Greek word · G1737

ἐνδιδύσκω

endidyskō

to dress

To dress or clothe someone, or oneself. It is a lengthened form of the common endyō.

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

What it means

ἐνδιδύσκω

[in LXX: 2Ki.1:24 13:18, Proverbs 31:21 (לָבַשׁ), Judith 9:1, Sirach 50:11 * ;]

to put on: with dupl. accusative, Mark 15:17 (ἐνδύουσι, Rec.). Mid., to put on oneself, be clothed in: with accusative of thing(s), Luke 16:19 (cf. MM, Exp., xii).†

(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 Mark 15:17

Range of meaning

To dress or clothe someone, or oneself. It is a lengthened form of the common endyō.

Against the English

'Clothed' (KJV, WEB, YLT), 'dressed' (BSB). NASB's 'dressed Him up' nicely catches the dress-up character of the scene. All the English versions except YLT turn Mark's present tense into a past.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 16:19, where the rich man 'was dressed in purple and fine linen'. In the Septuagint: 2 Sam 1:24 (Saul 'who clothed you in scarlet'), 2 Sam 13:18 (the robes of the king's daughters). It often turns up in settings of luxury or rank.

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 15:17 ἐνδιδύσκουσιν they dress

    They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head.

    Here: 'They dress him', in the present tense. Mark often tells a story in the present tense to make it vivid, and here it puts the reader in the courtyard watching the soldiers play dress-up. The verb is used elsewhere for clothing someone in fine or royal clothes (Luke 16:19, the rich man 'dressed in purple').

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 16:19 ἐνεδιδύσκετο he was clothed in

    Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.

    Here: Imperfect tense with middle form: 'he habitually dressed himself in'. It describes his regular way of life, not one special occasion, and he is the one choosing the clothes. The same verb is used when soldiers mockingly dress Jesus in purple (Mark 15:17).

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