Greek word · G2693
καταστρώννυμι
katastrōnnymi
be thrown down
Literally 'to spread out, strew' (e.g. spreading a couch or covering). From that, 'to lay low, strike down, kill', with the picture of bodies spread across the ground. Used only here in the NT.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
κατα-στρώννυμι
[in LXX: Numbers 14:16 (שָׁחַט), Job 12:23 (שָׁטַח), שָׁטַח), Judith 4.1-15; Judith 2.1-28 Mac.4 ;]
1. to strew or spread over.
2. to lay low, overthrow: 1 Corinthians 10:5.†
(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 1 Corinthians 10:5
- Range of meaning
Literally 'to spread out, strew' (e.g. spreading a couch or covering). From that, 'to lay low, strike down, kill', with the picture of bodies spread across the ground. Used only here in the NT.
- Against the English
BSB 'struck down', KJV/WEB 'overthrown', NASB 'laid low' give the result. YLT's 'strewn' keeps the picture. NIV and NLT add 'bodies' ('their bodies were scattered') to bring out the image.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Septuagint Numbers 14:16: Moses warns that the nations will say the LORD 'strewed them (κατέστρωσεν αὐτούς) in the wilderness' because he could not bring them into the land. Paul's wording 'strewn in the wilderness' is almost certainly an echo of this passage. The verb is also used in LXX Judith 7:14 for bodies lying in the streets. Compare Heb 3:17, 'whose corpses fell in the wilderness'.
Similar words
Where it appears
1 Corinthians · 1
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1 Corinthians 10:5 κατεστρώθησαν they were strewn
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the wilderness.
Here: Literally 'they were spread out flat', a picture of corpses scattered across the ground. It echoes the Greek of Numbers 14:16 ('he strewed them in the wilderness'). The passive form points to God as the one who did it.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.