Word Study for G4149 (πλοῦτος)

ploûtos /ploo'-tos/ Ask about this word

Rootfrom the base of πλήθω

Meaningwealth (as fulness), i.e. (literally) money, possessions, or (figuratively) abundance, richness, (specially), valuable bestowment

KJV usageriches.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of ploûtos — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Greek word ploûtos, represented by G4149, refers to wealth. It appears 22 times across 21 unique verses. The term's meaning ranges from literal money and possessions to a figurative sense of abundance, richness, and valuable divine bestowment.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In scripture, G4149 is used in two contrasting ways. It often describes the spiritual abundance that comes from God, such as the "riches of his grace" Ephesians 1:7 and the "unsearchable riches of Christ" Ephesians 3:8. God's wisdom, knowledge, and glory are also described as riches (Romans 11:33, Romans 9:23). Conversely, the term is used to warn against the dangers of material wealth. The "deceitfulness of riches" is shown to choke the word of God, leading to unfruitfulness (Matthew 13:22, Mark 4:19). Believers are specifically charged not to trust in "uncertain riches" but in God 1 Timothy 6:17.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help clarify the concept of riches:

G4145 ploúsios (rich): The adjective form of G4149, describing one who is wealthy. It is used to contrast those who are materially rich in this world with those who are spiritually rich in faith (James 2:5, Revelation 2:9).
G539 apátē (deceitfulness): This word, meaning delusion, is paired directly with G4149 to highlight the spiritual danger of material wealth, which can "choke the word" Matthew 13:22.
G1391 dóxa (glory): Often used alongside G4149 to define the nature of God's inexhaustible spiritual wealth, as seen in "the riches of the glory of this mystery" Colossians 1:27 and "the riches of his glory" Ephesians 3:16.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of G4149 is significant, primarily in distinguishing between worldly and heavenly value.

The Danger of Worldly Wealth: Scripture warns that material riches are "uncertain" 1 Timothy 6:17 and subject to corruption James 5:2. Their "deceitfulness" Mark 4:19 can lead a person away from spiritual fruitfulness.
The Divine Source of True Wealth: True, lasting riches originate with God. His grace Ephesians 1:7, glory Ephesians 1:18, goodness, and forbearance Romans 2:4 are all described as a form of divine wealth.
A Bestowed Spiritual Inheritance: God's riches are not merely an abstract concept but a "valuable bestowment" upon believers. He supplies their needs "according to his riches in glory" Philippians 4:19 and strengthens them with might from the same source Ephesians 3:16.

Summary

In summary, G4149 is a pivotal term that contrasts two opposing value systems. It encompasses both the temporary and corruptible nature of earthly possessions and the eternal, "unsearchable" Ephesians 3:8 abundance found in Christ. The word serves as a constant reminder to differentiate between the fleeting value of the world and the profound, enduring riches of God's grace and glory.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists one rendering for this word. It is counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the number is how many of them use it. Select it to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Greek New Testament, this word appears as a noun across 22 occurrences, inflected in 5 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it. These are this word’s own inflections, not words built from it — for those, see Related Words.

πλοῦτος
πλούτου
πλοῦτος
πλοῦτον
πλοῦτος

Related Words

2 entries in Strong’s name this word as their origin. These are its derivatives — a different relationship from the inflected forms above, which are this same word bent by grammar.

Other entries the study above points to — each one is drawn from a reference it makes. Follow the trail to see how the words connect.

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 21 verses across 12 of the 27 books. Most frequent in Ephesians (5 verses); never once in the other 15.

Matthew

Mark

Luke

Romans

2 Corinthians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 Timothy

Hebrews

James

Revelation

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.