Greek word · G616

ἀποκυέω

apokyeō

to generate

Give birth to, bear offspring. It comes from kyeō, "be pregnant," and is used properly of mothers and of animals, and figuratively of anything that 'brings forth' a result.

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

What it means

ἀπο-κυέω

(Rec. -κύω), -ῶ (ἀπό, κυέω or κύω, to be pregnant), [in LXX: 4Ma.15:17 * ;]

prop., "the medical word for birth as the close of pregnancy" (Hort, Ja., 26 f.). In κοιν, "an ordinary syn. of τίκτω, but definitely 'perfectivised' (M, Pr., 111 ff.; MM, see word) by the

ἀπό, and so implying safe delivery," to bring forth, give birth to: James 1:15, 18.†

(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 James 1:15

Range of meaning

Give birth to, bear offspring. It comes from kyeō, "be pregnant," and is used properly of mothers and of animals, and figuratively of anything that 'brings forth' a result.

Against the English

KJV "bringeth forth," BSB "gives birth to," ESV "brings forth" and YLT "doth bring forth" all keep the birth image. WEB "produces" loses it.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word is rare in the Bible: it appears only here and in James 1:18. Hellenistic Greek writers used it of childbirth. It is also attested figuratively, for example in Philo, though it is uncommon.

From the study of James 1:18

Range of meaning

To give birth, to bring young to term and deliver. It is built on κυέω, 'to be pregnant', and in ordinary Greek it describes a woman or female animal giving birth. It can be used figuratively for anything that 'produces' an outcome, but the picture behind it is pregnancy and labour, not a father's part in conception.

Against the English

KJV 'begat' and the Vulgate's genuit turn this into the language of a father (as in the genealogies' 'Abraham begat Isaac'). BSB, NIV and WEB ('give us birth', 'gave birth to us') keep the birth image. ESV and NASB 'brought us forth' are accurate but faint, and most readers will miss the picture of a mother.

How it drifted

The Latin genuit and the English 'begat' were already standard for God as Father (e.g. Ps 2:7, 'this day have I begotten thee'). So translators took this verse into that father vocabulary, and the specifically maternal Greek verb was flattened.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it occurs only in James 1:15 and 1:18. In 1:15 desire 'conceives' (syllabousa) and 'gives birth' (tiktei) to sin, and sin, when fully grown, 'gives birth' (apokyei) to death. Philo uses the same verb in a cosmic image: Knowledge receives God's seed and 'brings forth' the world as God's son (On Drunkenness 30). Maternal pictures of God do occur in Jewish scripture (Deut 32:18, 'the God who gave you birth'; Isa 42:14; 66:9–13), though they are rare.

Where it appears

James · 2

  1. James 1:15 ἀποκύει it brings forth

    Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

    Here: A second, rarer birth word: "bears, brings forth." James uses the same verb in 1:18 for God bringing believers to birth by the word of truth. The two births are set side by side on purpose.

  2. James 1:18 ἀπεκύησεν He brought forth

    He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.

    Here: A word for a mother giving birth, here used of God. It is the same verb James used three verses earlier for sin 'giving birth' to death (1:15). The two births are set against each other on purpose.

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