Word

θιγγάνω

thingánō · G2345 · Greek · 3 occurrences

See all 3 in Search

Meanings

to touch

To come in contact with

Examples
Colossians 2:21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”
Hebrews 12:20 For they could not cope with the command, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.”
to kill, to slay, to cause the death of

(A figurative extension of meaning of θιγγάνω ‘to touch,’) To cause the death of someone, perhaps suggesting some supernatural or mysterious means

Examples
Hebrews 11:28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them.

How it’s used In 3 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Who or what does itSubject

3 occurrences in 3 groups

θηρίονbeast, wild animal 1
ὀλοθρεύωto destroy 1
Not stated: you (one person) 1

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

2 occurrences in 2 groups

ὄροςmountain 1
αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 1

With adverbsAdverbs

2 occurrences in 1 groups

μήnot 2

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Near synonyms 2 words

ἅπτομαι háptomai · G680 · to ignite, to kindle, to set ablaze: The most common Greek synonym for 'to touch.' While ἅπτω (middle voice ἅπτομαι) is far more frequent in the NT (39×), θιγγάνω appears to be used in contexts emphasizing manipulation or handling with slight negative connotation (Col 2:21 'do not handle'), whereas ἅπτω is the neutral default term for touching.
ψηλαφάω psēlapháō · G5584 · to touch, to feel, to handle: A near synonym denoting tactile contact, often with the nuance of groping or feeling after something (Acts 17:27, 1 John 1:1, Heb 12:18). Like θιγγάνω, it can emphasize the act of handling, though ψηλαφάω more specifically connotes exploratory or careful touch.

In the other Testament 1 word

נָגַע nâgaʻ · H5060 · to touch, to reach, to extend: The primary Hebrew verb for 'to touch,' the core sense shared by θιγγάνω in its physical contact meaning (e.g., Col 2:21, Heb 11:28, 12:20). Both verbs denote physical contact and can extend to harmful contact.

Semantic domains 2 entries

To kill, to slay, to cause the death of20.75: In Hebrews 11:28, of the Passover it is written that Moses kept it “by faith... so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them,” using this verb euphemistically for bringing about someone's death.
To touch24.74: In Colossians 2:21, Paul quotes the ascetic regulations some were imposing, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” using this verb for the ordinary sense of physical contact.

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (probably akin to τεῖχος, fingo, fiction, etc.; Curtius, § 145): 2 aorist ἔθιγον; to…

(probably akin to τεῖχος, fingo, fiction, etc.; Curtius, § 145): 2 aorist ἔθιγον; to touch, handle: μηδέ θίγῃς touch not namely, impure things, Col 2:21 (cf. ἅπτω, 2 c.); τίνος, Heb 12:20 ((Aeschylus), Xenophon, Plato, Tragg., others); like the Hebrew נָגַע, to do violence to, injure: τίνος, Heb 11:28 (Euripides, Iph. Aul. 1351; ὧν αἱ βλαβαι αὗται θιγγανουσι, Act. Thom. § 12). (Synonym: see ἅπτω, 2 c.)

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain

Topical studies with this word 2 entries

Kill1 occurrence Touch, Feel3 occurrences

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0