Greek word · G3420

μνήμη

mnēmē

remembrance

Memory as a faculty, a remembrance or record, a memorial, a mention. In the idiom mnēmēn poieisthai ("make remembrance"), found in Greek writers from Herodotus onward, it means "to mention" or "to call to mind."

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μνήμη, -ης, ἡ

(μνάομαι), [in LXX for זֵכֶר, זִכְרוֹן ;]

memory, remembrance, mention: μ. ποιεῖσθαι, with genitive, to remember, 2 Peter 1:15 (but in cl., π., μ. π. more frequently = to make mention, and so perh. here, cf. Mayor, in l; and for ex. from π., see Zorell, see word).†

SYN.: μνεία, 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

From the study of 2 Peter 1:15

Range of meaning

Memory as a faculty, a remembrance or record, a memorial, a mention. In the idiom mnēmēn poieisthai ("make remembrance"), found in Greek writers from Herodotus onward, it means "to mention" or "to call to mind."

Against the English

BSB "recall" and WEB "remember" are accurate. KJV "have these things always in remembrance" makes it sound like a continuous state of mind, while the Greek points to calling things to mind whenever the need arises (with hekastote).

Used elsewhere in the period

This is the only New Testament use; the related mneia is common in Paul ("making mention of you in my prayers"). Wisdom 4:1 speaks of immortality in the remembrance (mnēmē) of virtue, and Wisdom 8:13 of leaving an eternal mnēmē. In the Jewish Scriptures remembering (Hebrew zakar) usually means recalling something in order to act on it. Deuteronomy, the farewell speech of Moses, is full of "remember."

Where it appears

2 Peter · 1

  1. 2 Peter 1:15 μνήμην a lasting remembrance

    And I will make every effort to ensure that after my departure, you will be able to recall these things at all times.

    Here: The faculty or act of remembering. Here it is the act of calling the teaching back to mind so that it can shape how they live. This is its only use in the New Testament.

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