Greek word · G1789
ἐντρέφω
entrephō
be reared
To bring up or rear in something; to train or educate in; in the passive, to be nourished on, to grow up within (laws, customs, teachings).
Appears once in 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 1 Timothy 4:6
- Range of meaning
To bring up or rear in something; to train or educate in; in the passive, to be nourished on, to grow up within (laws, customs, teachings).
- Against the English
'Nourished' (BSB, KJV, WEB, NIV, NLT) keeps the food picture. 'Being trained in' (ESV) gives the education sense but loses the link with food. NASB's 'constantly nourished' brings out the present tense.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Used only here in the New Testament. In Greek writers it describes people reared in a city's laws and habits (e.g. Plato, Laws 798a), and Philo uses it the same way of being raised in ancestral customs. So it joins nourishment and upbringing in one word.
Similar words
Where it appears
1 Timothy · 1
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1 Timothy 4:6 ἐντρεφόμενος being nourished
By pointing out these things to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of faith and sound instruction that you have followed.
Here: Being fed and raised on something. The present tense shows this is ongoing: Timothy keeps feeding on these words. It comes right after a dispute about food (4:3–5), so the picture fits: the false teachers argue about what to eat, while Timothy's real diet is the message.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.