5517. choikos
Lexical Summary
choikos: Earthly, of the earth, made of dust

Original Word: χοϊκός
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: choikos
Pronunciation: khoy-KOS
Phonetic Spelling: (kho-ik-os')
KJV: earthy
NASB: earthy
Word Origin: [from G5522 (χόος - Dust)]

1. dusty or dirty (soil-like)
2. (by implication) earthly

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
earthy.

From choos; dusty or dirty (soil-like), i.e. (by implication) terrene -- earthy.

see GREEK choos

HELPS Word-studies

5517 xoikós (an adjective, derived from xoos, "made of earth, dust") – properly, earthy, dusty (made of dust); (figuratively) temporal, passing away; transient, "earthly." All four occasions of 5517 /xoikós ("of dust, earthly") occur in 1 Cor 15:47-49.

1 Corinthians 15: "The earthly" . . . incomplete without "the heavenly"

1 Cor 15:50: "Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable" (NASU).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from chous
Definition
earthy, made of dust
NASB Translation
earthy (4).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 5517: χοϊκός

χοϊκός, χοικη χοικον (χοῦς, which see), made of earth, earthy: 1 Corinthians 15:47-49. (γυμνοί τούτους τοῦ χοϊκοῦ βαρους, Anon. in Walz, Rhett. i., p. 613, 4; (Hippolytus haer. 10, 9, p. 314, 95).)

Topical Lexicon
Root Imagery of Dust in Scripture

The language of dust underscores the frailty and transience of human life. Genesis 2:7 records that Adam was “formed… from the dust of the ground,” and Genesis 3:19 echoes, “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Psalms 103:14 reflects the same reality: “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” Against this background, the adjective translated “earthly” in 1 Corinthians 15 powerfully evokes the creaturely limitations of Adam’s offspring.

Occurrences in 1 Corinthians 15

1 Corinthians 15:47–49 uses the term four times, weaving it into Paul’s defense of bodily resurrection:
• 15:47 – “The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.”
• 15:48 – “As was the earthly man, so also are those who are of the earth…”
• 15:48 – “…and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.”
• 15:49 – “And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly man.”

Here Paul juxtaposes two representative heads of humanity. Adam embodies the “earthly” order marked by mortality; Christ inaugurates the “heavenly” order characterized by imperishable life.

Contrast Between Earthly and Heavenly Humanities

1. Origin: Adam is fashioned from ground; Christ descends from heaven (John 6:38).
2. Nature: Adam’s body is perishable; Christ’s resurrected body is “imperishable, glorious, powerful, spiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:42–44).
3. Result: Those united to Adam share corruption and death; those united to Christ share resurrection life (Romans 5:12–19).
4. Destiny: Believers will exchange the “earthly tent” for a “building from God” (2 Corinthians 5:1).

Christological Significance

The incarnate Son entered the dust-realm, yet without sin, to bear the curse pronounced on Adam’s race (Galatians 3:13). His resurrection demonstrates the decisive breach of dust’s dominion. Hebrews 2:14–15 affirms that by taking on flesh and blood He destroyed the one holding the power of death. Thus the “earthly” is not merely negated but redeemed and elevated in Christ.

Eschatological Assurance

Believers “shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52). The likeness of the earthly man is temporal; the likeness of the heavenly man is eternal. Philippians 3:21 assures that the Savior “will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.” This hope anchors Christian perseverance amid suffering and mortality.

Anthropology and Sanctification

Awareness of humanity’s dust-nature fosters humility (James 4:14) and dependence on divine grace. Simultaneously, the pledge of a heavenly likeness motivates ethical living: “Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy” (1 Peter 1:15). The moral transformation wrought by the Spirit previews the bodily transformation to come (Romans 8:11, 23).

Pastoral and Liturgical Applications

• Funerals: The reminder “dust to dust” confronts mourners with mortality while pointing to resurrection hope.
• Lord’s Supper: Celebration of the Second Adam’s redemptive body anticipates believers’ future bodies.
• Discipleship: Teaching on the earthly–heavenly contrast encourages detachment from worldly values and investment in eternal priorities (Colossians 3:1–4).

Historical Reception

Early Fathers such as Irenaeus highlighted the Adam–Christ typology to refute Gnostic denigration of the material body. Augustine used the passage to emphasize original sin and grace. Reformers grounded assurance of resurrection in the same textual contrast, while Puritans employed the imagery to cultivate sober God-fearing living. Contemporary theology still draws on this term to affirm bodily resurrection against dualistic or spiritualizing tendencies.

Related Biblical Themes

Dust (Genesis 18:27), Breath of Life (Job 34:14–15), Mortality (Ecclesiastes 12:7), New Creation (Revelation 21:1–4), First and Last Adam (Romans 5:14–21), Glorification (Romans 8:30).

Summary

Strong’s Greek 5517 spotlights the tension between mortal origin and immortal destiny. It reminds believers of their humble beginning and glorious future, grounding Christian hope in the victorious Second Adam and shaping life, ministry, and worship until “the mortal puts on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:54).

Forms and Transliterations
χοικοι χοϊκοί χοικος χοϊκός χοικου χοϊκού χοϊκοῦ choikoi choïkoí choikos choïkós choikou choïkoû
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Englishman's Concordance
1 Corinthians 15:47 Adj-NMS
GRK: ἐκ γῆς χοϊκός ὁ δεύτερος
NAS: is from the earth, earthy; the second
KJV: the earth, earthy: the second
INT: out of earth made of dust the second

1 Corinthians 15:48 Adj-NMS
GRK: οἷος ὁ χοϊκός τοιοῦτοι καὶ
NAS: As is the earthy, so also
KJV: As [is] the earthy, such
INT: Such as the [one] made of dust such also [are]

1 Corinthians 15:48 Adj-NMP
GRK: καὶ οἱ χοϊκοί καὶ οἷος
NAS: are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly,
KJV: [are] they also that are earthy: and
INT: also [are] those made of dust and such as

1 Corinthians 15:49 Adj-GMS
GRK: εἰκόνα τοῦ χοϊκοῦ φορέσομεν καὶ
NAS: the image of the earthy, we will also
KJV: the image of the earthy, we shall
INT: image of the [one] made of dust we shall bear also

Strong's Greek 5517
4 Occurrences


χοϊκοί — 1 Occ.
χοϊκός — 2 Occ.
χοϊκοῦ — 1 Occ.

5516
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