Greek word · G2805

κλαυθμός

klauthmos

weeping

Klauthmos: weeping or wailing, often loud weeping for the dead or over disaster. Brugmos: grinding or gnashing of teeth, from the verb brychō. BDAG notes it can sometimes mean teeth chattering, but in biblical usage it means rage or frustrated hostility.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κλαυθμός, -οῦ, ὁ

(κλαίω), [in LXX chiefly for בְּכִי ;]

crying, weeping, Acts 20:37; κ. καὶ ὀδυρμός, Matthew 2:18 (LXX); ὁ κ. καὶ ὁ βρυγμός, Matthew 8:12 13:42, 50 22:13 24:51 25:30, Luke 13:28.†

(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 22:13

Range of meaning

Klauthmos: weeping or wailing, often loud weeping for the dead or over disaster. Brugmos: grinding or gnashing of teeth, from the verb brychō. BDAG notes it can sometimes mean teeth chattering, but in biblical usage it means rage or frustrated hostility.

Against the English

English “gnashing” (grinding the teeth, usually in anger) is close. Many readers picture a person in physical agony, but the biblical use of the idiom points more to fury and bitter frustration, with the weeping supplying the grief.

How it drifted

Popular images of hell as a place of physical torment have led readers to take the gnashing as a reaction to pain. In the Bible, gnashing teeth mostly goes with anger.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek Old Testament: Ps 35(34):16 and 37(36):12, where enemies gnash their teeth at the righteous; Ps 112(111):10, “the sinner will see and be angry; he will gnash his teeth and melt away,” which is frustration at seeing the righteous vindicated; Job 16:9; Lam 2:16. In the NT, Acts 7:54 has the council “gnashing their teeth” at Stephen in rage. The double phrase is a set formula of Matthew (8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30) and appears once in Luke (13:28), where those shut out weep and gnash as they see Abraham and the prophets inside the kingdom.

From the study of Matthew 25:30

Range of meaning

Klauthmos means loud weeping or wailing, as in mourning. Brugmos means grinding or gnashing, and with "of the teeth" it is clenching the teeth. In the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Old Testament, grinding the teeth is almost always a sign of hostility, rage or bitter frustration. Some lexicons and commentators also allow anguish or despair.

Against the English

Every major English version says "weeping and gnashing of teeth". That keeps the words but not the cultural meaning. "Gnashing" is now an archaic word, and many readers picture teeth chattering from pain or cold rather than clenched in fury.

How it drifted

The phrase came into English through the Vulgate's fletus et stridor dentium and was fixed by the KJV. As "gnash" fell out of everyday use, the gesture was heard mainly as physical torment, especially where hell-fire imagery dominated preaching.

Used elsewhere in the period

Old Testament: Job 16:9 ("he gnashed his teeth at me"), Psalm 35:16, Psalm 37:12 (the wicked gnash their teeth at the righteous), Psalm 112:10 (the wicked man "sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away"), Lamentations 2:16. New Testament: Acts 7:54, where the council, enraged, "ground their teeth at" Stephen. In the Gospels the full formula appears six times in Matthew (8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30) and once in Luke (13:28), where the excluded see Abraham and the prophets inside the kingdom while they themselves are thrown out.

From the study of Matthew 13:42

Range of meaning

Weeping or wailing, especially loud, audible lament: mourning for the dead, crying out in disaster.

Against the English

KJV 'wailing' catches the loudness. 'Weeping' (BSB, NIV, ESV, WEB) can sound like quiet tears to a modern reader.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew 2:18 (quoting Jeremiah 31:15): 'weeping and great mourning,' Rachel weeping for her children. In the LXX it is used for national lament and mourning rites (e.g. Genesis 45:2; Isaiah 22:12). In Acts 20:37 it is the weeping of a farewell.

Where it appears

Matthew · 7

  1. Matthew 2:18 κλαυθμὸς weeping

    “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

    Here: Weeping that can be heard aloud, not quiet tears. It describes what the 'voice' consists of. Matthew uses the same word later in 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' (8:12; 13:42).

  2. Matthew 8:12 κλαυθμὸς weeping

    But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

    Here: Loud, audible weeping, the kind heard at funerals and in times of disaster. It expresses grief and loss.

  3. Matthew 13:42 κλαυθμὸς weeping

    And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

    Here: Loud crying and lament you can hear, like mourning at a death (Matthew 2:18, Rachel weeping for her children). Not quiet tears.

  4. Matthew 13:50 κλαυθμὸς weeping

    and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

    Here: Loud crying out loud, the wailing of mourners and of people in disaster. It does not mean quiet tears.

  5. Matthew 22:13 κλαυθμὸς weeping

    Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

    Here: Loud weeping, like mourning for the dead. It is grief and loss heard aloud.

  6. Matthew 24:51 κλαυθμὸς weeping

    Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

    Here: Loud crying aloud, the open wailing of mourning. It is grief and loss, not quiet tears.

  7. Matthew 25:30 κλαυθμὸς weeping

    And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

    Here: Loud crying out in grief, the wailing of mourning. These are not quiet tears.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 13:28 κλαυθμὸς weeping

    There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.

    Here: Loud crying out loud, the kind heard at funerals and disasters, not quiet tears. It expresses grief at a loss that cannot be undone.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 20:37 κλαυθμὸς weeping

    They all wept openly as they embraced Paul and kissed him.

    Here: Crying you can hear, the kind of weeping that goes with mourning and parting. It is not quiet tears.

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