Greek word · G5418

φραγμός

phragmos

fence

A fence, hedge, wall or enclosure; something that surrounds and shuts in, either to protect what is inside or to keep others out. By extension, a barrier or partition.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

φραγμός, -oῦ, ὁ

(φράσσω), [in LXX chiefly for גָּדֵר, גְּדֵרָה, also for גְּדֵרָה, etc. ;]

1. prop., a fencing in (Soph., OT, 1387).

2. = φράγμα, a fence: Matthew 21:33, Mark 12:1, Luke 14:23. Metaphorical, μεσότοιχον (which see) τοῦ φ., genitive epexeg., Ephesians 2:14 (see Ellic., in l).†

(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 Ephesians 2:14

Range of meaning

A fence, hedge, wall or enclosure; something that surrounds and shuts in, either to protect what is inside or to keep others out. By extension, a barrier or partition.

Against the English

KJV "partition," WEB "separation," YLT "enclosure," BSB/NIV/ESV fold it into "dividing wall." YLT's "enclosure" best keeps the idea of a fence that encloses one people; "partition" and "separation" keep only the dividing side.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 5:2, 5 LXX: God puts a phragmos (hedge) around his vineyard, Israel; Matthew 21:33 and Mark 12:1 echo this. The Letter of Aristeas (2nd century BC, §§139–142) says Moses "fenced us around" (periephraxen, same root) "with unbroken palisades and iron walls" so Israel would not mix with other nations, "hedging us in on all sides with purity laws about food and drink." The Mishnah (Avot 1:1) speaks of making "a fence around the Torah."

From the study of Luke 14:23

Range of meaning

A fence, hedge or wall: anything that encloses. It can be built of stone, of piled thorn bushes, or a planted hedge, and usually surrounds a vineyard or field. By extension it means a barrier or partition.

Against the English

'Hedges' (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV) suggests a neat English hedgerow. NIV and NLT recast the phrase as 'country lanes'. The Greek pictures the walls and thorn fences along fields outside a town.

How it drifted

Not a drift in meaning, only in picture: 'hedges' calls up the English countryside rather than the stone and thorn field walls of Judea and Galilee.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek Old Testament Isaiah 5:2, 5 (the vineyard's hedge torn down); Psalm 80:12 (79:13 Greek); Sirach 28:24 (hedge your property with thorns). New Testament: Matthew 21:33 and Mark 12:1 (vineyard fence); Ephesians 2:14 ('the dividing wall', literally 'the middle wall of the fence').

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 21:33 φραγμὸν a fence

    Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

    Here: An enclosure, either a stone wall or a thorn hedge, that kept out animals and thieves. It repeats the wording of the Greek Isaiah 5:2, 'I put a fence around it'.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 12:1 φραγμὸν a fence

    Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

    Here: An enclosure of stones or thorny hedge that kept out animals and thieves. It is the owner's protection over his property, and Isaiah 5:5 threatens to remove it.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 14:23 φραγμοὺς hedges

    So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.

    Here: The fences, stone walls or thorn hedges around fields and vineyards. Travelers and the homeless rested or sheltered along them. The word marks the outer edge of settled life.

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 2:14 φραγμοῦ fence

    For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility

    Here: A fence or hedge that encloses and protects something (a vineyard in Isaiah 5:2). Jewish writers used this very image for the Torah fencing Israel off from the nations, which is how v. 15 explains it.

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