διχοτομέω

From the study of Luke 12:46

Range of meaning

Literally 'to cut in two' (dicha, 'in two', plus temnō, 'to cut'). It is used for cutting a carcass or object into halves or pieces, and occasionally for a brutal method of execution. Some propose a figurative sense such as 'cut off, sever (from a community)' or 'flog severely', but these are poorly attested in Greek outside this saying.

Against the English

KJV 'cut him in sunder', WEB/NASB 'cut him in two', BSB/NIV/ESV/NLT 'cut him to pieces/in pieces' all keep the literal violence. YLT 'cut him off' takes it figuratively, as being severed from the household.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament it appears at Exod 29:17 for cutting the ordination ram into pieces. In the Greek translation of Susanna (vv. 55, 59), Daniel tells the lying elders the angel will 'split you in two' / 'saw you in two', a pun on the trees they named. Cutting or sawing people apart as a punishment appears in Herodotus (Xerxes and Pythius' son, 7.39), in 2 Sam 12:31 and 1 Chr 20:3 as commonly read, in Dan 2:5 and 3:29 ('torn limb from limb'), and in Heb 11:37. At Qumran, the Community Rule (1QS 2.16–17) curses the hypocritical member: 'he shall be cut off from the midst of all the sons of light.' Some scholars (e.g. O. Betz) take this as a Semitic 'cut off' idea behind the Greek.

From the study of Matthew 24:51

Range of meaning

Literally 'to cut in two, to divide into halves' (dicha 'in two' + temnō 'cut'). Used for butchering animals, dismembering a body, and in mathematics and logic for dividing something into two parts. BDAG gives 'cut in two' and notes the debate over whether a figurative sense ('punish with utmost severity', or 'cut off') fits the Gospel passages.

Against the English

KJV 'cut him asunder', BSB/NIV 'cut him to pieces', ESV/NASB/WEB 'cut him in pieces' keep the literal, violent picture. YLT 'cut him off' adopts the figurative 'exclude' reading. The two choices produce quite different images.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Exodus 29:17 uses it of cutting the ram into pieces for sacrifice. Classical and Hellenistic writers (e.g. Polybius) use it for literal dividing. Dismemberment as a punishment for disloyalty is known from the ancient Near East and the Bible (e.g. Daniel 2:5; 3:29, where the king threatens to have people 'cut in pieces'; 2 Samuel 12:31 is also often mentioned). The Dead Sea Scrolls (Community Rule 1QS 2:16–17) say the hypocritical covenant member 'will be cut off from the midst of all the sons of light' and his 'lot' set 'among those cursed forever'. The pairing of 'cut' with 'lot' is strikingly close to this verse. In Genesis 15 and Jeremiah 34:18–20, covenant-breakers are threatened with the fate of the animal cut in two.