Greek word · G3574

νυχθήμερον

nychthēmeron

and night and a day

A full period of a night and a day: twenty-four hours. A rare compound noun, here used as an accusative of duration ("for a night-day").

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

νυχθήμερος, -α, -ον

(νύξ, ἡμέρα, see B1., § 28, 4),

lasting a night and a day; as subst., (τὸ) ν., a night and a day: 2 Corinthians 11:25 (pl., Or. Sib., 8, 203).†

(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 2 Corinthians 11:25

Range of meaning

A full period of a night and a day: twenty-four hours. A rare compound noun, here used as an accusative of duration ("for a night-day").

Against the English

English needs a phrase ("a night and a day"). All versions keep the night-first order. NLT's "a whole night and a day" brings out the sense of one unbroken stretch.

Used elsewhere in the period

Found only here in the New Testament and not in the Septuagint. It is attested in later Greek writers and astronomical texts as a technical term for the full day (BDAG). The night-first order matches the Jewish day, which began at sunset (Gen 1:5, "evening and morning").

Where it appears

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:25 νυχθήμερον a night and a day

    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.

    Here: A single compound word, "night-day", meaning one full twenty-four-hour stretch. Putting night first fits the ancient habit of starting the day at sunset. It occurs only here in the New Testament.

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