Greek word · G900
βαθύνω
bathynō
to dig deep
To make deep, deepen; intransitively, to go deep. Related to bathos ('depth') and bathus ('deep').
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
βαθύνω
(βαθύς), [in LXX for עמד: Psa.91 (92):5, Jer.29 (49):8 30(49)30 * ;]
to deepen: Luke 6:48.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
To make deep, deepen; intransitively, to go deep. Related to bathos ('depth') and bathus ('deep').
- Against the English
BSB, NIV and others have 'dug down deep'. YLT keeps the two verbs separate: 'did dig, and deepen'. WEB has 'dug and went deep'. The separate verbs show a process: he dug, then kept going.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Rare. In the NT it occurs only here. Classical Greek and the Septuagint use it for deepening a trench or a well and, figuratively, for going deep.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
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Luke 6:48 ἐβάθυνεν he deepened
He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
Here: Found only here in the NT. Paired with 'dug', it means he kept digging deeper. Together the two verbs mean 'dug deep', stressing effort that nobody would ever see.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.