νυστάζω
nystázō · G3573 · Greek · 2 occurrences
Meanings
-
to grow drowsy
The process of becoming sleepy
ExamplesMatthew 25:5 “Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep.
2 Peter 2:3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
How it’s used In 2 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
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- πᾶςall, every, each 1
- ἀπώλειαdestruction 1
With adverbsAdverbs
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- οὐnot 1
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
- καθεύδω katheúdō · G2518 · to sleep, to be asleep, sleep
- Both refer to sleeping/falling asleep, but καθεύδω typically denotes actual sleep while νυστάζω emphasizes the drowsy, nodding state that precedes full sleep
- κοιμάω koimáō · G2837 · to sleep, to be asleep, sleep
- Another Greek verb for sleeping; κοιμάομαι often carries the sense of lying down to sleep or being asleep (and euphemistically, death), while νυστάζω focuses on drowsiness/nodding
Contrasting words 2 words
- γρηγορεύω grēgoreúō · G1127 · to stay awake, to be watchful, to be alert
- Direct lexical opposite: γρηγορέω means to be awake/watchful/alert, the opposite state from drowsing/nodding off (νυστάζω); frequently contrasted with sleep-terms in NT exhortations
- ἀγρυπνέω agrypnéō · G69 · to be alert, to be on the lookout for, to be vigilant
- Means to be wakeful/vigilant/without sleep, the opposite of growing drowsy; emphasizes active wakefulness against sleep
In the other Testament 2 words
- נוּם nûwm · H5123 · to slumber, to sleep
- Direct Hebrew equivalent for the state of drowsiness/nodding off; used in similar contexts (e.g., Psalm 121:3-4 of God not slumbering, parallel to the figurative use in 2 Peter 2:3)
- יָשֵׁן yâshên · H3463 · sleeping, asleep
- Hebrew adjective/participle for being asleep, the result state that νυστάζω leads toward; overlaps in semantic range where νυστάζω means to fall asleep
Semantic domains 1 entry
- To grow drowsy23.67
- In the parable of the ten virgins, Matthew 25:5 states “Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep,” where “became drowsy” renders this verb.
Word family 8 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon 1 aorist ἐνύσταξα; (ΝΥΩ, cf. νεύω, νευστάζω); the Sept. for נוּם; 1. properly, "to nod in…
1. properly, "to nod in sleep, to sleep (Hippocrates, Aristophanes, Xenophon, Plato, others); to be overcome or oppressed with sleep; to fall asleep, drop off to sleep," ((cf. Wycliffe) to nap it"): Mt 25:5; the Sept. for נִרְדַּם, Ps 75:7.
2. like the Latindormito (cf. our to be napping), tropical equivalent to: to be negligent, careless (Plato, Plutarch, others): of a thing equivalent to to linger, delay, 2 Pet 2:3.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 1 entry
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
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