Greek word · G3564

Νυμφᾶς

nymphas

Nympha

Nympha (Νύμφα) was a common Greek woman's name, related to nymphē, 'bride, young woman, nymph'. Nymphas (Νυμφᾶς) would be a shortened man's name, perhaps from Nymphodoros, and is very rarely found.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

Νυμφᾶς, -ᾶ, ὁ (WH, R, mg., Νύμφα, which see),

Nymphas: Colossians 4:15, R, txt. (cf. ICC, Lft., in l).†

Νύμφα (Rec., R, txt., Νυμφᾶς, which see), -ης, ἡ, Nympha (see M, Pr., 48): Colossians 4:15, WH, R, mg.†

(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 Colossians 4:15

Range of meaning

Nympha (Νύμφα) was a common Greek woman's name, related to nymphē, 'bride, young woman, nymph'. Nymphas (Νυμφᾶς) would be a shortened man's name, perhaps from Nymphodoros, and is very rarely found.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT have 'Nymphas … his house'. BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB and NLT have 'Nympha … her house'.

How it drifted

This is a difference in manuscripts, not a change in a word's meaning over time. Later copyists, and the Byzantine text the KJV relied on, have 'his'. Most textual critics judge that 'her' is original and was changed to the masculine, probably because a woman heading a house church seemed unusual to later scribes.

Used elsewhere in the period

Metzger's Textual Commentary explains the UBS decision for αὐτῆς; Lightfoot (1875) had already argued for it. The feminine name is common in inscriptions from Asia Minor, while the masculine short form is barely attested.

Where it appears

Colossians · 1

  1. Colossians 4:15 Νύμφαν Nympha

    Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.

    Here: A personal name. With the accent on the first syllable it is the common woman's name Nympha; with a circumflex on the last syllable it would be the rare man's name Nymphas. The supplied text and the critical editions take it as feminine, matching 'her' later in the verse.

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