G5059 — τέρας (téras)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G5059
Original: τέρας
Transliteration: téras
Pronunciation: ter'-as
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Occurrences: 16 in NT (16 unique verses, 16 tokens)
Books: 8 (Mat, Mar, Jhn, Act, Rom, 2Co, 2Th, Heb)
First Occurrence: Mat 24:24 — "there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders (τέρατα)"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

τέρας, -ας; of uncertain affinity; a prodigy or omen: — wonder.

A marvel or portent that astonishes the beholder. In Classical Greek it denoted an ominous sign from the gods, a prodigy in nature, or a monstrous/miraculous event. In the NT it always appears in the plural and is invariably paired with σημεῖα (signs).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 33.477 — Non-Verbal Communication (within Domain 33: Communication)
Sense: a wondrous event that carries significance — a portent or marvel, communicating something beyond itself.
Other words in subdomain: διανεύω (G1269), ἔκστασις (G1611), ἐννεύω (G1770), ἐνύπνιον (G1798), νεύω (G3506), ὄναρ (G3677), ὀπτασία (G3701), ὅραμα (G3705), ὅρασις (G3706)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [033] Communication

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
wonders	16	100%

Note: τέρας is rendered uniformly "wonders" in KJV — no translational variation. Every KJV occurrence stands in a "signs and wonders" / "wonders and signs" phrase.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 Thessalonians	1	2.1
Acts	9	0.9
2 Corinthians	1	0.4
Hebrews	1	0.3
Romans	1	0.2
Matthew	1	0.1
Mark	1	0.1
John	1	0.1

Patterns: Heavily concentrated in Acts (9 of 16 uses = 56%), matching Luke's emphasis on apostolic "signs and wonders" as authentication of the gospel. Completely absent from Paul's pastorals, General Epistles except Hebrews, and all of Luke's Gospel (though frequent in Acts). The Synoptic occurrences (Mat, Mar) are both eschatological warnings; John's single use is a rebuke; 2 Thess 2:9 assigns the phrase to the lawless one.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Apostolic / Divine Authentication (Acts dominant)¶

Wonders worked through the apostles or early church as validation of the gospel message, typically paired with God's agency, the Spirit, or Jesus' name. - Acts 2:43 — "many wonders and signs were done by the apostles" - Acts 4:30 — "that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus" - Acts 5:12 — "by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought" - Acts 14:3 — "granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands"

2. Christ's Own Ministry Attested¶

The formula applied to Jesus' earthly ministry as God's accreditation of him. - Acts 2:22 — "Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs" - Heb 2:4 — "God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles"

3. Mosaic / Exodus Echo¶

Wonders recalling the Exodus typology — deliverance from Egypt as the prototype of all later signs-and-wonders language (reflecting LXX usage of מוֹפֵת/מוֹפְתִים). - Acts 7:36 — Stephen: Moses "shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea" - Acts 2:19 — Joel quoted: "I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath"

4. Eschatological Counterfeit (false signs-and-wonders)¶

Wonders worked by deceivers — the same vocabulary as authentic divine authentication, deliberately mimicked. - Mat 24:24 — "false Christs, and false prophets… shall shew great signs and wonders" - Mar 13:22 — parallel: "false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders" - 2Th 2:9 — the lawless one's coming "is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders" (τέρασιν ψεύδους — "wonders of falsehood")

5. Sight-Based Faith Rebuked¶

A single occurrence where demanding to see wonders is cast as deficient faith. - Jhn 4:48 — "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe"

6. Paul's Apostolic Credentials¶

Paul's own defense of his ministry — "signs and wonders" as the mark of true apostleship, worked through the Spirit. - Rom 15:19 — "Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God" - 2Co 12:12 — "the signs of an apostle were wrought among you… in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
σημεῖον (sēmeîon)	G4592	16x / 16 (100%)	"signs and wonders" / "wonders and signs" — τέρας never appears alone
δύναμις (dýnamis)	G1411	6x (38%)	triadic "signs, wonders, and mighty works" (Acts 2:22; 2Co 12:12; 2Th 2:9; Heb 2:4; Rom 15:19)
ποιέω (poiéō)	G4160	4x (25%)	"to do/work wonders"
γίνομαι (gínomai)	G1096	4x (25%)	"wonders were done/came to pass"
δίδωμι (dídōmi)	G1325	4x (25%)	"granted / gave wonders" (divine passive idiom)
θεός (theós)	G2316	4x (25%)	God as source/agent of the wonders
πᾶς (pâs)	G3956	4x (25%)	"all / many" — quantifier emphasizing abundance
ἀπόστολος (apóstolos)	G652	3x (19%)	wonders wrought by/through the apostles
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs)	G2424	3x (19%)	wonders done in Jesus' name or attesting Jesus
χείρ (cheír)	G5495	3x (19%)	"by the hands of" — instrumental agency idiom
πνεῦμα (pneûma)	G4151	2x (12%)	Spirit as empowering source (Acts 2:19; Rom 15:19)
λαός (laós)	G2992	2x (12%)	wonders done "among the people"
μέγας (mégas)	G3173	2x (12%)	"great wonders" (Mat 24:24; Acts 6:8)

The defining collocation: τέρας + σημεῖον at 100% co-occurrence. The pair forms a single fixed formula; τέρας never stands alone in the NT.

Word Family / Semantic Cluster¶

σημεῖον (sēmeîon) G4592 — "sign"; the obligatory partner of τέρας. σημεῖον emphasizes meaning/pointing; τέρας emphasizes astonishment/portent.
δύναμις (dýnamis) G1411 — "mighty work, power"; the third member of the standard triad. δύναμις emphasizes effecting power.
θαῦμα (thaûma) G2295 — "marvel, wonder" (the reaction); related emotional/cognitive concept.
θαυμάσιος (thaumásios) G2297 — "wonderful thing" (only Mat 21:15).

Synonyms¶

search_relationships.py surfaced overlapping sign/wonder vocabulary: - G2917 κρίμα (krima) — judgment, verdict - G2297 θαυμάσιος (thaumasios) — wonderful, marvelous - G4592 σημεῖον (sēmeion) — sign; the fixed NT partner of τέρας

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G5059.

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
σημεῖον	G4592	"wonders" (rare: Rev 15:1, etc.) / normally "sign"	σημεῖον primarily = sign pointing to meaning; τέρας = the astonishing event itself. They are paired, not synonymous.
פֶּלֶא (peleʼ)	H6382	OT "wonders"	Hebrew noun for marvelous/extraordinary acts of God; mostly rendered θαυμάσιος or ἔνδοξος in LXX, not τέρας.
מוֹפֵת (môphêth)	H4159	OT "wonders" / "sign"	Primary Hebrew source of τέρας in LXX (see Hebrew Source below).
פָּלָא (pâlâʼ)	H6381	OT verb "do wondrously"	Verbal root underlying peleʼ; describes God as agent of marvel, not the portent itself.

Domain Neighbors (33.477 Non-Verbal Communication)¶

Word	Strong's	Total Verses	Primary KJV
ἔκστασις	G1611	5	trance, amazed
ὄναρ	G3677	6	dream
ὀπτασία	G3701	4	vision
ὅραμα	G3705	12	vision
ὅρασις	G3706	3	sight, to look upon
ἐνύπνιον	G1798	1	dream

These share the domain of events/phenomena that communicate non-verbally, but τέρας is distinctive: a public astonishing event, not a private vision or dream.

Hebrew Source (LXX → NT bridge)¶

Hebrew	Word	Translit	Co-occ	PMI	Score
H4159	מוֹפֵת	môphêth	32	9.05	31.66
H226	אוֹת	ʼôwth	17	7.02	20.30
H4531	מַסָּה	maççâh	3	8.45	11.71
H6547	פַּרְעֹה	Parʻôh	9	4.53	10.42
H4172	מוֹרָא	môwrâʼ	3	7.18	9.96
H4714	מִצְרַיִם	Mitsrayim	13	3.74	9.87
H2389	חָזָק	châzâq	4	5.43	8.74
H6381	פָּלָא	pâlâʼ	3	4.68	6.49
H2220	זְרוֹעַ	zᵉrôwaʻ	3	4.39	6.09
H5186	נָטָה	nâṭâh	4	3.51	5.65

Dominant Hebrew source: מוֹפֵת (môphêth, H4159) — LXX renders môphêth as τέρας routinely, especially in the Exodus / Deuteronomy wonders-in-Egypt formula ("signs and wonders," אֹתוֹת וּמוֹפְתִים = σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα). The strong PMI scores for פַּרְעֹה, מִצְרַיִם, חָזָק (strong hand), and זְרוֹעַ (outstretched arm) reflect the fixed Exodus-deliverance phraseology where τέρας overwhelmingly appears in LXX. אוֹת (ʼôwth, H226 — "sign") is the Hebrew counterpart of σημεῖον, supplying the other half of the pair.