Bible Word Study
Νηρεύς
nēreys · Nereus
Νηρεύς
Nereus
Definition
Νηρεύς (Nereus) is a proper noun referring to a specific individual mentioned in the New Testament. In its sole biblical occurrence, it functions as the name of a Christian believer, Nereus, who is greeted by Paul in his letter to the Romans (Romans 16:15). The name itself is of Greek mythological origin, referring to a sea god, but in the biblical context, it carries no theological meaning beyond personal identification. There are no other major senses or meanings for this word within the biblical text, as it is used exclusively as a personal name.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the New Testament, in Romans 16:15. It appears in a list of individuals and households whom Paul greets at the close of his letter to the church in Rome. The usage is purely as a personal name, identifying a member of the Christian community there, likely along with his sister. There are no patterns of usage across different books or contexts.
Etymology
The name Νηρεύς (Nēreus) is derived directly from ancient Greek mythology, where Nereus was a primordial sea god, known as the 'Old Man of the Sea.' He was the father of the Nereids, sea nymphs. As a personal name in the Greco-Roman world, it was adopted from this mythological figure, much like names such as Hermes or Dionysus. In the New Testament, this etymological background is not activated; the name is simply used as a common personal identifier.
Semantic Range
In the first-century Greco-Roman world, it was common to bear names derived from pagan mythology, which carried no inherent religious commitment for the bearer. A Christian named Nereus would not have been understood as worshipping the sea god; the name was simply part of the cultural nomenclature. This illustrates how early Christians lived within their cultural context, using common names while dedicating their lives to Christ. The mention of such a name in a biblical greeting normalizes the presence of believers from all cultural backgrounds in the early church. As a proper noun (personal name), there are no direct synonyms. It can be categorized among other personal names in Romans 16, such as: Φλέγων (Phlegōn, G5393) — another individual greeted by Paul in the same verse.
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]