Greek word · G2979

λακτίζω

laktizō

to kick

To kick, especially with the heel, the way a horse, mule or ox kicks. Figuratively, to rebel or resist.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

λακτίζω

(λάξ, with the foot),

to kick: Acts 26:14.†

(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 26:14

Range of meaning

To kick, especially with the heel, the way a horse, mule or ox kicks. Figuratively, to rebel or resist.

Against the English

'Kick' is accurate. What English readers miss is that 'kick against the goads' was a stock proverb in Greek, as recognisable as 'you can't fight city hall.'

Used elsewhere in the period

In the proverb: Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1624 ('do not kick against the goads, lest you strike and suffer'); Prometheus Bound 323; Pindar, Pythian 2.95; Euripides, Bacchae 794–795, where the god Dionysus tells Pentheus, who is persecuting the god's followers, that he would rather sacrifice to the god than 'kick against the goads, a mortal against a god.' Compare Septuagint Deuteronomy 32:15, where Israel 'grew fat and kicked' (apelaktisen) against God.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 26:14 λακτίζειν. to kick.

    We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

    Here: 'To kick.' The picture is a balky ox kicking back at the driver's goad and only driving the point in deeper. The word appears only here in the New Testament.

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