Greek word · G3489

ναυαγέω

nauageō

be shipwrecked

Literally, to be shipwrecked, to have one's ship broken up. Figuratively, to come to ruin or disaster. It is intransitive: it describes what happens to the subject and takes no direct object.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ναυαγέω, -ῶ

(ναῦς, + ἄγνυμι, to break)

to suffer shipwreck: 2 Corinthians 11:25; metaphorically, before περὶ τ. πίστιν, 1 Timothy 1:19.†

(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 1 Timothy 1:19

Range of meaning

Literally, to be shipwrecked, to have one's ship broken up. Figuratively, to come to ruin or disaster. It is intransitive: it describes what happens to the subject and takes no direct object.

Against the English

KJV "have made shipwreck" and WEB "made a shipwreck" use an older idiom meaning "suffered shipwreck". BSB "shipwrecked their faith" and the ESV-style "made shipwreck of their faith" make faith the object of the verb. That sounds natural in English, but the Greek says the people were wrecked "in respect of the faith".

Used elsewhere in the period

Used only twice in the New Testament. In 2 Cor 11:25 Paul says, literally, "three times I was shipwrecked" (enauagēsa). Acts 27 describes another of his wrecks, at Malta. Figurative use for ruin of life or character appears in Hellenistic moral writing (BDAG cites examples). Seafaring imagery for the soul was common in Greek philosophy and in Philo.

Where it appears

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:25 ἐναυάγησα, I was shipwrecked,

    Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.

1 Timothy · 1

  1. 1 Timothy 1:19 ἐναυάγησαν, caused a shipwreck,

    holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith.

    Here: From naus (ship) and agnymi (break). The aorist states a completed event: "they were shipwrecked". The verb is intransitive, describing what happened to them rather than something they did to an object. The picture is of a vessel broken up on the rocks.

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