Greek word · G3960

πατάσσω

patassō

to strike

To strike or hit, from a light blow to a deadly one. In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) it is very often used of God or his angel striking enemies: wounding, killing, or bringing a plague. In ordinary Greek it can also mean simply to hit or knock someone.

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πατάσσω

[in LXX chiefly and very frequently for נָכָה hi., also for נָגַף, etc. ;]

1. in Hom., intrans., to beat (of the heart).

2. Trans. = πλήσσω, to strike, smite: absol., ἐν μαχαίρᾳ, Luke 22:49; with accusative of person(s), Matthew 26:51, Luke 22:50; with accusative of thing(s), Acts 12:7; of a deadly blow, Matthew 26:31, Mark 14:27, Acts 7:24. Metaphorical, of disease: Acts 12:23, Revelation 11:6 19:15.†

(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 Acts 12:7

Range of meaning

To strike or hit, from a light blow to a deadly one. In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) it is very often used of God or his angel striking enemies: wounding, killing, or bringing a plague. In ordinary Greek it can also mean simply to hit or knock someone.

Against the English

KJV 'smote', WEB/ESV/NASB/NIV 'struck', BSB 'tapped'. 'Struck' keeps both the force and the verbal link. 'Tapped' makes the blow gentle and polite, and breaks the echo with verse 23.

How it drifted

Not a drift in the word itself. 'Tapped' is a modern softening of the action, probably to avoid suggesting the angel hurt Peter. But the Greek is the same verb used for the angel's fatal blow on Herod.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint, Exodus 12:23, 27, 29 uses πατάσσω for the Lord striking Egypt's firstborn on Passover night. In 2 Kings 19:35 (4 Kingdoms LXX) the angel of the Lord 'struck' 185,000 Assyrians. Within Luke's own work: Luke 22:49–50 (a disciple strikes the high priest's servant); Acts 7:24 (Moses strikes the Egyptian); Acts 12:23 (an angel of the Lord strikes Herod and he dies).

From the study of Matthew 26:31

Range of meaning

To strike or hit, often with a deadly blow. In the Septuagint it regularly translates Hebrew nakah ('strike, smite, kill'), including God's striking of Egypt's firstborn (Exodus 12:12, 23, 29).

Against the English

'Strike' and 'smite' are both accurate. 'Smite' (KJV, YLT) keeps the older, weightier tone of judgment or killing. 'Strike' can sound like a single blow that someone survives.

Used elsewhere in the period

Zechariah 13:7 in Hebrew uses hak ('strike!', a command of nakah). The Septuagint manuscripts differ: Codex Vaticanus has 'strike (plural) the shepherds', while Codex Alexandrinus has 'strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered'. Alexandrinus is very close to Matthew, though it may have been brought into line with the Gospels. The verb also appears in the Passover story (Exodus 12:23, 'the LORD will pass through to strike Egypt').

From the study of Acts 12:23

Range of meaning

To strike or hit a blow, ranging from a tap or knock to a fatal stroke with a weapon. In the Greek Old Testament it most often translates Hebrew nakah (hiphil), 'strike, smite, kill', and is the standard verb for God's judgment blows.

Against the English

KJV has 'smote', WEB and NASB 'struck', BSB and NIV 'struck him down', and NLT 'struck Herod with a sickness'. 'Struck down' suggests he dropped dead on the spot. The Greek says only that he was struck, and the rest of the verse describes a disease that followed.

How it drifted

In modern English 'struck down' is a fixed phrase for being killed or felled instantly, which squeezes together the blow, the illness and the death that the Greek keeps apart.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament, God or his destroying agent 'strikes' Egypt's firstborn (Exod 12:23, 29), and 'the angel of the Lord went out and struck' 185,000 in the Assyrian camp after Sennacherib mocked Israel's God (2 Kgs 19:35; Isa 37:36). The plague angel 'strikes' Israel in 2 Sam 24:17. In the New Testament it is used of sword blows (Luke 22:49–50), Moses striking the Egyptian (Acts 7:24), and Zech 13:7 'I will strike the shepherd' (Matt 26:31).

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 26:31 πατάξω I will strike

    Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

    Here: First-person future, with God as the speaker. Zechariah's Hebrew has a command ('Strike!') addressed to a sword, but the oracle is God's own word, and Matthew makes God's agency explicit.

  2. Matthew 26:51 πατάξας having struck

    At this, one of Jesus’ companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

    Here: 'Having struck', a blow with the blade. Only twenty verses earlier Jesus quoted Zechariah with this same verb: 'I will strike the shepherd' (26:31). Now one of the sheep is doing the striking.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 14:27 πατάξω I will strike

    Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’

    Here: First person and future: God speaks. In the Greek Old Testament this verb often means a deadly blow (“strike down”). In Zechariah the Hebrew is a command (“Strike!”) addressed to a sword. Mark's wording makes God's own purpose explicit.

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 22:49 πατάξομεν will we strike

    Those around Jesus saw what was about to happen and said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”

  2. Luke 22:50 ἐπάταξεν struck

    And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 7:24 πατάξας having struck down

    And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him.

  2. Acts 12:7 πατάξας Having struck

    Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.

    Here: 'Having struck.' A real blow, not a gentle tap, needed to wake a man sleeping deeply. It is the same verb Luke uses in 12:23, when an angel of the Lord 'struck' Herod.

  3. Acts 12:23 ἐπάταξεν struck

    Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

    Here: This is a single decisive blow. In the Greek Old Testament it is the standard verb for God or his angel striking in judgment (Egypt's firstborn, Sennacherib's army). It is also the same verb used in v.7, where the angel 'struck' Peter's side to wake him and lead him out of Herod's prison.

Revelation · 2

  1. Revelation 11:6 πατάξαι to strike

    These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.

    Here: To hit with a blow. This is the Greek Old Testament's regular verb for God striking Egypt (Exod 12:12, 23, 29), and for Moses striking the water with his staff (Exod 7:20).

  2. Revelation 19:15 πατάξῃ He may strike down

    And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

    Here: Strike a decisive, often deadly blow. This is the Greek Old Testament's usual word for God striking down enemies (it translates Hebrew nakah).

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