Greek word · G3758

οὐά

oua

aha!

An exclamation, which can be of genuine or ironic admiration or of mocking surprise: 'Ha!', 'Aha!', 'Bravo!', 'Well, well!'. It matches Latin 'vah'.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

οὐά,

interj.

of wonder or irony, ah! ha!: Mark 15:29.†

(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 Mark 15:29

Range of meaning

An exclamation, which can be of genuine or ironic admiration or of mocking surprise: 'Ha!', 'Aha!', 'Bravo!', 'Well, well!'. It matches Latin 'vah'.

Against the English

'Aha!' (BSB, ESV), 'Ha!' (WEB, NASB), 'Ah' (KJV, YLT), 'So!' (NIV), 'Ha! Look at you now!' (NLT). 'Ah' in the KJV can sound sorrowful to modern ears. The word is sarcastic, not sad.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare. BDAG cites it in Epictetus' Discourses (3.22.34; 3.23.24, 32), where it is used ironically, as a mock cheer. Its only New Testament use is here. Matthew's parallel (27:40) drops it.

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 15:29 Οὐά, Aha!

    And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

    Here: A sneering exclamation, a mock 'Bravo!' or 'Well, well!'. It appears only here in the New Testament. In ordinary Greek it could express admiration, so here the 'admiration' is sarcastic.

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