παρασκευή

From the study of Matthew 27:62

Range of meaning

In general Greek it means 'preparation, getting ready', or 'equipment, provision' (for example military preparations). In Jewish Greek of the first century it had become a technical name for the day before the Sabbath, Friday, when meals were cooked and tasks finished because no work could be done after sunset. The word could also be qualified, as in John's 'the Preparation of the Passover' (John 19:14).

Against the English

KJV's 'the day of the preparation' and BSB/WEB's 'Preparation Day' are accurate but opaque. A modern reader does not know the phrase is simply the name of a weekday, and may assume it means getting ready for Passover. NLT goes the other way and replaces the phrase with plain 'on the Sabbath'. That is clear, but it loses Matthew's indirect wording.

How it drifted

English never took 'preparation' over as the name of a day, so the technical sense is invisible. In Greek the opposite happened: in later Christian Greek Παρασκευή simply became the word for Friday, and still is in modern Greek.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus (Antiquities 16.163) quotes a decree of Augustus excusing Jews from appearing in court 'on the Sabbaths or on the preparation day before it (παρασκευή) from the ninth hour'. Mark 15:42 defines it for Gentile readers: 'the Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath (προσάββατον)'. Compare Luke 23:54 and John 19:31, 42. Didache 8.1 (late 1st or early 2nd century) tells Christians to fast on Wednesday and 'Paraskeuē' (Friday), and Martyrdom of Polycarp 7.1 dates an arrest 'on the Paraskeuē'. The Latin church borrowed the word as Parasceve, its name for Good Friday.

From the study of John 19:14

Range of meaning

In ordinary Greek: preparation, provision, equipment (a fleet's or army's supplies). In Jewish Greek it became a technical term for the day before a sabbath (Friday), and by extension the day before a festival, when everything had to be got ready because no work could be done on the holy day. Hebrew and Aramaic speakers called this the ʿerev, the 'eve'.

Against the English

KJV's 'the preparation' and the capitalised 'Preparation Day' (WEB) or 'day of Preparation' (BSB) are both correct but opaque. A modern reader may hear only a general 'getting ready' and miss that this was a named day on the calendar. BSB's 'Preparation for the Passover' settles a disputed point: it reads the phrase as Passover Eve.

How it drifted

Christians kept the Jewish term for Friday. Paraskeuē is still the ordinary word for Friday in modern Greek. Because of that, later readers tend to hear 'the Friday of Passover week' automatically, and English 'Preparation' has become a churchy, half-explained label.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus (Antiquities 16.163) quotes an edict of Augustus excusing Jews from court appearances 'on the sabbath or on the preparation day before it from the ninth hour'. Mark 15:42 explains paraskeuē as 'the day before the sabbath'. See also Matthew 27:62, Luke 23:54, John 19:31, 42. Didache 8.1 and Martyrdom of Polycarp 7.1 use it simply for Friday.

From the study of John 19:31

Range of meaning

Basic sense: 'preparation, getting ready' (of supplies, equipment, a campaign). In Jewish Greek it became the fixed name for Friday, the day food was cooked and work finished so that nothing had to be done on the Sabbath. Christian Greek kept the name, and in modern Greek Friday is still Paraskevi.

Against the English

'Day of Preparation' (BSB, ESV, NIV) or 'the preparation' (KJV) sounds to English readers like a general description of a busy day, or like preparation for Passover only. To John's first readers it was mainly a weekday name, much as we say 'Friday'.

How it drifted

English never had this day-name, so translators render the root meaning. The calendar sense ends up hidden behind a descriptive phrase.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus, Antiquities 16.163, quotes a decree of Augustus excusing Jews from court appearances 'on the Sabbath or on the preparation (paraskeuē) before it, from the ninth hour'. Mark 15:42 glosses it for non-Jewish readers as 'the Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath (prosabbaton)'. Luke 23:54 and Matthew 27:62 agree. Didache 8.1 (about AD 100) tells Christians to fast 'on the fourth day and on the paraskeuē', meaning Wednesday and Friday. BDAG s.v. lists 'day of preparation' as the specific sense, and it is effectively the name Friday.