ἐμβριμάομαι

From the study of Mark 1:43

Range of meaning

Its root meaning is to snort, like a horse straining at the bit. In biblical-era Greek it moved from that physical sound to the emotion behind it: to be deeply stirred, to be indignant, to bristle with anger. When aimed at a person (with 'at him'), it means to scold, rebuke or charge someone with angry intensity. BDAG gives 'to express strong feeling, usually of displeasure': 'insist sternly, warn sternly, scold, censure'.

Against the English

KJV 'straitly charged', YLT 'sternly charged', WEB 'strictly warned', BSB 'with a stern warning', and most modern versions say something similar. They all turn the word into the content of a speech: a firm instruction. The Greek describes Jesus' emotional state and manner: a snort, a flash of indignation. The stern words do not come until v. 44.

How it drifted

Translators have long read the verb in light of the command that follows ('tell no one'). They took it to mean 'charged strictly' and lost the emotional, even angry, colour. Matthew and Luke both leave this verse out of their versions of the story (Matt 8:3–4; Luke 5:13–14), which suggests early readers already found the harshness awkward. English tradition has kept it softened.

Used elsewhere in the period

Classical: Aeschylus (Seven against Thebes 461) uses the verb for horses snorting in their harness. Greek Old Testament (Septuagint): Daniel 11:30 uses it for hostile rebuke, and the related noun appears in Lamentations 2:6 as 'the indignation of his anger'. New Testament: only five uses. Mark 14:5, the bystanders 'scolded' the woman who poured out the perfume. Matthew 9:30, Jesus 'sternly warned' the healed blind men to keep quiet (the closest parallel). John 11:33 and 38, Jesus is 'deeply moved / indignant in spirit' at Lazarus' tomb. Across these uses the word always carries strong, often angry, feeling.

From the study of John 11:33

Range of meaning

Its root meaning is snorting, like a horse. From that it came to mean showing anger or indignation, and then rebuking or warning someone sternly. BDAG gives 'to snort with anger', 'to warn sternly', 'to scold', and for John 11:33, 38 'to be deeply moved' only as a contextual extension, noting that the anger idea is basic. Every New Testament use outside John clearly involves sternness or displeasure.

Against the English

BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB all have 'deeply moved', which most readers hear as tender, sympathetic emotion. KJV and WEB have 'groaned', which suggests pain or sorrow. NLT's 'a deep anger welled up within him' comes closest to the word's usual sense.

How it drifted

From early on, translators and readers found it hard that Jesus would feel anger at a scene of grieving friends. Some ancient scribes already softened the phrase (see variants). Many English versions then chose a neutral emotional word that fits the sympathetic picture of verse 35 ('Jesus wept').

Used elsewhere in the period

In classical Greek, Aeschylus (Seven Against Thebes 461) uses it of horses snorting. In the Greek Old Testament it is linked with anger: Daniel 11:30 (LXX), and the noun at Lamentations 2:6, 'the indignation of his anger'. In the New Testament it is used for Jesus sternly warning a healed leper (Mark 1:43) and healed blind men (Matt 9:30), and for bystanders scolding the woman who anointed Jesus (Mark 14:5). John uses it again in 11:38, 'again embrimōmenos in himself'.

From the study of John 11:38

Range of meaning

Comes from brimaomai, 'to snort, roar, be angry'. The basic picture is the snort of an agitated animal, especially a horse. From there it came to mean: (1) to be indignant or furious; (2) to scold or warn someone sternly; (3) to feel strong agitation inside. BDAG gives 'to feel strongly about something, be indignant' and, when someone is addressed, 'scold, censure'. Anger or indignation is present in every attested use. 'Tender sympathy' is not one of its meanings.

Against the English

The KJV/WEB/YLT have 'groaning'. The BSB, NIV and ESV have 'deeply moved'. The NLT has 'still angry'. The Vulgate has fremens, 'growling, raging'. 'Deeply moved' is accurate about how strong the feeling is, but it leaves out what kind of feeling it is, and most English readers hear it as tender, tearful sympathy. 'Groaning' sounds like sorrow, and to a modern ear it loses the snort of anger.

How it drifted

Tyndale's 'groaned', kept by the KJV, set the English tradition. Older English 'groan' could carry protest and inner turmoil, but it now suggests grief or pain. Some modern versions picked 'deeply moved' because the anger seemed hard to fit with v.35 ('Jesus wept') and with the idea that Jesus' feelings toward mourners must be sympathy. That is a judgment about theology. The word itself does not support it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Aeschylus (Seven Against Thebes 461) uses it of horses snorting. In the Greek Old Testament: Daniel 11:30 (the king 'will be enraged'); Lamentations 2:6 has the related noun for God's 'indignant wrath' (embrimēma orgēs). In the New Testament: Mark 1:43 and Matthew 9:30 (Jesus sternly warns those he has healed); Mark 14:5 (bystanders 'scolded' the woman who anointed Jesus). John uses it only here and in 11:33, where it is paired with 'troubled himself' (etaraxen heauton).