Greek word · G2373

θυμόω

thymoō

to anger

Passive: to be provoked to anger, to become furious. From thymos, the surging, hot passion of anger, as opposed to orgē, the more settled state of wrath.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

θυμόω, -ῶ

(θυμός) [in LXX (chiefly in pass.) for חָרָה, אַף חָרָה hith., etc. ;] (no act. in Attic.);

pass. (and mid.),

to be wroth or very angry: Matthew 2:16.†

(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 Matthew 2:16

Range of meaning

Passive: to be provoked to anger, to become furious. From thymos, the surging, hot passion of anger, as opposed to orgē, the more settled state of wrath.

Against the English

KJV: 'exceeding wroth'; BSB: 'filled with rage'; WEB: 'exceedingly angry'. All are accurate. 'Angry' alone is a little mild for this verb with lian ('exceedingly') after it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in the Greek Old Testament for flare-ups of anger, human and divine (e.g. Gen 30:2; Num 22:22, of God's anger at Balaam). This is its only appearance in the New Testament. Josephus repeatedly describes Herod's sudden furies and the executions that followed.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 2:16 ἐθυμώθη was enraged

    When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.

    Here: 'He flew into a rage.' The word comes from thymos, the hot, surging passion of anger. This is its only use in the New Testament.

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