1015. bounos
Lexical Summary
bounos: Hill, mound

Original Word: βουνός
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: bounos
Pronunciation: boo-NOS
Phonetic Spelling: (boo-nos')
KJV: hill
NASB: hill, hills
Word Origin: [probably of foreign origin]

1. a hillock

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
hill.

Probably of foreign origin; a hillock -- hill.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
probably of foreign origin
Definition
a hill
NASB Translation
hill (1), hills (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 1015: βουνός

βουνός, βουνοῦ, , a Cyrenaic word according to Herodotus 4, 199, which Eustathius (831, 33) on Iliad 11, 710 says was used by Philemon (No theta 1), a comic poet (of the 3rd century B.C.). It was rejected by the Atticists, but from Polybius on (who (5, 22, 1f) uses it interchangeably with λόφος) it was occasionally received by the later Greek writings. (Strabo, Pausanias, Plutarch, others); in the Sept. very often for גִּבְעָה; (perhaps from ΒΑΩ to ascend (cf. Hesychius βουνοί. βωμοί, and βωμιδες in Herodotus 2, 125 (Schmidt, chapter 99, 11))); a hill, eminence, mound: Luke 3:5 (Isaiah 40:4); (Hosea 10:8). Cf. Sturz, De dial. Maced. etc., p. 153f; Lob. ad Phryn., p. 355f; (Donaldson, New Crat. § 469).

Topical Lexicon
Scope of the Term βουνός

While modern readers simply think of “hills,” the term βουνός carries a wider biblical resonance. In Scripture hills can be literal topographical rises, symbolic obstacles to the progress of God’s redemptive plan, seats of idolatry, or objects summoned as witnesses to divine judgment. This breadth of meaning must be kept in view when reading the two New Testament occurrences.

Occurrences in the New Testament

1. Luke 3:5 – John the Baptist cites Isaiah 40:4: “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; the crooked ways shall become straight, and the rough ways smooth”.
2. Luke 23:30 – Jesus quotes Hosea 10:8 while on the way to the cross: “Then ‘they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us,” and to the hills, “Cover us.”’”.

Though only two in number, these verses span the spectrum from hopeful preparation to fearful judgment, framing the earthly ministry of Christ between proclamation and consummation.

Old Testament Background

Isaiah 40:4 presents the leveling of hills as part of the highway for the glory of the Lord. In the Septuagint this uses βουνός, linking Luke 3:5 directly to the prophetic call.
Hosea 10:8 foretells a day when the unrepentant plead for hills to hide them, echoed in Luke 23:30 and again in Revelation 6:16.
• Other Septuagint texts connect hills with idolatrous “high places” (for example, 2 Kings 17:9) and with the stability of creation that can nevertheless quake at God’s voice (Jeremiah 4:24).

John the Baptist’s Preparatory Ministry

When John announces that “every…hill shall be made low,” he proclaims the removal of every obstacle—political, religious, or personal—to the coming King. The picture is not of humanity’s self-effort but of divine grading of the landscape. In salvation history this signals:
• Accessibility: The way to God is opened for all who repent.
• Equality: Social and spiritual barriers are leveled (compare Romans 3:23-24).
• Certainty: What God has spoken through Isaiah now finds fulfillment in the forerunner’s message.

Jesus’ Warning of Impending Judgment

Luke 23:30 situates βουνός in a starkly different setting. As Jesus is led to Calvary He warns the weeping women of Jerusalem. The coming days will be so dreadful that people will invoke hills as hiding places. The same topography that symbolized hope in Luke 3 becomes a last resort for the unrepentant. Themes include:
• Reversal: Those who refused the “highway of the Lord” now seek refuge in the very terrain meant to be leveled.
• Imminence: Judgment is not abstract; within a generation Jerusalem would face Rome’s armies (fulfilled in AD 70).
• Universality: Revelation 6:16 shows the prophetic scope extending to the final wrath of the Lamb.

Eschatological Echoes

βουνός therefore serves as a bridge between the “already” of Messiah’s first advent and the “not yet” of final judgment. Isaiah’s highway imagery and Hosea’s lament meet in the Book of Revelation, where both the redeemed and the rebellious reckon with the cosmic upheaval that precedes the new creation (Revelation 6:14; 16:20).

Theological Themes

1. Sovereignty of God: He raises and lowers the physical and moral landscape at will (Psalm 97:5).
2. Repentance and Preparedness: The leveling of hills is a call to remove pride and resistance (James 4:6).
3. Judgment and Mercy: The same hills can illustrate deliverance or doom, depending on one’s response to Christ (John 3:18).

Historical and Cultural Insights

• In first-century Judea, hills surrounded key cities, providing natural defense but also hiding places for rebels. Jesus’ allusion in Luke 23:30 would resonate with hearers who remembered earlier sieges and foresaw future turmoil.
• Roman engineers literally leveled hills for roads; Luke’s Gentile audience could picture the prophetic “roadwork” required for the true King.
• Hills hosted altars and shrines throughout Israel’s history. John’s message implicitly dethrones such rival claims by proclaiming one way for all flesh to see God’s salvation.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

• Preaching: Use the contrast between Luke 3:5 and Luke 23:30 to warn and invite—today is the season to let God remove every barrier.
• Discipleship: Encourage believers to identify “hills” of pride or tradition that hinder obedience, trusting God to level them.
• Missions: The image of a straight, accessible road reinforces the call to remove logistical and cultural obstacles to the gospel (Isaiah 62:10).
• Counseling: For those overwhelmed by guilt, point to the certainty that God’s grace can flatten every obstacle; for the complacent, remind them that ignored grace turns hills into looming witnesses of judgment.

Summary

βουνός, though a simple “hill,” functions in Scripture as a theological landmark. In John the Baptist’s proclamation it invites repentance; in Jesus’ lament it signals the cost of rejection. Held together, these texts urge every reader to welcome the King whose authority reshapes all terrain, literal and spiritual, until “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).

Forms and Transliterations
βουνοί βουνοις βουνοίς βουνοῖς βουνόν βουνος βουνός βουνὸς βουνού βουνους βουνούς βουνώ βουνων βουνών bounois bounoîs bounos bounòs
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Luke 3:5 N-NMS
GRK: ὄρος καὶ βουνὸς ταπεινωθήσεται καὶ
NAS: MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE BROUGHT LOW;
KJV: and hill shall be brought low;
INT: mountain and hill will be made low and

Luke 23:30 N-DMP
GRK: καὶ τοῖς βουνοῖς Καλύψατε ἡμᾶς
NAS: FALL ON US,' AND TO THE HILLS, 'COVER
KJV: us; and to the hills, Cover us.
INT: and to the hills Cover us

Strong's Greek 1015
2 Occurrences


βουνοῖς — 1 Occ.
βουνὸς — 1 Occ.

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