Greek word · G2711
καταψύχω
katapsychō
to cool
To cool thoroughly, refresh with coolness. Used in medical writers (e.g., Hippocratic texts) for cooling a fevered or inflamed body, and generally for cooling something hot.
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
To cool thoroughly, refresh with coolness. Used in medical writers (e.g., Hippocratic texts) for cooling a fevered or inflamed body, and generally for cooling something hot.
- Against the English
'Cool' is accurate. The compound with kata- suggests cooling down thoroughly, though here a single drop on the tongue is all he asks for.
- Used elsewhere in the period
It occurs only here in the New Testament. In the Greek Old Testament the related verb anapsychō ('refresh') is used for relief and rest. Water for the thirsty dead is a common motif: in Greek tradition the dead long for water, and a story in the Jerusalem Talmud tells of a rich tax collector, Bar Ma'yan, who stands by a river after death and cannot reach the water (y. Hagigah 2:2).
Where it appears
Luke · 1
-
Luke 16:24 καταψύξῃ may cool
So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’
Here: To cool something hot. Ancient medical writers used it for cooling a fever or an inflamed body part. This is its only use in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.