Greek word · G835

αὐλίζομαι

aulizomai

to spend the night

Formed from αὐλή ('courtyard, open enclosure'). It originally meant passing the night in the open or in a courtyard, and later more generally 'to lodge, to spend the night, to bivouac'. It is about overnight stopping, usually as a traveller or someone camping, not about a settled home.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

αὐλίζομαι

(αὐλή), [in LXX chiefly for לוּן ;]

1. prop., to lodge in a courtyard.

2. to lodge in the open.

3. to pass the night, lodge (LXX; MM, see word): Matthew 21:17, Luke 21:37.†

(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 Luke 21:37

Range of meaning: Formed from αὐλή ('courtyard, open enclosure'). It originally meant passing the night in the open or in a courtyard, and later more generally 'to lodge, to spend the night, to bivouac'. It is about overnight stopping, usually as a traveller or someone camping, not about a settled home.
Against the English: BSB, WEB and NASB 'spend the night' fits well. ESV 'lodged' is fine but can make a modern reader think of an inn or guest-house. KJV 'abode' in modern English sounds like 'had his residence', which is more settled than the Greek.
How it drifted: 'Abode' (KJV) has shifted from 'stayed, remained' to the noun sense 'a dwelling'. Readers may therefore picture a house that the verb does not require.
Used elsewhere in the period: Common in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) for overnight stops: the Levite and his hosts in Judges 19; Ruth 1:16 ('where you lodge, I will lodge'); Psalm 29:6 LXX (30:5 Eng.), 'weeping may lodge for the evening'. In the New Testament it appears only here and in Matthew 21:17, where Jesus 'lodged' at Bethany during the same week (BDAG s.v.).

From the study of Matthew 21:17

Range of meaning: Originally 'to be in the courtyard (αὐλή)' or 'to camp in the open', used of soldiers bivouacking or shepherds with flocks. Over time it broadened to 'spend the night, lodge', wherever that was.
Against the English: KJV, ESV and YLT say 'lodged'. BSB, NIV and NASB say 'spent the night'. WEB says 'camped', which leans hard on the old outdoor sense. 'Lodged' can make a modern reader think of rented rooms or an inn, which the word does not imply.
Used elsewhere in the period: Septuagint: Ruth 1:16 ('where you lodge, I will lodge'), Judg 19:6–7 and elsewhere, used for staying overnight in a house. New Testament: only here and Luke 21:37, where Jesus spends his nights during Passion week out on the Mount of Olives. That is an outdoor setting, the hill Bethany sits on. Classical Greek authors use it for camping in the open (LSJ).

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

Matthew 21:17 ηὐλίσθη He passed the night

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.

Here: 'He spent the night' or 'lodged.' The word comes from αὐλή, an open courtyard or enclosure, and can describe sleeping outdoors or bivouacking. By this period it often just meant 'pass the night', so it does not tell us whether Jesus slept in a house or in the open.

Luke · 1

Luke 21:37 ηὐλίζετο He was lodging

Every day Jesus taught at the temple, but every evening He went out to spend the night on the Mount of Olives.

Here: 'He would spend the night.' The tense shows a regular habit. The verb means stopping for the night, often in the open or as a traveller, not living somewhere permanently.

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