Greek word · G1142

δαίμων

daimōn

demon

In wider Greek usage a daimōn could be a divine power or lesser deity, a person's guiding spirit or fortune, or the spirit of someone who had died. It could be good or bad. Socrates spoke of a "daimonion" that guided him.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

δαίμων, -ονος, ὁ, ἡ

[in LXX for גַּד, Isaiah 65:11 (א; δαιμονίῳ, AB) * ;]

in cl. and NT = δαιμόνιον; a demon: Matthew 8:31.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Matthew 8:31

Range of meaning

In wider Greek usage a daimōn could be a divine power or lesser deity, a person's guiding spirit or fortune, or the spirit of someone who had died. It could be good or bad. Socrates spoke of a "daimonion" that guided him. In Jewish Greek the word moved firmly to the negative side: hostile, unclean spirits opposed to God, sometimes linked with the gods of the nations.

Against the English

Modern versions say "demons." The KJV says "devils," which today suggests either Satan himself ("the devil") or cartoon horned figures.

How it drifted

The KJV used "devil" both for diabolos (the slanderer, Satan) and for daimōn/daimonion (the spirits under him). Modern English usually keeps "the devil" for Satan alone, so "devils" now blurs a distinction the Greek keeps clear.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament), Deuteronomy 32:17 and Psalm 106(105):37 call foreign gods daimonia. Isaiah 65:11 uses daimōn for the deity "Fortune." In Tobit, the demon Asmodeus attacks Sarah and is driven away (Tobit 3:8; 8:3). Josephus calls demons the spirits of wicked people that enter the living (Jewish War 7.185). In classical texts the word is often neutral, for example in Homer and Plato.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 8:31 δαίμονες the demons

    So the demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

    Here: The spirits who had taken over the two men. In the critical text this is the only place in the New Testament that uses the older word daimōn; everywhere else Matthew uses the diminutive form daimonion. In a Jewish setting both words mean hostile, unclean spirits.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.