2375. thureos
Strong's Lexicon
thureos: Shield

Original Word: θυρεός
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: thureos
Pronunciation: thoo-reh-os'
Phonetic Spelling: (thoo-reh-os')
Definition: Shield
Meaning: the heavy oblong Roman shield.

Word Origin: Derived from θυρα (thura), meaning "door"

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: While there is no direct Hebrew equivalent for "thureos," the concept of a shield is present in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word מָגֵן (magen, Strong's H4043) is often used to describe a shield, both in a literal and metaphorical sense, as seen in passages like Psalm 3:3: "But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head."

Usage: The term "thureos" refers to a large, oblong shield used by ancient soldiers, particularly Roman legionaries. It was designed to cover the entire body, providing comprehensive protection during battle. In the New Testament, "thureos" is used metaphorically to describe the "shield of faith" in the spiritual armor of God.

Cultural and Historical Background: In the context of ancient warfare, the "thureos" was a critical piece of a soldier's armor. It was typically made of wood, covered with leather, and reinforced with metal. The shield's size and shape allowed soldiers to form a protective wall, known as a "testudo" or tortoise formation, which was particularly effective against arrows and other projectiles. This imagery would have been familiar to early Christians living under Roman rule, providing a vivid metaphor for spiritual defense.

HELPS Word-studies

2375 thyreós – properly, a gate or door (or "door-shaped"); used of the large, oblong ancient Roman shield (which looked like a full door), large enough to provide full protection from attack (used only in Eph 6:16).

2375 /thyreós ("full-body shield") refers to God's inworking of faith – i.e. "the shield (2375 /thyreós) of faith" which protects the whole believer, covering their whole person in spiritual warfare. See 4102 (pistis).

The Lord Himself is our shield (Ps 7:10,13; Zech 12:8), providing protection by inbirthing His spoken-word (4487 /rhḗma) of faith in the believer. This always extinguishes (takes the fire out of) the missals of the enemy (cf. Ro 10:17, Gk text).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from thura
Definition
a shield
NASB Translation
shield (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2375: θυρεός

θυρεός, θυρεοῦ, (from θύρα, because shaped like a door (cf. Winers Grammar, 23)), a shield (Latinscutum); it was large, oblong, and four-cornered: τόν θυρεόν τῆς πίστεως, equivalent to τήν πίστιν ὡς θυρεόν, Ephesians 6:16. It differs from ἀσπίς (Latinclipeus), which was smaller and circular. (Polybius, Dionysius Halicarnassus, Plutarch, others.)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
shield.

From thura; a large shield (as door-shaped) -- shield.

see GREEK thura

Forms and Transliterations
θυρεοί θυρεοίς θυρεον θυρεόν θυρεὸν θυρεός θυρεού θυρεούς θυρεώ thureon thyreon thyreòn
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Ephesians 6:16 N-AMS
GRK: ἀναλαβόντες τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως
NAS: taking up the shield of faith
KJV: taking the shield of faith,
INT: having taken up the shield of faith

Strong's Greek 2375
1 Occurrence


θυρεὸν — 1 Occ.

















2374
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