G721 — ἀρνίον (arnion)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G721
Original: ἀρνίον
Transliteration: arníon
Pronunciation: ar-nee'-on
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: Diminutive of ἀρήν (arēn, G704) — a lamb (as a male)
Occurrences: 30 tokens in 28 unique verses across 2 books
First Occurrence: John 21:15 — "Feed my lambs (arnia)"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Diminutive from G704 (ἀρήν); a lambkin: — lamb.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 4 — Animals (literal zoological sense)
Domain 11 — Groups and Classes of Persons (figurative / socio-religious sense)
Subdomain 11.002 — Socio-Religious
Glosses: lamb, sheep, ram
Other words in Animal domain: ἀμνός (amnos, G286), ἀρήν (arēn, G704), πρόβατον (probaton, G4263), ζῷον (zōon, G2226), θηρίον (thērion, G2342)

Domain Neighbors (Lamb / Sheep Group)¶

Strong's	Word	Verses	Primary KJV	Key Difference
G286	ἀμνός (amnos)	4	"Lamb"	Used by John the Baptist for Jesus (Jhn 1:29, 36); sacrificial victim imagery; masculine noun
G704	ἀρήν (arēn)	1	"lambs"	Root word of arnion; NT hapax (Lk 10:3); generic young male lamb
G4263	πρόβατον (probaton)	37	"sheep"	The flock animal; Jesus' followers as sheep (Jhn 10); never used as christological title
G2226	ζῷον (zōon)	20	"beasts"	The four living creatures around the throne; not sacrificial

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
Lamb	22	78.6%
Lamb's	2	7.1%
a Lamb	2	7.1%
a lamb	1	3.6%
lambs	1	3.6%

All 28 verses translate arnion as "lamb" — no alternative renderings in KJV.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	27	6.7
John	1	0.1

Nearly exclusive to Revelation (96%). The single Gospel occurrence (Jhn 21:15) uses the plural form ἀρνία (arnia) in a pastoral command. Every other occurrence is the singular Ἀρνίον as a christological title.

Grammatical Distribution¶

Case	Count	Usage Pattern
Genitive (GSN)	14	"of the Lamb" — possessive (blood, book, throne, song, wife, apostles)
Nominative (NSN)	7	The Lamb as subject — acting, standing, overcoming
Dative (DSN)	5	"unto/before the Lamb" — worship and following contexts
Accusative (ASN)	3	The Lamb as object — beholding (Rev 5:6), simile (Rev 13:11)
Accusative Plural (APN)	1	"lambs" — Jhn 21:15, the only plural use

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Enthroned Lamb — Sovereign Authority¶

Rev 5:6 — "in the midst of the throne... stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes"
Rev 7:17 — "the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them"
Rev 22:1 — "proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb"
Rev 22:3 — "the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it"

2. The Slain Lamb — Sacrificial Redemption¶

Rev 5:12 — "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom"
Rev 13:8 — "the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world"
Rev 7:14 — "washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb"
Rev 12:11 — "they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb"

3. The Lamb as Object of Worship¶

Rev 5:8 — "four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb"
Rev 5:13 — "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power... unto the Lamb for ever and ever"
Rev 7:10 — "Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb"
Rev 15:3 — "they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb"

4. The Lamb as Warrior-Judge¶

Rev 6:16 — "hide us from... the wrath of the Lamb"
Rev 17:14 — "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords"
Rev 14:10 — "tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of... the Lamb"

5. The Lamb as Bridegroom¶

Rev 19:7 — "the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready"
Rev 19:9 — "they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb"
Rev 21:9 — "I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife"

6. The Lamb and the New Jerusalem¶

Rev 21:14 — "the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb"
Rev 21:22 — "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it"
Rev 21:23 — "the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof"
Rev 21:27 — "they which are written in the Lamb's book of life"

7. Pastoral Care / Flock-Tending¶

Jhn 21:15 — "Feed my lambs (arnia)" — the only non-Revelation occurrence; plural, non-titular

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	11x (39%)	"God and the Lamb" — paired as dual objects of worship/sovereignty
θρόνος (thronos)	G2362	8x (29%)	"throne of... the Lamb" — co-enthronement with God
ὁράω (horao)	G3708	6x (21%)	"I beheld... a Lamb" — visionary seeing formula
δόξα (doxa)	G1391	4x (14%)	"glory... unto the Lamb" — doxological context
ζωή (zoe)	G2222	3x (11%)	"book of life of the Lamb" — eschatological registry
ἅγιος (hagios)	G40	3x (11%)	"holy angels... presence of the Lamb" — judgment scene
γυνή (gyne)	G1135	3x (11%)	"the Lamb's wife" — bridal/marriage imagery
ζῷον (zoon)	G2226	3x (11%)	Four living creatures alongside the Lamb at the throne

Word Family / Cognates¶

G704 ἀρήν (arēn) — root word; "a lamb (as a male)"; NT hapax in Lk 10:3 ("lambs among wolves")

Synonyms¶

No close lexical synonyms were identified by search_relationships.py; the nearest overlaps are the lamb/sheep terms already documented in the Domain Neighbors and Easily Confused sections.

Antonyms¶

No direct antonyms were identified by search_relationships.py.

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[004] Animals — includes ἀγέλη (G34), ἀετός (G105), αἴγειος (G122), ἀκρίς (G200), ἀλέκτωρ (G220), ἀλώπηξ (G258)
[011] Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes — includes ἅγιος (G40), ἀδελφή (G79), ἀδελφός (G80), ἀδελφότης (G81), ἄδικος (G94), αἵρεσις (G139)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἀμνός (amnos)	G286	"Lamb"	amnos = sacrificial lamb (Isa 53 background); used by John the Baptist (Jhn 1:29, 36), Peter (1 Pet 1:19), Philip (Acts 8:32); masculine; 4x in NT
κεβεσ (kebes)	H3532	"lamb"	OT Hebrew; the standard sacrificial lamb in Levitical law; 26 verses
שֶׂה (seh)	H7716	"lamb"	OT Hebrew; generic flock animal (sheep or goat); includes the Passover lamb (Ex 12)
πρόβατον (probaton)	G4263	"sheep" (not "lamb")	The mature sheep; used for Jesus' followers (Jhn 10); never as a christological title for Jesus

Hebrew Source¶

No Hebrew source via LXX mapping found in the database. The LXX uses ἀρνίον for Hebrew כֶּבֶשׂ (kebes, H3532) and שֶׂה (seh, H7716) in some passages (e.g., Ps 114:4, 6; Jer 11:19), but the christological title usage in Revelation has no direct OT Hebrew equivalent — it is a distinctly NT Greek development.