Greek word · G2285

θάμβος

thambos

amazement

Astonishment, amazement, awe. In Greek it often has a shade of alarm or dread: the reaction of people faced with something uncanny or beyond human control. The related verb θαμβέω means 'to be astounded, startled.'

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

θάμβος, -ους, τό

[in LXX for פַּחַד, etc. ;]

amazement: Luke 4:36 5:9, Acts 3:10.†

(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 4:36

Range of meaning

Astonishment, amazement, awe. In Greek it often has a shade of alarm or dread: the reaction of people faced with something uncanny or beyond human control. The related verb θαμβέω means 'to be astounded, startled.'

Against the English

'Amazement' (BSB, WEB, YLT) and 'amazed' (KJV) are fair. Modern 'amazing' has weakened, though ('an amazing sandwich'), and readers can miss the element of being shaken. BSB's 'overcome with amazement' gets back some of the force.

How it drifted

Not a translation error. The weakness comes from the everyday weakening of English 'amazed/amazing.'

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament the noun appears only in Luke-Acts: Luke 4:36; 5:9 (Peter's 'astonishment' at the catch of fish, followed by 'Depart from me, I am a sinful man'); Acts 3:10. The Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) uses θάμβος for dread or stupor, e.g. 1 Samuel 26:12 for the 'deep sleep from the LORD,' and for awe at an awesome event. In Mark's parallel (1:27) the verb ἐθαμβήθησαν appears.

Where it appears

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 4:36 θάμβος astonishment

    All the people were overcome with amazement and asked one another, “What is this message? With authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

    Here: Stunned astonishment with an edge of fear: the reaction to something beyond ordinary experience. Only Luke uses this noun in the New Testament.

  2. Luke 5:9 θάμβος Amazement

    For he and his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 3:10 θάμβους with wonder

    they recognized him as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

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