Greek word · G4794
συγκύπτω
synkyptō
to bend
To bend or stoop together, to be bowed down or doubled over. In ordinary Greek it can describe stooping in work or a hunched posture. In Jewish wisdom writing it describes a person going about bent in grief or false humility.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
συν-κύπτω
(Rec. συγκ-), [in LXX: Job 9:27 (עָזַב), Sirach 12:11 19:26 * ;]
1. to bend forwards (Arist., al.).
2. to be bowed down: Luke 13:11.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
To bend or stoop together, to be bowed down or doubled over. In ordinary Greek it can describe stooping in work or a hunched posture. In Jewish wisdom writing it describes a person going about bent in grief or false humility.
- Against the English
KJV/YLT 'bowed together' is literal but archaic. BSB 'hunched over' and WEB/ESV 'bent over' are accurate. NLT's 'bent double' captures how severe it was.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The word appears only here in the New Testament. In the Greek of Sirach it describes a person going about bent over (Sir 12:11; 19:26, a scoundrel 'bowed down in mourning'). There it is a posture of lowness and grief. In the Psalms, being 'bowed down' is a common picture of distress (Ps 38:6), and God is the one who 'raises up those who are bowed down' (Ps 146:8, LXX 145:8 using anorthoō).
Where it appears
Luke · 1
-
Luke 13:11 συγκύπτουσα bent over
and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight.
Here: Literally 'bending-together', folded forward. It appears only here in the New Testament. She was doubled over and could not look people in the face.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.