Greek word · G4181
πολυμερῶς
polymerōs
little by little
'In many parts or portions', 'in a divided or piecemeal way'. The related adjective πολυμερής means 'having many parts, manifold'. Some lexicons also allow a sense of frequency ('many times'), but the root image is division into portions (μέρος, 'part').
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
'In many parts or portions', 'in a divided or piecemeal way'. The related adjective πολυμερής means 'having many parts, manifold'. Some lexicons also allow a sense of frequency ('many times'), but the root image is division into portions (μέρος, 'part').
- Against the English
KJV 'at sundry times', ESV/NIV/NLT 'at many times' and BSB 'on many past occasions' all turn it into a word about how often. YLT 'in many parts' and NASB 'in many portions' keep the image of pieces.
- How it drifted
Translators since Tyndale and the KJV have read it as a word about frequency. That makes it nearly a doublet of the next adverb, and the 'portions' picture is lost.
- Used elsewhere in the period
A rare word. The adjective appears in Wisdom of Solomon 7:22, where the spirit in Wisdom is 'manifold' (πολυμερές), and in Hellenistic philosophical prose. The adverb is a polished literary word, not an everyday one.
Where it appears
Hebrews · 1
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Hebrews 1:1 Πολυμερῶς In many portions
On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.
Here: Built from 'many' + 'part, portion'. God's earlier word came in many separate installments spread over centuries: a promise here, a law there, an oracle somewhere else. It is the first word of the book, set first for emphasis.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.