Greek word · G6072
περιάπτω
periaptō
to kindle
There are two unrelated senses, coming from the two meanings of the root haptō. One is "to fasten or hang around" (the noun periapton means an amulet). The other is "to kindle, light up all around". Only the second fits here.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
περι-άπτω,
[in LXX: 3Ma.3:7 * ;]
1. to tie about, attach.
2. In late writers, to light a fire around, kindle: πῦρ, Luke 22:55.†
SYN.: θιγγάνω, ψηλαφάω. ἅ. is the stronger, θ., to touch, the lighter term. ψ. is to feel, as in search of something (Tr., Syn., § xvii; Lft., Col., 201 f.) (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
There are two unrelated senses, coming from the two meanings of the root haptō. One is "to fasten or hang around" (the noun periapton means an amulet). The other is "to kindle, light up all around". Only the second fits here.
- Against the English
All the main versions say "kindled" or "lit". The extra hint in peri- ("around") cannot really be expressed in English, and it is not certain how strongly a first-century reader would have felt it.
- Used elsewhere in the period
This is its only appearance in the New Testament. BDAG gives the sense "kindle". The "kindle" sense is rare in surviving Greek. That rarity probably explains why later copyists changed it to the ordinary verb haptō ("light").
Where it appears
Luke · 1
-
Luke 22:55 περιαψάντων They having kindled around
When those present had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
Here: "When they had lit [a fire]." The subject is not named; it is simply the people in the courtyard. The prefix peri- ("around") suggests a fire that is properly kindled and gets going, or a fire people gather round. This is the only time the word appears in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.