Greek word · G5017

τάραχος

tarachos

disturbance

Agitation, commotion, confusion, disorder. It is a noun from the verb tarassō, 'to stir up, trouble, throw into confusion'.

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

What it means

τάραχος, -ου, ὁ

(ταράσσω), [in LXX for מְהוּמָה, etc. ;]

later form of ταραχή (Xen., al.; see Thackeray, Gr., 159): Acts 12:18 19:23.†

(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 Acts 19:23

Range of meaning

Agitation, commotion, confusion, disorder. It is a noun from the verb tarassō, 'to stir up, trouble, throw into confusion'. It covers both inner alarm and outward public turmoil: panic in an army, unrest in a city, a crowd in uproar (BDAG: 'mental agitation, consternation; public disturbance, commotion').

Against the English

KJV and YLT have 'stir', which to a modern ear sounds mild, like a buzz of gossip. WEB, NASB and ESV have 'disturbance', which is closer, though in police language today it can sound minor. The Greek word, especially with 'not small', points to real civic disorder.

How it drifted

In 1611 'stir' could mean a tumult or uprising ('a stir in the city'). Today it has softened to 'mild excitement'. The KJV wording now undersells the event.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament the word appears only twice, both times in Acts and both times in the same phrase, tarachos ouk oligos. In Acts 12:18 it describes the soldiers' alarm when Peter escaped; here it is a city riot. In classical and Hellenistic Greek writers (e.g. Xenophon) it is a normal word for confusion and disorder in armies and cities.

Where it appears

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 12:18 τάραχος disturbance

    At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

  2. Acts 19:23 τάραχος a disturbance

    About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.

    Here: A public upheaval: agitation, confusion and disorder. In the following verses it grows into a mob packing the city theatre and chanting for two hours (19:29, 34).

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