χειμών

From the study of John 10:22

Range of meaning

The word has two related senses. (1) Winter, the cold and rainy part of the year (Matt 24:20; Mark 13:18; 2 Tim 4:21). (2) Stormy, wintry weather or a storm (Matt 16:3; Acts 27:20). In Judea, winter means cold rains and wind. Jerusalem sits high, around 750–800 m, and sometimes gets snow.

Against the English

'It was winter' is accurate. A modern reader may picture a northern-European snowy winter. A Judean winter was mainly cold rain and wind, which is exactly why a roofed colonnade mattered.

Used elsewhere in the period

In ordinary Greek (and in the papyri) the word means both the season and storms. In the Gospels it is the season when travel and flight are hard (Matt 24:20). Josephus also uses it for winter weather that halts campaigns.

From the study of Matthew 24:20

Range of meaning

(1) The winter season. (2) Stormy, foul weather or a storm, especially at sea. BDAG gives both. In the eastern Mediterranean the two overlap, because winter is the season of storms and rain.

Against the English

English 'winter' suggests snow and cold. In Judea, winter (roughly November to March) was mainly the rainy season. It brought cold rain, flash floods in the wadis (dry stream beds), roads turned to mud, swollen rivers, short daylight and nights outdoors in the hills. Jerusalem does get some snow, but snow is not the main picture.

How it drifted

Northern-European and North-American readers picture winter as a snowy season. Mediterranean winter is a wet season.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matt 16:3 uses the word for 'stormy weather' today. Acts 27:20 uses it for a storm at sea. In John 10:22 it marks the season of Hanukkah ('it was winter'). Josephus (Jewish War 4.433–436) describes refugees from Gadara in 68 CE who were trapped against the Jordan, swollen by the rains, and cut down by Roman troops. It is a real example of how a winter flight in that region could end.