Greek word · G3317

μεσονύκτιος

mesonyktios

midnight

Midnight, the middle of the night.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μεσο-νύκτιος (on seel, μεσα-, see Bl., § 6, 2), -ον

(μέσος, νύξ), [in LXX chiefly for לַיִל חֵצִי ;]

of or at midnight; as subst., neut., τὸ μ., midnight (Arist. and late writers) : genitive, Luke 11:5; μέχρι μ., Acts 20:7; κατὰ τὸ μ., Acts 16:25; accusative (Rec., genitive; see Bl., § 34, 8), Mark 13:35.†

μεσανύκτιον, see. μεσονύκτιος

(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 16:25

Range of meaning

Midnight, the middle of the night.

Against the English

KJV 'at midnight' is exact, but the Greek kata means 'about midnight', as in BSB, WEB and most modern versions.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 119:62 (118:62 LXX): 'At midnight (mesonyktion) I rose to give thanks to you because of your righteous judgments.' Also Mark 13:35; Luke 11:5; Acts 20:7. In Exod 12:29 midnight is the hour of God's decisive act at the Exodus.

From the study of Luke 11:5

Range of meaning

The middle of the night. It names a general stretch of time, not an exact moment, since people had no clocks to mark a precise midnight. The genitive form here means 'during the middle of the night'.

Against the English

'At midnight' is a fair rendering, though it can suggest a clock time, and modern hearers may not feel how complete the shutdown of a village was at that hour.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere in the New Testament at Mark 13:35 (as a division of the night), Acts 16:25 and Acts 20:7. In the Greek Old Testament, Judges 16:3 and Psalm 118:62 (English 119:62).

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 13:35 μεσονύκτιον at midnight

    Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return—whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning.

    Here: The second watch, about 9 p.m. to midnight, named after the hour at its end. It is the dead of night, when sleep is deepest.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 11:5 μεσονυκτίου at midnight

    Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you goes to his friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

    Here: 'In the middle of the night', not 12:00 on a clock. In a village without street lighting this is the dead of night, when the household is asleep and the door is barred (v. 7), so the time itself makes the request awkward.

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 16:25 μεσονύκτιον midnight

    About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

    Here: Literally 'middle of the night'. It is the darkest, deadest hour, when prisoners would be expected to sleep or suffer in silence. In the Psalms it is also an hour for prayer (Ps 119:62).

  2. Acts 20:7 μεσονυκτίου· midnight;

    On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Since Paul was ready to leave the next day, he talked to them and kept on speaking until midnight.

    Here: "Midnight", literally "middle of the night". It shows this was a night meeting held after the working day, lit by lamps (v. 8).

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