ἄνθραξ

From the study of Romans 12:20

Range of meaning

ἄνθραξ means charcoal, especially glowing, burning charcoal. "Coals of fire" is a stock phrase in the Greek Old Testament. Its uses include: God's fiery presence and judgment (Ps 18:12–13 [LXX 17:13–14]; Ps 140:10 [LXX 139:11] "let burning coals fall upon them"; Ezek 10:2, coals scattered over Jerusalem); punishment for a lying tongue (Ps 120:4); and, once, purifying (the coal that cleanses Isaiah's lips, Isa 6:6–7, a different Hebrew word).

Against the English

"Burning coals" (BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB) and "coals of fire" (KJV, WEB) are both accurate. The NLT's "burning coals of shame" adds an interpretation that is not in the Greek.

How it drifted

Two explanations of the image are popular, and neither is ancient: a supposed custom of lending live coals to a neighbour, and the idea of "killing them with kindness" as a quiet form of revenge.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Hebrew of Prov 25:22 reads כִּי גֶחָלִים אַתָּה חֹתֶה עַל־רֹאשׁוֹ, "for coals you are scooping onto his head". The verb חתה means to scoop or snatch up fire or coals from a hearth (Isa 30:14; Prov 6:27; HALOT). 4 Ezra (2 Esdras) 16:53 says God "will burn coals of fire on the head" of the person who denies having sinned, which uses the image for exposure and judgment. The Talmud (b. Sukkah 52a) puns on the next line of Proverbs, "the LORD will repay you", and reads it as "he will make him at peace with you", taking the proverb as a path to reconciliation. A late Egyptian (Demotic) story, the Second Tale of Setne Khamwas, describes a man showing penitence by carrying a censer of burning coals on his head. Morenz (1953) and Klassen (1963) took this as background to the proverb.