Greek word · G4980

σχολάζω

scholazō

be devoted/empty

To have leisure or free time; to be unoccupied; to give your time to something; of a house, to stand empty. Related to scholē, "leisure", which later came to mean the place where leisure was spent in learning (hence "school").

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

σχολάζω

(σχολή), [in LXX: Exodus 5:8, 17, Psalms 46:10 (רָפָה ni., hi.) * ;]

to be at leisure, hence, to have time or opportunity for, to devote oneself to, be occupied in: 1 Corinthians 7:5; of things, to be unoccupied, empty (Plut., Eur., al.): οἶκος, Matthew 12:44, Luke 11:25 (T [WH], R, om.).†

(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 1 Corinthians 7:5

Range of meaning

To have leisure or free time; to be unoccupied; to give your time to something; of a house, to stand empty. Related to scholē, "leisure", which later came to mean the place where leisure was spent in learning (hence "school").

Against the English

BSB/NIV/ESV "devote yourselves" and KJV "give yourselves" are fair, but they suggest intense effort. YLT "be free for" is closer: the image is clearing your schedule.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Psalm 45:11 (English Ps 46:10): scholasate kai gnōte hoti egō eimi ho theos, "Be still [cease, make room] and know that I am God." Exodus 5:8, 17 LXX uses it of the Israelites accused of being "idle". In Matthew 12:44 it describes a house standing "empty".

From the study of Matthew 12:44

Range of meaning

Root idea: having free time or nothing occupying you (from scholē, 'leisure', which later gave English 'school'). Used of people, it means to be idle, to have leisure, or to devote your free time to something. Used of places and things, it means to be unoccupied or to stand vacant.

Against the English

KJV, ESV and WEB say 'empty'; NIV and NASB say 'unoccupied'; BSB says 'vacant'; YLT says 'unoccupied'. 'Unoccupied' or 'vacant' is sharper than 'empty'. It is not about the house lacking furniture (the next word says it is furnished and in order). It means no occupant lives there.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint Pharaoh accuses the Israelites, 'they are idle' (Exod 5:8, 17). Paul uses it for devoting time to prayer (1 Cor 7:5). The lexicon BDAG lists the sense 'be unoccupied, stand empty' for places and gives this verse as its example. Many manuscripts of Luke's parallel (11:25) lack the word.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 12:44 σχολάζοντα, being unoccupied,

    Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order.

    Here: The house is unoccupied: nobody new has moved in. This is the decisive word. The trouble is not dirt but vacancy.

1 Corinthians · 1

  1. 1 Corinthians 7:5 σχολάσητε you may be devoted

    Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

    Here: "That you may have free time for" prayer. The picture is clearing space in your life, not heroic self-denial. The tense points to a specific stretch of time rather than a permanent state.

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