Greek word · G1993
ἐπιστομίζω
epistomizō
to silence
Built from epi ('upon') and stoma ('mouth'). Related to epistomion, a bit, muzzle or stopper. It means to bridle or muzzle an animal, to stop up an opening, and figuratively to silence someone, especially by beating them in argument.
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
- Range of meaning
Built from epi ('upon') and stoma ('mouth'). Related to epistomion, a bit, muzzle or stopper. It means to bridle or muzzle an animal, to stop up an opening, and figuratively to silence someone, especially by beating them in argument.
- Against the English
Most versions say 'must be silenced'. KJV/WEB 'whose mouths must be stopped' and YLT 'whose mouth it behoveth to stop' keep the concrete mouth picture. 'Silenced' is accurate but loses the image of a bit or muzzle.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The word appears only here in the New Testament. In classical Greek, Plato's Gorgias (482e) has Callicles complain that Polus was tripped up in argument by Socrates and 'muzzled' (epestomisthē). Aristophanes (Knights 845) uses it for shutting up opponents. The ordinary sense was rhetorical defeat, not physical force.
Similar words
Where it appears
Titus · 1
-
Titus 1:11 ἐπιστομίζειν· to silence;
who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.
Here: Literally 'to put something on the mouth', as with a bit or muzzle on an animal. Here it means to stop their mouths. Verses 9 and 13 show how: by refutation and sharp rebuke. The present tense suggests a restraint kept up over time.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.