Greek word · G2020

ἐπιφώσκω

epiphōskō

to dawn

'To grow light, to dawn'. Of a day, it can mean simply 'to begin' or 'come on', even at sunset, when the Jewish day began.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

ἐπι-φώσκω

[in LXX for הָלַל hi., Job 41:18 A (Βא, ἐπιφαύσκ-) * ;]

1. to let shine.

2. to dawn (cf. MM, Exp., xiv): Luke 23:54; before εἰς, Mat_28:1.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: 'To grow light, to dawn'. Of a day, it can mean simply 'to begin' or 'come on', even at sunset, when the Jewish day began.
Against the English: English 'dawn' always means first light in the morning. The Greek word can mean that, but not always.
How it drifted: In English 'dawn' has only one meaning. The Greek word covers more ground, as Luke shows.
Used elsewhere in the period: Its only other New Testament use is Luke 23:54: 'it was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning (epephōsken)'. That was Friday at sunset, when lamps were lit. The early Gospel of Peter 9.35 speaks of 'the night in which the Lord's day was dawning (epephōsken)'. The verb does not appear in the Greek Old Testament.

Range of meaning: "To grow light, to dawn, to begin to shine." It is rare in Greek literature. In the New Testament it occurs only here and in Matthew 28:1. In Jewish usage it seems to have been stretched to mean "to begin" for a day, even a day that starts at sunset.
Against the English: KJV "drew on" and WEB/YLT "drawing near/approaching" give the sense of something arriving without the image. BSB/ESV "was beginning" is accurate. A hyper-literal "was dawning" could mislead a reader into thinking of sunrise, when the scene is late afternoon going into evening.
How it drifted: The verb's ordinary image is morning light, but for Jews the day started at sunset. The Greek word was carried over to the Jewish day's starting point, which comes at evening.
Used elsewhere in the period: Gospel of Peter 2.5 (second century) uses the same expression in the same scene: Herod says the body must be buried "since the Sabbath is dawning (sabbaton epiphōskei)," and quotes the law that the sun must not set on an executed man. Rabbinic Hebrew uses "light" (or) for the evening that opens a day: m. Pesahim 1:1 "on the light of the fourteenth," which the Babylonian Talmud (Pesahim 2a–3a) decides means the evening. The Vulgate renders it sabbatum inlucescebat, "the Sabbath was growing light."

Matthew · 1

Matthew 28:1 ἐπιφωσκούσῃ dawning

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

Here: 'As it was dawning.' The present tense describes the moment as it unfolds. It can mean the literal first light of morning, but it is also used for a new day 'coming on' at sunset (Luke 23:54). So the word itself does not settle the hour.

Luke · 1

Luke 23:54 ἐπέφωσκεν. was just beginning.

It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was beginning.

Here: Literally "was dawning," here used of a day that begins at evening. The imperfect tense pictures it as already under way: the Sabbath was just starting to break in. The point is that time had run out.

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