Greek word · G3948

παροξυσμός

paroxysmos

stirring up

Literally a 'sharpening'. (1) Stirring up, spurring on, provoking to action. (2) Far more often, irritation, exasperation, a sharp quarrel. (3) In medical writers, the sudden attack or crisis of a fever (hence English 'paroxysm').

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

παροξυσμός, -οῦ, ὁ

(παροξύνω), [in LXX: Deuteronomy 29:28, Jeremiah 32:37 (קֶצֶף)* ;]

1. stimulation, provocation: π. ἀγάπης, Hebrews 10:14.

2. irritation: Acts 15:39.†

(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 Hebrews 10:24

Range of meaning

Literally a 'sharpening'. (1) Stirring up, spurring on, provoking to action. (2) Far more often, irritation, exasperation, a sharp quarrel. (3) In medical writers, the sudden attack or crisis of a fever (hence English 'paroxysm'). The related verb paroxynō means 'to goad, irritate, provoke', and it usually carries a hostile edge, though Greek writers could use it of goading someone toward noble deeds.

Against the English

'Spur' (BSB, NIV) and 'stir up' (ESV) capture the force but soften the jolt. 'Provoke' (KJV, WEB, YLT) keeps the jolt, but modern readers hear only 'annoy, anger'. 'Stimulate' (NASB) and 'motivate' (NLT) sound clinical or managerial and lose the sharpness entirely.

How it drifted

In 1611 'provoke' (Latin provocare, 'to call forth, challenge') could still mean 'rouse, incite' in a good sense. Today it is almost entirely negative.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it appears only here and in Acts 15:39, where Paul and Barnabas had 'a sharp disagreement' (paroxysmos) and parted ways. In the Greek Old Testament (LXX) it is used for God's fierce anger (Deut 29:28; Jer 32:37 [LXX 39:37]), and the verb is used repeatedly for Israel 'provoking' God (e.g., Num 14:11). Paul says love 'is not provoked' (ou paroxynetai, 1 Cor 13:5), and Paul's spirit was 'provoked' at Athens' idols (Acts 17:16). Hippocratic medical writings use the noun for fever attacks. The verb is found in the good sense of spurring toward honorable deeds (e.g., Xenophon, Memorabilia 3.3.13), and BDAG lists Heb 10:24 under that positive sense.

Similar words

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 15:39 παροξυσμός, a sharp disagreement,

    Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 10:24 παροξυσμὸν stirring up

    And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.

    Here: A sharp, jolting word. Its only other New Testament use is the 'sharp disagreement' between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:39), and doctors used it for the attack of a fever. Here it is aimed at a good result, so it reads as a deliberate surprise: 'a provocation of love.'

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