Greek word · G5408

φόνος

phonos

murder

Killing, murder, slaughter. In law and ethics it means unlawful killing.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

φόνος, -ου, ὁ

[in LXX for דָּם, פֶּה, etc. ;]

murder, slaughter: Mark 15:7, Luke 23:19, 25, Acts 9:1, Romans 1:29; φ. μαχαίρης (cf. Exodus 17:13, al.), Hebrews 11:37; pl., Matthew 15:19, Mark 7:21, Revelation 9:21.†

(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 Revelation 9:21

Range of meaning

Killing, murder, slaughter. In law and ethics it means unlawful killing.

Against the English

'Murders' (KJV, WEB, ESV, NIV) keeps the plural. BSB's singular 'murder' turns repeated deeds into a category.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint uses it for bloodshed. It heads several vice lists (Rom 1:29; Gal 5:21 in some manuscripts; Mark 7:21). The cognate phoneus ('murderer') appears in Rev 21:8 and 22:15.

From the study of 1 Enoch 12:6

Range of meaning

Murder, homicide, slaughter, bloodshed.

Against the English

"Murder" (Charles) is accurate. "Slaughter" brings out the mass scale better, since the giants kill one another in a war of extermination (10:9, 12).

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek Old Testament and later Jewish literature use it for killing and bloodshed (e.g. Exodus 22:2 in the Greek; 2 Maccabees). In the Book of the Watchers, the earth cries out over blood shed on it (9:1, 9–10). The Watcher Asael taught people to make weapons (8:1).

From the study of Acts 9:1

Range of meaning

Killing, murder, bloodshed, slaughter. It is the standard Greek word for homicide, used in lists of vices (Rom 1:29; Mark 7:21) and for the murder Barabbas committed (Luke 23:19, 25).

Against the English

KJV 'slaughter', ESV/NASB/WEB 'murder' and YLT 'slaughter' keep it as a separate noun. BSB and NIV merge the two nouns into 'murderous threats'. That makes the killing an adjective describing the threats, as if the killing were only threatened. NLT splits it into threats plus being 'eager to kill'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used throughout the LXX and Josephus for homicide. In Acts the two later retellings back up a real cost in lives: 'I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prisons both men and women' (22:4), and 'when they were put to death I cast my vote against them' (26:10). Stephen's death is the case Luke narrates (7:58–8:1).

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 15:19 φόνοι, murders,

    For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

    Here: Acts of murder (plural: separate instances). It answers the sixth commandment, 'You shall not murder', which Jesus quotes in 5:21 and 19:18.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 7:21 φόνοι, murders,

    For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

    Here: Plural: acts of murder, unlawful killing. It echoes 'You shall not murder' and is the gravest outcome of 'evil reasonings'.

  2. Mark 15:7 φόνον murder

    And a man named Barabbas was imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection.

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 23:19 φόνον murder

    (Barabbas had been imprisoned for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

  2. Luke 23:25 φόνον murder

    As they had requested, he released the one imprisoned for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over to their will.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 9:1 φόνου murder

    Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest

    Here: Actual killing, bloodshed. Luke has Paul later say he persecuted the Way 'to the death' (22:4) and voted against believers when they were put to death (26:10). So this is more than menacing words.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 1:29 φόνου, murder,

    They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,

    Here: Homicide. Placed straight after envy, it hints at a well-known sequence: envy is what leads to killing (Cain, Wisdom 2:24, the handing over of Jesus 'out of envy', Matt 27:18).

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 11:37 φόνῳ slaughter

    They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.

    Here: 'Slaughter' or 'killing'. The word is stronger than 'death' and points to violent bloodshed, often murder.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 9:21 φόνων murders

    Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft.

    Here: Plural: actual acts of killing, not murder as an abstract idea. In Revelation the word would also bring to mind the blood of the faithful that the hostile world sheds (6:10; 17:6; 18:24).

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