Greek word · G5157
τροπή
tropē
turning
Tropē: a turning or change, standard for the solstices (tropai hēliou, 'turnings of the sun') and for the turning of the heavens. Aposkiasma: a shadow cast off, a shading or darkening (from aposkiazō, 'to cast a shadow'). It is very rare and appears only here in the Bible.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
τροπή, -ῆς, ἡ
(τρέπω), [in LXX: Deuteronomy 33:14, Job 38:33, Wisdom of Solomon 7:18, al. ;]
a turning: esp. of the revolution of heavenly bodies, figuratively, James 1:17 (see: ἀποσκίασμα).†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
Tropē: a turning or change, standard for the solstices (tropai hēliou, 'turnings of the sun') and for the turning of the heavens. Aposkiasma: a shadow cast off, a shading or darkening (from aposkiazō, 'to cast a shadow'). It is very rare and appears only here in the Bible.
- Against the English
KJV 'shadow of turning' is literal but hard to follow. ESV says 'shadow due to change', NASB and BSB 'shifting shadow', NIV 'like shifting shadows'. NIV turns the denial into a comparison, so that God 'does not change like shifting shadows'.
- How it drifted
The KJV's 'no shadow of turning' became a fixed phrase in hymns ('Great Is Thy Faithfulness') and is often heard simply as 'God never changes his mind'. The picture of the sky behind it has been lost.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Deuteronomy 33:14 in the Septuagint speaks of the produce brought by the 'turnings of the sun' (tropōn hēliou); Wisdom 7:18 speaks of 'the alternations of the solstices' (tropōn allagas). The textual form of the phrase is uncertain (see textual notes).
From the study of 1 Maccabees 5:61
- Range of meaning
Basic sense: a turning. It is used of the turning of the sun at the solstices, of changes and reversals, and above all in military Greek of the moment an army turns its back and flees, a rout. The Greek victory monument, the tropaion ("trophy"), takes its name from this word: it was set up at the spot where the enemy turned.
- Against the English
KJV and Brenton say "overthrow", WEB keeps "overthrow", and modern versions tend to say "rout" or "defeat". "Rout" is the most exact, because it keeps the picture of men turning and running.
- How it drifted
In 1611 "overthrow" commonly meant a defeat in battle. Today it mostly means toppling a government or ruler, which is not the picture here.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Common in classical and Hellenistic historians (Thucydides, Polybius) for a rout. The Septuagint uses the related verb τροπόω for armies being put to flight, as in the previous verse: ἐτροπώθη, "Joseph and Azariah were routed". In the New Testament the noun appears only at James 1:17 ("shadow of turning"), in the astronomical sense.
Where it appears
James · 1
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James 1:17 τροπῆς of shifting
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
Here: 'Turning'. The word was standard for the 'turnings' of the sun at the solstices and for the turning of the heavens.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.