κόφινος (kophinos)
kophinos
basket
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 6 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun kophinos refers to a specific type of container, typically described as a wicker or woven basket. Unlike larger storage vessels, this item was portable and often used by Jews in the first century to carry their daily food supplies. The sources note its appearance in the Gospels during accounts of Jesus’ miracles involving bread.
Its most significant occurrences are tied to the feeding of the multitudes. In Matthew 14:20 and Mark 6:43, the disciples collect twelve kophinoi after everyone has eaten, highlighting a tangible abundance that remains after the miracle. Later, in Matthew 16:9 and Mark 8:19, Jesus uses these baskets as a concrete example to remind his followers of the earlier event, asking how many leftovers they had gathered.
The word appears six times in the New Testament, primarily within the Synoptic Gospels. It serves as a practical detail that grounds the spiritual narrative in physical reality, showing not just the act of feeding but the surplus that followed. This specific vessel distinguishes the Jewish context from other container types mentioned in scripture.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word kophinos describes a portable wicker basket used in first-century Jewish homes to carry daily food. In the Gospels, this simple vessel becomes the setting for Jesus’ miraculous provision. When the crowds ate until they were full, the disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. This detail shows that God’s grace is not just sufficient but abundant, leaving more than enough for those who remain.
Jesus later used these baskets as a memory aid. He asked his followers to recall how many kophinoi they had collected, pointing them back to a time when their need was met with overwhelming surplus. This reminds us that our current struggles do not define God’s ability to provide. He remembers the ways He has sustained us before.
These baskets were not large storage jars but everyday containers held by ordinary people. Their presence in the narrative grounds the miracle in physical reality. It invites you to look at your own life and see where God has already filled your needs, leaving room for others. This hope is shared across all Christian traditions, rooted in the same Scripture.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 6 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- hand-baskets6×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- κοφίνους4×
- κόφινοι1×
- κοφίνων1×
Key Verses
-
Matthew 14:20
They all ate and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces.
This verse records the initial miracle where twelve kophinoi were filled, establishing the tangible abundance of Jesus' provision.
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Mark 8:19
When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They told him, “Twelve.”
Jesus uses the specific count of these baskets to challenge his disciples to remember past faithfulness when facing doubt.
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John 6:13
So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.
John highlights that even the small broken pieces were gathered, showing care for every detail of God's provision.