Greek word · G3718
ὀρθοτομέω
orthotomeō
to cut straight
Literally 'to cut straight' (orthos 'straight' + temnō 'cut'). In use: to make a straight path or course; by extension, to handle or direct something correctly. Later Christian writers used the related noun for orthodox, correct teaching.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ὀρθοτομέω, -ῶ
(- ὀρθός, τέμνω), [in LXX: Proverbs 3:6 11:6 (יָשַׁר pi.)* ;]
to cut straight, as a road (τ. ὁδούς, figuratively, Pr, ll with). Metaphorical, τ. λόγον τ. ἀληθείας, 2 Timothy 2:15 (V. Ellic. and CGT, in l; not found elsewhere).†
(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 Timothy 2:15
- Range of meaning
Literally 'to cut straight' (orthos 'straight' + temnō 'cut'). In use: to make a straight path or course; by extension, to handle or direct something correctly. Later Christian writers used the related noun for orthodox, correct teaching.
- Against the English
BSB/NASB 'accurately handles', ESV 'rightly handling', NIV 'correctly handles', NLT 'correctly explains', KJV 'rightly dividing'. The KJV's 'dividing' is often read as 'separating into parts', which is not the point. 'Handling' and 'explaining' keep the sense but lose the picture of a straight path.
- How it drifted
The English Reformation Bibles pressed the 'cutting' element ('dividing'). In 1611 'divide' could also mean 'distribute' or 'deal out', as in serving portions. Later readers took 'rightly dividing' to mean cutting Scripture into separate sections or ages, a meaning the Greek word never had.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Very rare before this verse. In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament): Proverbs 3:6, 'he will cut straight your paths', and Proverbs 11:5, 'righteousness cuts straight the blameless person's paths'. Both use it of making a road straight. BDAG renders it roughly as 'guide the word of truth along a straight path', like a road going straight to its goal. Later church writers (e.g. Eusebius, Gregory of Nazianzus) used orthotomia language for orthodox teaching.
Where it appears
2 Timothy · 1
-
2 Timothy 2:15 ὀρθοτομοῦντα accurately handling
Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.
Here: Literally 'cutting straight', as when a road or path is cut straight (Greek Proverbs 3:6; 11:5). Here it means keeping the message on a straight course, handling it correctly without letting it swerve. It does not mean dividing the message into sections.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.