Greek word · G2998

λατομέω

latomeō

to hew

To cut or quarry stone (λᾶς "stone" + τέμνω "cut"). The related noun λατομία means "quarry." Used of hewing cisterns, building blocks and tombs out of rock.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

λατομέω, -ῶ

(λατόμος, a stonecutter, 2 Kings 12:12, al.; λᾶς, τέμνω; cf. λαξευτός) [in LXX: 1 Chronicles 22:2, al. (חָצַב); Exodus 21:33, Num_21:18 (כָּרָה) ;]

to hew, hew out stones: Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46.†

(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 27:60

Range of meaning

To cut or quarry stone (λᾶς "stone" + τέμνω "cut"). The related noun λατομία means "quarry." Used of hewing cisterns, building blocks and tombs out of rock.

Against the English

KJV "hewn out," BSB "cut into," WEB "cut out," and NIV/ESV "cut out of / in" all render it well. Some readers take "he had cut" to mean Joseph did the work himself. The Greek, like English "he built a house," usually means he had it done.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Deut 6:11 has "hewn cisterns" (λάκκους λελατομημένους) that Israel did not dig. LXX Isa 22:16 has Shebna, a wealthy royal steward, who "hewed" a tomb for himself in the rock, the same verb and noun as here. Archaeology shows the area of the traditional burial site (under the Church of the Holy Sepulchre) was an old limestone quarry with first-century rock-cut tombs nearby (Gibson & Taylor).

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 27:60 ἐλατόμησεν he had cut

    and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.

    Here: "He hewed / quarried." A stonecutter's word. Joseph almost certainly had workmen do the cutting, the way we say someone "built a house." It shows a tomb carved into the bedrock, not dug into soil.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 15:46 λελατομημένον cut

    So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.

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