Greek word · G5072

τετράμηνος

tetramēnos

four months

Literally 'of four months'. Used on its own, as here, it means 'a four-month period'.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

τετράμηνος, -ον

[in LXX (neut.): Judges 19:2 A Judges 20:47 A (עַרְבָּעָה חֳדָשִׁים ) * ;]

of four months, four months; as subst., τ. (sc. ὥρα, but neut. in Rec.), John 4:35 (Thuc., al.).†

(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 4:35

Range of meaning

Literally 'of four months'. Used on its own, as here, it means 'a four-month period'.

Against the English

Translations either quote it as something the disciples say ('There are yet four months…') or, like NIV and NLT, label it a 'saying'. Labelling it that way decides an open question (see debates).

Used elsewhere in the period

Found only here in the NT. Rabbinic tradition interpreted Gen 8:22 ('seedtime and harvest… winter and summer') as six two-month seasons (cf. b. Bava Metzia 106b). On that scheme the end of sowing (mid-Kislev, about December) falls about four months before the start of harvest (mid-Nisan, about April). The ancient Gezer Calendar (10th century BC) likewise sets out the farming year as fixed blocks of months. Some scholars have noted that the Greek clause almost scans as a line of verse, which would fit a proverb.

Where it appears

John · 1

  1. John 4:35 τετράμηνός four months

    Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

    Here: 'A four-month stretch', a single word used only here in the NT. It is the interval of patient waiting that country people expected between sowing and reaping.

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