Greek word · G4405

πρωΐα

prōia

early morning

Early morning, the dawn hours, roughly the last watch of the night through sunrise.

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

What it means

πρώιος (Rec. -ϊος), -α, -ον

(πρωί), [in LXX for בֹּקֶר בַּ לַּ ;]

at early morn, early; as subst., ἡ π. (sc. ὥρα, cf. ἡ ὥ. ἡ π., 3Ma.5:24), early morning: Matthew 27:1, John 21:4.†

(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 Matthew 27:1

Range of meaning

Early morning, the dawn hours, roughly the last watch of the night through sunrise.

Against the English

'When morning came' is fine. The Greek points to very early, right at daybreak.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew uses the related adverb prōi for the hour of the fourth watch (16:3; 20:1; 21:18). The Roman philosopher Seneca (De Ira 2.7) speaks of courts and officials beginning business at first light.

From the study of John 21:4

Range of meaning

Early morning: the hours around dawn, roughly the last watch of the night up to sunrise. Related to πρωΐ, 'early'.

Against the English

KJV 'when the morning was now come' and BSB 'early in the morning' are accurate. WEB 'when day had already come' could suggest full daylight, but the word points to first light. Versions that say 'just as day was breaking' (ESV, NASB) are following or leaning toward the variant γινομένης, 'as morning was coming on'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew 27:1 ('when morning came', the morning council against Jesus); John 18:28 πρωΐ, Jesus led to Pilate 'early'; John 20:1 Mary comes πρωΐ 'while it was still dark'. In papyri the word is ordinary time language for the morning.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 27:1 Πρωΐας As morning

    When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.

    Here: The first light of day, the hours around dawn. It sets this decision just after the night hearing at Caiaphas' house (26:57–68) and Peter's denial at cockcrow (26:75).

John · 1

  1. John 21:4 πρωΐας When morning

    Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not recognize that it was Jesus.

    Here: The early hours around dawn, the end of the night. It opens a time phrase ('morning having come') that sets the scene against the fruitless night of v. 3.

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