ὡραῖος (hōraios)
hōraios
Beautiful
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 4 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The adjective hōraios describes something that is seasonable, timely, or beautifully formed. Derived from the word for "hour" or "season," it originally referred to fruit that had reached its peak ripeness. In Scripture, this sense of perfect timing extends to physical beauty, suggesting a state of blooming vitality rather than static appearance.
It appears in four key passages, including Acts 3:2 and 10, where Peter describes the man at the temple gate as "beautiful" or "fair." Here, the term highlights the man’s wholeness and vigor before his healing. Similarly, Romans 10:15 uses it to describe the beauty of feet bringing good news, linking aesthetic appeal with the timely arrival of a message.
This word distinguishes itself by rooting beauty in function and timing. It is not merely about visual pleasure but about being fit for purpose at the right moment. Whether describing ripe fruit or a messenger’s approach, hōraios points to a harmony between form and opportunity that resonates with the natural order.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word hōraios reminds us that true beauty is often about timing and purpose. It comes from the root for 'hour,' suggesting something that has reached its perfect moment, like fruit ripening on the vine. In Acts, we see a man called 'beautiful' not because of his appearance, but because he was whole and vibrant before Jesus healed him. This shifts our focus from static looks to living vitality.
When Romans describes the feet of messengers as hōraios, it highlights the joy of receiving good news at just the right time. We are invited to see our own lives through this lens. Our value isn't in how we look, but in being fit for God's purpose at the right moment. This offers a deep comfort: you are never out of season.
Even when Jesus warns against whitened tombs that look beautiful outside but are dead within, He calls us to inner integrity. The invitation is to let your life bloom with genuine goodness. May you find peace in knowing that God values the hidden work of grace over mere outward display. Rest in the beauty of being known and loved by Him.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 4 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- Beautiful2×
- beautiful,1×
- beautiful1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ὡραῖοι,1×
- ὡραῖοι1×
- ὡραίᾳ1×
- ὡραίαν1×
Key Verses
-
Acts 3:2
A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple.
This verse uses the term to name the gate, implying the man's wholeness was part of the temple's intended beauty before his healing.
-
Romans 10:15
And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Here the word connects aesthetic appeal with the timely arrival of peace, showing that beauty serves the function of bringing glad tidings.
-
Matthew 23:27
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.
Jesus uses it to contrast outward appearance with inner decay, warning against a beauty that lacks true spiritual life.