Greek word · G2629
κατακόπτω
katakoptō
to cut
To cut in pieces, cut down, hack, mangle. Classical Greek uses it for chopping up meat or wood, cutting down enemies in battle, and breaking things to bits (LSJ). This verse is its only use in the New Testament.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
κατα-κόπτω
[in LXX for נָכָה hi., כָּתַת pi., etc. ;]
to cut up, cut in pieces (cf. Isaiah 27:9, Jeremiah 21:7, 2 Chronicles 34:7): ἑαυτὸν λίθοις, Mark 5:5.†
(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
To cut in pieces, cut down, hack, mangle. Classical Greek uses it for chopping up meat or wood, cutting down enemies in battle, and breaking things to bits (LSJ). This verse is its only use in the New Testament.
- Against the English
Most versions have "cutting himself." Some (e.g. NASB) have "gashing," which is closer to how violent the word is. "Cutting" can suggest a single neat slice. The Greek suggests repeated battering and tearing, done with rough stones rather than a blade.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The LXX uses it for cutting down or breaking up, e.g. smashing idols and carved objects (2 Chronicles 34:7) and cutting down enemies. A related idea of self-laceration appears in 1 Kings 18:28, where Baal's prophets "cut themselves" (a different verb, katatemnō). Israel's law forbade gashing the body for the dead (Leviticus 19:28; Deuteronomy 14:1).
Where it appears
Mark · 1
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Mark 5:5 κατακόπτων cutting
Night and day in the tombs and in the mountains he kept crying out and cutting himself with stones.
Here: Something stronger than "cutting": hacking, gashing, battering. The prefix kata- makes it more intense. Done with stones, it means bruising and tearing his own flesh again and again.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.