Greek word · G389
ἀναστενάζω
anastenazō
to sigh deeply
To groan or sigh deeply, heaving a sigh up from within; used for grief, distress, anguish and exasperated indignation. The simple verb stenazō is 'to groan'; the prefix ana- ('up') intensifies it.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἀνα-στενάζω
[in LXX: Lamentations 1:4 (אָנַח ni.), Sirach 25:17), Da TH Sus 1:22, 2Ma.6:30 * ;]
to sigh deeply: Mark 8:12.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
To groan or sigh deeply, heaving a sigh up from within; used for grief, distress, anguish and exasperated indignation. The simple verb stenazō is 'to groan'; the prefix ana- ('up') intensifies it.
- Against the English
'Sighed deeply' (BSB, KJV, ESV, WEB) is accurate, but in modern English 'sigh' can sound like mild weariness or boredom. The Greek is closer to a groan: pain and indignation mixed together.
- How it drifted
No real drift in the word itself. The risk is reading Jesus' reaction as a tired shrug rather than an inner groan.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Only here in the NT. In the Septuagint it describes deep grief and distress: Lamentations 1:4 (the priests groaning), Sirach 25:18, 2 Maccabees 6:30 (the martyr Eleazar groaning under torture), Susanna 22 (Susanna's distress). Mark uses the simpler stenazō in 7:34, when Jesus looks to heaven and groans before healing the deaf man.
Where it appears
Mark · 1
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Mark 8:12 ἀναστενάξας having sighed deeply
Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Here: A groan pushed up from deep inside (ana- 'up' + stenazō 'groan'); the only use of this verb in the New Testament. It voices grief and exasperated indignation at their stubbornness, not mild disappointment.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.