Greek word · G880

ἄφωνος

aphōnos

mute

Without a voice, mute, unable to speak. It can also describe sounds without meaning (1 Cor 14:10: no sound is without meaning).

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

What it means

ἀφωνος, -ον

(φωνή) [in LXX: Isaiah 53:7 (עָלַם ni.), Wisdom of Solomon 4:19, 2Ma.3:29 * ;]

dumb, speechless: Acts 8:32 (LXX); of idols (MM, see word), 1 Corinthians 12:2; of beasts, 2 Peter 2:19; τοσαῦτα γένη φωνῶν καὶ οὐδὲν ἄ.—so many kinds of voices and none voiceless, i.e. without signification, unintelligible: 1 Corinthians 14:10.†

(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 1 Corinthians 12:2

Range of meaning

Without a voice, mute, unable to speak. It can also describe sounds without meaning (1 Cor 14:10: no sound is without meaning).

Against the English

KJV/YLT "dumb" meant "unable to speak" in 1611. Today it mainly means "stupid," so the KJV now gives the wrong picture. "Mute," "voiceless" and "speechless" are accurate.

How it drifted

English "dumb" moved from "mute" to "stupid" in the 19th–20th centuries, partly influenced by German dumm.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jewish attacks on idols mocked them as unable to speak: Ps 115:5 (LXX 113:13) "they have mouths but do not speak"; Hab 2:18–19 (LXX εἴδωλα κωφά, "mute idols"); Jer 10:5; Wisdom of Solomon 13–15. Isa 53:7 LXX uses ἄφωνος for the lamb silent before its shearers.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 14:10

Range of meaning

Literally 'without voice.' It can mean mute or dumb (of animals, idols or speechless people), silent, or, of a sound or word, meaningless and without significance.

Against the English

'Without meaning' (BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV), 'without signification' (KJV) and 'unmeaning' (YLT) all give the sense correctly, but none of them can keep the wordplay with φωνή.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it describes the lamb silent before its shearer (Acts 8:32, quoting Isaiah 53:7 in the Septuagint), 'mute idols' (1 Corinthians 12:2) and the 'speechless donkey' (2 Peter 2:16). Greek writers also used it for sounds or utterances that convey no articulate sense.

From the study of Acts 8:32

Range of meaning

Without voice: silent, speechless, or mute. Also used of idols that cannot speak (1 Cor 12:2) and of meaningless sound (1 Cor 14:10).

Against the English

KJV and YLT have "dumb", which in 1611 meant "unable or not choosing to speak". Modern readers hear "stupid". BSB, WEB and the modern versions have "silent".

How it drifted

The English "dumb" shifted from "mute" to "unintelligent" in modern usage, especially in American English.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint Isa 53:7. Classical writers use it for the speechless and the silenced. BDAG: "silent, unable to speak".

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 8:32 ἄφωνος, [is] silent,

    The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

    Here: Literally "without voice". The lamb makes no sound of protest. The verb "is" is left unstated, as Greek often allows.

1 Corinthians · 2

  1. 1 Corinthians 12:2 ἄφωνα mute

    You know that when you were pagans, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.

    Here: "Without a voice": unable to speak. This was a standard jab in Jewish attacks on idols. Here it also sets up a contrast with chapters 12–14, which are all about speech given by the Spirit of a God who does speak.

  2. 1 Corinthians 14:10 ἄφωνον· without meaning;

    Assuredly, there are many different languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.

    Here: Literally 'voice-less,' built from φωνή, the word that was just used. This is a pun: no voice is voiceless. Every language carries meaning to those who know it.

2 Peter · 1

  1. 2 Peter 2:16 ἄφωνον mute

    But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

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