Greek word · G4115

πλατύνω

platynō

to widen

From πλατύς, 'broad'. It means to make broad or wide, or passively to become wide. It can be physical, as with widening a border or a tent's space, or figurative. The figurative use is not automatically positive: context decides whether a wide heart is good.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πλατύνω

(πλατύς), [in LXX chiefly for רָחַב hi. ;]

to make broad, enlarge, extend: with accusative of thing(s), Matthew 23:5. Metaphorical (cf. Psalms 119:32, al.), pass., ἡ καρδία, 2 Corinthians 6:11; ὑμεῖς, 2 Corinthians 6:13.†

(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 2 Corinthians 6:11

Range of meaning

From πλατύς, 'broad'. It means to make broad or wide, or passively to become wide. It can be physical, as with widening a border or a tent's space, or figurative. The figurative use is not automatically positive: context decides whether a wide heart is good.

Against the English

KJV and WEB's 'enlarged' keeps the idea of size, but today it can sound medical. 'Open wide' (BSB, ESV, NASB, NIV) reads naturally but uses 'open' for a verb different from the one used of the mouth, and shifts the picture from spaciousness to exposure. NIV's 'opened wide our hearts' also makes it something Paul did, while the Greek is passive and names no one who did the widening.

How it drifted

'Enlarged' was a fair rendering in older English, and the Latin Vulgate's dilatatum est points the same way, but medical use has since made 'an enlarged heart' a diagnosis. 'Open-hearted' in modern use tends to mean emotionally candid, which is close but not the same as having room for someone.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is rare in the New Testament: Matthew 23:5 (broadening phylacteries, the small scripture cases worn in prayer) and 2 Corinthians 6:11 and 6:13. In the Greek Old Testament, Psalm 118:32 (119:32 in English Bibles) reads 'when you widened my heart', with God as the one who widens. Deuteronomy 11:16 LXX uses it negatively, of a heart that is led astray, and Psalm 24:17 LXX of troubles of the heart being widened. In 1 Samuel 2:1 LXX, Hannah says her mouth is widened over her enemies, in a verse that also mentions her heart. In Hebrew, 'breadth of heart' can mean great understanding (1 Kings 4:29) or arrogance (Proverbs 21:4), and Isaiah 60:5 pictures a heart swelling with joy.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 23:5 πλατύνουσιν They broaden

    All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

    Here: They make the phylacteries wider: bigger boxes, broader straps, or both. Elsewhere in the NT the verb is used only figuratively, of a heart 'opened wide' (2 Cor 6:11, 13).

2 Corinthians · 2

  1. 2 Corinthians 6:11 πεπλάτυνται· has been expanded;

    We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians. Our hearts are open wide.

    Here: Perfect passive: the heart has been widened and now stands wide. The image is of spaciousness, room made for someone, and it sets up the 'narrow' language of verse 12 and the plea of verse 13.

  2. 2 Corinthians 6:13 πλατύνθητε do open [yourselves]

    As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.

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