Greek word · G2910

κρεμάω

kremaō

to hang

To hang or suspend something or someone. It can be used of objects, of displaying a corpse, of hanging oneself, or of crucifixion.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κρεμάννυμι

(also κρεμαννύω, κρεμάω; the Pres. is not found in NT), [in LXX (where also κρεμάζω, Job 26:7) chiefly for תָּלָה ;]

trans., to hang, suspend: with accusative of person(s), before ἐπὶ ξύλου, Acts 5:30 10:39; pass., Luke 23:39; before περί, Matthew 18:6. Mid., κρέμαμαι, intrans., to hang: before ἐκ, Acts 28:4; ἐπὶ ξύλου, Galatians 3:13 (LXX); metaphorically, before ἐν, Matthew 22:40.†

(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 Acts 10:39

Range of meaning

To hang or suspend something or someone. It can be used of objects, of displaying a corpse, of hanging oneself, or of crucifixion.

Against the English

English 'hanging' now suggests a noose and a drop. KJV's 'slew and hanged' can sound like two steps, killed first and hung up afterwards, as in Deut 21 where an executed body was displayed. The Greek participle here gives the means: they killed him by hanging him.

How it drifted

Gallows hanging became the standard form of execution in English-speaking countries, so 'hanged' now calls up that picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Deut 21 the hanging came after death. By the Second Temple period, however, Jewish texts applied 'hanging on a tree' to execution of the living. The Temple Scroll (11QTemple 64:6–13) speaks of hanging a traitor 'on the tree so that he dies,' and the Nahum commentary from Qumran (4QpNah) condemns a ruler who 'hangs men alive,' widely taken to refer to Alexander Jannaeus crucifying 800 opponents (Josephus, Antiquities 13.380). So reading Deuteronomy's language as crucifixion was already established.

From the study of Acts 5:30

Range of meaning

Kremannymi means to hang or suspend something. 'Hang upon wood' is the wording of Deuteronomy 21:22, and by the first century Jews used it as a way of speaking about crucifixion.

Against the English

In modern English 'hanged' means death by a noose. The Greek means suspending a body on a wooden frame. In Jesus' case that meant being nailed to a cross and dying slowly of exposure and suffocation.

How it drifted

English 'hang/hanged' narrowed after the gallows became the usual method of execution in England.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deuteronomy 21 originally dealt with displaying the body of someone already executed. The Dead Sea Scrolls show the phrase being applied to execution by hanging a living person. The Temple Scroll (11QT 64:6–13) says of a traitor, 'you shall hang him on the tree and he shall die'. The Nahum commentary (4Q169 3–4 i 7–8) speaks of a ruler who 'hangs men alive', usually taken as Alexander Jannaeus crucifying 800 opponents (Josephus, Antiquities 13.380). Paul quotes the curse clause of Deuteronomy 21:23 about Jesus' death in Galatians 3:13.

From the study of Luke 23:39

Range of meaning

To hang or suspend something. In the passive it is used of people executed by hanging, impalement or crucifixion.

Against the English

“Who hung there” (BSB), “were hanged” (KJV, YLT), “was hanged” (WEB). To modern readers “hanged” suggests a noose. Here it means being fixed to and hanging from a cross.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deuteronomy 21:22–23 in the Septuagint: “if you hang him on a tree… cursed by God is everyone hanged on a tree.” Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nahum commentary (4QpNah) speaks of the one who “hangs men alive” (Alexander Jannaeus crucifying his opponents), and the Temple Scroll (11QTemple 64) applies “hanging on the tree” to traitors. Luke himself has the apostles say Jesus was killed “by hanging him on a tree” (Acts 5:30; 10:39); compare Galatians 3:13.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 18:6 κρεμασθῇ may be hung

    But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

    Here: 'Be hung': the stone is slung around the neck as a deadweight.

  2. Matthew 22:40 κρέμαται hangs

    All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

    Here: 'Hangs' or 'is suspended from', in the present tense: it is always true. The picture is of everything held up by a peg. Take the peg away and the whole load falls. Leave it in and everything stays on it.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 23:39 κρεμασθέντων having been hanged

    One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself and us!”

    Here: “Who had been hanged”: an aorist passive participle (it describes a completed action done to them). It is the ordinary Greek way of describing crucifixion. For Jewish ears it also called up Deuteronomy 21:22–23, “anyone hanged on a tree is under God's curse.”

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 5:30 κρεμάσαντες having hanged [Him]

    The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.

    Here: Describes how the killing was done: by hanging him up. It is a participle (a verb form working like an adjective or adverb) and it explains the main verb. It does not describe a second, later act.

  2. Acts 10:39 κρεμάσαντες having hanged [Him]

    We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And although they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree,

    Here: 'By hanging.' The participle gives the means of the killing. It refers to crucifixion, worded in the language of Deuteronomy 21:22–23, and does not mean a noose.

  3. Acts 28:4 κρεμάμενον hanging

    When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”

    Here: Present participle: the snake is still dangling from Paul's hand, its fangs fixed in him (v. 3, "fastened on"). The vivid sight is what sets off their verdict.

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 3:13 κρεμάμενος is hanging

    Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

    Here: 'Hanging', 'being hung'. It describes the condition of a body displayed on wood. By Paul's day Jews already applied the phrase to crucifixion.

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