Greek word · G4079

πηδάλιον

pēdalion

rudder

The steering oar of a ship. In the Greco-Roman Mediterranean this was a large oar with a broad blade, usually one on each side at the stern quarter, turned by a tiller bar. Related to pēdon, "oar-blade." Used figuratively for whatever guides or governs.

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

What it means

πηδάλιον, -συ, τό

(πηδός, the blade of an oar),

a rudder: James 3:4; pl., Acts 27:40.†

(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 James 3:4

Range of meaning

The steering oar of a ship. In the Greco-Roman Mediterranean this was a large oar with a broad blade, usually one on each side at the stern quarter, turned by a tiller bar. Related to pēdon, "oar-blade." Used figuratively for whatever guides or governs.

Against the English

KJV "helm"; most modern versions "rudder." Both are fair for the function. But a modern reader pictures a single hinged rudder on the sternpost, worked by a wheel, and that device did not exist in James's world.

How it drifted

The hinged sternpost rudder appears in Europe in the medieval period (roughly 12th–13th century). After that, "rudder" came to mean that device, and the older steering oar was forgotten by most readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 27:40 speaks of loosing "the bands of the steering oars" (plural, τῶν πηδαλίων), which fits the paired quarter-oars. The pseudo-Aristotelian Mechanical Problems (ch. 5) asks why the small steering oar at the end of a ship has such great power, so it was a known puzzle of leverage. Philo and Plutarch use the pilot and his steering oar as a picture of reason governing the soul or the city.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 27:40 πηδαλίων rudders

    Cutting away the anchors, they left them in the sea as they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.

James · 1

  1. James 3:4 πηδαλίου rudder

    Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined.

    Here: The steering oar: a large oar-shaped blade mounted at the stern quarter. It is small compared with the hull, and it decides where the whole ship goes.

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