Word studies · Greek · Strong's G4352
προσκυνέω · proskynéō · appears 60 times in the New Testament
In one line: Reverent homage and honor given to God alone.
God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
John 4:24
Worship is bowing down in reverence and homage — physically or spiritually prostrating oneself before someone worthy of honor.
Proskyneō pictures the physical posture of falling down before a superior — a king, or God — and by extension describes the reverent devotion owed to God alone. It appears throughout the Gospels as people fall before Jesus in recognition of who He is.
The word is thought to combine pros (“toward”) with a root associated with kissing — picturing someone bowing low enough to kiss the feet or the ground before a person of great honor, the ancient equivalent of a full prostration.
Because proskyneō is so physically vivid — literally about falling down before someone — its New Testament use as “worship” reminds readers that biblical worship was never meant to be a purely internal, private feeling; it's a bodily, wholehearted act of reverence.
Proskyneō (G4352) is the word Jesus uses in John 4:24 when He tells the Samaritan woman that true worshipers must worship God “in spirit and truth.”
Worship directed to Jesus throughout the Gospels — by the magi, the disciples, the healed — quietly affirms His divine identity, since proskyneō in a properly monotheistic Jewish context was reserved for God alone.
Let worship be more than a Sunday activity — make space in ordinary days to consciously acknowledge God's worth through prayer, gratitude, and obedience. Choose one moment today to pause and deliberately honor God.
to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore)
asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.
Matthew 2:2When the man saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees before Him.
Mark 5:6So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.
Luke 4:7Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.
John 4:20You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’
Acts 7:43and the secrets of his heart will be made known. So he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is truly among you!
1 Corinthians 14:25Press and hold worship in any chapter and this study opens on the verse you are reading, with the lexicons, every occurrence and the commentaries beside it. The Bible is free to read.
Scripture quoted from the Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Strong's definitions are public domain. Counts come from The Pillar's own tagged text.