Greek word · G3455

μυκάομαι

mykaomai

to roar

To make a deep, booming sound: properly the lowing or bellowing of cattle, and more widely any deep, resonant roar. BDAG gives 'roar' for this verse.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μυκάσμαι, -ῶμαι in cl. chiefly poët.,

[in Sm.: Job 6:5 * ;]

prop., of oxen (onomatop.), to low, bellow; of a lion, to roar: Revelation 10:3.†

(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 Revelation 10:3

Range of meaning

To make a deep, booming sound: properly the lowing or bellowing of cattle, and more widely any deep, resonant roar. BDAG gives 'roar' for this verse.

Against the English

Every major English version says 'roar' (or 'the roar of a lion'). That is right for the sense, but it hides how unusual the Greek word is. The usual Greek words for a lion's roar in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) are ereugomai and ōryomai, not mykaomai.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Homer it is used of bellowing cattle (Iliad 18.580) and of the gates of heaven groaning as they open (Iliad 5.749), so it already belonged to cosmic as well as animal sound. It does not appear in the Septuagint for lions. Where the prophets say God 'roars' (Hebrew sha'ag; Amos 1:2; 3:8; Hosea 11:10; Joel 3:16; Jeremiah 25:30), the Septuagint uses other verbs. This verse is the only place the word appears in the New Testament.

Where it appears

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 10:3 μυκᾶται. roars.

    Then he cried out in a loud voice like the roar of a lion. And when he cried out, the seven thunders sounded their voices.

    Here: A deep, resonant roar. It appears only here in the New Testament. The word is used mostly for the bellowing of cattle and other low, booming sounds, so it stresses depth and volume. The present tense ('as a lion roars') states a general fact about lions.

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