Greek word · G5039

τεκμήριον

tekmērion

clear proof

A sure sign or token. Above all, conclusive evidence: proof that rules out any other conclusion. It is related to tekmar, a fixed boundary or goal. The idea is a sign that brings an argument to its end.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

τεκμήριον, -ου, τό

(τέκμαρ, a mark, sign), [in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 5:4 19:13, 3Ma.3:24 * ;]

a sure sign, a positive proof: Acts 1:1-26 (for exx., see MM, xxiv).†

SYN.: ἔνδειγμα, q.v (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 1:3

Range of meaning

A sure sign or token. Above all, conclusive evidence: proof that rules out any other conclusion. It is related to tekmar, a fixed boundary or goal. The idea is a sign that brings an argument to its end.

Against the English

BSB, NIV and NASB have "convincing proofs." KJV has "infallible proofs." YLT has "certain proofs." ESV and WEB have plain "proofs," which loses the word's technical edge. The word does not say what the proofs were. Luke's Gospel supplies them: touching his wounds, eating in front of them (Luke 24:39–43), and later "we ate and drank with him" (Acts 10:41).

How it drifted

KJV's "infallible" was a fair rendering in 1611, meaning "certain, not deceiving." Today the word belongs to church debates about doctrine (papal infallibility, the inerrancy of Scripture), which is not Luke's subject. Luke is talking about evidence, not doctrine.

Used elsewhere in the period

Aristotle (Rhetoric 1.2.16–17) defines tekmērion as the "necessary sign," the kind of evidence that cannot be refuted, and sets it apart from a mere sign (sēmeion). Historians used it for their hard evidence: Thucydides (1.1.3; 1.20) and later Josephus, often. In the Greek Old Testament it appears in Wisdom 5:11; 19:13 and 3 Maccabees 3:24. It does not occur anywhere else in the New Testament.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 1:3 τεκμηρίοις, proofs,

    After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

    Here: "Decisive proofs." It is the technical word in Greek rhetoric and history-writing for evidence that settles the question, not just a hint. It is used only here in the New Testament.

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