Bible Word Study
Πούδης
poydēs · Pudens
Πούδης
Pudens
Definition
Πούδης (Pudens) is a proper noun referring to a specific individual mentioned in the New Testament. It is the name of a Christian man in Rome who sends greetings to Timothy through the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:21. The name itself is a Latin cognomen (a third name) meaning 'modest' or 'shamefaced,' which was common in the Roman world. In the biblical context, it refers solely to this person and carries no additional symbolic or metaphorical meaning.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the New Testament, in 2 Timothy 4:21. It appears in a list of individuals—including Eubulus, Linus, and Claudia—who are with Paul in Rome during his final imprisonment and who send their greetings. The usage is purely as a personal name to identify a specific member of the early Christian community in the imperial capital.
Etymology
Πούδης (Poydēs) is a direct transliteration of the Latin name 'Pudens.' The Latin word 'pudens' is an adjective meaning 'modest,' 'bashful,' or 'shamefaced,' derived from the verb 'pudēre' (to be ashamed). As a name, it was a common Roman cognomen. Its adoption into Greek script reflects the multicultural setting of the early church, where Latin names were used by individuals within Greek-speaking communities.
Semantic Range
The name Pudens reflects the Roman cultural context of the early church. As a Latin cognomen, it identifies an individual likely of Roman citizenship or background. Its presence in Paul's letter highlights the diverse, cosmopolitan nature of the Christian community in Rome, which included people from various social and ethnic origins united in faith. The name itself, meaning 'modest,' was a conventional personal name with no specific religious connotation.
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]