 Tim 3:16 — "God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit"
Heb 5:7 — "Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications"
1 John 4:2 — "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God"

4. Human Nature / Sinful Principle¶

The flesh as the seat of self-centered desires opposed to the Spirit — dominant in Paul.

Rom 7:18 — "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing"
Rom 8:5 — "they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit"
Gal 5:17, 19 — "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit... Now the works of the flesh are manifest: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness..."
Gal 5:24 — "they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts"

5. Ethnic / Kinship Identity¶

Natural descent, blood relation, genealogical belonging.

Rom 1:3 — "made of the seed of David according to the flesh"
Rom 9:3 — "my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Paul's fellow Israelites)
Eph 6:5 — "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh"
Phlm 1:16 — "a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord"

6. Religious Externalism¶

Circumcision and outward ordinances as "fleshly"; misplaced confidence in human status or ritual.

Rom 2:28 — "neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh"
Phil 3:3 — "we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit... and have no confidence in the flesh"
Gal 6:12 — "as many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised"
Col 2:11 — "circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
πνεῦμα (pneûma)	G4151	27x	"Spirit vs. flesh" antithesis (Gal 5:17; Rom 8:4–9)
Χριστός (Christós)	G5547	26x	"Christ in the flesh," "crucify the flesh" (Gal 2:20; 1 John 4:2)
θεός (theós)	G2316	25x	"manifest in the flesh" / "cannot please God" (1 Tim 3:16; Rom 8:8)
αἷμα (haîma)	G129	11x	Fixed idiom "flesh and blood" (Matt 16:17; Heb 2:14; 1 Cor 15:50)
ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos)	G444	10x	"all flesh" / "man after the flesh" (John 17:2; 1 Cor 1:26)
νόμος (nómos)	G3551	9x	Law's weakness "through the flesh" (Rom 7:5; 8:3; Gal 2:16)
ζάω (záō)	G2198	9x	"live after the flesh" / "live in the flesh" (Rom 8:12–13; Phil 1:22)
ἐπιθυμία (epithymía)	G1939	7x	"lusts of the flesh" (Eph 2:3; Gal 5:16; 2 Pet 2:18)
ἁμαρτία (hamartía)	G266	7x	"sin in the flesh" (Rom 8:3; Gal 5:19)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G4559 σαρκικός (sarkikós) — adjective: carnal, pertaining to flesh (10v; Rom 7:14; 1 Cor 3:3; 2 Cor 1:12)
G4560 σάρκινος (sárkinos) — adjective: made of flesh, fleshy (Heb 7:16; 2 Cor 3:3)

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms surfaced by search_relationships.py.

Antonyms¶

G4151 πνεῦμα — primary NT contrast term (Rom 8; Gal 5)
G3563 νοῦς — contrasting faculty term listed by search_relationships.py

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
σῶμα (sōma)	G4983	both → "body"	sōma = the whole body as organism/unit; sarx = flesh-substance or sinful nature
κρέας (kréas)	G2907	both → "flesh"	kréas = butcher's meat only; sarx = flesh in all senses (personal, moral, universal)
בָּשָׂר (bâsâr)	H1320	both → "flesh"	bâsâr = physical/kinship flesh in OT; sarx inherits that range but adds Paul's ethical "sinful nature" dimension

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
בָּשָׂר (bâsâr)	H1320	126	6.37 (score: 30.88)
שְׁאֵר (shᵉʼêr)	H7607	7	6.09
עֶצֶם (ʻetsem)	H6106	15	4.43
עוֹר (ʻôwr)	H5785	13	4.64

H1320 bâsâr is overwhelmingly dominant — 126 co-occurrences versus 15 and 13 for the next nearest. NT sarx directly inherits the LXX sarx usage for bâsâr.