Greek word · G2742

καύσων

kausōn

heat

From the root for "burn" (kaiō). It means (1) scorching heat, the burning of the day, and (2) especially in the Greek Old Testament, the searing hot wind (the east wind, Hebrew qadim) that blows off the desert in spring and autumn.

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

What it means

καύσων, -ωνος, ὁ

(καίω), [in LXX: Genesis 31:40 א (חֹרֶב), Isaiah 49:10 (שָׁרָב), Job 27:21, Hosea 12:1, (2), Hosea 13:15, Jonah 4.8, Jeremiah 18:17, Ezekiel 17:10 (קָדִים); Jeremiah 51:1, From Theodotion Dan.3:67) Judith 8:3, Sirach 18:16 34:16 43:22 * ;]

1. burning heat (Ge, Isa (?), Jth, ll.with, Sirach 18:16): Matthew 20:12, Luke 12:55 (James 1:11, AV).

2. a hot wind from the east (Heb. קָדִים, see LXX, ll.with), the modern sirocco (see CGT on Amos 4:9): James 1:11 (RV, the scorching wind; cf. R, mg., the hot wind, Mt, Lk, ll.with).†

(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 James 1:11

Range of meaning

From the root for "burn" (kaiō). It means (1) scorching heat, the burning of the day, and (2) especially in the Greek Old Testament, the searing hot wind (the east wind, Hebrew qadim) that blows off the desert in spring and autumn.

Against the English

BSB, ESV, KJV and NIV have "scorching/burning heat". WEB and NASB have "scorching wind". Both are within the word's range, and neither is a mistranslation. But "heat" alone hides the desert wind that a reader steeped in the Greek Old Testament may have heard.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament kausōn repeatedly stands for the destructive east wind: Hosea 13:15; Jonah 4:8 (a "burning wind" that makes Jonah faint); Jeremiah 18:17; Ezekiel 17:10 and 19:12, where the east wind withers a vine. It means plain heat in Genesis 31:40 ("by day the heat consumed me") and Isaiah 49:10 ("neither heat nor sun shall strike them"). In the New Testament it means heat in Matthew 20:12 ("the burden of the day and the heat") and Luke 12:55 ("there will be scorching heat").

From the study of Luke 12:55

Range of meaning

Burning heat, scorching heat of the day. In Septuagint usage, frequently the scorching wind itself, especially the hot east wind of the desert (Hebrew qadim), which dries springs and withers crops. Related to καίω, 'to burn'.

Against the English

KJV 'heat' and BSB 'It will be hot' are correct but understated. WEB and ESV 'scorching heat' keep the intensity. NASB's 'a hot day' is the weakest. The word carries a sense of harm: withering plants, exhausting labor.

How it drifted

Not a drift in meaning so much as a loss of strength. Modern English 'hot' covers everything from pleasant to dangerous. Kausōn sits at the dangerous end.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint: Jonah 4:8 (God sends a 'burning' east wind, and Jonah faints); Hosea 13:15 (the east wind dries up springs); Jeremiah 18:17; Ezekiel 17:10 and 19:12 (a vine withered by the east wind); Job 27:21. Sirach 18:16 and 43:22 set it against cooling dew. New Testament: Matthew 20:12 ('borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat', said by laborers in a vineyard); James 1:11 ('the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass').

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 20:12 καύσωνα. scorching heat.

    ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 12:55 καύσων Heat

    And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It will be hot,’ and it is.

    Here: Scorching, burning heat, the kind that withers plants and wears out workers. In the Greek Old Testament the word often names the hot desert wind itself. It is stronger than 'it will be warm'.

James · 1

  1. James 1:11 καύσωνι burning heat

    For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

    Here: Searing heat. In the Greek Old Testament it often means the hot east wind off the desert (the sirocco), which can wither green growth in a day. Scholars disagree on whether James means the heat or the wind (see debates).

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