Greek word · G4977

σχίζω

schizō

to split

To split, cleave or tear something apart: cloth, wood, rock, a net. Used figuratively of a group splitting into factions (the noun schisma, 'division').

Appears 11 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

σχίζω

[in LXX chiefly for בָּקַע ;]

to cleave, rend: Matthew 27:51, Mark 1:10 15:38, Luke 5:36 23:45, John 19:24 21:11; metaphorically, in pass., to be divided into factions, Acts 14:4 23:7.†

(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 John 19:24

Range of meaning

To split, cleave or tear something apart: cloth, wood, rock, a net. Used figuratively of a group splitting into factions (the noun schisma, 'division').

Against the English

'Tear' (BSB, ESV, NIV) and 'rend' (KJV) are accurate. What English loses is the link to 'schism', which a Greek reader of John could hear: John uses schisma three times for the crowd being 'divided' over Jesus (7:43; 9:16; 10:19), and the verb again in 21:11, where the net full of 153 fish 'was not torn'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Gospels it is used of the temple curtain torn in two (Mark 15:38), the heavens 'torn open' at Jesus' baptism (Mark 1:10), and new cloth tearing an old garment (Luke 5:36). In the Greek Old Testament it is used of splitting wood (Gen 22:3) and the sea being split (Isa 48:21, of rock). Philo (On Flight 110–112) describes the high priest's garments, which stand for God's Word clothing the universe, as holding all things together so that they are not torn apart.

From the study of Acts 14:4

Range of meaning

To split, tear or rip something physically: cloth, wood, rock, a net, a curtain. By extension, of groups: to be divided into factions, to become disunited.

Against the English

All the major versions say 'divided', which is accurate but flatter than the Greek. 'Divided' can suggest a difference of opinion; the Greek picture is closer to something torn. The NLT's 'divided in their opinion' moves furthest toward a mere disagreement.

Used elsewhere in the period

New Testament physical uses include the patched garment (Luke 5:36), the Temple curtain (Luke 23:45), the rocks at the crucifixion (Matthew 27:51) and the unbroken net (John 21:11). The Greek Old Testament uses it of the sea parting (Exodus 14:21). Greek writers such as Diodorus Siculus apply the verb to citizens splitting into parties. Luke uses the identical phrase, 'the assembly was split', for the clash of Pharisees and Sadducees in Acts 23:7. The related noun schisma describes crowds divided over Jesus (John 7:43), and it is the source of English 'schism'.

From the study of John 21:11

Range of meaning

To split, tear, cleave: cloth (Luke 5:36), the temple curtain (Mark 15:38; Matt 27:51), rocks (Matt 27:51), the heavens (Mark 1:10). Passive: to be divided, as a crowd or council is divided (Acts 14:4; 23:7).

Against the English

'Torn' (BSB, WEB) and 'rent' (YLT) keep the picture of tearing. KJV 'broken' is more general and loses both the tearing image and the link to the word family behind English 'schism'.

How it drifted

Older English 'broken' could be used of a torn net, but today it suggests snapping or shattering. The English word 'schism' comes from this word family through Latin, but at the time the verb had no church-split meaning. It was simply the word for tearing.

Used elsewhere in the period

In John the noun schisma marks the crowd split over Jesus (7:43; 9:16; 10:19). At the cross the soldiers decide of the seamless tunic, 'Let us not tear it' (19:24, μὴ σχίσωμεν). Compare Luke 5:6, a similar miraculous catch where the nets 'began to tear' (a different verb, διαρρήσσω).

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 27:51 ἐσχίσθη ἐσχίσθησαν, was torn, were split,

    At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split.

    Here: A passive verb with no one named as doing it, describing a single completed event. Together with 'from top to bottom' it points to God as the one who tore it.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 1:10 σχιζομένους tearing open

    As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.

    Here: 'Being torn': a present passive participle, so Jesus watches the sky in the act of ripping. The passive implies God is the one tearing it. The verb is violent. It is used for tearing cloth or splitting rock, and Mark uses it again only for the temple curtain torn in two when Jesus dies (15:38).

  2. Mark 15:38 ἐσχίσθη was torn

    And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

    Here: 'Was split, was torn'. A single, completed event, and passive: something was done to the curtain. No human agent is named, which most readers take as a hint that God did it. Mark's only other use of this verb is the heavens being 'torn open' at Jesus' baptism (1:10).

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 5:36 σχίσας σχίσει, having torn, will tear,

    He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will tear the new garment as well, and the patch from the new will not match the old.

  2. Luke 23:45 ἐσχίσθη was torn

    The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.

John · 2

  1. John 19:24 σχίσωμεν let us tear up

    So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it. Instead, let us cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing.” So that is what the soldiers did.

    Here: 'Let us tear (it) apart', a proposal in the first person plural. The same root gives 'schism', and John uses that noun for the 'divisions' Jesus causes among people (7:43; 9:16; 10:19). Here, on its surface, it is practical: cutting a seamless tunic into four would leave four useless rags.

  2. John 21:11 ἐσχίσθη was torn

    So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.

    Here: To tear or split apart, as cloth tears. John uses the related noun schisma for crowds 'divided' over Jesus (7:43; 9:16; 10:19), and the soldiers say of Jesus' seamless tunic, 'Let us not tear it' (19:24, same verb). Here the plain point is that the net held under a load that should have burst it.

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 14:4 ἐσχίσθη Was divided

    The people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews, and others with the apostles.

    Here: Was split, torn in two. A physical verb (used of cloth, rock, and the Temple curtain) applied to a town, and told as a completed event: the population came apart.

  2. Acts 23:7 ἐσχίσθη was divided

    As soon as he had said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

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