Greek word · G4626

σκάπτω

skaptō

to dig

'To dig, hoe, till'. A word for manual farm work. Luke uses it in 6:48, where the wise builder digs deep before laying a foundation, and in 16:3, where the steward says 'I am not strong enough to dig'. There it is the hard labour of the lowest workers.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

σκάπτω

[in LXX: Isaiah 5:6 (עֲדַר ni.)* ;]

to dig: Luke 6:48 13:8 16:3.†

(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 Luke 13:8

Range of meaning

'To dig, hoe, till'. A word for manual farm work. Luke uses it in 6:48, where the wise builder digs deep before laying a foundation, and in 16:3, where the steward says 'I am not strong enough to dig'. There it is the hard labour of the lowest workers.

Against the English

"Dig around it" or "dig about it" in all major versions. NLT paraphrases it as "give it special attention", which loses the concrete picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek farming writers and the Septuagint (Isa 5:6, the vineyard that will 'not be pruned or hoed') use skaptō and its compounds for working the soil around vines and trees. Isaiah 5 is the classic Israel-as-vineyard song, and in it God threatens to stop tending the unfruitful vineyard. Luke's vinedresser does the opposite and offers more tending.

Where it appears

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 6:48 ἔσκαψεν dug

    He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

    Here: Hard manual labour with a mattock or spade. Luke uses the same verb in 13:8 (digging around the fig tree) and 16:3 ('I am not strong enough to dig').

  2. Luke 13:8 σκάψω I may dig

    ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it.

    Here: "I may dig" (aorist subjunctive). He offers his own labour: hoeing the hard ground around the trunk to loosen it and let water and air reach the roots.

  3. Luke 16:3 σκάπτειν To dig

    The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg.

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