νῖκος

From the study of 1 Corinthians 15:55

Range of meaning

Victory, conquest, the winning of a contest or battle. It is a later (Hellenistic) form of the older νίκη, with the same meaning. The phrase εἰς νῖκος can also mean 'forever, utterly', because Aramaic and later Hebrew neṣaḥ ('lastingness') was linked with an Aramaic root meaning 'to conquer'.

Against the English

'Victory' is accurate and has not drifted. The decisive point is where Paul got the word.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the NT it occurs only here (vv. 54, 55, 57) and in Matthew 12:20. In Isaiah 25:8 the Hebrew has lāneṣaḥ, 'forever'. The standard LXX does not use 'victory' there, but the later Greek translations of Theodotion and Aquila render it εἰς νῖκος, 'into victory'. Paul's wording in v. 54 matches Theodotion exactly. The LXX of Hosea 13:14 reads 'Where is your penalty (δίκη), O Death?', not 'victory'.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 15:57

Range of meaning

Victory, triumph, conquest. It is a later (Hellenistic) form of the classical νίκη (nikē), with the same meaning: the outcome of a contest or battle in which one side prevails. In some Greek-Jewish usage the phrase εἰς νῖκος (eis nikos) also took on a sense close to "utterly, for good", which partly reflects the Hebrew lāneṣaḥ ("forever") it sometimes translated.

Against the English

"Victory" is an accurate English equivalent. What English readers can miss is how narrow its reference is here. It is not victory in general but the particular triumph named in vv. 54–55: death swallowed up and stripped of its sting.

How it drifted

Because the verse is so often quoted alone, "the victory" gets heard as success over any struggle. The word itself has not drifted. Its context gets dropped.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paul's quotation in 15:54, "Death has been swallowed up in victory (εἰς νῖκος)", follows Isaiah 25:8 in a form close to the Greek versions of Theodotion and Aquila rather than the main Septuagint. The Hebrew reads lāneṣaḥ, "forever". The idea of "victory" is connected to the root נצח, which in Aramaic and later Hebrew can mean "to prevail". Verse 55 then adapts Hosea 13:14 and substitutes "victory" for "penalty/punishment", producing "Where, O death, is your victory?" In the wider Greek world, nikē was everywhere: in the goddess Nike, on coins, in imperial victory propaganda and at athletic games such as the Isthmian Games held near Corinth.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 15:54

Range of meaning

Victory, triumph (a later form of νίκη). In the Septuagint the phrase εἰς νῖκος often translates Hebrew lanetsach, "forever, perpetually, utterly", partly because in Aramaic and later Hebrew the root נצח also meant "to conquer, prevail".

Against the English

All major English versions say "in victory", which suggests "in a triumphant win". That is part of it. The idiomatic sense "for good, completely, once and for all" mostly drops out of English.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint, εἰς νῖκος renders lanetsach in 2 Sam 2:26 ("Shall the sword devour forever?"), Amos 1:11, Jer 3:5, Lam 5:20 and Job 36:7. In Isaiah 25:8 the Hebrew is lanetsach. The surviving Septuagint of Isaiah reads differently, but Theodotion's Greek version has exactly Paul's wording: κατεπόθη ὁ θάνατος εἰς νῖκος.