Bible Word Study
Λυκία
lykia · Lycia
Λυκία
Lycia
Definition
Lycia was a small Roman province located on the southern coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). In the biblical context, it is mentioned as a geographical region along the sea route traveled by the Apostle Paul. The term refers specifically to this provincial territory, not a city. Its sole New Testament appearance is in the narrative of Paul's voyage to Rome, where it serves as a landmark. No other distinct biblical meanings or senses are associated with the word.
Biblical Usage
The word Λυκία (Lycia) is used only once in the New Testament, in Acts 27:5. It appears in the travel narrative describing Paul's journey as a prisoner from Caesarea to Rome. The text states that after sailing along the coasts of Cilicia and Pamphylia, the ship reached Myra, a city in Lycia. Its usage is purely geographical, identifying a region along the maritime route.
Etymology
The word Λυκία (Lykia) is the Greek name for the region, derived from the name of its ancient inhabitants, the Lycians. It is a proper noun with no further decomposition in Greek. The name was adopted directly into Greek from the local Anatolian language and culture.
Semantic Range
In the 1st century AD, Lycia was a Roman province, though it had a long history as a distinct cultural region. For readers of Acts, it represented a known territory on the southern coast of Asia Minor. The major port city of Myra in Lycia was a significant hub for imperial grain ships traveling from Egypt to Rome, which explains why Paul's vessel changed ships there (Acts 27:5-6). This detail grounds the narrative in real historical trade routes. Asia (asía, G773) — Refers to the larger Roman province of Asia, west of Lycia. Pamphylia (pamphylia, G3828) — The coastal province immediately east of Lycia, also mentioned in Paul's travels (Acts 27:5). Cilicia (kilikia, G2791) — The province northeast of Lycia, Paul's home region.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Dodson Greek-English Lexicon, supplemented by STEPBible TBESG data (CC BY 4.0). Concordance and morphology data are derived from the interlinear Bible.
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]