Greek word · G5089

τίλλω

tillō

to pluck

To pluck or pull out by hand: hair, feathers, plants, ears of grain. In the New Testament it appears only in this story (Matt 12:1; Mark 2:23; Luke 6:1).

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

τίλλω

[in LXX: Esther 9:3, Isaiah 18:7, Dan LXX 7:4 (מָרַט) * ;]

to pluck, pluck off: στάχυας, Matthew 12:1, Mark 2:23, Luke 6:1.†

(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 Matthew 12:1

Range of meaning

To pluck or pull out by hand: hair, feathers, plants, ears of grain. In the New Testament it appears only in this story (Matt 12:1; Mark 2:23; Luke 6:1).

Against the English

Translations say "pluck" (KJV, WEB, ESV) or "pick" (BSB, NIV). NLT's "breaking off" is close enough. All of them get the main point, that this was done by hand. A reader may not know why that matters.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 23:25 (Hebrew numbering 23:26) lets a person passing a neighbor's standing grain pluck ears with the hand (the Hebrew verb is malal; the LXX uses syllegō, "gather") but not put a sickle to it. Philo (Life of Moses 2.22) lists plucking fruit among things forbidden on the Sabbath. The Mishnah (Shabbat 7:2, written down around 200 CE) lists reaping, threshing and winnowing among 39 main kinds of forbidden work. Later rabbinic discussion counts plucking as a form of reaping. Exod 34:21 already orders rest "even in plowing time and in harvest."

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 12:1 τίλλειν to pluck [the]

    At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.

    Here: Pulling something off by hand. The verb is used for plucking hair or feathers and for stripping grain from the stalk. The disciples used their hands, not a sickle, and that detail matters for Deut 23:25.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 2:23 τίλλοντες plucking

    One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 6:1 ἔτιλλον were plucking

    One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them.

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