Greek word · G6058

κρυφαῖος

kryphaios

hidden

Hidden, secret, concealed. Used as a noun with the article, it means "the hidden place, the unseen". It is a rarer, more literary word than kryptos, with the same meaning.

Appears 2 times in 1 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

1. hidden , (Pindar):—;adverb -ως, (Aeschulus Tragicus)

(ML)

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 Matthew 6:18

Range of meaning

Hidden, secret, concealed. Used as a noun with the article, it means "the hidden place, the unseen". It is a rarer, more literary word than kryptos, with the same meaning.

Against the English

"In secret" (KJV, WEB, ESV, NASB) is literal. BSB/NIV "who is unseen" read the first occurrence as a statement about God's invisibility. NLT "in private" makes it about the setting of the act. Modern "secret" can suggest something cloak-and-dagger or kept back. Here it means simply what other eyes do not see.

How it drifted

In modern English "secret" suggests deliberate concealment, possibly of something improper. The Greek describes the realm of the unseen, of inward and private devotion.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it occurs only here, twice. The parallel lines in 6:4 and 6:6 use kryptos. In the Septuagint it appears at Jer 23:24 ("Can anyone hide in hidden places so that I do not see him?") and Lam 3:10 (a lion "in hiding places"). Jer 23:24 is close in thought: God sees into hidden places.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 6:18 κρυφαίῳ. κρυφαίῳ secret., secret

    so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

    Here: "In the hidden place". The Father is where people cannot see: unseen himself and present in the unseen. This is where the true fast takes place.

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