Greek word · G2558

κακουχέω

kakoucheō

to torment

To treat badly, maltreat, afflict (kakos 'bad' + echō 'have, hold'). It covers physical abuse, hardship, deprivation and harassment.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κακουχέω, -ῶ

(κακόν, ἔχω), [in LXX: 3Ki.2:26 11:39 (עָנָה pi., hith.)* ;]

to ill-treat, hurt, torment: pass. ptcp., Hebrews 11:37 13:3.†

(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 Hebrews 13:3

Range of meaning

To treat badly, maltreat, afflict (kakos 'bad' + echō 'have, hold'). It covers physical abuse, hardship, deprivation and harassment.

Against the English

KJV 'suffer adversity' sounds like general misfortune. The passive participle means people who are being mistreated by someone. BSB/WEB 'mistreated/ill-treated' is accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint 1 Kgs (3 Kingdoms) 2:26 of Abiathar, who 'was afflicted in all that my father was afflicted', and 11:39. Heb 11:37: the faithful 'destitute, afflicted, mistreated'. Heb 11:25 uses the compound synkakoucheisthai: Moses chose 'to be mistreated together with' God's people.

From the study of Hebrews 11:37

Range of meaning

To treat badly, abuse, harass. It covers any hostile ill-treatment, from hardship to physical abuse.

Against the English

KJV 'tormented' suggests torture. The word is broader: 'ill-treated' or 'mistreated' (BSB, WEB) is closer.

How it drifted

'Torment' in modern English has narrowed toward intense pain or psychological anguish. The Greek is a general word for abuse.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word is rare. The Greek Old Testament uses it in 1 Kings 2:26 and 11:39 for being afflicted. In the New Testament it appears only in Hebrews: here, in 13:3 ('remember … those who are mistreated'), and as the compound συγκακουχεῖσθαι in 11:25 (Moses chose 'to be mistreated together with the people of God').

Where it appears

Hebrews · 2

  1. Hebrews 11:37 κακουχούμενοι, being mistreated,

    They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.

    Here: 'Being ill-treated.' Hebrews uses this word in 11:25 for the treatment Moses chose to share with God's people, and in 13:3 for fellow believers the readers must remember. It ties the ancient sufferers to the community's own members.

  2. Hebrews 13:3 κακουχουμένων being mistreated

    Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.

    Here: Present passive participle: people who are right now being treated badly. It covers abuse, deprivation and harassment as well as prison. The same verb describes the faithful 'destitute, afflicted, mistreated' in 11:37.

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