Greek word · G5285
ὑποπνέω
hypopneō
to blow gently
To blow softly or slightly; literally 'to blow under'. The prefix hypo- often weakens a verb ('somewhat', 'a little'). In Greek writers it is used of light breezes.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
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
To blow softly or slightly; literally 'to blow under'. The prefix hypo- often weakens a verb ('somewhat', 'a little'). In Greek writers it is used of light breezes.
- Against the English
KJV/WEB/ESV 'blew softly / gently', BSB 'a gentle south wind', NASB 'a moderate south wind', NLT 'a light wind'. All capture the sense. 'Moderate' is a little stronger than the Greek suggests.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Rare in Greek generally and found nowhere else in the New Testament or the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament). BDAG glosses it 'blow gently'. Aristotle and other writers use the related verb in this weakened 'blow lightly' sense.
Where it appears
Acts · 1
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Acts 27:13 Ὑποπνεύσαντος When was blowing gently
When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had their opportunity. So they weighed anchor and sailed along, hugging the coast of Crete.
Here: The prefix hypo- ('under') softens the verb: the wind was blowing lightly, a breeze rather than a gale. The grammar sets the scene as background ('a south wind having begun to blow gently…'), the circumstance that tempted the crew. It occurs only here in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.