Greek word · G161

αἰχμαλωσία

aichmalōsia

captivity

Captivity, especially of war: being taken by force and led off. The word comes from aichmē ('spear') and halōsis ('capture'), so originally 'spear-capture'. By extension: a body of captives, exile, imprisonment.

Appears 3 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

αἰχμαλωσία -ας, ἡ

(αἰχμάλωτος), [in LXX chiefly for שְׁבִי, גּוֹלָה ;]

captivity (Diod., al.): Revelation 13:10; pl., abstr. for concr., = αἰχμάλωτοι, Ephesians 4:8 (LXX).†

(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 Revelation 13:10

Range of meaning

Captivity, especially of war: being taken by force and led off. The word comes from aichmē ('spear') and halōsis ('capture'), so originally 'spear-capture'. By extension: a body of captives, exile, imprisonment.

Against the English

All versions have 'captivity' or 'taken captive'. The NLT's 'prison' brings the idea into Roman-era terms. The KJV's 'leadeth into captivity' rests on a later reading (see textual notes).

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint it is the standard word for Israel's exile (e.g. Jer 15:2; Ezek 1:2; Ps 126:1 LXX 125:1). Jeremiah 15:2 LXX reads: 'those for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for famine, to famine; those for captivity, to captivity'. Ephesians 4:8, quoting Ps 68:18, has 'he led captivity captive' (ēchmalōteusen aichmalōsian). That idiom is close to the later scribal wording 'if anyone leads into captivity'.

Similar words

Where it appears

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 4:8 αἰχμαλωσίαν, captivity,

    This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”

    Here: An abstract noun ('captivity') used as a collective for the captives themselves, copying the Hebrew. Verb and object come from the same root, 'he captured captives', which stresses the completeness of the victory. The picture is a conqueror leading his prisoners of war in procession.

Revelation · 2

  1. Revelation 13:10 αἰχμαλωσίαν αἰχμαλωσίαν captivity

    “If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.

    Here: The first time, it names the fate a person is marked out for: 'captivity-bound'. In the Roman world that meant arrest, prison, deportation or exile.

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