Greek word · G4430

πτῶμα

ptōma

corpse

From πίπτω 'to fall'. Originally 'a fall' or 'a fallen thing'. In the biblical period it most often meant a corpse, especially a body lying where it fell, and also an animal carcass. It is a blunt word, not a respectful one like σῶμα ('body').

Appears 7 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πτῶμα -τος, τό

(πίπτω), [in LXX: Judges 14:8 (מַפֶּלֶת), Job 16:15 (14) (פֶּרֶץ), Isaiah 51:19 (שֹׁד), Judith 8:19, Wisdom of Solomon 4:18, al. ;]

1. a fall, metaphorically, a misfortune, calamity (Trag., Plat., Polyb., al.; LXX).

2. That which has fallen;

(a) of buildings, a ruin (Polyb.);

(b) of living creatures, in cl. (poët. only) usually with genitive, νεκρῶν, etc., but also absol., as in late writers and NT, a fallen body, a carcase, corpse: Matthew 14:12 24:28, Mark 15:45; π. αὐτοῦ, Mark 6:29; αὐτῶν, Revelation 11:8-9 (cf. Rutherford, NPhr., 472 f.).†

(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 Revelation 11:8

Range of meaning

From πίπτω 'to fall'. Originally 'a fall' or 'a fallen thing'. In the biblical period it most often meant a corpse, especially a body lying where it fell, and also an animal carcass. It is a blunt word, not a respectful one like σῶμα ('body').

Against the English

Most English versions say 'bodies' or 'dead bodies', which is accurate but softer. 'Corpse' keeps the starkness. English also usually makes it plural, which hides the Greek singular.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the LXX it is used for carcasses, such as the lion's carcass in Judges 14:8. In the NT it is used for John the Baptist's body (Matt 14:12; Mark 6:29), for Jesus' body when Pilate releases it (Mark 15:45), and in 'wherever the carcass is, there the vultures gather' (Matt 24:28).

From the study of Matthew 14:12

Range of meaning

From piptō, 'to fall', it means 'a fall' and so 'what has fallen': a dead body, a carcass, the remains of a person or animal. In ordinary Greek it can also mean a disaster or a fall in a moral sense, but in the Gospels it always means a corpse.

Against the English

Most English versions say 'body', which is neutral and can describe a living person. The Greek is starker, closer to 'corpse' or 'remains'. The other word for body, sōma, is the one Matthew uses for Jesus' body in 27:58–59.

How it drifted

Translators soften it for good reasons of taste. Some ancient scribes did the same, replacing it with sōma (see textual notes).

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew 24:28: 'wherever the carcass (ptōma) is, there the vultures will gather.' Mark 6:29 tells this same story with ptōma. Mark 15:45 uses ptōma when Pilate grants Jesus' body to Joseph. In the Greek Old Testament (LXX) it appears for slain bodies, e.g. Judges 14:8 (the lion's carcass) and Psalm 110[109]:6 (MT/LXX numbering).

From the study of Matthew 24:28

Range of meaning

From piptō, "to fall": something fallen. In Greek of the period it most often means a corpse, especially of someone fallen in battle or of an animal killed and left lying. It can also mean a fall or a disaster in a general sense. In the New Testament it always means a dead body: the beheaded John the Baptist (Matt 14:12; Mark 6:29), Jesus' body (Mark 15:45), and the two witnesses left lying in the street (Rev 11:8–9).

Against the English

"Carcass" (BSB, WEB, KJV "carcase") and "corpse" (ESV and NASB, as far as can be checked) are both accurate. Luke's version of the saying (17:37) has sōma, "body", which is gentler and could mean a living body. Matthew's word cannot.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in classical and Hellenistic Greek for the fallen in war. Septuagint Judges 14:8 uses it for the lion's carcass Samson finds. Josephus also uses it for corpses.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 14:12 πτῶμα body

    Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. And they went and informed Jesus.

    Here: Literally 'a fallen thing': the dead remains. It is a blunt word, the same one Matthew uses for the carcass vultures gather around (24:28). Here it is the body without its head.

  2. Matthew 24:28 πτῶμα, carcass,

    Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

    Here: Literally "a thing that has fallen": a dead body, often of someone fallen in battle or of an animal lying in the open. It is a blunt, physical word for a dead body left lying out, and it is the bait in the picture.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 6:29 πτῶμα body

    When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

  2. Mark 15:45 πτῶμα body

    When Pilate had confirmed it with the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

Revelation · 3

  1. Revelation 11:8 πτῶμα body

    Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified.

    Here: Literally a 'fallen thing': a dead body, often one left lying where it fell. The word is singular even though there are two witnesses. This is probably a collective singular ('their body', each one's body), though some read it as treating the two as one testimony. Verse 9 uses both the singular and the plural.

  2. Revelation 11:9 πτῶμα πτώματα body, bodies

    For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb.

    Here: The singular continues from v.8: 'their corpse'. The two witnesses are treated as one, either as a unit or because their shared fate is in view. The word is blunt and means a fallen body, a carcass.

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