Greek word · G4985
σωματικῶς
sōmatikōs
bodily
An adverb, 'bodily', from sōma ('body'). In Greek usage it can mean: in or with a body, physically, corporeally in a body-like or concrete way, as opposed to abstract or shadowy It is used only here in the New Testament.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
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 Colossians 2:9
- Range of meaning
An adverb, 'bodily', from sōma ('body'). In Greek usage it can mean:
- in or with a body, physically, corporeally
- in a body-like or concrete way, as opposed to abstract or shadowy
It is used only here in the New Testament. The related adjective sōmatikos appears in Luke 3:22 (the Spirit descended 'in bodily form', sōmatikō eidei) and 1 Tim 4:8 ('bodily training').
- Against the English
- KJV, ESV, WEB, YLT: 'bodily'. This keeps the Greek's ambiguity.
- BSB, NIV, NASB: 'in bodily form'. This narrows it to the incarnational sense.
- NLT: 'in a human body'. This narrows it further and explicitly names a human body.
All three choices are defensible, but the paraphrases close off options the Greek leaves open.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Plutarch and later philosophical writers use the adverb to mean 'in a bodily manner', as opposed to incorporeally. Ancient Christian readers were divided. Many took it to mean the incarnation. Augustine, by contrast, read it as 'truly, in reality', as opposed to the 'shadows' of the law, using the contrast in Col 2:17 between the 'shadow' (skia) and the 'body' or 'substance' (sōma).
Similar words
Where it appears
Colossians · 1
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Colossians 2:9 σωματικῶς, bodily,
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
Here: An adverb from sōma, 'body', and the final, emphatic word of the sentence. It most naturally means that God's fullness lives in Christ in embodied form. Other senses are discussed under the studies and debates.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.