Greek word · G1794

ἐντυλίσσω

entylissō

to wrap up

To wrap up or roll up; to wind something in or around something. BDAG: 'wrap (up)', and of a cloth itself, 'roll up, fold up'.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

ἐν-τυλίσσω

to wrap up (LS), roll or coil about (DCG, ii, 227, 507a): with accusative and dative, Matthew 27:59 (iv, Tr. [WH], cf. similar sentence in π.; MM, Exp., xiii), Luke 23:53; pass., John 20:7.†

(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 John 20:7

Range of meaning: To wrap up or roll up; to wind something in or around something. BDAG: 'wrap (up)', and of a cloth itself, 'roll up, fold up'.
Against the English: ESV and NLT say 'folded up', BSB, NASB and WEB 'rolled up', KJV 'wrapped together'. 'Folded' suggests neat creases like a pressed napkin. The verb's basic picture is winding or rolling.
How it drifted: 'Folded' is an acceptable English choice. But in modern English it brings in an image of deliberate, tidy folding, and popular teaching has built on that image.
Used elsewhere in the period: The same verb is used when Joseph of Arimathea wrapped Jesus' body in a linen sheet (Matt 27:59; Luke 23:53). It also appears in Aristophanes and other Greek writers for wrapping things up.

From the study of Matthew 27:59

Range of meaning: To wrap something up in, roll up, or fold together. Built from τυλίσσω/τυλίττω, 'to roll or twist up', with ἐν, 'in'.
Against the English: English 'wrapped' is a fair match. Some readers picture mummy-style binding with strips, but the verb suits folding a body up inside a sheet better.
Used elsewhere in the period: Used in classical and later Greek (e.g., Aristophanes, Plutarch) for wrapping or bundling things up. In the New Testament: Luke 23:53, the same burial; John 20:7, where the face-cloth is found 'rolled/folded up (entetyligmenon) in a place by itself'. Mark 15:46 uses a different verb, ἐνειλέω ('wind in, wrap up tightly'). Matthew and Luke both choose ἐντυλίσσω instead of Mark's word, one of the small points where they agree against Mark.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

Matthew 27:59 ἐνετύλιξεν wrapped

So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

Here: 'Wrapped it up.' The verb pictures folding or rolling something up inside a cloth. That fits enfolding a body in a sheet, not winding narrow bandages around it. Luke 23:53 uses the same verb.

Luke · 1

Luke 23:53 ἐνετύλιξεν he wrapped

Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid.

John · 1

John 20:7 ἐντετυλιγμένον folded up

The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths.

Here: Perfect passive participle, 'in a rolled-up state'. The cloth was wound or rolled together, not thrown aside. The grammar describes the state it was in and does not say who rolled it.

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