Greek word · G4486

ῥήγνυμι

rēgnymi

to throw violently

Tear, rend, break apart, burst (as wineskins burst, Matthew 9:17). Also to break out in speech, and of animals tearing or mauling.

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

What it means

ῥήγνυμι and (Mark 9:18) ῥήσσω,

[in LXX chiefly for בָּקַע, also for קָרַע, etc. ;]

1. to rend, break asunder: Matthew 7:6, Mark 2:22, Luke 5:37; pass., Matthew 9:17.

2. Of the voice, with accusative, φωνήν, etc. (Hdt., al.), to break forth into speech: absol., Galatians 4:27 (LXX).

3. = ῥήσσω (Dem., al.), to throw or dash down: Mark 9:18, Luke 9:42

(cf. δια-, περι-, προσ-ρήγνυμι).†

SYN.: θραύω, κατάγνυμι (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 7:6

Range of meaning

Tear, rend, break apart, burst (as wineskins burst, Matthew 9:17). Also to break out in speech, and of animals tearing or mauling.

Against the English

KJV 'rend', BSB, NIV and NASB 'tear you to pieces', ESV 'attack you'. 'Attack' is milder and loses the picture of mauling.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for bursting wineskins (Matthew 9:17; Mark 2:22) and for a demon throwing a boy down (Mark 9:18, Luke 9:42). In the Septuagint it is used for tearing garments and splitting things open.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 7:6 ῥήξωσιν they may tear to pieces

    Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

    Here: 'They tear apart.' A violent word used of ripping and breaking open, here of an animal mauling a person. It is the opposite of a harmless snub.

  2. Matthew 9:17 ῥήγνυνται are burst

    Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

    Here: Are split open. The present tense states what always happens, as in a proverb: the pressure of the fermenting wine rips the stiff leather.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 2:22 ῥήξει will burst

    And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”

    Here: 'Will split, will burst open.' The future tense states what is certain to happen. The wine is the one acting: the fermenting wine itself tears the old leather apart.

  2. Mark 9:18 ῥήσσει it throws down

    Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 5:37 ῥήξει will burst

    And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined.

  2. Luke 9:42 ἔρρηξεν threw down

    Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 4:27 ῥῆξον do break forth

    For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”

    Here: Literally 'burst,' as a dam bursts. In Isaiah's Greek it means bursting out into a shout of joy, and the shout is implied.

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