Greek word · G3449

μόχθος

mochthos

toil

Hardship, toil, strenuous exertion. It is close in meaning to kopos and appears in the New Testament only paired with it (1 Thess 2:9; 2 Thess 3:8; 2 Cor 11:27).

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μόχθος, -ου, ὁ

(= Hom. μόγος), in cl. chiefly poët., [in LXX for תְּלָאָה, עָמָל, etc. ;]

toil, labour, hardship, distress: 2 Corinthians 11:27, 1 Thessalonians 2:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:8.†

SYN.: κόπος (which see), πόνος (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 Thessalonians 3:8

Range of meaning

Hardship, toil, strenuous exertion. It is close in meaning to kopos and appears in the New Testament only paired with it (1 Thess 2:9; 2 Thess 3:8; 2 Cor 11:27).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'travail' meant hard toil. Modern readers mostly link 'travail' with childbirth or vague woe. BSB 'toil' and NASB 'hardship' are clearer.

How it drifted

'Travail' (from Old French travail, 'work, suffering') has become literary and narrowed in common use.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in classical Greek for physical toil and distress. The Septuagint uses it for the labor of life (e.g. Eccl/Qoheleth's theme of toil). Kopos kai mochthos was an established Greek pairing.

Where it appears

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:27 μόχθῳ, toil,

    in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.

    Here: Hard, painful toil. Paired with kopos, it doubles the idea: work that is both exhausting and miserable.

1 Thessalonians · 1

  1. 1 Thessalonians 2:9 μόχθον· hardship:

    Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

    Here: Hard, grinding work, with the sense of strain and difficulty. Paired with kopos it means 'labor and toil', all-out hard work.

2 Thessalonians · 1

  1. 2 Thessalonians 3:8 μόχθῳ hardship

    nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

    Here: Hard, grinding struggle. Paired with kopos it doubles the weight. Paul uses the same pair in 1 Thess 2:9 and 2 Cor 11:27.

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