G499 — ἀντίτυπος (antítypos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G499
Original: ἀντίτυπος (neuter form ἀντίτυπον appears in NT)
Transliteration: antítypos
Pronunciation: an-TEE-too-pos
Part of Speech: Adjective (used substantivally in NT)
Root: Compound of ἀντί (anti, G473 — "against, corresponding to") + τύπος (typos, G5179 — "stamp, impression, pattern")
Occurrences: 2 in NT (Heb 9:24; 1 Pet 3:21); hapax form in each book
First Occurrence: Heb 9:24 — "the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures (ἀντίτυπα) of the true"
Hapax Legomenon: No (appears twice, once in Hebrews, once in 1 Peter)

Lexicon Definition¶

Strong's: "corresponding (antitype), i.e., a representative, counterpart." From ἀντί (corresponding to) + τύπος (type, pattern, impression). The word literally means "struck back" — a counter-impression produced by a die (τύπος). Thus: a thing that corresponds to and answers a prior pattern.

In classical Greek it could describe anything that "strikes back" or answers a blow; in later usage it specialized toward the sense of a copy, image, or counterpart answering to an original mold.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 58 — Nature, Class, Example
Subdomain: 58.10 — Archetype, Corresponding Type [Antitype]
Gloss: "correspondence | antitype | representation"
Other words in subdomain 58.10:
τύπος (týpos, G5179) — pattern, type
σκιά (skiá, G4639) — shadow, foreshadow
παραβολή (parabolḗ, G3850) — figure, parable, allegory
συστοιχέω (systoichéō, G4960) — to correspond to, stand for
σῶμα (sōma, G4983) — body (in contrast with shadow, Col 2:17)

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
the figures (of the true)	1	50%
The like figure	1	50%

Only 2 occurrences; both rendered with the word "figure." Other English versions render it variously as "copies" / "copy" (Heb 9:24, NASB, ESV), "antitype" (1 Pet 3:21, NKJV), "symbol" (1 Pet 3:21, ESV), "corresponds to this" (1 Pet 3:21, RSV).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Peter	1	1.0
Hebrews	1	0.3

Both occurrences cluster in the NT's cultic / typological literature. Hebrews uses it of the sanctuary; 1 Peter uses it of baptism. The word never appears in the Gospels, Paul's epistles proper, Acts, or Revelation.

Semantic Categories¶

Because the word occurs only twice, the two occurrences constitute its entire semantic range in the NT. They display the word's two possible directions of correspondence.

1. Copy / Counterpart of a Heavenly Original (ἀντίτυπα = the copies answering to the true)¶

Heb 9:24 — "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures (ἀντίτυπα) of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us."

Here the earthly sanctuary is the ἀντίτυπος of the heavenly reality. The earthly is the copy; the heavenly is the original (τὰ ἀληθινά, "the true [things]"). The direction of correspondence runs from earthly copy backward/upward to heavenly archetype. This parallels ὑπόδειγμα ("copy, model") and σκιά ("shadow") in Heb 8:5; 9:23; 10:1.

2. Fulfillment / Reality Answering an Earlier Pattern (ἀντίτυπον = the now-corresponding thing)¶

1 Pet 3:21 — "The like figure (ἀντίτυπον) whereunto [even] baptism doth also now save us... by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Here baptism is the ἀντίτυπον of the Flood / Noah's deliverance by water (v. 20). The direction of correspondence runs from earlier pattern forward to present fulfillment. Baptism is the thing that now answers the ancient event.

Note on the two directions: The single Greek word ἀντίτυπος can point to either member of a type/counterpart pair. In Heb 9:24 the antitype is the earthly copy of a heavenly original. In 1 Pet 3:21 the antitype is the present fulfillment of an ancient pattern. The word itself is bidirectional; context determines which member is the τύπος and which is the ἀντίτυπος.

Common Collocations¶

Because only 2 verses exist, every co-occurring content word appears in exactly one verse (50%). Rather than statistical patterns, these lists show the conceptual company the word keeps:

Word	Strong's	Verse	Typical Pattern
ἅγιον (hágion, "holy places")	G39	Heb 9:24	sanctuary setting
ἀληθινός (alēthinós, "true, real")	G228	Heb 9:24	the original the antitype copies
χειροποίητος (cheiropoíētos, "made with hands")	G5499	Heb 9:24	earthly / manufactured quality of the copy
εἰσέρχομαι (eisérchomai, "to enter")	G1525	Heb 9:24	Christ's entry into the heavenly original
οὐρανός (ouranós, "heaven")	G3772	Heb 9:24	locus of the archetype
πρόσωπον (prósōpon, "face, presence")	G4383	Heb 9:24	Christ's appearance before God
βάπτισμα (báptisma, "baptism")	G908	1 Pet 3:21	the rite identified as antitype
σῴζω (sṓzō, "to save")	G4982	1 Pet 3:21	salvific function of antitype
ἀπόθεσις (apóthesis, "removal")	G595	1 Pet 3:21	what baptism is NOT (mere washing of filth)
ῥύπος (rhýpos, "filth")	G4509	1 Pet 3:21	physical/outward contrast
σάρξ (sárx, "flesh")	G4561	1 Pet 3:21	physical/outward contrast
συνείδησις (syneídēsis, "conscience")	G4893	1 Pet 3:21	inward reality engaged by antitype
ἐπερώτημα (eperṓtēma, "appeal, pledge")	G1906	1 Pet 3:21	what baptism essentially is
ἀνάστασις (anástasis, "resurrection")	G386	1 Pet 3:21	ground of antitype's efficacy
Ἰησοῦς Χριστός (Iēsoûs Christós)	G2424	1 Pet 3:21	agent whose work energizes the antitype

Word Family / Cognates¶

τύπος (týpos, G5179) — the root noun: stamp, impression, pattern, type. The antitype is by definition the counterpart to a τύπος.
τυπικῶς (typikṓs, G5179a) — "by way of example/figure" (1 Cor 10:11).
ὑποτύπωσις (hypotýpōsis, G5296) — outline, pattern (1 Tim 1:16; 2 Tim 1:13).
ἀντί (antí, G473) — preposition "against, in place of, corresponding to," supplying the sense of correspondence/exchange in the compound.

Easily Confused Words (same semantic subdomain 58.10)¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Concept	Key Difference
τύπος	G5179	pattern/type	The original stamp or model; the thing imprinted from which the antitype takes its form.
σκιά	G4639	foreshadowing	Emphasizes insubstantiality — the shadow lacks the body's reality (Col 2:17; Heb 10:1).
ὑπόδειγμα	G5262	copy, example	"Copy/specimen" (Heb 8:5; 9:23); overlaps with ἀντίτυπος in Hebrews' sanctuary discourse.
παραβολή	G3850	figure, parable	An illustrative comparison; in Heb 9:9 the first-compartment ritual is called παραβολή "for the time then present."
εἰκών (eikṓn)	G1504	image/likeness	Stresses derived representation; in Heb 10:1 the law has "not the very image of the things" (cf. σκιά vs εἰκών).
σῶμα	G4983	body, reality	Opposed to σκιά in Col 2:17 as the reality casting the shadow.

Typological Framework in Hebrews¶

Heb 8:5 uses ὑπόδειγμα + σκιά; Heb 9:9 uses παραβολή; Heb 9:23 uses ὑποδείγματα; Heb 9:24 uses ἀντίτυπα; Heb 10:1 uses σκιάν... οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν εἰκόνα. These terms function as near-synonyms for the earthly sanctuary's relation to heavenly realities, each highlighting a slightly different facet (specimen, shadow, figure, counterpart, image).

Hebrew Source¶

No LXX use of ἀντίτυπος occurs in canonical Hebrew Bible texts (the word is almost entirely post-classical). In the Apocrypha it appears in 2 Macc and 3 Macc; no Hebrew Vorlage is involved. The word enters Scripture's vocabulary only in the NT.

The conceptual background in Hebrew typology (earthly sanctuary patterned on a heavenly original) is carried by תַּבְנִית (tabnít, H8403, "pattern") in Ex 25:9, 40 — rendered by τύπος in the LXX (Ex 25:40 cited at Heb 8:5). Thus ἀντίτυπος in Heb 9:24 implicitly answers to the tabnít/τύπος of Exodus.