Greek word · G3567

νυμφών

nymphōn

bridegroom

A bridal chamber, and by extension the wedding hall where the feast was held. Rare outside Jewish and Christian Greek. In this phrase it names the wedding as an event and a place more than a bedroom.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

νυμφών, -ῶνος, ὁ

(νύμφη), [in LXX: Tobit 6:13,16* ;]

the bride-chamber (Heb. חֻפָּה, LXX, παστός, Psalms 19:5, Joel 2:16): Matthew 22:10 (WE; γάμος, RV); οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ ν. (cf. cl. νυμφαγωγός, νυμφευτής), the bridegroom's friends who have charge of the nuptial arrangements: Matthew 9:15, Mark 2:19, Luke 5:34.†

(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 Luke 5:34

Range of meaning

A bridal chamber, and by extension the wedding hall where the feast was held. Rare outside Jewish and Christian Greek. In this phrase it names the wedding as an event and a place more than a bedroom.

Against the English

“Bridechamber” (KJV, YLT) is accurate but sounds like a bedroom to modern ears. Most modern versions fold the word into “wedding guests” or “friends of the bridegroom.”

How it drifted

“Chamber” now suggests a private room, while the idiom points to the whole public celebration.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew 22:10 uses νυμφών (in some manuscripts) for the hall filled with guests at the king's wedding feast, which shows it can mean a banquet hall. Tobit 6:14, 17 (LXX) uses it for the chamber where the bride and groom meet.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 9:15 νυμφῶνος bridechamber

    Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

    Here: The room or hall of the wedding. 'Sons of the bridal chamber' are the groom's attendants and close companions who run and enjoy the week-long feast. (The supplied gloss 'bridegroom' belongs to the next noun. This word means the chamber or hall.)

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 2:19 νυμφῶνος bridechamber

    Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? As long as He is with them, they cannot fast.

    Here: The bridal room or wedding hall. 'Sons of the bridal chamber' are the groom's companions and wedding guests, the people at the centre of the celebration.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 5:34 νυμφῶνος bridechamber

    Jesus replied, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them?

    Here: The room or hall of the wedding, the place where the celebration happens. The whole phrase means the groom's party: his close friends and the guests at the feast.

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