Greek word · G5605

ὠδίνω

ōdinō

be in labor

To suffer the pains of childbirth, to be in labor. By extension it means agonized longing for something to be born or brought about. The related noun ōdin means 'birth pang'.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ὠδίνω

[in LXX chiefly for חוּל, also for חָבַל pi., etc. ;]

to have birthpangs, to travail: Galatians 4:27 (LXX), Revelation 12:2; metaphorically, Galatians 4:19 (cf. συν-ωδίνω).†

(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 Galatians 4:19

Range of meaning

To suffer the pains of childbirth, to be in labor. By extension it means agonized longing for something to be born or brought about. The related noun ōdin means 'birth pang'. It is used of real labor, and as a picture of overwhelming distress, and in Jewish texts as a picture of the painful 'birth' of God's new age.

Against the English

The KJV/YLT 'travail in birth' and the WEB 'in travail' are accurate, but 'travail' now sounds like 'hard toil' to most readers. The BSB/NIV 'pains of childbirth', the ESV 'anguish of childbirth' and the NASB 'in labor' keep the physical picture.

How it drifted

'Travail' once meant labor pains as a matter of course. In modern English it has faded into a general word for strenuous effort or hardship, so the birth image disappears for KJV readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX) the word is used often for Zion or Israel in labor: Isa 26:17–18 ('we were in labor… we gave birth to wind'), Isa 66:7–8 ('as soon as Zion was in labor she bore her children'), Mic 4:9–10, Jer 4:31. Most important, Paul quotes Isa 54:1 LXX only eight verses later (Gal 4:27): 'Rejoice, barren one who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor (hē ouk ōdinousa).' Labor pains also picture terror in war (Isa 13:8; Jer 6:24). Jewish apocalyptic writing and the Gospels speak of the 'birth pangs' that come before the new age (Mark 13:8; 1 Thess 5:3; cf. Rom 8:22 'creation groans and suffers labor pains together'). Moses objects in Num 11:12 'Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them?', which is one of the few biblical cases of a male leader set in a mother's role.

From the study of Galatians 4:27

Range of meaning

To suffer birth pains, to be in labor. Used figuratively of intense, productive anguish.

Against the English

KJV 'travailest' is archaic but exact. BSB 'never travailed' and NIV 'never in labor' are clear. No real drift, but English readers miss the link to 4:19.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Old Testament uses it of literal labor and of Zion's labor (Isa 66:7–8, where Zion brings forth children 'before she was in labor'). Paul uses the related noun of the end-time 'birth pains' in 1 Thess 5:3. Revelation 12:2 uses it of the woman in labor.

Where it appears

Galatians · 2

  1. Galatians 4:19 ὠδίνω I travail

    My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

    Here: "I am in labor." It means the physical pains of childbirth, not hard work in general. The present tense shows the pain is going on now. A man using a mother's image is striking, and the word also recalls the prophets' 'birth pangs' of Zion and of the coming age.

  2. Galatians 4:27 ὠδίνουσα, travailing,

    For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”

    Here: 'Not in labor.' She has never felt birth pains. Paul used this same verb of himself just above (4:19: 'my children, for whom I am again in labor').

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 12:2 ὠδίνουσα being in travail

    She was pregnant and crying out in the pain and agony of giving birth.

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