Greek word · G2429
ἰκμάς
ikmas
moisture
Moisture, dampness, the juice or sap in something. In Greek from Homer onward it is used for the moisture in a hide, in the earth, or in a living body. It is the water that keeps a living thing supple and alive.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
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
Moisture, dampness, the juice or sap in something. In Greek from Homer onward it is used for the moisture in a hide, in the earth, or in a living body. It is the water that keeps a living thing supple and alive.
- Against the English
English "moisture" is an accurate translation. What English readers miss is that this word belongs to Luke alone among the Gospels. Mark and Matthew explain the failure by the sun's heat and the lack of root.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Its only New Testament use is here. In the Septuagint, Jer 17:8 describes the person who trusts the LORD as a tree by the waters that "will send out its roots toward moisture" (ἐπὶ ἰκμάδα), set against the dry shrub in the wilderness (17:5–6). Nineteenth-century scholars (Hobart) cited the word as Luke's "medical" vocabulary, but Cadbury showed that such words were ordinary educated Greek. That argument is now generally set aside.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
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Luke 8:6 ἰκμάδα. moisture.
Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture.
Here: "Moisture," the water held in the soil that a root lives on. This is the only place the word occurs in the New Testament. It is Luke's own explanation for the failure. Mark and Matthew instead have the sun scorching the plant and its lack of root.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.