Greek word · G2739

καυματίζω

kaumatizō

to scorch

To burn with heat or scorch. It comes from kauma, 'burning heat', the heat of the summer sun. It describes heat that damages, not mere warmth.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

καυματίζω

(καῦμα),

to burn or scorch up: with accusative before ἐν πυρί, Revelation 16:8. Pass., Matthew 13:14, Mark 4:6; before καῦμα μέγα, Revelation 16:9.†

(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 13:6

Range of meaning

To burn with heat or scorch. It comes from kauma, 'burning heat', the heat of the summer sun. It describes heat that damages, not mere warmth.

Against the English

'Scorched' is accurate. NLT's 'wilted under the hot sun' softens it a little: the Greek names heat damage, not just drooping.

Used elsewhere in the period

A rare verb. In the New Testament it appears only here, in the parallel Mark 4:6, and in Revelation 16:8–9, where the sun is allowed 'to scorch people with fire'. The related noun kauma is common in the LXX for punishing heat (e.g. Genesis 31:40, Jacob consumed by heat by day; Jeremiah 17:8). Later Greek writers use the verb for being burned by the sun (BDAG).

From the study of Revelation 16:9

Range of meaning

The verb means to burn or scorch with heat, especially the sun's heat. The noun kauma is burning heat or scorching. Both come from the root of kaiō, 'to burn'. They describe heat that dries up, withers and burns, not just warm weather.

Against the English

'Scorched' is accurate. What English can't easily carry over is the doubled sound: the verb and its object come from the same root ('scorched with a great scorching'). That kind of repetition makes the statement stronger. 'Intense heat' (BSB) and 'great heat' (KJV/WEB) both get the strength across.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the NT the verb is used elsewhere only of seed withering under the sun (Matt 13:6; Mark 4:6). The noun appears in the Greek OT for the heat Jacob endured by day (Gen 31:40). It also appears in Rev 7:16, which echoes Isa 49:10: 'the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat (kauma).' Sirach 43:2–4 describes the noonday sun as a furnace that scorches the land.

From the study of Revelation 16:8

Range of meaning

To scorch or burn with heat, especially the heat of the sun. It comes from καῦμα, 'burning heat'.

Against the English

'Scorch' fits well. 'Burn' (some paraphrases) can suggest flames setting things alight, when the Greek points to searing heat.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Gospels: 'when the sun rose, they were scorched (ἐκαυματίσθη)' (Matt 13:6; Mark 4:6). In the Septuagint the related καῦμα and καύσων are the burning heat that ruins harvests and people. Isa 49:10 LXX promises God's restored people that 'neither scorching heat nor the sun will strike them'. Revelation 7:16 quotes that promise for the redeemed multitude: 'the sun shall not fall on them, nor any scorching heat (καῦμα)'.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 13:6 ἐκαυματίσθη, they were scorched,

    But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

    Here: 'It was scorched.' The verb is passive: the seedlings suffer what the sun's heat does to them. It is singular because in Greek a neuter plural subject (here 'other [seeds]' from verse 5) normally takes a singular verb. English rightly says 'they'.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 4:6 ἐκαυματίσθη it was scorched

    But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Revelation · 2

  1. Revelation 16:8 καυματίσαι to scorch

    Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given power to scorch the people with fire.

    Here: To burn with heat or sear. It is the word for crops withered by the sun (Matt 13:6). Here the heat falls on human beings themselves.

  2. Revelation 16:9 ἐκαυματίσθησαν were scorched

    And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues. Yet they did not repent and give Him glory.

    Here: 'They were scorched.' A passive, a single completed event, picking up the infinitive of v. 8 ('it was given to it to scorch'). It is the same verb used for seedlings withering in the sun (Matt 13:6), and here it is used of human bodies.

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