Greek word · G3418

μνῆμα

mnēma

tomb

A tomb, grave or monument. It is related to mnēmē ('memory') and mnēmeion ('tomb, memorial'). Beyond a hole in the ground, it is a marked burial place that keeps a name in memory.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μνῆμα, -τος, τό

(μνάομαι), [in LXX for קֶבֶר, קְבוּרָה ;]

1. a memorial.

2. a sepulchral monument, a sepulchre, tomb: Mark 5:3, 5 15:46 16:2 (WH, μνημεῖον), Luke 8:27 23:53 24:1, Acts 2:29 7:16, Revelation 11:9.†

SYN.: μνημεῖον (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 2:29

Range of meaning

A tomb, grave or monument. It is related to mnēmē ('memory') and mnēmeion ('tomb, memorial'). Beyond a hole in the ground, it is a marked burial place that keeps a name in memory.

Against the English

'Tomb' (BSB, WEB, YLT, ESV, NIV) and 'sepulchre' (KJV) are both accurate. Neither English word carries the 'memorial' overtone, but the meaning is not distorted.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for tombs in the Gospels (Mark 5:3, 5; Luke 23:53; 24:1). In the LXX it renders words for grave and monument. Josephus describes David's tomb in Jerusalem in detail: the high priest John Hyrcanus opened one chamber and removed 3,000 talents of silver (Antiquities 7.392–394; 13.249; War 1.61). Herod later broke into it, and after a fire killed two of his guards he built a white-stone monument at its entrance (Antiquities 16.179–183).

From the study of Acts 7:16

Range of meaning

Anything that keeps a memory alive: a memorial, a monument, and most often a tomb or grave. It is related to μνημεῖον (memorial, tomb) and μιμνῄσκομαι (to remember).

Against the English

English versions say 'tomb' (BSB, WEB, YLT, ESV) or 'sepulchre' (KJV). Both are accurate, but they lose the sense of 'memorial' that the Greek word carries.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) it means graves and tombs, for example Gen 35:20 for Rachel's grave pillar. In the New Testament it is used of the Gerasene tombs (Mark 5:5), Jesus' tomb (Luke 23:53; 24:1) and David's tomb (Acts 2:29). Greek grave inscriptions use it constantly for a grave monument.

Where it appears

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 5:3 μνήμασιν. tombs.

    This man had been living in the tombs and could no longer be restrained, even with chains.

  2. Mark 5:5 μνήμασιν tombs

    Night and day in the tombs and in the mountains he kept crying out and cutting himself with stones.

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 8:27 μνήμασιν. tombs.

    When Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothing or lived in a house, but he stayed in the tombs.

  2. Luke 23:53 μνήματι a tomb

    Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid.

  3. Luke 24:1 μνῆμα tomb

    On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared.

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 2:29 μνῆμα tomb

    Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

    Here: A tomb that is also a memorial (the word is related to 'memory'). Peter means a standing, visible grave-monument in Jerusalem that his hearers knew.

  2. Acts 7:16 μνήματι tomb

    Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.

    Here: A tomb. The word comes from the root for 'remembering', so it is a grave that also keeps someone's memory alive. Here it means a family burial plot.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 11:9 μνῆμα. a tomb.

    For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb.

    Here: A tomb. The word comes from the root for 'remember', so a tomb was a memorial. Refusing one denies the dead both rest and remembrance.

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