στενός

From the study of Matthew 7:13

Range of meaning

Narrow, close, confined, cramped. In Greek it describes physical tightness (a narrow pass, a strait of sea) and, by extension, difficult or distressing circumstances. The related noun stenochōria means distress, "being hemmed in".

Against the English

BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV and NASB all have "narrow". KJV and YLT have "strait", an older English word meaning narrow or tight (as in the Strait of Gibraltar, or a "straitjacket", or being "in dire straits"). Modern ears hear it as "straight", meaning upright, orderly or morally conventional, which is a different picture.

How it drifted

"Strait" fell out of common use, and its sound-alike "straight" took over. The modern idiom "the straight and narrow" (a respectable, rule-keeping life) grew out of this mishearing of the KJV's "strait".

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint it describes a narrow place where there is no room to turn (Num 22:26). The image of a narrow entrance to a good destination also appears in 4 Ezra 7:6–9, a Jewish apocalypse from the late first century AD: a city full of good things whose entrance is narrow and set on a steep place. In Greek moral writing, the Tablet of Cebes has a small gate and a narrow, rocky path leading to "true education".

From the study of Matthew 7:14

Range of meaning

Narrow, close or confined in space, such as a narrow pass, strait or alley. By extension it can describe a tight or distressing situation. Its related words stenochōria ('narrowness of space', hence 'distress') and stenochōreō ('to be cramped, hard pressed') carry that second sense.

Against the English

BSB and NIV render it 'small', which keeps the idea of scarcity but loses the shape. A gate can be small without being narrow. ESV and WEB use 'narrow'. KJV's 'strait' is accurate: it is the old word for 'tight, constricted', as in 'straitjacket' and the Strait of Gibraltar.

How it drifted

KJV's 'strait' sounds identical to 'straight', and over time it was heard as 'straight'. That gave English the moral idiom 'the straight and narrow', which swaps a tight passage for a picture of straightness and uprightness.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the LXX, Numbers 22:26 has the angel standing 'in a narrow place' (en topō stenō) where Balaam's donkey could not turn right or left, an image close to this one. In the New Testament the word appears only here, in v.13 and in the Lukan parallel (Luke 13:24, 'the narrow door'). In 4 Ezra 7:6–8 (late 1st century CE) a city full of good things can be reached only by a narrow entrance on a path wide enough for one person.

From the study of Luke 13:24

Range of meaning

Narrow, tight, confined. Used of passages, roads, doors and places where there is little room. By extension it can mean distress or being hemmed in (the related noun stenochōria means 'distress', literally 'narrowness of space').

Against the English

Modern versions say 'narrow'. The KJV's 'strait' is an older English word meaning 'narrow, tight' (compare 'straitjacket', 'Strait of Gibraltar', 'dire straits'). Many modern readers hear it as 'straight' (direct, or morally upright). The idiom 'the straight and narrow' comes from that confusion with Matthew 7:14.

How it drifted

The English adjective 'strait' dropped out of everyday use, and its sound-alike 'straight' took its place in people's ears. The supplied YLT text even prints 'straight gate'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the NT the word appears only here and in Matthew 7:13–14. LXX: Numbers 22:26, the angel stands 'in a narrow place where there was no way to turn'; Isaiah 30:20 'water of distress' (hydōr stenon). In Greek moral writing, the Tablet of Cebes (around the 1st century) pictures a small door and a little-used road leading to true education. Jewish 'two ways' teaching (Deuteronomy 30:15–19; Jeremiah 21:8; later Didache 1:1) supplies a similar background.