σωματικῶς (sōmatikōs)
sōmatikōs
bodily
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The adverb sōmatikōs translates simply as "bodily" or "corporeally," describing something that happens in physical form rather than in spirit or symbol. It derives from the root word for body, anchoring its meaning in tangible reality. In the New Testament, this term appears only once, in Colossians 2:9, where it serves a crucial theological function.
Paul uses it to affirm that in Christ "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily." This specific usage counters early Gnostic tendencies that viewed the physical world as inferior or separate from the divine. By insisting that God’s nature resides in Jesus physically, Paul establishes the reality of the incarnation. Translators consistently render this as "bodily" to preserve the contrast between spiritual presence and physical embodiment.
The word’s rarity highlights its precision. It does not merely suggest a resemblance to the body but asserts actual physical existence. This single occurrence underscores the Christian conviction that the divine entered human history in flesh, making the physical realm significant rather than illusory.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
This single Greek word anchors a profound truth for your faith: God is not distant or abstract. In Colossians 2:9, Paul writes that in Christ "all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily." The adverb sōmatikōs confirms that the divine presence took on real, tangible flesh. This means Jesus was not merely a spiritual idea or a symbol; He was fully human and fully God in one physical person.
For your daily life, this offers deep comfort. It affirms that our physical bodies matter to God. The Creator entered history through a real body, sanctifying human existence itself. You do not need to look beyond the material world to find Him, because He has already revealed Himself within it. This reality grounds your hope in a historical event, not just a feeling.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- bodily,1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- σωματικῶς,1×
Key Verses
-
Colossians 2:9
For in him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily,
This is the only occurrence of the word, where it explicitly qualifies that the fullness of God dwells in Christ in a physical, not merely spiritual or symbolic, manner.