Greek word · G2606

καταγελάω

katagelaō

to mock

To laugh at someone scornfully, deride, jeer at, ridicule. It takes the genitive for its target.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κατα-γελάω, -ῶ

[in LXX chiefly for שָׂחַק, Job 5:22, Proverbs 29:9, al. ;]

to deride, laugh scornfully at: with genitive of person(s), Matthew 9:24, Mark 5:40, Luke 8:53.†

(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 9:24

Range of meaning

To laugh at someone scornfully, deride, jeer at, ridicule. It takes the genitive for its target.

Against the English

BSB/NIV/ESV "laughed at him" is accurate but can sound mild. WEB "ridiculing" and YLT "deriding" give the tone. KJV's "laughed him to scorn" is the most vivid.

How it drifted

The English "laughed" alone can suggest amusement. The Greek prefix and the ongoing tense make it sustained mockery.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in classical and Hellenistic Greek for mockery and scorn. In the New Testament it appears only in this story (Matt 9:24; Mark 5:40; Luke 8:53). Luke adds that they laughed "knowing that she had died."

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 9:24 κατεγέλων they were mocking

    “Go away,” He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep.” And they laughed at Him.

    Here: "Laugh" plus the prefix kata- ("down, against"): laughing someone down, jeering. The imperfect tense means they kept on laughing. It was scornful mockery, not amusement. KJV's "laughed him to scorn" catches it.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 5:40 κατεγέλων they were laughing at

    And they laughed at Him. After He had put them all outside, He took the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and went in to see the child.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 8:53 κατεγέλων they were laughing

    And they laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead.

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