νεκρόω

From the study of Colossians 3:5

Range of meaning

"To make dead, put to death." In the passive it means "to be as good as dead, worn out." It is built on νεκρός, "corpse, dead." BDAG gives "put to death" here, used figuratively of doing away with the vices.

Against the English

BSB, WEB, YLT, NIV and ESV say "put to death," which keeps the violence of the image. The KJV's "mortify" was exact in 1611, from Latin mortificare, "make dead." Today "mortify" means to humiliate. In religious usage it suggests bodily self-punishment, and the verse means neither.

How it drifted

English "mortify" weakened over time to "embarrass deeply." Separately, "mortification" came to name ascetic practices: fasting, hair shirts, self-flagellation. Both are later developments.

Used elsewhere in the period

Only three times in the NT. In Rom 4:19 and Heb 11:12 Abraham's body is "as good as dead." Only here is it a command. Paul makes the same point with a different verb in Rom 8:13 ("put to death [θανατοῦτε] the deeds of the body"). The noun νέκρωσις appears in 2 Cor 4:10 ("the dying of Jesus").

From the study of Hebrews 11:12

Range of meaning

Νεκρόω means 'to make dead'. In the passive it means 'be dead' or 'be deadened', and it was also used figuratively of something worn out or no longer working. The perfect tense used here describes a condition that has set in and stays.

Against the English

Most English versions say 'as good as dead' (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV, NASB, NIV). YLT's 'one who had become dead' is more literal. 'As good as dead' makes it sound as if Abraham was close to the grave. The Greek points to a body whose power to father children had died.

How it drifted

The phrase 'as good as' comes from the KJV tradition, where it softens a bold metaphor. Today 'as good as dead' usually means 'about to die' or 'doomed'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paul uses the same participle about Abraham in Romans 4:19 ('his own body, already deadened, being about a hundred years old'), next to the 'deadness' (nekrōsis) of Sarah's womb. That is strong evidence that early Christians described Abraham this way as a set phrase. Genesis says Abraham lived 75 more years after Isaac was born (Gen 21:5; 25:7) and fathered more sons by Keturah (Gen 25:1–2), so the 'deadness' was about producing a child in that hour, not about life expectancy. Later Greek writers also use νεκρόω for bodily powers that are spent.

From the study of Romans 4:19

Range of meaning

To make dead, put to death. In the passive, to be dead, to be as good as dead, to be worn out or used up (of a body or its powers). Paul uses it in Col 3:5, 'put to death your members on earth.'

Against the English

'Now dead' (KJV), 'already become dead' (YLT) and 'already having been worn out' (WEB) cover the range. 'As good as dead' (ESV, NIV, NASB) makes it clear that Abraham was alive but that his power to father children was gone. BSB's 'decrepitness' is accurate but loses the deliberate word 'dead.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Hebrews 11:12 uses the same perfect participle of Abraham: 'from one man, and him as good as dead (νενεκρωμένου), came descendants as many as the stars.' This suggests the expression was part of the shared early Christian retelling of the Abraham story. Later Greek writers use the verb for limbs or bodies that have lost their vigour.