Greek word · G2402
ἱδρώς
hidrōs
sweat
Sweat, perspiration. In Greek literature it often signals hard exertion: the toil of athletes, labourers and soldiers.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἱδρώς
(Tr. -ῶς), -ῶτος, ὁ [in LXX: Genesis 3:19 (זֵעָה), 2Ma.2:29, 4Ma.7:8 * ;]
sweat: Luke 22:44 (WH, omit).†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
Sweat, perspiration. In Greek literature it often signals hard exertion: the toil of athletes, labourers and soldiers.
- Against the English
Every version says 'sweat'. The English is accurate.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Greek Old Testament uses it in Genesis 3:19: 'in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread'. Some church fathers connected that verse with this one, Adam's curse of toil answered by the second Adam's sweat. That is a later reading, not something Luke signals. Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho 103.8, mid-2nd century) recalls from the 'memoirs of the apostles' that 'sweat like drops poured down' from Jesus as he prayed.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
-
Luke 22:44 ἱδρὼς sweat
And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Here: Ordinary perspiration. Used only here in the New Testament. In Greek literature sweat is the classic sign of an athlete's or soldier's exertion, which fits the contest overtones of agōnia.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.