πατάσσω
patássō · G3960 · Greek · 10 occurrences
Meanings
-
to strike a blow
To strike a heavy blow, implying severe damage
ExamplesMatthew 26:51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.
Luke 22:49 When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
Luke 22:50 And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
-
to slay, to strike down
To slay by means of a mortal blow or disease
ExamplesMatthew 26:31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I WILL STRIKE THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK WILL BE SCATTERED.’
Mark 14:27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written: ‘I WILL STRIKE THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP WILL BE SCATTERED.’
Acts 7:24 “And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended and took vengeance for the oppressed man by fatally striking the Egyptian.
How it’s used In 5 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
10 occurrences in 7 groups
- Not stated (participle) 3
- Not stated: I 2
- εἷςone 1
- ἄγγελοςangel, messenger 1
- Not stated: we 1
- Not stated: he, she or it 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
9 occurrences in 7 groups
- δοῦλοςslave, bondservant 2
- ποιμήνshepherd, pastor 2
- γῆearth 1
- ΑἰγύπτιοςEgyptian 1
- ἔθνοςnation, Gentiles 1
- πλευράside of the body 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- ἐνin+ μάχαιραsword 1
- ἐνin+ πληγήplague, wound, blow 1
- ἐνin+ αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 1
- ἀντίfor, instead of+ δίδωμιto give, to grant 1
With adverbsAdverbs
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- παραχρῆμαimmediately, at once 1
What is done to itIt is the object
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- γράφωto write 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 1 word
- πλήσσω plḗssō · G4141 · to hit, to strike, to beat
- πατάσσω and πλήσσω both denote the act of striking or hitting. They describe the same core action of physical impact, differing only in nuance of intensity or manner.
In the other Testament 3 words
- נָכָה nâkâh · H5221 · to hit, to beat, to strike
- Hebrew נָכָה (nâkâh, H5221) is the primary Old Testament verb for striking/smiting actions across the full semantic range from gentle knocking to fatal blows, serving as the direct translation equivalent of Greek πατάσσω (patássō, G3960) in LXX usage with identical semantic scope covering both non-lethal striking and lethal smiting.
- מָחַץ mâchats · H4272 · to strike, to smash, to crush
- Hebrew מָחַץ (mâchats, H4272) emphasizes violent piercing or striking through (often with mortal force), while Greek πατάσσω (patássō, G3960) covers a broader range from gentle knocking to fatal striking; both share the core sense of striking/smiting with potential for lethal outcome.
- נָגַף nâgaph · H5062 · to stumble, to strike, to strike down
- πατάσσω (patássō, G3960) πατάσσω emphasizes the action of striking or smiting (whether gently as a knock or violently as a blow), while נָגַף (nâgaph, H5062) נָגַף focuses on the result of striking—defeat, injury, stumbling, or plague—often in contexts of divine judgment or military defeat.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- To strike a blow19.3
- This domain covers πατάσσω naming a single forceful blow delivered to a person, as Luke describes Peter's rescue from prison: “And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And his chains fell off his hands.” (Acts 12:7)
- To slay, to strike down20.73
- Here πατάσσω names a blow delivered with lethal or judicial intent, as John describes the rider on the white horse in judgment: “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.” (Revelation 19:15)
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon : future πατάξω; 1 aorist ἐπάταξα; the Sept. times without number for הִכָּה (Hiphil of…
1. to strike gently: τί (as a part or a member of the body), Acts 12:7.
2. to strike, smite: absolutely, ἐν μάχαιρα, with the sword, Lk 22:49; τινα, Mt 26:51; Lk 22:50. by a use solely biblical, to afflict; to visit with evils, etc.: as with a deadly disease, τινα, Acts 12:23; τινα ἐν with the dative of the thing, Rev 11:6 G L T Tr WH; (Gen 8:21; Num 14:12; Ex 12:23, etc.).
3. by a use solely biblical, to smite down, cut down, to kill, slay: τινα, Mt 26:31 and Mk 14:27 (after Zech 13:7); Acts 7:24.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 entries
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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