Greek word · G2997
λάσχω
laschō
to burst
Originally to make a sharp sound: crack, crash, ring, shriek. From that it came to mean to crack open or burst with a noise. The aorist form ἐλάκησα comes from the form λακέω.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
λάσκω
1. (in cl., poët.) to clang, crash, crack; in late prose, to crack or burst noisily: Acts 1:18 (ἐλάκησεν, perh., however, from λακέω, which see; Bl., in l).
2. (in cl., prose) to scream, shout.†
λακέω, Dor. for ληκέω = λάσκω, q.v
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
Originally to make a sharp sound: crack, crash, ring, shriek. From that it came to mean to crack open or burst with a noise. The aorist form ἐλάκησα comes from the form λακέω.
- Against the English
KJV/YLT "burst asunder," BSB/ESV/NASB "burst open," NIV/WEB "his body burst open," NLT "split open." All capture the rupture. None can easily convey the hint of sound in the verb.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Only here in the NT. In classical Greek it is used for things that crack or split with a noise (Aristophanes uses it of bursting). Ancient medical and descriptive writers use related forms for bodies splitting open. Note: the supplied data spells the lemma "λάσχω"; the standard dictionary form is λάσκω.
Where it appears
Acts · 1
-
Acts 1:18 ἐλάκησεν he burst open
(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
Here: "He burst open, split." The verb family originally referred to a cracking or crashing sound, so it suggests a sudden, violent rupture.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.