Greek word · G2345

θιγγάνω

thinganō

to touch

To touch, usually lightly or on the surface. To brush against. It is less forceful than ἅπτομαι.

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

What it means

θιγγάνω

[in LXX for נָגַע, Exodus 19:12 * ;]

1. to touch, handle: Colossians 2:21, Hebrews 12:20" (LXX) .

2. to injure (like Heb. נָגַע, and as in Eur., Iph. Aul., 1351): with genitive, Hebrews 11:28.†

SYN.: see: ἅπτω (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 Colossians 2:21

Range of meaning

To touch, usually lightly or on the surface. To brush against. It is less forceful than ἅπτομαι.

Against the English

NIV, ESV, NASB and BSB render it 'touch'. The KJV's 'handle' suggests a firm grip, which is the opposite of this word's lightness.

How it drifted

KJV translators reversed the two touch-verbs. Later revisions (the English Revised Version of 1881, following J. B. Lightfoot) restored the order 'handle… taste… touch' to bring out the rising intensity.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare in the New Testament (also Hebrews 11:28; 12:20, where not even an animal may touch the mountain). In the LXX, Exodus 19:12 uses it for the ban on touching Sinai. Classical Greek uses it for light contact.

Where it appears

Colossians · 1

  1. Colossians 2:21 θίγῃς· you may touch!

    “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”?

    Here: The lightest contact there is: a fingertip touch or a brush. Ending on this word makes the slogan more and more scrupulous: don't grab it, don't taste it, don't so much as brush against it.

Hebrews · 2

  1. Hebrews 11:28 θίγῃ may touch

    By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn.

    Here: 'Might touch'. Touch here means harmful contact, striking. The LXX of Exodus 12:22 may be echoed: there the blood is made to 'touch' the doorframe so that the destroyer will not touch those inside.

  2. Hebrews 12:20 θίγῃ shall touch

    For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”

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