G5331 — φαρμακεία (pharmakeia)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G5331
Original: φαρμακεία
Transliteration: pharmakeia
Pronunciation: far-mak-i'-ah
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: φάρμακον (pharmakon) — a drug, spell-giving potion
Occurrences: 3 unique verses (3 tokens) in NT
First Occurrence: Gal 5:20 — "Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From φάρμακον (pharmakon, a drug / spell-giving potion); medication ("pharmacy"), i.e. (by extension) magic, sorcery. The lexicon also references LXX usage in Exod 7:11, 7:22, 8:18 and Isa 47:9.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 53.10 — Magic
Parent Domain: 53 — Religious Activities
Other words in subdomain: βασκαίνω (G940), μαγεία (G3095), μαγεύω (G3096), μάγος (G3097), περίεργος (G4021), φάρμακον (G5331a), φάρμακος (G5333)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
053	Religious Activities	`search_relationships.py` locates pharmakeia in the religious-activity field, reinforcing that the NT uses treat it as cultic/spiritual practice rather than neutral medicine.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
sorceries	2	66.7%
witchcraft	1	33.3%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Galatians	1	0.7
Revelation	2	0.5

Only 2 books, both by NT authors addressing pagan contexts. Galatians uses the singular (vice list); Revelation uses genitive plural and dative singular (apocalyptic judgment scenes).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Vice / Work of the Flesh¶

Gal 5:20 — "Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,"

Listed immediately after εἰδωλολατρεία (idolatry) in Paul's "works of the flesh" catalogue (Gal 5:19–21). The pairing with idolatry places pharmakeia in the sphere of false worship and spiritual rebellion. Nominative singular.

2. Apocalyptic Deception and Impenitence¶

Rev 18:23 — "...for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived."
Rev 9:21 — "Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts."

In Revelation, pharmakeia is an instrument of Babylon's deception over nations (18:23, dative singular — the means by which deception occurs) and a sin from which the impenitent refuse to turn (9:21, genitive plural — listed alongside murders, fornication, and thefts).

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
εἰδωλολατρεία (eidōlolatreia)	G1495	1x	Paired in vice list: "idolatry, pharmakeia"
ἔχθρα (echthra)	G2189	1x	Fellow item in works-of-the-flesh catalogue
ἔρις (eris)	G2054	1x	Fellow item in works-of-the-flesh catalogue
αἵρεσις (hairesis)	G139	1x	Fellow item in works-of-the-flesh catalogue
ἔμπορος (emporos)	G1713	1x	Babylon's merchants deceived nations by pharmakeia
μετανοέω (metanoeo)	G3340	1x	Refusal to repent of pharmakeia (Rev 9:21)
κλέμμα (klemma)	G2809	1x	Co-listed sin: "murders, sorceries, fornication, thefts"
ἔθνος (ethnos)	G1484	1x	"By thy sorceries were all nations deceived"

With only 3 verses, all collocations are 1x. The most theologically significant are the idolatry pairing (Gal 5) and the nations-deception context (Rev 18).

Word Family / Cognates¶

G5332 φαρμακεύς (pharmakeus) — masculine noun: a druggist, poisoner, sorcerer (Rev 21:8, 1x)
G5333 φάρμακος (pharmakos) — adjective used substantively: sorcerer (Rev 21:8; 22:15, 1x in KJV count)
G5331a φάρμακον (pharmakon) — the base noun: a drug, poison, spell-giving potion (not independently numbered in most Strong's systems; root form from which the family derives)

All three cognates share the pharma- root and cluster exclusively in Galatians 5 and Revelation 9, 18, 21, 22.

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G5331.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G5331.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
μαγεία (mageia)	G3095	"sorcery" (Acts 8:11)	mageia = magic arts broadly, associated with Simon Magus; pharmakeia = specifically drug/potion-based sorcery
μαγεύω (mageuō)	G3096	"used sorcery" (Acts 8:9)	Verb form of magos; denotes practicing magic generally
μάγος (magos)	G3097	"sorcerer" (Acts 13:6, 8)	A magician or oriental scientist; positive use for wise men (Matt 2), negative for sorcerers (Acts 13)
βασκαίνω (baskainō)	G940	"bewitched" (Gal 3:1)	To bewitch by fascination/evil eye; no drug/potion connotation

The pharma- family is distinguished from the mag- family by its etymological connection to drugs and potions, though in NT usage both refer broadly to illicit spiritual manipulation.

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 53.10 — Magic)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation	Key Difference
G940	βασκαίνω	1	hath bewitched	Evil eye / fascination; no drug connection
G3095	μαγεία	1	with sorceries	Magic arts generally (Simon Magus context)
G3096	μαγεύω	1	used sorcery	Verb: to practice magic (Simon Magus)
G3097	μάγος	5	wise men, sorcerer	Oriental magician; neutral (Matt 2) or negative (Acts)
G4021	περίεργος	2	busybodies, curious arts	Meddlesome; "curious arts" = occult books burned at Ephesus
G5333	φάρμακος	1	sorcerers	Cognate adjective: the person who practices pharmakeia

Hebrew Source¶

No Hebrew sources found via LXX alignment data. However, the lexicon references LXX usage in Exod 7:11, 7:22, 8:18 (Egyptian sorcerers) and Isa 47:9 (Babylon's sorceries), suggesting pharmakeia translates Hebrew כֶּשֶׁף (kesheph, H3785) in the LXX — the standard OT word for sorcery/witchcraft.

Morphological Forms¶

Reference	Form	Parsing
Gal 5:20	φαρμακεία	Nominative Singular Feminine
Rev 9:21	φαρμακιῶν	Genitive Plural Feminine
Rev 18:23	φαρμακίᾳ	Dative Singular Feminine

All Verse Texts¶

Galatians 5:20 — Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Revelation 9:21 — Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Revelation 18:23 — And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.