Greek word · G4404

πρωΐ

prōi

early

Prōi means 'early, in the early morning', especially the last stretch of night before sunrise (the fourth Roman watch, about 3–6 a.m.; Mark 13:35 lists the watches as evening, midnight, cockcrow, prōi). Skotia means 'darkness'.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πρωί (Rec. πρωΐ),

adv. (πρό), [in LXX chiefly for בֹּקֶר ;]

in the morning, early: Matthew 16:3 (R, txt.) Matthew 21:18, Mark 1:35 11:20 13:35 15:1, John 18:28 20:1; λίαν π., Mark 16:2; ἅμα π., Matthew 20:1; ἀπὸ π. (cf. ἀπὸ πρωΐθεν, Exodus 18:13), Acts 28:23.†

(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 John 20:1

Range of meaning

Prōi means 'early, in the early morning', especially the last stretch of night before sunrise (the fourth Roman watch, about 3–6 a.m.; Mark 13:35 lists the watches as evening, midnight, cockcrow, prōi). Skotia means 'darkness'. John uses it literally and also as a theme for the realm cut off from the light (1:5; 8:12; 12:35, 46; 1 John 1:5; 2:8–11).

Against the English

'Early, while it was still dark' is accurate in every major version. What English cannot easily show is that skotia is one of John's theme words. A Greek hearer of this Gospel had heard it at 1:5 ('the light shines in the darkness') and at 12:46 ('so that no one who believes in me should remain in darkness').

Used elsewhere in the period

Mark 16:2 says 'very early... when the sun had risen'. Luke 24:1 has 'at deep dawn' (orthrou batheos). Matthew 28:1 has 'as it was dawning'. All the Gospels put the visit at first light. John alone stresses that it was 'still dark'.

From the study of Mark 1:35

Range of meaning

Prōi covers the early morning generally. It was also the name for the fourth night-watch, about 3–6 a.m., in the Roman way of dividing the night that Mark uses. Ennychos means "by night, nocturnal", and its neuter form serves as an adverb, "while still night". Lian means "very". Together the three words pile up to say very early, still in the dark.

Against the English

KJV "in the morning, rising up a great while before day" keeps the dark but turns three adverbs into a clause. BSB and WEB, "Early in the morning, while it was still dark", are accurate. YLT "very early, it being yet night" is closest to the Greek order. Where a version says only "early in the morning", a modern reader may picture daylight, which the Greek rules out.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mark 13:35 names the four watches: opse (evening), mesonyktion (midnight), alektorophōnia (cockcrow), prōi. In Mark 6:46–48 Jesus prays on a mountain and then comes to the disciples "about the fourth watch of the night". Ennychos appears in classical Greek from Homer on (e.g. Iliad 11.683) and in the Greek Old Testament at 3 Maccabees 5:5 (per BDAG s.v. ἔννυχος). Praying before sunrise was a recognised mark of devotion. Wisdom of Solomon 16:28 says one must "rise before the sun to give you thanks and meet you at the dawning of the light". Josephus says the Essenes offered their ancestral prayers before sunrise (Jewish War 2.128). Philo says the Therapeutae prayed at dawn (On the Contemplative Life 27).

From the study of John 18:28

Range of meaning

Early, early morning. It was also the name of the fourth and last watch of the night in Roman-style reckoning, roughly 3–6 a.m.

Against the English

'Early' or 'early morning' is accurate. The watch sense means it is before or around dawn, not mid-morning.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mark 13:35 lists the four night watches as evening, midnight, cockcrow, and prōi. John 18:27 has just ended with the rooster crowing. Roman officials were known for starting public business at first light.

Where it appears

Matthew · 3

  1. Matthew 16:3 πρωΐ· in the morning;

    and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times.

    Here: Early morning, around sunrise. It answers “when evening comes” in verse 2: people read the sky at both ends of the day.

  2. Matthew 20:1 πρωῒ morning

    “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

    Here: First light, when the working day began. Hours were counted from sunrise, so the later hirings at the 'third', 'sixth', 'ninth' and 'eleventh' hours count from this moment.

  3. Matthew 21:18 πρωῒ Early

    In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry.

    Here: The early hours of the day, around dawn or just before it. Placed first in the sentence, it marks a new day after the night spent at Bethany (v. 17).

Mark · 5

  1. Mark 1:35 πρωῒ very early

    Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray.

    Here: In Mark this is a technical time word. It is the name of the last of the four Roman night-watches, roughly 3–6 a.m. (Mark 13:35 lists evening, midnight, cockcrow, and prōi). Here it means the last stretch of the night, not mid-morning.

  2. Mark 11:20 πρωῒ in the morning

    As they were walking back in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from its roots.

  3. Mark 13:35 πρωΐ· morning;

    Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return—whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning.

    Here: The fourth watch, about 3 to 6 a.m., the grey hours before sunrise. Even after a whole night awake, the last stretch still counts.

  4. Mark 15:1 πρωῒ in the morning

    Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate.

    Here: First light, the last watch of the night (about 3 to 6 a.m. in Roman reckoning). It is the fourth of the four watches Jesus named in 13:35, and in Mark it is the moment the night proceedings end.

  5. Mark 16:2 πρωῒ early

    Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb.

John · 2

  1. John 18:28 πρωΐ. early.

    Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

    Here: The last watch of the night before full daylight, roughly 3–6 a.m. by Roman reckoning. It follows straight on from the rooster's crow in 18:27.

  2. John 20:1 πρωῒ early

    Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

    Here: The last part of the night before sunrise. In Roman reckoning it was the fourth watch, about 3 to 6 a.m. (compare Mark 13:35).

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 28:23 πρωῒ morning

    So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

    Here: From early morning, the start of the working day.

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