Greek word · G2371

θυμομαχέω

thymomacheō

to quarrel

A compound of thymos ('passion, hot temper, rage') and machomai ('to fight'). In Hellenistic Greek it means to fight hotly or desperately and, by extension, to be locked in a bitter, angry quarrel. It can describe real combat, but it is also used of fierce hostility that falls short of battle.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

θυμομαέω, -ῶ

(θυμός, μάχομαι),

to fight desperately, have a hot quarrel: with dative of person(s), Acts 12:20.†

(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 Acts 12:20

Range of meaning

A compound of thymos ('passion, hot temper, rage') and machomai ('to fight'). In Hellenistic Greek it means to fight hotly or desperately and, by extension, to be locked in a bitter, angry quarrel. It can describe real combat, but it is also used of fierce hostility that falls short of battle.

Against the English

KJV 'highly displeased' sounds mild to modern ears. BSB 'in a furious dispute' and NIV 'quarreling' are closer, though 'quarreling' loses the heat. 'Very angry' (WEB, and similarly NASB and NLT) keeps the emotion but drops the idea of an active conflict.

How it drifted

In 1611, 'displeased' could carry real anger (as in 'the LORD was displeased'). Today it suggests mild disapproval, so the KJV now understates the Greek.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used by Hellenistic historians such as Polybius and later by Plutarch, of hot-tempered fighting or bitter hostility (per BDAG). It does not occur in the Septuagint and occurs only here in the New Testament.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 12:20 θυμομαχῶν furiously angry

    Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.

    Here: Literally 'fighting with hot passion.' This is a long-running, bitter hostility, which in practice probably meant economic pressure rather than open war. It is the only use of the word in the New Testament.

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