σωρεύω
sōreúō · G4987 · Greek · 2 occurrences
Meanings
-
to cause to be ashamed, to make ashamed
(An idiom, literally: to heap coals of fire on the head, but the historical background of this idiom is not known, and hence to some extent the meaning is uncertain) To treat someone in such a positive manner as to cause that person to be ashamed or embarrassed
ExamplesRomans 12:20 “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.”
-
to be given over to doing, to be fully engaged in
(A figurative extension of meaning of σωρεύω ‘to heap up’; see sense 1) To be engaged intensively and extensively in some activity
Examples2 Timothy 3:6 For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,
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
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- Not stated: you (one person) 1
- Not stated (participle) 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἄνθραξcharcoal 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἐπίon+ κεφαλήhead 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 1 word
- θησαυρίζω thēsaurízō · G2343 · to treasure up, to keep safe, to make even greater
- Both denote accumulation, but θησαυρίζω emphasizes storing/treasuring up (often for future use), while σωρεύω emphasizes the piling/heaping action itself. Romans 2:5 uses θησαυρίζω for storing up wrath, similar to 2 Timothy 3:6's use of σωρεύω for heaping up sin.
Contrasting words 1 word
- διασκορπίζω diaskorpízō · G1287 · to scatter, to cause to disperse, to squander
- Intensified form of scattering that functions as antonym to heaping/piling together; the 'thorough scattering' opposes the concentrating action of σωρεύω.
In the other Testament 2 words
- צָבַר tsâbar · H6651 · to heap up, to pile up, to store up
- Standard Hebrew equivalent for the literal sense of piling/heaping up; used in Exodus 8:14 for heaping up frogs, Genesis 41:35,49 for gathering grain in heaps. Direct translation equivalent across the Septuagint tradition.
- כָּנַס kânaç · H3664 · to gather, to assemble, to curl up
- Broader gathering/collecting term that can overlap with σωρεύω's sense of accumulating or amassing things together, though less specifically focused on the 'heaping' imagery.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- To cause to be ashamed, to make ashamed25.199
- Paul writes, quoting the Proverbs, “IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD” (Romans 12:20).
- To be given over to doing, to be fully engaged in68.76
- Paul warns of false teachers who “slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses” (2 Timothy 3:6).
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon : future σωρεύσω; perfect passive participle σεσωρευμενος; (σωρός, a heap); (from…
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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