Greek word · G20833

ὁμείρομαι

homeiromai

to yearn for

To long for or yearn after someone or something, with strong feeling. The word is rare and its origin is uncertain. It may be related to ἱμείρω ("to desire", from ἵμερος, "longing"). BDAG glosses it "have a kindly feeling, long for".

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ὀμείρομαι

(Rec. ὁμ-, see WH, App., 151), = cl. ἱμείρομαι (but prob. with different derivation, see Bl., § 6, 4; Zorell, see word) [in LXX: Job 3:21 (חָכָה)* ;]

to desire earnestly, yearn after: 1 Thessalonians 2:3.†

(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 1 Thessalonians 2:8

Range of meaning

To long for or yearn after someone or something, with strong feeling. The word is rare and its origin is uncertain. It may be related to ἱμείρω ("to desire", from ἵμερος, "longing"). BDAG glosses it "have a kindly feeling, long for".

Against the English

KJV and ESV have "affectionately desirous", WEB "affectionately longing", NASB "so fond an affection", NIV "we loved you so much", BSB "we cared so deeply". The renderings with "longing" keep the ache in the word. "Cared" and "loved" are accurate but make it more general and lose the sense of yearning.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek Job 3:21 uses it of the wretched "who long for death, and it does not come". It also appears in Symmachus' Greek translation of Psalm 63:1 (62:2), "my flesh longs for you". Lexicons also cite a later grave inscription in which grieving parents use it of their longing for a dead child. The word belongs to the vocabulary of intense, emotional longing, including parental longing.

Where it appears

1 Thessalonians · 1

  1. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 ὁμειρόμενοι yearning for

    We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.

    Here: A rare word of deep, aching affection. This is its only use in the New Testament. The present participle describes an ongoing state: they kept yearning for the Thessalonians the whole time.

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