Greek word · G662
ἀποτολμάω
apotolmaō
be bold
"To be very bold, to dare outright, to go so far as to." It is the verb τολμάω ("dare, have the nerve to") with the prefix ἀπο-, which makes it stronger: daring that holds nothing back.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
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 Romans 10:20
- Range of meaning
"To be very bold, to dare outright, to go so far as to." It is the verb τολμάω ("dare, have the nerve to") with the prefix ἀπο-, which makes it stronger: daring that holds nothing back.
- Against the English
KJV/WEB/NASB "is very bold" and BSB/NIV "boldly says" are accurate. ESV "is so bold as to say" keeps the sense of daring well. The danger is that "boldly" can sound like a tone of voice (speaking loudly or confidently). The Greek means daring to say something offensive or risky.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Found in classical and later Greek (for example Thucydides, Plato, Plutarch), where it describes venturing on something daring. It does not occur anywhere else in the New Testament or in the Greek Old Testament (BDAG s.v.).
Where it appears
Romans · 1
-
Romans 10:20 ἀποτολμᾷ is very bold
And Isaiah boldly says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.”
Here: Used only here in the New Testament. The prefix makes "dare" stronger: Isaiah goes all the way and says something risky and shocking. Paul is pointing out how startling the words that follow are.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.