Greek word · G5512
χλευάζω
chleuazō
to sneer
To jeer, scoff, mock, treat with scornful laughter. It belongs with χλεύη (“a joke, mockery”). The word means derision, not reasoned objection.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
χλευάζω
(χλεύη, a jest), [in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 11:14, 2Ma.7:7, 4Ma.5:22 * ;]
to jest, mock, jeer: Acts 17:32.†
(AS)
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 jeer, scoff, mock, treat with scornful laughter. It belongs with χλεύη (“a joke, mockery”). The word means derision, not reasoned objection.
- Against the English
“Mocked” (KJV, ESV) and “sneered” (NIV, NASB) are accurate. NLT's “laughed in contempt” captures the tone well. BSB and NASB's “began to” brings out the imperfect tense: the jeering broke out and continued.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Common in classical prose for ridicule. In the Greek Old Testament: Wisdom 11:14 (the Egyptians had scoffed at Moses), and 2 Maccabees 7:27, where the mother, who affirms resurrection, scorns the tyrant. In the NT this exact verb occurs only here. The stronger compound διαχλευάζω describes the crowd at Pentecost (Acts 2:13).
Where it appears
Acts · 1
-
Acts 17:32 ἐχλεύαζον, were mocking [him],
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.”
Here: Open ridicule, the scornful laughter of people who think an idea is absurd. The imperfect tense pictures it as ongoing or just starting: “began jeering,” “were scoffing.”
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.