Strong's Lexicon
stoa: Portico, Colonnade
Original Word:στοά
Part of Speech:Noun, Feminine
Transliteration:stoa
Pronunciation:sto-ah'
Phonetic Spelling:(sto-ah')
Definition:Portico, Colonnade
Meaning:a colonnade, portico.
Word Origin:From the Greek verb "ἵστημι" (histēmi), meaning "to stand."
Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries:While there is no direct Hebrew equivalent for "stoa," the concept of a colonnade or portico can be related to the Hebrew term "אולם" (ulam), which refers to a porch or vestibule, particularly in the context of the Temple.
Usage:The term "stoa" refers to a covered walkway or portico, often lined with columns, that was commonly found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture. In the New Testament, it is used to describe a specific architectural feature within the temple complex in Jerusalem.
Cultural and Historical Background:Stoas were significant in ancient Greek and Roman cities, serving as public spaces for gatherings, discussions, and commerce. They were typically open on one side and supported by a series of columns. In the context of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, the "stoa" or "portico" was a place where people gathered for teaching and discussion. The most famous stoa in the New Testament is Solomon's Colonnade, located on the eastern side of the Temple Mount.
HELPS Word-studies
4745stoá – apillar, supporting a covered-colonnade (like in the Temple precinct); a portico, usually open on one side so people could congregate and talk.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. word
Definitiona portico
NASB Translationportico (3), porticoes (1).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 4745: στοάστοά,
στοάς,
ἡ,
a portico, a covered colonnade where people can stand or walk protected from the weather and the heat of the sun:
John 5:2;
στοάΣολομῶνος, a
porch or portico built by Solomon in the eastern part of the temple (which in the temple's destruction by the Babylonians was left uninjured, and remained down to the times of king Agrippa, to whom the care of the temple was intrusted by the emperor Claudius, and who on account of its antiquity did not dare to demolish and build it anew; so
Josephus relates, Antiquities 20, 9, 7; (but on 'Solomon's Porch' cf.
B. D., under the word
(Solomon's Temple, at the end))):John 10:23;Acts 3:11;Acts 5:12.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
porch, colonnadeProbably fromhistemi; a colonnade or interior piazza -- porch.
see GREEKhistemi
Forms and Transliterations
εστοίβασεν εστοιβασμένη στοα στοά στοᾷ στοαί στοας στοάς στοὰς στοιβάσατέ στοιβάσει στοιβάσουσι stoa stoā̂i stoas stoàsLinks
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