Greek word · G716

ἅρμα

harma

chariot

Any wheeled vehicle: a war chariot, a racing chariot, a travelling carriage or wagon.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἅρμα, -τος, τό

(ἀραρίσκω, to join), [in LXX רָכַב ;]

a chariot: Acts 8:28-29, 38, Revelation 9:9.†

(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 Acts 8:38

Range of meaning

Any wheeled vehicle: a war chariot, a racing chariot, a travelling carriage or wagon.

Against the English

'Chariot' makes many modern readers picture a fast two-wheeled war or racing car. Here it is a slow travelling vehicle, probably a covered carriage or wagon, with a driver and room to sit, read a scroll and invite a passenger up (v. 31).

How it drifted

In modern English 'chariot' is linked almost entirely with ancient warfare and racing, as in films. Older English used it more widely for carriages.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Old Testament uses harma for royal and official vehicles, e.g. Joseph's chariot (Gen 41:43) and Naaman's chariot (2 Kings 5:9). Naaman is another foreign official who comes to a prophet of Israel and is told to 'dip' in water.

Where it appears

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 8:28 ἅρματος chariot

    and on his return was sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.

  2. Acts 8:29 ἅρματι chariot

    The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by it.”

  3. Acts 8:38 ἅρμα, chariot,

    And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

    Here: A wheeled vehicle. Here it is a travelling carriage that moved slowly enough for Philip to run beside it and hear the man reading aloud (vv. 29–30). It was not a war or racing chariot.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 9:9 ἁρμάτων of chariots

    They also had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.

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