Greek word · G1470
ἐγκρύπτω
enkryptō
to mix
To hide something in or inside something else, or to conceal by burying within. In Homer, Odysseus 'hid' a burning brand in the ashes to keep it alive (Odyssey 5.488, the same verb form ἐνέκρυψε).
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
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 13:33
- Range of meaning
To hide something in or inside something else, or to conceal by burying within. In Homer, Odysseus 'hid' a burning brand in the ashes to keep it alive (Odyssey 5.488, the same verb form ἐνέκρυψε).
- Against the English
KJV, ESV, NASB, WEB and YLT keep "hid". BSB and NIV have "mixed", and NLT paraphrases. "Mixed" describes what happens physically but drops the word Jesus actually chose.
- How it drifted
Translators read "hid" as odd cooking language and smoothed it into normal kitchen terms. The smoothing removes a deliberate verbal link within the chapter.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Matthew 13 keeps returning to hiddenness. Verse 35 quotes Psalm 78:2: 'I will utter things hidden (kekrymmena) since the foundation of the world.' Verse 44 has treasure 'hidden' (kekrymmenon) in a field. Compare 11:25: 'you have hidden these things from the wise.' The Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) of Genesis 18:6, where Sarah bakes three measures of flour, calls the loaves enkryphias, 'cakes hidden (baked) in the ashes'. That is the same root, though whether Matthew meant this second echo is uncertain.
Where it appears
Matthew · 1
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Matthew 13:33 ἐνέκρυψεν hid
He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”
Here: "Hid in." The verb means to hide something inside something else. You would expect "mixed" or "kneaded", so the word is a surprise. Once the leaven is in, it disappears from sight, which ties the picture to the chapter's theme of hidden things (13:35, 44).
Luke · 1
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Luke 13:21 ἐνέκρυψεν hid
It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.