Greek word · G4711

σπυρίς

spyris

basket

A basket woven from reeds, rushes or rope; a hamper for carrying provisions or fish. It could be quite large: Acts 9:25 has Paul lowered from the Damascus wall 'in a spyris' (Paul's own account in 2 Cor 11:33 calls it a sarganē, a rope or wicker basket).

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

σφυρίς (T, Rec. σπυρίς, see WH, App., 148; 131., § 6, 7), -ίδος, ἡ,

a flexible mat-basket for carrying provisions: Matthew 15:37 16:10, Mark 8:8, 20 Acts 9:25 (see: κόφινος).†

(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 16:10

Range of meaning

A basket woven from reeds, rushes or rope; a hamper for carrying provisions or fish. It could be quite large: Acts 9:25 has Paul lowered from the Damascus wall 'in a spyris' (Paul's own account in 2 Cor 11:33 calls it a sarganē, a rope or wicker basket). In the New Testament it is always set against kophinos, the 'basket' of the five thousand.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT, ESV and BSB all use 'baskets' or 'basketfuls' in both verse 9 and verse 10, so the reader cannot tell that Jesus uses two different words. NASB marks the difference with 'large baskets' here. The Latin Vulgate also keeps the two apart (cophinos in v. 9, sportas in v. 10).

How it drifted

Not drift in the usual sense. English simply has one ordinary word, 'basket', for two Greek words, so the distinction disappears in translation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Herodotus 5.16 describes lake-dwellers lowering a spyris into the water to catch fish, which shows a sturdy, roomy basket. The papyri use it for baskets of provisions. Matthew (14:20 / 15:37 / 16:9–10) and Mark (6:43 / 8:8 / 8:19–20) both keep kophinos for the first feeding and spyris for the second, even in this short look back.

From the study of Mark 8:8

Range of meaning

A basket woven from reeds or rushes, used for provisions, fish and goods. Its size varied, and it could be large: Acts 9:25 uses it for the basket Paul was lowered in.

Against the English

BSB, ESV, KJV and WEB say 'baskets.' NASB and NLT say 'large baskets,' reflecting the view that a spyris was larger than the κόφινος of 6:43. English has no ready pair of words for the distinction Mark keeps.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in the papyri (everyday documents preserved in Egypt) for household and trade baskets. The κόφινος of the first feeding was a basket Roman writers linked with Jews: Juvenal (Satires 3.14; 6.542) mocks Jews whose belongings are 'a basket (cophinus) and hay.' The spyris had no such Jewish association.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 15:37 σπυρίδας baskets

    They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

  2. Matthew 16:10 σπυρίδας baskets

    Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?

    Here: A different word from the kophinos ('basket') of verse 9. It is the same word used for the leftovers of the four thousand in 15:37: a woven or rope hamper that could be large (in Acts 9:25 Paul is lowered over a wall in one).

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 8:8 σπυρίδας. baskets.

    The people ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

    Here: A woven or plaited basket, the kind used for carrying provisions or fish. It can be big: in Acts 9:25 Paul is let down a wall in one. Mark uses a different word here from the κόφινοι ('baskets') of the first feeding (6:43), and Jesus keeps the two words distinct in 8:19–20.

  2. Mark 8:20 σπυρίδων baskets

    “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you collect?” “Seven,” they said.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 9:25 σπυρίδι.¶ a basket.

    One night, however, his disciples took him and lowered him in a basket through a window in the wall.

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