Greek word · G2191

ἔχιδνα

echidna

snake

A viper or venomous snake. Proverbially dangerous, sly and deadly. Acts 28:3 uses it for the snake that bites Paul on Malta.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἔχιδνα, -ης, ἡ

[in OT (Aq.), Isaiah 59:5 * ;]

a viper: Acts 28:3; metaphorically, γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, Matthew 3:7 12:34 23:33, Luke 3:7.†

(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 Luke 3:7

Range of meaning

A viper or venomous snake. Proverbially dangerous, sly and deadly. Acts 28:3 uses it for the snake that bites Paul on Malta.

Against the English

"Vipers" is accurate. NLT's "snakes" is broader and loses the specific note of venom.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Dead Sea Scrolls attack opponents with a similar image, drawn from Isaiah 59:5 ("they hatch adders' eggs"): the Damascus Document (CD 5:13–14) says their "eggs are vipers' eggs." Greek writers (Herodotus 3.109) told a legend that viper young eat their way out of the mother and kill her. Some interpreters think this adds a note of betraying one's own parent, but nothing in Luke signals it.

Where it appears

Matthew · 3

  1. Matthew 3:7 ἐχιδνῶν, of vipers,

    But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

    Here: Poisonous snakes: dangerous, deceptive, and (in v.7's own picture) creatures that slither away when fire comes.

  2. Matthew 12:34 ἐχιδνῶν, of vipers,

    You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

    Here: A venomous snake. Since the subject is speech, the picture is of a creature whose deadly poison is in its mouth.

  3. Matthew 23:33 ἐχιδνῶν, of vipers!

    You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?

    Here: A poisonous snake. 'Of vipers' names the parents, so the whole phrase means 'you are what poisonous snakes give birth to': their nature is inherited and deadly.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 3:7 ἐχιδνῶν, of vipers,

    Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

    Here: A poisonous snake. Calling them viper-hatchlings marks them as dangerous and treacherous by nature. The picture also fits snakes slithering away from a spreading brush fire, which ties into the fire imagery of verses 9 and 17.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 28:3 ἔχιδνα a viper

    Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.

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