χείμαρρος

From the study of John 18:1

Range of meaning

Built from cheima ('winter, the stormy season') and rheō ('to flow'). It means a stream that flows in winter: a torrent that runs after the rains and dries out in summer. The word can mean the rushing water itself or the ravine it cuts. It is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew naḥal, which Arabic calls a wadi.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and ESV say 'brook', which to a modern reader means a small stream that runs all year. BSB and NIV say 'Kidron Valley', which gets the ravine right but drops the water. NASB's 'ravine' is the closest English word.

How it drifted

In older English, 'brook' covered any small stream, and the King James tradition used it for naḥal and cheimarros across the Bible. Readers today picture a gentle, permanent stream. That picture does not fit a dry gully in Judea that runs only when it rains.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) uses this word all the time for Hebrew naḥal, including the Kidron in 2 Sam 15:23, 1 Kgs 2:37, 15:13 and 2 Kgs 23:4–12. This is the only place it appears in the New Testament. Josephus calls the Kidron a ravine (pharanx) east of the city (Jewish War 5.70 and elsewhere).

From the study of 1 Maccabees 5:40

Range of meaning

Literally 'winter-flowing'. A seasonal torrent that fills in the rainy months and may be low or dry in summer, often running in a cut ravine. In the Greek Old Testament it regularly translates Hebrew naḥal, a 'wadi' (e.g. the Kishon, Judg 5:21; the Kidron, 2 Sam 15:23). The only New Testament use is John 18:1, the Kidron.

Against the English

KJV/Brenton/WEB 'brook' and others 'stream' are standard. But a modern 'brook' sounds small and gentle. Here 'the torrent of water' is a real military barrier with banks that has to be crossed under the eyes of a waiting army.

How it drifted

In older English 'brook' was the standard word for naḥal in Bible translation and covered any stream. Today it suggests a little babbling creek.

Used elsewhere in the period

Very common in the Greek Old Testament for naḥal. Hellenistic military writers often stress how risky river crossings were, since an army is disordered while crossing and can be attacked as it comes out of the water.