στενοχωρία

From the study of Romans 8:35

Range of meaning

Made from stenos ("narrow") and chōra ("space"): being cramped, confined, in a tight spot. Figuratively it means dire straits, helplessness, and the anguish of having no way out.

Against the English

"Distress" (KJV, BSB, ESV, NASB), "hardship" (NIV), "anguish" (WEB), "calamity" (NLT). None of these keeps the picture of being boxed in.

How it drifted

Modern "distress" mostly means an emotional state. The Greek starts with the situation, being trapped, and the inner anguish follows from it.

Used elsewhere in the period

In LXX Deut 28:53, 55, 57 the pair "stenochōria and thlipsis" describes a city under siege, so desperate that people eat their own children. It also appears in Isa 8:22 and 30:6 LXX. Paul uses it in Rom 2:9, 2 Cor 6:4 and 12:10.

From the study of 2 Corinthians 6:4

Range of meaning

Literally 'narrowness of space' (stenos, narrow + chōra, space). It means confinement and being in straits. Figuratively it is anguish or distress with no room to move.

Against the English

BSB has 'calamities' (also ESV). KJV, WEB and NIV have 'distresses'. Both are acceptable, but neither keeps the physical picture of being hemmed in.

Used elsewhere in the period

The LXX uses it for the extreme straits of a besieged city in Deut 28:53, 55, 57 ('in the siege and in the distress'), and in Isa 8:22 and 30:6. In Paul it is paired with thlipsis in Rom 2:9 and 8:35. In 2 Cor 4:8 he writes 'afflicted (thlibomenoi) in every way, but not crushed (ou stenochōroumenoi)', the same pair as here. In 6:12 the verb is used of the Corinthians' 'restricted' affections.

From the study of Romans 2:9

Range of meaning

Formed from stenos 'narrow' + chōra 'space'. It means a narrow or confined place. Figuratively it is the anguish of being hemmed in, cornered, with no room to move and no way out.

Against the English

KJV and WEB use 'anguish' and most modern versions use 'distress'. Both describe the feeling but lose the image of space: of being pinned in a tight place. Psalms regularly picture rescue as being brought into a 'broad place' (e.g. Ps 4:1; 118:5), and this word is the reverse of that.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint pairs it with thlipsis. Deuteronomy 28:53–57 uses both words for the horrors of siege that come with the covenant curses. Isaiah 8:22 and 30:6 use the pair for the dark, distressed land under judgment. Paul uses the pair again in Rom 8:35 and 2 Cor 6:4. In 2 Cor 4:8 he separates the two ideas: 'pressed (thlibomenoi) but not cornered (stenochōroumenoi)'.