Greek word · G2255

ἥμισυς

hēmisys

half

Half. The neuter plural ta hēmisia is an idiom for 'the half (part)' of a set of goods.

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

What it means

ἥμισυς, -εια, -υ genitive, -ους (late, as in π., for cl., -εος Bl., § 8, 4; Mayser, 294), n. p1., ἡμίσια (Rec., cl., -εια),

[in LXX for חֵצִי, מַחֲצִית ;] half;

1. as adj., agreeing in gender and number with the substantive following, τὰ ἡμίσια τ. ὑταρχόντων, Luke 19:8.

2. As neut. subst., τὸ ἥμισυ, the half; ἥ. (anarth.), a half: with genitive, ἥ. καιροῦ, Revelation 12:14; ἕως ἡμίσους τ. βασιλείας μου, Mark 6:23; after a cardinal number, ἡμέρας τρεῖς κ. ἥμισυ, Revelation 11:9, 11.†

(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 19:8

Range of meaning

Half. The neuter plural ta hēmisia is an idiom for 'the half (part)' of a set of goods.

Against the English

All versions render 'half.' The scale is clear in English; the cultural measure is not.

Used elsewhere in the period

Later rabbinic tradition (the 'Usha ordinance,' b. Ketubot 50a) advises that a person should not give away more than a fifth of his property, so as not to become poor himself. That evidence is later than Luke, but it probably reflects older norms of prudent generosity. In Luke 18:22 Jesus told the rich ruler to sell 'all.'

From the study of Mark 6:23

Range of meaning

'Half'. In the phrase 'up to half my kingdom' it was a conventional expression of a king's limitless generosity.

Against the English

All the major versions render it literally ('up to half my kingdom'). That is accurate, but readers may take it as a literal offer of territory rather than a well-known royal formula.

Used elsewhere in the period

Almost word for word in Greek Esther 5:3, 5:6 and 7:2, where King Ahasuerus says to Esther at a banquet: 'up to half of my kingdom' (ἕως τοῦ ἡμίσους τῆς βασιλείας μου). Compare 1 Kings 13:8 ('if you gave me half your house'). Any Jewish hearer who knew Esther would recognise the phrase.

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 6:23 ἡμίσους half

    And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!”

    Here: 'Half'. This is the stock phrase of a lavish royal offer, best known from the Persian king's words to Esther. It is a grand gesture, not a land transfer anyone expected to happen.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 19:8 ἡμίσιά half

    But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”

    Here: Neuter plural, 'the halves,' an idiom for 'half' of a set of goods. Half of everything he owns: an amount far beyond normal almsgiving.

Revelation · 3

  1. Revelation 11:9 ἥμισυ, a half,

    For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb.

    Here: 'And a half'. It recalls Daniel's 'time, times and half a time' (Dan 7:25; 12:7) and mirrors the 1,260 days of the witnesses' prophesying (11:3), cut down from years to days.

  2. Revelation 11:11 ἥμισυ a half

    But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them.

    Here: A neuter 'half' added to the days, the same build as Daniel's 'a time, times and half a time' (Dan 7:25; 12:7). It marks the number as a symbol drawn from Daniel.

  3. Revelation 12:14 ἥμισυ half

    But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.

    Here: Half a time: half a year. The total is three and a half, the same span as the 1,260 days of 12:6.

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